“Jing Fei’s miscarriage was caused by chronic poisoning.” Chen Ji’s voice was like a stone thrown into a calm pond, stirring up countless ripples. Even the gray mist from the incense burning in the copper incense burner on the tea table, which had been drifting straight up towards the ceiling, suddenly became a chaotic mess.

Nanny Chun Rong stepped forward. “Are you sure? Was my mistress’s miscarriage really caused by someone poisoning her? Tell us, who was it?!”

Behind the screen, there was the sound of a straw mat rubbing, and Jing Fei seemed to be sitting up in bed. The four strong servants beside Chen Ji subconsciously loosened their grip, no longer pulling and dragging him. Everyone was waiting for his answer.

However, was Jing Fei actually poisoned? Chen Ji wasn’t certain. Only in this desperate situation, if he didn’t say something shocking, he would die in this Jing Wang Fu.

Jing Fei, behind the screen, said doubtfully, “Are you certain I was poisoned by someone?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer. He only slowly straightened his disheveled clothes and calmly asked, “Besides Madam Jing Fei, has anyone else in Late Star Garden felt unwell?”

Nanny Chun Rong shook her head. “No, even the daily lives of the maids in the Wang Fu are recorded. If someone is unwell, they are absolutely not allowed to enter Late Star Garden, to avoid transmitting disease to the fetus.”

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ji turned his head and looked at the screen. “Madam, may I search your room for clues?”

“Impudent,” Nanny Xi Tang, beside Yun Fei, said angrily. “You are an outsider, how can you search Jing Fei’s room? What kind of propriety is this…”

Jing Fei interrupted, “If you want to search, then search. If you can truly find the culprit who harmed my child, what harm is there in searching things? Chun Hua, please ask this young doctor from the medical hall to leave first. Chun Rong, tidy my clothes and comb my hair for me, then ask him to come in and check.”

This was a noble person’s consideration, also buying some time for Chen Ji to find clues.

Chun Hua led Chen Ji downstairs. She anxiously lowered her voice and asked, “Is there truly someone poisoning her?”

Under the night sky, Chen Ji stood by the fish pond in Late Star Garden, watching the *Jin Li* vaguely appear in the dim water, but he didn’t answer the question, only pondered.

After a moment, Nanny Chun Rong called him upstairs again. At this time, Jing Fei was already sitting on a chair wearing a red cloak. She was about thirty-three years old. Her hair was not coiled up, only tied at the back with a hairband. Her face was pale as she stared at Chen Ji. “I just thought of what you said about long-term poisoning. Could it be that the incense was tampered with by someone…”

“It’s unlikely,” Chen Ji shook his head. “Incense drifts everywhere. If it were tampered with inside, then Nanny Chun Rong should also be feeling unwell. Therefore, the poisoner must have used items that only Madam uses, and they must be things used daily. Otherwise, if not used for a period, the poison would be metabolized by the body.”

Seeing his certainty, the crowd no longer spoke and let him search everywhere. Time passed minute by minute. Chen Ji picked up a box of rouge. “Madam, have you used this rouge recently when doing your makeup?” He examined the rouge box in his hand. It was inlaid with a butterfly-shaped white shell, exquisite like a work of art.

Jing Fei shook her head. “Since becoming pregnant, I haven’t used these things, fearing they might not be good for the fetus.”

Chen Ji put down the rouge box, his gaze sweeping over each item one by one, but he still couldn’t find any clues. Gradually, a layer of fine sweat beads appeared on his forehead.

Where is it? Where exactly is it? At this moment, his mind was constantly reviewing every clue. This was his chance to live!

After an unknown amount of time, Jing Fei finally lost patience. “I originally thought you had a plan, but I didn’t expect you to be just pretending. Forget it, I suppose you were just boasting because you were afraid. No need to be afraid of being beaten to death, just drag him out and cane him ten times.”

Yun Fei, who had been sitting all along, also lost interest. She slowly stood up. “I’m tired, I’m going back to rest.”

“Wait,” Chen Ji suddenly picked up a blue cup. The cup was blue like seawater, with a touch of green surrounding it like vague cloud mist, so beautiful it seemed not to belong to the human world.

Jing Fei straightened her body and asked doubtfully, “Is there something wrong with this cup?”

Chen Ji asked seriously, “Madam, do you have a metallic taste in your mouth, even after rinsing your mouth?”

Jing Fei was surprised. “How did you know? Is this perhaps a symptom of poisoning?”

Chen Ji finally let out a long sigh of relief. His whole person, suddenly relaxed from high tension, slowly calmed down. “It’s lead poisoning.”

Nanny Chun Rong was doubtful. “What do you mean? I’ve never heard of it.”

“My meaning is, this cup has poison.”

Lead poisoning was very strange to the people of this era, but Chen Ji was not at all surprised. The academic name for this cup was a lead-barium glass cup. It was a type of vessel that appeared when ancient glass craftsmanship was just born. The earliest record of its use can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Its beauty seemed to transcend the entire era and was loved by noble people. But although this cup was beautiful, it hid poison. Adults might need to use it for a long time before problems appeared, but the amount of poison was already fatal to the fetus.

At this time, Yun Fei’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Chen Ji with interest. When this young man said Jing Fei had a metallic taste in her mouth, Jing Fei’s expression already indicated that this young man had really found the cause of the poisoning!

Jing Fei thought, “This cup was sent by my…”

Chen Ji quickly said, “Madam, the source of the poison has been found. As for where the cup came from, it has nothing to do with me. Can I go back now? I apologize for any offense tonight. Please forgive me.”

