Chapter 324

“Pleased to meet you, Master Yi Dai,” Yueqian smiled, feigning ignorance. Her beautiful smile caused the initially hostile Yi Dai to hesitate momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure, though his face flushed slightly with greed.

“Pleased to meet you as well. However, I think we find ourselves in an unpleasant situation, don’t we, Doctor Zhu?” Yi Dai turned to ask one of the royal physicians from another region accompanying them. The man looked at Yueqian with a frown of disapproval.

Who allowed a woman to meddle here?! Because of this, an untrained woman let her child play around freely. This made the competition seem worthless.

Doctor Zhu’s displeased expression made Yueqian smile. No matter where she went, people always seemed to be sexist, viewing younger individuals as ignorant. If he took a moment to see what Xihao was writing, he’d realize it was no joke.

This was accurate and valuable treatment for the patient. Even if he didn’t answer, Yueqian would have, and the answer would likely be the same as her son’s. Instead of obstructing him for appearance’s sake, she preferred giving children the opportunity to showcase their abilities.

Besides, it was Xihao who found the question and assessed its accuracy himself. Yueqian had no right to steal this achievement from him.

“A sacred place like this shouldn’t have allowed women to meddle in the first place, let alone a child still wet behind the ears,” Doctor Zhu remarked. Yi Dai laughed with satisfaction.

“I agree. Moreover, this child is scribbling something. Could it be tampering with someone else’s answer? It might obscure the correct response, causing trouble for the recipient in the future,” Yi Dai was ignorant of medicine but aware of how a one-year-old typically behaved.

Even he, at the age of ten, enjoyed playing pranks and was often punished. If he hadn’t realized later that playing with women was more fun than tormenting others, he wouldn’t have stopped.

And what could you expect from a one-year-old? How could he understand anything? He can barely speak clearly. Just look at his writing, it was obvious. It crooked and uneven. Even though it forms words, it’s slow and disorganized. His small fingers can hardly hold the brush properly. It’s impressive enough if he doesn’t just scribble all over the answers.

"Master Yi, there’s no need to worry. There are test supervisors here ensuring that no one can destroy another’s answers to gain an advantage. Otherwise, you’d be implying they aren’t doing their jobs well," Yueqian said with a smile.

Yi Dai felt even more displeased seeing her charming yet arrogant smile. Wouldn’t it be satisfying to turn that smile into a twisted grimace and those bright eyes into tears?

Shouldn’t a woman be where she belongs? Should she flaunt herself in front of men like this? The only things women should do are play the zither, play go, paint, and dance!

"You make a good point, but even if the child doesn’t destroy the answers, what use is he? His playfulness is a waste of others’ time. Instead of answering questions, they have to wait for him. If this isn’t a disturbance, then what is?"

"Judges, while there may not be a rule against others scribbling, you should consider this for the future," Yi Dai and Doctor Zhu continued to talk incessantly. Meanwhile, Xihao kept writing his answer, undisturbed. He let his mother handle the verbal sparring while he demonstrated his skill!

"Now, aren’t they the ones causing a disturbance? What right do they have to pressure other participants who are thinking of answers?" Yueqian wouldn’t give in either. If they were going to appeal to the judges, so could she!

This beautiful woman was not a persimmon to be played with. She wasn’t weak or soft and wouldn’t be defeated for doing what was right. The ones who should be embarrassed were them.

"What’s going on, Furen Mu?" Representative Ma, who had been exploring the area with Mu Heng, returned just in time.

In truth, he hadn’t intended to rush over to Furen Mu, but upon seeing the person confronting her was Yi Dai, a relative of his most beloved late wife, he couldn’t help himself.

Yi Dai was, in fact, the brother of the wife who had poisoned herself and died earlier. She was the one who poisoned his tea every day, the one he trusted and loved the most, the one who had told him she loved him the most!

Before their marriage, she was just an ordinary person with a modest family. Her family were simple villagers with enough to live on. But after marrying him, it was natural for a husband to support his wife’s family. Typically, they would assist each other in small ways. Representative Ma helped Yi Dai secure a minor position and tried to aid him in earning merits for a promotion, which eventually made Yi Dai a minor official.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t paid much attention to Yi Dai before. By the time he realized it, Yi Dai had already aligned himself with the Seventh Prince! This prince was one of the contenders for the throne, alongside the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince. He was intelligent but also terrifying. Even the Emperor had hinted that the Seventh Prince was planning something significant.

The Seventh Prince didn’t particularly like Yi Dai but appreciated gathering people who could increase his power. Yi Dai was just a small pawn for him. Despite knowing this, Representative Ma didn’t care much. His wife, Yi Dai’s sister, understood well that the Ma family intended to stay neutral within the royal medical bureau. If they were to choose a side, they would prefer the Second Prince, who shared their medical knowledge.

