Climb a Tree to Search for Poison (Part Four)
“Come and have a smell. What is this smell?”
Everyone went over, and Qi Zhou copied Yu Fu, leaning over the desk and carefully sniffing.*
He tightly furrowed his brow, “It smells a little like wood shavings. The desk in Lord Marquis’ outer study is made of rosewood. It should not crack or be damaged by bugs. Where is this smell coming from?”
Gu ShuBai and the others also went to smell it. They were only able to smell something was off after this reminder from Qi Zhou.
“It seems to be the smell of wood shavings, but I can’t be certain. If not for your reminder, I fear that father and I would not have noticed anything off.”
Yu Fu looked at Gu ShuBai, “Steward Qi has always taken great care in taking care of the manor. It’s natural that he would be a little more familiar with the smells than you guys. If I had not studied poisons from a young age, I fear that I would not have noticed it either. This isn’t the smell of wood shavings at all. Instead, it’s the smell of a crushed poisonous bug that eats wood. Its name is tree crawler.”
Gu JiuGe said: “Poisonous bug? Saying it like that, father was poisoned by a big?”
Yu Fu used a handkerchief to wipe the top of the desk then extended her hand and blocked everyone off, “Let’s go out first to speak. Don’t send the official work to the outer study during the coming days. If any important matters come in, send them straight to the main hall. Steward Qi, have the outer study put under observation. Don’t let anyone accidentally go in and get poisoned.”
Qi Zhou hastily complied: “Yes, young miss.”
Everyone exited the outer study before Yu Fu said: “Head general was not poisoned by a bug. The tree crawler is a type of poisonous bug that eats wood and has a gentle disposition. Like the poisonous butterfly, it’s usually used to find poison. If it was used as a poison, and head general was poisoned by that, there’s nothing to worry about. What is worrying is if it’s crushed then spread on a desk. A gentle bug naturally has a way of protecting itself. The tree crawler’s preservation technique is to release a slow-acting and toxic poison upon being crushed.”
Gu ShuBai said: “Regardless, at the very least, we know what poison is afflicting father. Yu Fu, do you have a way of treating the tree crawler’s poison?”
Yu Fu let out a long sigh, as her entire face bunched up from a frown.
“I can treat the tree crawler’s poison, but the desk didn’t just have the tree crawler’s poison, there were also other poisons. I need to take this back and carefully research them for a few days to figure out what medicines are needed to treat head general.”
As she said this, she pulled out the handkerchief that had been balled up, “Unfortunately, not much of the poison can be found after the desk had been wiped down every day. I can only try and differentiate it based on the smell. Unfortunately, the smell of the tree crawler poison is too strong, basically masking the smell of the other poisons…”
Even if she was an immortal practitioner of poison, doing something like this was quite difficult.
They all felt uneasy, but they had to keep up their smiles in front of Yu Fu to comfort her and let her know that there was no need to worry.
Whether or not Gu HuaiJiang could be treated rested with Yu Fu. At the moment, they could not allow her to get flustered.
After watching her leave, Gu ShuBai and Gu JiuGe exchanged a look. Their forced smiles slowly disappeared.
“Eldest brother, that night, you said that a storm was on the horizon. Who knew that it really came true. On the night of the birthday banquet, Kun WuShang was drawn to the outer study, but who knew that he would actually leave something like this behind? We underestimated him too greatly.”
Gu ShuBai said: “He is a prince of Western Kun. Western Kun dreads the Gu family’s army the most. Once his poisoning was successful, he would be someone who made great contributions to Western Kun. Even if it’s not enough to claim the position of crown prince, it should provide him with the ability to compete for more power.”
Gu JiuGe sneered, “The people of Western Kun have always been ambitious. I fear that news of father’s poisoning has already spread, leading to a large battle breaking out on the border. At that time, who would Eastern Ling dispatch to fight that battle? Yin Shuo’s assassination attempt failed, and he actually bribed Qi Ting to keep an eye on the manor! Eldest brother, look at how father wholeheartedly served the country, yet the court repay him like this!”
“Shh.”
