Insufficient balance

  Everyone in the world is bustling about, all for the sake of gain. This statement is indeed true and not wrong. However, people are not always driven by self-interest. Sometimes a little friendship develops, and when that's enough, self-interest becomes less important. Xue Chongxun was also like this - he was a very worldly person who wouldn't do anything unless there was something in it for him. Yet when he sensed that Meng Xiaoyu might be in trouble, his heart felt some anxiety. Meng Xiaoyu was just like San Niang to him, not important at all, and didn't even have the same utility as San Niang.

  On the floor, some people were rushing around in a panic, others were screaming, a young woman was explaining something, and a madam was scolding. In short, it was very chaotic. But Xue Chongxun only stared at the little woman who was shouting, pushed through the crowded crowd, grabbed her arm and asked: "Is the Mong sister you mentioned Mong Xiaoyu?"

  Xiao Niang nodded: "It's Meng Xiaoyu, she was poisoned..."

  At this moment, a handsome man with very white skin and peach blossom eyes walked out of the room, his face full of anger, shouting at the madam: "In Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, under the feet of the emperor, what kind of shop are you running, actually putting poison in the wine!"

  The madam was shocked and said: "We run a business with a good reputation, and we make money by being friendly. You can't just slander us like that. How could we possibly poison people in our own shop?"

  Xue Chongxun's heart was anxious, he wanted to go in and take a look immediately, but suddenly heard the conversation between the two, he stopped again, calm down. The words of the madam seemed to be casual and shirking responsibility, but they made sense.

  Sometimes it's reasonable to say that you don't have to quote classics or cite examples, and the more ordinary it is, the more reasonable it is. The madam said it right, she does business here, why would she look for trouble herself?

  At this time, the handsome man said fiercely: "Red mouth and white teeth, can't just rely on your mouth, wait for the official to say it!" He walked out while pointing at the pimp and said harshly, "Wait!"

  Just then, Xue Chongxun suddenly grabbed his collar: "Where are you going?"

  The handsome man shouted angrily: "Take your dirty hands away! Which onion are you?"

  Xue Chongxun didn't mean to get angry, he just turned his head and said to the madam: "Leave this person to me, Du sister quickly go in and take a look at Meng Xiaoyu, first find a way to make her vomit and let her spit out as much of the poison in her belly as possible." After that, he also said to the little girl beside him: "You, hurry up and find a doctor, it must be quick!"

  The little girl nodded and ran off quickly. Xue Chongxun looked at the procurer: "What are you still standing there for? Do you want to get Xiao Yu killed?"

  The madam rushed into the room, shouting at the prostitutes beside her to come and help.

  Xue Chongxun's heart was filled with anger, and he grabbed the handsome man's collar, lifting him up with one hand, causing his feet to leave the ground. The handsome man struggled a few times, trying to pry open Xue Chongxun's hand, but it was like an iron claw. The delicate-looking man's strength was no match for Xue Chongxun, who had practiced martial arts regularly. He couldn't break free and became enraged, glaring at Xue Chongxun and shouting: "Damn you! Do you know who I am? If you don't let me go, I'll make you regret it!"

  Xue Chongxun said coldly: "What is your identity? I have seen people with real identities."

  "Haha...... Ah! Oh!" The handsome man had just laughed out half a sentence when he suddenly let out a loud yell, louder than killing a donkey.

  It turned out that Xue Chongxun had his left index finger broken, the ten fingers connected to the heart, and the finger bones were broken, the pain was imaginable, no wonder the handsome man shouted so loudly.

  "What's your name?"

  The handsome man hummed for a while, his face filled with shock and anger, saying: "I am a scholar on the imperial examination list, I have connections in the court, you just... ah!"

  Xue Chongxun didn't say a word, grabbed his left hand middle finger, and with a "crack" sound, another one was broken. Not only did the handsome man scream, but also the surrounding prostitutes and clients who witnessed the scene of someone's finger being broken off were shocked and cried out in alarm.

