11. Little black cat

"The reason Princess Jing miscarried is due to chronic poisoning," Chen Ji's voice, like a stone thrown into a tranquil pond, stirred up countless ripples.

Even the thread of incense smoke burning inside the copper incense burner on the tea table that was originally drifting straight up to the ceiling suddenly became disordered and chaotic.

Nanny Chunrong took a step forward, "Are you certain? Was our Lady's miscarriage truly caused by someone's poisoning? Speak, who did the poisoning!"

There was the sound of rustling bedclothes behind the screen, and it seemed Princess Jing was propping herself up on the bed.

The four strong servants beside Chen Ji unconsciously loosened their grip, no longer pulling harshly.

Everyone was waiting for his answer.

However, was Princess Jing really poisoned? Chen Ji was not sure.

In this desperate situation, if he didn't come up with something shocking, he would die here in Prince Jing Mansion.

From behind the screen, Princess Jing expressed her doubts, "Are you certain I've been poisoned?"

Chen Ji did not answer; he just slowly straightened his disheveled clothes and asked calmly, "Aside from Lady Princess Jing, has anyone else in the Late Star Garden felt unwell?"

Nanny Chunrong shook her head, "No, inside the Prince Mansion, even the daily life of a maid is recorded. If anyone feels unwell, they absolutely cannot enter the Late Star Garden, to prevent spreading the illness to the fetus."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ji turned his head towards the screen, "Lady, may I search for clues in your room?"

"Brazen," Nanny Xitang who was beside Consort Yun scolded, "How can an outside man rummage through Princess Jing's room? What kind of behavior is this..."

Princess Consort Jing interrupted, "Let him search if he wishes. If he truly can find the culprit that killed my child, what harm is there in tossing a few things? Chunhua, please escort this doctor from the Medical Hall out for now. Chunrong, tidy up my clothes for me and help me with my makeup before inviting him back in to inspect."

This was the dignity of a noble, and also gave Chen Ji some time to contemplate the clues.

Chunhua led Chen Ji downstairs, where she anxiously lowered her voice asking, "Is there really a poisoning?"

Under the night sky, Chen Ji stood by the fish pond in Late Star Garden, watching the koi faintly visible in the dark waters. He did not answer but was lost in thought.

After some time, Nanny Chunrong called him back upstairs.

By that time, Princess Jing was sitting in a chair, dressed in a red large cloak, around twenty-seven years old, her hair not up in a bun but tied with a ribbon at the back.

Her pale face stared at Chen Ji, "I just thought of what you said about prolonged poisoning. Could it be that the incense has been tampered with..."

"No," Chen Ji shook his head, "The incense smoke spreads everywhere. If someone tampered with it here, Nanny Chunrong would also be feeling unwell. Therefore, the poisoner must have used an item that only you, my Lady, would use alone, and it has to be something you use every day. Otherwise, if you went a while without using it, the poison would be metabolized by your body."

Seeing his certainty, everyone stopped talking and let him search around.

Time ticked by, and Chen Ji picked up a rouge box.

"Lady, have you used this rouge when dressing up recently?" He scrutinized the rouge box in his hand, which had white mother-of-pearl inlay in the shape of a butterfly, beautifully crafted like a work of art.

Princess Jing shook her head, "Since becoming pregnant, I've stopped using such things, afraid they might harm the fetus."

Chen Ji put down the rouge box, his gaze sweeping over each item, but he still couldn't find any clues.

Finally, a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Where? Just where could it be?

At this very moment, he thoroughly contemplated every single clue in his mind. This was his chance to stay alive!

After an indefinite amount of time, Princess Jing eventually lost her patience, "I thought you had a clear understanding of the situation, but it turns out you were all fluff. Never mind, you must have made rash claims out of fear. Don't worry about being executed, being dragged out and flogged ten times will suffice."

Consort Yun, who had been sitting poised, also lost interest and slowly stood up, "I'm tired, let's go back to rest."

"Wait," Chen Ji suddenly picked up a blue cup.

The cup was as blue as the sea, surrounded by a hint of green, as ethereal as mist, its beauty seemingly not of this world.

Princess Jing sat up straighter, asking with confusion, "Is there something wrong with this cup?"

Chen Ji asked earnestly, "Lady, do you taste metal in your mouth that even rinsing can't get rid of?"

Princess Jing exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know? Is this a symptom of the onset of poison?"

Chen Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief, his entire body gradually relaxing from the intense tension, "It's lead poisoning."

Nanny Chunrong was puzzled, "What do you mean? That's unheard of."

"What I mean is, this cup is poisonous."

Lead poisoning was a foreign concept to people of that era, but Chen Ji was all too familiar with it.

This cup was scientifically known as a lead barium glass cup. It was a type of vessel that appeared at the very beginning of glass-making history, with the earliest usage records dating back to the Han dynasty. Its beauty seemed to transcend the entire era, coveted by the nobility.

Though the cup was beautiful, it was laced with poison. It might take years of use before an adult showed any problems, but the toxicity was lethal to a fetus.

At that moment, Consort Yun's eyes gleamed with a lively interest as she watched Chen Ji; when he said that Princess Jing tasted metal in her mouth, her reaction had already shown that the young man had truly found the cause of the poisoning!

Princess Jing pondered, "This cup was gifted to me..."

Chen Ji hastily said, "Lady, now that the source of the poison has been found, its origin has nothing to do with me. May I leave now? My apologies for the intrusion tonight, please forgive me."

Princess Jing was silent for a while, "Where did Imperial Physician Yao find such a disciple who knows when to advance and when to retreat? Rest assured, you helped me find the killer of my child today, there will be great rewards in the future, and no one in Late Star Garden will trouble you."

