Grudge Breaker

Chapter 275 Major Suspicion
"Master Sikong, you are finally back! Miss Sangpu doesn't look well, please take a look at her quickly!"

Zhuang Yuheng and Mo Tingfeng went out for a while, and when they returned home, they saw Guyu, who was waiting in the yard in a panic. Seeing him, she was as happy as if she had found a savior. She didn't even bother to greet Mo Tingfeng, and ran straight to Zhuang Yuheng and knelt on the ground.

"The doctor from the prefectural medical clinic came to see her and said that it seemed like she had eaten something that invigorated her blood circulation. He fed her some donkey-hide gelatin and she left. But the girl is weak, and I am worried that she won't be able to hold on like this."

Zhuang Yuheng's face turned stern, and without saying anything more, he disappeared in the yard in a flash and appeared in Wuqingju the next second.

Song Weichen's face was pale as paper, and she leaned weakly against the head of the bed. When she saw Zhuang Yuheng suddenly appear with a nervous look on his face, she smiled faintly.
"I heard everything. Guyu is exaggerating. I'm fine. Isn't it good to be fine?"

Zhuang Yuheng didn't say much, he just grabbed her wrist and felt her pulse. In the blink of an eye, Mo Tingfeng also appeared, silently standing by, waiting for Zhuang Yuheng's judgment.

"It's a sign of menstrual bleeding."

Zhuang Yuheng took out a red pill for nourishing essence and blood from a jade bottle and fed it to Song Weichen's mouth. Mo Tingfeng poured a cup of warm water and brought it to his mouth. Both of them had worries written all over their faces.

"Weiwei, did you eat anything at the Princess' place?"

"I didn't eat anything. I just drank the tea that Ruan Mianmian's maid made. But I saw that the eldest princess and Ruan Mianmian also drank it, so I thought there was nothing to worry about. In addition, Mianmian kept persuading me, so I drank more."

Zhuang Yuheng's cheeks tightened visibly. He sat on the chair beside the bed and sighed heavily. His cousin was becoming more and more unbecoming.

"My sister is really... As your cousin, I apologize to you!"

"She gave you a lot of herbal tea made from herbs that promote blood circulation and menstruation. The saffron, herbaceous herbs, and five-element grass are not poisonous in themselves, and they can clear away heat and cool the blood. However, if women in the early stages of pregnancy drink too much, it can cause miscarriage, and for those who are weak and frail, it can affect blood clotting. You are menstruating, and if you drink too much of this herbal tea, it is inevitable that you will have a hemorrhage."

"That's it..."

Song Weichen suddenly realized, remembering that Ruan Mianmian had seen his indecent action of covering his mouth with a handkerchief several times to prevent vomiting blood. And that day in Wuqingju, he pretended to spend every night with Mo Tingfeng to deliberately anger her. He was afraid that Lao Longjing thought he was pregnant, which was why he did this.

Tsk, you actually had the idea of ​​killing me, let me see how I will find a chance to deal with you...

Song Weichen rolled his eyes and came up with a plan. Since Ruan Mianmian could kill an innocent baby, don't blame her for using the opponent's force against her and fighting poison with poison.

"Brother Yuheng, I think I know why Ruan Mianmian treated me like this. If I retaliate a little without hurting her, you won't be angry with me, right?"

Zhuang Yuheng shook his head helplessly, put Song Weichen's hand back into the quilt, stood up and bowed deeply to Mo Tingfeng, who quickly stopped him, "Old Zhuang, what are you doing?"

"Tingfeng, my sister is really getting more and more outrageous. I don't know what to say. She has really been spoiled by the uncles and elders in the family! As her cousin, I am really ashamed and I can't ask for your forgiveness. Fortunately, Weiwei is safe. If she is pregnant, the consequences will be disastrous."

……

Zhuang Yuheng thought of the batch of medicine he had just made for his aunt. She had already married into the upper realm and was the favored princess of the third prince. She already had two sons, but she unexpectedly became pregnant again at the age of fifty. Originally, this age was not suitable for bearing children, but she was unwilling to give up the little life in her belly and insisted on giving birth. As a result, she miscarried at four months, so Zhuang Yuheng made a new batch of Shiquan Pills.

This medicine is made of ten Chinese medicinal herbs, including Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, honey-roasted licorice, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, White Peony Root, Rehmannia glutinosa, Astragalus membranaceus, and Cinnamon bark. These ingredients may sound common, but they are not.

These medicinal materials are all collected from all over the world at the most suitable season. Taking Codonopsis pilosula as an example, it must be the Lion-head ginseng collected on the Mid-Autumn Festival from an ancient sacred mountain called "Ma Cheng Mountain". The Codonopsis pilosula root at this time has the best medicinal effect, is mild in nature, sweet in taste, and greatly benefits the spleen and lungs.