This preference was favored by those who loved learning, even if many preferred to avoid them and leave it at that. But the Seventh Prince didn’t do that.

Knowing that Yi Dai was the uncle of the future leader of the Ma family, Ma Hong—the only healthy son—he still intervened, offering numerous business proposals and empowering the Yi family. All of this was to control the Ma family!

By the time Representative Ma realized this scheme, it was too late to withdraw. Though he pretended not to notice anything, the moment Ma Hong grew up and, with his mother still alive, connected with his uncle Yi Dai, it would be inevitable.

But after his wife’s suicide, Yi Dai must have felt that things weren’t going according to his plan. Thus, he continually sought to create problems, whether big or small. This time was no different.

"Oh, Official Ma, who killed the wife who loved him the most," Yi Dai sneered, his tone biting like a scorned woman, darkening Representative Ma’s expression.

Even knowing that Representative Ma was in poor health, Yi Dai still chose to use such harsh words. Yueqian, overhearing, frowned in displeasure.

"Are you alright?" Mu Heng, uninterested in their bickering, only wrapped his arm around his wife to show that he would protect her.

"I’m fine, but Representative Ma..." She glanced at the burly man who was battling both anger and sorrow. Clearly, the one who was most heartbroken wasn’t Yi Dai, the brother, but Representative Ma himself. The loss of that woman had left deep scars on his heart.

"This is a competition venue. I think you shouldn’t bring personal matters here," he cautioned, but Yi Dai remained indifferent to the warning.

"Then where should it be discussed? In hell?" He said angrily, grinding his teeth at Representative Ma for daring to lecture him. Yueqian patted the back of Mu Heng’s hand, signaling to let her go first. She had started this confrontation, so let her finish it!

"It seems, from what I hear, that you are the brother of the recently deceased secondary wife of the Ma household, correct?" Yueqian asked with a smile. Yi Dai laughed at how this seemingly uninvolved person knew about the matter.

In truth, she couldn’t claim ignorance, for if not for her... the whole affair wouldn’t have come to light!

"Oh, and who are you to speak of this? No! You must be delighted that my sister is dead. You must have conspired with this Official Ma to get rid of her. Afterward, you’ll take her place, won’t you?!" Yi Dai showed the utmost disdain for Yueqian. Mu Heng, who was behind her, stepped forward. His intimidating aura, even without him saying anything, forced Yi Dai to take a step back.

"Not at all. I have no interest in the position of Furen Ma, but what does interest me is... investigating the poison." Yueqian shook her head and smiled slyly.

"The curiosity of a physician can be quite dangerous, especially when it involves finding out... who dared to poison Representative Ma. And there’s something else I’d like to know... Who helped Furen Ma obtain those poisons?"

Thinking it over, it was likely that someone powerful had aided in the plot. Furen Ma couldn’t have come and gone from the manor as she pleased. Seeing Yi Dai’s enraged expression, it seemed he wasn’t mourning his sister’s death but was furious that his plan had failed!

Yueqian had encountered many people, so her suspicions were reasonable. However, she didn’t expect Xihao, who had just finished writing his answer, to point at Yi Dai.

“Yes! Mother, it’s him. He’s still doing it to others!” Xihao couldn’t speak long sentences fluidly. To speak clearly, he had learned to finish one word before moving to the next; otherwise, his tongue would tangle, making him incomprehensible.

“What? What do you mean?” Yueqian knew her son communicated with spirits, so she believed he wasn’t speaking nonsense but telling the truth.

“You speak nonsense. How dare you slander me with such baseless accusations? I won’t let you off, even if you use your age as an excuse, you little devil!” Yi Dai was startled. He didn’t know how the child knew, but it was true that he was still poisoning others.

“I know. In the Wu Manor too,” Xihao bravely continued, speaking the truth without fear of death! After all, this man had incessantly insulted his mother, suggesting she wanted to climb into Representative Ma’s bed. How could he not be angry?

Wasn’t this an affront to his strong father? Even though his mother could defend herself, he still felt hurt! A one-year-old also had feelings!

“Y-You’re speaking utter nonsense!!” Yi Dai’s behavior became increasingly suspicious. His face turned pale with shock, forgetting that Xihao was just a one-year-old. He now looked at the child as if he were a demon who knew his secrets.

Since he had only recently gained power, Yi Dai hadn’t learned to handle confrontations with major officials, making his suspicious behavior obvious. Now, the person who shouldn’t have heard the most had overheard!

“Did I just hear the little doctor mention our Wu family?” An elderly man with snow-white skin approached, his face graced with a respectful smile. His delicate fingers clearly indicated he was from a prominent family, certainly not a martial family."C-Counselor Wu," Representative Ma, who did not expect things to have escalated to this point, couldn’t help but be shocked. He looked at the skilled Official Wu and then at the little Xihao, who was staring back at each other. It felt like something significant was about to unfold.