Gu ShuBai said: “Yin Shuo is Yin Shuo, and the court is the court. He has a personal grudge against Marquis Gu’s Manor, while His Majesty and the members of court will understand Marquis Gu’s Manor’s loyalty. Right now, treating father is what’s most important. I hope that Yu Fu can quickly figure out what medicine is needed to treat him.”
Gu JiuGe’s expression remained dejected, “I fear that it will be difficult. Eldest brother, did you notice Yu Fu’s expression earlier? Has she ever not been full of confidence when treating a poison, having everything under her control? This time, she had her brow tightly furrowed and looked as worried as we are.”
Gu ShuBai thought back to his time in the cave in Changzhou. At that time, Yu Fu was full of confidence and almost braggingly said: “To poison the people at my side, I will have them see who is more poisonous!”
That was how Yu Fu treated these sorts of problems.
This time, her attitude was indeed filled with uncertainty.
Gu ShuBai let out a sigh and calmed himself.
Gu HuaiJiang had been poisoned, and the people of Marquis Gu’s Manor were feeling uneasy. His siblings and the servants of the manor were looking to him, the eldest son.
He absolutely must not panic.
He patted Gu JiuGe’s shoulder, “Yu Fu is right. If she can’t treat father’s poison, she will invite the Deity of Medicine to personally come and treat him. Father will definitely be fine. Don’t worry.”
Gu JiuGe, however, said: “I know that Yu Fu is the Deity of Medicine’s beloved disciple, but would she really be able to convince the Deity of Medicine to come? I have heard that the Deity of Medicine almost never leaves Immortals Valley. Before the late empress died of illness, His Majesty sent someone to Immortals Valley to bring him over, but he never came. It was only the previous empress dowager who received treatment from the Deity of Medicine, and she lived until she was 80 before passing away. Since that time, has eldest brother heard any word of the Deity of Medicine leaving the valley?”
Gu Shubai nodded with a smile, “Indeed, I have not. But if Yu Fu said it, she can definitely do it.”
TN: The title might be a play on the idiom: “Climb a tree to catch a fish.” This means to attempt something impossible.
*TN: Good children should not copy these people. Do not sniff unknown substances that could be poisonous.
Climb a Tree to Search for Poison (Part Four)
“Come and have a smell. What is this smell?”
Everyone went over, and Qi Zhou copied Yu Fu, leaning over the desk and carefully sniffing.*
He tightly furrowed his brow, “It smells a little like wood shavings. The desk in Lord Marquis’ outer study is made of rosewood. It should not crack or be damaged by bugs. Where is this smell coming from?”
Gu ShuBai and the others also went to smell it. They were only able to smell something was off after this reminder from Qi Zhou.
“It seems to be the smell of wood shavings, but I can’t be certain. If not for your reminder, I fear that father and I would not have noticed anything off.”
Yu Fu looked at Gu ShuBai, “Steward Qi has always taken great care in taking care of the manor. It’s natural that he would be a little more familiar with the smells than you guys. If I had not studied poisons from a young age, I fear that I would not have noticed it either. This isn’t the smell of wood shavings at all. Instead, it’s the smell of a crushed poisonous bug that eats wood. Its name is tree crawler.”
Gu JiuGe said: “Poisonous bug? Saying it like that, father was poisoned by a big?”
Yu Fu used a handkerchief to wipe the top of the desk then extended her hand and blocked everyone off, “Let’s go out first to speak. Don’t send the official work to the outer study during the coming days. If any important matters come in, send them straight to the main hall. Steward Qi, have the outer study put under observation. Don’t let anyone accidentally go in and get poisoned.”
Qi Zhou hastily complied: “Yes, young miss.”
Everyone exited the outer study before Yu Fu said: “Head general was not poisoned by a bug. The tree crawler is a type of poisonous bug that eats wood and has a gentle disposition. Like the poisonous butterfly, it’s usually used to find poison. If it was used as a poison, and head general was poisoned by that, there’s nothing to worry about. What is worrying is if it’s crushed then spread on a desk. A gentle bug naturally has a way of protecting itself. The tree crawler’s preservation technique is to release a slow-acting and toxic poison upon being crushed.”
Gu ShuBai said: “Regardless, at the very least, we know what poison is afflicting father. Yu Fu, do you have a way of treating the tree crawler’s poison?”