This medicine warms and nourishes Qi and blood, and is most suitable for treating deficiency syndromes such as Qi and blood deficiency, fatigue and weakness, but it is extremely time-consuming and laborious to make - there is even a saying in the upper realm that the Shiquan Pills made by the Medicine King Yuheng can "revive the dead and make the bones white."

"I have some newly made Ten-Whole Pills in my house. They were originally made for a lady in the upper realm who had just had a miscarriage. I will go back and get them. Weiwei is very weak, and this medicine is very suitable for her."

Mo Tingfeng understood.

Zhuang Yuheng could have asked his personal maid Qingyun to bring it over, but he chose to go back to Sikong Mansion himself because of what Song Weichen had just said, "I want to take a small revenge on Ruan Mianmian."

In terms of blood relationship, she is his cousin after all. If he were in the mansion and saw Song Weichen taking action, there would be no reason for him to just sit back and do nothing.

But objectively speaking, his cousin did go too far, so he planned to go back for two days - since he was not at home, he could not stop Song Weichen from doing anything, and Ruan Mianmian could not come to him to complain.

It really is a good intention.

Mo Tingfeng patted Zhuang Yuheng on the shoulder and said, "Thank you, Old Zhuang... it's hard for you."

As long as the quarrels between little girls are not too excessive, it is not appropriate for grown men like them to get too involved. The way Zhuang Yuheng handled it is already the best way.

But Song Weichen didn't get Zhuang Yuheng.

"Since this medicine is specially made for the nobles in the upper realm, will it cause you trouble if I give it to you rashly? It's better not to take it."

"It's okay. I made some extra. This medicine is warming and tonic, and will be very beneficial to your body. I wanted to give you some too."

"Why not ask Sister Qingyun to deliver it tomorrow?"

"This medicine is precious and is locked in the secret room of the medicine house. Qingyun cannot get it. I will be back soon."

Zhuang Yuheng tucked the corner of the quilt for Song Weichen again, nodded to Mo Tingfeng, and disappeared in a flash.
.
After he left, Mo Tingfeng sat on the edge of the bed, held Song Weichen in his arms, and kissed her on the hair.

"Weiwei, Yuheng has already told me all the solutions to the love-severing restriction today, but..."

Mo Tingfeng poured out the "tampered" solution. As expected, the owner of the Wuzi Pavilion was righteous. The ancient book rubbings did not mention that she needed to take her soul, nor did they mention that after the ban was lifted, her memory of the person she had a crush on would be completely wiped out and her feelings would be gone. He only wrote that the person who had a crush on her needed two cents of heart blood and two cents of tears, but even so, Mo Tingfeng was very unhappy.

How could he be willing to let Song Weichen take two coins of her heart blood for him, especially since she was already so weak. If she took more of her heart blood, it would probably cost her half her life.

"Weiwei, now that we know there is a solution, it's easy to deal with. We don't need to rush right now. Can we wait until you recover a little before making any arrangements?"

Of course Song Weichen didn't want to and couldn't lift the ban now. The fact that he had to take one of her soul was known only to heaven, earth, she, and Ji Baishou - the two of them had already agreed to make this arrangement on the Chinese Valentine's Day, and they couldn't change the date easily.

"Okay, I'll take good care of my body recently. How about I lift the ban when we go to Wu Nian Mansion to celebrate the Qixi Festival with Sister Hua Shan and Uncle Ji? Just consider it as my Qixi Festival gift to you. Then we can pick a good day and get married, okay?"

Song Weichen leaned in Mo Tingfeng's arms with a light tone, but in fact there was a trace of sadness in his eyes, which he was just suppressing.

The only consolation is that even if Mo Tingfeng completely forgets her by then, at least he still has a part of her soul left in him - as long as he doesn't die, her soul will always be with him, and to some extent... it can be considered "being together forever."

Mo Tingfeng didn't notice anything unusual. He could lift the ban on love on Qixi Festival, and then he could marry Song Weichen. He was so happy that he couldn't wait! Unlike the deep regret in Song Weichen's eyes, his eyes were full of stars. He had never been so looking forward to Qixi Festival as today.

……

The two were immersed in their own thoughts when there was a knock on Wuqingju's door and Ding Heran's voice rang out.

"Sir, regarding the drowned corpse case, Coroner Xu has new discoveries to report and is waiting for you in the study." Upon hearing that it was related to Xiao'an, Song Weichen was the first to get up and answer the door, but was held back by Mo Tingfeng.

"Just lie down and I'll tell you when I get back."

"No, I want to hear it in person."

Song Weichen decisively refused.

"I feel much better after taking Brother Yuheng's medicine. I can do it. Please let me go with you."

He couldn't persuade her, and seeing that her complexion had indeed improved a little, Mo Tingfeng had to agree.

The two men came to the study, only to see that Coroner Xu had his sleeves rolled up and had not yet put them down. He was holding a tray in his hand with something on a white porcelain plate. When he saw them come in, he bowed and saluted each of them, and it was obvious that his attitude towards Song Weichen had completely changed.

