Chapter 198 Died from murder
Sun Meiniang frowned and said, “Childe Feng, we think you are Jiugu’s nephew, so we are all polite to you. But you’ve made a mess of our family. There are scatter poisonous stone powder all over the room, and you still interrupt our housework here. You are way out of line! Our family is a decent family. You come to visit but don’t take the right path. What is the difference between you and a burglar? What’s your position to help He Danggui? ...”
“Eh-hem!” Madam Luo interrupted Sun Meiniang’s words with a severe cough and thought, “Duh, now Shao still keeps thinking about Feng Yang. Maybe he is your future son-in-law. How could it be so awkward?”
Sun Meiniang didn’t know that her daughter had recently become fascinated by Feng Yang. She just thought Madam Luo was taking sides in He Danggui, so she said unhappily at once, “Madam Luo, He Danggui is a hoodoo and a demon. We don’t know what she has done to Zhu, and hooks his soul so that he doesn’t get close to his own mother. His heart seems to be obsessed. He only follows the demon. In the house of Qian’s First Branch, there are 5 complete people, but suddenly one is missing. That is not the end of it. Qian has 4 kids from his concubine living outside. Although they are out of dignity, they are also descendants of our Luo’s Family. Those women are good health and good luck after accompanied with Qian for several years. But when He Danggui came back a few months, they all died tragically. It can be seen that He Danggui is a hoodoo totally. If Shao hasn’t played with her, Shao would not have made the messy powder and been sent to the Taoist temple for training by you. What’s more, she would not burn the Taoist temple on fire, and her left hand would not have been burned. He Danggui is really harmful! It is a heinous crime!”
Before He Danggui reacted, Feng Yang was furious. He smashed a wooden table on his right side and said threateningly, “Second Mistress Luo, you have seen it. I am not weak in martial arts and have a bad temper. I also like to be a burglar. If you continue to turn black and white, and spill the sewage on others, I don’t guarantee that one day you won’t die accidentally and die from Jianghu revenge.”
He Danggui frowned. Although Feng Yang helped her with kindness, Sun Meiniang had close business transactions with the presbyter of the Beggars’ Organization, and had a lot of money to buy killers. Why should he argue with Sun Meiniang, a person who refused to suffer losses, and use cruel words to threaten her? If he really wanted to kill her, he wouldn’t yell out in advance.
Seeing the fragmented wooden table, Sun Meiniang turned pale with fear, and unconsciously stepped back. Ding Rong’s wife rushed forward to protect her and shouted, “Kill me!” But Luo Chuangu frowned. Suddenly, he looked at He Danggui and asked, “Yi, you said that you have thought of a new clue? What is the new clue?”
He Danggui blinked and said, “Yes, a new clue. I don’t know the whole story of Concubine Hua’s bleeding, but I am inexplicably charged with poisoning. I really have a lot of doubts in my heart. This evening, when my maid Bo He came to see me, she said that Dr. Ma diagnosed Concubine Hua’s fetal instability because there was something wrong with the antiabortifacient she took. Until taking out a stack of prescriptions that had been prescribed to Concubine Hua before, Madam Luo and Dr. Ma were sure that there was no problem with the prescriptions, but there was a problem with the antiabortifacient. So, Concubine Hua’s maid took out the medicine that haven’t yet been decocted, and asked everyone to check it. Then they found out that there was ‘parturifacient’ inside. Is it true or not? Second Uncle, do I make a mistake or miss something?”
Luo Chuangu nodded and said, “Yes, that’s right. So what?”
“Later, when Second Aunt convicted me, what she told to Madam Luo was as same as Dr. Ma said. Concubine Hua had a male child. Now that she has eaten parturifacient for many days. Even if we keep it, that will be likely born as an idiot in the future.” He Danggui said slowly, “Madam Luo and Second Uncle, you are both doctors who are familiar with pharmacology. You have seen the medicine taken by Concubine Hua and the symptom after Concubine Hua taken medicine. I want to ask that what kind of medicine is Concubine Hua taking? Is it the ‘parturifacient’ or the ‘abortifacient’?”
Sun Meiniang was confused and couldn’t help blurting out, “The parturifacient is abortifacient. There is no question about this. Stop quibbling!”
However, Madam Luo wrinkled a pair of distant eyebrows, and slowly recalled, “Among the packets of medicines found out from the cabinet, there are sunflower seeds, talc, musk, cinnabar and red pea, which are all used in the parturifacient. Alas, Hua Yu is really careless. The smell of musk is so strong, but she drinks it for so long… Huh? Wrong!”
Luo Chuangu also showed an incredible look and asked Madam Luo, “Mother, did you see clearly that there is really musk and cinnabar in the antiabortifacient?” His voice was high and fierce, which made Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong’s wife feel a little unconsciously guilty and look at each other.
“What’s the matter with musk and cinnabar?” Feng Yang looked at He Danggui and expressed curiosity.
He Danggui said with a smile, “I am originally a layman. But some time ago, following the teachings of Madam Luo, I spent all day reading medical books in South Yard Medicine House. And I barely understood some of them. Originally, ‘parturifacient’ and ‘abortifacient’ belong to 2 different categories. Parturifacient, as its name implies, is a drug that is taken only in small quantities when the parturient is about to give birth and the fetal position is not correct or the fetal head is in trouble. It is an essential medicine in the hands of a midwife. Since the parturifacient contains musk and cinnabar, the parturient should take it carefully, or keep it in the mouth without swallowing it. Once the baby is successfully given birth, the parturient should immediately spit out and gargle with water, just because the parturifacient is very powerful. The efficacy is also immediate and fast.”
Feng Yang scratched his chin and asked with his tilted head, “Can’t she take the parturifacient with musk? Could it be poisonous?”