  The handsome man's hand was not only trembling, but his entire arm was shaking like a sieve, it wasn't just painful, but also fearful. The dark-faced man in front of him had a murderous look, he didn't seem human, as if he were a ghost from hell.

  "What's your name?" Xue Chongxun's emphasis was devoid of any emotion, and his voice wasn't loud, but at this moment, the young man didn't dare to not take extra notice, or else what might be cut off next could be his index finger.

  Such a person, handsome man has never been seen before, he doesn't understand how a living person can be so cold-blooded and ruthless.

  The handsome man hastily replied: "Xiao... Xiao Heng."

  Xue Chongxun nodded, looking very satisfied, and said: "Now I'll ask you something, and you just answer. Don't say anything irrelevant or nonsense, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense, otherwise you will get hurt." The young man was full of anger and humiliation in his heart, but on his face he looked like he was about to cry, and he helplessly nodded.

  Xue Chongxun said: "Very good. Have you ever received a sum of money from Meng Xiaoyu?"

  The handsome man's face twitched, thinking to himself that if he admitted it, would he still be able to win the lawsuit? But now he was at a disadvantage, and this person didn't seem very reasonable, so he couldn't just say nothing... The handsome man hesitated for a moment, shaking his head: "No, I just thought she looked pretty, so I came to listen to her play."

  Xue Chongxun stared at his face, seeing the subtle changes in his expression clearly. He sneered and said, "You will believe what I say, and you will personally experience a saying: Don't cry until you see the coffin."

  The handsome man's expression was mainly due to his pain and he said with a groan: "Every word I say is true."

  "Am I asking you again, was it you who poisoned me?"

  "This young man did not hesitate at all and immediately shouted loudly: 'No! How could I have poisoned? It was clearly someone from the Water Cloud Sect who poisoned, trying to harm me!'"

  Xue Chongxun then pushed one of them to the side, towards Fang Yuzhong: "Keep an eye on him, don't let him run away." Then he walked straight inside.

  There was a wine table in the room, with chairs, beds, musical instruments and other things. Now it's all messy, cups and dishes are all over the house. Meng Xiaoyu had been carried to the bed by someone, lying there unconscious, with a spittoon beside the bed, vomiting a lot of things inside.

  The madam was in a flurry, the prostitutes were crying, and it was chaotic. Xue Chongxun took a look at Meng Xiaoyu's face, her pure face was full of pain, not the kind of physical pain that could be felt in the abdomen or elsewhere, but... heartache. The expressions of these two are still somewhat different.

  Xue Chongxun roughly guessed what was going on. Seeing the look on Meng Xiaoyu's face, he also felt a inexplicable pang of sadness in his heart.

  Just then, someone outside the door said: "Lang Zhong has arrived, Lang Zhong has arrived, everyone make way."

  It turned out to be a young man carrying an old man in, the young man was wearing a hemp garment, possibly a slave of the brothel, he had someone on his back and a medicine box in his hand. The old man with missing teeth on his back was probably the real doctor, the old doctor said: "Ah, quickly put me down."

  The women in the room helped him down from the young man's back, chattering: "Old master, you must save Little Rain!" "Doctor, hurry up and use your wonderful skills!"

  "Stop quarreling!" The old man panted, "I'm old and my ears are a bit deaf. You're all making such a racket that I can't hear anyone clearly. Who's in charge here?"

  The procuress came over and said to the girls, "Be quiet, saving a life is urgent."

  The old man's hair was all white, and he looked frail, but his eyes didn't seem dull, and his gaze seemed pretty good. Xue Chongxun saw this and suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in his heart.

  The old man looked at Meng Xiaoyu on the bed and then looked down at the spittoon, saying: "Poisoned? Is it her vomit?"

  The young lady nodded and said: "You are absolutely right."

  The old man then opened the medicine box, took out a paper package and handed it to the procuress: "Immediately mix with water, one copper basin of warm water, administer in three portions to wash the abdomen."

