Chapter 699: Chapter 236 Notes_3
"Creak—" The door opened.
Lin Danqing walked into her quarters.
The quarters where Lu Tong and she used to live now had only her.
She entered the room, intending to take the new medical case ideas she thought of yesterday to discuss with Ji Xun and Chang Jin. A glance caught sight of Lu Tong’s medical box resting on the table inside the room.
After descending the mountain, Lu Tong had been unconscious, and the medical box was left in the room for safekeeping. Lin Danqing looked at it, suddenly moved, and approached the table.
A doctor’s medical box, much like scholars’ examination baskets and soldiers’ weapons, is precious and private. Hanlin Medical Officers from the Hanlin Medical Institute always took great care of their medical boxes. Lin Danqing hesitated for a moment, then reached out and picked up Lu Tong’s medical box.
Lu Tong had been a self-experimenting Medicine Man for many years. Though unspoken, as a Healer, she must have been aware of her own body’s conditions. It was possible that the medical box contained medicine she regularly used, and although the probability was small, given the urgent situation, she couldn’t worry about other things.
Lin Danqing opened the medical box.
This medical box was quite old; even the straps showed signs of excessive wear and had been patched over layers. It even seemed to have been dropped a few times, slightly deformed, not quite square. As the lid lifted, inside there were only a few simple items.
Mulberry bark thread, antiseptic medicine, charcoal pencils, and a few medical books.
Lin Danqing picked up the medical books, all related to epidemic treatment, likely brought from Shengjing by Lu Tong before heading to Su Nan.
Lin Danqing examined further and noticed another document beneath the medical books. The document had no title, likely written by herself. After thinking, she sat down at the table, opened the document, and as her eyes cleared upon the words, she was taken aback.
"’Sheng Qian Shang’: Angelica dahurica, Notopterygium, Pinus tabuliformis, Cloves, Styrax..."
"Burn this incense, its fragrance enters the nostrils, the body stiffens, and the mouth becomes numb; one cannot move, yet the mind remains clear, as if in a drunken stupor, surpassing the inebriation of a thousand strong drinks, senseless with intoxication."
Is this...
A prescription?
Lin Danqing wondered.
She had never heard of this ’Sheng Qian Shang’ recipe, whose ingredients and effects were exceptionally clear, appearing more like a new formula researched by Lu Tong.
She pondered for a moment, then continued to turn the pages.
The second page was another prescription.
"’Free as the Oriole’: Conioselinum univittatum, Polygonum cuspidatum, Spartina, Cuscuta, Java Brucea..."
"The scattered powder is tasteless, a tiny amount inhaled causes unbearable itching and pain in the throat, as if stung by thousands of ants. After four hours, the poison abates on its own, posing no threat to life."
Lin Danqing’s grip on the document tightened, her gaze growing stern.
"’Cold Silkworm Rain’: Phoenix flower, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Dodder seed, Morning glory, Vitis..."
"The red substance has a sour taste; within seven days of ingestion, the cold poison penetrates the bones, one must avoid water. After half a month, the remaining poison gradually subsides..."
"Childhood Worries..."
"Crossing Ant Formation..."
Lin Danqing flipped through the pages, deeply shaken.
This half-filled document was crammed with unheard prescriptions!
No, not prescriptions, they should be called poison formulas.
None of the recipes were for saving people; on the contrary, all contained potent toxins but were not lethal immediately. Reading the recorded reactions after taking the poisons, their meticulousness and changes, not even the medical cases in the Hanlin Medical Institute’s library could match.
It was almost as if the poisoned person recorded it themselves!
Lin Danqing’s mind exploded with a buzz.
For an instant, she suddenly remembered a summer afternoon at the Medical Officer Institute. She and Lu Tong sat brewing herbal medicine in the pharmaceutical room.
The sunshine was warm, shining through the grove onto them. At that time, the poison from Auntie’s "Eye Shooter" was gradually dissipating. She leaned lazily against the wall, looking at the person in front of her, half gratefully and half enviously complaining: "Younger Sister Lu, you are a genius, how can you have so many formulas?"
Lu Tong sat in front of the medicine stove, fanning the fire below, and smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Just try a few more times."
Just try a few more times. That’s it.
No wonder Lu Tong had so many endlessly emerging formulas. No wonder her medical experience surpassed that of any student in the Imperial Medical Bureau who studied for many years.
