Chapter 373 Fainted

As the food and wine were served, Zeng Huan couldn't help but sniff the air. Li Man'er personally poured him a drink. Seeing him hold the cup to his nose with satisfaction, she couldn't help but tug at the corner of her mouth.

Others thought Zeng Huan was simply eager for a drink, but Li Man'er suspected he was knowledgeable about medicine. She believed he was pretending to be greedy for wine to openly check if any drugs had been added.

Li Man'er herself had a particularly sensitive nose. She could detect even the slightest trace of something added to tea or medicine.

With countless experts in the world, why couldn't Zeng Huan be one of them? Some people were born with keen senses of smell, and if they also studied pharmacology, they would be even more remarkable.

Recalling Gao Yujuan's purging beans, and then Da Mao's tranquilizing smoke and muscle-loosening powder, Li Man'er had a clear understanding.

Li Man'er poured herself a cup of wine and then raised it, saying, "Zeng Huan, are you interested in becoming a lieutenant under me?"

Zeng Huan raised his cup and, rather ungraciously, replied, "Let's drink first, and talk later."

"Alright, I'll toast you."

Li Man'er raised her cup, and Zeng Huan, after a moment's thought, clinked his with hers.

Zeng Huan never expected that Li Man'er was wearing a very unusual ring. It looked like a regular ring, but it concealed a mechanism. The center of the ring was hollowed out, allowing a hair-thin needle to extend, capable of injuring someone invisibly. The needle was finer than a strand of hair, and if one didn't look closely, it would be imperceptible. Getting pricked by it wouldn't cause much concern.

Zeng Huan, for instance, had thick skin and felt no pain. He merely felt something brush against his finger and paid it no mind.

However, that hair-thin needle had been soaked in a paralyzing agent, something Li Man'er had personally concocted. It could incapacitate an elephant, let alone Zeng Huan.

After two cups of wine, Zeng Huan felt a bit dizzy. His heart skipped a beat. He discreetly sniffed the wine in his cup and found nothing amiss. He then subtly tasted the dishes he had eaten, also detecting no problem, but his head felt increasingly heavy.

Li Man'er in front of him seemed to split into two, and his vision grew increasingly blurry.

"You, you..." With a clang, Zeng Huan lost all strength and slumped onto the table.

Lu Dakuan was startled, unsure whether to put down the wine in his hand or keep holding it.

Li Man'er drained her cup and snorted coldly, "Tie him up."

A Qi immediately procured thick hemp ropes and bound the man tightly.

"Miss, what… what is going on?" Lu Dakuan was physically impaired, not foolish. He could see now that something was definitely wrong with Zeng Huan, and it wasn't as simple as Li Man'er had made it out to be.

Even if Da Mao and Xiao Mao were involved, the main issue was with Blind Zeng.

Li Man'er asked, "Do you know this Blind Zeng? What year did he join the army? Is he a native of Mo Bei? And when was he injured?"

Her string of questions made Lu Dakuan realize something, and his expression turned grim.

"He's quite an old soldier, a local. Years ago, his family was plundered by the barbarians, leaving only him and his mother alive. Later, his mother also died of illness, and with no one to care for, he joined the army. Blind Zeng wasn't blind then; he was tall and strong and quickly became a minor leader, later promoted to captain."

Lu Dakuan thought for a moment and added, "His eyes went blind about three years ago. There was a particularly heavy snowfall that year, and the barbarians lost many livestock. Unable to sustain themselves, they attacked the pass again. He marched with General Xiao and fought for a day and a night. When he returned, one of his eyes was blind. He said he was injured on the battlefield."

"General, is there something wrong?"

Li Man'er motioned for A Qi to remove Blind Zeng's eye patch.

His eye was indeed blind, with a scar over two inches long, a shocking sight.

"Have you seen this wound before?"

Lu Dakuan replied, "This cannot be faked. Many people have seen it."

Li Man'er reached out to touch it and then asked Lu Dakuan, "What do you see?"

See what?

There was more to this than met the eye!

Lu Dakuan thought for a moment, then squatted beside Blind Zeng and, mimicking Li Man'er, touched the wound. As he touched it, he discovered something different, and the more he thought about it, the more he was shocked.

"Blind Zeng is tall. Ordinary people are at a disadvantage when encountering him. On the battlefield, sitting on a horse, he would be a head taller than most, perhaps more. Who could injure his eye?"

Before Lu Dakuan could reply, Li Man'er continued, "Long weapons are wielded with great force. If they could truly reach his eye, they would surely sever half his head. This wound, unless someone held back, or unless he inflicted it himself. Look at the direction of the wound. Does it look like it was inflicted by an enemy?"

Lu Dakuan looked again and gasped. The wound was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a very peculiar curve. It was neither a sword cut nor an injury from a spear or sword.

Lu Dakuan grew increasingly perplexed and sought Li Man'er's explanation.

"He cut himself. He must have used something sharp, like a piece of a broken wine jar."

Lu Dakuan suddenly understood. Ceramic shards come in various shapes. If a curved piece of ceramic were used as a weapon, slicing the skin, it would result in such a curved, slightly irregular wound.

Lu Dakuan was covered in sweat. He couldn't bear to think about why Blind Zeng would have cut himself.

"He is a spy for the barbarians," Li Man'er's voice was cold and devoid of warmth.

Lu Dakuan's eyes widened, and he swayed, falling to the ground. He stared blankly at the unconscious Blind Zeng, his emotions shifting from confusion to anger, and finally to hatred.

"Why?"

"People's choices are varied, and their reasons are many," Li Man'er said. "I hope you will temporarily keep this secret for me and not alert him. What if he has accomplices..."

"I understand, I understand," Lu Dakuan immediately replied. "Miss, no, General, please rest assured, I understand the seriousness. If anyone asks when I return, I will say that Lu Dakuan has joined your camp as a minor officer."

"Very good. Stay here and eat before you go back."

"Yes!"

Lu Dakuan got up, sat at the table, and began to eat heartily.

Li Man'er instructed A Qi to guard Zeng Huan, while she returned to the yamen's courtyard.

Liu Ya and A Si had been waiting anxiously. Seeing her return safely, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss, did you catch the person?"

Li Man'er nodded. "How are things in front? Who is on guard duty now?"

"It's the Xiao family on guard duty."

"What about the Marquis? Did he cause any trouble for you?"

A Si glanced at Liu Ya before saying, "He was probably too excited. We don't know exactly what they said, but the Marquis… fainted."