Chapter 45 (1/2)
Chapter 45 Rising Wind: Ailao
The entrance to the tunnels running underneath the streets of Chang’an is located on a small street between the yamen and the Imperial Prison. Troops of soldiers occasionally patrol the area, but it was never deemed as something in need of being guarded. Following behind Cong, Feng Luodi and Situ reached the entrance to the tunnels and was just about to go down when they heard calls from behind them.
“Your Grace, please wait for us!” Feng Luodi turned around and saw a few men dressed in the scrubs of the royal physician’s running towards them, led by Physician Zhou, whom she had met before.
As the physicians approached them, Feng Luodi saw that they each held a few masks in their hands. However, it was a little different from the masks she had seen before.
“Your Grace, please put this on before going down. The poison in the area beneath the statue would be unimaginable, I’ll have to go down with you guys to come up with a suitable antidote.” Physician Zhou handed out the masks to Situ. “Put these on, they can purify the air you breathe in.”
“Okay.” Situ pa.s.sed the masks to Feng Luodi and Cong, carefully putting it on his face.
“Physician Zhou.” Feng Luodi curtsied towards the physician, and glanced at Situ. I had forgotten to thank him for what happened the other time! But it seems that there is no need for such courtesy between the two of us.
“Miss Feng.” Physician Zhou smiled at her.
“Now that everyone has arrived, let’s head on in.” Situ said to the attendant.
Following his lead, the group of them headed into the dark tunnels. Cong was evidently familiar with the tunnels, as he led them through the endless maze of dingy corridors and corners that all looked alike. Finally, he paused in front of a door, and turned to face the rest.
“The room containing the base of the statue is behind this door, and the materials used for the regular maintenance of the statue is kept inside as well.” He took the key from Situ, and unlocked the door.
A puff of pink cloud came rus.h.i.+ng towards their faces as soon as the door was open, and Feng Luodi’s eyes widened in fear. Thank G.o.d we had met up with the physicians before we came down! Imagine the amount of poison we would've inhaled if it weren't for these gas masks!
The few physicians stopped Situ from going in immediately, and instead went in ahead themselves. Before long, they quickly backed out of the room and signalled for the entire group to retreat out of the tunnels. The attendant looked at Situ for his approval, and Situ nodded without hesitation. He had known the physicians personally, and trusted their judgement. Cong locked the door, and led the way to the surface again, the rest filing out behind him. When they finally reached the air, all of them ripped out their masks and breathed in the fresh afternoon air.
Physician Zhou spoke up urgently. “Sir, the situation inside is very bad. The various poisonous parts of oleander had had their toxins extracted and left in the room, creating the extremely poisonous cloud that we saw in the room. There were holes bored at the base of the statue, and they were all filled to the brim with oleander juices.”
Physician took in a deep breath, and continued. “The juice in the holes have long since diffused into the entire statue, and evaporated into the air when the sun shone onto the statue in the day. These poisonous toxins were spread through Chang’an with the seasonal winds, afflicting many of the citizens. However, using this method caused the poison in the air to be greatly thinned out, and that was why the traces of poison we found in the patients’ systems were inconclusive. Luckily, the poison had also dissolved into the rainwater that ran down the statue during the light drizzle just now, where it immediately turned the water red.”
Another physician chimed in. “Your Grace, please catch the people responsible for this as soon as possible! This is nefarious!”
Physician Zhou added. “Yes. The only way to stop the poison from spreading throughout the city would be to destroy the city, and to cleanse the entire area around the North Plaza.”
Situ’s face was grim. “The statue represents the roots of our kingdom, and it will be ominous if we destroy it, regardless of the reason. It’s not the citizens of Chang’an that I’m worried about, but the people from the other provinces. When stories spread, the truth is often twisted, and the rumours become exaggerated.”
“What should we do, then?” Worry was obvious on the faces of the few physicians.
“That’s something that the Administrator and I should be worrying about, not you. All you have to do now is to focus on treating those in the city already poisoned by the oleander toxins, and to come out with a plan to destroy the source of the poison.”
“Of course, sir. We will see to it immediately.” The physicians excused themselves, and left hurriedly to find an antidote for the poison.
Situ called the attendant over. “Tell the Chief Minister to send all information he has on the two aides to my household. Do not bring them in immediately, I have other use for them.”
The attendant nodded, and quickly left to report to the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, Feng Luodi looked on as Situ gave out clear and concise commands to the physicians and the attendant, her eyes starry and full of admiration. When Situ turned to look at her, she quickly looked away, and pretended to be interested in the scenery.
“Let me send you back. Come to the Jiang household if you wish to know how the case develops over the next few days; I’ll be there.” Situ suggested.
Feng Luodi poked fun at him. “Aren't you going to order me around as the Duke of Anping, or do I get a pa.s.s?”
Situ smiled. “Do you want me to do that?”
“Nope.” Feng Luodi shook her head, and grinned. “Then we wouldn’t be equal anymore.”
The two of them looked at each other, and laughed out loud. The journey back to the Feng household was now one filled with laughter and smiles.
As soon as Feng Luodi entered the household, Situ snapped his fingers. Seemingly out of nowhere, three of the Covert Guard1 appeared behind him.
“General.”
“Were you listening to our earlier conversation?”
“Yes, General.”
“Good. I want you to investigate the background of the two aides as well. Keep a close watch over them, and report to me immediately if you see anything suspicious.”
“Yes, General.”
It was a few days later when Feng Luodi visited the Jiang household. As she entered Jiang Moyin’s courtyard, she saw two men reading the bamboo slats in front of them intently. One was dressed in a casual white robe, misty clouds embroidered along the front of the robe. He sat by the stone table, a concentrated expression on his face as he read the scriptures carefully. The other was dressed in clothes black as night, golden embroidered drakes crawling across his robe. He leaned casually against a stone pillar by the corridor, a bamboo slat open in his hands. Rays of the morning sun filtered through the buildings and bathed them in a warm light. I’ve never seen Situ reading before; he looks so quiet and serious when he reads.
Feng Luodi placed the lunchbox in her hands on the stone table, drawing the attention of the two men. Situ put down his bamboo slat, and walked over to the stone table, casually opening the lunchbox, revealing snacks and wine from Autumnal Ombre.
Jiang Moyin smiled, and looked up at Feng Luodi. “Since when did you pick up the habit of constantly feeding others with food? Is it because you're fed up with being fed by Miss Qi?”
Feng Luodi sat down and poured two cups of Autumnal Ombre. “Hey, don’t say that! I enjoy being fed by her! My resentment is at the fact that she has started feeding others instead of me.” She looked pointedly at Jiang Moyin.