Feng Jin's words fell, and the few whose consciousness was still relatively clear looked at each other. After a long hesitation, one person said, "We... we ate some fruit in the woods..."
"When we entered the woods, I had already warned you not to eat anything carelessly. How dare you still eat fruit carelessly!"
Ling Mo Han's furious voice echoed throughout the room. The soldiers, already weak on the beds, suddenly trembled.
"To disobey military orders willfully is to court death!"
To know better and still do it, their current plight could only be considered self-inflicted!
Ling Mo Han's face was extremely grim. He immediately wanted to turn and leave. After a pause, his gaze fell on Chu Chen Yi beside him, "The soldiers you brought, figure out a way to deal with them yourself!"
With that, Ling Mo Han turned and left without looking back.
"You..."
Chu Chen Yi swallowed the words that had reached his lips. He knew Ling Mo Han's temperament too well; seeing him like that, he knew that anything he said would be futile.
"They deserve it!"
Curses spat out in anger, Chu Chen Yi felt as if a fire was burning in his chest. He had repeatedly and strictly warned them not to eat anything from the woods carelessly, yet some people insisted on trying.
"Stop the sarcastic remarks for now. The matter has come to this, saving them is the priority."
Feng Jin stood up and said, if they delayed any longer, these people's lives would be at risk.
"What do you need? I'll have someone prepare it."
"Just prepare some sugar water."
She wasn't sure what kind of fruit they had eaten, and the severity of the poisoning varied. She had to make them vomit first and then have them drink plenty of sugar water to conserve their strength.
"I'll have someone prepare it now."
Chu Chen Yi nodded in agreement and hurriedly went to instruct someone to prepare the sugar water.
"Drink the sugar water first, then drink the medicine."
Feng Jin distributed the brewed medicine. After everyone drank it, they all started vomiting simultaneously.
"Will this work?" Chu Chen Yi asked with some concern, looking at their pale faces.
"It will definitely work. If they vomit out what they ate, the toxicity will be reduced, and then they can drink some detoxifying medicine."
This was the only simple method of treatment available now. They would inevitably have to suffer a bit.
"How long will they have to vomit? Look at his face, it's turned pale."
"Almost there. Give him some detoxifying medicine."
After a moment's pause, Feng Jin continued, "After drinking the medicine, do not let him eat anything for a day, not even water."
She needed to thoroughly cleanse their intestines so that the toxins could be expelled completely.
"Perfect. Let them be greedy."
Chu Chen Yi snorted. If it weren't for their gluttony, such a big commotion wouldn't have happened, delaying their progress back to the capital. They deserved to suffer a bit.
Once they recovered, they would likely face further punishment.
"Alright, I've done all I can. You stay here and watch them. After they've all taken the detoxifying medicine, have a physician stay to monitor them. If anything is wrong, come find me."
Feng Jin yawned, her eyelids heavy with fatigue. She had been sitting in a carriage all day and her body ached all over. She was truly at her limit and just wanted to go back and sleep. She had to continue traveling early the next morning.
"I'll keep an eye on them here. You go back first."
Tonight, he was destined to be sleepless. After all, the troublemakers were the soldiers he had brought.
If this wasn't resolved properly, given Ling Mo Han's temper and nature, even he wouldn't get off scot-free.
Feng Jin gave a few more instructions and then went back to her room. As soon as she pushed the door open, a somewhat sinister and terrifying voice sounded from behind her.
"You still know to come back?"
"Ah!" Feng Jin cried out instinctively, turning around with extreme caution.
Seeing who it was behind her in the moonlight, she let out a sigh of relief, her heart still pounding, and said, "Do you know that scaring people can kill them?"
It was one thing to sit here all night without sleeping, but not even lighting a lamp and trying to play ghost games.
Feng Jin fumbled in the dark and lit the oil lamp. The room instantly brightened, and her wildly beating heart finally settled down.
She placed the oil lamp on the table, illuminating half of the man's grim face.
"What's wrong?"
As her words fell, Ling Mo Han remained silent, just sitting there with a dark expression.
"Those soldiers only have food poisoning. They'll be fine after drinking the detoxifying herbal soup," Feng Jin explained, thinking he was still worried about the soldiers' safety.
After a moment of silence, the man finally spoke, "I explicitly forbade them multiple times from touching anything in the woods, especially food. Why did they still break the rules!"
This was what Ling Mo Han couldn't understand. Soldiers were often in the military and often encountered similar situations. How could they make such a low-level mistake as to dare to touch things in the woods without permission?
"Perhaps they were too hungry or too thirsty. When the human body endures extreme pain, it's difficult to persevere. This is also human nature."
The five senses are amplified to an extreme under pressure. It's natural to be unable to persevere and choose to abandon one's beliefs. Feng Jin didn't think there was anything wrong with it, she just felt they couldn't bear it.
"No..." Ling Mo Han shook his head. "There must be another reason."
"Did you think of something?" Feng Jin frowned slightly and asked Ling Mo Han.
"The ones who were poisoned this time were all sent to protect the palace maids and eunuchs from Xiliang."
"What?" Feng Jin exclaimed in surprise. If that were true, then this matter was no ordinary one. Why would it be these particular individuals who fell ill?
"If it were someone else, it wouldn't be a big deal, but it's related to the Xiliang people, then this matter is extraordinary." This was not Ling Mo Han being overly suspicious. After all, the Xiliang people's wolfish ambitions were known to all. This incident happening to soldiers who had contact with the Xiliang people made people unable to help but suspect.
"But we don't have concrete evidence to blame them for this. What do you plan to do next?"
"I thought our defenses were strict, but I didn't expect these Xiliang people to be so pervasive. If they are truly like this, then don't blame me for not letting them reach the capital."
As he said this, a thick killing intent flashed in Ling Mo Han's eyes. He had originally intended to spare their lives if they behaved themselves. But now, they had made a move so eagerly right at the start. If he were to curb his actions now, he might spare their lives, but if they truly showed no remorse, then he wouldn't hesitate to show no mercy.