It was because those unexpectedly effective formulas she had personally tested each one herself.
Sheng Qian Shang, Free as the Oriole, Cold Silkworm Rain, Crossing Ant Formation...
She had personally endured each pain, and afterward, she casually recorded the sources of her suffering in the document, never to mention them to others again.
Only half of the document was written; perhaps she experienced even more.
Lin Danqing covered her mouth, and her eyes suddenly reddened.
A sheet of paper fluttered out from the document case, she bent over to pick it up, her gaze sweeping over it.
Once she saw it clearly, her gaze fiercely froze.
The next moment, Lin Danqing abruptly rose to her feet, took the document case along with the paper she had found within, and hurried out the door.
She pushed the door open and ran out, heading straight to the room next door.
Inside the room, Ji Xun was picking herbs into a medicine pot, while Pei Yunmeng sat by the bedside. These past few days he had been constantly at Lu Tong’s bedside, and not even Duan Xiaoyan’s several persuasions could make him leave.
Upon hearing the noise, both looked up.
Lin Danqing walked into the room.
Lu Tong still lay on the bed, her eyes closed and unconscious, looking exceedingly frail, like a small animal in the caves of Su Nan City, unable to withstand the harsh winter.
"I know what poisons Lu Tong has encountered," she said.
Ji Xun and Pei Yunmeng simultaneously turned to her.
Lin Danqing handed the document case to Ji Xun. "I found this in Younger Sister Lu’s medical chest. The poison formulas recorded here are ones she has tested on herself in the past. Doctor Ji, with this, we at least know the medical cases Lu Tong has dealt with previously, giving us some leads, so we’re not completely without purpose."
Ji Xun took the document case and flipped through a few pages, his usually calm expression suddenly turned pale.
Lin Danqing then handed the paper to Pei Yunmeng.
"Younger Sister Lu’s illness has been going on for a long time, and it is not the first occurrence in Su Nan. It’s just that no one knew. The time I saw her nosebleed, it was an onset of the poison, but she brushed it off, and it went unnoticed."
Pei Yunmeng took the paper.
The paper was very thin, only a single sheet. The writing on it was messy and simple.
"The tenth day of the second month, stomach ache and vomiting, sweating and heart palpitations, weak legs and unable to walk, symptoms relieved after half an hour."
"The ninth day of the sixth month, limbs cold and adverse to chill, hidden pain, chest stuffiness, symptoms relieved after an hour."
"The seventeenth of the ninth month, dizziness and overnight unconsciousness."
"The twenty-fourth of the eleventh month..."
"..."
"The third day of the twelfth month, vomiting blood."
His hand holding the paper clenched tightly, and in an instant, all color drained from Pei Yunmeng’s face.
Each entry recorded an episode of illness.
Whose suffering, whose pain, was clearly and unmistakably documented.
The intervals between her episodes of illness were getting shorter, and the duration of pain longer, from half an hour at the start to an entire night later. At first, it was sweating and heart palpitations, but by the most recent episode, it had progressed to vomiting blood.
Pei Yunmeng’s gaze fell on the thin sheet of paper, his hands that once held a knife, unflinching in the face of danger, now trembled slightly as if they couldn’t quite grasp this flimsy sheet.
At the top of the paper was written a line.
"The twelfth of August in the forty-second year of Yongchang, chest congestion, heart pain like twisting, all night."
The forty-second year of Yongchang, the twelfth of August...
He suddenly remembered.
That was the day he received the report from the Military Inspection House, accusing Benevolent Heart Medical Hall of murder and burying the body.
He knew of her disguises and tricks, and was curious to see how she would turn the tables this time. So, he brought his token and arrived uninvited, eagerly watching her calmness and counterattack, surprised by her audacity, admiring her cunning. She confronted him beneath the fragrant osmanthus tree with a mocking smile, turning the tables in a fine and fascinating game.
At that time, he thought, what a formidable woman.
Yet he did not know, after he left, she suffered in pain all alone throughout the night.
He knew nothing.
It was as if a hand had suddenly seized his heart, and in a moment, he felt as she did, as if across the expanse of time, he was looking into the eyes of the woman curled up alone in the room.
The pain went deep into his bones, piercing his heart.
Seeing his changed expression, Lin Danqing said in a low voice, "Marshal..."
Pei Yunmeng lowered his eyes, his knuckles gradually turning white.
After a long time, he spoke.
"I deserve to die."