A Jiu's pupils contracted. Was Liu Yuanxian trying to find the cause of the illness so recklessly?
"Didn't they say he died of exhaustion?" A Jiu suddenly felt something was not right.
"Then I don't know. Anyway, within a month, old Master Liu Yuanxian suddenly died."
"Oh!" A Jiu nodded suspiciously.
She felt something was off. As a physician, how could one dare to personally test an illness one was not confident in curing?
"Miss Meng, please rest. I'll go back to the post house and find you a better set of bedding."
Saying this, Zhang Dadan lit his own oil lamp and went out with the lantern.
When he returned, A Jiu was no longer at home.
She went to the Yi Zhuang (charity house) overnight. Her current appearance was much improved from before. There were very few sick people gathered under the straw sheds, and they were all huddled in one shed.
A Jiu, escorted by guards, made her way there.
A horse lantern hung under the shed, and a middle-aged man was squatting and busy.
"Hey, Meng Nu Yi (physician Meng) has arrived, why aren't you paying your respects?"
The guard was clearly not polite to the middle-aged man.
"It's alright, I'll come in and talk." A Jiu entered the shed, and the man slowly looked up.
"Miss Meng, you're looking for us."
As he spoke, two guards turned to leave, spitting as they went, "This young master Liu claims to have inherited his father's true teachings, but I think he's not even half as skilled as Miss Meng."
The words floated in the wind, causing the air between their gazes to thicken with awkwardness.
Liu Chenglin said nothing and returned his gaze to attending to his patient.
A Jiu was also incredibly embarrassed. She knew her own abilities well; it was just a coincidence that she had found a way: https:/
"Brother Liu, you must know who I am by now."
A Jiu looked at his haggard face, covered in stubble, yet he continued to treat patients as if the world consisted of only him and the patients before him.
A Jiu directly voiced her question:
"There's something I don't understand. You came to the Yi Zhuang with Master Liu. I want to know how Master Liu really died?"
As expected, Liu Chenglin stopped what he was doing, capped the porcelain bottle of snake venom, and then looked up at A Jiu.
"He died of exhaustion. Why are you asking this?"
"But I don't think he died of exhaustion." A Jiu's intuition became sharp at that moment. On her recent trip to Nanming City, she had been taken in by her sister-in-law and knew that she had never been able to let go of her father's death. Therefore, she wanted to find out the truth.
Liu Chenglin's pupils contracted subtly, but he quickly regained his composure.
"How do you know?"
He knew this little girl from the guards. She was the highly skilled physician Meng Jiuer, and also a sister-in-law of his younger sister. But how could she know the inside story?
Even Cai'er didn't know about this; it had always been kept a secret.
"I heard from Zhang Dadan that Master Liu tasted the poisoned meat himself,"
A Jiu asked tentatively.
Liu Chenglin lowered his head, stood up, and moved to another patient. He took his pulse, and his tired expression deepened. "Another one has died."
A Jiu was persistent and squatted opposite him.
"To be honest, I don't believe Master Liu would have tasted the poisoned meat himself."
As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Chenglin, who was about to get up and call for people to carry away the deceased, froze on the spot.
"Your disbelief shows your exceptional intelligence and keen observation."
After speaking, Liu Chenglin called out, and two people came to carry away the deceased.
A Jiu took out her water pouch from her chest. "You can use this. Perhaps the effect will be immediate."
Liu Chenglin clutched the water pouch, his eyes fixed on A Jiu. He knew this girl definitely had a secret remedy, otherwise, with his identical methods, the recovery time for patients was significantly prolonged.
If it weren't for the delay, the time saved in saving one person would be equivalent to the lives of two.
Liu Chenglin withdrew his gaze and quickly used it. "You're right. My father didn't do it voluntarily. The situation was too urgent. Suddenly, over two thousand people developed this illness, but the order from above was to cure them all within three months.
When the three-month deadline arrived, my father discovered the source of the illness and researched how it was transmitted, but before he could develop a cure, he was forced to eat the meat. If the Liu family couldn't cure their own illness, then living would be pointless."
A Jiu gasped. Wasn't this murder?
"Who did 'above' refer to? The Yi Pin Tang, or..."
"They said it was an imperial decree from the King of Nanming, and Eunuch Zhou delivered the order."