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Chapter 100: The Seed of Hate (Part 1)
"What did you say? Say it again!"
Shrieks sounded from the inside of Yi Lan Palace and Xin Yue Ning had a look of anxious and rage. Shui Xin however was calm and indifference when she was faced with those words. She just repeated word for word, "Qing Ling and Qing Mo found a physician to treat Qing Feng's face. The Emperor have already approved of it and decreed that within the three months, no one can step into the Qing Feng Hall to disturb..."
"Enough. Stop saying!" She had heard it clearly before, it's just that Xin Yue Ning did not believe it."Did you not say that Qing Feng stayed all day in the courtyard thinking dazedly of her son? This clearly indicated that she is going crazy! They did not find someone to treat her brain but treat what face of hers? And her face is so thoroughly bad, is there any possibility of it being cured?"
Xin Yue Ning walked to and fro in her inner chambers irritably and she kept on mumbling. Shui Xin did not reply her and just stood silently by the side.
As she was talking, she suddenly stopped her steps and stared at Shui Xin and anxiously said, "What to do if her face is truly heal?"
Shui Xin smiled and replied softly, "Your Ladyship need not worry. Not to mention that her face isn't that easy to heal, even it is cured, there was nothing much to fear of. You are the mistress of Inner Palace and also have Prince Zhi by your side..."
After listening to Shui Xin's words, Xin Yue Ning nodded her head and the anxiety on her face was significantly lesser. With a bit of smile on her face, she said, "That is true. In the Palace, which one isn't a beauty moreover her son is already dead, what trouble can she stir?"
Shui Xin's eyes hanged slightly down as she did not want to see Xin Yue Ning smug face.
Even though she did not think that Qing Mo was able to find the Ghost Doctor to treat Qing Feng's face, she was quite looking forward to when Qing Feng's face was fully healed. To watch such a beauty playing games and schemes, what a delight it would be. Shui Xin's lips slightly arched, anyways the Xin family said that they did not require her to act on her own initiative so they should not blame her from completely disregarding them...
*****
Gu Yun and Zhuo Qing exited Qing Feng Hall and was walking on the palace road to exit the Palace when Gu Yun suddenly pulled Zhuo Qing to a trail and softly said, "Let's take a trip to the Medical Court."
Zhuo Qing slightly raise her eyebrows, a few days ago she had suggested to go to the Medical Court to look but Yun kept saying that it was of no rush. But today she suddenly mentioned to go, it seemed that she had found some clues. Zhuo Qing nodded her head and both of them quickly walked towards the Medical Court.
Reaching the Medical Court's brewing room, Gu Yun glanced towards the interior and her eyes finally fell upon a young medical attendant aged around ten.
"You are Zhang Qian?"
It was a fair and clean boy. When he heard the voice behind, he turned back and froze. Seeing from their attire, they did not look like they were working in the Palace, and to be able to walk around freely in the Palace, their position must not be low at all. Zhang Qian's thought had ran laps before his mouth said pleasingly, "Both older sisters are?"
Gu Yun smiled and said, "Come out for a while."
Zhang Qian saw that it was two thin and weak female and did not think much of it as he followed them out.
When they stepped out of the Medical Court, Gu Yun held Zhang Qian's collar with one hand and brought him to the back alley behind the Medical Court. Zhuo Qing looked on amusingly at how Gu Yun was dragging a person like a little chick and thought of how Gu Yun previously caught convicts, she also did the same thing. But the her previously did it coolly and casually but now for this under developed body to do it, even though it was still easy, it was still somewhat funny.
Zhang Qian had never thought that that young female would have so much strength and could throw him to the corner of the wall without extra effort. Just as Zhang Qian wanted to call out to others, he heard that female asking coldly, "Who was the one that took the medicine dregs on the day the Prince died?"
"Both of you... Who exactly are the both of you?" Zhang Qian face turned white in a short flash as he stared at both persons. She took a step back and hurriedly said, "How would I know who had taken the medicine dregs! I was not on duty on that day!"
"You don't know?" Gu Yun lightly scoffed and continued to pressed on as she did not want to waste any time with him, "Every eighth and sixteenth of every month, there are the least number of people on duty in the Medical Court. The day of the Prince's death was on the eighth. Previously you would sneak in to steal some expensive medicinal herbs to sell and that day you are definitely in the Medical Court. The medicine was brewed on the second floor so not only you would know where the dregs went and also saw who took it. Speak. Who is it?"
Hearing Gu Yun's words, palely white could no longer describe Zhang Qian's face. In such a cold day, his head was filled with sweat and even the back of his clothes were damp. She... She actually knew everything?! Looking at Gu Yun's sharp eyes, Zhang Qian was so flustered that he dare not move as a drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead and into his eyes. The pain in his eyes broke Gu Yun's demonic spell as Zhang Qian took a big step back against the cold wall as he shouted, "I... I do not know what are you saying!"
"Still refuse to talk?" Seeing his reaction, Gu Yun was not anxious as she leant against the other side of the wall of the alley as she said, "Since I am able to say what you had done, naturally there would be evidence on hand. Selling medicine herbs stolen from the Palace was not a light offence and when the matter is brought up to light, I don't think that not only you saw the person taking the dregs away but that the person would also think that you have seen it and may even. Kill. In. Secret..."
