Ch. 088.2: Searching for Medicine in the North (2)
Translator: MoonWhisperer, TWIP | Editor: TWIP
“7th Prince, please remain calm. We need to first wait for a quarter of an hour.” Once Du Xiao Li finished saying this, she returned to sitting at the table and observing Beiling Yu.
Although Beiling Yu naturally gave off a noble air, she also had an untainted aura that members of the royal family didn’t. Even Han Ming Xiang only had just about a hint of it.
Du Xiao Li had heard that the internal struggles within Northern Qi’s royal family were very cruel, so she couldn’t figure out how Beiling Yu had developed such a disposition. However, it couldn’t be denied that Beiling Yu was a pure yet courageous young lady.
Seeing that Beiling Yu was fine for now, Du Yun Han and Han Ming Yi temporarily left her room. Men and women had to maintain their distances after all. As for Beiling Yu who had recovered her spirits somewhat after drinking the medicine, she grabbed hold of Du Xiao Li and asked her many, many questions. She was very interested in Du Xiao Li.
A quarter of an hour passed by very quickly, and Du Xiao Li felt Beiling Yu’s pulse.
“Miss Du, how’s my condition now? I should be fine now, right? I don’t feel sore anymore. Am I well now? Your medical skills are truly amazing!”
Du Xiao Li laughed and said, “Princess Yu, your body seems fine, but we still need to keep a watch on it for now. You’re not to go outside for a few days. It’s best if you can stay rested in bed the whole time. Rest assured, I’ll definitely let you be in time for the competition. But first, you need to
rest well.”
Once she was done saying that, she turned to Beiling Yi Cheng and asked, “7th Prince, didn’t you mention before that you had something to talk to me about? Let’s go outside and talk.”
Beiling Yi Cheng instantly understood what Du Xiao Li meant and replied, “Indeed, I had a small matter in the courtyard previously. Let us go outside and talk then. Little Sister, be good and sleep, all right?”
“Mm, go ahead, Big Brother. I’m somewhat tired, just in time for me to sleep for a while,” Beiling Yu said with a wave of her hand.
“Take good care of the princess,” Beiling Yi Cheng instructed Beiling Yu’s servant girl and then left the room with Du Xiao Li.
After leaving Northern Qi’s women’s courtyard, Du Xiao Li brought Beiling Yi Cheng to the little courtyard of her own residence. As she expected, Han Ming Yi and Du Yun Han were there. They were currently having tea in the living room as they waited for her.
Seeing where Du Xiao Li had brought him to, Beiling Yi Cheng asked, “Miss Du, why have you brought me here?”
The moment Han Ming Yi and Du Yun Han noticed Du Xiao Li had brought someone over, their expressions turned grave as they put down their teacups and looked at her.
Du Xiao Li had Beiling Yi Cheng take a seat before saying, “7th Prince, Princess Yu is in a rather bad
state.”
Beiling Yi Cheng had just sat down only to stand up in shock from hearing Du Xiao Li’s words. He said, “Didn’t you just say that she’s fine? Why is she now in a bad state?”
Du Yun Han looked at Du Xiao Li and asked, “What exactly is Princess Yu’s condition?”
“7th Prince, the words I just told Princess Yu were for the sake of not affecting her emotions. Currently, there exists the possibility that she may die at any moment,” Du Xiao Li said. “If we let her know how dire her situation is, it could frighten her.”
Beiling Yi Cheng felt a sudden wave of dizziness and reached for the table to support him for a moment until the dizziness passed. Then he shook his head and said slowly, “She could die at any moment? Miss Du, this is not something you can say carelessly. My younger sister has always been very healthy. How can she be dying all of a sudden?!”
Beiling Yu had always been leaping and frisking about everyday. Beiling Yi Cheng simply couldn’t believe that his sister could die at any moment now. Du Xiao Li was definitely… definitely spouting drivel!
Du Xiao Li stayed silent in order to give Beiling Yi Cheng time to digest this news, and the latter truly proved himself to be a member of the royal family. He very quickly collected himself and asked, “Miss Du, just what is going on with my younger sister?”
“The princess was most likely poisoned when she was in Northern Qi. Meng San Zui (1)–this sort of poison is particularly extraordinary. The poison doesn’t immediately take effect in its victim. Instead, it needs a trigger to activate it,” Du Xiao Li said.
“That trigger is…?”
“Osmanthus wine,” Du Xiao Li stated. “This Osmanthus wine is specific to our country, Feng Ming. Maybe the perpetrator knew Princess Yu was coming here to participate in the competition, so they used this kind of poison.”
“At lunch, my younger sister did indeed drink Osmanthus wine. However, what is your reason for saying that she was poisoned in Northern Qi as opposed to here?” Beiling Yi Cheng questioned.
He had plenty of reasons to suspect that Beiling Yu was poisoned in Feng Ming because she had been fine all along their journey here. If things were truly as he thought, then Feng Ming needed to give him and Northern Qi an explanation!
Du Yun Han and Han Ming yi knitted their brows somewhat. If it were truly Feng Ming that poisoned the princess, then there would be a lot of trouble!
“7th Prince, do you know this poison, Meng San Zui?” Du Xiao Li replied with a question instead of
an answer.
“I don’t,” Beiling Yi Cheng said with a cold expression.
“The most important ingredient of Meng San Zui is the Meng Li Hua (2),” Du Xiao Li said.
Hearing the mention of Meng Li Hua, Beiling Yi Cheng trembled. This Meng Li Hua was a poison unique to Northern Qi. The flower grew in quite a harsh environment, which only existed in a mountain range in the northern part of Northern Qi. The climate there was bitterly cold, and snow would constantly pile up to half a meter deep. Summer was the only time when it was possible to enter the area and pick the flower. Yet, it wasn’t a certainty that the flower would be available for picking then.
People from Northern Qi might not necessarily be able to obtain the Meng Li Hua, let alone someone from outside the country.
“However, that doesn’t prove that this has no relationship with you people.” Beiling Yi Cheng’s attitude eased up a little, but he still insisted that the problem had started in Feng Ming Country.
“7th Prince, can you have a think about what would happen to us and Northern Qi if it did happen here? Would we be so stupid as to do something like this in our own territory?” Du Xiao Li said.
References
1. – Direct translation: Dream Three Intoxicated
2. – Direct translation: Dream Inside Flower, which can be interpreted as a flower called Inside a Dream