Jing Fei was silent for a moment. “Where did Yao Tai Yi find you, this disciple who knows when to advance and retreat? Rest assured, today you helped me find the culprit who harmed my child. You will have a heavy reward in the future, and absolutely no one in Late Star Garden will make things difficult for you.” Although the culprit was found, she had just experienced the pain of losing her child and was very difficult to be happy.

Yun Fei said gently, “Fortunately, sister found the source of the poisoning. Otherwise, if you continued to use this cup to drink water, it could be dangerous. Oh, I remember this cup was sent by your maternal family, wasn’t it? When hosting guests during the Spring Sacrifice Poetry Meeting, you even specifically took it out to let Liu Viscount’s wife admire it.”

Jing Fei’s face changed slightly. In the subtle atmosphere of Late Star Garden, Chen Ji didn’t dare say a word. He only lowered his head and quietly sized up his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.

Those two cats, one black and one white, were still fighting. To be precise, the black cat was being hit from the east side to the west side, and from the west side to the east side. The black cat was too small and had no power to fight back. So pitiful. Cats in large, deep courtyards are not easy either…

Wait, Chen Ji didn’t know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the black cat, in its escape, kept looking towards his sleeve from time to time.

Nanny Xi Tang, beside Yun Fei, said in a low voice, “Madam, we should go back to rest.” Saying that, she went to pick up the white cat and prepare to leave.

Chen Ji was stunned. So the white cat belonged to Yun Fei, and the black cat belonged to Jing Fei. The mission of this white cat seemed to be to come and beat the black cat.

“I won’t disturb sister’s rest,” Yun Fei stood up calmly. “Try not to go out during this time and rest well.”

Jing Fei was silent for a moment. “Thank you, sister.”

Yun Fei smiled and turned around, saying to a young maid, “Xi Bing, go and see off this… your name is Chen Ji, right?”

Chen Ji lowered his head. “Yes, Chen Ji.”

“Go, Xi Bing will send him back to the medical hall.”

…

…

By the time he left Late Star Garden, it was already midnight, a quarter past Chou time. Chen Ji’s back was covered in sweat, and when the autumn wind blew, he suddenly felt cold. He followed closely behind the girl Xi Bing, afraid that walking slowly would cause more trouble.

Tonight’s disaster, while not lucky, did make him somewhat melancholy. On that bumpy green-skinned train ride towards BJ, his father had once told him the story of how ancient Rome was suspected to have declined due to lead poisoning. From that time on, he knew the harm of lead poisoning and also knew that in ancient times, if they wanted vessels to be bright, they often had to use lead craftsmanship, so lead poisoning was especially widespread in ancient times.

Xi Bing wore a light yellow *ru* skirt, her footsteps as light as a yellow oriole bird. But this girl seemed to have been trained. As she walked, the step she wore on her head barely shook. The vast backyard was still busy with people coming and going. Servants all bowed when they saw Xi Bing, indicating her relatively high status. Unlike the low-key servants of the “Chun” generation in Late Star Garden, Xi Bing always smiled and returned the greetings, appearing to be in a good mood.

Xi Bing walked and walked, then suddenly asked, “Do you think the person who sent that cup to Jing Fei did it intentionally?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer, nor did he dare to answer this question. He only smiled as if he hadn’t heard. Seeing this, Xi Bing hummed. “If you won’t say, then forget it.”

Before Chen Ji returned to the medical hall, the girl Xi Bing sized him up and squinted with a smile. “Tonight your clothes were all torn by the people in Late Star Garden. Tomorrow I will go to the clothing bureau and order two sets for you! You must remember, in this Wang Fu, only my mistress is the most generous. Being an apprentice in the medical hall has no future. If you can win my mistress’s favor, your future prospects will be promising.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment. “Thank you for Madam Yun Fei’s kind intentions, but there is no need to make clothes for me.”

Xi Bing rolled a cute white eye. “Others want to gain my mistress’s favor but can’t, yet you are good, actually pushing it away. Don’t refuse. You, a little apprentice, have no right to refuse something my mistress rewards you with. Go!”

Xi Bing turned and left, and Chen Ji then pushed open the door and walked into the medical hall. The moment he closed the door, he leaned against it, feeling a wave of exhaustion. Since coming to this world, he had been in constant crisis, needing to put in twelve points of effort to cope.

“Master’s six *yao* technique seems real,” Chen Ji sighed. Whether others believed it or not, he already did. Tonight’s divination image was indeed extremely dangerous, and the slightest carelessness would have led to death without a burial place. He absolutely must not enter the Wang Fu in the future, but must hide far away.

Chen Ji dragged his tired body and slowly moved towards the backyard. Standing by the apricot tree, he heard the sound of She Deng Ke and Liu Qu Xing snoring in the apprentice dormitory. The two senior brothers were sleeping very soundly. No one was waiting for him to come back, and no one cared whether he would die in Jing Wang Fu or not. In this world, no one could help him. He only had himself.

Just as he thought this, Chen Ji’s whole body stiffened. The ice flow in his *dantian*, several times vaster than yesterday, violently rampaged throughout his body. In just the blink of an eye, Chen Ji felt his blood, muscles, and bones were all completely frozen.

The “Carrying Stone Holding Pile Technique”! Chen Ji struggled to stand on the spot in the yard and assume the posture of the “Carrying Stone Holding Pile Technique” to resist the ice flow. But the ice flow did not shrink back into his *dantian* as it had yesterday. It was merely suppressed, no longer so restless. A warm current surged out from his waist and back, gradually sawing back and forth with the ice flow. Chen Ji couldn’t move, only maintaining the posture of “Carrying Stone Holding Pile.” Tiredness and cold intertwined. His eyelids became heavier and heavier. After a few breaths, he actually fell asleep in this strange posture, standing beside the apricot tree.

On top of the apricot tree, a crow landed and silently gazed at Chen Ji, who had turned into a sculpture in the dark night.