Chapter 233: Trapping the Wolf
The earth’s energy seeped out from the cracks in the blue stone slabs, mixing with the smell of mold and rising, causing Xue Sui to cough violently, her breathing sounding like it was being scraped across sandpaper.
The jailer raised the oil lamp in his hand, its light flickering across her pale face, revealing a sickly flush on her cheeks.
“How is it? Have you diagnosed any symptoms?”
Wang Bo’an stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then took out a small enamel box from his medicine box.
“This is the Jade Dew Pill, secretly made by the Imperial Hospital. It is most effective for moistening the lungs and relieving coughs. Take it with warm water, and once the medicinal vapor reaches your throat, it will suppress this coughing fit…”
As he spoke, his eyes swept over the jailer, who immediately brought warm water. Tea stains, not yet washed clean, still clung to the rim of the pottery bowl.
Xue Sui frowned, then suddenly let out a light laugh.
“Does the doctor know I dabble in medicine and poison? This pill is unusually sticky and carries a hint of bitter almond. Could it be poisoned?”
The old imperial physician’s hand trembled, and the pill he held between his fingers rolled into the pile of straw…
Xue Sui seized the opportunity to lean down and pick up the pill, tucking it into her palm.
“I was just joking earlier, Doctor, no need to be nervous…”
After speaking, she took the tea from the jailer again, tilted her head back, and swallowed it…
Wang Bo’an’s back visibly relaxed, and a look of relief spread across his face…
“I will write another prescription for you, Madam. Rest well for a few days, and your body will surely recover…”
Xue Sui smiled faintly, leaning back against the cold, damp stone wall, and said softly, “To be a prisoner at your mercy, to receive such care from a doctor, is truly my good fortune.”
–
The next day, before dawn, Xiao Zhao groggily woke up from the straw. She reached out to Xue Sui beside her and found her skin burning hot.
She was so frightened that she immediately sat up and leaned closer to examine her. She saw that the flush on Xue Sui’s face had spread from her neck all the way to her ears, as if she had been burned by fire. Her prison clothes were soaked through with cold sweat, as if a gentle wring would yield water.
“Young Lady, your forehead is so hot! How has your cold worsened.”
Xiao Zhao’s eyes reddened with anxiety, her voice trembling with tears.
“Don’t be afraid…” Xue Sui slightly opened her eyes, her dry, cracked lips parting slightly, “If you don’t cast the net, you won’t catch the fish…”
Xiao Zhao tightly gripped Xue Sui’s burning hand, her tears falling like broken strings of beads, even more profusely.
“Young Lady, this maid is heartbroken… I want to kill someone…”
Xue Sui: “……”
For three consecutive days, Xue Sui’s condition not only showed no improvement but worsened.
She was so weak that she didn’t even have the strength to speak, only able to lie on the straw, occasionally letting out a few weak coughs.
The jailer, hearing this, also felt a pang of panic.
If anything happened to Consort Xue in the dungeon, and the Prince blamed him, he wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences.
Therefore, he dared not delay for a moment and ran to report to Li Huan.
When Li Huan received the news, he was still in Jingzhao Prefecture reviewing the files submitted to him. He didn’t say much, only ordered the good physician Chen Henian from Prince Duan’s Mansion to be summoned to the Ministry of Justice Prison for a consultation.
However, when Chen Henian emerged from the Ministry of Justice Prison with his medicine box on his back, Li Huan was already standing under the parasol tree by the path in the front courtyard of the prison.
Medical Officer Chen saw the Prince’s grim expression and quickened his pace, cold sweat dampening his forehead.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Li Huan’s face showed no discernible emotion, but his eyes were as cold as if they could freeze a person.
“How is her condition…”
Medical Officer Chen said, “Your Highness, the Consort’s pulse… it is floating, large, and empty, like snow covering charcoal embers, with external cold and internal heat… This is a sign of the righteous qi and evil qi battling after the cold has entered the body…”
“How can a mere cold linger and refuse to heal?” Li Huan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, his voice hoarse, unlike his own.
