The second prince cried all the way until he was taken back to the side hall by Xie Bufeng, and then he stopped crying.
On the way, he tried several times to talk to his brother, who had been sent to Suzhou since he was a child and had long since recognized the emperor's true nature, but each time he was given a cold glance by Xie Bufeng.
Judging from Xie Guanzhi's attitude, he probably won't commit suicide again.
Wen Qingci couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The two were obviously less than a year apart in age, but Wen Qingci saw something called "generation gap" between them.
The emperor has issued an order to conduct a thorough investigation of the Jingzhao Yin.
Until the ship reached Songxiu Mansion, Xie Guanzhi and Concubine Hui were both under house arrest in the cabin and could not even go out.
The section of the Yinchuan Grand Canal from Dengcheng Prefecture to Songxiu Prefecture is so wide that a boat can travel a thousand miles a day without the need for trackers.
In addition, the trip happened to be downstream, so the group arrived at Songxiu Prefecture in just one day.
At dawn in the morning, Wen Qingci put on his cloak and walked onto the deck.
He was a light sleeper to begin with, and his sleep was not very restful. With the sound of water rocking the boat, he arrived here in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness.
After waking up, he wanted to take another nap.
But when he thought that Songxiu Mansion was the original owner's hometown, Wen Qingci walked out early out of curiosity, wanting to take a look at the town from a distance first.
As soon as you step out of the cabin, you will see the endless broad river.
At first glance, it looks like a lake.
Wen Qingci couldn't help but hold the railing and look at the prosperous town in the distance.
In addition to the green bricks and black tiles, you can vaguely see a long embankment planted with weeping willows.
Songxiu Prefecture is located in the hinterland of Jiangnan, where waterways are crisscrossed and of varying depths. Although there is abundant water, the construction of the river channels is more complicated.
In order to keep the depth of the canal consistent, dams were built in sections to intercept river water and regulate the water level. The one Wen Qingci just saw was one of the sections of the dam.
A breeze blew, and Wen Qingci couldn't help but straighten his collar.
Feeling the cold, he decided to go into the cabin.
But as soon as I turned around, I suddenly heard footsteps behind me.
"Doctor Wen, please come here quickly with the medicine box!" Eunuch Xian came running over breathlessly, "Come and see His Majesty." Without caring about anything else, he said to Wen Qingci anxiously.
Something happened to the emperor
Wen Qingci nodded hurriedly, walked quickly back into the house to take out the medicine box, and then went to the emperor's bedroom with Eunuch Xian.
As soon as he entered the door, Wen Qingci smelled that rich fragrance again.
Compared with the rear hall of the palace, the space in the cabin is much smaller.
Even so, there are seven incense burners of different sizes here.
From a distance, the smoke was thick, as if it was on fire.
He couldn't help but cough a few times.
"Come this way—" Eunuch Xian pushed aside the pearl curtain and said to Wen Qingci.
"yes."
On the way here, Wen Qingci was also thinking about what happened to the emperor this time.
Although he was mentally prepared, the scene he saw after walking around the screen was still beyond his expectations.
—The emperor, in a bright yellow nightgown, lay on the couch with a frown on his face.
His expression was as if he was in a nightmare, with a bit of fear and anxiety.
After a while, he began to laugh slowly again, muttering something.
The cabin where the emperor lived was well soundproofed and the sound of water was almost inaudible.
In this silence, the sudden smile seemed even more terrifying.
The virtuous eunuch couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body.
Wen Qingci placed his hand on the emperor's wrist.
At the same time, he subconsciously looked towards the corner of the cabin—there was a jade incense burner similar to the one Wen Qingci saw in the palace.
Seeing Wen Qingci taking the pulse, Eunuch Xian hurriedly added in a low voice: "The emperor could not be awakened this morning. He looked very bad. The gentlemen will come here to see the emperor in half an hour. There is no other way but to call you here..."
As he spoke, his voice gradually became smaller.
Eunuch Xian saw that not long after Wen Qingci took his pulse, the usual smile on his face disappeared, his eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and he looked extremely serious.
