After Ji Changqing finished speaking, he stared fixedly at Feng Qingsui.
He saw her display an utterly natural expression of astonishment: “He was bitten to death by a dog?”
“Just teasing you. It was Princess Shouyang who couldn’t bear to hear him say her son had epilepsy, so she ordered him beaten to death with a staff.”
Feng Qingsui fell silent for a moment, her face darkening as she said, “Being a physician in the Xi Kingdom is truly too dangerous.”
“If someone intentionally causes a patient’s death and is made to pay with their life, that’s one thing. But this physician hadn’t even started treatment—he merely gave a diagnosis—and still had to die. If this continues, who would be willing to become a physician?”
With a solemn expression, she clasped her hands and bowed toward Ji Changqing.
“Second Master, as the Prime Minister, surely you have considered this more deeply than I have. I earnestly hope you will soon promote legislation in the Xi Kingdom to protect physicians’ personal safety and rights, and severely punish those who commit violence against medical practitioners.”
Ji Changqing: “…”
He gave this female swindler a deep look, then nodded and said:
“You’re right. Legislation should indeed protect physicians. However, Physician Xun was not beaten to death with a staff—he was forced to his death.”
Feng Qingsui slightly parted her lips, shot him a sidelong glare, then turned to Madam Qi and said:
“Mother, look at Second Master—with nothing better to do, he just amuses himself at my expense. Even matters of life and death he treats as a joke.”
Naturally, Madam Qi took her side, glaring angrily at her own son: “Stop frightening people here. Go and cook your dishes.”
A smile playing on his lips, Ji Changqing replied respectfully, “Your son will go at once.”
The moment he stepped out of the courtyard, all traces of laughter vanished from his face.
Although Feng Qingsui had concealed it well, he was certain that Xun Shan’s death was related to her.
Summoning Baifu and giving some instructions, he rolled up his sleeves and entered the kitchen.
One hour later, a table was set in Ci’an Hall, laden with dishes.
With only three people, there was no need to bother with separate tables.
They all sat together.
Although Feng Qingsui grew up in the Charity Orphanage and didn’t eat anything particularly good in her childhood, after traveling out of the capital with her master—who had no other hobbies except a love for fine cuisine—they ate their way through every region, sampling delicacies from all corners of the land.
She had still cultivated some discerning taste.
The dishes Ji Changqing prepared were quite delicious, more than good enough for him to work as a chef in a renowned restaurant.
She usually ate at most one bowl of rice, but this meal compelled her to have a second serving.
After the meal, she asked curiously, “How did Second Master come to take up cooking?”
Could it be that when he was in his hometown in Jiangzhou, his family was too poor to afford a cook?
Madam Qi chuckled beside her: “It’s all because he’s so picky. He always found fault with the cooks’ dishes and drove several away in anger, so I told him to just cook for himself.”
Feng Qingsui: “…”
Her master was also extremely picky. If he were in the capital, he might have been able to become a dining companion with Ji Changqing.
“Second Master is truly remarkable,” she flattered. “He said he’d cook, and he really mastered it. Among all the top scholars in our Xi Kingdom, Second Master is probably the only one who can excel both in the court and in the kitchen.”
Ji Changqing glanced at her sideways.
Feng Qingsui continued, “I’ve heard Second Master’s lyrics are also exceptionally fine. I wonder what new lyrics you’ve composed recently? Might I have the honor of reading them?”
Ji Changqing replied impassively, “Court affairs keep me too busy to write lyrics.”
“Is that so,” Feng Qingsui said, looking disappointed, but soon perked up again. “What about the ones you wrote before?”
As long as they hadn’t been widely circulated, they should still count as new lyrics.
Ji Changqing: “I burned them all for my elder brother.”
Feng Qingsui: “…”
“No wonder the lyrics sung all over the streets nowadays are all by others—I never hear any of Second Master’s lyrics.”
Ji Changqing naturally did not fall for her provocation, chuckling lightly, “Sister-in-law would do well to listen less to those frivolous and wanton tunes.”
Feng Qingsui: “…”
She glanced at him in shock, then quickly lowered her head.
“I never imagined Second Master wrote that kind of poetry…”
Ji Changqing nearly lost his composure.
