In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Upon hearing that Lord Zhuang had been poisoned, Zhu Qingyu grabbed Miss Zhuang's hand and ran inside with her.

"What are the specific symptoms? How do you know it's poisoning?"

The two ran very fast. Although Miss Zhuang was panicked, her mind was still clear. As she ran, she briefly said:

"My father started having a headache, stomachache, and vomiting after lunch today. The vomit contained blood, and it was black. I read in a book that black blood must mean he's been poisoned."

When Zhu Qingyu arrived, Lord Zhuang was lying there barely breathing, and the servants in the room seemed to be in a state of panic, not knowing what to do.

Madam Zhuang was directing a servant to fetch a doctor when she said:

"Quickly go to Huiyi Clinic and invite Master Zhu here! Go on horseback! Hurry!"

The servant agreed and was about to leave when Miss Zhuang pulled Zhu Qingyu inside.

"Lord Zhu has arrived!"

Madam Zhuang, with an expression as if she had met a savior, pulled Zhu Qingyu inside:

"Girl!"

Zhu Qingyu hurried inside and said:

"Miss Zhuang just told me the details. First, induce vomiting, then bring warm water."

Miss Zhuang followed closely behind and ran in:

"I just induced vomiting in my father. I read that in a book, you have to induce vomiting first if you are poisoned."

Zhu Qingyu arrived at Lord Zhuang's bedside and took his pulse. Perhaps it was because Lord Zhuang hadn't eaten much, or perhaps it was because Miss Zhuang had acted quickly enough, but although Lord Zhuang looked quite terrible, his pulse had actually stabilized.

Madam Zhuang and Miss Zhuang both stared at her expectantly. Zhu Qingyu stood up:

"Give Lord Zhuang some more warm water, as much as he can drink. What did he have for lunch? Is there anything left? Let me see?"

Miss Zhuang not only took immediate first aid measures, but she even left the food that Lord Zhuang had eaten. When Zhu Qingyu asked to see it, she immediately had it brought up.

After checking, Zhu Qingyu said to Miss Zhuang, who was standing guard nearby:

"You did a good job and handled it very promptly. If it had been a moment later, the arsenic poison would have taken hold and become dangerous. However, judging from Lord Zhuang's pulse, the symptoms are not severe. He has probably vomited most of it out. I will write a prescription for him to take three times a day by decocting it in water. If he can get through today, he will get through it."

Upon hearing that the symptoms were not severe, Miss Zhuang began to feel fear. She gripped the table, her hands trembling, her legs weak, and her voice quivering.

"Luckily I read the book you gave me, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do. And thankfully you came at this time."

After examining Lord Zhuang, I watched him drink the first dose of medicine. Not long after, Lord Zhuang got up and vomited everything up.

Madam Zhuang was terrified, thinking that Lord Zhuang's poisoning had flared up again.

Zhu Qingyu comforted her:

"Don't be afraid, this medicine is working properly. You'll feel better once you've vomited it all up."

After Lord Zhuang had settled down and fallen asleep, Zhu Qingyu, realizing that she wouldn't be able to review the budget today anyway, decided to wait until Lord Zhuang was better before taking her leave.

As Madam Zhuang saw Zhu Qingyu off, she couldn't hold back her tears as she spoke:

"Thanks to you today. To be honest, I've been living in constant fear these days. I've only been in Jiangning for a few months, and at least five things like today have happened. Either the boat sank, or the horse got spooked, and today even poisoning happened. That official he got promoted to is truly despicable. Sigh, I shouldn't have said all this. Oh, isn't that your third sister?"

The governor's office and the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau were right next to each other. While Zhu Qingyu was talking to Madam Zhuang, Zhang Ruohua stood at the entrance of the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau, looking this way, and it was unclear how long she had been watching.

Zhu Qingyu bid farewell to Madam Zhuang and walked towards Zhang Ruohua. Upon arriving at the gate of the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau, she did not enter but instead said to Zhang Ruohua:

"Third sister, were you waiting for me?"

Zhang Ruohua bit her lip, on the verge of tears:

"Sister-in-law, you haven't been back for the past few days. Did you and Second Brother have a fight? He's not good. I'll go and yell at him. Can you come back today?"