Yu Fu let out a long sigh, as her entire face bunched up from a frown.
“I can treat the tree crawler’s poison, but the desk didn’t just have the tree crawler’s poison, there were also other poisons. I need to take this back and carefully research them for a few days to figure out what medicines are needed to treat head general.”
As she said this, she pulled out the handkerchief that had been balled up, “Unfortunately, not much of the poison can be found after the desk had been wiped down every day. I can only try and differentiate it based on the smell. Unfortunately, the smell of the tree crawler poison is too strong, basically masking the smell of the other poisons…”
Even if she was an immortal practitioner of poison, doing something like this was quite difficult.
They all felt uneasy, but they had to keep up their smiles in front of Yu Fu to comfort her and let her know that there was no need to worry.
Whether or not Gu HuaiJiang could be treated rested with Yu Fu. At the moment, they could not allow her to get flustered.
After watching her leave, Gu ShuBai and Gu JiuGe exchanged a look. Their forced smiles slowly disappeared.
“Eldest brother, that night, you said that a storm was on the horizon. Who knew that it really came true. On the night of the birthday banquet, Kun WuShang was drawn to the outer study, but who knew that he would actually leave something like this behind? We underestimated him too greatly.”
Gu ShuBai said: “He is a prince of Western Kun. Western Kun dreads the Gu family’s army the most. Once his poisoning was successful, he would be someone who made great contributions to Western Kun. Even if it’s not enough to claim the position of crown prince, it should provide him with the ability to compete for more power.”
Gu JiuGe sneered, “The people of Western Kun have always been ambitious. I fear that news of father’s poisoning has already spread, leading to a large battle breaking out on the border. At that time, who would Eastern Ling dispatch to fight that battle? Yin Shuo’s assassination attempt failed, and he actually bribed Qi Ting to keep an eye on the manor! Eldest brother, look at how father wholeheartedly served the country, yet the court repay him like this!”
“Shh.”
Gu ShuBai said: “Yin Shuo is Yin Shuo, and the court is the court. He has a personal grudge against Marquis Gu’s Manor, while His Majesty and the members of court will understand Marquis Gu’s Manor’s loyalty. Right now, treating father is what’s most important. I hope that Yu Fu can quickly figure out what medicine is needed to treat him.”
Gu JiuGe’s expression remained dejected, “I fear that it will be difficult. Eldest brother, did you notice Yu Fu’s expression earlier? Has she ever not been full of confidence when treating a poison, having everything under her control? This time, she had her brow tightly furrowed and looked as worried as we are.”
Gu ShuBai thought back to his time in the cave in Changzhou. At that time, Yu Fu was full of confidence and almost braggingly said: “To poison the people at my side, I will have them see who is more poisonous!”
That was how Yu Fu treated these sorts of problems.
This time, her attitude was indeed filled with uncertainty.
Gu ShuBai let out a sigh and calmed himself.
Gu HuaiJiang had been poisoned, and the people of Marquis Gu’s Manor were feeling uneasy. His siblings and the servants of the manor were looking to him, the eldest son.
He absolutely must not panic.
He patted Gu JiuGe’s shoulder, “Yu Fu is right. If she can’t treat father’s poison, she will invite the Deity of Medicine to personally come and treat him. Father will definitely be fine. Don’t worry.”
Gu JiuGe, however, said: “I know that Yu Fu is the Deity of Medicine’s beloved disciple, but would she really be able to convince the Deity of Medicine to come? I have heard that the Deity of Medicine almost never leaves Immortals Valley. Before the late empress died of illness, His Majesty sent someone to Immortals Valley to bring him over, but he never came. It was only the previous empress dowager who received treatment from the Deity of Medicine, and she lived until she was 80 before passing away. Since that time, has eldest brother heard any word of the Deity of Medicine leaving the valley?”
Gu Shubai nodded with a smile, “Indeed, I have not. But if Yu Fu said it, she can definitely do it.”
TN: The title might be a play on the idiom: “Climb a tree to catch a fish.” This means to attempt something impossible.
*TN: Good children should not copy these people. Do not sniff unknown substances that could be poisonous.
