Chapter 85: 085. Restless Night (Second Watch)
Translator: 549690339
After sending Lin’s father and daughter off, Ning Jing rushed the carriage, taking Su Liang back with her.
After entering the door, Su Liang asked, “Has there been any movement from the Xiao Family recently?”
Ning Jing answered, “There were some people following before, but they have all been dealt with.”
Su Liang pondered, “Do the Xiao and Li families know that Zhengzheng’s parents came to Pingbei City? If they know that Zhengzheng has already been taken back by the Wan Family, Li San shouldn’t go to Xunyang City to find Ning Yao. After all, everyone knows that you and Ning Yao are like water and fire; how could you take the child back to Xunyang City? Even more, Li San might join forces with Ning Yao to get rid of you.”
“Cheng Yun told Zhengzheng’s mother about the situation, and she knows the agreement in Xunyang City. Coming to Pingbei City is a secret. If they are discovered by the Xiao Family, they can’t leave.” Ning Jing said.
Su Liang nodded, “That’s right. The Wan Family is not to be trifled with. We can’t do anything about the later matters. We just hope that Zhengzheng returns home safely.”
“Do you miss him?” Ning Jing asked.
“Of course. Don’t you?” Su Liang retorted.
“Let’s go see Zhengzheng first and then return to Bei’an County.” Ning Jing finally answered.
Su Liang chuckled lightly, “Alright!” It is important to keep promises made to children, and she also wants to make sure that Zhengzheng has returned safely.
Each person returned to their respective rooms. Su Liang had just read two pages of a book when she heard a knocking sound, one after another.
Next door, Ning Jing went out.
Su Liang didn’t go out.
After a while, Ning Jing came back, pushing open Su Liang’s room door with a frown, “We need to go to the academy. There’s been an accident!”
Su Liang’s expression condensed, and she immediately closed her book, stood up and walked outside. Ning Jing came in and took her medicine box.
“Is someone sick?” Su Liang asked.
“Many people are vomiting and having diarrhea. The situation is not good.” Ning Jing said, “Master received the message and hurried back first, asking someone to come and ask for your help.”
In this world, diarrhea can be fatal.
If many people have symptoms at the same time, it is very likely to be food poisoning.
As the best academy in the northern part of Qian Country and even the whole country, the students in Qianshan Academy have at least the title of scholar.
In recent years, the government has been increasingly interfering in the management of the academy. The rule that the top three in the court examination in each county in the north can study in Qianshan Academy for free is not Lin Shuzhi’s intention, but it was set up by the provincial government for better talent cultivation and political achievements in the imperial examination.
The government bears the daily expenses of the academy, which greatly reduces the burden on students.
To a certain extent, Qianshan Academy has already become the official school of the large province in the northern part of Qian Country.
Therefore, although Lin Shuzhi has not become an official, if someone dies, he, as the dean, cannot avoid responsibility.
Su Liang and Ning Jing rode out together, heading towards Qianshan Academy at the fastest speed.
The cold wind blew against their faces. There was no one on the mountain road at night, only the sound of galloping horses’ hooves could be heard.
Suddenly, a group of masked people appeared in the dark forest, blocking Ning Jing and Su Liang’s way.
Ning Jing handed the medicine box to Su Liang and said in a low voice, “You go first.”
Su Liang took the medicine box and put it on her back, took out the twin blades from her leg, and rode forward with Ning Jing, meeting the assassins who were attacking.
Ning Jing’s speed was extremely fast. After clearing the obstacles for Su Liang, she urged the horse to rush out, and the rest of the people were intercepted by Ning Jing.
He leaped into the air, his long sword flashing a gloomy light, and the killing intent suddenly became dense!
Su Liang did not encounter any more obstacles on her way. The front door of the academy was wide open and she directly charged into the courtyard on horseback.
“Su sister!” Lin Xueqing stood inside the door, holding a lantern. She exclaimed in surprise, narrowly avoiding the incoming person and horse.
Su Liang got off the horse, grabbed Lin Xueqing, and walked quickly inside,
“What happened?”
“My father and I were planning to return to the academy early tomorrow morning, but suddenly we received a message that many people had been poisoned. Not only did my father look for you, but he also asked people to invite doctors from all over the city and immediately reported it to the government!” Lin Xueqing looked uneasy, “You’re the first to arrive!” It was late at night, and the students were all in the dormitory area.
