Chapter 44

At my suggestion, Heo Cheong also began to drink the same tea as us.

Clear Sounds of Flowers and Birds. Bright Moon in a Cup.

After drinking up to this point, Heo Cheong tilted his head. And when he drank the Green Beauty, his expression soon turned serious. The moment he saw the jujubes on our table, his face turned ashen.

There was no way the Grand Clan Head would have failed to notice. “What is it, sir? Is something the matter? Why is your complexion so unwell?”

“M-my apologies, Grand Clan Head. This is merely my own conjecture, but if my guess is correct, this is a truly dreadful matter…”

“What is it?”

“The truth is, although I am painting a picture now, I also have another occupation.”

“I am aware of that. You treat the illnesses of the local people as a physician, do you not?”

“That is correct, but the truth is, what I mainly deal with is the detoxification of those who have been poisoned.”

“Detoxification?”

“Painting is my family’s trade, so I, too, became a painter. In the process, I became curious as to why those who paint so easily harm their health and die young. And so, as I delved into the cause, I learned that the pigments used in painting can become a poison.” Heo Cheong continued, “Thus, realizing that my family members were being poisoned by the pigments, harming their health and dying young, I began to study in order to detoxify them.”

“I see. But what does that have to do with your complexion changing?”

“If one studies detoxification, one naturally cannot help but learn about poisons.”

“Well, that would be so. To detoxify, one must know about the poison.”

“That is correct. For poison and medicine, though they seem to be opposites, are ultimately two sides of the same coin.”

I looked at his white hair. It had turned white as a side effect of his research into poisons. Because of that white hair, people in the future would call him the White-Haired Painter-Physician[1].

In my past life, the White-Haired Painter-Physician was an immortal physician whose skill in detoxification was second to none. The one who had revealed that the cause of the Empress’s death was poisoning was none other than the painter before me, the future White-Haired Painter-Physician. And at this point in time, he was ‘officially’ the only one who knew about the four-part poison.

“For you to say that means there is poison within my residence.”

“That is correct.”

“Then I shall ask. Where is this poison?”

At the Grand Clan Head’s question, Heo Cheong prostrated himself and answered, “It is dreadful to say, but… it was in the tea.”

“The tea?”

“Yes. To be precise, it was in the three types of tea I just drank and in the jujubes. And these are one of a four-part poison that only takes effect when all four types are consumed.”

“…” At those words, the Grand Clan Head squeezed his eyes shut. “…I see. My guests drank that poison yesterday and today… are they alright?”

I was moved by the Grand Clan Head’s words. Though he must have consumed more of the poison himself, he was thinking of his guests’ safety before his own.

Heo Cheong answered his question. “They are fine. It is because the poison I spoke of must be consumed consistently for at least a year. And after a year, the body slowly weakens and eventually leads to death, but the cause of death does not particularly stand out.”

“I see.” The Grand Clan Head nodded. “The fortunate thing is that it has not been long since you started consuming this poison, Grand Clan Head.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can tell by your complexion. If your complexion had been unwell, I would have noticed as soon as I saw you.”

“But…” the Grand Clan Head asked him the most important question. “How did you come to know of this poison? Even though you study poisons for detoxification, this is a poison even I do not know of.”

“There was someone who died after consuming the same poison as you, Grand Clan Head.”

In my past life, the White-Haired Painter-Physician had left these words. “I learned of this poison eighteen years ago. At that time, there was a man in the same village. He was suffering from a serious illness, and he had called every physician in the Central Plains, but there was no improvement.”

“In the midst of that, I was called. It seemed they were in a state of having nothing to lose. And I realized that he was poisoned and investigated what had poisoned him.”

“I found out the reason, but for him, it was already a prescription written after death.”

For whatever reason, the White-Haired Painter-Physician kept the identity of that dead man a secret to the end, but some people deduced his identity. He was the Left Censor-in-Chief[2] of the Office of the Censor-General[3]. There must have been some reason, but in any case, this poison had already been used at this time, and the White-Haired Painter-Physician also knew of its existence.

Heo Cheong continued, “I cannot say who he was, but it is definitely poison. And the reason you probably have not heard of this poison is because of its characteristics.”

“The poison’s characteristics?”

“That is correct. The ingredients for this poison are rare, and it is not easy to make. Moreover, the method of administration is tricky, and the required time is long.”

“Indeed, if one has to drink three types of tea and take it for a year… it would be very difficult to use.” The Grand Clan Head stroked his beard and asked, “Is there a way to detect this poison?”

“There is.”

“Is it possible to do so here?”

“Of course. All we need are two things: vinegar and blood.”

Soon, those things were prepared, and using the pre-brewed tea, he confirmed the presence of the poison with the same method I had used.

Seeing it, the Grand Clan Head rose from his seat and clasped his fists to Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo and me. “My apologies. It is due to my own shortcomings as your host that you were almost put in danger.”

“Not at all! How could I, a younger brother, say that it is my elder brother’s fault?”

“That’s right, Grand Clan Head. So you do not need to apologize.”

“I am truly grateful that you say so.” The Grand Clan Head looked at Heo Cheong. “You, come with me to the House of Crafting Peace now.”

***

At that moment, someone was rushing somewhere. That person delivered a message to someone. “Master Hyeon-ri has found out about the poison.”

“What? How could he have found out? They said it was a poison that could never be detected.”

“They say the guest painter who was invited today is a man who has mastered detoxification.”

“Hurry and change the tea containers. That way, we can frame it as the work of another’s trickery.”

“I think that will be difficult.”

“Has Master Hyeon-ri already arrived at the House of Crafting Peace?”

