Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 209: Provocative Verbal Intercourse
Yue Ling's mind was in a mess due to the incoherent words spoken by the imperial physician, but when he heard the word "poison", he immediately came to his senses.

Zhao Hao stared at the tea in the cup and said blankly, "Senior, please don't lie to me. Why would the Marquis poison me?"

"If the Marquis wanted me dead, why would he resort to such despicable means? Besides, what could the Marquis want me to die for?"

The imperial physician came to Zhao Hao, carefully examined his face, nodded slightly, and said, "You are quite self-aware. I have also drunk the tea that the Marquis has given me. It is Biluochun from the south of the Yangtze River. It is light and mellow, and leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth. It is naturally not poisonous."

"But your body has been poisoned, and it's a slow poison that's hard to detect. When you died, it was obvious that you died of the disease. Only a meticulous coroner would be able to find any clues if he performed an autopsy."

Yue Ling tried to smooth things over by saying, "This is the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital. Since he said you are ill, it must be true. I would like to trouble the imperial physician to examine him. He is my right-hand man in Cangzhou."

Zhao Hao also let down his guard at this time, and bowed to the imperial physician, "I am blind and do not recognize the great man. I hope you will not blame me for my rudeness."

The imperial physician waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Open your mouth and let me see how thick your tongue is."

After carefully observing the patient and feeling his pulse, the imperial physician asked, "Have you had frequent dizziness and headaches recently?"

Zhao Hao was startled and said, "Yes, I thought it was due to lack of sleep."

The imperial physician shook his head and continued to ask, "Did you feel nauseous or vomit before and after the meal?"

Zhao Hao nodded again.

The imperial physician narrowed his eyes, checked the patient's pulse again, and confirmed: "When you get up, your eyes are not bright. Do you have vision disorder?"

Zhao Hao's eyes widened, and he responded in astonishment: "Senior, the genius doctor."

Yue Ling, who had been watching from above, asked, "Is it serious? Is there any way to treat it?"

The imperial physician returned to Yue Ling's desk, took the pen from Jia Yun, and said slowly, "Since your majesty ascended the throne, the Imperial Hospital has devoted all its efforts to the study of poisons. Whether it is ancient prescriptions or imported poisonous herbs, they are all recorded in detail."

"The poison in this young man is called Datura poison. It is common in Annan, Chenla, Siam, India and other places. The flowers are beautiful and fragrant, but the whole plant is poisonous and the seeds are extremely poisonous."

"If you are exposed to a small amount every day, your heart and lungs will become weaker and weaker. From his description, it is likely that someone put it in his food."

As he spoke, the imperial physician wrote down another prescription, saying, "If someone else came to treat you, they would probably treat it as liver and kidney deficiency and wind evil invasion. Prescribing medicine like this would only make the condition worse. I have prepared a good prescription. You can recover after taking it for half a month."

Zhao Hao quickly took over and said, "Thank you for saving my life, senior."

The imperial physician shook his head and said, "It was just a simple matter. If you want to thank someone, you should thank the Marquis. I will take my leave now."

Yue Ling stood up and said goodbye, "Goodbye."

After sending the imperial physician to the inner house, Yue Ling returned and saw that Zhao Hao had a dazed look on his face.

Yue Ling patted his shoulder and consoled him: "There is no such thing as an easy life in the adult world. If the benefits are attractive enough, some people will naturally disregard family ties and do whatever it takes."

There was no need for Yue Ling to say anything more, Zhao Hao should know who poisoned him.

Just look at who benefits the most after Zhao Hao's death. Even if there is evidence that Zhao Yuanxing is not around, it can only be that he is disguising too well.

Zhao Hao clenched his hands, veins showing, "Don't worry, sir, I will clean up the mess as soon as possible."

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "No hurry, they poisoned me, which is a bad move. This proves that they are anxious, and they are probably planning something big."

"No matter how he plots, we will just accept it. During this time, you should go to the military camp for food and shelter. Even when you go back, be careful when eating and drinking. Don't give him another chance."

"Revenge will come when the opportunity arises."

Zhao Hao cupped his hands and replied, "Yes, thank you, sir."

……

Holding rouge in his hand, Li Dehui walked aimlessly on the street.

"How did the Huang family do things? In less than a month, Cangzhou has changed drastically. There are no less than ten people watching at the door of the Huang family. In such a passive situation, he really deserves to die to apologize."

Li Dehui wanted to enter the Huang family, but the door was closed and the surrounding area was heavily guarded. There was definitely no chance for him in broad daylight.

Since he couldn't do what he wanted to do, Li Dehui had no choice but to go look for the alley with willows and flowers.

After all, he used this as an excuse to go out, so it would be unreasonable for him not to have some smell on him.

But after a tour of Cangzhou, he found that there were only a few pubs open for business and not a single brothel. He found it a bit strange.

Are the things in the crotches of men in Cangzhou City just decorations?
After complaining in his heart, he had no choice but to find a rouge shop to buy some rouge to disguise himself.

Although he didn't find the brothel, he thought he went to a secret prostitute. He ran into the widow with the door half closed, which was an explanation. Li Dehui acted carelessly and didn't think that it was not just the Huang family who had secret sentries in front of the door. Yue Ling's spies in the mansion were all over the streets and alleys.

