Chapter 14 Mysterious Poisoning

Chapter 14: Strange Poisoning

"If they weren't the victims' family members, that woman would have died just now."

Xie Nai's jade-like face was cold and aloof. As soon as he finished speaking, the longsword in his hand shot out!

"Stop!"

Qin Jiao started to block it, but stopped the next second, realizing the sword wasn't meant to take a life—it had sliced open a row of wind chime water balls above the crowd.

Wind chime water balls were unique to Nanzhou. In autumn, the people of Nanzhou collected rainwater, stored it in transparent glass balls, and decorated them with wind chimes. When winter sunlight shone through, the autumn water rippled inside the glass spheres, and the wind chimes swayed with a soft, melodic ring.

"Splash!"

The row of wind chime water balls that Xie Nai had just cut open exploded, scattering fine glass shards mixed with cold rainwater, drenching the victims below.

But after being drenched, the victims became oddly calm, their agitation fading.

For a moment, everyone stopped in their tracks.

"This is..."

Qin Jiao froze, then a sudden insight struck him! He whipped his head around to look at Xie Nai. "These victims were poisoned!"

Puzhi grass poisoning causes intense hallucinations. As the elderly man at the Water Flower Market had said earlier, mild poisoning can be cured with plain water.

No wonder the victims had been acting delirious, their eyes bloodshot, and even slapping Xiao Nianzhang as soon as they arrived.

Qin Jiao had thought it strange at the time. Even if Xiao Nianzhang had been slow in solving the case, for the victims' families to immediately strike a government official was indeed bold.

Because the Liming Academy was filled with Puzhi grass, Qin Jiao had smelled it but never thought it could be poisonous.

He had been careless.

Glancing down at the bright-eyed young man, Xie Nai raised an eyebrow. "Not too dumb, after all."

"But who would poison these victims?"

"You're still worried about that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Xie Nai's words left Qin Jiao momentarily stunned. Then, the next second, Xie Nai covered Qin Jiao's wrist with a handkerchief. Instantly, blood soaked through the delicate handkerchief with an orchid pattern.

"You..." Qin Jiao opened his mouth to say something, his eyes questioning Xie Nai.

"Young Master Qin, that wound is quite serious..."

At that moment, Principal Li hurried over. Seeing how carefully Xie Nai was treating Qin Jiao, Principal Li didn't dare take any chances and quickly called out,

"The academy has a medical room. Rujin, take this young master to get his wound dressed!"

"I'll go too!" He Zhao chimed in.

Xie Nai glanced at him, then ordered, "Luo Bei, go as well."

"This way, Young Master..." Qin Jiao was led forward, surrounded by people. In his haste, he turned back and saw Xie Nai standing there.

Beside him, He Zhao was muttering under his breath, but Qin Jiao didn't hear a word.

The tall, jade-like young man stood there quietly, his posture flawless, his eyes deep and distant.

Qin Jiao felt as if a feather had brushed against his heart, stirring his heart into a sudden flutter...

———

The setting sun melted into gold, and evening clouds merged like jade.

After having his wound bandaged in the medical room, Qin Jiao caught the tail end of a gorgeous sunset, but he was in no mood to appreciate it at this moment.

He gently moved his wrist, and feeling no other issues, he stood up to leave. Just then, the young woman named Rujin came over with a tray and stopped him.

Rujin didn't speak; she simply set down the tea tray and shook her head at Qin Jiao.

"Young Master Qin, please have some tea first. Luo Yue just sent word that the prince is conducting a hearing in the front courtyard with the victims' families and Zhao Yunzhi. It will likely take a while longer," Luo Bei chimed in from the side.

"Can I sit in on it?"

"The prince specifically instructed that you rest here. Luo Yue will come back later to inform you of the outcome."

Qin Jiao was indeed feeling a bit tired. Since Xie Nai had said so, he didn't push it.

"That works, then."

Turning slightly, Qin Jiao reached for the tea with his uninjured right hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Xu Rujin beside him.

The young woman was tall and slender, like a willow, wearing a crimson tie-dyed silk dress. A white floral silk veil covered her face, revealing only her soft, graceful eyes.

"Miss Rujin, did we meet on the day of the Furong Winter Festival?"

That day, Qin Jiao had been busy chasing Cong Shuang and had bumped into two people in his haste. He suddenly felt that Xu Rujin before him looked very much like the young woman from that day. When he asked, Xu Rujin indeed nodded.

