Pei Zhiyan thought so too. He looked at Yan'er and asked, "What did she eat today?"
Yan'er wiped away her tears, thought for a while, and then shook her head. "Madam ate the same food as usual. There's nothing different..."
For a moment, everyone fell silent. Pei Zhiyan thought for a while and then asked, "What things did she come into contact with?"
Yan'er frowned. Granny Sun pursed her lips beside them and kept stealing glances at Song Ruotang who was standing nearby.
Yan'er seemed to have thought of something too. She looked up at Song Ruotang, hesitating to speak.
Song Ruotang calmly glanced at the old woman and the young girl and said softly, "I heard that the First Madam visited my yard at noon."
Pei Zhiyan paused and turned to look at Song Ruotang, his eyebrows slightly knitted. Yan'er also nodded. "Madam got several excellent jade hairpins and wanted to give one to each of the other two madams. So she went to the Third Madam's yard today."
As she said this, she seemed to have thought of something else. "If we say Madam didn't eat anything special today..." Yan'er gave Song Ruotang a rather veiled look and didn't continue.
A chill flashed across Pei Zhiyan's eyes. He didn't like people who played smart tricks in front of him. And Yan'er's words, deliberately left unfinished, were clearly meant to arouse suspicion towards Song Ruotang. The intention was obvious.
Seeing that Pei Zhiyan ignored her, Yan'er mumbled with the corner of her mouth twitching and then said dejectedly, "The First Madam ate some pastries in the Third Madam's yard."
Qingxing, who was following Song Ruotang, slightly raised her eyebrows as if suddenly enlightened. "Oh, the pastries Sister Yan'er mentioned should be the two plates brought by the Second Madam, right? A plate of peach crisp and a plate of mung bean cake?"
Yan'er's expression froze for a moment, and then she nodded awkwardly. "Yes."
"Did Sister eat a lot?" Song Ruotang frowned, her eyes filled with worry. But in the eyes of Yan'er and Granny Sun, it seemed like she was feeling guilty.
"Master... This concubine is in so much pain..." Just then, Lin Yun's faint voice came. Her forehead was covered with sweat, and her dry, purple lips were slightly parted. She shook her head as if she couldn't bear the pain anymore, her voice full of misery.
Pei Zhiyan pursed his lips, lowered his eyelids, and calmly said, "Call some other doctors to take a look."
He told the young servant behind him to go and invite a more skilled doctor. As soon as the doctor came and examined Lin Yun, he frowned, withdrew his hand, and bowed to Pei Zhiyan. "My lord, Madam's symptoms seem to indicate poisoning."
"Poisoning?" Yan'er's voice suddenly rose. She seemed a bit disbelieving. "Our Madam didn't eat anything else except the pastries in the Third Madam's room."
Her words seemed to imply that there was something wrong with the pastries in Song Ruotang's room.
Qingxing sneered with a mocking tone. "These pastries are not our Madam's. They were sent by the Second Madam."
Everyone still remembered clearly the incident of Du Lingxuan's poisoning a few months ago, and Yan'er knew about it too. She couldn't help but suspect Du Lingxuan again. Could it be that she had poisoned the pastries and their Madam had accidentally eaten them?
Yan'er shut up and didn't say anything more. At this time, Pei Zhiyan stood up. "Are the pastries still there?"
Qingxing looked at Song Ruotang. Since Song Ruotang had been prepared, she hadn't thrown away the pastries. So when Pei Zhiyan asked, Qingxing curtsied and said, "This servant will go and get them right away."
After Qingxing left, only Lin Yun's groans remained. The others didn't say a word. Yan'er prepared to go and make a pot of tea and also left.
When Qingxing brought the pastries back, Yan'er had already made the tea. She carried the teapot and poured tea for the people in the room. The doctor then stepped forward to examine the pastries.
After a careful examination, he wiped his hands. Granny Sun stepped forward and asked, "Doctor, is there anything wrong with these pastries?"
The doctor shook his head. "There's nothing wrong. They are just ordinary pastries. I didn't find any poison."
Granny Sun frowned slightly. "Then why?"
Pei Zhiyan's gaze fell on the pastries. Du Lingxuan would never have poisoned the pastries if she dared to send them to Song Ruotang openly. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to explain herself.
So if she wanted to take revenge on Song Ruotang, she must have found another way.
Seeing that Pei Zhiyan didn't say anything, Yan'er and Granny Sun exchanged a look. Suddenly, they knelt on the ground with a thud, looking miserable. "Please, Master, seek justice for Madam! Madam has always been kind and never offended anyone. Why would she suddenly be poisoned..."
Their cries were a bit noisy and gave Pei Zhiyan a headache. He frowned and waved his hand to signal them to be quiet. "I will surely give you an explanation on this matter. The most urgent thing now is to detoxify Lin Yun."
These words woke them up. Granny Sun and Yan'er were stunned for a moment. Looking at the suffering Lin Yun on the couch, they suddenly realized that they had lost their focus. They quickly nodded in agreement.
The doctor who came was from Huijitang, the most famous medical hall in the capital, and his medical skills were excellent. But after examining Lin Yun, he sighed. "The poison can be cured, but the process will be very long and troublesome. It will take a great toll on the patient."
Of course, they had to treat her. Lin Yun had been poisoned by Qianji Yin. Once this poison entered the body, the patient would soon feel as if their abdomen was being stabbed by a knife. To detoxify, they needed to boil the morning dew with red lotus petals into a soup and take it with white lotus hearts for seven consecutive days.
Moreover, the poison would remain in the body for these seven days. So until the poison was completely removed, the abdominal pain would never stop.
Pei Zhiyan didn't say a word. Lin Yun on the couch was already barely breathing, but she still managed to muster her energy and said, "Master, this concubine is fine..."
"I'll have to trouble Doctor Li with this matter." Pei Zhiyan nodded and didn't respond to Lin Yun. After giving the doctor some instructions, he finally turned his gaze to Lin Yun. "Then you should have a good rest."
Seeing that Pei Zhiyan was about to leave, Lin Yun hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. "Master... Will you come to see this concubine again?"
Her voice was full of misery and a hint of pleading. She looked rather pitiful. Pei Zhiyan frowned slightly but didn't turn back to look at her. His voice was as calm as still water. "You should have a good rest."
But this answer obviously didn't satisfy Lin Yun. She didn't let go of Pei Zhiyan's sleeve, as if she had used all her remaining strength. "Master, this concubine's poisoning may not be an accident..."
Only then did Pei Zhiyan turn back. A glimmer of hope flashed across Lin Yun's eyes, and then she heard his cold voice. "I will give you an explanation. You should focus on detoxifying."
As soon as he finished speaking, he gave a tug on his sleeve. Lin Yun didn't have much strength left and finally couldn't hold on. Pei Zhiyan walked up to Song Ruotang. His voice wasn't as cold as before. He slightly lowered his head and said, "Let's go."
Song Ruotang nodded and followed behind Pei Zhiyan. Lin Yun watched their backs from behind. Her fingernails painted with red nail polish dug into the brocade quilt, leaving deep wrinkles.
She knew that Pei Zhiyan treated Song Ruotang differently. But this time, even though she was poisoned and begged him like this, he still refused to soften his attitude. It wasn't like this when Pei Zhiyan first treated her.