Heo Cheong accepted my suggestion and drank the same teas as us.
Song of Birds and Flowers.
Moonlight in the Cup.
By the time he drank those, Heo Cheong tilted his head slightly.
But when he tasted Green Beauty, his expression grew grave.
And the moment he saw the jujubes on our table, his face went completely pale.
There was no way the Grand Elder hadn’t noticed.
“What’s the matter, my friend? Something wrong? You don’t look well.”
“M-my apologies, Grand Elder. I may be jumping to conclusions, but if I’m right… it would be too horrifying to ignore…”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Though I am currently painting, I also work in another field.”
“I know that. You practice medicine, treating the local people’s illnesses, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’s true. But more specifically, what I mainly deal with are poisonings—detoxification.”
“Detoxification?”
“Painting runs in my family, so I followed the same path. But I always wondered why painters tend to fall ill and die young. While investigating the cause, I discovered that the pigments we use contain toxic substances.”
Heo Cheong continued.
“When I realized that, I also discovered that many of my household members had been poisoned by those pigments. To detoxify them, I began studying medicine.”
“I see. And what does that have to do with your change in expression?”
“Once you study detoxification, you naturally become familiar with poisons.”
“Well, of course. You can’t cure a poison without knowing what it is.”
“Exactly. Though poison and medicine seem like opposites, they ultimately come from the same root.”
I looked at his white hair.
It had turned that way as a side effect of his poison research.
Because of it, people would later call him the White-Haired Painter-Physician (白髮畵醫).
In my past life, the White-Haired Painter-Physician was a peerless master of detoxification.
He was the one who revealed that the Empress had died from poisoning.
And right now, at this moment, the only person who ‘officially’ knows about the Fourfold Compound Poison is him.
“So you’re saying… there’s poison in my residence.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then let me ask. Where is the poison?”
At the Grand Elder’s question, Heo Cheong bowed deeply and answered.
“Though it pains me to say it… it was in the tea.”
“The tea?”
“Yes. To be precise, it was in the three teas I just drank—and the jujubes. These are components of one of the Fourfold Compound Poisons, which only activates when all four are ingested.”
“…”
The Grand Elder shut his eyes tightly.
“…I see. My guests drank that poison yesterday and today… Are they going to be alright?”
Hearing that made me feel moved.
Even though he probably drank more of it than anyone, he was more concerned about the well-being of his guests than his own.
To that, Heo Cheong replied,
“They’ll be fine. The poison I mentioned only takes effect after at least a full year of regular consumption. After that, the body gradually weakens, and eventually death follows—but without leaving a trace.”
“I see.”
The Grand Elder nodded slowly.
“The good news is that you haven’t been ingesting it for long.”
“How can you tell?”
“Your complexion. If something had been wrong, I would’ve noticed the moment I saw you.”
“But…”
The Grand Elder asked the most important question.
“How did you come to know about this poison? Even someone like me had never heard of it.”
“There was someone who died from the very same poison you’re consuming now.”
In his previous life, the White-Haired Painter-Physician left behind these words:
— I first learned about this poison eighteen years ago. There was a man in my village, suffering from a serious illness. Every physician in the Central Plains had been summoned to treat him, but none succeeded.
— That’s when I was called. They must’ve figured they had nothing to lose. I realized he was poisoned and began investigating what had caused it.
— I found the reason—but by then, it was too late. The cure came after death.
For some reason, he never revealed the identity of that man. But some speculated.
He had been the Inspector of the Censors’ Office(都察院).
Whatever the reason, the poison was already in use back then, and the White-Haired Painter-Physician had known about it.
Heo Cheong continued.
“I can’t say who that person was, but I’m certain this is the same poison. And you likely haven’t heard of it because of its nature.”
“The nature of the poison?”
“Yes. The ingredients are rare, the creation is difficult, the method of ingestion is complicated, and the required period is long.”
“Indeed. If one has to drink three specific teas and consume it consistently for a year… it wouldn’t be easy to use.”
The Grand Elder stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“Is there a way to detect this poison?”
“There is.”
“Can we do it here and now?”
“Of course. All we need is vinegar and blood.”
Those were soon prepared. Using pre-brewed tea, Heo Cheong confirmed the presence of poison using the same method I had.
The Grand Elder, having witnessed this, stood from his seat and cupped his fist to both Chief Administrator Yu and me.
“My apologies. I invited you into danger through my own carelessness.”
“Please don’t say that! I could never blame you for that, Brother.”
“He’s right, Grand Elder. There’s no need to apologize.”
“Thank you both. Truly.”
Then he turned to Heo Cheong.
“Come with me to the Institute of Tranquility.”
At that same time, someone was rushing somewhere in great haste.
That person delivered a message.
“Lord Hyeon-ri has learned about the poison.”
“What? How could he possibly figure it out? You said it was impossible to detect!”
“They say today’s invited painter has some expertise in detoxification.”
“Replace the tea canisters at once. We need to make it look like someone else tampered with them.”
“That may be difficult.”
“Has Lord Hyeon-ri already reached the Institute of Tranquility?”
“It’s not that…”
“Then what is it?”
“Lady Yu-ah is currently causing a scene at the Institute of Tranquility.”
