Chapter 339: Clever people may be victims of their own cleverness (1/2)

Chapter 339: Clever people may be victims of their own cleverness

It was Imperial Physician Lin who’d guessed poison last night. He was on close terms with the empress dowager and one of her trusted subordinates, as well as a compatriot of Imperial Physician Chen.

“You’re the one who diagnosed me with poison?” the empress dowager asked coldly.

Of course Imperial Physician Lin knew what the empress dowager was thinking. He had mentioned poison so as to target Han Yunxi and get revenge for Imperial Physician Chen. After all, Imperial Physician Chen had remained kneeling at the Duke of Qin’s estate for three days and three nights. And in truth, the empress dowager’s symptoms really did invite suspicions of poison.

Imperial Physician Lin was quite prudent. “Esteemed Empress Dowager, this official isn’t familiar with poisons. It was just a guess.”

The empress dowager grew unhappy upon hearing his response. “Useless thing. What’s the use of me raising people like you?”

Imperial Physician Lin immediately changed his tone. “Esteemed Empress Dowager, as this official sees it, there’s an eighty to ninety percent possibility that your ailment comes from poison. In order to verify the diagnosis, it’ll be better to invite a poisons doctor for a look.”

Naturally, it was the clever and quick-witted types who made their living in the palace. Imperial Physician Lin knew that the empress dowager wanted him to blame Han Yunxi, but he couldn’t make a decisive statement without any proof. Otherwise, he’d end up as the most wretched party. Han Yunxi wasn’t someone easy to provoke, much less so the man behind her.

The empress dowager looked hesitant, so Imperial Physician Lin hastily crept closer and murmured, “Esteemed Empress Dowager, this official knows a poisons doctor with consummate skills. Why don’t we have him come take a look?” He checked her expression and saw that she hadn’t reacted, so he lowered his voice even further. “Esteemed Empress Dowager, you mustn’t startle the snake in the grass!”

Finally, the angry Empress Dowager calmed down. Of course she understood very well what he meant. Han Yunxi had been framed multiple times this year, but she turned her bad luck upside down each and every time. Everyone had firsthand experience of her skills. If she blamed Han Yunxi outright, it would be all too easy for the girl to get out of it. After all, none of the imperial physicians understood poisons like she did. She could only take it slow and gather evidence before striking against Han Yunxi. Then she could send her to her death!

“This is a chance…” the empress dowager muttered to herself.

“Esteemed Empress Dowager is wise and brilliant!” Imperial Physician Lin hailed as he silently sighed in relief.

“Hurry, go find that poisons doctor you mentioned. I want to see him today!” The empress dowager was extremely impatient. If possible, she’d kill Han Yunxi this instant. Of course, she was even more preoccupied by the problem of her insomnia. How was she supposed to sleep with such an itchy scalp? Her previous insomnia simply stemmed from an inability to sleep, but she always managed to knock out by the second half of the night. Sometimes, she’d even sleep a little longer. Now she was plagued by an itchy head every time she lied down. It kept her up until daybreak!

Nightmare, this is simply a nightmare!

Imperial Physician Lin was anxious as well. He quickly left to find the specialist in question. On the afternoon of the very same day, the poisons doctor named Zhu Zhengyang1 –colloquially known as Elder Zhu in the poison circles–arrived. He was a man of some repute.

“Commoner Zhu Zhengyang greets Esteemed Empress Dowager. May Esteemed Empress Dowager live for thousands and thousands of years!” Zhu Zhengyang made the most formal bow upon entering the palace.

The empress dowager quickly bade him rise. “Has Imperial Physician Lin told you of my condition?”

“Yes, yes, Esteemed Empress Dowager’s–”

“Hurry and have a look,” the empress dowager cut him off impatiently.

As the saying went, those who break the ground where Taisui resides2 dare to act recklessly. Zhu Zhengyang didn’t decline the invitation, but strode forward to inspect the empress dowager’s hair and scalp in detail. As the imperial physician mentioned, there was a high possibility that the empress dowager was poisoned. However, Zhu Zhengyang didn’t discover anything after his examination.

“Esteemed Empress Dowager, would you allow this commoner to take your pulse?” Zhu Zhengyang asked respectfully.

The empress dowager immediately offered her wrist, but once again, Zhu Zhengyang found no signs of poisoning. He looked hesitant, and stole a glance at Imperial Physician Lin. The imperial physician didn’t get the hint and asked instead, “Zhu Zhengyang, how is it?”

“Esteemed Empress Dowager, judging from your scalp and pulse, you haven’t been poisoned at all. It’s just…”

“What is it?” the empress dowager asked.

Zhu Zhengyang glanced at Imperial Physician Lin again before he said, “It’s just that we may be able to find something if we take a blood sample.”

The empress dowager was frightened by the words. “Could it be that I’ve been afflicted with a severe poison?”

“No, no!” Zhu Zhengyang hastened to refute. “Esteemed Empress Dowager, some poisons are harder to detect than others. We have to look for them in the blood instead.”

The empress dowager was relieved. “How much blood do you need?”

“A small cup,” Zhu Zhengyang replied truthfully.

The empress dowager had assumed only a few drops taken from a needle to the finger would suffice. The reality left her face pale. Neither Zhu Zhengyang or Imperial Physician Lin dared to speak, and the room fell silent. Actually, anyone proficient in medicine or poisons knew that if one really did find poisons in such a large amount of blood, then the poison had to be a potent one.

Despite her fear, the empress dowager had no other choice. She furrowed her brows and said unhappily, “Then take it!”

Zhu Zhengyang didn’t dare to do the deed himself, so he kept sending Imperial Physician Lin meaningful looks. In the end, the imperial physician had no choice but to step forward with a small knife. “Esteemed Empress Dowager, please hold out your index finger.”