“I…” Zhu Yan wanted to defend herself, but before she could speak, Shen Du cut her off, “No discussion. Go quickly.”
“…” Zhu Yan was utterly speechless. What an attitude.
Unable to argue and forbidden to disobey his order, she could only pout and glare fiercely at Shen Du. “Fine, I’ll go. But even if I poison it, you’ll have to eat it!”
As Zhu Yan stormed off angrily, Shen Du’s stern expression softened. He knew she was eager to solve the case, but she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in a long time. He took this opportunity to let her rest, even if she couldn’t appreciate his intentions.
After about half an incense stick’s time, Zhu Yan brought a bowl of chicken noodle soup to the study. Her cheeks were puffed out, and her attitude was poor. She slammed the bowl on the table with a dull thud. “There’s arsenic in here. If you’re not afraid of death, go ahead and eat it.”
Looking at the steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup, Shen Du’s lips curled into a meaningful smile. Arsenic? Even if this woman had a hundred times more courage, she wouldn’t dare put arsenic in the bowl.
Shen Du sat at the table and began eating the noodles. The taste was familiar, and he felt a sense of belonging.
Zhu Yan was astonished, her facial muscles twitching. This man truly wasn’t afraid of death. She had told him there was arsenic inside, yet he still ate it.
“You aren’t afraid of dying?” Zhu Yan hurriedly sat across from Shen Du, looking at him with surprise.
Shen Du took a bite of noodles and gazed at Zhu Yan with deep meaning in his eyes. “You put arsenic in, right? Well… if I’m to die, you’ll have to accompany me.”
With that, Shen Du suddenly raised his hand and pressed a point on Zhu Yan’s neck. Her mouth fell open, her expression frozen.
Shen Du’s smile deepened. He picked up the bowl and brought it to Zhu Yan, feeding her the noodles.
Zhu Yan’s face was filled with panic. She swallowed the noodles with a tearful, despairing expression and closed her eyes in resignation.
There was indeed no arsenic in the bowl of noodles, but there was a special ingredient.
It was truly a lose-lose situation. She hadn’t expected Shen Du to suddenly pull such a move. She only hoped the effects of the ingredient wouldn’t come too quickly.
After finishing the noodles, Shen Du released Zhu Yan’s acupoint and stood up. “Let’s go see what discoveries Physician Chen has made.”
Zhu Yan was utterly despondent, following behind Shen Du like a walking corpse as they left the Shen residence.
Arriving at Chen Wen’s quarters, they found he had just finished identifying the powder.
“This is a flammable powder, generally used in Taoist cultivation. It’s harmless, but since the Empress believes in Buddhism, which doesn’t use such things, this powder isn’t openly used. Where did you get this?”
“From the ruins of Jinxiu Fang. Master, I have something else to ask you. You made great contributions to solving the Jinxiu Fang case years ago. Why didn’t you use that to seek a promotion?”
“There’s no need for so many ‘whys.’ Each person has their aspirations. I only seek peace and stability. Promotion or not, it’s all the same to me,” Chen Wen said nonchalantly. “You young people like to strive for success. For someone my age, we live day by day and don’t think about complicated matters.”
Chen Wen’s words greatly impressed Zhu Yan. To live in this world seeking only peace was truly admirable.
As Chen Wen turned to tidy his room, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned back to Zhu Yan and said, “Actually, some things can’t be judged by appearances alone. It’s easy to be misled by surface clues. The truth is often the most unlikely possibility. Go back and think it over carefully.”
Chen Wen had given them their cue to leave. He turned back to organizing his room as if he had nothing more to say about the case.
Although Shen Du found it strange, he had no choice but to leave.
Feeling a slight discomfort in his abdomen, he looked back at Zhu Yan, who was also sweating profusely, as if desperately holding back some emotion.
That bowl of noodles!
A flash of realization hit Shen Du. He looked at the woman before him in astonishment. She had dared to tamper with the noodles.
Zhu Yan was on the verge of tears. She nodded at Shen Du, and they bid farewell to Chen Wen with mutual understanding, hurriedly departing.
By late night, Zhu Yan was exhausted, sprawled on a stone table under a pavilion, barely clinging to life.
“If I had known the laxative was so potent, I wouldn’t have used so much,” Zhu Yan regretted, clutching her stomach tightly, her face as white as paper.
But then she thought it might be a small consolation. If she was in this state, surely Shen Du couldn’t be much better. It was all his fault for making her cook.
Now he would suffer, and hopefully, he’d never trouble her to cook again.
As Zhu Yan was experiencing this painful joy, a shadow loomed over her in the dim candlelight.
“Who’s there?” Zhu Yan quickly turned her head, but the pain in her stomach prevented her from straightening up. She could only look at the newcomer with a pained expression.
“How does it feel to bring trouble upon yourself?” Shen Du asked teasingly. He appeared to be completely fine, which seemed impossible.
Zhu Yan stared at Shen Du in shock, the muscles at the corners of her lips twitching. They had both taken the laxative, so why was he unaffected?
She was in a miserable state, while he was perfectly fine. It defied logic and fairness!
“Didn’t… didn’t you eat the noodles too? Why are you completely fine?”
Shen Du smirked, his lips curling meaningfully. “Did you think your little trick could fool me? You foolish woman. Didn’t you think to prepare an antidote for yourself before administering the drug? Did you not consider you might end up suffering yourself?”
Zhu Yan pouted. Who in the world would drug themselves? She had only eaten that bowl of noodles because Shen Du had forced her to.
However, she had no energy to think about all that now. She had been suffering from diarrhea since returning from the master’s place and was now completely drained. If she didn’t take some medicine soon, she feared she might die young. The reason Shen Du wasn’t affected was clearly because he had an antidote. Surely he must still have some on him.
“Quick, give me the antidote,” Zhu Yan pleaded, looking at Shen Du with a pained expression. “If I have to go a few more times, I’m afraid you’ll truly lose your wife.”
Hearing Zhu Yan’s words, Shen Du chuckled softly. Even at a time like this, this woman still had the spirit to jest.
He took out a bottle of prepared medicine from his robes and placed it on the stone table. “This is the antidote. Its effects are quite miraculous, taking effect immediately after consumption. However, I have no intention of giving it to you now.”
Just as Zhu Yan was about to reach for the antidote, Shen Du took it back. Zhu Yan’s eyes widened. What was he doing? Was he deliberately toying with her?
“I was wrong. Please give me the antidote,” Zhu Yan looked at Shen Du pitifully. “I’ll never do it again.”
“Then you must agree to one condition,” Shen Du looked at Zhu Yan with a profound expression. At this point, Zhu Yan was in unbearable pain and would surely comply with any request.