The One Poisoned by a Strange Poison (v)
Editing: 03.17.2024
Hearing the sound, Xiao Ziheng opened the curtain and walked in. Seeing the tragic scene in front of him, he couldn’t help but frown.
The back room of the drugstore was originally a place for decoction. Unfortunately, the pots on the stove have now been replaced by bruised corpses and most of them were covered with scars. Due to the time and stuffy heat in the room, the whole room was filled with a strong smell of corruption mixed with a strange fragrance.
“Your Majesty, look at that!” Ruan Qing pointed to a box at the end of the room, covered with a black cloth. There was some black liquid dripping from underneath and the aroma seemed to be emanating from it.
Xiao Ziheng nodded slightly and signaled with his eyes for his men to go and check it out. A few guards slowly approached, but before they could get to it, the box suddenly shook, frightening them so much that they immediately drew their swords.
“Hiss——”
As if it felt threatened, the things in the box became more and more restless. Ruan Qing keenly caught some noises and warned: “Don’t touch it with your hands, just use your sword to uncover it.”
The guards did as they were told and uncovered the black cloth from a distance. Suddenly, a squirming black creature appeared in front of them, spitting out a purple tongue, showing its fangs, and making harsh “hissing” sounds.
“Snakes! Your Majesty, there are so many snakes!”
The guards shouted loudly. Xiao Ziheng frowned slightly, turned his eyes to Ruan Qing, and asked: “Why do you say this is where the epidemic started?”
Ruan Qing took out a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his mouth and nose, revealing only a pair of bright eyes as he said with a smile: “Don’t you find it strange, Your Majesty? An epidemic would typically happen after a great war, but this is nothing more than a plague. In mild cases, high fever persists with difficulty in breathing. In severe cases, the disease becomes rapid and death occurs in less than three days. The body will suffer from extensive bleeding, ecchymosis, cyanosis, and finally necrosis. Therefore, after death, the body turns purple-black. But take a look, these patients’ wounds are so severe that they cannot heal and their bodies are purple-green. From my perspective, it looks more like they have been infected by a strange poison than an ordinary epidemic.”
Xiao Ziheng was slightly startled when he heard this. He looked at the box filled with black snakes in the distance and asked: “I have never heard of such a powerful poison in Huizhou, especially one so powerful that it can be transmitted from person to person. If this strange poison has existed for a long time, then wouldn’t my Dayan have long been reduced to hell on earth?”
He looked stern and his hand holding the sword suddenly tightened, “This epidemic in Huizhou is not natural, but man-made.”
Ruan Qing glanced at him approvingly and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As a medical student, he had already noticed that something was wrong and he just had to politely remind Xiao Ziheng so that he wouldn’t get upset again.
But suddenly he remembered what Xiao Ziming had said to him and he felt a little disappointed.
Should he tell Xiao Ziheng about this or not?
Xiao Ziming wasn’t a good person. Since he opened his mouth, he was sure that Ruan Qing would help him. After all, with his mother and sister as hostages, Ruan Qing didn’t dare disobey.
If it were the original owner, he might have become Xiao Ziming’s pawn, but the Ruan Qing right now would not sit still and wait for death.
“Your Second Imperial Majesty, who do you think has the courage to do such a vicious thing in Huizhou?” Ruan Qing held his breath and tried his best to make his tone smooth. He knew that there was a spy following behind him when he left the capital, but he didn’t know where he was hiding at this moment. Wherever he was, he was monitoring his every move in real time. Even if he wanted to remind him, he didn’t dare to be too obvious about it.
Xiao Ziheng nodded thoughtfully, staring at his face but saying nothing. Ruan Qing was extremely anxious, but fortunately, his face was covered with a silk cloth. His expression was not clear, and he didn’t know if Xiao Ziheng could read his eyes.
“Take the box back and have Mr. Ruan study it.”
In the evening, the accompanying guards had already cleaned out the Huizhou governor’s residence. Although he was a small governor, his official residence was exceptionally magnificent, with fresh and elegant pavilions. In particular, the rockery garden in the backyard had a unique poetic charm, which made Ruan Qing repeatedly marvel at it. However, Xiao Ziheng had an indifferent look on his face.
Despite this, Young Master Xiao had a conscience and specifically asked for them to prepare the cleanest room in the west wing for Ruan Qing so that he could concentrate on studying the origin of the things in the box. And since he didn’t have to serve him during his research, Ruan Qing was happy for a while.
Ruan Qing was really tired today. After returning to the room and looking at the box of things with fear, he suddenly remembered the medicine he had promised to the couple during the day. Seeing that the curfew was approaching, he quickly took the medicine and ran out.
As soon as he reached the door, a pair of withered hands suddenly stretched out from the darkness and grabbed his sleeves. It frightened Ruan Qing so much that he almost couldn’t hold down his voice and shouted.
“Qing’er……”
Ruan Qing was stunned for a moment. When he came back to his senses, he saw an old woman and a dying girl sitting in the shadows. The girl had difficulty breathing and a little blood foam flowed from her mouth. There was also a faint purple color between her eyebrows.
“……Mother?” Ruan Qing tentatively shouted, almost feeling awkward. When the old woman heard him call out to her, she was happy and overwhelmed and nodded with tears.
Ruan Qing looked at the old woman, then at the girl, and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart: “Mother, sister, is she……infected with the epidemic?”
“Hush——” The old woman hurriedly stopped him, “Keep your voice down. If the lady in charge hears you, she will throw us out.”