After a moment of silence, he finally couldn't help but lower his voice and asked: "… Doctor Wen, what's wrong with your majesty?"
Convolvulus elixir has always been used to treat only headaches, not heavy metal poisoning.
However, as a painkiller, it can also appropriately reduce the panic and anxiety caused by pain.
The emperor was barely able to use it to stay sober and calm.
However, due to overdose, the emperor had eaten up all the Convolvulus Pills.
After stopping the medication, all the symptoms that had been suppressed were exposed.
Headaches are just the least of the problems.
Mental problems also seem to be magnified a lot.
"Doctor Wen?" Seeing that he didn't speak, Eunuch Xian couldn't help but ask again.
Mental disorders caused by heavy metal poisoning.
—The answer was on the tip of his tongue, but Wen Qingci just couldn’t say it.
Even modern people are very secretive about mental illness, let alone ancient times.
If I directly say that an emperor has mental problems, I will get into big trouble.
Wen Qingci shook his head gently, took his hand back, lowered his voice and said cryptically: "Your Majesty has worked too hard, you should have a good rest."
The virtuous eunuch had no suspicion of anything else.
The emperor has indeed been very tired in recent times.
Xie Guanzhi was placed under house arrest, and the task of dispatching ships fell on the emperor himself.
In addition, routine duties and border issues also became his headaches.
Unlike the relaxed state he had a while ago, the emperor had to work until midnight almost every day in recent times.
"Then Mr. Wen, do you know when His Majesty will wake up?"
"Let me try acupuncture first." After saying this, Wen Qingci turned around, took out a silver needle from the medicine box, and gently pierced the emperor's forehead.
In fact, a large part of the things the emperor has been busy with recently can be assigned to the ministers.
But Wen Qingci discovered that he refused to believe anyone except himself.
This may be due to his suspicious nature, or maybe... he has done something disloyal or unjust, which has caused him to feel overly guilty.
For example, he used evil means to steal the throne.
After a few injections, the emperor's frown finally relaxed.
He stopped mumbling anything.
The virtuous eunuch hurriedly ordered people to prepare breakfast.
Just when Wen Qingci was about to put away the needle and write a prescription, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes.
These eyes were bloodshot and red, like the evil ghosts in the legend...
He stared at the roof and suddenly blurted out, "...Yu Zhao... You, is that you?"
There was unspeakable fear in the hoarse voice.
The next second, he closed his eyes again.
Wen Qingci:!!!
The emperor's look really scared Wen Qingci.
Of course, the fewer people who knew about the emperor's recent condition, the better.
So before going to find Wen Qingci, Eunuch Xian had already dismissed his attendants.
Only Wen Qingci saw the scene just now.
He took a deep breath, quickly packed up his medicine box and walked out quickly.
It was not until he left the cabin and was blown by the cold morning breeze that Wen Qingci finally regained some consciousness. He could not help but wonder - who was the name that the emperor had just read out
—
Not long after Wenqing left, the emperor regained consciousness.
He seemed to have completely forgotten what he had done while he was half asleep and half awake, and discussed border affairs with the court officials as if nothing had happened.
Unlike Dengcheng Prefecture, which has developed in recent years due to the canal, Songxiu Prefecture has been an important town in Jiangnan since a hundred years ago. It has a well-developed pharmaceutical industry and its people are also very wealthy.
There is no extra space here to build a palace.
After the emperor arrived at Songxiu Prefecture, he stayed in the homes of several local officials, just as he had done during his first southern tour seventeen years ago.
Compared with the palace, the mansion is much smaller.
It is already difficult to find a place to stay, let alone stay there all the time.
Therefore, Wen Qingci, as an accompanying staff member, can also leave the house freely and stroll around the streets after finishing his work.
Xie Bufeng, who always followed Wen Qingci closely, also left the house with him.
Probably because this is an important commercial town, although Songxiu Prefecture is located in the south of the Yangtze River, the accents of the passers-by are different.
