Free Web NovelChapter 179: Chapter 179: The Qing He Who Knows My Mother
For the rest of the night, Xie Mingxu, Mo Lingwei, and Sima Han all meticulously cared for Shen Ningning.
Grandma Qin occasionally brought them meals, but Sima Han was the only one with an appetite.
The Black Wolf King refused to sleep, pacing back and forth by the Lotus Pond, its gaze never leaving Shen Ningning.
Every so often, it would lean in for a sniff, checking if its Jiaojiao Xiao Ningning was still breathing.
If anyone so much as touched the little one, the Black Wolf King would stare intently, afraid they might do something to harm her.
Fortunately, thanks to everyone’s combined efforts, Shen Ningning finally woke up the next morning.
The little one felt as though she had been asleep for a very long time.
She’d felt awful during her groggy state, with many bizarre and fantastical shadows floating before her eyes.
But now that she was awake, she felt incredibly light and relaxed.
She sat up in the pond and looked around.
Sima Han had fallen asleep from exhaustion on a nearby lounge chair, covered with a blanket that Grandma Qin had given him.
Mo Lingwei was helping Grandma Qin chop firewood.
"Brother..." Shen Ningning’s soft, childish voice called out.
The Black Wolf King, which had been lying by the pond, immediately sat up. Its lupine eyes fixed on the little one, and it began to sniff her repeatedly.
Its warm breath tickled Shen Ningning, making her giggle out loud.
"Langlang, I’m okay! Don’t worry!"
Even after she said that, the Black Wolf King couldn’t hold back. It frantically licked her hair and then her cheeks.
It was a joy born from having her back after fearing she was lost.
Sima Han was startled awake by the sound and arrived at the pond’s edge at the same time as Mo Lingwei.
"The little miss is awake! Oh, this is wonderful news! You’ve passed this trial, which means you’re destined for great fortune. Here, let this old man check your pulse again." Sima Han felt for her pulse.
A moment later, he nodded, a very satisfied smile on his face.
"Excellent. The danger has passed. From now on, just take your medicine on schedule, and you’ll make a full recovery."
Shen Ningning quickly said, "Thank you, Grandpa Divine Doctor. You’ve worked so hard."
Sima Han stroked his beard and smiled. "My part wasn’t so hard. Young Master Xie, on the other hand... I watched him worry so much these past few days that the fine young man nearly grew white hairs."
Shen Ningning looked around. "Where’s Brother?"
Hearing that form of address, Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow. "He had other matters to attend to and returned to the imperial court."
Sima Han packed up his medicine box, chuckling. "These past few days have worn me out completely. I need to find a place to get some proper rest!"
Grandma Qin chased after him from the kitchen, holding a water flask.
It contained peach wine she had brewed herself, and she insisted the Divine Doctor take it with him.
While Grandma Qin was seeing Sima Han off, Shen Ningning hurriedly asked Mo Lingwei, "Brother, is your poison cured?"
As she spoke, she adorably slapped the surface of the pond. "Want to come in for a soak?"
Mo Lingwei was amused by her antics.
Coincidentally, he had rushed to find Shen Ningning the moment the last of his poison was cleared, but his body was still extremely weak.
However, he had fallen while carrying her up the mountain and so had soaked his injured leg in the spring water.
Unexpectedly, the lingering poison in his system had also been cured by the spring water.
"I’m fine now. You were much sicker than I was. Shen Ningning, I’m the one who dragged you into this."
The little one quickly shook her head, her round, dark eyes sparkling. "Brother, don’t say that!"
"The Aconite was mine, so it was only reasonable for me to cooperate with the investigation. I didn’t do anything wrong, so I wasn’t afraid of being questioned. I just didn’t expect this little accident."
"You mustn’t blame Uncle Emperor. He must have been so worried about you that he forgot to give other instructions. I bet Uncle Emperor didn’t know there were big rats in the torture room that bite people!"
