Su Xiufeng’s words brought a sense of relief to Meng Chuyue’s heart.
She didn’t want Song Ting to be a villain.
Even though Shen Ci wasn’t ready to acknowledge Song Ting, Meng Chuyue hoped that even if he wasn’t a good person, he wouldn’t be too despicable, so as to spare Shen Ci the heartache.
The fact that Su Xiufeng dared not tell Song Ting about kidnapping her and coercing her with the threat of human lives suggested that he was at least not someone who brazenly did evil deeds.
"Mhm," Su Xiufeng seemed satisfied with her understanding, "I’ll tell them that you are Enzhi’s friend, brought here by her, and because you’ve studied traditional Chinese medicine, you became curious upon hearing about their illness and so you wanted to have a look. Have you got it?"
Despite herself, Meng Chuyue found Su Xiufeng’s commanding manner quite amusing, as if she were an empress dowager.
With a smile hidden in her heart, Meng Chuyue complied with an obedient expression, "I’ve got it."
"Mhm," Su Xiufeng waved her off, "Enzhi, take her with you."
With respectful agreement, Song Enzhi took Meng Chuyue’s hand and led her toward the eastern part of the villa.
Halfway there, Song Enzhi said with a smile, "My dad has a very good temper, and although my cousin can be difficult, with my dad around, he won’t make things hard for you. Don’t be scared."
"Mhm, I understand, thank you."
Song Enzhi gave a bitter laugh, "Hehe, I’m glad you don’t blame me."
Meng Chuyue shook her head, "The debt has its debtor; I only blame your mother so far, not you."
Meng Chuyue couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: if it weren’t for you being Shen Ci’s sister, I would blame you too.
But for now... let’s leave it.
They climbed the stairs to the third floor from the easternmost staircase. Song Enzhi led Meng Chuyue into the living room and began with a gentle tone, "Dad, I’ve brought my friend here."
A warm and affectionate voice responded at once, "Mhm, let your friend sit wherever she likes, I will be out momentarily."
A few seconds later, a dignified and kind-looking middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in dark blue traditional attire, walked out from behind a door.
His complexion was abnormally dark and indeed appeared to be that of someone poisoned.
He smiled and scrutinized Meng Chuyue, nodding, "At first glance, you seem like a good child. Young lady, thank you for coming to see to my illness. So, what should I do now?"
Song Ting really didn’t look like a bad person at all.
Even though one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, Meng Chuyue couldn’t help temporarily regarding him as a good person because of Shen Ci and Qin Weilan.
Well, even if he were a villain, she couldn’t do much about it right now.
She smiled, "I’d like to hear your own take on the situation first."
Song Ting chuckled, "Okay. I guess Enzhi must have told you that I was poisoned while picking herbs in the mountains five years ago. The first symptom was swelling on my arm at the site of a tiny pinprick, but since I don’t know exactly when the prick occurred, I don’t know if it was plant or animal poison. I’ve tried many ways to detoxify, but in the end, while I can’t be killed by it, my body has remained weak and I often suffer from dizziness and blurred vision."
Meng Chuyue nodded, "May I take your pulse first? If possible, I would also like to have some of your blood."
"That’s fine. Take my pulse first. Ah Zhong, bring a clean syringe over."
Meng Chuyue went over to take Song Ting’s pulse.
Her skill in pulse diagnosis was just at the beginner’s level, and she was now somewhat bluffing.
While she couldn’t diagnose much else, she could tell that Song Ting’s body was weaker than she had imagined.
That notion of "no risk to life" she thought was just a means to reassure his family or intimidate the outside world.
Naturally, she wasn’t going to expose this; she laughed awkwardly, "I also can’t determine what poison you have, but I know a few detoxification recipes that might be effective for you. I need your blood for experiments to test the effectiveness of those detoxification recipes."