Chapter 88: Spicy Pot (Part 14)
That tiny bit of virtue only protected her until she reached the entrance.
The Jing family's gatekeeper didn't treat her as an imposter, nor as a daughter-in-law who had been cast out by the Jing family. He smoothly let her in and warmly informed her that Master Jing was kneeling in punishment at the ancestral hall for angering his wife, suggesting she go in to see him herself.
After that, her virtue was completely used up.
As soon as Leng Yue entered the second courtyard, she encountered Jing Bai, who was holding a clay pot, kneeling with his butt raised as he dug through accumulated snow in the holly bushes.
Perhaps because he had harbored a heart dedicated to healing the world since childhood, Jing Bai always exuded an amiable and serene aura. Even wrapped in an earthworm-colored long gown and striking a posture like a poised frog, he still appeared gentle and composed.
Maintaining this gentle and composed demeanor, Jing Bai lifted his head and stared at Leng Yue's face for a moment, greeting her in his usual manner.
"Thirteen Guards."
"..."
The last time she saw Jing Bai, he had greeted her with "Uterus-Warming Seven-Ingredient Pills." Though she had been exasperated, she had quietly tried them afterward, and the effects were currently nestled in her stomach.
So, upon hearing the candid "Thirteen Guards," Leng Yue's face flushed, but she steeled herself and politely replied, "Thank you, Imperial Physician Jing..."
Since Jing Yi had already given her the divorce letter, it was no longer appropriate for her to address Jing Bai as "Second Brother." Calling him "Imperial Physician Jing" was the most suitable choice at this moment, but before she could finish speaking, she was stunned by the title she had chosen.
Imperial Physician Jing...
Imperial Physician?!
Ever since the Late Emperor fell ill, the officials of the Imperial Hospital had been living with their heads on the line, terrified of making even the slightest mistake that could bring disaster upon the entire Imperial Hospital. Only the three most experienced physicians with the fewest errors in their records were sent to diagnose the Late Emperor's pulse, and Jing Bai was the only one among them who hadn't yet grown white hair.
Weren't all the physicians who had last diagnosed the Late Emperor silenced?
Then...
"How are you..." Leng Yue widened her eyes as if she had seen a ghost. She had just begun to speak when it suddenly occurred to her that asking "How are you still alive?" face-to-face in someone's home might be inappropriate. She abruptly paused and changed to a more subtle question, "What are you doing here?"
This phrasing seemed overly subtle. Jing Bai took it as a casual greeting between colleagues and, without even lifting his butt, amiably replied, "My wife has returned to her parents' home, so I've come back to stay for a few days."
Leng Yue finally understood what it felt like to be tongue-tied.
This feeling of having a bellyful of words but being unable to utter them—truly, only the word "stifled" could capture it...
Leng Yue was so stifled she didn't even know how to form a complete sentence. "Then, then the palace..."
Fortunately, this was the Jing residence, and fortunately, Jing Bai was Master Jing's own son. Even though he was the least articulate in the Jing family, with Leng Yue in such a state and having spoken to this extent, it was enough for him to deduce why she was looking at him as if he were a ghost.
"I wasn't there on the day the Late Emperor passed away."The fact that he could now energetically dig snow in his own courtyard meant he must have been absent that day. This much Leng Yue could understand, but what puzzled her was why, of all days, he happened to be absent precisely then?
"Where were you then?"
"At home."
"What were you doing at home?"
"Making dumplings."
"..."
Leng Yue felt her entire being sway momentarily.
She initially wanted to ask why he was making dumplings at home, but seeing Jing Bai's face full of utter normalcy, she decided the question wasn't worth asking. Clarifying one other matter would suffice.
"While you were at home making dumplings, did the Late Emperor know?"
Jing Bai seemed to perceive that Leng Yue had no intention of leaving anytime soon. He lowered his head, gently brushing small piles of snow from the holly leaves into the earthen jar in his hand, and replied with the calm demeanor of someone making casual conversation, "He knew. The Late Emperor found the medicinal congee I prepared unpalatable and ordered me to return home to study cooking for six months. By that day, it hadn't even been two months yet, so it was only right for me to be at home making dumplings."
Leng Yue was momentarily stunned.
Although the Crown Prince was undoubtedly the Late Emperor's biological son, and the two shared a similar capricious temperament, the idea that the Late Emperor—while too ill to even get out of bed—would still have the mind to send one of his most trusted imperial physicians home to learn cooking seemed utterly inconceivable no matter how she thought about it.
"Then does Imperial Physician Jing know which physicians were attending the Late Emperor that day?"
Without looking up, Jing Bai responded, "Physician Xu and Physician Jin were probably still there. The one who replaced me was Imperial Physician Ye Qianqiu..."
Ye Qianqiu?
These three words flashed through her mind like fireworks, illuminating fragmented memories. A vaguely familiar face drifted before her eyes, and Leng Yue suddenly froze.
She had seen this Ye Qianqiu before—exactly twice.
The first time was many years ago, when her father returned to the capital from the northern frontier to recuperate from injuries. The Late Emperor had sent this very physician named Ye Qianqiu to treat him. She remembered this physician's name because he was the most ill-tempered and blunt-speaking doctor she had ever encountered—to this day, still unmatched. Even her famously stubborn father had been somewhat intimidated by him, ultimately obeying his every instruction during treatment.
