Chapter 191: Chapter 190 SuspicionLiang Xin wrapped the medicine residue in a handkerchief, returned to his room, placed it into a jar, and affixed the date.


    In the following days, he collected the residues in the same manner and kept meticulous records.


    He Ying grew suspicious of the medicine provided by Divine Doctor Hong Zhao and stopped drinking it.


    Each time it was time to take the medicine, he would come up with various excuses to distract Sang Yan and dispose of it.


    When Sang Yan wanted to find Hong Zhao, He Ying would feign distress to dissuade her from seeking out the Divine Doctor.


    Back and forth it went.


    Sang Yan began to sense something was amiss, "Xinyuan, do you dislike Divine Doctor Hong Zhao?"


    He Ying glanced at her, laughing, "Of course, I don’t like her."


    "Why not?"


    Sang Yan didn’t understand; she felt that Hong Zhao was beautiful and talented, a doctor with a benevolent heart— a woman better than any other.


    "How could I be fond of another when I am already wed?"


    He Ying deliberately twisted her words.


    Hearing this, Sang Yan looked helpless, "What I mean is, do you still think there’s something wrong with her?"


    She didn’t know that He Ying had been pouring away the medicine each time, only feeling that he was purposely preventing her from making contact with Hong Zhao.


    What if Hong Zhao really had an issue?


    She didn’t dare to contemplate that possibility.


    These days, she really treated Hong Zhao like an older sister, and Hong Zhao taught her quite a bit as well.


    They were both teacher and friend, close as sisters!


    Especially since she had insisted on keeping Hong Zhao at the State Mansion to detoxify He Ying.


    If Hong Zhao really had a problem, then she was also partly to blame for plotting against He Ying.


    He Ying couldn’t bear to see her looking so worried, and with a gentle stroke of his fingertips across her forehead, he softly said, "Ah Yan, don’t overthink it. No matter what happens, I won’t blame you."


    Because he knew she was wholeheartedly working for his sake.


    That was why he hadn’t immediately dealt with Hong Zhao. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was afraid she would be upset.


    He was also afraid she would blame herself.


    Just then, a pleasant male voice came in.


    "Emperor, your servant has returned."


    It was Pei Muyang, whom they hadn’t seen for several days.


    His voice betrayed his excitement, "Your servant has successfully found Imperial Doctor Liu."


    Upon hearing this, He Ying laughed brightly, "Come in quickly."


    Sang Yan was confused: Imperial Doctor Liu? Someone from the palace is here?


    She looked towards the door and saw Pei Muyang hurry in, covered in dust, clearly having ridden back at full speed.


    Following him was an elderly man with flecks of white in his hair, dressed in a simple short coat, yet still tall and sturdy, spirited, with bright eyes, showing no signs of frailty.


    "Imperial Doctor Liu, long time no see."


    He Ying stood up to greet him personally, with a relaxed smile, "At your age, you’ve still taken the trouble to make this trip."


    "Why would the Emperor say such things? Your remembrance of this humble doctor is an honor."


    Imperial Doctor Liu smiled amiably in response, and then respectfully bowed to Sang Yan, "I’ve seen the Empress."


    Sang Yan could tell that He Ying held Imperial Doctor Liu in high esteem and returned the sentiment with a smile, "Imperial Doctor Liu, you must be exhausted from your long journey."


    She vaguely knew that Imperial Doctor Liu’s visit was also to address the poison in He Ying’s body. So was Hong Zhao unreliable?


    As she pondered this, she saw He Ying signal Pei Muyang, "Call Imperial Doctor Liang here."


    Pei Muyang, understanding immediately, went out and summoned Liang Xin.


    When Liang Xin arrived, he was carrying several jars.


    He placed the jars on the table and pointed, "These contain the medicinal residues from the Emperor’s medicines. They’re all here from the past few days."


    Sang Yan looked at the dates on the jars, and her heart tightened: just the recorded ones amounted to five days. Including the previous four days he had also consumed the medicine, that made nine days in total. If there was an issue with the medicine, then He Ying?


    Her expression tensed, and her face turned pale.


    Seeing this, He Ying patted her hand soothingly and then turned to look at Imperial Doctor Liu, "Please take a look and tell us if there is anything wrong with these medicines."


    Imperial Doctor Liu immediately proceeded with the inspection.


    He had already heard about what happened to He Ying on the way here, knowing that the situation was not optimistic.


    Now, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he pinched some of the residue, sniffed it, and even tasted it.


    He checked all of the medicine residues in the five jars in this manner.


    After a while, his brow furrowed in concern, he asked, "Emperor, how long altogether have you taken this medicine?"


    He Ying answered, "Not long. About four days. Is there an issue?"


    Sang Yan realized from this that she hadn’t actually drunk the medicine on the recorded days. No wonder he always sent her away when it was time to take the medicine.


    She had been kept in the dark by him.


    But now was not the time to dig into this matter, "Imperial Doctor Liu, is there, is there a problem with this?"


    Her voice trembled, and her hands shook slightly: No, there couldn’t be any problem. How could Hong Zhao deceive her?


    "Your Highness, Your Majesty, I cannot be certain just yet," replied Imperial Doctor Liu gravely, "Mr. Pei has already informed me that this medicine is prescribed by Divine Doctor Hong Zhao... I have heard a bit about her medical skills. To discern whether there are issues with the medicine she prescribed, I must personally verify it first."