Madam Qi chided angrily, “How could you burn such messy, improper things for your elder brother? Utterly disgraceful.”
Ji Changqing took a deep breath, “Mother, I have matters to attend to. I’ll return to my courtyard now.”
With that, he turned and left.
Back in his study, he summoned Yan Chi and said through gritted teeth, “Keep a close watch on Madam Feng. Report everything, no matter how trivial.”
He refused to believe he couldn’t catch her by the tail!
Yan Chi accepted the order.
Unable to obtain the poetry from Ji Changqing, Feng Qingsui turned around and sent Wuhua to buy some from scholars outside.
Upon hearing that the poetry needed to be of a caliber worthy of being used as a deposit at Fanlou, all the scholars mercilessly mocked Wuhua.
“If we could write such fine poetry, would we be short of your few taels of silver?”
Feng Qingsui also couldn’t produce the expensive floral-scented ink.
Only the hundred gold taels could be managed with some effort.
She did have some talent for making money; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to support a big eater like Wuhua.
However, preparing medicine was a troublesome affair and would take some time.
Wuhua suggested, “How about I simply take you to break into Fanlou at night? If we find that ink, we can force Qiao Zhenzhen to reveal who sent it.”
Feng Qingsui was somewhat tempted.
But she quickly shook her head.
“That’s not advisable. If Qiao Zhenzhen has the ink, she’s also a suspect and might deliberately mislead us. If she claims it was a gift from the Emperor, we wouldn’t be able to disprove it.”
Wuhua frowned, “But if it really is her, even if we meet her according to Fanlou’s conditions, she would still lie.”
“You’re right. Let’s try courtesy before force.”
While preparing the medicine, Feng Qingsui also gathered information on Qiao Zhenzhen.
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
The weather grew increasingly cold.
One day, just as she had crawled out from under the covers, a maid rushed into the courtyard excitedly to report, “Madam, Princess Shouyang has sent you gifts.”
Her spirits lifted.
It seemed Young Master Xuan’s health had improved.
She quickly glanced at the lavish gifts from Princess Shouyang: over a dozen bolts of brocade, two boxes of pearls, four cases of hairpins and jewelry, six fox furs…
She felt she could easily gather the hundred gold taels without even selling her medicine.
So she gladly followed the servants from the Princess’s Mansion to see Princess Shouyang.
As soon as Princess Shouyang saw her, she beamed with joy, “Since Xuan’er stopped eating the foods listed on your list, he hasn’t had any spasms or convulsions! The tremors are decreasing day by day, and his mind is growing clearer and clearer!”
Ji Xuan, who had grown a bit thinner, leaned against her side and stuck out his tongue at Feng Qingsui upon hearing this.
Feng Qingsui said, “Congratulations, Young Master Xuan.”
Princess Shouyang excitedly shared with her for nearly half an hour before letting her leave.
Ji Peiyuan was also present but remained silent throughout.
His malicious intentions had yielded good results, and words of gratitude felt like they would burn his mouth.
As soon as Feng Qingsui left, he found an excuse to leave the mansion and visit Jin Shi.
Jin Shi, who hadn’t seen him for over ten days, was overjoyed at his arrival. She immediately sent a maid to buy wine and dishes from the street, then sat down with him to eat slowly.
Halfway through the meal, she feigned concern and asked, “Has Young Master Xuan’s health improved at all?”
“He’s much better.”
Jin Shi was taken aback.
“Did you say he’s much better or not much better?”
“Much better,” Ji Peiyuan replied with a complicated expression. “Madam Feng cured him.”
What?!
Jin Shi’s eyes instantly widened like a frog’s.
“That woman cured him?!”
After hearing the treatment process, she nearly ground her silver teeth to dust.
Just changing the diet worked!
What a stroke of blind luck—how could that little bitch Feng have such good fortune!
She gritted her teeth and offered congratulations, waiting until Ji Peiyuan had left before her face darkened like a vat of soy sauce.
Not only had she failed to finish off that little wretch, but she had even cured Ji Xuan—a classic case of losing a dog while trying to steal a chicken. She absolutely could not let this go!
Wracking her brains, she finally came up with a brilliant plan.