The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1284 - 1284 625 Slap in the Face (Second Update)

Chapter 1284: 625 Slap in the Face (Second Update) Chapter 1284: 625 Slap in the Face (Second Update) Gu Jiao entered and, knowing her way well, she drew back the curtain to enter the inner chamber and walked around the screen to the bedside.

Her easy familiarity made it seem as though she had been there before.

But everyone knew this was impossible.

Today’s bed curtains were drawn back, and Gu Jiao immediately saw the middle-aged man lying on the bed, unconscious. Different from yesterday, his head and arms were pierced with silver needles at various acupoints.

Just now that second wife mentioned that Chen Guoluo, the divine doctor’s disciple, had just administered acupuncture to the Duke and had gone to prepare medicine for him.

Yesterday, due to the urgency of the situation, Gu Jiao only briefly met with the Duke. She did not diagnose his pulse nor did she take a close look at his appearance.

Now she had a chance to see him.

To say that his face was so gaunt as to be unrecognizable would not be an exaggeration, but he had a splendid bone structure and an extraordinary demeanor. It was not difficult to imagine that before falling unconscious, he must have been a refined and scholarly man.

A feeling that Gu Jiao could not describe rose from the bottom of her heart, and she did not know why.

Before taking his pulse, Gu Jiao first asked about the patient’s condition: “What caused the Duke to become like this? How long has it been?”

In the carriage, Mu Qingchen had not told Gu Jiao about the Duke’s condition because Mu Qingchen had only planned to make a token appearance.

Mu Qingchen looked at Gu Jiao in astonishment, as if he were struck by how convincing her act was.

However, this question was somewhat difficult to answer.

Mu Qingchen and the second wife fell silent simultaneously for a moment.

“Poisoning.”

“Injury from a fall.”

Mu Qingchen and the second wife spoke at the same time.

The two of them paused, taken aback.

“Injury from a fall.”

“Poisoning.”

Mu Qingchen and the second wife spoke again simultaneously.

“Is it an injury from a fall, poisoning, or both?” Gu Jiao asked. “It would be best for you to not withhold any information; it might affect my judgment.”

Mu Qingchen looked at Gu Jiao with a complex expression, as if to say, “You’re really into your role.”

In the end, it was the second wife who sighed and said, “Well, it’s not a secret anymore. Besides, you were brought here by Young Master Qingchen, so it’s fine for you to know. The Duke fell from his horse and fainted, and since then, he hasn’t woken up. However, the imperial physicians discovered that the Duke was also suffering from a rare chronic poison called Seven-Star Powder. People poisoned with it don’t show symptoms in the early and middle stages. By the time the symptoms manifest, the poison has deeply infiltrated the organs, and it’s too late to reverse. Luckily, the Duke’s poisoning was recent, and the physicians managed to clear the toxin from his body.”

The young man mocked: “Young Master Qingchen, the young doctor you invited seems incompetent. He needed others to tell him the cause of the illness. What use is he then?”

Mu Qingchen gave the young man a cold glare.

Unaffected, Gu Jiao continued to ask: “So the Duke has remained unconscious even after the detoxification?”

The second wife shook her head: “Yes, he has.”

Gu Jiao then asked, “How long has this situation lasted?”

The second wife replied, “Over three years now.”

It had been over a year, and he could essentially be classified as a vegetative state.

Gu Jiao asked, “What was his physical condition before falling off the horse? Did he suffer any serious illness from childhood? Did he have a stroke before the incident?”

The second wife shook her head again: “No, the Duke was healthy before. He hadn’t suffered any serious illnesses since childhood, nor had he had a stroke, especially since he is still so young.”

To the second wife, a stroke was an illness that only affected the elderly. The Duke had just turned forty. How could he have a stroke?

This largely ruled out cerebral malformations, degenerative, and metabolic diseases.

Gu Jiao felt that the likelihood of acute trauma was high. She inquired about possible incidences of drowning or asphyxiation, but the answer was still no.

It seemed that the main cause was indeed the horse riding accident.

Mu Qingchen frowned and gave Gu Jiao a look that signaled “time to recite the prescription”; there was no need for the act to be this realistic.

Gu Jiao ignored Mu Qingchen’s glance.

As she observed the patient’s condition, she had no intention of moving the silver needles on the patient’s arms, planning to wait for Doctor Chen to remove them before proceeding with treatment. However, at this moment, she noticed a slight twitching in the Duke’s facial features.

First, his eyelids twitched, then his eyeballs moved erratically, and afterward, even the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch uncontrollably.

Generally speaking, each profession has its own rules. No matter how skilled Gu Jiao was, she would not easily interfere with another’s treatment unless absolutely necessary.