228 Madam Qin Was Poisoned
Yu Hui sobbed. “My mother hasn’t been feeling well these days. She keeps feeling weak all over and doesn’t have an appetite. She looked for a few doctors and took medicine. But it was useless. I wanted to come to you today. Who knew she would faint just now.” After saying that, she started crying again.
Seeing Yu Hui’s worried and helpless expression, Li Yu wondered why Lieutenant Yu didn’t go home early when his wife’s health wasn’t good.
“Xiao Xi, Madam Qin has fainted. Hurry up and go to the county school to call Lieutenant Yu back!”
Zhou Jia nodded and drove the carriage out of the city.
Li Qing ran out with the medicine box and handed it to Doctor Wen. They quickly ran into Lieutenant Yu’s house. Auntie Qin was looking anxiously out the door and saw that Mr. Wen and Li Yu had arrived. She said anxiously, “Doctor Wen, please come in. Second Miss, Doctor Wen and Madam Li are here.”
Yu Xin ran out of the house with tears on her face and invited Doctor Wen and Li Yu into the house. Li Yu saw Madam Qin lying on the bed weakly. Her skin, which was originally fair and smooth had become sallow.
After Doctor Wen took her pulse, he leaned over and opened Madam Qin’s eyelids to check. He frowned and took out a porcelain bottle from the medicine box. He poured out a black and glossy pill and said to Auntie Qin, “Bring a bowl of warm water and feed it to your Madam.”
Li Yu saw the anger in Mr. Wen’s eyes and guessed that Madam Qin was probably not afflicted by an ordinary illness.
After Auntie Qin fed Madam Qin the medicine, Doctor Wen said to her, “When your Madam first fell ill, did she feel that her internal organs were hot and she couldn’t sit still? A few days after her that, did she feel that her back was sore and couldn’t stand up?”
When Auntie Qin heard Doctor Wen talk about Madam Qin’s symptoms, she thought to herself that the doctors they hired previously couldn’t explain the reason. They even said that it was inevitable for Madam to have flashes of heat at her age. They said she would recover after taking some medicine. When Doctor Wen talked about the cause of the illness, it was as if he had seen it with his own eyes. He was a divine doctor!
Auntie Qin immediately believed in Mr. Wen’s medical skills. “Yes, yes, it’s just as you said. Doctor Wen, what illness does my Madam have?”
Yu Hui and Yu Xin stopped crying when they saw Madam Qin’s breathing gradually stabilize after taking the pill. They looked at Mr. Wen and waited for him to answer.
Although Mr. Wen already knew the cause, he still maintained the professional demeanor of a doctor. He said, “I’ll tell you in detail after I confirm it.”
Mr. Wen took out a silver needle and pierced Madam Qin’s finger. He squeezed out a drop of blood and wiped it on his fingertip with his hand. He then rubbed it between his fingers a few times. It was sticky and he placed it near his nose to smell it. There was a fishy smell. The blood drop on the tip of the silver needle had already begun to turn black. Doctor Wen said in a heavy tone, “As I expected, Madam Qin was poisoned.”
“Poisoned? How did she get poisoned?” Yu Hui and her sister collapsed near Madam Qin’s bed in fear and looked at the unconscious Madam Qin. “Mother, who was so heartless as to poison you?”
“Other than that vicious bitch, who else could it be?” Aunt Qin glanced angrily at the west wing, turned around, and knelt at Doctor Wen’s feet. She kowtowed and begged, “Doctor Wen, please save my Madam.”
“We beg you, Doctor Wen.” Yu Hui and her sister also knelt down and begged.
Li Yu said to Mr. Wen, “Sir, what kind of poison is it? Can she be saved?”
“There’s a way to save her. This poison was made from the venom of a strange snake in the Western Region. I met a patient in Qingzhou with the same symptoms last year. At that time, I tried my best, but I only managed to make the patient gasp for breath and not die. The patient’s family spent a lot of effort to find the person who poisoned her. After knowing that it was the Western Region’s strange snake, I concocted an antidote and saved her life!”
As Doctor Wen spoke, he took out a black porcelain bottle from the medicine box and poured out a black and red pill. “Fortunately, the person who poisoned Madam Qin was afraid of arousing suspicion, so that person used small doses. Fortunately, I still have a few antidotes from that time, so Madam Qin’s life can be spared today.”
“Thank you, Doctor Wen, for saving her life!” When Yu Hui and Aunt Qin heard the prognosis, they finally relaxed. After thanking him with a trembling voice, they sat on the ground with pale faces.
Seeing this, Doctor Wen could only hand the pill to Li Yu. “Xiaoyu, give it to her.”
Li Yu fed the antidote to Madam Qin, whose face gradually turned red. After taking her pulse again, Mr. Wen said to Yu Hui and the others, “After she expels the poison, feed her another pill at night and let her finish the antidote. When the poison has cleared, I’ll prescribe a prescription for her.”
Yu Hui nodded. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
When Aunt Qin heard Mr. Wen’s words, she thought to herself that only the food was handled by others. Could it be that the person on the stove has been bribed by that bitch? However, the two ladies consumed the same food as Madam and were fine. It then occurred to her that neither of the ladies liked the tea that Madam drank. Were the tea leaves poisonous or was it the water used to make tea?
Aunt Qin took out a porcelain bottle and said to Mr. Wen, “Doctor Wen, these tea leaves are Madam’s favorite. The rest of the items are used by the two ladies, who are well. Please see if there’s anything wrong with these tea leaves.”
“Okay.” Mr. Wen took the porcelain bottle and twirled some tea leaves. After checking, he said, “There’s nothing wrong with the tea.”
Yu Hui looked at the tea leaves and a thought came to her. “Doctor Wen, could there be a problem with the water used to make the tea?”
“Since the only thing you and your mother consume differently is tea, and there’s nothing wrong with the tea leaves, there’s a possibility that there’s something wrong with the water used to make the tea.”
Li Yu said to them, “Put away Madam. Qin’s tea set and the teapot she uses to boil the water first. When Mrs. Qin wakes up, we’ll check if it’s poisonous.”
Auntie Qin said gratefully, “Thank you for your reminder, Madam.”
County Lieutenant Yu rushed home and rushed to Madam Qin’s bed. He shouted in panic, “Lanniang, what’s wrong? What happened to you?”
Aunt Qin walked up and pushed County Lieutenant Yu away. In her anger, she even changed the way she addressed him. “Master, my lady was poisoned and has already taken the antidote. Why happened to her? Master, how could my lady be poisoned? It must have been done by the bitch in the west wing. She thought that she could make things right by killing my lady. Pui! Does she think that the Qin family has no one back my lady up?”
Yu Hui and Yu Xin also looked indignant. “Father, my mother was poisoned. Please find out who wanted to harm my mother.”
“Don’t make wild guesses without evidence.” County Lieutenant Yu’s originally frightened face had turned into an embarrassed expression. “Poisoned? Who said your mother was poisoned? How could she be poisoned when she was at home?”
Mr. Wen looked at County Lieutenant Yu and said, “Master Yu, your wife was poisoned by the venom of a strange snake in the Western Region. She has taken the antidote. She should wake up in another hour.”
When County Lieutenant Yu heard this, he cried out in surprise, “The venom of a strange snake in the Western Region! My wife has never made enemies with anyone. Who is so heartless as to harm her? Could it be that you saw wrongly?”