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At the beginning when heaven and earth were shaped, the hard and the soft first met and trouble was born, moving amidst dangers, water roils and thunder rumbles...
Chen Ji faintly remembered this seemed to be content from "The Book of Changes," but he didn't know what it meant.
Even without understanding, he felt a deep reverence for Old Yao's Six Divination Skill. Tonight's divination was so ominous that even Old Yao himself would avoid it by a distance of three miles; wouldn't going there be no different than courting death?
He asked doubtfully, "Master, is it because my eight characters are strong enough?"
Old Yao thought for a moment, "Mm."
Chen Ji weakly protested, "But all three of us disciples have the same eight characters!"
Old Yao responded, "If the other two have trouble, who will pay the tuition fee? You can't afford it anyway, so you go. If you don't want to go, just pack up and go home."
After a long moment of contemplation, Chen Ji reluctantly agreed, "Alright, I'll go."
Chunhua led Chen Ji toward the main entrance of the Prince Mansion, coming to a stand under the bright and imposing signboard. They were stopped by guards wielding long spears: "Waist tags!"
She presented the tags, "These are from the Prince Mansion, the Medical Hall has called for someone."
The guards silently withdrew their spears, and the red gates slowly opened with a creaking sound.
The two lowered their heads and hurried through the vast and profound Prince Mansion, flanked by tall red walls and gray tiles of the double-layered Covered Building, under which the eaves were colorfully painted with four-clawed golden dragons clutching Fire Avoidance Pearls.
Chen Ji nervously looked at the solemn black-armored guards, some standing guard, others patrolling, vigilant in all directions.
In a low voice, Chunhua asked, "Did Doctor Yao tell you about the rules of the Prince Mansion?"
Judging that his original self would have had no right to enter the mansion, as this was his first time, he reasoned that was why she was asking, "Master hasn't taught me yet, please enlighten me, Miss Chunhua."
Chunhua instructed, "Near Jing'an Palace and Mingzheng Hall, keep your head down and don't look around. When you see my lady, don't speak carelessly. Answer only what she asks. Whatever you see or hear in the Prince Mansion, never speak of it outside."
"Understood."
As they reached an archway, they were met by a procession of over a dozen women carrying two wooden stretchers covered with white cloth.
These women seemed to be strong servants from the inner part of the Prince Mansion, with broad shoulders and stout waists.
As they passed by each other, one of the stretchers swayed, and a slender, bruised hand slipped out. A woman emotionlessly stuffed the hand back under the cloth as if nothing had happened.
The procession moved on, their destination for the two bodies unknown.
Chen Ji spoke up, "Miss Chunhua, you have to tell me what exactly happened, what was that just now?"
"Our lady had a miscarriage," Chunhua said. "Those two just now were maids who were beaten to death in Late Star Garden."
Chen Ji's heart tightened.
At the moment, the inner quarters of the mansion were brightly lit, with servants coming and going incessantly, everyone busy with something, all with hasty and somber expressions.
Upon arriving outside the Late Star Garden, there were seven or eight maidservants kneeling by the wall, crying and proclaiming their innocence non-stop while over a dozen robust women lashed their backs with rattans: "Speak, who touched Princess Jing's evening meal today? If you don't talk, everyone will be executed!"
Someone cried out, "This servant truly didn't touch it."
A strong woman shouted angrily, "Still not speaking?"
As she spoke, the strong woman dragged a maidservant's head against the wall, killing her on the spot!
Chen Ji slightly turned his head away, considering that if he mishandled the situation tonight, he might end up with the same fate.
However, just as he neared the vicinity of Late Star Garden, he suddenly felt a stream of coldness surging from within the garden, flowing into his body. This stream was so immense in momentum that it was several times stronger than the previous cold flow from Zhou Chengyi!
Wait, where did this cold stream come from? And why?
