Chapter 164: Examining the Injuries, They Can Only Watch in Envy

Evil borer? Shen Qianmo suddenly remembered seeing this name in the medical book Old Man Duan had left her. It was indeed a venomous insect with extremely lethal toxicity. However, she recalled that the evil borer was native exclusively to the Xiliang Kingdom; could it be that they were also breeding and running rampant in the Northwest?

Baili Xiao also chimed in from behind with a puzzled look, "As far as I know, evil borer is a poisonous insect unique to Xiliang. Judging by the wounds on the consort's chest, it should be the work of more than one or two borers. But the weather in the Northwest is still cold right now, which is not the season for evil borers to run rampant. How could such a large-scale infestation of evil borers appear on Fengming Mountain?"

While Baili Xiao scratched his head in thought, Princess Yongle had already darkened her pretty face, consumed by smoldering anger. "In that case, Master Gongsun's deduction is correct! The consort's death is indeed inextricably linked to Xiliang! Murong Jing! Why would he want to harm the consort?"

Since these poisonous insects were exclusive to the Xiliang Kingdom, Princess Yongle naturally pointed the finger at Murong Jing, the Prince of Yanping of Xiliang, who had accompanied the consort to Fengming Mountain that day.

"Men!" Princess Yongle's indignation remained unappeased as she shouted angrily, "Gather my troops! Storm Murong Jing's courtyard and demand justice for the consort!"

"Understood!" Outside the courtyard gates, the head guard gave an order, and all the guards of the Southern Zhan Kingdom drew their spears and donned their armor, ready for action.

Clearly, Princess Yongle had intended to do this all along; otherwise, so many guards could not have assembled so swiftly. The only reason she waited for Shen Qianmo to arrive before giving the order was simply to show courtesy to the mistress of the estate.

Shen Qianmo frowned. The envoys from various nations staying in this guesthouse had all been invited by them. If the Southern Zhan and Xiliang kingdoms were to create a commotion here and resort to armed conflict, it would reflect poorly on the governance of the Prince Xuan's Estate and might give the world the impression that they lacked control and administrative competence.

She exchanged a glance with Ye Qinglan and Baili Xiao. The two of them understood tacitly and were about to step forward to dissuade her when they suddenly heard a commotion from outside the courtyard. Shortly after, Qiao Yuan entered the room to report, "Reporting to the Princess Consort, the Prince of Yanping of Xiliang requests an audience outside the courtyard."

Outside the courtyard gates, dozens of Xiliang guards stood in a cold standoff with the Southern Zhan guards, the atmosphere tense and swords drawn. Dressed in brocaded and luxurious robes, Murong Yanping, Murong Zhao, stood at the forefront with his sleeves fluttering in the wind. Though nearly fifty years old, he still possessed the graceful and extraordinary demeanor of a jade tree, radiating nobility. Seeing Shen Qianmo emerge from the courtyard, he cupped his fists and said in a clear voice, "Greetings, Princess Consort Xuan."

Princess Yongle stepped forward a few paces, her delicate face filled with majesty, lingering hatred, and righteous fury as she snapped, "Murong Zhao, I was just about to look for you, yet you have delivered yourself to my doorstep. Where is your son, Murong Jing? I must ask him why he used poisonous evil borers to take the life of my consort!"

Murong Zhao held a position of considerable reverence in Xiliang, second only to the Regent Murong Wei. Rumor had it that he was high-minded, conceited, and possessed an extreme backbone of pride. Now, subjected to Princess Yongle's unfocused and furious reprimand, his well-maintained, fair complexion could barely hold its composure. His face darkened as he retorted unkindly, "What is the meaning of this, Princess Yongle? Why would my worthless son casually harm the consort without cause? Does the Princess have evidence? If you are merely spouting baseless words, I, Murong Zhao, am not someone to be idly slandered! Princess Consort Xuan is here today, and I trust she can preside over justice for this prince!"

Shen Qianmo silently cursed under her breath. Murong Zhao, you truly are an old fox, instantly deflecting the fire onto me. Yet, as the hostess, seeing two nations bickering right under her nose, she had to play the peacemaker whether she wanted to or not.

