Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 358 - 357: Chang’e Drunk

"This matter cannot be verified, but there are indeed such rumors in the streets, all saying that Duke Yan has some unclear connections with the Fan Country, but on the surface, there is, of course, no trace of these things.

With Zhao Bi’s disposition, it’s impossible for him to leave such an excuse for others," Lu Qing replied.

"No wonder, when you mentioned the Fan Country to Yan Daoxin earlier, Lu Zhang’s reaction was so strange, as if he was a bit nervous and somewhat panicked," Zhu Yu understood. Previously, she had noticed Lu Zhang’s reaction, but couldn’t fathom the reason behind it. Now everything made sense.

Then she thought of another matter: "That day, the skirt that the old steward brought had a certain fragrance. If it is really as Lu Yan said, the product of the Headdress and Shoes Workshop in the Capital, wouldn’t that imply an unusual relationship between here and that workshop?

Lu Yan said that the owner of the Headdress and Shoes Workshop, Gu Lingyun, and Lu Zhang seemed to have frequent interactions... and now Lu Zhang is in this Immortal Castle..."

Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing with some concern, her brows furrowed.

Lu Qing remained as calm as ever: "Isn’t that just perfect? Originally, these were all just rumors, impossible to verify. This time, the matter is right before us, and Prince Yi will personally help us confirm it."

Zhu Yu stared at him, gradually understanding Lu Qing’s intentions: "Is this reliable?"

"You must have heard the saying — ’seek wealth and honor amidst danger.’ " Lu Qing pulled a corner of his mouth, revealing a smile tinged with a bit of coldness, "And I’m not even seeking wealth or honor, but life.

How can there be any certainty in such matters?

There are gains and losses, and I can only ensure that the loss is something we can bear, and that’s enough."

Zhu Yu nodded: "Good! Since you’ve decided, we’ll go through with it!"

Her tone carried a natural trust and certainty, which made Lu Qing a bit dazed, the arm around Zhu Yu’s waist involuntarily tightened.

Zhu Yu felt somewhat embarrassed, but then she thought, "For a legitimately wedded husband, what’s there to be shy about!"

So she simply suppressed the emerging shyness, turned her waist, and wrapped her arms around Lu Qing’s neck, her cheek gently touching his.

"We will surely win," she sighed and whispered in Lu Qing’s ear. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The arm around her waist tightened a bit more.

After a long while, she finally heard Lu Qing’s response: "Hmm."

The next morning, Lu Qing and Zhu Yu were awoken early by Yan Daoxin’s knocking. Lu Qing got up to open the door and let Yan Daoxin in.

Yan Daoxin entered mysteriously, turned back, closed the door tight, and beckoned to Zhu Yu, who was still sitting by the bed, not fully awake: "Come, come, let me show you something, it’ll make your eyes widen like cow’s eyes!"

Curious, Zhu Yu got up and sat by the table alongside him.

Yan Daoxin took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve, and Zhu Yu saw that it was the same handkerchief that Lu Qing had handed to him the day before.

Logically, what should be wrapped inside this handkerchief ought to be that plant seedling of unknown origin, but judging by the shape of the bundle now, something seemed amiss.

Fortunately, Yan Daoxin didn’t plan to leave them in suspense. He placed the handkerchief on the table and deftly unfolded it.

In the middle of the handkerchief was a black mass, resembling paper ash burned by fire, yet with more texture than mere ash, so light and airy that they dared not breathe on it, for fear of blowing it away accidentally.

"What is this?" Zhu Yu asked, slightly shocked, looking at the thing before raising her head to ask Yan Daoxin.

"Isn’t it the thing you gave me yesterday!" Yan Daoxin said, grinning.

"Is this the plant seedling?" Lu Qing was somewhat surprised. If he didn’t know Yan Daoxin well enough, aware that their bickering was all in good fun and that he would never joke about such matters, he might not have been able to speak this.

"Indeed!" Yan Daoxin looked at the black mass, not at all annoyed, but rather exuding a certain glee, "I went back yesterday, placed it by the window, got up before dawn today, and intentionally opened the window to let it bask in the sun.

As it turned out, just as I speculated, once the sunlight hit this flower, it instantly turned to ash."

"So you know what this thing is, right?" Zhu Yu asked.

"Chang’e Drunk," Yan Daoxin said with certainty, "Last night, I wasn’t quite sure, merely thinking it bore some resemblance to what I’ve read in books before. But since I’d never seen the real thing, I wasn’t confident.

However, I remembered distinctly that this Chang’e Drunk is peculiar, only able to grow in darkness and instantly turns to ash when exposed to sunlight.

That’s why I didn’t mention what it was last night, planning to wait until dawn to see if it really was so. If it was, then we’d have truly encountered the rare Chang’e Drunk.

If, after daybreak, that seedling remained intact, I would have had to ponder it further.

Thankfully, the answer was clear to me at first light, sparing me from further vexation on this matter."

Zhu Yu had never heard of the name "Chang’e Drunk." If they hadn’t first found the seedling, providing context, simply hearing the name might have led her to believe it was some kind of fine wine.

From Yan Daoxin’s words "hard to come by," Zhu Yu understood the rarity of this item.

After all, given Yan Daoxin’s extensive travels and dedication to collecting and researching various medicinal and poisonous plants, for him to use the phrase "hard to come by" already underscored its uniqueness.

She looked at Lu Qing, seeing his reaction mirrored hers, implying he too was unfamiliar with "Chang’e Drunk."

"Neither of you has heard of this thing, right?" Yan Daoxin also saw through their thoughts, providing an explanation without waiting for their questions, "Chang’e Drunk is a rare exotic flower in the world. The first discovery and recording happened in a very dark cave.

It’s said that it happened after a great battle, with corpses strewn everywhere. Later, people started searching for injured or fallen comrades, and in a pitch-black cave, they found a severely injured and deceased soldier, along with a strange flower seedling beside him.

At that time, no one paid much heed; they casually pulled it out and carried the corpse out. But as soon as they exited the cave, the flower in their hand instantly turned into a wisp of black ash, blown away by the wind.

Later, when it was found again, it was still in dark places like caves. That’s when the ancients realized this flower could not grow under the sun and must be hidden in the dark, its nature distinct from ordinary plants."