If the previous incident was the vengeful spirit of Zhou Chengyi clinging to him because he had helped Yun Yang and Jiao Tu capture spies from the Jing Dynasty, then why would this time's death at Late Star Garden, which had nothing whatsoever to do with him, result in a cold flow into his body?
Chen Ji pondered urgently. There had to be a hidden commonality to this cold flow, and he needed to discover it to understand what it truly was.
Whose cold flow was this? This question was crucial.
Before he could think it through, Chunhua turned back and urged, "What are you dazing for, hurry up."
Chen Ji quickly followed, and within the spacious Late Star Garden, with its rockeries and water features, the main building was a two-story Covered Building, outside of which climbing roses were planted, their green vines meticulously trimmed and climbing the walls with special grace.
The finesse and tranquility within the garden stood in stark contrast to the inferno outside, making even the rose vines appear exceptionally eerie.
At that moment, from inside the Covered Building came the shrill sounds of a woman's harangue, "Earlier, my lady felt something was off about that bowl of bird's nest soup. Only four hours after drinking it, she miscarried. It must be someone's doing, poisoning my lady! When the Prince returns and finds his offspring gone, he will surely kill!"
As the voice faded, Chunhua called out anxiously from downstairs, "Lady, the person from the Medical Hall has arrived."
"Come up quickly," a gentle woman's voice echoed, "Let him check on Princess Consort Jing immediately to see if she's been poisoned."
Thump, thump, thump, thump, Chen Ji followed Chunhua upstairs, climbing the wooden staircase.
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On the second floor of the building, a thin gauze screen hid the bed. A middle-aged woman sat poised on a Taishi Chair outside the screen. She wore a plain silk robe stitched with golden thread, and her hair was adorned with a feather hairpin. She looked toward the screen with a tender voice and concerned expression, "Princess Consort Jing, my dear sister, don't worry. There will be plenty of time in the future to conceive again."
From behind the screen, Princess Consort Jing's voice was weak, "Thank you for your concern, Consort Yun."
In a corner of the second floor, a black cat was fighting a white cat, fur flying everywhere, but nobody seemed to care—as if letting them fight on purpose.
The black cat was small, and as it was kicked around the head more than a dozen times, it seemed like its soul was about to be kicked out.
However, as Chen Ji stepped onto the stairs, the black cat suddenly freed itself from the white one and stared straight at Chen Ji's sleeve, sniffing the air. It wanted to approach Chen Ji but didn't anticipate the white cat pouncing and wrestling it back into the corner.
Chunhua had brought Chen Ji to the second floor and said in the direction of the screen, "Lady, the people from the Imperial Medical Hall have arrived. Let him examine you."
At this time, a fierce woman turned to Chunhua and angrily asked, "Where is Doctor Yao? Why has a green boy come instead?"
Terrified, Chunhua immediately knelt to the ground, her voice trembled with sobs, "Doctor Yao insisted that tonight is extremely inauspicious and refused to leave his home. Even after using the Prince's name, I could not persuade him to come."
The fierce woman's expression darkened, "The Imperial Physician of the Prince Mansion can't be summoned by the very same mansion? This Doctor Yao surely puts on quite the airs!"
Consort Yun frowned, "I am aware of Doctor Yao's fondness for divining good and bad omens, but not showing up tonight is a bit too much. Once the Prince returns from Jiangnan, I will certainly report this matter to him truthfully. If the Imperial Medical Hall cannot be commanded by the Prince Mansion, then perhaps we have no need for it."
The fierce woman pressed, "What about tonight? Are we just going to leave it at that? What about my Lady's illness?"
Consort Yun looked troubled, "With the Prince currently away, and considering Doctor Yao holds a seventh-rank official position, we ultimately need to wait for the Prince to make a decision."
The fierce woman said gravely, "You aren't hinting at Doctor Yao not to come, are you, Consort Yun?"
Princess Consort Jing hurriedly intervened from behind the screen, "Chunrong, do not be disrespectful to Consort Yun, my sister!"