Stepping forward, she placated Princess Yongle, saying, "Princess, please calm your agitation." She then turned to Murong Zhao and asked, "What brings the Prince of Yanping here to see me?"

Seeing that Shen Qianmo showed no sign of favoring Southern Zhan and spoke with propriety and courtesy, Murong Zhao's hostile expression softened somewhat, though his tone remained exceptionally grave. "My worthless son was stung by poisonous insects while sightseeing on Fengming Mountain a few days ago. Not only has his condition failed to improve over the past few days, but it has worsened progressively. Today, he is bedridden and running a high fever. Hearing that the Princess Consort Xuan is skilled in medicine, I implore you to go and diagnose and treat my son."

Murong Jing was also bitten by poisonous insects? Moreover, judging by Murong Zhao's deeply worried expression, his condition did not seem light. Everyone present was slightly startled. If this were truly the case, then Murong Jing's suspicion of secretly harming the consort with poisonous insects would be greatly diminished.

If he had indeed planned to use evil borers to harm someone, he naturally would have taken preventive measures beforehand; how could he possibly have been bitten by the very poisonous insects he released?

***

Under these circumstances, since Murong Zhao made such a request, Shen Qianmo naturally went with the flow and would not refuse.

The group walked into Murong Jing's room, greeted by the same foul stench of rot as in the Southern Zhan consort's room. Murong Jing lay flat on the bed with his upper garments open, appearing to have lost consciousness. Two elderly men, looking like physicians, were changing his medicinal herbs. A large patch of flesh on his right arm had already festered beyond recognition. Covered by mashed green medicinal herbs, pus and blood flowed from the wound, making the bone faintly visible—a truly shocking sight.

Gongsun Hua stepped forward to confirm for a few moments before retreating. He turned back and nodded slightly to Princess Yongle, his meaning self-explanatory: Murong Jing's wound was identical to the consort's, indeed caused by the bite of an evil borer.

The two of them had come along specifically with skeptical attitudes, thinking that Murong Zhao's claim of Murong Jing also being poisoned by insects was merely a ploy to clear him of blame. Now, seeing how severe Murong Jing's injuries were, they were temporarily left speechless.

"May I ask what these applied medicinal herbs are?" Shen Qianmo stepped closer to check Murong Jing's radial pulse, her brows slightly furrowing. His pulse was weak and erratic, indicating that he was indeed seriously ill.

One of the elderly men changing the herbs lowered his head and replied, "Responding to the Princess Consort, these are several specialized medicinal ingredients I formulated specifically to eliminate carbuncles, boils, and toxic swellings, with the addition of Ninglu Pills, which are quite effective in dispersing the venom of snakes and insects."

Shen Qianmo nodded. She had heard of the name "Ninglu Pill"; it was indeed a top-tier remedy for dispelling the venom of snakes and insects.

"Has the place bitten by the poisonous insects continued to fester over the past few days?" Shen Qianmo examined the wound on Murong Jing's arm closely. It seemed that while these medicinal herbs were effective against snake and insect venom, their efficacy against the venom of the evil borer was minimal.

The old man shook his head and sighed helplessly. "For some unknown reason, over the past few days, not only has the prince's wound failed to show any improvement, but it has grown increasingly worse. These poisonous insects are simply too formidable."

If it continued to rot at this rate, Murong Jing would likely lose his arm.

Seeing this, the worry on Murong Zhao's face deepened. Observing Shen Qianmo inquire about the ingredients and efficacy of the old physician's prescription, he assumed she already had an idea and asked, "Does the Princess Consort Xuan happen to have a solution?"

With Murong Zhao asking this, everyone's gaze in the room shifted to Shen Qianmo. They had long heard that the Princess Consort Xuan possessed brilliant medical skills and extraordinary courage; they wondered what wonderful method she might have to untangle this insect venom.

Shen Qianmo's mouth twitched slightly. Truly, reputation precedes misfortune—could she tell them that her actual brilliant skill was not curing living people, but rather autopsying the dead?

