Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 19 It's all my fault for behaving frivolously!

When Dr. Li mentioned it, Old Mu also remembered that the incident had caused quite a stir. The merchant was eating wontons by the roadside when he suddenly started vomiting blood, which terrified Old Wang, the wonton seller, who kept glancing at his large pot, thinking someone had poisoned it!

It was chaotic then; nobody dared to eat it, so they quickly took the merchant to Doctor Li. Huichuntang was packed with people seeking treatment, all talking at once, and most of the alleyway had gone out to see what was going on. Doctor Li examined the patient's pulse for a long time and discovered that the man was indeed poisoned!

But its appearance was very strange. At first glance, it seemed fine, but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be poisoned. This was truly bizarre. Doctor Li examined the half-bowl of wontons stained red with blood from all angles, but there was no poison!
Looking at Old Wang, who was trembling like a leaf, we had to get to the bottom of this. After all, the wontons from Old Wang's family were their livelihood.

After carefully examining the merchant's usual diet, Doctor Li was both amused and exasperated! The merchant was actually drinking tonics like water! He even carried a bamboo tube with him, drinking from it whenever he was thirsty!
"Are you stupid?! Who drinks medicine like water?! You're not sick, why would you drink medicine?! And why are there so many qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing herbs in here? 'Wind-blown grass,' 'Seven-star flower,' 'Three-leaf fall,' 'Small forest branch'..."

"Why don't you move the pharmacy back home?!"

The tall, burly man, over seven feet tall, cried his heart out, tears streaming down his face.

"I... I had a tough childhood, and the doctor said I was very weak internally and needed to take more tonics! I didn't have money before, but now that I finally have some, I'm thinking of taking more tonics..."

"That's not the way to nourish yourself! Every medicine has its side effects! Even if you want to improve your health, food is worse than medicine. You can't abuse your body like this!"

Later, it took Doctor Li a long time to cure the unfortunate merchant. Because the incident was so bizarre, most of the people in Tonghua Lane who were there that day knew about it. Everyone learned a lesson: not all tonics need to be taken in large quantities. It's better to move around more to stay healthy.

After recalling this, the expressions of Elder Mu, Doctor Li, and the others became somewhat strange, but they said nothing. However, Chunyu Shuang did not let this excellent opportunity slip by, and she immediately followed up with a question.

"So, so many people know that these herbs cannot be eaten together, but I wonder if you ladies know that?"

"...We're not from Tonghua Lane, how would we know about this? Besides, we didn't eat this stuff."

Fu Liu subconsciously retorted, but Chunyu Shuang followed suit.

"Although you aren't, and the other girls aren't from Tonghua Lane either, Jin Hua and Yun Niang are. So many people from Tonghua Lane knew about them back then, Jin Hua and Yun Niang, don't tell me you haven't heard of them?"

"..."

"What exactly does Lord Chunyu want to ask? Even if we've heard of them, how could we, as women, possibly understand those herbs? We thought they were just weeds. If we don't even recognize herbs, what can we do with them?"

"That's true."

Dr. Li couldn't help but speak up.

"My lord, don't underestimate the skill of identifying herbs. It's a fundamental skill that every doctor must learn. Without seven or eight years of hard study, you can't say you know all herbs. These ladies aren't medical experts."

Chunyu Shuang still held doctors in high esteem, and shook her head at this moment.

"Although they are not medical apprentices, these young ladies are clever! They don't need to understand medical theory, they only need to know what these herbs look like. In fact, to avoid being found out, they didn't even ask at the pharmacies in the capital."

"How did they know what these herbs looked like? How did they plant them in their own yard?" By now everyone understood that Chunyu Shuang suspected these girls of plotting to kill Yu Lang, but they needed evidence!
With everyone watching intently, Wei Yuan spoke at the opportune moment.

"I have already gone to the village where Jin Hua lives to inquire. Her deceased father was not only a hunter, but also had some knowledge of medicine. He could process the herbs he dug up in the deep mountains and sell them to pharmacies. Moreover, I have sent someone to look for that merchant from the north. According to the innkeeper where he stayed that day, a girl wearing a veiled hat did come looking for him. She seemed to have asked him something, and the merchant even gave her a bag of herbs that he was carrying."

"The merchant hasn't gone far; he should be back in two days at most."

Chunyu Shuang followed closely behind.

"So, ladies, do I need to spell it out even more clearly?"

The nine women were all deathly pale. They still wanted to defend themselves, but it seemed they had nothing left to say.

A brief silence seemed to settle into a profound grief. In that silence, those who had initially come merely to testify now understood: the murderer, it seemed, was this group of beautiful young women. Old Mu and Doctor Li exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with conflicted hesitation. Such good girls—what a pity if they were to go to jail or even beheaded! And that Yu Lang—it wasn't just idle gossip from these old fogies—he didn't seem like a good person at all!

Jiu Que strolled over to the door behind him, listened to the faint sounds inside, and sighed.

“Sister Yunniang, Yu Lang is indeed not a good person, but if you really want to kill him, wouldn’t it be simpler to do it before he becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination? It would also attract attention. Why do you have to do it at this critical juncture?”

Yunniang, her face ashen, remained silent, but this was within Jiuque's expectations.

"I think it's because of you, or rather, you had a reason to take action, right?"

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Jiu Que had no choice but to explain the implications.

"What I want to say is, sisters, although Yu Lang is dead, you don't necessarily have to be sentenced to death. Our laws state that if a criminal confesses voluntarily, the sentence can be reduced accordingly. Even if not for yourselves, sisters, you should think of the people you care about, right?"

The women exchanged glances, but were not entirely convinced.

Just as the stalemate was at its peak, a small figure suddenly burst through the door and rushed out, his face streaked with tears.

"Don't arrest my sister! It's all my fault! Sirs, arrest me! It's all because of me; my sisters did this to protect me..."

"I am the sinner! If I hadn't been so promiscuous and frivolous in seducing Yu Lang, none of this would have happened! I am a harlot, I am an ignorant and disobedient child, I deserve to be punished! Take me away! I beg you!"

Jiu Que's brows furrowed immediately.

The person who spoke looked to be only ten years old, still a little girl!

(End of this chapter)