Xuanyuan Lige said, “Judging by the angle of entry, the force behind it—this is without question a strike from Situ Cheng’s own signature swordsmanship.”
“Situ Cheng!” Yelu Qianqian couldn’t believe her own ears. How could it have been Situ Cheng who wounded Haonan?
“Mm.” Xuanyuan Lige nodded. Too much time had passed—he couldn’t determine the exact timing of the injury from the wound alone; otherwise, they might have been able to learn something of what had truly happened around the time of the tornado.
“Master Situ Cheng—I’ll go ask him right now why he did this! Haonan is his own flesh and blood son! Perhaps Jun Beiyue’s injury is connected to him too! This is too much!” Yelu Qianqian said, righteously furious. Though she’d never truly intended to have Situ Haonan marry into her family, she looked down on in-laws like this from the bottom of her heart, wanted nothing to do with them.
To her surprise, Xuanyuan Lige stopped her, saying seriously, “Princess Qianqian, now is not the time to stir up more trouble.”
Judging by the sword wound alone, it did indeed come from Situ Cheng’s own technique, and looking across all of Situ Castle, only the castle master himself could have wounded Situ Haonan this severely.
But that held true only under ordinary circumstances. If Situ Haonan’s wound had been sustained during the tornado, that was an entirely different matter.
In wind that violent, simply staying on one’s feet without being swept away was no easy feat—there were far, far too many variables in a storm like that!
One misstep, and even the most formidable master could be injured.
After the tornado, only Jun Beiyue, Situ Haonan, and Bai Mengmeng remained. Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan were both gravely wounded, and Bai Mengmeng, from what they’d heard, was severely injured too—but exactly what kind of wounds no one had paid close attention to at the time.
As for Ziqing, all that could currently be confirmed was that she too had been caught in the tornado. Beyond these people, whether there had been anyone else present, and who, no one knew.
“Princess Qianqian, there’s too much uncertainty here. Whatever the truth is, shouldn’t we save Situ Haonan first before discussing it further?” Xuanyuan Lige proposed. Dragging Situ Cheng into this now would be the most foolish move possible.
Though they’d been concealing their activities from everyone, using the search for a water source as their cover story for the digging, the fewer complications the better—after all, Situ Cheng and his wife knew the truth of Han Ziqing’s origins.
Yelu Qianqian nodded repeatedly. “Save Haonan first, save Haonan first!”
Xuanyuan Lige said nothing more, quietly beginning to check Situ Haonan’s pulse. Watching him bow his head, his gaze focused, his expression grave and intent, Yelu Qianqian’s heart couldn’t help but race a little, and she didn’t even dare breathe too loudly, terrified of disturbing him.
She watched Xuanyuan Lige’s pale face intently, hoping to glean something from his expression, but from start to finish he remained nothing but serious. Yelu Qianqian was so anxious yet didn’t dare press him, nearly driven mad with the suspense.
What exactly was going on? Where exactly was the suspicious element?
Just as Yelu Qianqian was about to burst and ask, Xuanyuan Lige suddenly set down Situ Haonan’s hand, his expression changing dramatically.
Yelu Qianqian swallowed back the question she’d been about to ask, startled. She watched Xuanyuan Lige produce a set of silver needles, laying them out in a row along the edge of the bed. Without a word, his hands moved with astonishing speed—after inserting two needles over Situ Haonan’s heart, he moved to locate acupoints along the top of his head.
“Is he poisoned?” Yelu Qianqian couldn’t help but ask.
Xuanyuan Lige only shook his head, and after a long moment, began removing the needles one by one. The needles from over the heart remained exactly as they’d been inserted, and of the five needles at the crown of his head, four showed no change at all—but one had turned entirely black!
Seeing this, Yelu Qianqian immediately blazed with fury. “Bastards! Poisoning him, how dare they!”