Sighing inwardly, she couldn't be bothered to explain and turned to give instructions: "Baili Xiao, go quickly to the estate and fetch two bottles of normal saline and two bottles of distilled water."

Baili Xiao acknowledged the order and hurried away, returning shortly afterwards in a flurry with several large, transparent glass bottles containing clear, water-like liquid in his hands.

Shen Qianmo instructed the two elderly physicians, "Please, sirs, first use these bottles of normal saline and distilled water to flush the prince's wounds, and then apply your medicinal herbs. Doing this should prove far more effective than merely applying the herbs."

Gongsun Hua and the two physicians had never heard of "normal saline" or "distilled water." Seeing the bottles in Baili Xiao's hands, all of them wore strange expressions.

***

"May I ask the Princess Consort Xuan, what are these normal saline and distilled water?" Gongsun Hua's gaze shone brightly with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and the other two old physicians similarly wore looks of curiosity.

Faced with a room full of curious and gleaming eyes, Shen Qianmo could not help but recall the days in her past life when she taught new interns at the forensic department.

It seemed she would have to carry out the responsibility of imparting knowledge, teaching industry, and resolving doubts to the very end today.

"This normal saline can be used externally or taken internally; it can replenish body fluids and cleanse wounds. Washing wounds with this distilled water causes the purulent and swollen parts of the wound to lose activity, preventing them from spreading and growing. Using the two diluted together yields a much better effect than flushing with raw water."

Although everyone only vaguely understood Shen Qianmo's explanation, for a medical practitioner of many years like Gongsun Hua, he naturally possessed an extraordinary keenness for medical theory. Hearing her explanation, he forcefully suppressed his inner excitement and asked, "By the sound of the Princess Consort Xuan's words, could these two substances be used in the future to wash knife and arrow wounds for soldiers in the army, and do they possess the effect of inhibiting suppuration and ulceration?"

Hearing this, Baili Xiao proudly stated, "Naturally! Ever since the Princess Consort formulated these normal saline and distilled water, countless soldiers of the Meng Family Army have benefited from them!" Back then, when he formulated these two items under Shen Qianmo's instruction, he too had been excited for several days.

However, we certainly won't leak the formulation methods of these two items, so the rest of you can only turn green with envy, haha... Baili Xiao laughed inwardly toward the sky.

Upon hearing this, Murong Zhao and Princess Yongle simultaneously revealed expressions of solemnity. For countries with relatively extreme climates like Xiliang and Southern Zhan, whenever the scorching summer arrived, soldiers in the army who suffered knife wounds suffered most from wound suppuration and ulceration. If the army had ample medicinal herbs, it was fine; but if herbs were scarce, many soldiers would lose their lives because of it, and even if cured, they would be left with lingering ailments.

No wonder the combat effectiveness of the Meng Family Army grew stronger day by day with minimal casualties. Much of the credit undoubtedly belonged to this seemingly gentle and delicate yet exceptionally knowledgeable and capable Princess Consort Xuan before them.

If they too possessed these two items, how many casualties could be spared among their own soldiers during the scorching summer days to come? Yet, the tragic part was that such wonderful goods belonged to someone else, leaving them with only the capacity to watch, envy, and turn red with jealousy.

Thinking of this, the moods of Murong Zhao and Princess Yongle grew several shades gloomier.

However, Shen Qianmo was in no mood to care about everyone's thoughts at the moment. She turned back to Princess Yongle, who stood a few paces away, and said, "Please have the princess send someone to investigate the symptoms of the soldiers who were simultaneously stung by poisonous insects on Fengming Mountain that day. Make sure to check two things clearly: first, the degree of ulceration at the insect bite wounds, and second, whether the skin on their bodies exhibits a purplish-blue color."

Princess Yongle was slightly startled, but Gongsun Hua beside her was enlightened by Shen Qianmo's prompt and spoke up, "Does the Princess Consort Xuan suspect that the consort's cause of death was not caused by poisonous insects?"

Shen Qianmo nodded and said calmly, "If Princess Yongle has no objections, I would like to examine the consort's corpse once more."