By the time Li Dehui returned to the yamen, it was almost dusk.

But he came back just in time. Yue Ling was hosting a banquet in the central hall of the backyard to welcome the two of them.

When he entered the hall, he could see from afar that Hou Yao's face was extremely embarrassed. He had been complaining to Yue Ling, "My Lord, he is a playboy and can't sit still. Every time he goes to a place, he will sleep with women and have some fun. I hope my Lord will forgive him."

Yue Ling waved his hand and said with a smile: "Hey, we are all men and it's no big deal. General Shi, don't you have military prostitutes in your army? Tell me the truth, have you ever used one?"

Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, who was called General Shi by Yue Ling, blushed and said, "No, no, those are all for rewarding the soldiers. How can I steal them?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "How can we reward the soldiers? Didn't the Southern Song Dynasty's minister Han Wu leave a good word? The general doesn't use the northern barbarian woman who was first taken into his account, but gives her to the soldiers first? I don't believe it."

I don't know why Yue Ling always exposes his past after just a few words.

Shi Ding toasted, trying to end the topic.

"Drink, drink. Lord, you can only say this outside. If you see my wife, please give me some face."

Yue Ling smiled and said nothing more.

At the right time, Li Dehui walked into the hall, looking drunk, and bringing a scent of fragrance with him as he walked.

Hou Yao was even more embarrassed, and hurriedly stood up and called Li Dehui, "Come quickly, the Marquis was kind enough to host a banquet, why did you come back at this time?"

Li Dehui sighed and said, "Don't mention it. That little girl is too clingy and won't let me get up from her belly."

Hou Yao patted his head and said, "Wake up! Don't you see where you are?"

Li Dehui stepped aside and saluted Yue Ling, saying, "Greetings, Lord Marquis. I am sorry for offending you. Lord Marquis invited me to a banquet, but I was the last one to come. I don't know what is good for me."

Yue Ling has always been casual about details. "No problem, no problem. Now that you're back, let's have a few more drinks."

Li Dehui sat next to Hou Yao, and Hou Yao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Yue Ling was indeed easy-going.

Then, Yue Ling from above asked with a smile: "Master, have you encountered Japanese pirates on your way north? Last year when I was in the capital, I heard about the Japanese pirates wreaking havoc in the southeast, and even Lord Lin was summoned there?"

Hou Yao did not dare to neglect and quickly responded: "The situation was indeed critical last year. It seems that there was a traitor who tipped off the Japanese pirates, allowing them to find an opportunity to rob the shore. Because it involved salt smugglers, Lord Lin was also involved."

"The Japanese pirates move from place to place every time they rob, and their whereabouts are uncertain, which makes it difficult to figure out. There are also traitors on the shore, which makes it even more difficult to eliminate them."

"But I didn't see any Japanese pirates on my way north. I heard that there were constant disputes within Japan before, so many Japanese pirates went to sea. Now that Japan has unified, the head of the unified family and the Heart Sea Ban have not supported the Japanese pirates who went to sea to plunder as much as before. Therefore, they don't plunder as frequently."

Yue Ling drank as he said, "It's just a three-inch piece of bark. If I were in charge of the southeast, how could I allow them to come ashore and plunder? I will sail and kill all the Japanese slaves hiding on the island."

Hou Yao smiled awkwardly and said, "If the Marquis was in charge, it would be a blessing for the people of Jiangnan. But the Marquis was in charge of the capital at that time, otherwise they would not have been so rampant."

Hou Yao would never doubt Yue Ling's ability. He was a fierce man who had fought off the northern barbarians, and he might be able to eliminate the threat of Japanese pirates.

Yue Ling, in high spirits, continued to talk: "The Japanese are nothing but arrogant. When they talk about the fights between the heads of families, they fight to the death, which is no more than a fight at the entrance of a village. How can they compare to the hundreds of thousands of troops in China?"

"It's just that your southeastern coast has been out of battle for years, and the fortifications have not been repaired. But if I go, I have hundreds of ways to kill them. And there is no need to show mercy to the Japanese. No matter men, women, old or young, just kill them all."

"Prisoners? What the hell, prisoners. They are worthless. Kill them all."

"General Shi, isn't that right?"

Shi Ding was also interested after hearing this, and said proudly: "Just as the Grand Commander said, the Japanese pirates are short in stature, and it would be useless even if we capture them as slaves. It is better to kill them."

"However, I have never met a Japanese woman. If you catch one..."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. If the Japanese pirates rob us, we should also rob them. When the time comes, we will send all the good-looking ones we catch to your house."

Shi Ding waved his hand and said, "No need for that at the mansion. The more the better in the barracks."

The two looked at each other and laughed again.

Hou Yao sighed silently and shook his head, "As expected, although the Marquis is capable, he is a military commander after all, without any achievements. His words are too vulgar, unlike Lord Lin's elegance. If Lord Lin's daughter stays with such a person for a long time, will she learn well?"

When Hou Yao thought of the well-behaved and sensible Lin Daiyu who started swearing after returning to the Lin Mansion, he felt a little worried for Lin Ruhai.

Next to Hou Yao, Li Dehui, who was pretending to be drunk, clenched his fists tightly under the table, and veins gradually bulged...

(End of this chapter)