The surrounding gazes all fell upon Elder Xie’s wine cup.
This put Elder Xie in a difficult position!
That's right, Elder Xie was indeed afraid that Shi Zhenxiang had put poison in the wine cup.
Although this wine cup was one Elder Xie had been using all along.
And it had never left his sight.
But who knew?
Did they forget what Shi Zhenxiang used to do!
At such close proximity, if he wanted to poison it, it would be as easy as pie!
But with Shi Zhenxiang exposing it directly, Elder Xie was cornered.
If he drank it, he was afraid of being poisoned.
If he didn't drink it, he would lose face. After all, Shi Zhenxiang might not have poisoned it, and what if it was just a bluff?
As Elder Xie's expression shifted between apprehension and uncertainty.
Those around him began to whisper amongst themselves.
"I used to hear my elders say that Elder Xie was quite a figure in his youth. Now, looking at him, I feel their words were exaggerated."
"Exactly. Although Shi Zhenxiang wanted to harm Elder Xie before, they are so far apart now, with so many eyes watching..."
Listening to the murmurs around him.
Elder Xie knew that Shi Zhenxiang was using an open trap.
He had no choice but to drink this cup of wine, whether he wanted to or not!
Elder Xie sighed, praying in his heart that Zhou Yu's medical skills were formidable enough.
Otherwise, if he drank poisoned wine and couldn't be saved, it would be over!
With this thought, Elder Xie picked up the wine cup and brought it to his lips.
"Since Divine Doctor Shi has so kindly invited me, this old man cannot refuse!"
With that, as the wine cup was about to touch his lips.
Shi Zhenxiang's eyes were filled with anticipation!
He had already flicked the poison from under his fingernail onto the rim of Elder Xie’s cup.
As long as Elder Xie’s lips touched it even slightly.
He would surely not live for more than an hour!
Shi Zhenxiang knew of Zhou Yu's medical prowess, that it was definitely superior to his own.
So he dared not gamble.
If it were a slow-acting poison, Zhou Yu might still be able to detoxify Elder Xie.
But with such an acute poison, even with Zhou Yu's excellent medical skills, there would be nothing he could do!
The revenge for his crippled dantian and the hatred for the loss of his position.
Caused Shi Zhenxiang's eyes to fill with a ferocious smile!
Five centimeters.
Three centimeters.
One centimeter.
Just as Elder Xie's lips were about to touch the wine cup.
Suddenly!
With a bang.
The wine cup was knocked flying, the wine spilling everywhere, and the cup rolled a couple of times on the cashmere carpet.
"Zhou Yu?" Shi Zhenxiang gritted his teeth, staring intently at the newcomer, his eyes practically spitting sparks!
It was Zhou Yu again, disrupting his plans!
Zhou Yu paid no mind to Shi Zhenxiang, merely turning to Elder Xie and saying, "Elder, this wine is poisoned!"
"My apologies for my abruptness just now!"
The moment Elder Xie saw Zhou Yu, he felt a wave of relief wash over him.
His body relaxed once more.
But he didn't forget to manage his expression, putting on a show of surprise.
"Oh? Divine Doctor Zhou, this wine was offered by Divine Doctor Shi. How could it be poisoned?"
Elder Xie directly pinned the blame on Shi Zhenxiang!
Shi Zhenxiang watched as the poisoned cup rolled away.
He was consumed by jealous rage, his body trembling slightly, his eyes spewing fire.
Just a little, so close to taking Elder Xie’s life!
Hearing Zhou Yu's words.
Shi Zhenxiang suddenly looked up and sneered.
"Zhou Yu, don't you dare slander me!"
"This wine was on Elder Xie's own table, and the cup was held by Elder Xie the entire time."
"How could it be poisoned?"
"With such meticulous caution from the Xie family, it's no wonder Elder Xie will live a long life."
Shi Zhenxiang's last sentence was delivered with extreme sarcasm.
Implying that Elder Xie was overly cautious!
Elder Xie smiled, remaining silent, and instead turned to Zhou Yu, gesturing for him to proceed.
Zhou Yu did not disappoint. Wearing gloves, he picked up the wine cup from the ground.
Fortunately, the ground was covered with a cashmere carpet.
So the cup did not break and was well-preserved.
Zhou Yu pointed to the rim of the cup and said calmly, "Divine Doctor Shi is correct, but the poison is not in the wine or the cup itself."
"It's on the rim!"
"If I'm not mistaken, while Divine Doctor Shi was speaking with the Elder earlier, you flicked the poison powder from under your fingernail onto the rim of the cup, didn't you?"
Shi Zhenxiang hadn't expected that Zhou Yu, who wasn't present earlier, could describe the scene with such accuracy.
He immediately began to panic.
Bean-sized beads of sweat trickled down Shi Zhenxiang's forehead, one after another.
After a long pause, Shi Zhenxiang feigned calmness and said, "You haven't even confirmed if the cup is poisoned, and you're already rushing to accuse me?"
"Or perhaps, it was you who poisoned it, staging this entire scene to frame me?"
After all, the distance at that moment was Shi Zhenxiang's greatest shield!
Shi Zhenxiang had even thought it through.
He had only brought a tiny amount of his poison powder.
It was all hidden under his fingernail.
Once flicked, there would be nothing left!
Now, if Zhou Yu wanted to find evidence, there would be nowhere to look.
Zhou Yu let out a cold laugh, first shaking his head.
Then, he abruptly ordered someone to restrain Shi Zhenxiang!
"As for who poisoned it, I do have a way."
"Xie Yu, go and boil a pot of ginger water."
Zhou Yu said calmly.
Xie Yu naturally trusted Zhou Yu wholeheartedly.
Upon hearing this, she immediately instructed the kitchen to boil ginger soup.
Ginger soup, in this context, simply meant boiling ginger slices in water to extract the juice.
So it was done quickly.
In about a few minutes, a steaming pot of ginger soup was brought up.
Zhou Yu directly poured the scalding hot soup onto Elder Xie’s wine cup.
"It turned purple?"
The onlookers gasped in unison.
They saw that the rim of the wine cup had been stained entirely purple.
The color was a bit faint, perhaps because the poison powder had rubbed off elsewhere when the cup fell!
"If I'm not mistaken, one of the ingredients in the powder you used was Zitan flower."
"Coincidentally, Zitan is colorless and transparent, but when it encounters ginger, it turns purple!"
Zhou Yu revealed the reason for the purple rim to the assembled crowd.
Everyone suddenly understood!
But that was not enough.
Zhou Yu directly ordered someone to grab Shi Zhenxiang's index finger.
Regardless of how hot the ginger soup was, he submerged all ten of Shi Zhenxiang's fingers into the ginger soup.
"Ah!"
As the saying goes, the ten fingers are connected to the heart.
Shi Zhenxiang's fingers, scalded by the ginger soup, contorted his face in pain.
He let out a series of agonizing screams!
When his fingers were pulled out, they were all red and swollen.
Before anyone could ask, Zhou Yu directly guided everyone's gaze to Shi Zhenxiang's right index finger.
They saw that the flesh beneath his fingernail had turned a faint purple…
"You hid the poison powder under your fingernail, flicked it all out, and thought no one would discover the evidence?"
"Naive!"
Zhou Yu mercilessly exposed the secret.