“It’s not that…”

“What is it?”

“Right now, Young Lady Yoo-ah is throwing a tantrum at the House of Crafting Peace.”

***

When the Grand Clan Head and Heo Cheong were about to go to the House of Crafting Peace, I also requested to go with them. After thinking for a moment, the Grand Clan Head nodded. “You are also a victim who drank the poison, so it is a just request. Very well.”

“Thank you.”

A short while later, we arrived at the House of Crafting Peace. Those who saw the Grand Clan Head quickly bowed their heads. “We greet the Grand Clan Head.”

The Grand Clan Head picked three of the tea containers in the place where his tea was brewed and held them out to Heo Cheong. “Examine the inside of these.”

“Understood.”

He immediately spread out a piece of paper and upended the tea container onto it. And after meticulously examining the container, he set it down. After doing the same for all three containers in a row, Heo Cheong performed the detection method with something he had scraped from inside the containers.

But the tea water mixed with vinegar remained clear. Seeing this, Heo Cheong said, “Nothing has been detected.”

“Is that so?” The Grand Clan Head furrowed his brow.

Now it was my turn to step forward. “Excuse me, Grand Clan Head. I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“Yesterday, with your permission, I had the opportunity to look around this place.”

“Ah, so you did.”

“But the tea containers I saw yesterday and these tea containers seem a little different.”

“The tea containers are different?”

“Yes. The ones I saw yesterday were definitely a bit old, but these don’t look very old at all.”

The shape was certainly the same, but they looked much newer. Tea containers are rarely changed, so that the tea aroma can deliberately seep into them.

“I see.”

Just then, someone stepped forward. “Excuse me, I have something to say about that.”

The one who stepped forward was a woman, and the Grand Clan Head said, “What is it?”

“Actually, all the tea containers on the shelf where those teas were located were taken away a little while ago by Young Lady Yoo-ah.”

“By Yoo-ah?”

“Yes. So, those are new containers I just prepared and filled with tea.”

“In other words, the tea leaves from the tea you brewed and brought out were not from inside these containers.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

At her words, I realized that she was the one in charge of brewing the Grand Clan Head’s tea. I must learn how to brew tea from her. Aside from the fact that there was poison in the tea, the tea I had drunk was among the top three most excellent teas I had tasted in this life and the last combined. But that would have to be after this incident was resolved.

“When did Yoo-ah leave this place?”

“It has been just over a shichen.”

At those words, the Grand Clan Head quickly turned his body.

***

A man was walking, looking around in all directions. His name was Wang Gyeong. He was now moving to carry out the order he had received from his master. The painter who had come as a guest of the Grand Clan Head was, of all things, an expert in detoxification. In the end, the Grand Clan Head had learned of the poison’s existence.

‘I went through so much trouble to place those containers there… damn it.’

So, to avoid being caught, he had to switch the tea containers. But a problem had arisen. The Clan Head’s daughter, Zhuge Yoo-ah, had swept away the tea containers. And as it happened, the three poisoned tea containers were among them. She had always been an unpredictable troublemaker, and now she had become a bothersome hindrance at a critical moment.

‘When my master takes control of the family, I’ll suggest we get rid of that wench first.’

Wang Gyeong glanced at the tea containers in his bundle. The place he was heading for now was Zhuge Yoo-ah’s quarters. He had to switch the three poisoned containers she had taken with the ones he had. If the Grand Clan Head found out about what Yoo-ah had done, he would surely investigate the containers she had. It would be troublesome if the poison was found in the containers Yoo-ah had.

If he failed in this task, his master would surely abandon him for the sake of the grand plan without a moment’s hesitation. That was why he absolutely could not fail this time.

He soon arrived at Zhuge Yoo-ah’s quarters. Because she was so unruly, she lived in a separate annex. There were far fewer people around than usual, but in his haste, he failed to pay attention to that. He just glanced around briefly, then quickly entered her annex and found the tea containers she had taken. The containers were placed on a table on the wooden floor.

He stealthily approached the table and untied his bundle. He was just about to switch the tea from his bundle with the tea on the table when… swoosh. He felt something cold on the back of his neck.

“…!”

And a heavy voice was heard. “That’s far enough.”

It was a familiar voice. He slowly turned his head and saw the face of the man who had put a sword to his neck. It was the Clan Head, Zhuge Yul.

‘Damn it all.’ He realized. It was over for him.

**

When we arrived at Zhuge Yoo-ah’s quarters, the Head of the Zhuge Clan was there. And at his feet, a man was bound and gagged.

“What has happened?”

At the Grand Clan Head’s question, the Clan Head replied, “This man secretly infiltrated Yoo-ah’s quarters, so I captured him and was in the middle of interrogating him.”

At his words, the Grand Clan Head clutched his chest in relief. What… so he was worried about Zhuge Yoo-ah, even though he spoke so coldly before.

I glanced at Zhuge Yoo-ah, who was standing beside the Clan Head. She had carried out my request perfectly. But, Young Lady, was the trustworthy collaborator you mentioned yesterday your father?

I recalled the conversation I had with her last night.

“First, watch the House of Crafting Peace. And after you’ve confirmed that the tea is going out as I said, the opportune moment is when the last tea, the Green Beauty, has gone out.”

“And that’s when I should cause a scene.”

“That is correct. The meaning of the scene I mentioned is not to actually wreak havoc, but to draw everyone’s attention to you, Young Lady. While ensuring that no one can touch those tea containers.”

“Alright. And then?”

“Take the tea containers on the shelf, including the ones I mentioned, and go to your quarters.”