"No wonder you seemed familiar. Sorry for bumping into you and your mother that day."

Qin Jiao remembered that Xu Rujin's mother had told him not to bully Cong Shuang.

"It's nothing. Young Master, please don't dwell on it," Xu Rujin said in a low voice.

"Thank you for the tea, miss."

Hearing her voice dry and hoarse, and recalling what Principal Li had said earlier, Qin Jiao felt a twinge of sadness.

The lamp of life flickers, uncertain between light and dark. When the wheel of fate turns, no one can foresee who will be the first to be swallowed by gloom and grief.

After drinking some tea to moisten his throat, Qin Jiao's bright eyes darted slightly.

He wanted to ask Xu Rujin about her relationship with Zhao Yunzhi, but considering that her fiancé had just passed away, asking her about another man seemed inappropriate.

Just as Qin Jiao was mulling over suitable wording, the door to the medical room opened. It was the physician who had been absent earlier returning. As soon as the physician came back, Xu Rujin said she had matters to attend to at home and excused herself. Qin Jiao naturally couldn't force her to stay, so he let her go.

The physician checked Qin Jiao's wound again and, confirming there were no issues, stepped back to stand aside.

"Ah..."

Qin Jiao let out a soft sigh. He had hoped to get some information about Zhao Yunzhi or the Puzhi grass from Xu Rujin.

After waiting a while longer, Luo Yue still hadn't arrived. Growing restless, Qin Jiao turned to Luo Bei beside him. "I wonder how things are going with the prince? How about we go take a look?"

Luo Bei frowned, thinking for a moment, about to refuse Qin Jiao's suggestion, when a voice cut in faster— "Day in and day out, like a hen trying to hatch ducklings—stop meddling and just sit tight. When the Prince of Lingnan investigates a murder case, it's like Confucius teaching the Three Character Classic—overkill. Don't you worry about him; worry about yourself."

Someone lifted the bamboo curtain and He Zhao stepped out while wiping his hands.

As soon as he appeared, Qin Jiao immediately hurried over to him, "You're back, sit down and rest for a while."

He Zhao suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression wary, "What are you up to? What's with the sudden niceness!"

Qin Jiao was taken aback, then broke into a soft smile.

The young man's brows curved gently, his smile making him look even more mischievous and spirited, "Nothing, I'm just thanking you for bandaging my wound. Didn't know you had a talent for that."

"Of course! It's a family trade!" He Zhao grinned as well, then sat down on the chair beside Qin Jiao.

Just now, when they arrived at the medical room, the doctor happened to be out. Xu Rujin was afraid of blood and couldn't help, so Luo Bei volunteered. But while he was skilled with both knife and bow, bandaging was a bit clumsy. In the end, He Zhao couldn't stand it anymore, pushed Luo Bei aside, and did it himself.

Surprisingly, He Zhao handled the entire process—cleaning the wound, applying medicine, and bandaging—with exceptional smoothness and skill, rivaling even a professional doctor.

In fact, ever since Qin Jiao was first "implicated" by He Zhao, he had made a point to investigate him.

At first, Qin Jiao thought that someone called a "great thief" would at least have some martial arts skills, or at least be exceptionally skilled in lightness skill to escape quickly. But he had fallen down in fright when flying over the Kela Tea House because of a murder case...

Later, after much inquiry, Qin Jiao heard no tales of He Zhao committing robbery or murder; instead, he heard that He Zhao robbed the rich to help the poor and had a chivalrous heart.

Curious about He Zhao, Qin Jiao temporarily set aside matters concerning Xie Nai and asked, "So, does your family run a medical clinic?"

Hesitating, He Zhao replied, "Sort of... but I have no interest in medicine. I only know a little bit."

"But aren't you a great thief? How can a great thief's family run a medical clinic?" Qin Jiao couldn't help but ask.

And when Qin Jiao brought this up, He Zhao was like a turtle in a dust pile—choking and fuming with rage:

"Great thief, my foot! I only stole something once, and I got caught, alright? And originally, I didn't intend to steal from the Prince of Lingnan—I just wanted to borrow it for a look and return it. But they didn't give me a chance to explain. I was afraid I'd be torn apart on the spot if caught, so I took off like a shot..."

Qin Jiao never expected that the story would turn out this way.

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