Consort Yun smiled slightly, "It's alright, Chunrong is just concerned about you, my sister. Since someone from the Imperial Medical Hall is here, let's have him examine Princess Consort Jing."
Princess Consort Jing spoke softly, "Very well."
Fierce Lady Chunrong gave Chen Ji a cold look, "What are you standing around for? Come and examine Princess Consort Jing."
Chen Ji kept his head down, silent.
He couldn't diagnose anyone...
And at this moment, the most important thing wasn't even the diagnosis—a right or wrong diagnosis both could lead to trouble.
Nanny Chunrong saw his silence and flew into a rage, "Examine her!"
Chen Ji pondered for a long while, finally making a distressed bow, "Lady, I apologize. I have only been studying medicine for two years—I lack experience and have not yet mastered the craft. I truly do not know how to determine if Princess Consort Jing has been poisoned. This matter probably requires my master. I will go back now and try to persuade him to come."
Nanny Chunrong scolded him, "You won't even check her pulse and you're saying you don't know, take him out and execute him by beating! Though Doctor Yao holds a seventh-rank official position and is untouchable, executing a mere apprentice should be no problem, right? It would also teach the Medical Hall a lesson about the consequences of neglecting duty!"
As she spoke, four robust women charged up from the first floor. Their heavy steps thudded on the wooden floor as they dragged Chen Ji away to be beaten to death.
His hair was disheveled, his wooden hairpin fell to the ground, and his clothes emitted sounds of tearing under the strain.
Consort Yun casually sipped her tea, paying no attention. In the eyes of nobility of this era, the death of an apprentice was not worth batting an eye over.
"Hold on, let me finish," Chen Ji struggled to speak, "Though I am not skilled in medicine, if Princess Consort Jing has indeed been poisoned, I am willing to find the real culprit!"
The second floor fell suddenly silent, leaving only the heavy breathing of Chen Ji.
Consort Yun set down her teacup and looked over with curiosity, "Oh? You have such ability?"
She reevaluated the disheveled youth, who no longer seemed like an apprentice at all. His eyes were steadier than before.
Chen Ji quickly asked, "May I inquire how many months along is Princess Consort Jing's pregnancy?"
Princess Consort Jing spoke softly from behind the screen, "Five months."
Chen Ji said, "At five months, the fetus is already formed. If someone used a strong poison, it would have killed the fetus within a few hours, and the adult would have lost her life too! There is no poison in this world that would only harm the fetus and not the pregnant woman!"
The principle of abortion drugs is to lower progesterone levels in the body and cause the uterus to contract, thus expelling the pregnancy tissue. For such a drug to take effect in one day, it must be used on a fetus within three months of gestation.
The remaining causes of miscarriage for a five-month-old fetus are few: the first is a reproductive organ disease of the pregnant woman, such as a deformed uterus; the second involves a systemic illness of the pregnant woman, such as the flu, pneumonia, or organ failure; the third is trauma from external forces; the fourth is intense emotional fluctuations in the pregnant woman, such as grief or shock.
Chen Ji inquired, "Princess Consort Jing, have you felt unwell during these past few months?"
Nanny Chunrong responded, "My Lady was perfectly healthy early on. It was only in the last few months that she had some loss of appetite. Previously, when Doctor Yao examined her, he said it was just a normal pregnancy reaction."
Chen Ji did not take Old Yao's diagnosis as a reference. He had studied the Medical Skills Summary, even respected Imperial Physicians could not escape the limitations of their times.
He continued, "Have you experienced any external force or had significant emotional ups and downs recently, Princess Consort Jing?"
Nanny Chunrong scoffed, "What are you babbling about? How could my Lady, precious and elevated, be subjected to what you described? If you're just trying to waste time, your punishment later won't be as simple as being beaten to death."
Chen Ji suddenly said, "Since none of the above apply, it must be poisoning! And it wasn't done tonight, but rather long-term poisoning!"
"Hmm?"
"Are you sure?"
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