Medical Officer Chen cupped his hands and lowered his head further, “This illness is complex and difficult to treat, requiring both internal and external treatment, proceeding step by step… However, Consort Xue was injured before, and her constitution was already weak. Coupled with the heavy dampness and cold in the prison, the evil qi has entered the marrow, making it truly difficult for the righteous qi to flourish…”
He stopped abruptly at this point, his Adam’s apple rolling with difficulty.
“I heard that Your Highness once summoned Doctor Wang Bo’an, formerly of the Imperial Hospital, to administer medicine to the Consort…”
Li Huan gazed at the swaying shadows of the parasol trees, his fingertips suddenly tightening.
“Was there anything improper about Doctor Wang’s prescription?”
Medical Officer Chen hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, “This humble official did not notice anything improper, but…”
He gave an awkward smile and did not continue.
Li Huan, however, keenly sensed the unspoken meaning in his words.
He recalled that when he was young and entered the palace, he had seen that imperial physician. At that time, she and his imperial mother were kneeling outside Zhaoyang Hall to pay their respects. That imperial physician had just come out of the hall, holding a medicine box. The clinking sound of the medicine bottles inside was particularly clear in the silent palace corridor…
Not long after, the lady in Zhaoyang Hall passed away…
Therefore, the rhythm of the clinking medicine bottles that day caused him to have nightmares for several nights…
When he grew up and happened to browse through old imperial palace records, he learned that the imperial physician was skilled in preparing strange and potent remedies. After the current Emperor ascended the throne, his health was not good, and he retired to his hometown.
He harbored some suspicion about the Empress Dowager’s true intentions in summoning Wang Bo’an at this time…
Could it be that the Empress Dowager wanted Xue Sui dead, but wanted him to personally deliver the poisoned wine?
If Xue Sui died, it would indeed temporarily quell the storm—
Withered leaves rustled and fell onto his shoulders, contrasting with his mourning clothes, like congealed frost.
“Use the best medicine, and keep a close watch on her. Report immediately if anything is amiss…”
Li Huan narrowed his eyes slightly as he finished speaking and looked at A Ji.
A Ji quickly untied the money bag from his waist and handed it to Medical Officer Chen.
Medical Officer Chen was overwhelmed with gratitude, “Your Highness’s great kindness. This humble official receives his salary from the Prince’s Mansion and should naturally share Your Highness’s worries and do his utmost to treat the Consort…”
Li Huan: “If her condition does not improve within ten days, you will go to the Department of Punishment to receive your sentence.”
With that, he turned and glanced at a dark cloud that was enveloping the Ministry of Justice Prison, making it hard to breathe.
He suddenly remembered that day when they were playing chess, and Xue Sui had placed her pieces with a calm smile.
Only now did he realize that this game of chess was no longer just a contest between the Eastern Palace and Prince Duan’s Mansion.
From the night his imperial mother died suddenly, the original balance of the imperial court had been broken, and the entire situation had fallen into a greater chaos and vortex, drawing more people into it…
In his heart, he did not want Xue Sui to die.
But when he remembered the cold, mocking glint in her eyes when she revealed the vigilance sand in the courtroom, he felt as if a tangled mess had been stuffed into his chest, suffocating him…
–
The drum had struck the second watch, and the Wang family’s herbal medicine shop deep in Fushou Alley was still lit.
After Wang Bo’an retired and returned home years ago, his son opened an herbal medicine shop in Shangjing, thus inheriting his legacy…
The old man sat before the pine wood medicine cabinet, putting dried perilla leaves into a pottery jar.
The lantern in the corridor swayed in the night wind, casting mottled shadows on his aged face.