Lin Shuzhi stood at the door anxiously, looking around. When he saw Lin Xueqing with Su Liang appearing, he immediately went up to them. He didn’t have time to greet them and just reported the situation, “Dinner was served an hour ago, and symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea appeared in the students one after another within half an hour. There are more and more cases. As long as they live in the academy and had dinner tonight, no one is spared. There are a few people who ate dinner in the city and came back to stay overnight, and they are temporarily fine.”
The academy was on holiday for five days from the end of the provincial examination to the announcement day, and the local students all went home. Only those from other places stayed in the academy.
However, today is special. The academy is scheduled to resume normal classes tomorrow, and the students are basically back.
Teachers, cooks, and other miscellaneous helpers, doorkeepers, totaling more than a hundred people, all encountered problems together. Lin Shuzhi asked someone to invite doctors from throughout the city, but he had no clue what to do.
“Where’s the cook?” Su Liang asked.
Lin Shuzhi had just returned to the academy not long ago. He understood the situation and had a few unaffected students move all the people over to this side. Hearing Su Liang’s question, he immediately took her to the cook.
The cooks had eaten their fill during the cooking process, and now one of the older cooks was in the most serious condition, vomiting for a long time with a dark face and signs of difficulty breathing. His son, also a cook, was temporarily conscious.
While taking the old cook’s pulse, Su Liang asked the middle-aged cook about the food prepared for the academy’s dinner, any abnormal ingredients, or any suspicious people entering the kitchen.
“The academy’s meals are made according to a fixed list, rotating every five days, and each meal is set. The suppliers of vegetables and meats have been the same for many years. There’s nothing wrong, and no one has entered the kitchen…” The middle-aged cook held his father, looking pale.
Lin Shuzhi’s face darkened, “Just one!”
Ning Jing’s voice came from the doorway, “I’ll go check the well.”
Su Liang carefully took the pulse of the old cook, observed his symptoms, administered acupuncture to relieve them, and asked the middle-aged cook about his discomfort. She then told Lin Shuzhi, “Someone has poisoned them.”
Thanks to Xing Yusheng, who had asked his maternal grandfather, Old Master Qin, for a book on poisons to give to Su Liang, and combined with her experience from a previous life, Su Liang already knew what was going on.
At first glance, it seemed like they had eaten something unclean, but if it was not taken seriously, it could indeed be fatal. “Can you find a solution?” Lin Shuzhi asked anxiously.
Su Liang nodded, “I’ll try.”
The government soldiers arrived, surrounding Qianshan Academy.
Doctors from the city also came one after another.
Su Liang finished writing the prescription, and Ning Jing brought back a bucket of water.
When the other doctors found out that the well water might have been poisoned, they all came to have a look.
They put in a silver needle, and it turned black indeed.
“Go get the medicine.” Su Liang handed the prescription to Ning Jing, and there wasn’t enough time to discuss it with the other doctors due to the urgency. Ning Jing took the prescription and left immediately, riding his horse down the mountain.
“Master, is there any other source of water nearby?” Su Liang asked.
Lin Xueqing’s face turned pale, “The only water… is from the waterfall on the back mountain. It’s the water that comes down from the mountain.”
“Let someone fetch water.” Su Liang said.
Lin Shuzhi immediately arranged for someone to get water from the back mountain, as the well water had been poisoned and could not be used.
While the other doctors were still debating how to detoxify, someone shouted that one of the students was in critical condition.
Before the doctors could react, Su Liang had already rushed over with her medicine box.
There was no medicine available temporarily, so she could only use acupuncture to alleviate their symptoms.
There were very few doctors in this world who knew acupuncture, and seeing Su Liang’s skill, the other doctors began asking about her background.
Lin Shuzhi was too lazy to pay attention to them. He could see that some of the doctors might have had ideas, but they were unwilling to take the risk and responsibility in such a life-and-death matter.
Before Ning Jing returned, Su Liang had been administering acupuncture continuously, one patient after another, without any time to catch her breath.
At one point, an old gatekeeper and a new scholar from the list of successful
Imperial examination candidates were both waiting for Su Liang’s help. Su Liang arrived at the old man’s side first and saw that his condition was critical, so she performed acupuncture on him, ignoring the calls to go to the other person.
As a result, several students who witnessed the situation angrily condemned Su Liang for not being able to distinguish priorities, saying that if anything happened to them, Su Liang would be involved!
Lin Shuzhi was utterly disappointed with the self-righteous students who believed their lives were more important and that Su Liang, as a doctor, should be responsible for their safety.
He didn’t want to cause any trouble temporarily, but he memorized who those people were and planned to kick them out of the academy once this issue was settled.