Although the culprit was found, having just suffered the pain of losing her child, it was hard for her to feel joy.

Consort Yun spoke softly and gently, "It's good that sister found the source of the poisoning, otherwise, if she continued to drink water from this cup, that would have been dangerous. Oh, I remember this cup was a gift from your family, wasn't it? During the spring sacrificial poetry banquet, you even specially took it out for Marquess Liu to admire."

Princess Consort Jing's expression changed slightly.

Amidst the delicate atmosphere of Late Star Garden, Chen Ji dared not speak and could only bow his head and discreetly scan the surroundings with the corners of his eyes.

The black cat was still fighting the white cat, or to be precise, the black cat was being beaten from the east side to the west side and then from the west side back to the east. The black cat was too small to put up any fight at all.

How pitiful.

Even cats in a large residence like this have it tough...

Wait, Chen Ji didn't know if it was his own delusion, but he always felt that the black cat kept glancing at his sleeve while trying to flee.

Nanny Xitang, who was by Consort Yun's side, whispered softly, "Lady, it's time for us to go rest."

With that, she went to pick up the white cat to leave.

Chen Ji was silent; it turned out that the white cat belonged to Consort Yun, and the black cat to Princess Jing.

The mission of this white cat seemed to be to beat up the black cat.

"I won't disturb sister's rest," Consort Yun rose gracefully, "Try not to go out during this period and have a good rest."

Princess Jing was silent for a moment, "Thank you, sister."

Consort Yun smiled, turned, and said to a young maid, "Xibing, you go see this gentleman out... you're called Chen Ji, right?"

Chen Ji bowed his head, "Yes, Chen Ji."

"Go, Xibing, take him back to the Medical Hall."

...

...

When leaving Late Star Garden, it was already midnight, the hour of 1 AM.

A layer of sweat on Chen Ji's back was chilled by the autumn wind as he blew, and feeling cold, he closely followed behind Miss Xibing, fearing that falling behind might lead to more complications.

This evening's narrow escape was not just by luck, but it also made him feel somewhat melancholic.

On that shaky green train headed to Beijing, his father had once told him about the story of Ancient Rome, which was suspected to have declined because of lead poisoning. He had known about the dangers of lead poisoning since then and knew that in ancient times, to make utensils brightly colored, many had to use lead-based techniques, so lead poisoning was particularly widespread then.

Xibing wore a light yellow blouse and skirt, her steps as light as an oriole. Yet, this girl seemed trained in some way, for the step shake on her head hardly swayed as she walked.

The vast inner residence continued to bustle incessantly, and servants greeted Xibing with respect, her status quite high.

Unlike the servants of the "Spring" generation in Late Star Garden who were demure, Xibing was always smiling and replying cheerfully to those who greeted her, in a rather good mood.

As they walked, Xibing suddenly asked, "Do you think the person who gave that cup to Princess Jing did it on purpose?"

Chen Ji did not answer, nor did he dare to answer such a question, only giving a smile as if he hadn't heard.

Seeing this, Xibing hummed dismissively, "Okay, never mind then."

Before Chen Ji returned to the Medical Hall, Miss Xibing looked at him and said with a smile, "Your clothes have been torn by the people of Late Star Garden tonight; tomorrow, I will go to the Clothing Store and order two outfits for you! You have to remember, only my Lady Consort is the most generous here. There's not much future in being an apprentice in the Medical Hall, but if you can gain my lady's favor, you can look forward to a promising future."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, "Thank you for Lady Consort Yun's kindness, but there's no need to make any clothes for me."

Xibing rolled her eyes endearingly, "Others can't even get my lady's favor if they wish for it, yet you're pushing it away. Don't refuse, when my lady bestows you with something, you, a mere apprentice, have no right to refuse, now go!"

Xibing turned and left, and Chen Ji pushed open the door to walk into the Medical Hall.

The moment he closed the door, he leaned against it, feeling a wave of exhaustion. Ever since arriving in this world, crises had been nonstop, and he needed to be fully alert to cope with them.

"Master's Six Divination Skill seems to be real," Chen Ji sighed, regardless of whether or not other people believed in it, he was convinced.

Tonight's divination had indeed been extremely perilous, a slight misstep and there would be no grave to bury him.

He must not enter the Prince Mansion in the future; he needed to stay far away.

Chen Ji dragged his weary body and slowly moved towards the back courtyard.

Standing by an apricot tree, he heard the snores of She Dengke and Liu Quxing from the apprentices' dormitory; his two fellow disciples were sleeping soundly.

No one was waiting for his return, and no one cared if he might die in Prince Jing Mansion.

In this world, no one would help him; he only had himself.

While reflecting, Chen Ji's body suddenly stiffened.

The power of Ice Flow in his Dantian, which was several times more tumultuous than the day before, was violently spreading throughout his body. In the blink of an eye, Chen Ji felt his blood, muscles, and bones all encased in ice.

The carrying stone while hugging a stake technique!

Chen Ji struggled to stand in the yard and positioned himself in the posture of the carrying stone while hugging a stake technique, to resist the Ice Flow.

But unlike yesterday, the Ice Flow did not retract back into the Dantian; it was only suppressed and not as agitated.

A warm current surged from his lower back, bit by bit grappling with the Ice Flow. Chen Ji couldn't move; he had to maintain the stance of carrying stone while hugging a stake.

The feeling of exhaustion mixed with the cold; his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. After a few breaths, he unexpectedly fell asleep in this peculiar posture, standing next to the apricot tree.

On the top of the apricot tree, a crow landed and silently watched Chen Ji turn into a statue in the darkness.