“Father, it’s time to rest.” His son, Wang Qingyu, entered with a bamboo tray of herbs. Seeing him still fiddling with the herbs on the desk, he couldn’t help but advise:
“You are of an advanced age, and going to the dungeon to see patients is already strenuous. Please don’t worry about the matters of the herbal medicine shop. If you don’t take care of yourself and collapse, what will happen? From now on, you shouldn’t go personally for such matters; let your son go.”
He was also somewhat puzzled by his father’s sudden decision to leave his family behind and go to Shangjing to see patients.
Wang Bo’an did not look up, his fingers slowly rubbing the perilla leaves, making a rustling sound.
“I am old, old, and I wish to do more good deeds, to accumulate some virtue for future generations.”
Wang Qingyu sighed, “The eldest and second sons are still in Xingzhou. Father should return soon to look after them. Without you, they are mischievous all day long and make friends with unsavory characters. I fear their studies will be neglected…”
After speaking, he turned and looked at the medical case on the wooden table, thus missing the fleeting panic in Wang Bo’an’s eyes…
On the desk was the prescription Wang Bo’an had written for Xue Sui today, the handwriting messy and difficult to decipher…
Wang Qingyu leaned closer to examine it for a moment, then heard the medicine boy report from outside.
“Master, a worker from Changfeng Escort Agency has come to collect the calming soup.”
As Wang Qingyu responded, Wang Bo’an’s hand stopped.
“You all go down first. I will attend to them…”
“Creak—”
The wooden door was blown open by the cold wind.
Wang Qingyu stepped back and saw a man in a green robe standing at the door, the dark jade at his waist gleaming coldly in the snow light.
Behind him, two attendants in ordinary cloth shirts stood with their backs straight. Although they deliberately restrained their aura, it was evident they had undergone specialized training and were masters of martial arts.
Wang Qingyu glanced nervously at his father and closed the door.
As soon as his son left, Wang Bo’an’s straight back instantly hunched, like a puppet controlled by invisible strings. His knees buckled, and he heavily knelt on the blue bricks—
“What is Imperial Physician Wang afraid of?” Li Zhao’s boot sole ground over the scattered herbs on the ground. He picked up the medical case from the table and sat down nonchalantly.
“Your handwriting is good, but I wonder about the prescription?”
Wang Bo’an’s forehead touched the ground, his whole body trembling, “Your Highness, I beg you to show mercy and spare my two grandsons and this old bone of mine…”
Li Zhao curled his lips into a cold smile, “The vengeful spirits who died in the palace twenty years ago also had families, and Imperial Physician Wang did not spare them either…”
The temperature in the herbal medicine shop plummeted. Wang Bo’an looked at the dark embroidery on his sleeve cuff, recalling that Lantern Festival night, on such a snowy day, how Zhaoyuan Consort had died before his eyes with wide eyes…
He suddenly raised his hand, clutched his graying hair, and tears streamed down his face.
“Your Highness, have mercy. This old minister has already written the prescription for Madam Xue as you instructed—”
“I am not here to dredge up old accounts,” Li Zhao interrupted him, his nonchalant tone laced with killing intent, “I am merely here to see if you will be the executioner for the Eastern Palace, or the gravedigger for the Wang family?”
The cold sweat on Wang Bo’an’s body had almost soaked through his undergarment.
On one side was Li Zhao’s coercion and enticement.
On the other side was the Empress Dowager’s covert pressure.
If he could, he would rather commit suicide to atone for his sins, trading his life for the safety of his entire family…
But at this point, he had no way back…
“Your Highness, this old minister, this old minister was also forced to act back then…”
“Forced?” Li Zhao suddenly sneered, picked up the prescription Wang Bo’an had written for Xue Sui, and tucked it into his sleeve, “In three days, I want to see the mark of Snow Withering on Consort Xue’s pulse record.”
He smiled and left the small courtyard of the herbal medicine shop.
However, the solitary look in his eyes sent chills down the spines of Guan Ya and Yuan Cang, who were accompanying him.