Zhuo Qing laughed in spite of herself, she has always admire Gu Yun method of questioning convicts. No matter it was the tricky and slippery street gangsters or murderous drug lords, it was easy for her. Such an inexperience medical attendant, if he really knew who was the one that took the dregs, at the end he would definitely reveal the truth.
Sure enough, before Gu Yun could finish, Zhang Qian's face was already white due to the scare and walked a few steps to Gu Yun and opened up quickly, "Please don't. I will say it, please give me a break. But you have to promise and not disclose that I am the one that disclosed it."
The fish was hooked and Gu Yun's patience was exhausted as she scolded, "So much nonsense to say! Speak!"
Zhang Qian looked around to ensure there was no one else in the alley before whispering, "It's... It's Commander Ming!"
"Ming Jian?" Zhuo Qing was stunned.
Zhang Qian place his hands by his mouth and quickly said, "Hush! Don't say it so loudly!"
"When did he take the dregs away?"
"It was... Half a shichen (1 shichen = 2 hours) after older sister Ru Yi from Qing Feng Hall came over to call Imperial Physician Wang and Imperial Physician Hu."
Zhuo Qing calculated the time, Ming Jing would have taken the medicine dregs away before Fu Ling when to look for it. The child took the medication during noon so if Ming Jian was the person who added the poison into the medicine, he should have taken the dregs at that time and not wait till the child was gone before taking it away. Zhuo Qing looked up and look at Gu Yun. Seeing a cool look in her eyes, it seemed that she was thinking of what the problem was and thus Zhuo Qing did not disturb her.
Zhang Qian saw that both of them did not speak and shifted himself towards the direction of the alley outside, "I only saw these and really do not know anything else!"
Gu Yun did not make things more difficult for him and waved her hands, "You can go."
Zhang Qian did not even pause and in the next moment his shadow disappeared from the alley. As he ran, he felt really scared. Since someone knew of him selling the medicine herbs he stole, if it became worse... He would escape from the Palace, anyways he had just sold the news of Commander Ming taking the dregs to older sister Ru Yi a few days ago and had earned quite a lot of money. If he did not run at this moment, if the entire matter was unmasked, then his life would also be included in it. The more Zhang Qian thought, the more he was convinced and speed up towards the direction of his room.
Both of them were silent throughout their exit of the Imperial Palace. Zhuo Qing did not understand, "Why was it Ming Jian? Why did he want to take the dregs away?"
Both of Gu Yun's hands were folded in front of her chest and her face looked somewhat more relaxed than before, "If it was Yan Hong Tian's intention?"
Yan Hong Tian? Zhuo Qing stopped in her steps and looked at Gu Yun like she had figured out something and said, "Then the next place we should go interview Official Dan!" Gu Yun shrugged like she also came to such an intention.
Both of them came over to Ti Xing Department several times and the guarding bailiff recognised them. They took them to the living room and they did not need to wait long before Dan Yu Lan came over.
"What is the matter for both of you to look for me?"
Gu Yun's acute senses discover that when Dan Yu Lan saw them, there was a flash of doubt and astonishment on his expression. Gu Yun quietly sat down and let Zhuo Qing who was beside her to deal with him.
Both of them had always had a tactic understanding of one another, so when she saw Gu Yun not moving, Zhuo Qing naturally knew what she meant. She nodded slightly at Dan Yu Lan's direction and asked straight to the point, "You have done an autopsy on the child's corpse, what are the findings? Was it poison?"
"Both of you?" He had guessed the reason for them to come over and thought of how to deal with it carefully. He did not expect that Zhuo Qing would directly ask such questions, making the usually calm Dan Yu Lan astonished.
With his current expression, one need not be observant to tell that he must have knew some inside information. Zhuo Qing did not beat about the bush and said, "We have found out that Ming Jian took the medicine dregs away and he is Yan... The Emperor's confidant, thus did it on his behest. For the Emperor to question the death of the Prince, why is the Prince buried before anything is cleared up?"
Gu Yun was silent the entire time but her eyes did not leave Dan Yu Lan at all as Zhuo Qing spoke eloquently. Facing these two persons, Dan Yu Lan had a feeling as if there was nowhere to hide and he smiled bitterly as he shook his head. He did not have any other methods to deal out thus Dan Yu Lan nodded his head, "On the night, I had conducted an autopsy on the Prince's corpse."
"How was it?"
They actually already knew that there was a possibility that the child was poisoned, which meant that Lou Furen must had looked over the child's corpse but unable to take a closer inspection so they looked for him for confirmation. Dan Yu Lan did not say more and only replied, "The Prince was indeed poisoned but as by what specific poison, it was not determined."
"Is there any findings from the residue?"
Dan Yu Lan was also very distressed and sighed, "There is no problems with the medicine dregs. It consist of medicinal ingredients targeting on the fever and not poisonous."
"There is no problems with the dregs but it is not necessarily that the medication is also fine. The concoction is poured out by Ru Yi personally from the brewing pot and brought into Qing Feng Hall. The person who did the poisoning is most likely someone from Qing Feng Hall." Gu Yun, who was quiet the entire time, finally spoke and seemed like she hand the intention to investigate further.
As Dan Yu Lan saw them getting ready to leave, he tightened and released his brows a couple of time before hesitantly saying, "Please stay behind..."
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