A group of people gathered in front of a hall situated on the western side of the Gao residence.
Although the door had been opened, no one dared to enter.
“Not a single sound – just like that, they died,” murmured Young Master Gao, not daring to step forward. With a handkerchief covering his nose and mouth, he pointed toward the room.
Inside, three or four bodies lay scattered across the floor. Those facing downward were surrounded by pools of blood, while those facing upward could be seen with bulging eyes, dark-purple faces, and blood streaming from all seven orifices.
Gao Lingjun glanced sideways, about to lower the handkerchief in his hand.
“My lord, please don’t!” someone nearby quickly urged, his voice tinged with unease.
“It’s been over half a day now. If there were any danger, you wouldn’t all be standing here safely,” Gao Lingjun replied, yet the handkerchief in his hand remained raised.
“The incense stick was ground into powder – too fine to identify clearly – so Master Gu suggested burning it to distinguish the aroma. At first everything seemed normal, but within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the men collapsed…”
“Was it poison?” Young Master Gao asked, still covering his nose and mouth.
They had since left the medicine room and were now seated in Gao Lingjun’s study. Yet Young Master Gao’s handkerchief never left his face. The thought lingered – he had been there himself, watching as they examined the incense. If not for a servant informing him that his specially brewed tea, prepared with a new and prized formula, was ready, he might have stayed and sipped it right there. Had he done so, he would now be…
The image of those men lying dead flashed before his eyes, and a violent shiver ran through him.
Death was no stranger to him. Household servants beaten to death on a whim were common enough; those who offended him or caught his displeasure often met with discreet ends. But those were others dying, not him.
Never had death felt so close – and so silent.
The mere thought chilled him to the bone. In his nostrils, the faint, elusive scent of the incense seemed to linger still.
He had even leaned in for a closer look at the powdered spice back then – could the poison already have…
Young Master Gao broke into a fit of harsh coughing behind his handkerchief.
“Useless fool!” Gao Lingjun cursed, hurling a teacup in his direction and telling him to get out.
Young Master Gao had no desire to stay either – he was eager to seek out a doctor for an examination and turned to leave at once.
“Stop! If you dare visit an imperial doctor, I’ll have your legs broken,” Gao Lingjun’s voice thundered from behind him.
Young Master Gao froze instantly, then turned back with a pitiful expression. “Father…”
“Young Master,” a nearby advisor whispered urgently, “for now, no one knows who actually obtained this incense. If you summon a doctor, wouldn’t that be as good as announcing it…”
So he had to swallow the grievance just like that? Not even allowed to let out a whimper?
Resentment burned in Young Master Gao’s eyes.
“Besides, even a court physician may not understand this kind of poison,” the advisor continued persuasively. “It would be better to find others well-versed in such herbs.”
Their own household had once employed experts familiar with medicinal herbs – but all of them now lay dead in that very room.
Gao Lingjun took a deep breath.
“Go,” he said.
Knowing this was his father’s tacit approval, Young Master Gao hurriedly turned to leave – though anxiety still marked his face.
Where could he find such a person on such short notice? And even if he did, they would be strangers – who knew if they could be trusted…
His mind restless and his steps unsteady, Young Master Gao nearly stumbled. A servant rushed to support him but was kicked aside in a burst of temper.
In the room, Gao Lingjun’s anger was not so easily vented.
“…It may not have been deliberate poisoning,” another advisor continued cautiously. “Master Gu examined it thoroughly beforehand and noticed nothing unusual. When he started feeling ill, he reacted quickly – struggled to take one of our own antidotes and swallowed it…”
Using poison to counter poison. If the incense was toxic but could neutralize the drugs they administered, then the reverse might also be true.
Before he could finish, someone rushed in from outside, knelt, and bowed his head.
“Master Gu… is not doing well.”
The expressions in the room darkened further.
“Still didn’t work,” an advisor sighed, then quickly added, “Perhaps it was administered too late. If we try again…”
Try again?
By getting more incense sticks from Duke Jin’an’s residence?
“At this point, even if they didn’t intentionally let us obtain it, we must treat it as if they did,” Gao Lingjun said with a cold laugh.
They intentionally let them take the incense, intentionally let them burn it, intentionally led them to their own doom…
Gao Lingjun drew a deep breath, his hands resting on his knees trembling slightly.
“How many are dead?” he asked.
The advisors’ expressions turned somber.
“Five, including Master Sang,” one of them replied quietly.
Master Sang had been one of Gao Lingjun’s most trusted strategists, specifically assigned to examine the incense this time – and now he was gone.
There were also those skilled herbalists, experts the Gao family had nurtured for years. This time, four had been lost – not a large number in count, but among them was Master Gu, the venerable old master.
An old master like him – one was worth ten ordinary practitioners.
And not just that. There were also the three carefully planted informants within Duke Jin’an’s residence. After this incident, they could no longer be used.
The master was right. Whether this incense truly had antidotal properties or was merely a trap intentionally leaked by Duke Jin’an’s household, they now had no choice but to treat it as the latter.
Their opponent had seen through them and delivered a powerful warning. From now on, they would have to tread carefully – every plan already laid out would need to be reconsidered and revised.
This time, they had truly…
“You may leave,” said Gao Lingjun. “This is of little consequence. I know him, and he knows me. It was merely a thin veil between us – now that it’s torn, so be it. It was inevitable sooner or later.”