When the Grand Elder and Heo Cheong left for the Institute of Tranquility, I asked if I could go with them as well.
After a moment of thought, the Grand Elder nodded.
“You’re a victim of the poison too, so it’s a fair request. Alright.”
“Thank you.”
Soon after, we arrived at the Institute of Tranquility.
The moment they saw the Grand Elder, everyone quickly bowed their heads.
“We greet the Grand Elder.”
The Grand Elder selected three tea canisters from the shelf where his personal teas were kept and handed them to Heo Cheong.
“Inspect the contents.”
“Yes, sir.”
He immediately spread paper out and overturned the canisters onto it.
He examined each one carefully, setting them down one by one.
After inspecting all three and scraping out a small sample from each, he ran the detection test.
But the tea mixed with vinegar remained clear.
Heo Cheong looked up and spoke.
“Nothing was detected.”
“Is that so?”
The Grand Elder furrowed his brow.
Now it was my turn to step in.
“Grand Elder, may I say something?”
“What is it?”
“Yesterday, with your permission, I had the chance to examine this area.”
“Ah, yes, I recall.”
“But the tea canisters I saw then seem slightly different from these.”
“They’re different?”
“Yes. The ones I saw yesterday looked a bit worn, but these don’t seem aged at all.”
They looked the same in shape, but these appeared far newer.
Tea canisters are usually aged deliberately to retain the fragrance of the tea, so they aren’t often replaced.
“I see.”
Just then, someone stepped forward.
“I have something to report regarding that.”
The one who came forward was a woman, and the Grand Elder asked,
“What is it?”
“Lady Yu-ah took all the tea canisters from that shelf just a short while ago.”
“Yu-ah did?”
“Yes, sir. So these canisters were ones I just prepared and filled with tea.”
“Which means the tea leaves you brewed and brought out weren’t from those original canisters.”
“That’s correct.”
From her words, I realized she was the one in charge of brewing the Grand Elder’s tea.
I definitely need to learn tea brewing from her someday.
Aside from the fact that it was poisoned, the tea I drank was among the top three best teas I’ve had in both this life and the last.
But that’ll have to wait until after this is resolved.
“When did Yu-ah leave with them?”
“It’s been a little over a shichen (roughly two hours).”
At that, the Grand Elder quickly turned on his heel.
A man walked quickly, scanning his surroundings.
His name was Wang Gyeong.
He was currently carrying out an order from his master.
Of all people, one of the Grand Elder’s guests turned out to be an expert in detoxification.
As a result, the Grand Elder learned about the existence of the poison.
‘It took so much work to get those canisters in place… damn it.’
To cover it up, the only option was to switch out the canisters.
But then a problem arose.
The daughter of the clan head, Zhuge Yu-ah, had taken them all. Including the three that contained the poison.
She had always been a reckless nuisance, and now, at the worst possible moment, she’d become a real thorn in his side.
‘Once Master takes over the clan, we need to get rid of that brat first.’
Wang Gyeong glanced at the tea canisters in his bundle.
His destination was Zhuge Yu-ah’s quarters.
He had to switch out the three poisoned canisters she had taken with the clean ones he carried.
If the Grand Elder learned what Yu-ah had done, he’d surely examine the canisters in her possession.
And if poison was found in them, everything would fall apart.
If he failed this mission, his master would abandon him without a second thought for the sake of the greater plan.
Failure wasn’t an option.
He soon arrived at Zhuge Yu-ah’s quarters.
She was such a handful that she had been given her own separate residence.
There were far fewer people around than usual, but in his rush, he didn’t stop to think about it.
He gave the area a quick glance before slipping inside.
There, he spotted the tea canisters she had taken—sitting atop a low table on the wooden floor.
He crept toward the table, undid his bundle, and reached to swap the canisters.
But then—
Slick—
He felt something cold touch the back of his neck.
“…!”
A heavy voice followed.
“That’s far enough.”
The voice was familiar. Slowly, he turned his head and looked into the face of the man holding a sword to his neck.
It was Zhuge Yul, the Clan Lord.
‘Damn it.’
He knew.
It was over.
When we arrived at Zhuge Yu-ah’s quarters, the Clan Lord of the Zhuge Clan was already there.
At his feet knelt a man, bound and gagged.
“What happened here?”
The Grand Elder asked.
The Clan Lord replied,
“This man snuck into Yu-ah’s quarters. I caught and interrogated him.”
The Grand Elder let out a breath of relief.
So that’s it…
He’d acted so coldly before, but he’d been worried about Zhuge Yu-ah all along.
I glanced at her, standing beside the Clan Lord.
She had carried out my request perfectly.
So… the trusted ally she mentioned last night was the Clan Lord himself?
I recalled our conversation from the night before.
— First, inspect the Institute of Tranquility. After confirming the tea is being served as I described, wait for the final tea—Green Beauty. That’s when you act.
— You want me to cause a scene then?
— Yes. And by that, I mean draw everyone’s attention to yourself. Don’t let anyone touch those canisters.
— Got it. And after that?
— Take all the canisters from the shelf—including the ones I mentioned—and bring them back to your quarters.
–TL Notes–
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