He Danggui explained, “It’s not necessarily poisonous, but for women, musk is a taboo thing to avoid. For some women with cold body constitution, they can only take 2 or 3 drops, and it is hard to get pregnant in the future. For pregnant women, especially when the fetus was unstable in the previous few months, if they take a bit of the parturifacient, which contains sunflower seeds, talc, musk, cinnabar and red pea, the fetus in the abdomen will tremble several times. So, when I heard Bo He talked about it, I immediately felt strange. Concubine Hua’s body is so strong. After taking a few pieces of parturifacient, it only showed bleeding. If others, that could lose a child with a small bowl of medicine.”
Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu were gloomy. They had high hopes for Concubine Hua’s fetus and expected her to give birth to an heir to San Qing Tang. So, when they heard that something had happened to Concubine Hua, they were shocked by the news. Later, it was found out that someone poisoned Concubine Hua’s male fetus. The anger diluted the sense. They only thought about how to punish the murderer, but ignored such a big flaw—the property of the medicine found in the cupboard was too strong. It definitely wouldn’t be the kind of medicine that harmed Concubine Hua. If this medicine really caused the result, Concubine Hua didn’t even have to eat it. As long as a packet of medicine hanged on the bedside, and she smelled it for 2 months, her lower part of body would bleed!
Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong’s wife didn’t know pharmacology. They didn’t have much common sense in this area, and even parturifacient and abortifacient couldn’t be distinguished. Although they didn’t quite understand it, they also knew that a part of the matter might had made mistakes, which led to it. They couldn’t help but feel anxious, but they couldn’t think of countermeasures at the moment.
Feng Yang was still curious. He tirelessly asked, “Is it possible that the Concubine Hua doesn’t take the medicine and she is too weak to have an unstable fetus?”
“No, there are many manifestations of instability of the fetus, and the instability of the fetus caused by improper medication is the most menacing one. As long as there is a doctor with pulse experience, it is impossible to confuse this.” He Danggui looked at Madam Luo, and said clearly and slowly, “The smell of musk is special. It is hard to imagine that Concubine Hua was completely unaware when taking the medicine. And the property if that parturifacient was so strong like a tiger, and it’s also hard to image that the Concubine Hua could rest for a few months after taking the medicine, Madam Luo, I heard that Dr. Ma is the one who diagnosed Concubine Hua at the time, and now he is just waiting outside the hall. So, I want to him to come in and ask 2 questions.”
Madam Luo asked Shi Liu to call Dr. Ma to come in. There was a moment of suffocating silence, while the people in the house were waiting. Sun Meiniang frowned and exchanged glances with Ding Rong’s wife. This scene fell in the eyes of Luo Chuangu, and his doubts deepened. He could figure out it, but he was unwilling to accept from his heart. His wife, whom he had always loved and cherished, not only lost her virginity, but also secretly poisoned his concubine and children. Was this woman, who was ahead of her mother in his heart, really that kind of person?
After a short while, the masked Dr. Ma came in again. When Luo Chuangu saw it, he was angry and shouted, “Show your face when you are talking! None of us have avoided stone dust. Is your life more precious than us?”
Dr. Ma slowly took off the towel. He glanced at Luo Chuangu and then at Madam Luo. It seemed that he wanted to say something.
He Danggui dragged the cloak and paced. She asked, “Dr. Ma, I heard that you are a national master of the gynecology, so I want to ask you. Which pulse is slippery, astringent, or through in Concubine Hua’s pulse? After you determine that her unstable fetus caused by the medication, have you put the needle on her Sanyin channel and Shaoyang channel to figure out which medicine is poisonous in her?”
Dr. Ma thought for a while with his mouth open, and 2 medicine names popped out dryly, “Cattail pollen, and caulis akebiae.”
“Oh? It turns out to be cattail pollen and caulis akebiae.” He Danggui smiled slightly and said, “I read in a book some time ago. These 2 medicines are both belong to cold medicines, and have the effects of draining and stranguria. They are common in all kinds of abortifacients. In this way, it seems that Concubine Hua is indeed caused by the medication, not by her own weakness.”
Dr. Ma subconsciously wiped the absence of sweat on the forehead, and said, “Well, she is weak, and poor sleep has certain effects... Oh, she seems to have eaten crabs a lot in the past 2 months.”
“Crabs?” Madam Luo looked at Dr. Ma strangely, and couldn’t help asking, “Why don’t you mention these things when you got your pulse in the afternoon?” Dr. Ma hesitated and couldn’t answer.
Feng Yang consulted the He Danggui, an encyclopedia, “What’s wrong with crabs? I also ate a large plate yesterday. Are they poisonous?”
He Danggui smiled and said, “Ordinary people don’t have much taboo when eating crabs. Just be careful not eat it cold and too much. When you eat it, you can enjoy the food with ginger and spirit. But, for pregnant women, crabs are something as cold as caulis akebiae. If she eats too much, she can even achieve the same result as taking a bowl of abortifacients.”
“But, what’s the difference between abortifacient and parturifacient?” Feng Yang was a little puzzled and asked, “Aren’t they all things that can cause pregnant women to abort? Why did Madam Luo and others suddenly show a stunned expression when they recalled the medicine found by Concubine Hua is a parturifacient, instead of abortifacient?”
He Danggui looked at Sun Meiniang’s pale face, and answered Feng Yang with a clear voice, “The abortifacient is a much milder medicine than the parturifacient. The effective time ranges from 10 days to several months. Although it doesn’t sound like a good thing, it is also a kind of serious medicine. It is used to kill some 3-month-old stillbirths and blood fetuses. After some elderly women are pregnant, if they don’t want the fetus, they can take a few. The mild abortifacient will not cause too much damage to the pregnant women’s body even if they miscarry. Second Aunt must know this very well. I heard that she has also taken it.”
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