After what was believed to be an attempted assassination on Ruan Wang, the entire manor had quieted down. It was overnight that Ruan Wang manor set down restrictions on everything going in and out of the manor. The servants had stopped going outside, while the only people who were allowed to come and go were those who delivered food and other necessities.
An imperial physician had been invited into Ruan Wang manor to take a look and see if there was a possibility for a cure. After taking a look, imperial physician Hu concluded that the cure was not difficult to make, but there would be a long period of time needed for rest before Ruan Wang would be back in full health.
"Thank you." Xu Fei politely says to imperial physician Hu as he is packing away his instruments.
"No need, it is the imperial physician's job to make sure our masters are in good health." The gray-haired imperial physician says as he takes his medicine box, ready to leave.
"I will see you out." Xu Fei offers. He wanted to use this opportunity to ask a few more questions.
Imperial physician Hu nods, as they are heading out, the imperial physician looks towards Xu Fei, "Is it possible that Ruan Qin Wang knew the assassin who poisoned him?"
Xu Fei thinks back to when Ruan Wang had willingly stepped into that guest house. The lord had ordered all those escorting him to stay outside. Ruan Wang also seemed anxious as he walked into the guest house. Could it be that Ruan Wang knew what would happen and willingly walked into a certain trap?
To not call for help even after being poisoned, there could only be two possibilities. First, the enemy was too powerful that even he could not handle it, and silently wait for his demise. Second, was that he knew the person.
"I don't think so, why do you ask." Xu Fei decides not to answer truthfully, prying a little deeper to see what imperial physician Hu is thinking.
"It was nothing such that the poison was not one that acted quickly." Imperial physician Hu goes on: "In my many years of experience, assassins like to use a fast-acting poison to ensure the death of their target, but this poison has fast symptoms, and there is at least a week before it seeps in to end a person's life. Within my many years of experience, I have never seen an assassin so careless as to allow the victim to buy time to find the antidote like this." Imperial physician Hu says as he silently observes Xu Fei's expression.
After listening to the old imperial physician speak, Xu Fei snaps out of a daze, brought on by the imperial physician's explanation.
Seeing that Ruan Wang's trusted servant was in a daze, he quickly scurried off with a quick goodbye.
The matters of Ruan Wang manor was kept low, the matter of poisonings had perhaps only made it to the emperor who was still ill and did not pay much attention.
On a certain day, in court, there was news. Grand tutor Yan Kun had requested leave from the imperial court on account of personal matters. The emperor, knowing of the recent tragedies that had befallen the grand tutor's family allowed him a year off from any courtly affairs, giving him time for his family to grieve.
The Yan Family manor had already put up the white silk and worn clothes of hemp for the young master Yan who had perished so humiliatingly in a dark alley by the red light district.
The funeral precessions had gone on as planned, and there were only close friends and faction members of the grand tutor that attended to pay their respects. Though the only outlier being Gao Zizheng, the second son of the prime minister who had suddenly arrived to pay his respects.
Though Yan Kun was slightly suspicious in his heart, he still followed the proper etiquette and allowed those who wished to pay their respects to enter.
Upon entering, the entire mourning hall had the distinctive scent of sandalwood and burning paper, to cover up the stench. Sticks of incense were lit and placed in large incense pots. There were much incense pots that ware placed throughout the mourning hall, thus that upon entering, one would be clouded in thick heavy smoke that was like the entrance of the underworld. At the front of the room, there was an altar that had the name of the young master, along with threads of white silk knitted into bows. The casket was behind the alter, one made of fine sandalwood and carved with valiant patterns of horses.
There was a young woman cloaked in hemp with a white veil covering her head, kneeling by the corner. Her eyes were dry but red. She was making loud wailing sounds. No one would have expected that Young master Yan would already have a wife. Most would assume that he was unmarried and was enjoying his youthful years out in the red light district before he would be forced to marry and settle down.
But if this was the case, then why did no one know of this young woman before? Their marriage ceremony had not been heard of. Within the memories of the close family friends, there was not a time in the past few years that they remembered an invitation to such an event.
It was unfortunate, as she would be expected to mourn for him for three years.
"Do not hold onto grief." Gao Zizheng said to the woman, whose head was bowed.
The young woman quieted down, but the sounds of wailing did not stop. As she had not been the only one doing the ghost wailing ritual. Her face was bare, and she did not have the appearance of the wife of a prominent family.
Yet, it was some unknown reason that he felt unnerved by the sounds of the wailing ritual that surrounded them, along with the young lady whose mouth had not moved to speak to him.
"Thank you, minister Gao." The woman said with a bow, after the wailing ritual, her voice had become hoarse.
After hearing her thanks, Gao Zizheng felt a somewhat smugness when he saw her bow her head once again. That it was within his knowledge that the young woman ended in such a state because of himself.
As Minister Gao left, the woman slowly picked up her head and looked towards the figure that had just left. Eyes brimming with hatred.
A shiver came down from minister Gao's back as he exited the manor that was decked out in white silk.
As he entered the carriage, which was driven by an old housekeeper, he lightly tapped on the wooden windows of his carriage to make sure that someone could hear him.
The housekeeper slowed down the speed of the horses, placing one ear near the carriage, "Yes, master."
"Have them move tonight." A voice whispered from within the walls of the carriage.
"Understood."