Since that day, Shen Qi seemed to have become a different person. Instead of running outside all day long, he would learn pharmacology from Mu Fengqie, read and write with the tutor, and practice martial arts with Jing Xunchè every day. No matter how hard and tiring it was, he never complained once.
Seeing the original sparkle gradually fading from the child's eyes, replaced only by calmness, Mu Fengqie felt heart - aching for him from the bottom of her heart. But this was his own choice, and she didn't have the ability to interfere. All she could do was teach him to the best of her ability.
"Qie'er, these are all the teas bought during the tea - picking season. Take a look and see if they all contain that stuff," Jing Xunchè took out some of the teas from the season and laid them out one by one in front of Mu Fengqie.
Mu Fengqie brewed them and took a sip of each. Seeing Mu Fengqie try them herself, Jing Xunchè immediately snatched the teacup from her hand.
"What are you doing? You know there's poison in them, yet you still try them yourself," Jing Xunchè looked at Mu Fengqie disapprovingly.
"Don't worry. As long as the amount is within the normal range, it won't cause any harm," Mu Fengqie knew that Jing Xunchè was worried about her, but this was the only way to find out which tea contained that stuff.
Those people were so cunning that they had diluted that stuff into the tea. Under Jing Xunchè's worried gaze, Mu Fengqie tasted them one by one and found that only one kind of tea was mixed with that stuff.
"Only this tea is poisonous?" Jing Xunchè looked at Mu Fengqie in surprise. But according to his men's investigation, the only person who bought this kind of tea was Lady Shen. No one else had bought it.
"It seems that this incident is aimed at my foster mother. Or rather, my foster mother is just a guinea - pig for them," Mu Fengqie said.
"Maybe it's not just about Lady Shen but the entire Shen Mansion," Jing Xunchè said. He always felt that this matter couldn't be that simple.
"Sister Qie'er, haven't you caught those people yet?" Qi'er ran over after finishing his homework. This kind of conversation happened every day, and the answer was always the same.
"Not yet," Mu Fengqie sighed as she saw the disappointed look in Qi'er's eyes. "But we've got new leads now. I'm sure we'll catch them soon," she comforted him.
"Really?" Shen Qi's eyes lit up as if they had been suddenly illuminated. The whole person became excited. Mu Fengqie felt that Qi'er hadn't smiled so happily since Lady Shen had an accident.
"Of course it's true. When has Sister Qie'er ever lied to you?" Mu Fengqie said.
After getting excited for a while, Qi'er looked at Jing Xunchè hesitantly, as if he wanted to say something but held back.
"Just say it. What's your matter?" Jing Xunchè could tell Qi'er's hesitation. If his request was reasonable, he would consider granting it.
"My Lord Marquis, if you catch the murderer, can I see him?" Shen Qi looked at Jing Xunchè and asked.
"Why do you want to see him?" Jing Xunchè looked at Shen Qi and asked.
"Because I want to ask him in person why he poisoned my mother," a shadow flashed across Shen Qi's eyes. If possible, he even wanted to kill the murderer with his own hands. But unfortunately, they wouldn't allow it.
Jing Xunchè looked at Shen Qi for a while, then sighed and said, "For the sake of your Sister Qie'er, this Marquis agrees. When the murderer is caught, I'll take you there."
"Thank you, My Lord Marquis," Shen Qi said and bowed deeply to Jing Xunchè. Then he went to practice martial arts with Hong Yi. At first, it was Jing Xunchè who taught him, but Jing Xunchè said that he should come to him after he had learned Hong Yi's martial arts.
"Why did you agree to Qi'er's request?" Mu Fengqie looked at Jing Xunchè in confusion.
"He's grown up. It's time for him to learn to be independent," Jing Xunchè said.
"Qi'er is still so young," Mu Fengqie said with heartache as she watched Qi'er's departing back.
"He's not young anymore. I had already been on the battlefield with my father when I was his age," so there was no need to feel sorry for him. He was really not young.
"By the way, has there been any movement from the Jiang family?" Mu Fengqie asked.
"Not yet. Their family is just the same as usual. Nothing unusual has happened. Either the people sent to the Shen Mansion weren't arranged by the Jiang family, or the people from the Jiang family have already noticed us. But I don't think the second possibility is likely. It should be the first one," Jing Xunchè said. The people he sent were all top - notch experts from the Dark Pavilion, personally trained by him. They couldn't be easily detected.
"Do you suspect that there are people from the Karsik Kingdom in the Shen Mansion?" Mu Fengqie asked. "But wouldn't anyone notice if people from the Karsik Kingdom sneaked in?" There should be some differences in appearance between the two countries, right?
"I've been thinking about this problem too, but I haven't found the answer yet," Jing Xunchè had also checked the people in the Shen Mansion, but he hadn't found any suspicious people.
"My Lord, the Assistant - Regent is here," Mu Nan appeared and interrupted their conversation.
"Got it," Jing Xunchè said. He guessed the purpose of Yuan Yuhan's visit. It was about Lord Shen.
Lord Shen hadn't gone to court for the past few days and had been on sick leave, and it was he who had applied for the leave. With Yuan Yuhan's intelligence, he must have noticed something and come here.
"Zhanzhi, what happened to Lord Shen?" As soon as Yuan Yuhan came in, he didn't say anything else and directly asked about the purpose of his visit.
"Your Highness, our Qin Dynasty... may be in big trouble," Jing Xunchè looked at Yuan Yuhan seriously and said.
"What's going on?" Yuan Yuhan looked at Mu Fengqie and then at Jing Xunchè. He hadn't heard any bad news either. Why was there big trouble?
"Your Highness, have you heard of opium?" Jing Xunchè said. By now, it was a good idea to tell Yuan Yuhan first. He hadn't planned to hide it from him for long anyway.
"I've heard of it. This stuff is unique to the Karsik Kingdom. What's wrong? What does this have to do with the big trouble in our Qin Dynasty?" Yuan Yuhan looked at Jing Xunchè and asked. Why did it suddenly involve the Karsik Kingdom?
"Qie'er said that this stuff is poisonous. Once the dosage is excessive, people will get addicted, and we've already found one case," Jing Xunchè said seriously.
Yuan Yuhan was stunned for a moment. "The case you're talking about... wouldn't it be the one I'm thinking of?"
"Yes, it's Lord Shen. But it's not Lord Shen who was poisoned, but Lady Shen," Jing Xunchè confirmed Yuan Yuhan's thought.
"Have you found any leads?" Yuan Yuhan became serious. This matter was of great importance.
"We've already found out that this matter is related to the Jiang family. I'm just collecting evidence. They've done this so secretly. If it weren't for Qie'er's discovery, we really wouldn't have known that such a thing had happened."