Ruan Qing was a little incredulous, “If you don’t tell others, you won’t be able to take precautions early. What will happen if it affects everyone in the residence? His Second Imperial Majesty is also here.”
If you aren’t reading this on acupofhalfmoon.wordpress.com, then it has been reposted without permission. Please don’t give ad revenue to them and come join us for tea. I promise we don’t bite.
The old woman shook her head violently, her voice hoarse, as if she had been thirsty for a long time: “Qing’er, His First Imperial Majesty said that he knows how to treat the epidemic. As long as you are willing to help him, he will let your sister live.”
Ruan Qing’s hands were tightly bound by her and his knuckles became a little painful from the tight grasp. He wanted to have her let go as soon as possible so he placated: “Mother, I understand, I will help His First Imperial Majesty get things done, don’t worry.”
After bidding farewell to his mother and sister, Ruan Qing’s heart was in a mess. Now he just wanted to give the medicine to the couple and escape from the city, never to serve the two giant bigshots of the Xiao family again.
Due to the epidemic, the people in Liangzhou City left if they could, and those who couldn’t, stayed at home and lived in fear, fearing that they would be the next to be infected with the epidemic. As a result, the bustling north-south trade capital in the past was now desolate and miserable. There were a few hurried pacers but no one else.
The evening breeze carried the unpleasant smell of decaying corpses that blew towards his face. Ruan Qing held his head in discomfort and tightened his body. When he finally saw the city gate, he noticed that the wooden gate seemed to have been corroded by rain. There was also a crack from where it met with the wall, which had expanded into a medium-sized hole. Ruan Qing drew close to the hole and shouted: “Is there anyone there?”
There was a commotion from the other side for a few moments and a delighted voice came at once: “Yes! Sir, we’re here! We have been waiting for a long time.”
Ruan Qing was overjoyed and gave them the medicine through the small hole, instructing carefully: “This is ten days’ worth of medicine. Remember to decoct it and take it every day. Don’t eat any greasy or spicy food and if he doesn’t get better, you can….”
Before he finished speaking, his vision suddenly went dark, and then a pungent sour smell came to his nose, making him burst into tears. He suddenly realized: “Oh no, I’ve been drugged!”
“Sir? What’s wrong with you? Sir?” When the other side heard him stop talking, they asked anxiously. On Ruan Qing’s side, a group of masked men in green clothes and bamboo hats had already dragged him into the alley. Through many twists and turns, they arrived at a granary.
Xiao Ziming was sitting inside drinking tea whilst playing with birds. When he saw the unconscious Ruan Qing, he couldn’t help but frown and scold: “Why couldn’t you guys use less force? This drug isn’t like the ones used in the palace, it is very potent. If not used carefully, the person might never wake up.”
Hearing this, the guards quickly took out the antidote and brought it up Ruan Qing’s nose. Ruan Qing woke up and was shocked to see Xiao Ziming’s smug face.
“Doctor Ruan, long time no see.”
Ruan Qing was stunned for a moment. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice and he asked: “Why…..why is Your First Imperial Majesty here?”
Xiao Ziming snorted, “Can’t this Prince be here? If this Prince didn’t come, a little someone probably would’ve defected.”
Ruan Qing knew that he was talking about secretly reminding Xiao Ziheng in the drugstore today and he couldn’t help but be frightened. How did Xiao Ziming manage to be so well-informed without leaving behind any traces?
As if seeing his doubts, Xiao Ziming smiled and pointed at the group of green-clothed guards next to him with his fan. The latter all had lowered eyes and looked obsequious, with a ferocious green five-legged insect mark on their necks.
“This…..is?” Ruan Qing couldn’t believe his eyes.
Xiao Ziming laughed, as if he was showing off his masterpiece, “These things are called the Green Uniform Guards. They have been sent to this Prince’s palace for training since they were young. Not only do they have eyes and ears everywhere, they are also capable of murder and arson, and they are only loyal to this Prince for the rest of their lives.”
Before he finished speaking, he turned his hungry wolf-like gaze to Ruan Qing: “So, this Prince advises Mr. Ruan not to play any tricks. I will know immediately what you want to do.”
Ruan Qing only felt horrified. He had heard about the ruthless Embroidered Uniform Guard who monitored hundreds of officials in the history books but he had never thought that he would actually see something like this. For a moment, he felt his eyes finally be opened to reality as the terror set in.
Xiao Ziming won’t really take his life, right?!
“Your First Imperial Majesty, this servant has brought you tea.”
Before Ruan Qing could recover from the shock, a hobbling old man walked over. His whole body was covered with horrific purple wounds and a huge pustule bulged out of his thyroid gland. Because the wound couldn’t heal, it was bleeding.
Ruan Qing looked at him steadily. The symptoms of this old man were no different from those people who died of the epidemic outside. The only difference was that the old man had a healthy internal body except for his external injuries. He didn’t suffer from high fever, vomiting, or vomiting blood like those people who were infected from the epidemic, which was really bizarre to the extreme.
Xiao Ziming looked at him with a shocked face and couldn’t help but darken his expression in anger: “Who told you to come? Get out!”
Fwoosh!——The hot tea splattered all over the old man. He screamed in pain and fled with a cry.
Ruan Qing watched coldly and suddenly understood where the old man’s strange symptoms came from.
☽ ⋆ℍalf 𝕄oon 𝕋ranslations⋆ ☾ 
Oh no! (●´⌓`●)
Thank You for the new chapter (๑˙❥˙๑)
LikeLiked by 1 person