Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

The long bridge leads directly to a huge square pavilion on the opposite bank, and warm yellow lights shine through the stone lanterns on both sides.

The lake was covered with mist, making the wooden bridge seem like being in a fairyland.

Lu Ziqing crossed the wooden bridge. The closer he got to the pavilion, the louder the humming became. There were also lush bamboo groves and rockery on both sides.

The entire pavilion is built on a wide stone platform and sits in the middle of the lake.

If you continue walking towards the wooden bridge in front of the pavilion, you will have to pass the same square pavilion before you can reach the forest on the other side.

He had seen many lavish mansions of wealthy businessmen, but this was the first time he had seen one this big.

He couldn't help but want to add a few more words of grandeur to Wu Ji's words, "The Marquis's Mansion is so huge and beautiful."

Lu Ziqing was lost in the wind, his clothes fluttering in the wind. He stopped at the bridge head and saw Xiao Yan practicing swordsmanship beside the green bamboo.

Xiao Yan usually has a lot of chores to do, and he often comes back after everyone in the mansion has gone to bed. After practicing sword skills, he will stay in the study for half an hour before returning to his bedroom.

A few moments.

Xiao Yan put away his sword and turned around to see Lu Ziqing coming towards him. He walked out from the center of the pavilion.

"You haven't rested yet?"

Lu Ziqing said, "I had just finished my homework and was about to change the medicine for the Marquis when I saw the door was closed. I never expected to walk in here. The Marquis was still practicing swordplay so late at night. Did he forget that he was still injured?"

Xiao Yan raised his other hand and said with a smile, "That's great. Come in and sit for a while."

Lu Ziqing stepped onto the steps and caught a glimpse of a plaque with gold characters on a black background under the eaves of the pavilion above his head. The three characters "Fengxin Pavilion" written in running script caught his eye.

Gauze was hanging around the pavilion, lanterns were hung high, and bonsai flowers and plants were placed in several corners.

Xiao Yan wiped the sweat off his face with a cloth, sat down on the mat, and poured a cup of tea for Lu Ziqing.

"You must be hungry so late. Sit down and eat something."

Lu Ziqing was a little hungry after finishing his homework, so he sat down without hesitation.

There is hot tea, pastries, dried fruits and meat on the mahogany low table.

He took a sip from the teacup and commented, "The tea has a rich aroma, a greenish-yellowish color, and a smooth, sweet aftertaste. It's truly a good tea. Is this Maofeng? Or a special grade one."

Xiao Yan said, "This was given by the Emperor some time ago. If you like it, I'll send some to you later."

Lu Ziqing immediately refused, "This is a reward from the Emperor to the Marquis. How dare I ask for it? Thank you for your kindness."

He also owed Xiao Yan a favor for the incident at the Imperial Hospital during the day, and he also had to provide food, accommodation and transportation here. How could he have the nerve to ask for other people's things?

"Have all the memorials been handed over to the Crown Prince?" Lu Ziqing asked casually.

Xiao Yan took a sip of tea and said "hmm".

"You helped immensely with the Meizhou incident. If you hadn't risked your life to protect those letters, the people there would have died unjustly without anyone knowing. The Crown Prince has asked me to reward you handsomely. If you have any requests, please let me know."

Lu Ziqing said calmly, "It's good enough if I can help, there's no need to talk about rewards."

Xiao Yan looked at him with admiration, "Ziqing is kind-hearted and compassionate. He is not interested in fame or gain, and he cares deeply about the people. He is truly a rare person in this world."

Lu Ziqing said: "As the Marquis said, it's good enough to have a clear conscience."

The two of them smiled in tacit understanding. After a while, Xiao Yan suddenly asked, "So, you didn't go there specially?"

Lu Ziqing didn't react to the inexplicable words, "What?"

"Xianglanyuan."

Lu Ziqing was stunned at first, then smiled and asked him, "My Lord, are you looking at me?"

This time it was Xiao Yan's turn who had no time to react. No one knew what he was thinking. He looked into those clear eyes for a moment and said softly.

"No."

The man opposite smiled but didn't answer. He just said, "Let me change the medicine for you, Lord."

Before I knew it, it was almost four quarters past midnight. The drizzle that had stopped earlier started again. A light breeze mixed with raindrops passed through the pavilion, lifting the thin gauze.

Lu Ziqing looked sideways into the darkness and said, "It's raining, and it's getting late. My Lord, please go back and rest early."

As soon as the two crossed the wooden bridge, they saw someone coming from the darkness on the opposite side. When they got closer, they could see clearly that it was the guard of the mansion.

