Having found the medical records she was looking for, Ye Wanmian locked the cabinet and returned to the table to flip through them.
“... Vertigo, headache, stroke, delirium, idiocy...”
Ye Wanmian's heart skipped a beat. Her fingers pressed down on the page about idiocy with such force that her knuckles turned white.
Idiocy. This was the illness her mother suffered from.
She had made up her mind to learn medicine from her master so that one day she could cure her mother and be reunited with her.
She knew that idiocy was difficult to treat, and her mother had been in this state for so many years that the hope of a cure was extremely slim. But she still had to give it a try.
However, she also understood that Rome wasn't built in a day. With her current skills, she was unable to treat a patient with idiocy. She took a deep breath and continued to flip through the records, finally stopping at the page about “stupor”.
Stupor meant being in a deep sleep, unconscious. Although the patient had a heartbeat and could breathe, and could eat and excrete like a normal person, they completely lost consciousness, just like the trees that could be seen everywhere between heaven and earth, which was how it got its name.
No matter how she looked at it, the Crown Prince seemed to be suffering from this so - called “stupor”. But the sudden situation today made her feel something was off.
She flipped open the paper, and Dr. Wang's handwriting came into view.
“On the day of Wuyin in the month of Jimao in the 16th year of Wenchu, cloudy. The patient is a 43 - year - old man who has been in a coma. He can breathe on his own, has a heartbeat, and his internal organs are functioning normally. His pulse is weaker than that of a normal person, and he has no reaction to external light, sound, or touch. He is diagnosed with stupor. According to the patient's family, the patient slipped and fell while repairing the roof three months ago and had multiple abrasions...”
Her master wrote in the medical record that after the patient fell from the roof, his head hit the ground first, which led to his unconsciousness. He judged that the patient's brain had been shaken, and there was also blood stasis blocking the meridians in the brain, which was why the patient developed this illness.
Although the treatment method was written there, in the end, it was written in a very regretful tone that the patient had not improved after months of treatment. The patient's family couldn't afford the expensive medical fees and chose to give up the treatment.
Flipping further back, there were three or four more cases of such symptoms, all of which her master had encountered in different places. And the treatment of these patients all took more than three months, and there was no precedent of a cure.
However, in none of these cases was there a symptom of the patient suddenly waking up during the sleep and being able to grab someone.
The further she read, the more uneasy she felt.
There were many similar illnesses recorded in her master's medical records, but none of them was similar to the Crown Prince's condition. Could it be that she really had to wait for her uncle to come to Dongli Town and ask for his help?
Suddenly, her action of flipping the book stopped. In Ye Wanmian's mind, the image of Taoist Yuanqi in a Taoist robe, shaking the golden bell and doing some kind of exorcism dance emerged.
She remembered that her master had once said that when there was a phenomenon that couldn't be treated by medicine, other factors could be considered.
Could it be that the strange Taoist named Yuanqi had done something behind the scenes to make the Crown Prince like this?
The experience of the burial that night flashed through Ye Wanmian's mind like a carousel.
Not only did that evil Taoist draw talismans with chicken blood around the cemetery during the burial, but when she dug Xiao Jingcheng out of the coffin, there were also talismans drawn on his face by that evil Taoist!
With a “snap”, Ye Wanmian closed the book. She felt that she seemed to have found the crux of the matter.
However, that Taoist Yuanqi clearly wasn't a good person, and he was one of the main conspirators against the Crown Prince. She would never go to him for help. So who else could she turn to?
She tilted her head and thought. Her gaze fell on Dahuang not far away, who was gnawing on a ball of hemp rope, and paused slightly.
“Miss, this dog of yours clearly looks like the Heavenly Hound that has descended to the mortal world!” A seemingly absurd comment echoed in her mind.
That's right! The crazy Taoist in the market!
Ye Wanmian's eyes lit up. However, at this moment, a sudden and urgent call came from outside: “Miss Jiang, Miss Jiang!”
Ye Wanmian frowned and exchanged a look with Qi Wen, who had also looked up.
This voice belonged to Zhou Wang!
Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen understood each other without a word. Zhou Wang coming to the medical clinic at this time probably meant that the Chen family had discovered something.
It had been raining for three or four days in a row, and now the weather had cleared up. The guards who had been guarding the cemetery should go back to check. As long as they returned to the cemetery, they would find something strange, and the fact that the Crown Prince's body was missing would naturally no longer be able to be hidden.
However, because of the continuous rain for several days, the cemetery should have turned into a pile of mud, and no traces could be seen. She wondered why Zhou Wang had come today.
When Zhou Wang rushed into the medical clinic, Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen had already put down what they were doing.
“Brother Zhou, why are you here?” Ye Wanmian stood up, looking surprised. She sized Zhou Wang up and down. “Are you not feeling well?”
Zhou Wang's face was solemn, his brows tightly knitted. He shook his head and said, “No, I'm here for something else.”
Ye Wanmian pretended to exchange a look with Qi Wen and asked carefully, “What's wrong? Judging from your expression, has something happened?”
“Something has happened, and it's a big deal.” Zhou Wang said in a deep voice. “You two don't know, but Young Master Chen's tomb has been dug up!”
“What!” Ye Wanmian exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were wide open. “How... How could this happen! Didn't Young Master Chen just be buried the day before yesterday?”
Qi Wen couldn't help but look at her, admiring her to the core.
Miss Jiang was really good at acting! If he didn't know all the details, he would really have been deceived by her. Since Miss Jiang was acting, he couldn't fall behind!
“Yes, Brother Zhou. Who is so crazy to dare to dig up Young Master Chen's tomb? It's really too much!” Qi Wen clenched his fists angrily.
Being stared at by the “crazy” duo with wide - open eyes, Zhou Wang didn't suspect a thing. He sighed, “Who knows? I'm here today for this very thing.”
“After Mr. Chen found out that the tomb had been dug up, he was extremely angry. He even went to beg Prince Xuan and Prince Ning. The two princes have ordered a thorough investigation of this matter. So, all those who attended the funeral that night have to be summoned to Liuxiang Tower for questioning. You two were introduced by me, so I've been sent to call you.”
“Now?” Ye Wanmian pretended to look at the shop in a difficult way. “But we're in the middle of business.”
Zhou Wang was also helpless. “The princes have given the order. We have no choice but to obey.”
“Alright, we'll go with you. But you have to wait a bit. We need to close the door.”
Zhou Wang waited patiently outside. Inside the shop, Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen lifted the door panel together. Taking the opportunity of closing the door, they lowered their voices and communicated: “Miss Jiang, this matter has alarmed Prince Xuan and Prince Ning. What should we do now?”