All eyes fell on Chu Feng.
Feng Linyuan's lips curled up slightly as he looked at Chu Feng with a half - smile. "Young Master Chu, do you want the test or not?"
Chu Feng didn't answer. Instead, he tightly clutched his sleeves, his mind in a turmoil.
Of course, he hadn't poisoned anyone! But he had absolutely no idea whether there was poison on his cuffs.
Chu Feng subconsciously glanced at Feng Jingye.
Feng Jingye's eyes were slightly narrowed, and his lips were pursed into a thin line.
Chu Feng couldn't help but tremble all over.
Yes, although if the test showed poison, the Prime Minister's Mansion might be ruined. But if he refused the test, even if the Prime Minister's Mansion could be saved, Feng Jingye would never let him off!
Moreover, he hadn't agreed when Feng Linyuan proposed a compensation of a hundred thousand taels of silver yesterday. How could he be willing to offer the money now?
Either way, it was a dead end. He might as well take a gamble!
"Test it!" Chu Feng replied firmly.
"Indeed, Young Master Chu has backbone." Feng Linhuai nodded appreciatively. "Lord Qin?"
"I'm here, Your Highness. I'll make the arrangements right away." Qin Mu suddenly stood up and shouted, "Someone, quickly invite the doctor!"
When they found Chu Feng earlier, the people from the Prefectural Magistrate's Office had already invited a doctor to examine the unconscious Chu Feng.
Now, upon hearing Qin Mu's order, the doctor waiting in the back hall rushed into the main hall of the yamen with his medicine box on his back.
After entering, the doctor bowed to everyone present and stood stiffly, clearly a bit nervous.
Feng Jingye just took a look and then motioned towards Chu Feng with his chin. "Go and check his sleeve to see if there's anything on it."
"Yes," the doctor replied.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
Everyone held their breath and stared intently as the doctor carefully cut off a corner of Chu Feng's sleeve. He sniffed it under his nose, then took out a small cloth bag from his medicine box and poured out some powder onto the sleeve.
The entire inspection process was not short. After watching for a while, Feng Jingye sat down and shifted his gaze to Bai Zheng, who had been silent for a long time.
The young girl was wearing a long aqua - blue dress embroidered with delicate cloud patterns, which matched her cold and aloof face perfectly.
She watched the doctor calmly, with no trace of emotion in her clear black - and - white eyes. It was hard to tell whether her calmness came from certainty about the result or complete indifference.
However, regardless of the reason, it was already remarkable that she could remain calm in such a situation.
If it weren't for Chu Feng's actions, he should have already recruited this young girl.
But now...
This knot might be difficult to untangle.
The inspecting doctor was very cautious. After sprinkling the powder, his face changed slightly. He spread the sleeve on a silk cloth, then asked someone to bring a candle. He held the thin silk cloth over the fire to dry it, then took it to the window to examine it carefully, and gently rubbed the silk cloth with his index finger.
It wasn't until half a cup of tea had passed that he whispered, "I've found something."
Prime Minister Chu suddenly stood up.
Chu Feng tightly grasped his sleeve and hung his head without saying a word, clearly extremely nervous.
Only Feng Jingye remained relatively calm as he asked, "What did you find?"
The doctor pondered for a moment and then carefully replied,
"Your Highness, if I'm not mistaken, there's a bit of Suxin on the young master's sleeve."
"What is Suxin?" Chu Feng asked uneasily.
"Suxin can be regarded as a medicinal herb. Generally speaking, it can both calm the nerves and clear the heart. It's often used in combination with Coptis chinensis and Lotus plumule to enhance the effect of clearing the heart and calming the nerves."
"Suxin isn't a poison? So, Feng'er didn't poison anyone at all!" Prime Minister Chu exclaimed excitedly.
Hearing this, Bai Zheng remained expressionless, but a look of panic flashed across Bai Yinan's face.
Before the doctor could continue, Prime Minister Chu had already pointed at Feng Linyuan angrily and said, "Good for you, Marquis Dingyuan! You colluded with the Bai Mansion to frame my son. Our Chu family will never let this matter rest!"
"Prime Minister, you're getting so excited before the doctor has finished speaking. What if the result is different from what you've imagined? How will you save face then?" Feng Linyuan said coolly.
Prime Minister Chu looked at Feng Linyuan and laughed, his eyes showing a bit of the cruelty that came from years in the officialdom.
He knew exactly what kind of person his son was. Since Chu Feng had agreed to the test, he must not have poisoned anyone.
Moreover—
"The doctor has already said that what's on my son's sleeve is Suxin, which clears the heart and reduces fire. It's not a poison!"
"That's not right." Feng Linhuai said doubtfully, "If Suxin is such a good thing for calming the nerves and reducing fire, how come I've been taking calming and fire - reducing medicine for so many years but have never heard of it?"
Prime Minister Chu's expression faltered.
For them, who had been in the officialdom for a long time, reducing fire and calming the nerves were almost necessities in life. But indeed, he had never heard of the medicinal herb Suxin in all these years.
Seeing that he finally had a chance to speak, the doctor then said,
"Although Suxin can calm the nerves and reduce fire, its effect isn't very strong. It's expensive and tastes bitter, so it's not considered a good medicinal herb and is often discarded by doctors."
"Moreover, when taking Suxin, the dosage must be strictly controlled. Once the dosage is excessive, it becomes a very powerful poison and can cause great harm to the human body..."
"Ridiculous nonsense!" Prime Minister Chu's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but shout angrily with a furious look on his face.
The doctor glanced at Prime Minister Chu and fell silent, looking rather uneasy.
Feng Linyuan said coldly, "Prime Minister, openly obstructing the handling of a case might not be a good thing, right?"
Feng Linhuai just smiled. "I was quite puzzled before. Young Master Chu may not seem very smart, but he wouldn't do something so impulsive and reckless. Now, after hearing this, I suddenly understand."
He gave Chu Feng a meaningful look and continued, "Young Master Chu wasn't being reckless at all. He was actually quite clever and resourceful.
Giving Miss Zheng Suxin. Even if it was detected, people would just think that Miss Zheng accidentally took an excessive amount and died on her own, so naturally, it wouldn't involve you."
Hearing this, beads of sweat immediately broke out on Chu Feng's forehead.
It was all over! Now, he was like a man who had fallen into a swamp. The more he struggled to climb out, the deeper he sank.
He couldn't get out!
"Young Master Chu, I was kind - hearted and tried to plead for you out of old acquaintance. Why did you have to do this?"
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes. Her thin eyelashes cast a shadow, and she looked rather sad.
"We both know what happened that day. I gave you chance after chance, but you didn't cherish them. You had to make it such a mess that it's hard to clean up now. Sigh..."
These affectionate words almost made Chu Feng vomit blood.
How could he not understand what Bai Zheng meant?