Chapter 211: Luo Chun Poison

"Yi Lao?!"

Lin Xing never expected Yi Lao to appear here, especially together with Lord Ling.

"Young Master Lin, you're also here." Yi Lao saw Lin Xing and greeted him with a smile.

Yi Lao?

Dongfang Qingxuan was startled, lowered his voice and asked Lin Xing, "Is this the Alchemist of your Lin Family, Yi Lao?"

Lin Xing nodded dumbly, still unable to understand why the esteemed Guest Minister Elder of the Lin Family would appear at such an occasion.

Everyone who heard Dongfang Qingxuan's words was startled.

The Lin Family has a formidable Guest Minister Elder surnamed Yi, a fact many people know.

It is said that this elder is a skilled Alchemist who can forge Third-Grade Elixirs and is highly respected within the Lin Family.

Is the elder who came with Lord Ling the Alchemist in question?

"Yi Lao, why are you here?" Lin Xing was genuinely curious.

Yi Lao gave Lin Xing a sideways glance, his tone calm, "If Young Master Lin can come, why can't I?" Lin Xing waved his hand, "Yi Lao, you misunderstood, that's not what I meant…"

Yi Lao let out a soft hum.

"What wind blew Lord Ling here?"

"I heard my grandson's master was poisoned, so I summoned Yi Lao to take a look," Lord Ling bowed toward Gu Huanghou.

"The Young Lord's master is Ye Qingran, right? She's fine; why does Yi Lao need to come personally?"

When Dongfang Qingxuan learned that Yi Lao had also arrived, he silently cursed himself. The medicine he gave Ye Qingran was indeed a Lin Family specialty, which Yi Lao could recognize at a glance.

So he followed Gu Huanghou, smiled, and said, "Lord Ling, aside from a slight flush, Ye Qingran is unharmed, yet Yi Lao has made a needless trip!"

Ling Zhengrong smiled at the Crown Prince, "If there's a matter, the Crown Prince's word doesn't count. After all, the Crown Prince knows no medicine, does he? Since Yi Lao is already here, let him take a look; perhaps some ailments aren't visible on the surface."

Yi Lao nodded slowly, "Indeed, since I'm already here, I'll have a look. The young lady is still young; she must not end up with any lingering ailment."

Dongfang Qingxuan grew anxious and gave Lin Xing a signal. Lin Xing hurried to Yi Lao and said, "Yi Lao, it's already so late. Since Ye Qingran is unharmed, the Crown Prince Residence's pharmacist could examine her just the same. As for you, why not return to the manor with me first?"

"What, so eager to send me away? Do you have something unsavory you're hiding from me?" Yi Lao stroked the beard on his chin.

Lin Xing's body stiffened.

"No, nothing…"

Did Yi Lao discover something?

"How could Lin Xing hide anything from you? Yi Lao, the pharmacist in my manor is quite skilled; why trouble you? Your hands are for Alchemy!"

Yi Lao smiled without replying.

"Miss Ye, come over and let Yi Lao examine you. Yi Lao is a Guest Minister of the Lin Family, a master of medicine; at a glance he'll know exactly what poison you have taken."

Ling Zhengrong gestured to Ye Qingran, who inclined her head slightly and walked toward Yi Lao.

Dongfang Qingxuan's expression tightened, yet he could not continue to block.

Yi Lao looked at the young woman before him, nodded, recalling what Ling Zhengrong had said.

"Yi Lao, the Miss of the Ye family has some ties to Yaowang Valley. If you help her today, the Yaowang Valley says the Valley Master will personally teach you to forge an elixir, and joining the Medicine King Pavilion in the future is not impossible."

Being taught personally by the Valley Master of Yaowang Valley would be immensely beneficial; if he could join the Medicine King Pavilion, it would be an indirect entry into Yaowang Valley, so he agreed without hesitation.

While Yi Lao took Ye Qingran's pulse, Ling Zhengrong asked his grandson, "Shaoyang, what just happened? How did Miss Ye become poisoned?"

Ling Shaoyang replied, "After the master drank the wine poured by the Crown Prince, these symptoms appeared. We suspect the Crown Prince laced the wine, but the Crown Prince and Empress Consort both insist the poison was self‑administered by Ye Qingran, aiming to… lure the Crown Prince."

Ling Shaoyang unabashedly summarized the incident, and Gu Huanghou and the Crown Prince's faces grew grim.

If the Ling family were not a prestigious clan and Ling Zhengrong a third‑generation elder, they would have uprooted the Ling family long ago!

"Lure the Crown Prince?" Ling Zhengrong stared at Dongfang Qingxuan for a long while, yet saw no basis for Ye Qingran to lure anyone.

So he said nothing, merely nodded.

"Miss Ye is indeed poisoned," Yi Lao said after a pause.

"Yi Lao, what poison has Ye Qingran taken? Could it be some vile, low‑grade toxin?!"

Dongfang Ling'er suddenly shouted, her face twisted with malicious, spiteful grin.

"The poison Miss Ye took is called Luo Chun, a Spring Poison."

Upon hearing the name Luo Chun, Dongfang Qingxuan and Lin Xing both froze, barely perceptible.

"Spring Poison? Indeed it's Spring Poison! I must say, Ye Qingran truly spares no effort to lure the Crown Prince!"

"Exactly, perhaps she also gave the Crown Prince the same poison, but the Crown Prince didn't fall for it!"

"Using Spring Poison to lure the Crown Prince? That's just shameless!"

……

Xia Zhimeng was furious then, "Are you all ill? Yi Lao only said the poison is Spring Poison; did anyone say Ye Qingran administered it? You keep whining here! Why don't you say the Crown Prince put the poison in?"

"My royal brother is handsome and noble; what kind of woman could he desire? Why resort to such despicable means?"

Mu Qingrou nodded in agreement, "Seventh Prince is right; I actually think the possibility that Ye Qingran poisoned the Crown Prince is greater."

……

The National Master, who had remained silent, now exhaled a heavy breath; his robe was ink‑black, moving without wind, a chilling aura spreading, enveloping the entire Crown Prince Residence in low pressure.

Everyone felt the immense pressure, silent as cold cicadas.

Eyes fixed on the towering figure, hearts trembled; within the National Master's formidable aura, they felt like ants before a great tree.

Only Ye Qingran remained calm as water.

She gazed at Yi Lao and asked in an inquisitive tone, "May I ask, Yi Lao, why have I never heard of this Luo Chun Poison?"

"Luo Chun Poison is extremely rare; it no longer circulates on the market, unless…"

Yi Lao's gaze shifted to Lin Xing; in Lin Xing's pallid complexion he continued, "Unless it's a Lin family member. Luo Chun still has stock within the Lin family, and any person of sufficient rank in the Lin family can command it."

Ye Qingran nodded knowingly, "So you mean the poison on me could only have been granted by the Lin family, right?"

"Not bad!"

The two people's conversation was heard by everyone present, and reactions varied.

This poison, being unique to the Lin family and only controllable by Lin family members, is obviously not something Ye Qingran could obtain. Since the poison was not administered by Ye Qingran herself, it must have been given to her by the Crown Prince. Coincidentally, among the several young masters invited to the banquet at the Crown Prince's Residence, there is one who comes from the Lin Family—namely Lin Xing.

All of this can now be explained.

"The poison is something only Lin family members can obtain; today among the Crown Prince's guests there is also a Lin family member present—whoever administered the poison, anyone with a brain knows who it is," Xia Zhimeng said, now full of confidence, her voice much louder, "I'd like to see who still dares to slander my sister Ran!"