When Zhu Qingyu was in Yangzhou, she wasn't home every day. Sometimes the clinic was busy, and she would stay at the Yangzhou clinic.

But this time, Zhang Ruohua felt that things were different from before. Although her second brother wouldn't say anything, she had a feeling that her sister-in-law wasn't coming back this time.

Zhu Qingyu considers Zhang Shen and Zhang Ruohua as her closest relatives, but whether to sever ties or continue as family is a decision for Zhang Shen to make.

Before Zhang Shen made his decision, Zhu Qingyu felt it was better not to return, to avoid indecisiveness and back-and-forth, which would cause everyone distress. So she said:

"Third sister, it's not your second brother's fault, it's mine. Don't blame him. I've been a bit busy lately. I'll come see you again in a while."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Zhang Ruohua quickly tugged at her sleeve:

"But my second brother has been sick for several days and can't get up."

Zhu Qingyu stopped abruptly and stepped inside:

"It's been several days? Why haven't you come looking for me! Take me there now!"

Having just witnessed Lord Zhuang being poisoned, Zhu Qingyu immediately took it very seriously when she heard that Zhang Shen had been ill for several days and couldn't get out of bed.

Lord Zhuang's salt law reform in Jiangning was a great success, but under his leadership, Zhang Shen was sent to Jiangning. The Jiangning Textile Bureau needed to reform in order to turn losses into profits.

Throughout history, those who sought to reform the system and blocked the path of those who had already benefited from it rarely met a good end.

Zhu Qingyu was very worried that Zhang Shen, like Lord Zhuang, had been ambushed by someone else. Otherwise, how could he suddenly be unable to get up?

Zhang Ruohua led Zhu Qingyu to the entrance of the main house:

"Sister-in-law, my second brother is still asleep, so I won't go in."

Sleeping in broad daylight is not like Zhang Shen; he must be very ill.

Zhu Qingyu became even more worried and pushed open the door to the inner room.

Zhang Shen was indeed lying on the bed, his face pale, and from a distance, he looked as if he had no life.

Zhu Qingyu was startled and quickly went over, sat down by the bed, and took Zhang Shen's hand to take his pulse.

Zhang Shen opened his eyes groggily and saw Zhu Qingyu. He sat up abruptly and stared at her with wide eyes, but he was still in a dream and dared not speak, for fear that if he spoke, he would wake up and she would run away.

Zhu Qingyu felt his pulse and found it was alright. She then reached out and touched his forehead, asking:

"Where do you feel unwell? Does anything hurt? Do you have a fever?"

Feeling the warmth of her hand and her gentle concern, Zhang Shen finally realized that it was the real her, not the one in his dream.

Only then did Zhang Shen dare to speak:

"No, I'm not feeling unwell. I stayed up too late cleaning the room last night and didn't go to sleep until dawn. I was too tired during the day, so I took a nap."

He didn't feel feverish when touched, and after hearing what he said, Zhu Qingyu even suspected that the little girl Zhang Ruohua had gone astray and was deliberately tricking her into coming to see her second brother.

But it's good that Zhang Shen is alright.

Zhu Qingyu prepared to get up:

"Then you can continue sleeping, I'm going back now."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Zhang Shen quickly grabbed Zhu Qingyu's sleeve:

"Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. Will you be back for dinner? I, Ruohua, miss you so much."

Zhu Qingyu looked at his hand pulling at his sleeve, gently trying to pull the sleeve out, and replied:

"Maybe next time."

Zhang Shen held onto his sleeve tightly and asked again:

"Qingyu, when is the next time?"

Zhu Qingyu replied:

"Jingyan, when you're no longer saddened by this, when you're willing to be family with me, let's have a meal together. Or, if you still want to sever ties, that's fine too."

After Zhu Qingyu finished speaking, she got up and left, taking the half-sleeve with her with her as it slipped from Zhang Shen's hand and left him.

As Zhu Qingyu stepped out of the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau, at the same time, a thousand miles away, behind Huangjue Temple, in Yongfu Villa, someone asked:

"Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. Will you be coming back for dinner? Your mother and grandmother miss you very much."

Another person answered:

"Father, maybe next time. Once the Empress Dowager has calmed down and agrees to my marriage with Qingyu, I can bring her into the family and we can have a meal together. Alternatively, I can convert to Buddhism and sever all ties with worldly life."