Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

198. Evil Intentions

Translator: Bryan

“I hope you’re right.” Having perceived that Dongxiang didn’t know anything, Luo Qing couldn’t help asking with a frown, “Has Master taken any medicine in the past two days?” Dongxiang thought carefully for a while before he replied, “He’s been with His Highness for the past two days. They went out to have fun the day before yesterday. He didn’t take any medicine.”

Luo Qing had experienced all kinds of things when in Sect Luo, so his mind was naturally much keener than Dongxiang’s. After hearing Dongxiang’s words, he had a general idea of what to expect. He let out a sigh of relief and said, “I understand. You need to slow down a bit lest anybody suspect we’ve met before.” No matter whether or not anyone would associate those facts, it did no harm to be more careful.

“I’m Luo Qing of the Imperial Hospital. It’s an honor to kneel before you, Your Highness.” Luo Qing’s eyes had been looking straight ahead after he entered the hall. Naturally, as a court physician, he had the right to enter the imperial seraglio, but he had to retain his sense of propriety. If he stepped out of line, nobody would be able to save him from decapitation.

“You may rise.” Yuxing Tianrui inclined his head slightly. “How’s my brother?” he asked, feigning casualness. All courtiers knew that an assassin had made an attempt on Yuxing Wei’s life on his wedding day. The emperor had instructed the crown prince to look into it, but the latter had not told anybody about the progress in the investigation.

“Your Highness, don’t worry. Your brother has recovered well enough to eat instinctively earlier this day. Chances are that he will come around in two days,” Luo Qing replied respectfully. No one could tell what kind of relationship he had with Yuxing Tianrui. On the contrary, as he had managed to save the third prince’s life, everybody held him in higher esteem now.

Yuxing Tianrui held his hand to his lips and gave a little cough. “I summoned you because I need your help with some family matters.” Ada had already taken the powder from Zhao Ling’er which she had just mentioned. “Concubine Zhao claims this medicine has amazing efficacy so I want you to verify it.”

Luo Qing nodded and asked no questions. He put a little powder on his hand and gently took a sniff of it. His eyes lit up immediately and he almost subconsciously licked the powder.

At the sight of it, Du Chuxuan came to know that the powder was probably indeed as effective as Zhao Ling’er had said it was. However, he was surprised that the Zhao family owned a medication that even a court physician from the Imperial Hospital had never seen. He wondered how the Zhao Family had obtained it. Was it possible that the powder was actually from Manlou?

“What a wonderful thing!” Luo Qing involuntarily marveled. “Your Highness, I once saw a sentence on a medical book which read ‘Combine the five most poisonous substance and you’ll get an antidote to all poison.’ At that time, I couldn’t understand what those words meant, but now I think I’ve faintly cottoned on to their meaning, but I’ll need more knowledge and practice to fully comprehend them.”

“Imperial Doctor Luo, are you saying this medicine…” Ada asked from the side.

“I’ve never heard of the medicine Concubine Zhao mentioned, so I’m not sure if this is what she said it was, but as far as I can tell, this powder is virulent. I would’ve been poisoned by now were it not for the fact that I have been using all kinds of poison to improve my resistance since my childhood.”

Everyone gasped at his words. Just now, Concubine Zhao had said that she wanted all of them to put some of the powder in their hands. If they had done that, they would probably have all been killed.

“Liar! This is a miraculous medication! How can it be poison?” Zhao Ling’er’s face instantly darkened. She had seen the magical efficacy of this medicine with her own eyes, otherwise she wouldn’t have agreed to this plan. It had never crossed her mind that the court physician would say those words. “Your Highness, it’s probably because this physician is incompetent!”

A hint of annoyance appeared on Luo Qing’s face. “You’re Concubine Zhao, right? It’s not fair to question my competence just because of one person’s opinion. You’re not the one calling all the shots in this place, so please think twice before making accusations like that!”

Other court physicians would have been frightened by Zhao Ling’er’s words. After all, Zhao Ling’er had the Zhao Family at her back. Nobody would dare work against the Zhao Family. Luo Qing, however, was different from those physicians. He was a member of Sect Luo, so he naturally would do his master’s bidding.

On top of that, he had only just saved the third prince’s life, which made him the darling of the emperor. Nobody would make trouble for him unless he did something beyond the pale.

Yuxing Tianrui restrained himself. He couldn’t bring himself to say any disgusting words in the presence of Du Chuxuan. He could only say to Luo Qing coldly, “Take it easy, Imperial Doctor Luo. Women have no knowledge of stuff like this.”

Luo Qing snorted, which astounded everyone. They were baffled as to why Luo Qing dared take the crown prince’s words lightly.

“If Your Highness hadn’t summoned me here to see this eye-opener, I wouldn’t have bothered to speak to her. This powder is mixed with several highly toxic substances from the western region. If an ordinary person comes into contact with it, they will come out in a rash. Those with severe symptoms might even suffer from high fever and die from it. If anybody eats it, their death would be certain.”

When he finished speaking, everyone shifted their gaze to Zhao Ling’er. She promptly stamped her foot in anger. “Do you not trust me, Your Highness? This powder has miraculous efficacy. I don’t know why Imperial Doctor Luo says it is poison. Maybe someone bribed him.”

“Besides, I wasn’t the one who put the poisonous snake there. Surely, you don’t think I’m trying to frame anybody?” As she said this, tears rolled down her cheeks. The sight of a beauty shedding tears was pleasing to the eye, but Yuxing Tianrui appeared indifferent.

“Your Highness, I think we should look into this matter. Firstly, this medicinal powder is a threat to everybody in this palace. Secondly, we need to find out who put the snake there so that the culprit won’t be able to make trouble again.”

Fang Rui, who had been standing quietly on the side all along, suddenly spoke. Her voice was completely different from Zhao Ling’er’s high-pitched one. It seemed to be faintly bland. Compared with Zhao Ling’er’s angry voice, it sounded melodious.

Yuxing Tianrui made no response to her. He glanced at Du Chuxuan and said, “You’re in charge of this kind of stuff. What do you think I should do about this?”

Having seen all that, Yuxing Tianrui naturally had come to realize that Du Chuxuan had nothing to do with this matter. It was possible that Du Chuxuan was in danger. At the thought of that, Yuxing Tianrui’s face darkened.

At this moment, Du Chuxuan was probably the only one present who could still smile. “In my opinion, this matter is far from tricky.”

He clapped his hands and summoned Dongxiang. “Go and bring me all Concubine Zhao’s servants.”