Seeing that there were outsiders present, he leaned over to whisper something in Xiao Yan's ear. After the guards left, Xiao Yan spoke to Lu Ziqing.

"The prince has summoned me. I need to go to the palace. You should rest early. I'm leaving."

The Crown Prince summoned me? But for...

Lu Ziqing's eyes turned, and he immediately called out to Xiao Yan, "Wait."

Xiao Yan turned around when he heard the voice and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Ziqing said, "If it's about the prince's illness, I can help."

The main hall of the Prince's Mansion was brightly lit, and there was still a pile of broken porcelain on the floor, but there were no palace servants serving, and the Prince was nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Yan and Lu Ziqing were puzzled and walked into the inner bedroom. The light was dim and not as bright as outside. It was also messy. They still did not see the prince.

The two looked at each other and searched the hall for a while before finding the prince squatting behind the bed with his hands tied to the bed rails, a look of pain on his face.

Xiao Yan immediately stepped forward, squatted down, and asked, "Who tied you up?"

Chen Jing held on to the bed rails with all his strength and spoke with difficulty.

"It's... it's me. My... my condition is getting worse and worse. The Imperial Hospital is useless. You should quickly go to the people to find... find a capable person. If you delay any longer, everyone will know that I am dying. You should go quickly."

Xiao Yan lowered his eyes, looked back at Lu Ziqing, and said to Chen Jing: "I brought it to His Highness, let him show it to you."

To be on the safe side, Lu Ziqing examined the patient again. Then, as if he was looking for something, he checked several corners in succession, but found nothing.

"That's impossible." He whispered to himself, "How could there be nothing?"

When he was at a loss, he caught a glimpse of a table lamp lying under the table by the window.

This table lamp is about two and a half feet high. The base and top cover are made of pure gold and are carved with intricate floral and bird patterns. The middle lampshade is made of Ming tiles.

Lu Ziqing picked it up, carefully opened the top cover, and took a closer look. It took him a long time to walk in front of the two of them.

"Prince, this is caused by poisoning."

Chen Jing: “…”

Xiao Yan: “…”

The word "poisoning" made the two of them stunned on the spot. They thought of all the root causes, but never thought of poisoning.

Xiao Yan was puzzled and asked, "The prince's diet is carefully checked every day, and no signs of poisoning have been found. How can you say this?"

Lu Ziqing said, "Your Highness was not poisoned by ordinary drugs, so of course it cannot be detected."

"You mean, someone poisoned my bedroom?" Chen Jing squatted on the ground and said with some difficulty, "What poison?"

"Mercury!" said Lu Ziqing.

"Mercury is colorless and odorless, and it can erode a person's spirit, will, and internal organs, causing abdominal pain, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and even tooth loss."

"At first, the condition is mild, manifesting as insomnia, frequent dreams, swollen gums, and loss of appetite, along with subtle finger tremors. As the condition worsens, the mental symptoms and tremors become more pronounced, and the appearance can resemble depression and heatstroke."

"That's not the case. Judging from your Highness's pulse diagnosis, the initial symptoms are consistent with my suspicions. Therefore, the wrong medicine is naturally ineffective, which is why the condition has worsened to this day."

"You said you had abdominal pain, vomiting, and tooth loss?" Xiao Yan glanced at Chen Jing, "But Your Highness doesn't have any of these symptoms."

Lu Ziqing explained, "This is an acute symptom of oral ingestion. Your Highness didn't take any medicine, so he doesn't have this symptom."

"That's..." Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, "Inhaled into the lungs? How can it be inhaled without a fire pot?"

Lu Ziqing did not answer immediately, but put the desk lamp in his hand on the table.

"that's it."

Chen Jing slowly stood up and stared at the table lamps. "These are the table lamps that Goryeo sent as tribute a few years ago. There are five of them in total. Could it be that there is poison in these lamps?"

"The lamp is not poisonous, it is the red candle inside that is poisonous. Your Highness, please look, Lord Marquis." Lu Ziqing took off the lampshade.

"As the red candle burned, the temperature rose, and the candle wax dripped onto the gold base, causing the gold to discolor and become silvery white. However, the outside was not stained by the candle wax, and the gold color remained intact."

"This lamp is lit every night. The prince inhales this poisonous gas every night, so naturally he will suffer from a long-term illness."

Chen Jing leaned against the bed rails, closed his eyes, and steadied himself. "Please prescribe some medicine for me, but don't let anyone else know."

After Lu Ziqing wrote the prescription, he took the eunuch to the imperial pharmacy.

The room was silent for a while.

Chen Jing's arms trembled as he stared at the table lamp from the side, gnashing his teeth as he said, "Those two mother and son really went to great lengths to harm me."