Chapter 411: Chapter 152: Night Encounter with the Marshal_2
"Doctor Lu, how is it?" Jin Xianrong asked.
The woman’s brows were slightly furrowed, her expression somewhat strange.
Seeing her like this, Qi Yutai felt a chill in his heart, and his previous daydreams vanished. He asked anxiously, "Is there an illness?"
The woman shook her head, "Young Master Qi is not seriously ill, but..."
"But what?"
"But there is excessive heat in the blood, leading to a disturbance of emotions and desires."
She looked at Qi Yutai and slowly said, "Young Master Qi has a rapid and forceful pulse, a crimson and dry tongue, and symptoms of fever and thirst. These are caused by excessive heat in the blood. A few prescriptions to clear the blood and detoxify will suffice. As for the emotional disturbance..."
She stood up, walked behind the screen to the desk, picked up the Gilded Double-Moth Patterned Incense Burner on the desk, and opened the lid of the incense burner.
The incense burner was empty; the incense had burned out. She poured out the ash, walked to the window, and tossed it into the muddy water beneath the window’s flowering trees.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Qi Yutai was puzzled.
"Minister Qi, is this Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance here?"
"Yes," Qi Yutai replied. Their family had used this kind of fragrant pill since childhood. This incense was precious and richly scented, not available anywhere else.
The female medical officer smiled slightly, "Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance calms the mind and aids sleeplessness. However, long-term use can lead to dependence. Over time, it can have the opposite effect."
"It might be best for Minister Qi to try using less of this incense sometimes, to prevent addiction and harming your health."
Qi Yutai was stunned.
Addiction...
He had been using this incense since he was young, and the house had never used any other type because it had all been arranged by his father. Over the years, it was indeed easy to become addicted.
His father worried he might become addicted to Cold Food Powder and harm his health, but it was ironic that Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance could do the same.
After the female medical officer finished speaking, she bowed to the two men and left the room. Jin Xianrong hurried out after her, presumably to ask her something.
Qi Yutai leaned against the cushions on the low couch, feeling his entire body drenched in sweat. It was an appalling omen to have such a nightmare in broad daylight. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and as his fingertips passed over his temples, it felt as if ants were crawling over his skin.
It was a prickling itch.
...
After finishing the acupuncture for the day on Jin Xianrong and leaving behind the dressing, Lu Tong carried her medical chest back to the Medical Officer Institute.
She returned early today, and there were not many people in the Medical Officer Institute. Lin Danqing was also not in her room.
She placed the medical chest on the table and pushed open the window.
The flagstones in the courtyard had been washed clean by last night’s rain. The post-rain freshness of grass mixed with the earthy smell, dissipating some of the tranquility of the Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance.
The wind in April shouldn’t have been cold, but when it blew softly, Lu Tong suddenly shivered and felt a chill.
She sat down by the window.
A locust tree branch outside the window grew lush, reaching in from afar. Lu Tong’s gaze fell on the branch, and she gently caressed it with her fingertips. The slight shaking of the small leaves and branches reminded her of the goosebumps that appeared on the skin when the silver needle touched the warm blood vessels, as if she could touch the gushing blood underneath, with just a light prick, blood would spray everywhere.
A pity she was interrupted.
She withdrew her hand, her expression showing a hint of regret.
She had mixed Red Fragrant Silk into the Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance, making Qi Yutai unable to distinguish between dreams and reality, and while giving Jin Xianrong the acupuncture, she made him fall asleep, leading Jin Xianrong to believe he had never left the medicine hall from the beginning.
The Ministry of Revenue was sparsely staffed, Qi Yutai disliked having others follow him, and Jin Xianrong was even more afraid that someone would find out about his weakness and deficiency. The empty Board of Rites Office made it convenient for her to act.
In his dream, Qi Yutai revealed everything, her silver needle was already positioned at his temple, and at that moment, she truly wanted to kill him.
She was so close to killing him.
It was a pity that Jin Xianrong’s servant had come back with the medicine.
Lu Tong’s eyes fell coldly.
If she had killed Qi Yutai at that moment, she would have died too. Her life was not precious; she had not intended to keep it. However, she cared more about the other two words that came out of Qi Yutai’s mouth.
Taking powder.
"... I just don’t want my father to know I’m taking powder..."
That’s what Qi Yutai had said at that time.
Lu Tong slowly sat down at the desk.
During the former emperor’s reign, there was a trend among the Nobility of the Liang Dynasty to consume Cold Food Powder; later, decrees forbade it, with severe legal consequences, and this decree continues to this day.
If Qi Yutai got rid of the servants to conceal from Qi Qing the fact that he was secretly taking powder, it would also explain why, on the day at Fengle Building, Lu Rou did not encounter Qi Family guards to stop her from running into Qi Yutai.
Lu Rou might have discovered this and wanted to inform Lu Qian, but was murdered by the Ke Family. However, the left-behind written correspondence documenting Qi Yutai taking the powder became the decisive evidence for Lu Qian to sue.