“No! Princess Qianqian, this isn’t poison. This set of needles doesn’t test for poison—it tests for medicine,” Xuanyuan Lige corrected.
“What do you mean?” Yelu Qianqian didn’t understand, looking at Situ Haonan lying there unconscious, overwhelmed with self-reproach. These past months she should have been keeping watch by his side day and night, but she hadn’t managed it, not even for a single full day.
“If it were poison, Physician Beiqiu and Sha Qiuzi would have discovered it long ago. This is a medicine—someone has tampered with his daily medication, using it to numb his brain meridian, creating the illusion of brain-meridian death,” Xuanyuan Lige explained seriously, looking at Yelu Qianqian with a complicated expression in his eyes.
Yelu Qianqian gasped heavily, trying to force herself calm, but in the end she couldn’t manage it, spinning around abruptly to leave. “I’m going to find my father!”
Xuanyuan Lige smiled helplessly, watching her impulsiveness—he couldn’t help but think of Ziqing. If it were Ziqing here today, she wouldn’t be acting so rashly, would she.
Xuanyuan Lige stopped Yelu Qianqian again, saying seriously, “Princess Qianqian, you were born and raised in the royal court—you should understand the principle that only a calm head can keep one’s life safe. This matter involves not only the Xijing physicians, but Da Zhou’s Sha Qiuzi and Imperial Physician Gu as well. And Situ Haonan’s position is a sensitive one—this will put your father in a very difficult position.”
The word “difficult” that Xuanyuan Lige used clearly carried more than its surface meaning.
If the Xijing emperor used this matter to punish Sha Qiuzi or Imperial Physician Gu, it would only delay matters on Jun Beiyue’s side.
And if the Xijing emperor used this matter as grounds to depose Situ Haonan, wouldn’t that make things even worse?
Yelu Qianqian was still too young and inexperienced—she only knew her father doted on her, without realizing that the Xijing emperor was not only her father, but also the Emperor of Xijing.
Seeing Yelu Qianqian’s bewildered, confused expression, Xuanyuan Lige didn’t explain further, saying flatly instead, “Princess Qianqian, arrange it—I need to see Physician Beiqiu.”
Hearing this, Yelu Qianqian finally understood Xuanyuan Lige’s deeper intentions, but she didn’t leave right away, instead holding back a sob. “Master Xuanyuan, can you tell me first—Haonan, does he… does he have a chance?”
“Silly girl.” Xuanyuan Lige couldn’t help but smile. “Remove the drug, and he wakes.”
“Really!” Yelu Qianqian could hardly believe her own ears—it was that simple?
“Judging by his pulse, he should have woken long ago. Go quickly, I’m eager to know the truth myself too,” Xuanyuan Lige urged.
Yelu Qianqian cried again, but this time it was tears of joy. She glanced back at Situ Haonan once, and suddenly filled with energy, dashed off like the wind.
Physician Beiqiu was soon brought in. Yelu Qianqian explained everything to him along the way, leaving Beiqiu shaken to his core, unable to believe such a thing could happen.
The moment Physician Beiqiu arrived, Xuanyuan Lige set the needle used to test the medicine before him.
Physician Beiqiu picked up the needle with suspicion, brought it just beneath his nose for a light sniff, and his face changed dramatically at once. “Datura!”
Xuanyuan Lige nodded. It was indeed datura, which had a numbing effect on the brain meridian—which was exactly why Situ Haonan had remained unconscious this whole time. Whoever had been administering the drug must have kept dosing him continuously, meaning to keep him trapped in that numbed state forever.
But once datura accumulated to a certain amount, it would cause irreversible brain damage!
That was the truly terrifying part!
No further explanation was needed—Physician Beiqiu understood at once. Datura’s properties closely resembled some of the medications Situ Haonan had been regularly taking, and combined with his own lack of expertise in matters of the brain meridian, he’d overlooked this detail entirely.
“Who exactly administered the drug!” Physician Beiqiu demanded furiously.