The second time was just moments ago, in an alley merely one lane away from the Jing family mansion. There, he was huddled under someone's eaves, wrapped in a tattered padded coat, disheveled and grimy. She hadn't immediately recognized where she'd seen that familiar face and had even spent five hundred taels of silver notes to buy from him a packet of medicine that could supposedly induce illness.
If Ye Qianqiu had reduced himself to such a state to evade assassination...
If Ye Qianqiu had recognized who she was with that single glance earlier...
If Ye Qianqiu truly only meant to tell her he had medicine...
Leng Yue hurriedly pulled out the grimy packet of medicine from her sleeve and darted into the holly bushes. In her haste, she rustled the branches and leaves violently, immediately covering Jing Bai head to toe with snow.
"Sorry, sorry..."
Leng Yue quickly stopped and repeatedly apologized, but Jing Bai didn't seem annoyed. He casually brushed off the snow and slowly stood up, glancing at the jar now instantly filled from Leng Yue's sudden movement. A hint of admiration appeared in his gentle expression.
Indeed, gathering snow was something better suited for women...Seeing that Jing Bai showed no trace of annoyance, Leng Yue urgently yet respectfully presented the paper packet. "May I trouble Imperial Physician Jing to examine what medicine this is?"
Jing Bai didn't reach to take it, but merely leaned forward slightly, lowering his head to give it a gentle sniff.
After just this single sniff, he straightened up, his typically gentle brow furrowing into a deep knot.
This was the first time Leng Yue had seen Jing Bai frown. When snow had suddenly covered him from head to toe moments earlier, his eyebrows hadn't twitched at all. Yet this single sniff had caused such a profound frown that Leng Yue unconsciously held her breath.
Jing Bai maintained his furrowed brow for a moment before softly uttering the medicine's name.
"Spirit Focusing Powder."
Leng Yue was familiar with medicines like Warm Palace Seven-Ingredient Pills and Thirteen Guardsmen, but she had never even heard of Spirit Focusing Powder.
"Might I ask, Imperial Physician Jing, what illness does this medicine treat?"
Jing Bai's brow remained deeply furrowed as he shook his head slightly, still speaking calmly. "It doesn't treat illness."
Leng Yue was taken aback, then recalled what Ye Qianqiu had told her - words that had sounded like nonsense. She quickly asked, "Then could it make someone ill?"
Jing Bai seemed to consider her question before nodding slowly. "You could say that... This medicine is a stimulant, but it works by depleting one's vital energy to concentrate mental energy temporarily. When the medicine takes effect, one experiences unusually abundant energy, but once it wears off, extreme fatigue sets in. Strong, healthy individuals might use it occasionally in emergencies, but prolonged use or use by those with weak constitutions can lead to complete exhaustion and death."
Leng Yue stared blankly at the dirty paper packet in her hand, feeling her palms grow hot.
Unusually abundant energy...
Could it be...
Before she could even draw a shocked breath, she saw Jing Bai take half a step closer and ask quietly, "Where did you encounter Imperial Physician Ye?"
Leng Yue felt certain her face must have instantly displayed "how did you know," because Jing Bai answered without waiting for her question. "This is Imperial Physician Ye's unique creation. To this day, no one has been able to decipher his formula... Is he well now?"
Leng Yue closed her slightly parted lips, pressing them together lightly. She remained silent, only nodding.
Compared to those other two imperial physicians, Ye Qianqiu's condition could probably be considered "well."
Jing Bai's reaction was like someone hearing on the street that an old acquaintance had settled down and was living well. His brow smoothed as he gave Leng Yue a gentle smile. Without another word, he lowered his gaze, focusing on studying the snow collected in the earthenware jar as he stepped out of the holly bushes and walked leisurely away.
Only when Jing Bai's figure disappeared from view did Leng Yue suddenly realize where that strange feeling had come from - the one that had been following her since she first entered.
Outside, the entire city was in turmoil, with everyone on edge. Whether at the Crown Prince Manor or the house where Jing Yi was under house arrest, everything was cold and tense. Even ordinary citizens with no connection to these events were anxious and worried. Yet this place, which should have been the most unsettled of all, felt like some foreign land eighty thousand miles from the capital - everything remained peaceful and unchanged.
Everyone was going about their work methodically, living their lives unhurriedly.
Even Master Jing was no exception.
When Leng Yue found him, he was sitting cross-legged before the ancestral tablets of the Jing family, completely absorbed in dozing off, his snores loud enough to nearly shake the roof tiles loose.Leng Yue cleared her throat three times in succession until it ached, and only then did Master Jing jolt his head, rubbing his nearly strained neck as he slowly awoke. He lifted those fox-like eyes, identical to Jing Yi's, and gazed drowsily at the person who had disturbed his peaceful slumber.
Leng Yue hurriedly cupped her hands and bowed in an official salute, addressing him respectfully, "Grand Tutor Jing."
Master Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing her up and down for a long moment before revealing a kindly and amiable smile. He responded courteously, "And who might you be?"
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