The different accents sound particularly lively.
The streets were crowded with people, but a vacuum formed around Wen Qingci.
—A young man in black walked beside Wen Qingci, occasionally looking at the people around him who wanted to get closer.
His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and contained a hint of murderous intent.
Just one glance and the people around Wen Qingci dispersed on their own accord.
However, Wen Qingci, who was observing his surroundings carefully, did not notice this.
Although he was also born in the south in his previous life, everyone spoke Mandarin, whether in the welfare home or at his adoptive parents' home, and he could not understand a single word of the dialect.
However, after arriving at Songxiu Mansion, Wen Qingci discovered that he could actually understand a small part of the dialect spoken on the street.
This may be an instinct from the original owner's body.
Wen Qingci observed his surroundings patiently and curiously, while trying to rely on his instinct to walk towards his destination.
Not long ago, the imperial physician Yu Guanlin wrote a letter to Wen Qingci asking him to buy medicine.
Therefore, his destination was the clinic connected to the Divine Doctor Valley.
After passing through a long street, an inconspicuous pharmacy appeared in front of Wen Qingci.
When he saw this pharmacy, he suddenly felt a strong sense of familiarity in his heart.
"Your Highness, this is where I want to go," Wen Qingci walked in with Xie Bufeng, "Please wait here, I will go to ask the boss if he has Mingxing fern." He turned and said to the young man.
The rare medicinal herb that Yu Guanlin wanted, called "Mingxing Fern", has the effect of warming the middle and dispersing cold.
In the entire Wei Dynasty, only Songxiu Prefecture produced it.
There was a bench outside the pharmacy, and Wen Qingci gestured to Xie Bufeng to sit there and wait for him.
His eyes were still gentle, but his words carried a tone that could not be refused.
He nodded gently and finally sat down as the other party said.
At this moment, Wen Qingci actually read a word called "good" from Xie Bufeng.
After entering the inner room, the imperial physician dressed in moon-white couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief.
According to his understanding, the Valley of Divine Medicine was not far from Songxiu Mansion.
If my guess is correct... this clinic that is deeply buried in the original owner's memory should be one of the clinics that are most closely connected to the Divine Doctor Valley.
Getting medicine for Yu Guanlin was just an excuse.
Wen Qingci must contact the original owner's senior brother here and ask him to help him fake his death and leave the palace in the future.
Wen Qingci was nervous all the way, fortunately Xie Bufeng didn't notice.
Seeing Wen Qingci coming in, the owner of the clinic, who had been reading a book, couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.
"Mr. Wen! Please come in, please come in," he said, pulling up the bamboo curtain and leading Wen Qingci to the small courtyard at the back, muttering to himself, "I heard a while ago that the boat for the southern tour would arrive at Songxiu Mansion today, so I guessed you would come here, but I didn't expect it to be so soon!"
As he spoke, he handed a cup of tea to Wen Qingci.
Before Wen Qingci had time to savor the tea after receiving it, he heard footsteps again.
"Qingci really came early."
Wen Qingci subconsciously raised his eyes, and then saw a man in green clothes with dark gray eyes, looking at him with a smile.
The man had soft features and light hair, but his eyes looked particularly cold.
It's like the unmelted snow in early spring, exuding a chill.
The owner of the clinic also looked back and said, "Fortunately, the Valley Master was waiting here early, otherwise I would have missed it."
Valley Master
So the person in front of him is the original owner’s senior brother, the leader of the Divine Doctor Valley, Song Junran!
The boss brought another cup of tea and then left, leaving the place to Wen Qingci and Song Junran.
After everything became quiet, Wen Qingci picked up the teacup and took a sip to hide his emotions.
Although it has been a while since he came here, he has gradually adapted to this identity.
However, when he met an acquaintance of the original owner, Wen Qingci subconsciously became nervous.
However, the Valley Master did not seem to notice anything unusual about Wen Qingci.
Song Junran joked with him instead: "Why, Qingci, you haven't had a drink for a long time. Do you miss the new tea from Songxiu Mansion? I knew you couldn't get used to living in Yongdu."
so far so good.
