The Last Dahlia

040

"I believe it's a sleeping draught that's been reinforced with dark magic," the chief astrologer said, wiping her hands with the washcloth that her disciple handed to her. "I've seen records of usual medicines and poisons being made more potent in this manner, but unfortunately I do not know of a way to reverse its effects."

Once she returned from the marketplace, Sheng Yun had been ushered to Baixun's guest room to examine the prince's condition. She had quickly confirmed that the physical wounds he had been subjected to were not responsible for his unconscious state, but took a far longer time before she came to a conclusion on what the actual cause was.

"But you must know!" Maroo exclaimed, a mixture of confusion and distress written all over his tired face. He had cleaned himself up with a warm bath after arriving at the governor's residence, but the bags beneath his eyes and scars on his face and neck still made him looked more battle-worn than he had been his entire life.

Sheng Yun did not seem bothered by his agitation in the slightest. She wore a light smile on her face—the one that Yuewha decided she very much disliked—as she placed the used piece of cloth back in the bronze basin that Xin'ai was holding and took a seat at the round rosewood table where Yuehwa, Shoya and Wen Shu were at.

She also didn't seem surprised by the appearance of dark magic, Yuehwa observed. As if she had seen it coming all along.

"I wish I did, but unfortunately the records of the dark arts are sparse, even in our royal libraries and vaults. Unless we find a practitioner who knows how this magic works, then the only thing we can do is wait and let the heavens decide on the prince's fate."

"What about the golden chrysanthemums?" Yuehwa suggested, suddenly remembering the mystical flower that supposedly had the power to cure all poisons.

The chief astrologer looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping her index finger against the table's lacquered surface. "I'm afraid I don't know," she admitted. "The golden chrysanthemums are rumoured to have miraculous healing properties, but there is no literature that says whether or not it will work against dark magic. It could be worth a try. However, that means we will have to take the crown prince back to the capital, because the infirmaries in Muya are not stocked with the necessary herbs needed to produce an antidote for the sleeping draught."

As expected, Maroo immediately leapt up from the prince's bedside. "Absolutely not!" he cried.

"You said the same thing about bringing Baixun to Muya," Yuehwa reminded. She unsheathed the sword that had been hanging from her waist and held its gleaming blade up to the light, gently polishing it with her silk handkerchief.

Maroo's gaze glued themselves to sharp edge of the blade. He gulped.

"If you prefer, we could have the both of you sent back across the border immediately. I'm sure the king of Dahai will be more than happy to see his son-in-law again," Shoya said. "Or not."

The Gi adviser muttered something under his breath about "speculation" and "lies", but did not argue any further, thus making clear his decision on the matter. Regardless whether or not he believed that the king of Dahai was behind this plot against the kingdoms, he had opted to trust Yuehwa and Shoya another time.

Next on the agenda was the silver key that they had found hidden within the porcelain tiger. Shoya took it out from inside his right sleeve and placed it at the centre of the table.

"We found this in one of the unmarked caves in the mountains along with many empty chests. It was kept inside a statue of a white tiger," he said. "Given the chrysanthemum insignia engraved along the stem, we think it could belong to Hwang Nanzhe and Wan Jue. Have you seen anything like this before?"