Seeing him speak with such composure, the tension in the room eased. Those present nodded in agreement.
“Go now. There is no need to rush other matters. Deal with them step by step. First, arrange proper funerals for Master Sang and the others, and ensure their wives and children are well cared for in the years to come,” Gao Lingjun continued. “Our opponent merely tossed a stone into the pond – we must not let it throw our entire formation into disarray.”
The advisors murmured their assent.
“Keep this quiet,” Gao Lingjun added softly.
Indeed, they could not afford to make a scandal of stealing something only to be poisoned by it. It was possible the other side did not even know who had taken it – to raise an outcry would be to expose themselves openly.
This time, they truly had to swallow the bitterness whole, with no way to voice their grievance.
Once more, the advisors acknowledged his order, bowed, and withdrew.
The room fell back into silence. Gao Lingjun leaned against the armrest, closed his eyes, and his lips trembled slightly as if he were whispering something. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He reached out to support himself on the table, intending to rise, but found his hand somewhat numb.
He couldn’t help but look down at it – and suddenly remembered that he too had held that incense stick, even if only through a handkerchief. He had almost brought it close to smell it back then…
According to their earlier explanation, merely holding or sniffing it should have been harmless; it was only when ignited that it became deadly.
But then…
That girl was ruthless and cunning. Who could say whether Secretariat Editor Liu’s sudden stroke back then had been caused by poison she administered?
As Gao Lingjun stared at his hand, the numbness seemed to intensify. No matter how he tried to exert force, he couldn’t manage it – he couldn’t stand up at all. This wouldn’t do. He had kept his composure all along; if he himself lost control, those beneath him would only panic more.
Gao Lingjun drew another sharp breath and pushed himself up with all his strength, finally rising to his feet.
“My lord! Something terrible has happened!”
Outside the door, a servant’s panicked cry suddenly rang out again.
Gao Lingjun’s body stiffened.
“Duke Jin’an’s residence has sent back all the grooms we previously sent over.”
So that was it. Gao Lingjun relaxed slightly.
What was the big deal? This had happened before.
He stepped out.
“If they were sent back, it means they failed in their duties and disgraced our household. Send them to the stables and have them beaten to death,” he said indifferently.
But the servant did not acknowledge the order. Instead, his face pale, he looked at Gao Lingjun, lips trembling.
“My lord… they are already dead,” he stammered.
What?
Gao Lingjun was taken aback.
“They were already dead when they were sent back. They were hauled here by cart and dumped right at our main gate,” the servant stammered.
Beaten to death and thrown at the main gate!
That scoundrel! How dare he!
Gao Lingjun’s face turned ashen, and his breathing grew ragged.
“My lord,” an advisor hurried over, his expression equally grim, “it’s not just our gate. Several other households have had bodies dumped at their doors as well. And…”
He hesitated.
“And what?” Gao Lingjun demanded.
“The palace received some too,” the advisor said, lowering his head.
The palace?
“…Four eunuchs. Their legs were broken inch by inch, all the way up to their waists, yet they were kept alive by a thread. They were hauled into the palace on a cart… Her Majesty the Empress Dowager happened to be leaving her quarters and came upon them unexpectedly. The shock caused her to faint…”
Gao Lingjun felt his entire body tremble.
“How is this possible?” he said, his voice shaking.
How could eunuchs in such a state have been brought into the palace? And for the Empress Dowager to stumble upon them so abruptly – what did this imply?
“…Inside the inner court, Chief Eunuch Huang hanged himself. He left a confession, admitting that his supervision had been lax, allowing these base servants to commit such treasonous acts…”
Chief Eunuch Huang – the one who controlled the comings and goings of the minor eunuchs in the inner palace.
Gao Lingjun let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
He hanged himself over lax supervision? More likely, he had colluded with Duke Jin’an to carry out this act of intimidation against the Empress Dowager. Knowing that death was inevitable, he chose to end it on his own terms.
To think Duke Jin’an could compel a chief eunuch of such high rank to sacrifice his life in aid of his scheme!
The sight of the brutally beaten eunuchs wasn’t the truly terrifying part. What was terrifying was that they had been delivered right before the Empress Dowager.
If he could deliver several eunuchs this time, who could say what he might deliver next?
Gao Lingjun felt his body trembling uncontrollably, his breathing growing more and more ragged until a sweet, metallic taste surged in his throat. With a violent cough, he spat something out.
Gasps of shock erupted around him.
Just a bit of phlegm – why the fuss!
His anger flared further, but as his gaze fell to the ground, he froze.
On the bluestone floor, a vivid red flower bloomed – a splash of blood.
Blood!
He… he had actually coughed up blood!
A wave of darkness swept over Gao Lingjun’s vision, and he swayed unsteadily.
“My lord!”
Chaos instantly engulfed the room.
…
Cheng Jiao-niang opened the box in her hand, glanced inside, then closed it again.
“What a pity. Only two were taken,” she remarked as she placed the box back on the table.
What a pity? But why did she say “only”?
Ban Qin frowned, confused. It almost sounded as though she wasn’t lamenting that two sticks of incense had been stolen – but rather that only two had been taken…
“Since it’s not safe to leave them with Doctor Li anymore, Ban Qin, you’d better keep them with us,” Cheng Jiao-niang continued, rising to her feet.
Ban Qin promptly acknowledged the order and carefully picked up the box.