Hearing this, Wen Qingci couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It seems that the way the original owner and his senior brother get along is similar to that of ordinary fellow apprentices.
Wen Qingci put down the teacup in his hand, smiled at Song Junran and said, "Songxiu Mansion is indeed better."
"Hahaha, every time you're so polite to me, you must need my help with something." Compared to Wen Qingci's cautiousness, Song Junran's reaction was much more natural. "I know you can't stay here for too long, so just say it directly. No need to keep us in suspense."
I have to say that the valley master in front of him really fits Wen Qingci's stereotype of people in the martial arts world.
He was carefree and relaxed in his conversation and did not care about trivial matters, which was completely different from the people in Taishu Palace.
If Wen Qingci's guess was correct, Song Junran definitely knew the original owner's real intention of entering the palace.
Since time is running out, Wen Qingci won't keep you in suspense.
He slowly put down the teacup in his hand, looked into the gray eyes of the person opposite him, and then said softly: "I want my senior brother to help me get out of this..."
The man opposite raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he was not surprised by Wen Qingci's request.
I don’t know if the original owner had told his senior brother about this when he left the Valley of Divine Doctors.
The communication between Wen Qingci and Song Junran was extremely smooth, and they arranged the rest of the matters in just a few words.
The custom of burning incense was extremely popular in the Wei Dynasty.
Although most people were not as fanatical as the emperor, they would still place one or two incense burners in every corner of their home.
The clinic is no exception.
After talking about leaving, Wen Qingci finally noticed the faint green smoke in the corner.
Then he seemed to have remembered something and asked, "… Has the fact that cinnabar is poisonous ever been written into a medical book and spread out?"
Unlike just now, this time Song Junran finally looked at him with a little doubt, then shook his head and said, "No."
Wen Qingci subconsciously clenched his palms.
Since it is really not written in the medical books, then what is the relationship between the person who poisoned the emperor and the Valley of Divine Doctors
Seeing that he suddenly became serious, Song Junran couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Wen Qingci has some doubts that need to be clarified.
He shook his head slightly, and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "... I encountered someone in the palace who used cinnabar to poison people. I wonder if it has anything to do with the valley."
"Brother, do you know if anyone knows that cinnabar contains poison?"
When saying this, Wen Qingci actually didn't expect to find the answer from the original owner's senior brother.
But he didn't expect that the other party would say something that shocked him greatly.
Song Junran thought about it, paused for a moment and replied: "Maybe there is one person."
It really exists?!
Song Junran said slowly, "The previous emperor Ai was born with congenital deficiencies and has always been in poor health. Since he was born, the royal family has repeatedly asked my father to come out of the valley for treatment. However, at that time, my father had no intention of getting involved in the affairs of Yongdu, so he refused them on the grounds of his advanced age."
The "father" Song Junran mentioned was the previous master of the Divine Doctor Valley.
Wen Qingci nodded gently towards Song Junran.
"… But he was the only child of the previous dynasty, so the royal family naturally couldn't give up on him so easily. So his father simply changed his method and sent him directly to the Divine Doctor Valley. He should have been less than ten years old at that time."
"It's so..."
The royal family has always been concerned about the safety of their offspring, not to mention Emperor Ai of the previous dynasty, who was the only heir at the time, and absolutely nothing could happen to him.
The royal family did this not only as a sign of trust in the Valley of Divine Medicine, but also out of helplessness.
It is not wrong to say that one tries anything possible when one is desperate.
Not many people knew that the prince was sent to the Valley of Divine Doctors, but it still caused great controversy within a small circle at the time.
What's more, the Divine Doctor Valley has a requirement that our location cannot be exposed.
So he was sent to the valley alone when he was less than ten years old.
After much effort from all sides, Emperor Ai only stayed in the Valley of Divine Doctors for less than a year before being taken back.