"My Lord, Miss Sangpu, I carefully examined Xiao'an's body after returning. To be cautious, I have performed an autopsy. The results of the investigation are basically consistent with Miss Sangpu's judgment, except that this object was found in her throat."

He placed the tray in his hand on the table. At this time, everyone put on a linen glove. Mo Tingfeng picked up the things in the porcelain plate and looked at them carefully.

It was a small piece of jade leaf, very miniature, about the size of a fingernail, but it was made of excellent material with great water content, excellent transparency, and emerald green color.

Although it is just a very small leaf, it is carved very delicately. Not only are the veins clear, but there is even a tiny beetle carved on it, which shows that it is not an ordinary thing.

Although this item is small, it is very valuable and it is impossible for an ordinary maid to own it. Mo Tingfeng frowned and put the jade leaf back into the tray. How could this thing appear in the throat of a maid?
If Xiao'an had not stolen, there was only one possibility: the suspect accidentally fell into her mouth and was swallowed during the struggle - but the autopsy of Xiao'an did not show any signs of struggling or fighting, which made the matter very strange.

……

Song Weichen looked at the jade leaf on the porcelain plate and felt that it looked familiar. She had seen this thing before.

She picked up the leaf carefully and tried to recall where she had seen it. She must have seen it recently... Where was it?

The image of a golden hairpin with a long tail and many emerald leaves hanging on it flying across a head adorned with gold and jade jewellery flashed through his mind.

“I’ve seen this thing!”

She hurriedly held the emerald leaf in front of Mo Tingfeng, her hands shaking slightly.

"This is the leaf on Ruan Mianmian's hairpin! She has a gold hairpin covered with leaves like this. I saw her wearing it at the eldest princess's place today. I shouldn't be mistaken."

"... Lady Ruan? This... this is..."

After hearing this, Coroner Xu glanced at Ding Heran, and was so flustered that he didn't know how to react.

What a sin! How could he find something related to the noble? If the noble knew about it, he would make things difficult for him. He would be in big trouble.

Ding Heran saw the dilemma that coroner Xu was in, and understood why someone like him who had worked in the government office for half his life was afraid of being involved in "the affairs of a noble man", so he patted him on the shoulder.

"Mr. Xu, thank you for your hard work. Please go back. You have not been to the mansion today. I found this jade leaf. It has nothing to do with you."

After hearing what Ding Heran said, Coroner Xu looked at Mo Tingfeng, and after getting his nod of permission, he hurriedly bowed to Ding Heran.

"Oh, this is such a great feeling! Thank you, Commander Ding. You are also a noble man, so you are naturally not afraid of these things. I am a humble person with little influence, and I am really panicking. Thank you, Commander Ding, and I will take my leave now!"

After Coroner Xu left, Ding Heran looked at Mo Tingfeng, "Sir, do you need me to go to the Venerable's Mansion right now and fight with Noble Lady Ruan?"

"Wait a minute."

Mo Tingfeng waved his hand and said, "This matter not only concerns Lady Ruan, but also the reputation of Lord Sikong's clan. You must not act rashly. Let me think about it. There are still some unreasonable points that need to be sorted out."

"I'll go."

Song Weichen spoke lightly.

"If it really was Ruan Mianmian's stuff, then her intentional change of subject when the princess mentioned the murder case today was not accidental, but was probably to hide something."

"I will find a chance to go to the Venerable's Mansion and check carefully to see if the leaves on the golden hairpin are consistent with this one. Don't worry, I will be careful not to alert the enemy, and I will not deliberately distort the facts for revenge."

"But, the emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people. If it is really her who did it, wait until I find her and catch her red-handed. It won't be too late for you to take action, He Ran."

……

Mo Tingfeng pondered for a while and finally nodded.

"Okay, Weiwei is more suitable to go, but you have to promise me that your own safety will be the top priority."

"Well, I will."

He handed the jade leaf to Ding Heran.

"The carving of this leaf and the jade material are both extraordinary. You can take it to the market and ask the top craftsmen for advice. Maybe you can make some new discoveries."

"Yes!"

Ding Heran left as he was told. It was already nearly midnight and the sky was completely dark. Mo Tingfeng helped Song Weichen up and was about to take her back to her room to rest when Guyu's voice rang out at the door.

"Sir, Banxia came to visit and said that the princess wanted to invite you to take a walk in the mansion and have a few private conversations."

"Now?"

"Yes, right now. Banxia said that the princess is waiting for her to return home to report."

Mo Tingfeng was startled. It was so late. What private conversation did Qin Xueying have that couldn't be had during the day? He was about to refuse, but was stopped by Song Weichen.

"Go ahead. The princess lives with Ruan Mianmian. Maybe she has discovered something that she wants to discuss with you alone?"

"Perhaps Qin Xueying has also discovered that Lao Longjing has some shameful secrets."

(End of this chapter)