    Imperial Doctor Liu looked serious.


    The Emperor’s health was at stake; he had to be extremely cautious, "May I ask, Your Majesty, have you experienced any abnormalities after taking this concoction?"


    He Ying’s lips moved slightly, about to answer, when from the corner of his eye he caught Sang Yan looking anxiously at him.


    If she knew the state of his body, it would likely only lead to more worries.


    Better to send her away.


    "Ah Yan, Imperial Doctor Liu has come a long way. Why don’t you go arrange a place for him to rest?"


    "No! You can’t keep hiding it from me!"


    Sang Yan furrowed her brows, clearly agitated.


    Why was He Ying concealing his suspicions about Hong Zhao from her?


    Surely, before Hong Zhao prescribed the medicine, both Liang Xin and an old senior doctor had checked it and confirmed there was no problem.


    But now he had secretly invited Imperial Doctor Liu to come, which surely meant there was something wrong with his health.


    "What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"


    Sang Yan was very worried.


    He Ying didn’t know how to respond, so he just gave Imperial Doctor Liu a look.


    Imperial Doctor Liu had lived a long life and had long understood He Ying’s thoughts completely.


    While he lamented the deep affection between the Emperor and Empress, he smiled at Sang Yan, "Empress, please rest assured, this servant is just making routine inquiries. This soup medicine may not necessarily be problematic, you may be at ease."


    Sang Yan listened, but remained skeptical.


    She was very sensitive now, feeling that He Ying was definitely still hiding something from her.


    Well, if he didn’t want her to hear, then she would just go along with his wishes for now.


    Otherwise, insisting on staying here would be a disrespect to his dignity as the Emperor.


    Taking another look at his complexion... his color actually didn’t seem bad, perhaps she was overthinking it? Was He Ying simply being overly suspicious? Not liking to entrust his life and death to Hong Zhao alone?


    With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Sang Yan, with a nervous heart, forced a smile, "Alright, then I’ll trouble Imperial Doctor Liu."


    She left the room.


    Once she left and the door closed, the relaxed joy on He Ying’s face dissipated.


    "This soup, I’ve been drinking it for four days; it has... drastically reduced my interest in... matters of men and women..."


    He Ying’s expression was grave and he seemed embarrassed to speak.


    If Sang Yan were here, he would definitely be unable to say such a thing.


    It was a matter of a man’s dignity; he would rather die than speak of it.


    Imperial Doctor Liu’s expression also stiffened upon hearing this, "Is that so?"


    He checked the medicine residue again, smelling, tasting and examining it carefully. After a while, he said, "This servant has checked these medicine residues again just now and indeed, they are all herbs that can eliminate toxins from the body, but the smell of these residues, I always feel there’s something off..."


    Even though he had vast experience, the world of medicine and poison was complex and many medicinal effects and side effects were not easy to clarify, especially when all things can both counteract and complement each other, making it difficult to immediately identify any issues.


    "Emperor—"


    He looked up, struggling, and addressed the Emperor.


    He Ying’s expression darkened, "Speak in detail."


    Imperial Doctor Liu then said, "This servant needs to recreate a medicine from these residues to conduct a test; only then can we be sure."


    Doctors should not rely solely on conjecture.


    He needed concrete evidence!


    Especially now that the materials had been boiled down to fragments; identifying them would take some time.


    "Then I will have to trouble Imperial Doctor Liu."


    "You are too polite, Emperor."


    As the two were speaking—


    Sang Yan pushed the door open.


    She had red eyes but suppressed the urge to question, and put on a brave face, "Imperial Doctor Liu, I’ve made arrangements; please follow Pei Muyang to the room to rest."


    Imperial Doctor Liu nodded, "Yes."


    He followed Pei Muyang and left.


    Once they had gone, Sang Yan hurried to ask, "What did Imperial Doctor Liu say?"


    He Ying pulled her over, enclosing her in his arms, "Don’t worry, I was just being cautious, which is why I had Pei Muyang bring Imperial Doctor Liu over."


    He regretted letting her see Imperial Doctor Liu, knowing she would worry this much.


    He was annoyed at his own oversight.


    "Really?"


    Sang Yan didn’t believe her intuition.


    The expressions on both He Ying and Imperial Doctor Liu’s faces were clearly not good just now.


    "Really."


    He Ying lied without batting an eye.


    "I wouldn’t lie to you."


    Of course, white lies were an exception.


    Sang Yan looked intently at his face, trying to discern his hidden thoughts.


    Of course, she didn’t see anything.


    *


    Qing Wu was always paying attention to the movements in He Ying’s yard.


    Everyone from the State Mansion knew her master Hong Zhao was the Divine Doctor and a valued guest of the Emperor, thus they were not on guard against her.


    When she saw Pei Muyang leading an old man in and out, addressing him as "Imperial Physician," she panicked, picked up her skirts, and ran back frantically.


    "Mi-Miss—"


    Qing Wu rushed into the room, scared out of her wits, and began packing their bags right away, "We should leave quickly, they might have grown suspicious."


    "Hm?"


    Hong Zhao was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a thick cape.


    In the hot weather, she held a hand warmer in her hands.


    "What’s happened? You’re so frightened?"


    "They’ve invited an Imperial Physician back, miss, we might be exposed."