"Emperor Ai has been taking elixirs since he was young. When he entered the valley, the first thing his father did was to stop taking his elixirs," the man in green said as he took a sip of tea, "so he must have known that cinnabar is poisonous."
Wen Qingci: “…”
The person who knew that cinnabar was poisonous was actually Emperor Ai of the previous dynasty
It is impossible that Eunuch Zhao was following the orders of Emperor Ai, who had been dead for 20 years, and poisoned the emperor...
The mere thought of this possibility seems absurd.
The clue suddenly stopped here, and Wen Qingci couldn't help feeling a little lost.
Fearing that this might arouse suspicion, he chatted with Song Junran for a few words and then hurriedly left the clinic.
Before leaving, Song Junran gave Wen Qingci a lot of nagging instructions and stuffed a bunch of Tianci's antidote into his pocket before letting him go.
*
Having finally gotten some free time, Wen Qingci was in no hurry to go back to his residence.
Relying on his body's instinctive familiarity with Song Xiu Mansion, he took Xie Bufeng for a walk.
Finally, we entered the famous "Zang Ya Xuan" in Songxiu Mansion.
Although Zang Yaxuan is the largest restaurant nearby, it is still much simpler than the banquets in the palace.
The store owner brought out the local specialty, sea crabs, along with two full teacups.
Wen Qingci thought it was filled with tea, and after taking a sip he suddenly frowned.
He couldn't help but look at Xie Bufeng and reminded him, "Your Highness, wait a moment. This is rice wine..."
How could I bring my future big boss out for a drink
Before he could finish his words, Wen Qingci discovered that the young man had already drunk up the contents of the teacup.
Seeing this, Xie Bufeng's fingers couldn't help but pause.
He lived and ate with the guards who guarded the mausoleum in Suzhou, and drank a lot of liquor.
The rice wine in the cup tasted sour, sweet and slightly bitter. To the young man, it was not much different from water.
But when Wen Qingci looked at him, Xie Bufeng actually felt guilty.
Doesn't he like people drinking
The young man clenched the wine glass in his hand, pursed his lips unnaturally, and put the glass aside as if he was not interested.
Seeing this, Wen Qingci couldn't help but reveal an expression of "as expected".
He brought a small kettle filled with water from the side, changed to a clean cup, poured a glass of water for the boy and handed it to him.
In the past, Xie Bufeng would definitely despise people who drink water instead of wine.
But today he actually reached out his hand, carefully took the teacup, and held it tightly in his hand.
Songxiu Prefecture is not actually near the sea, but the river transportation here is well developed, and seafood can be delivered within a day after being caught.
Sea crabs are one of the specialties of Zang Yaxuan.
Even though it's not the season yet, everyone in Songxiu Mansion will try it.
Although sea crabs taste good, it is not easy to peel them.
Not to mention that Xie Bufeng had never eaten this thing before.
Wen Qingci inadvertently saw that Xie Bufeng's finger was scratched by the crab shell at some point, leaving a deep blood mark.
Dark red blood beads were rushing out one after another.
But the boy, who was born without the sense of pain, seemed unaware of this.
"Your Highness, your hand." Wen Qingci couldn't help but remind him.
Zang Yaxuan's desk was very narrow. As he spoke, he took out a silk handkerchief and placed it on the boy's wound.
The dark red bloodstains wet the silk handkerchief in an instant, and some of it even stained Wen Qingci's pale fingertips, which looked particularly glaring.
There is a faint smell of rust when it is stained.
In an instant, it blended with the bitter fragrance that filled the air.
The boy subconsciously withdrew his hand.
"What's wrong?" Wen Qingci asked in confusion.
Xie Bufeng shook his head slowly and grasped his still bleeding finger: "Dirty."
He didn't want anything to dirty Wen Qingci's fingers.
Even if it is your own blood, it is the same.
The boy subconsciously avoided Wen Qingci's gaze.
What does it mean
The imperial physician sitting opposite him paused, then belatedly turned his gaze to Xie Bufeng's slightly red earlobe.
Could it be that the wine he drank just now made him drunk
(End of this chapter)