"How can I tell?"
Li Su couldn't help but laugh. "In any case, the strategist is about to lose her reputation. You should save her quickly! I'm worried that if you go off to play, the Xuanjia Army will lose a strategist who is both wise and brave!"
Since Fanhai was on the way to Bai Xing Lin, Lu Qing Wan didn't have to worry about delaying her treatment of other patients. She ran to the stables, grabbed a horse, and jumped on. "Tell Li Jin to prepare a horse for me, to be my exclusive mount."
Li Su mumbled an assent and, along with Ying Yi and Ying Er, rushed out with Lu Qing Wan. The streets were visibly chaotic. Lu Qing Wan could see people gathered in groups, discussing something, even from atop her horse. Fanhai had already experienced a poisoning incident. The scope of this poisoning was beyond her initial estimations.
Lu Qing Wan dismounted. "Lead the way!"
Li Su found it hard to believe that he, a guard who was always on the go, couldn't keep up with his own Princess Consort. He panted behind her and shouted, "Second floor, first room on the left, the 'Tian' room!"
Coincidentally, it was the same private room where Lu Qing Wan and Chi Yao Yao had their first meal together and met Feng Xi Wu. They kicked the door open and saw Lian Yu standing at the entrance with an indescribable expression. Upon seeing Lu Qing Wan, he looked as if he had been granted a great pardon.
"Princess Consort, you're finally here! Please, look at her..."
Lu Qing Wan followed his gaze and saw Chi Yao Yao lying on the couch, her hands grasping at the air, a foolish, lovesick grin on her face. "Handsome man, don't run! Come with this young lady and be my bandit king husband! Handsome man... hehe!!"
Lu Qing Wan turned to Lian Yu. "She probably doesn't actually want me to save her, does she?"
Lian Yu's face was ashen, and he didn't speak. His expression of humiliation was like that of a little beauty who had been forcefully... violated.
Lu Qing Wan stifled a giggle. "There are many more patients like this at Bai Xing Lin. To be safe, please send someone to maintain order, strategist."
Lian Yu looked as if he couldn't refuse. "The Marquis and the Prince have already sent people. I will not overstep my bounds. I still have matters to attend to in the army. I shall take my leave!" With that, for the first time, he did not complete his customary bow before Lu Qing Wan and fled as if escaping.
Lu Qing Wan couldn't help but chuckle. She strolled over and, while no one was watching, administered an antidote to Chi Yao Yao, gave her two acupuncture needles, and then, after some thought, gave her some medicine.
Li Su caught up at this moment. Lu Qing Wan asked her curiously, "Why did it take so long? What were you doing?"
"A few more patients appeared. I had the shopkeeper send them directly to Bai Xing Lin." Li Su saw a water cup by Chi Yao Yao's couch and understood. "Has the Princess Consort finished treating Miss Chi?"
"Yes. Where is her maid? Or did she run out on her own again?" Chi Yao Yao was arguably the first friend Lu Qing Wan had made in this time. Knowing that this girl was unlike ordinary noble young ladies, Lu Qing Wan was prepared for her answer. As expected, Li Su nodded. "Fanhai has a new pastry today called 'Dan Huang Su'. Miss Chi is famous for her love of food, so she probably ran out to try the new snacks."
"Then there's nothing that can be done." Lu Qing Wan pinched Chi Yao Yao's flushed cheek. "You guard her here. I'll have someone notify the Chi manor. You can come to Bai Xing Lin after they've taken her home."
Knowing that Chi Yao Yao was Lu Qing Wan's only close female friend, Li Su respected her. "Then please have any of the guards go. Just don't send Ying Yi and Ying Er away!" At crucial moments, Ying Yi and Ying Er had to protect Lu Qing Wan.
"Understood." Lu Qing Wan agreed cheerfully, walked out, gave instructions to a guard, and then galloped towards Bai Xing Lin.
As soon as she arrived at Bai Xing Lin, she was startled by the commotion of patients. Someone, with keen eyes, recognized her and shouted, "Divine Doctor Lin is here!" A crowd of people turned to look at her. Many of them looked familiar to Lu Qing Wan, but Lin Sa did not recognize them. She searched through the crowd, her gaze settling on a soldier in armor.
She then announced in a clear voice, "Everyone, the Regent and Marquis Lu have already informed me of the general situation. There is no need to panic. You have merely eaten something wrong, and the toxicity is not strong, nor is it fatal. I have already saved someone on the way and have a method to treat this poison. Please form an orderly line, and I and the other doctors will prepare the antidote as quickly as possible to detoxify you."
Having spoken, she dismounted and walked up to the soldier. "Someone from the Regent's command?"
The soldier clasped his fist and respectfully replied, "Shen Qing Zhou, Captain of the Tian Zi Camp of the Xuan Jia Army, sent by the Regent to support Bai Xing Lin. I await Divine Doctor Lin's orders."
"Find a doctor to sort all the patients by severity of their condition. Before the antidote is ready, I will use acupuncture to treat the more severely poisoned patients. Also, find all the medicinal ingredients available in Shang Jing City according to this list. I want to see the ingredients in the medicine furnace within an hour at most."
To encounter such a large-scale poisoning event and remain so calm, Shen Qing Zhou glanced at Lu Qing Wan in surprise. Recalling Feng Xi Wu's orders, he resolutely responded, "Understood. Third brother, take men to maintain order. The rest of you, follow me!" With his command, the army surrounding Bai Xing Lin quickly reorganized. One group departed decisively, while the line outside Bai Xing Lin did not fall into disarray.
Lu Qing Wan entered Bai Xing Lin, and Meng Sheng came to greet her, followed by a group of men and women, young and old. He got straight to the point. "Grand-disciple-master, these are all the doctors and medical women the Regent has found. Please give your instructions."
Lu Qing Wan scanned them. The doctors ranged from those with snow-white beards to those with baby faces. She cleared her throat and began. "The Prince has explained everything, right? Those willing to follow my instructions will stay and help save people. Those unwilling to listen, leave now."
After she finished, she said to Ying Yi, "I need two people, one male and one female, to demonstrate acupuncture on. Go outside and ask if anyone volunteers to be the first to receive treatment. If they are willing to be my demonstration subject, their subsequent treatment fees will be waived."
Ying Yi departed. An elderly medical woman muttered, "The patients were poisoned in some of the major restaurants in Shang Jing. Those who can dine in these restaurants are unlikely to be tempted by a small amount of silver." The other doctors and medical women remained silent, but most agreed with the medical woman's assessment and were worried whether Lu Qing Wan could find two demonstration patients.
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you suggest? I'll say the acupoints, and you'll insert the needles? How many of you can do that?"
The group of medical practitioners blushed. The medical woman's face turned red, and she stamped her foot in annoyance. "Why make things so complicated? Didn't the Regent and Marquis Lu send people? Couldn't they just order someone to grab two people and demonstrate for us? Why go through all this trouble? Not using such good conditions is utter foolishness!"