Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 339 - 338: Vigilance

The talisman stood at the courtyard gate, making sure the old steward and those people had walked far away before returning, and along with Fu Lu, continued to stand by the guest hall door, allowing Lu Qing and the others inside to talk conveniently.

"That fragrance, I’ve smelled it in the palace before, not exactly the same, but very similar." Zhu Yu leaned close to Lu Qing’s ear and spoke softly, "It was the time we went to the palace to meet the emperor, you went to the morning assembly, while I waited outside, I smelled it on one of the palace eunuchs.

The eunuch said he wasn’t qualified to use incense, so the fragrance on him must have come from serving a noble in their palace.

Later, I also smelled that fragrance in the South Study Room."

Lu Qing listened to her words, his expression remained calm the entire time, seemingly not particularly surprised.

Or maybe because Lu Zhang and Lu Yan were sitting on the other side, he remained particularly restrained.

"There is no scent on the silk, nor on the dye." Lu Qing pondered, "It seems the dress’s fragrance was likely applied during the weaving process or when the dress was being tailored.

It’s just unknown how long it can last.

Are you sure that it’s not exactly the same as what you previously smelled?"

"Absolutely sure." Zhu Yu nodded, "My sense of smell is quite accurate."

Lu Qing nodded, said nothing further, and motioned for Zhu Yu to sit down, then asked the others about the events of the previous evening.

Everyone’s reaction was almost the same. Initially, they didn’t feel particularly tired, but once back in their rooms, they fell asleep very quickly and suddenly, like a faint.

When they woke, it was universally after dawn, with severe headaches, but no other discomfort.

The consistency of everyone’s reaction was enough to suggest something strange had occurred in the small building the night before.

The talisman received orders to search upstairs and downstairs. After a long search, they returned to inform Lu Qing that they had checked everything, including incense burners and chimneys, but found not a trace.

They even checked under the bed frame, ruling out any secret passageways or mechanisms.

"We’ve had no other effects besides sleeping heavily last night and having headaches this morning. There’s no sign of anyone sneaking into our rooms, and no personal items are missing, so... what could the person who drugged us be up to?" Lu Yan asked, puzzled, thinking it all very perplexing, "Surely they wouldn’t have just wanted to knock us out so we couldn’t sleep well?"

"Don’t say that, your suggestion might have some merit." Lu Qing smiled slightly, "If someone couldn’t sleep, yet the long night was so boring, they might want to go for a walk.

This small courtyard is just so big. What if they walked out of the courtyard and went outside?"

"You mean someone feared that if we wandered out at night, we might catch them off guard?" Lu Yan slapped the table, "Good heavens! So guilty, clearly there’s something wrong here!"

"There’s definitely something wrong. Now, what’s unclear is when exactly the sedative was administered to us and how it was done so that everyone indiscriminately fell victim," Lu Qing reminded the others.

"Could it be something in the dinner?"

Lu Zhang speculated, but was stopped abruptly by a dissatisfied glance from Yan Daoxin. He realized the previous day’s meal was confirmed safe by Yan Daoxin before everyone ate. His speculation was implicitly a question of Yan Daoxin’s expertise in taste.

He quickly added, "Since Chief Historian Yu previously questioned if there might be a colorless, tasteless seductive fragrance, maybe there could also be some secret drug invisible in the food, blending with its natural flavor, making it undetectable?"

Yan Daoxin glanced at him displeased, clearly withholding a rolling eye to maintain his otherworldly facade: "So you think I confirm the absence of drugs by tasting with my tongue?

If the sedative’s taste was that evident, would anyone stupidly consume it despite sensing something off?

A sedative mixed into the food should inherently lack significant flavor. My confirmation didn’t rely on—

Forget it, why should I explain so much to you? Believe it or not, from now on, don’t eat, don’t drink, just endure."

Lu Zhang’s face flushed red at Yan Daoxin’s harsh words.

Lu Yan, however, felt especially satisfied, nearly giving Yan Daoxin a thumbs up right there.

Zhu Yu felt it wasn’t the time for argument, fearing further disagreements would lead to more awkwardness, so she stepped in to support Yan Daoxin: "I also think the problem isn’t in the food.

We didn’t eat together; some ate in the guest hall, others in their rooms. After dinner, it was some time before the servants came to collect the dishes.

By that time, we were all still clear-headed.

If the food was drugged, we would have been sprawled out before the servants collected the dishes."

Yan Shu agreed: "I can confirm this.

When the servants collected the dishes, it wasn’t fully dark yet. I spent a long time alone in my room after that, until it was dark and I lit a candle, feeling quite refreshed and not at all sleepy.

At some point later, I suddenly fell into a deep sleep without knowing why.

Roughly calculating, it wasn’t more than an hour after dinner."

Lu Zhang quickly nodded: "That’s indeed true, I hadn’t considered it thoroughly."

Yan Daoxin’s expression softened slightly, waving his hand to show he wouldn’t hold a grudge against Lu Zhang.

"No matter what, we need to stay alert tonight," Lu Qing reminded.

Yan Daoxin reached for the medicine gourd at his waist, shaking it: "I have plenty of mind-clearing pills here, tonight we all take them. Let’s see who and what method they’ll use to make us fall asleep!"

Everyone agreed, and the topic was tabled.

The rest of the day passed peacefully, with Yan Daoxin spending time in his room thinking about incense preparations, coming down only for meals.

As the sun set, the servants from the Immortal Castle delivered dinner again.

This time, for convenience, everyone gathered around the large table in the guest hall to dine together. After the servants took away the dishes, Yan Daoxin distributed the Awakening Pills to each person, watching as they swallowed them with warm water.

"No problems this time; my Awakening Pills are very effective. Unless someone hits you over the head, don’t expect any confusion!" he confidently assured the others.