  The procuress took the package and handed it to a young girl, instructing her: "Hurry up."

  At this time, the old man walked to the bedside, stretched out his right hand and pinched Meng Xiaoyu's wrist, and immediately said: "Not dead yet..." On the other side, he stretched out his left index finger, dipped a little dirty thing in the sputum bowl, and put it under his nose to smell. This action made the throats of many good girls next to him twitch.

  "Crane's Top Red." Old Lang said, "This is a highly toxic poison, the toxin acts very quickly... After taking Crane's Top Red, one will naturally vomit, but apparently this young woman isn't vomiting naturally, she's vomiting much faster. If it weren't for that, she'd probably be dead already."

  The old woman thought of something and glanced at Xue Chongxun, who was standing beside her without saying a word. Her tears flowed out with a hint of gratitude. Because just now it was Xue Chongxun who suggested this, otherwise the old woman wouldn't have thought to go upstairs, she came in and scratched Meng Xiaoyu's throat, which made her vomit a lot. But unexpectedly, Lao Lang continued to say: "Hongdai is incurable, this young woman's poison has entered the meridians, although she hasn't died yet, but sooner or later it will be death."

  Just then, the little girl who was fetching water came in with a copper basin. The medicine powder had been mixed into the water and had turned into a black, gloopy substance. Old Lang said: "This looks like burnt mantou, it's dirty to look at, but actually it's just grains, not dirty... However, I think there's no need for me to drink this anymore, let's just prepare for my funeral instead, sigh."

  Xue Chongxun said: "Drip! Why not drip? People can't just listen to fate, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, they must make every effort! Drip!"

  This is what Xue Chongxun often says, and it's also his own way of dealing with the world.

  Because of Xue Chongxun's words just now, Meng Xiaoyu held back her breath, and the madam also gained a little more trust in Xue Chongxun, so she was more willing to listen to him at this moment. So the madam said: "You help Xiaoyu up, send her away, do what can be done."

  The madam didn't want to get Meng Xiaoyu killed either, not because she cared about Meng Xiaoyu's life or death, but because if Meng Xiaoyu died, there would be no witness left, and wouldn't that be a loss for the case?

  Xue Chongxun thought of this and felt a little more sympathy for Meng Xiaoyu. The poor girl, even in death, didn't have anyone to mourn her. What kind of mother, what kind of sister, were they to her?

  The young women of the brothel were busy giving Meng Xiaoyu a medicinal bath to detoxify her. Xue Chongxun asked the doctor, "Really, is there no other way?"

  Lang Zhong shook his head: "A doctor's ethics come first, we who are Langzhong, no matter who it is before teaching, the master will always say this sentence to us. If Laoxu still has any way, he absolutely won't stand by and let a living person die... Who in the world dares to say they can cure Swan's Red? If you don't believe me, invite someone else."

  Xue Chongxun heard him say "please ask a higher authority", and suddenly thought of Yuwen Ji, this female doctor's reputation was not in vain. However, he suddenly felt a bit depressed, because Yuwen Ji wasn't someone who made a living by practicing medicine, because she was a woman, traveling around wasn't very convenient. The people she treated were either forced by circumstance or acquaintances... Xue Chongxun also counted as her acquaintance, but now Yuwen Ji hated him, and it would be strange if he went to ask for her help and she agreed.

  It's really true that in life, there is no time when you don't need others. You only realize it when the time comes.

  Xue Chongxun thought of the imperial physician again. If it were an ordinary person, it would be difficult to get the imperial physician to take a pulse and prescribe medicine for a courtesan. Fortunately, Xue Chongxun was Taichang Gong, the superior officer of those old guys, so they couldn't disobey him... The problem is that the old man just said that who in the world dares to say they can cure Honglian? It's likely that treating Meng Xiaoyu won't work with conventional methods, and unconventional means must be used.

  According to Xue Chongxun's knowledge, the only person who could wield a sword with such an unorthodox style was Yuwen Ji!