Su Liang was racing against time to save lives and needed a high level of concentration. She had no time to listen to those messy voices and didn’t stop helping those self-proclaimed noble students due to it.
The primary duty of a doctor was secondary to her. She didn’t want Lin Shuzhi to get into trouble over someone’s death.
Finally, Ning Jing returned with the medicine, and Su Liang checked that the ingredients were correct.
Back when they were in Su Village, Ning Jing used to purchase medicinal materials for Su Liang, and he had read through most of Su Liang’s medical books, so he was not unfamiliar with the process.
The water from the waterfall was not poisoned and had already been boiled in a big pot. Su Liang asked Ning Jing to take the medicine ingredients to cook with the water.
When the decoction was ready, Su Liang tasted and confirmed there were no issues, and had a bowl served to every poisoned person.
The few doctors who were still discussing how to detoxify came to Lin Shuzhi and said that Su Liang had taken matters into her own hands without consulting them, and they had no chance to intervene. If there were any problems with the antidote, it would be Su Liang’s sole responsibility, and they would have nothing to do with it.
Lin Shuzhi said with a dark face, “If there are any problems, I will take responsibility! Please leave! ”
A renowned doctor from Pingbei City sarcastically said, “We didn’t expect Dean Lin to be so bold as to put so many people’s lives in the hands of an unknown girl!”
Lin Shuzhi was furious! He had invited these doctors over in the first place, and there was no one stopping them from practicing medicine. With so many patients in front of them, did they not know what to do?
Su Liang was too busy saving lives at such a critical time, how could she have the leisure to talk about irrelevant things with them?
Lin Shuzhi knew very clearly that these doctors were afraid of getting into trouble if someone died, and when they saw Su Liang was willing to take on the responsibility, they just stood by and watched. But as doctors, being so selfish, how could they compare with the young Su Liang? Didn’t Su Liang know that if she failed to save a life after trying to treat the patient, she would be in trouble?
Those doctors who did nothing didn’t leave either, just watching from the sidelines to see what would come from Su Liang’s treatment, knowing that the outcome, good or bad, had nothing to do with them.
After struggling for most of the night, no one’s condition worsened, and the patients’ symptoms were alleviated.
Lin Shuzhi, with cold sweat all over his head and a soaked back, breathed a sigh of relief, “If it weren’t for Liang’er tonight, I really don’t know what to do.”
Su Liang checked the pulse of the chief cook, who had the most severe symptoms at the beginning, and made sure he was out of danger. She stood up, feeling lightheaded, and almost collapsed, but was steadied by a hand. Turning her head, she saw Ning Jing, and Su Liang smiled wearily, “At least it’s over now.”
“I’ll take her to rest.” Ning Jing helped Su Liang as they walked away.
“Go quickly.” Lin Shuzhi had seen Su Liang busying herself all by herself, taking on everything with admiration and emotion.
Once outside, Su Liang shivered as the cold wind blew.
Ning Jing took off his coat and draped it over her, then walked in front of her, bent over with his back to her, “Get on.”
Su Liang didn’t refuse, as this wasn’t the first time Ning Jing had carried her.
The two went to Lin Xueqing’s courtyard, where Su Liang had stayed before.
“There is a jade pendant with the Ning character carved on it by the well.” Ning Jing mentioned his discovery by the well.
Su Liang was stunned, “Ning Yao sent someone to do it and frame you?”
Ning Jing shook his head, “I have no reason to harm the people of Qianshan
Academy.”
Clever people who saw that iade pendant would think that someone from
Xunyang Ning family might be trying to frame Ning Jing.
“If a scholar from the academy dies, it would be a significant event. If Ning Yao is behind this, isn’t he just asking for trouble? A few days ago, he sent someone to provoke you in public.” Su Liang contemplated.
“He can use this to defend himself.” Ning Jing said coldly.
Su Liang’s eyes narrowed, “Leaving such a jade pendant behind, if he is suspected, he can say that if it were really him, he would never leave the jade pendant to implicate himself, and even allege that you did it to frame him while removing competitors in the academy and paving a smoother path for yourself in the Imperial examination! After all, everyone knows you were in Pingbei City, and he wasn’t here.”
Ning Jing coldly said, “As long as that jade pendant is found, whether or not I did it, everyone will think that this incident is caused by me, and the victims would be implicated by me.”
“And then there’s the assassin tonight.” Su Liang frowned, “Let’s not return to
Bei’an County for now, and go straight to Xunyang City to eliminate Ning Yao.. Otherwise, he won’t stop!”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l