She was remarkably optimistic, her soft, sweet voice full of innocence.
She had only just woken up, yet her first thought was to comfort someone else, worried that Mo Lingwei’s relationship with the Emperor would become even more strained because of her.
Mo Lingwei took note of her thoughtfulness, a warm current flowing through his heart.
"Shen Ningning, it turns out you’ve been helping me from the very beginning."
The little one tilted her head in confusion.
So, Mo Lingwei patiently explained it to her.
It turned out that the "noble person" the pharmacy manager mentioned who was being treated with Aconite was none other than Mo Lingwei.
The Imperial Physicians had said that his "cold poison" had to be countered with a medicine of extreme "yang" properties to be alleviated.
Therefore, for several years, Mo Lingwei had been taking a potent prescription. While it had some effect, it also came with hidden dangers.
After all, Aconite was a "hot" and highly toxic medicinal herb.
If the dosage wasn’t controlled precisely, it would transform from a medicine into a lethal poison.
This time, after Mo Lingwei was poisoned, the Imperial Hospital determined that the batch of Aconite sent by Shen Ningning had been soaked in an aconite solution.
This, they claimed, was what made a normally safe dose of Aconite suddenly turn into a deadly poison.
However, Xie Mingxu arrived in time with the Divine Doctor to conduct a thorough investigation, which proved the Imperial Hospital’s testimony was false.
It was impossible for Aconite’s toxicity to be increased by soaking it in an aconite solution; on the contrary, it would only dilute its medicinal properties.
Sima Han examined the dregs of Mo Lingwei’s medicine and discovered an extra ingredient: lily of the valley.
Lily of the valley was normally an ornamental flower, but when used in medicine, the boiled extract could cause one to cough up blood and fall into a coma.
With a chain of evidence presented by the Divine Doctor, the Emperor discovered that Dean Fang of the Imperial Hospital was the true culprit.
Mo Lingwei said coolly to Shen Ningning, "Dean Fang originally intended to frame Consort Li, as she was once fond of growing lily of the valley. But he didn’t expect that Father Emperor had long since assigned people to watch her in secret."
"Therefore, Dean Fang’s plan failed. Under severe torture, he confessed that he had previously helped Consort Li cause other concubines to miscarry. He was responsible for the deaths of as many as five imperial heirs."
"He was afraid that if Consort Li fell from power, the things he had done would be discovered by Father Emperor. That’s why he came up with this plan to harm me, frame Consort Li, and use Father Emperor’s hand to execute her."
But Dean Fang never imagined that the Emperor had long suspected someone would use the Wei Family’s matter to stir up trouble, so he had people watching in secret all along.
Now that the truth was out, Dean Fang, along with his five accomplices—all of them Imperial Physicians who were his apprentices—were sentenced to beheading.
Shen Ningning listened, slightly astonished.
She had only sold the Aconite to the pharmacy manager to earn some silver.
She never imagined it would be exploited by someone with ulterior motives.
The little one then asked, "What about Grandpa Shopkeeper? He’s Dean Fang’s younger brother. Will he be affected too?"
Mo Lingwei nodded. "His pharmacy was seized by the government. For the crime of failing to report what he knew, he will be imprisoned for ten years."
Shen Ningning opened her small mouth, wanting to say something, but felt the decision was, after all, reasonable.
The matter with Dean Fang also brought to light the incidents where Consort Li had framed other concubines years ago.
Another bloody storm swept through the court, and the Emperor took the opportunity to purge a portion of the faction that had previously sided with the Wei Family.
All the matters and people that needed to be dealt with had received their due retribution.
Shen Ningning suddenly thought of something important.
"Brother, can you help me get a palace maid out of the torture room?"
"What’s her name?"
"Qing He. She mistook me for Lady Xin. I think she knows my mother. If we can get her out and question her, we’ll surely get some news about my family."
As Shen Ningning spoke of this, her eyes couldn’t help but light up.
