TGCFNM -Chapter 458 My Head Hurts

Lu Shi sat upright behind his desk in the study. Looking at the two of them, his first reaction was a headache.

Chu Ling noticed Lu’s furrowed expression and asked curiously, “Lord Lu, is your stomach hurting?”

Lu Shi: “…My head hurts.”

“If it were a stomach ache, it would be from catching a chill. A weak constitution lets cold in easily, Lord Lu, you should take care of yourself and remember to eat breakfast,” Wan Sanjin advised seriously.

Lu Shi’s eyes widened in exasperation. He turned to Chu Ling, speechless: “Why is a newly appointed magistrate skipping the government office to come here?”

“I’m not here to report. I’m only investigating the case. Once it’s done, I’ll return to Sishui County,” Chu Ling replied earnestly.

Lu Shi paused, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Little ancestor, that’s an imperial edict. The edict has already been issued, and you still refuse to report?”

“Anyway, the point is for me to investigate the case of Empress Hexiao. Besides, Prince Rui said it was fine,” Chu Ling said with a grin. “Otherwise, I’d have to attend court and handle official business.”

Lu Shi looked at her amusedly and decided not to argue further. “Alright, the court’s in turmoil anyway. Every time you attend, you encounter people on the brink of death. As for the emperor… well, as long as that person is willing to help, do as you wish.”

“Go ahead. Don’t distract me from my work.”

“Lord Lu, we came to ask if the case of Empress Hexiao has any official files,” Chu Ling got straight to the point.

Lu Shi twisted his face as if assaulted by nonsense, then stood up from behind the desk. He strode over and jabbed both of them in the forehead, asking each word carefully: “Who is it? The Empress! How could there be a case file for the Empress? It was never filed back then—where would you even find one now?”

Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin both covered their foreheads, glaring at Lu Shi in protest.

“Lord Lu, speak properly. Don’t poke us,” Wan Sanjin said aggrievedly. “Your hands are so rough.”

Lu Shi: “…”

Quick as ever, Chu Ling pulled a post-mortem report from her sleeve and handed it over. “Lord Lu, take a look, quick.”

Frowning, Lu Shi opened it. After a moment, he regretted it. “Where did you get this thing?”

“Perfect Fang,” Chu Ling said seriously.

Lu Shi’s expression hardened. He frowned and said, “Knowing about this won’t help. Who would dare use it as evidence? Do they want their head split open?” With that, he handed the post-mortem report back.

Chu Ling took it, folded it, and put it away. “Not as evidence—just for reference. To figure out how to investigate.” This at least gave them a direction.

“The person who specifically assigned you to investigate…” Lu Shi paused, his expression darkening. “He only thought of himself, completely ignoring your safety!”

Wan Sanjin lowered his eyes, falling silent.

“To investigate this case, there are only two places to look: the palace and the imperial villa. The villa is manageable, but how will you investigate the palace?” Lu Shi’s expression grew grim. “In such a place, filth comes out layer after layer. For every method there is, there’s a way to cover it up.”

Wan Sanjin asked softly, “Then… we just pretend to investigate hard but drag it out slowly?”

“No, there isn’t enough time,” Lu Shi said directly. “You’re smart people—you know what time it is. The momentum of that Xiao heir has already been completely overtaken. So here, the identity must be verified immediately. Naturally, you have to investigate carefully, thoroughly.”

Chu Ling felt touched. “Lord Lu, you really care for your juniors, saying so much to us. Don’t worry—we’ll do our best to survive.”

“I’m afraid you’re too foolish and will get me into trouble!” Lu Shi pushed them out the door. “Go, go, go. Investigate your case. Don’t bother me—I have nothing here. You’re better off checking the villa.”

Chu Ling tilted her head to look at Lu Shi, her eyes lighting up as she made a gesture.

Lu Shi furrowed his brows. “Meatballs?”

“Yes, that’s what it means,” Chu Ling raised an eyebrow. “Thank you, Lord Lu. If anything comes up, we’ll come to you again.”

Lu Shi’s eyes widened. He exhaled heavily, pushed the two of them out, and slammed the door.

Lu Chong couldn’t help but laugh at their expressions and personally saw them out.

Once they left the Lu residence, Chu Ling sent Zhang Dong to the Zhuang family.

It seemed the Zhuang family had already received the news, as they immediately had Zhuang Tianyou lead them to the study and retrieved the old prescriptions and acupuncture records from back then.

Zhuang Tianyou carefully handed them over. “My grandfather said back then it was terrifying. He thought the whole family might not survive.”

Chu Ling took them with both hands, flipping through carefully. “The Zhuang family’s ancestors gave their all, and that’s why their blessings are so profound.”

Zhuang Tianyou nodded lightly and sat down. “Since you’re skilled in medicine, I won’t say much. But if you have any questions about the Zhuang family’s acupuncture methods, please feel free to ask.”

Chu Ling was about to ask about the acupuncture when she pointed to one record. “Why was this needle inserted here? It’s neither an acupoint nor for stopping bleeding.”

Zhuang Tianyou looked and smiled awkwardly. “This needle… is indeed unusual. My grandfather found it strange, and I did too, so we studied it for a long time, examined the prescriptions multiple times, and eventually came to an incredible conclusion: it disperses blood stasis and reduces swelling here.”

Chu Ling: “Ah?”

Zhuang Tianyou felt a bit embarrassed.

Chu Ling looked through the records again, flipping further back, and noticed that every seven days when acupuncture was done, this spot was always targeted.

So it wasn’t a whim—it had to be intentional.

Yet the records didn’t mention any symptoms.

Chu Ling frowned, glancing at Bai Su. This was too strange.

Zhuang Tianyou then brought out the old prescriptions, laying them out one by one for Chu Ling to examine. “Later in the prescriptions, there are changes. The blood-nourishing medicines increase, and at this time, the Empress’s health was at its best.”

Bai Su leaned in to look carefully. After going through each page, she turned to Chu Ling. “The blood-nourishing medicines increased. By logic, this shouldn’t match the symptoms—but it worked. That’s not right.”

Chu Ling thought of the autopsy report and mouthed a word silently: worms.

Bai Su’s eyes narrowed. “It could really be some kind of parasitic worm. This worm would drain essence and blood, leaving the body weak and leading to death… and the blood-nourishing herbs only delayed it. Empress Hexiao was definitely going to die.”

Ghost Scholar shook his folding fan lightly. “Parasitic worms are used by Bai Zhuoxing, and the Bai Zhuoxing answered to the Empress Dowager. Now, there were parasitic worms inside Empress Hexiao—everything points back to the Empress Dowager.”

Bai Su drew in a sharp breath. “What should Xiaoling do? She can’t investigate the Empress Dowager—there’s no way she could.”

Chu Ling closed the records. This case was clearly being orchestrated by the Empress Dowager to compel the Emperor to recognize Fu Qingyu’s identity.

Could it be that the Empress Dowager wanted her to investigate herself?

Was she tired… and giving up the struggle?

Was she ready to die?