This toxin could also pass through the mother to the fetus in her womb.
Any child born this way would be weak from birth and extremely prone to dying young.
The mother would also be harmed. She would have difficulty recovering after giving birth and remain weak.
If she caught another illness, even by accident, she could die.
Lin Ruhai and Jia Min's faces darkened.
Whoever had put the poison in the medicine was truly vicious.
Lin Ruhai hurriedly said, "Doctor, please examine my wife."
The physician felt Jia Min's pulse. After a while, he withdrew his hand and said to Lin Ruhai and Jia Min, "Madam Lin hasn't been drinking the medicine for long. Although there is some toxin in her body, there isn't much. I'll prescribe two doses of detoxifying medicine. Once Madam Lin takes them, all the poison will be expelled, and she'll be fine."
Jia Min asked, "What about the child? Will the detoxifying medicine affect the baby? Has the poison already harmed the child?"
The physician replied, "The detoxifying prescription I've given is quite mild and shouldn't have much effect on the fetus in your womb. The fetus hasn't absorbed much of the poison, and it can also absorb the detoxifying medicine you take to expel the toxins from its body."
Jia Min let out a huge sigh of relief.
She was filled with anticipation for the child in her womb.
She had been married to Lin Ruhai for ten years and had only given the Lin family a daughter. Jia Min felt she had let Lin Ruhai and the Lin family's ancestors down.
She desperately hoped to have a son.
Now that she had finally conceived a son, how could she let anything happen to him?
The physician wrote out the prescription and left after receiving a generous fee.
Jia Min sent her trusted nursemaid to watch over the medicine as it was prepared, making sure it never left her sight.
The couple thanked Jia Hu and Liu Zhong for warning them.
The two took the hint, said their goodbyes, and returned to their own courtyard.
They didn't want to disturb the couple as they investigated the person behind it all.
The next day, after breakfast, Jia Min asked Jia Hu and Liu Zhong to take Lin Daiyu out to play.
The two knew that Lin Ruhai and Jia Min were sending them away so they could deal with matters in the residence. They readily agreed.
However, Liu Zhong left Jiqiu behind at Lin Mansion.
Liu Zhong had helped Jiqiu hone her gossip-gathering skills, and they had improved considerably.
Lin Daiyu was a sweet and well-behaved little girl. Like a grown-up, she dutifully played the host and showed Jia Hu and Liu Zhong around Yangzhou.
She was adorable.
But the little girl wasn't very strong. Before long, she grew tired. Once she sat in the carriage, she fell asleep.
Liu Zhong seized the chance to touch the little girl's wrist and channel spiritual energy into her to examine her.
Though the little girl was weak, there was nothing seriously wrong with her.
The problem lay in the source within her Purple Mansion.
The little girl really was an immortal maiden reincarnated. Hidden in her Purple Mansion was the source she had cultivated in her previous life.
This source connected on one side to Fairy Jiangzhu's true form and on the other to the soul of Fairy Jiangzhu's reincarnation.
Liu Zhong sensed that someone had tampered with Fairy Jiangzhu's true form, and the connection was affecting her source.
Whenever Fairy Jiangzhu's reincarnation cried, the source flowed out with her tears.
When Lin Daiyu wept herself to death, Fairy Jiangzhu's source would be drained as well. Her true form would die naturally once it lost its source.
And where did the source go?
Whoever had tampered with it was the one who stood to benefit.
Unfortunately, he didn't know where the Taixu Illusion Realm was. Otherwise, he would have gone there and eliminated the mastermind first.
Liu Zhong acted to seal Fairy Jiangzhu's source.
Since he didn't know where Fairy Jiangzhu's true form was, Liu Zhong couldn't undo what had been done to it. For now, he could only seal her source, so it wouldn't flow out with her tears when she cried.
Once Fairy Jiangzhu's current life ended and she returned to her true form, she could deal with it herself.
The carriage suddenly stopped. Jia Hu steadied himself and asked, "What's happened?"
His page, Shuangrui, reported from outside, "A little girl nearly ran out and hit the carriage. Her family has pulled her away now."
Liu Zhong lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.
He saw a middle-aged woman in her thirties dragging a seven- or eight-year-old girl toward a narrow alley beside the street.
Liu Zhong immediately called out, "Stop that woman and girl. Take them to the prefectural yamen."
"Huh?" Shuangrui and the Lin family's servants hadn't understood.
Liu Zhong's own page, Xiteng, was the most obedient of all. At Liu Zhong's order, he immediately rushed over.
Only then did Shuangrui and the Lin family's servants react. They hurried after him and grabbed the woman and girl.
The middle-aged woman struggled and shouted, "What are you doing? Is there no law? You're robbing an ordinary citizen in broad daylight!"
Liu Zhong lifted the curtain and stepped out, standing in the carriage to look down at the woman. He said coldly, "You're a kidnapper. What makes you an ordinary citizen? This girl isn't your daughter at all."
"That's nonsense! She's my daughter," the middle-aged woman yelled.
"I'm not her daughter," the girl said timidly. "I'm the daughter of a respectable family, and they kidnapped me. They beat and scolded me, forcing me to admit I was their daughter. But I'm not. I have parents."
Jia Hu also climbed out of the carriage and comforted the girl. "Don't be afraid. We'll take you to the yamen. The officers will help you find your parents."
Lin Daiyu had been woken by the commotion too. She poked her little head out and said to the girl, "Big sister, come up into the carriage. We'll take you to the yamen."
The girl looked at Lin Daiyu, who was younger than her, and seemed less afraid. She walked toward the carriage.
Liu Zhong reached out and pulled the girl up into the carriage.
His gaze paused for a second on the red cinnabar mole between the girl's brows. Could it really be such a coincidence?
But in the Red Chamber world, there was only one girl who was so beautiful, had a cinnabar mole between her brows, and was the right age.
If she really was Zhen Yinglian, that would be wonderful. He could change the tragic course of her life completely.
As the daughter of a respectable family, Zhen Yinglian could never become Xue Pan's concubine.
The group changed course and went to the prefectural yamen.
When the prefect heard that the visitors included Lin Ruhai's nephew, the heir to Rongguo Mansion, he came out in person to receive Jia Hu and the others.
Jia Hu told him how they had encountered the kidnappers. The prefect assured them he would severely punish the kidnappers, follow the trail to catch their accomplices, and rescue the other children.
Jia Hu and Liu Zhong thanked the prefect and prepared to leave with Lin Daiyu.
The girl gazed longingly at Lin Daiyu.
Lin Daiyu thought for a moment, then said to Jia Hu, "Elder Cousin, let's take her home with us. She can stay at our house until her parents come for her."
Jia Hu looked at his little cousin, her face full of hope, then at the girl, whose face showed both anticipation and nervousness. His heart softened, and he agreed.
Lin Daiyu cheered and ran over to the girl, taking her hand. "Big sister, come to my home with me. My parents are very kind. They'll treat you well."
"All right," the girl said softly. "Thank you."
Before you continue