Fu Zhiyu waited patiently for the bowl of medicine, and it arrived as promised.
Doctor Chen had known about this from Fu Zhiyu before. His master said that there was something wrong with the medicine. When he smelled it, he knew there was something wrong. But he was watching the whole process of boiling the medicine, so something was wrong when the herbs were delivered.
Just like last time, Fu Zhiyu poured the bowl of medicine into his quilt without drinking a single sip. This time he was careful and sewed a pocket in the quilt, so most of the medicine flowed into the pocket and was saved.
"Let's see what he did. What will happen if I really drink it?" Fu Zhiyu said, "I have to act out the whole play."
"Aren't you going to continue investigating?" Doctor Chen was really confused and asked, "This must be related to the last incident at the Ice Lake. It is very likely that it was done by the same person."
"No need," Fu Zhiyu said. He thought that he had already checked it once, so there was no need to spend time checking it again. "Just do as I say."
Doctor Chen took out the medicine bag from the quilt and took something out of his arms.
"This is the drug residue," said Doctor Chen. "I have just checked it. It is a very clever thing to do. The poison is not poisonous. The medicine that the princes take must be tested for poison with silver needles. If it is poisonous, it will never enter your mouth.
There is a medicinal herb in it, called dried thorn, which is mild and nourishing to the qi and blood, but it can only be used when it is less than five years old. Although the old dried thorns over five years old are not poisonous, the older they are, the stronger their medicinal properties are. It is extremely unsuitable for the master to take now, and it conflicts with other medicinal herbs. Dried thorns are usually cut into small pieces for use, and if you don't look carefully, you can't tell the difference in years. After drinking this bowl, I'm afraid that the master..."
Fu Zhiyu nodded, indicating that he understood, and asked again: "Will it cause a high fever?"
"Very likely."
"Very good," Fu Zhiyu finally showed a smile on his face, "Then I will continue to have a 'high fever'."
"You?" Doctor Chen was surprised. "You asked me to prepare all that before, just for this?"
Fu Zhiyu smiled and said, "Of course, you are the only imperial physician right now. Even if other imperial physicians receive the order and rush here, they will miss the most critical moment. We have enough time to prepare."
"But..." Doctor Chen was very hesitant, "If you really want to do this, even if it's just pretending, it's easy to hurt your body. I'm afraid..."
Fu Zhiyu was calm and said, "It's nothing, just give me acupuncture."
Doctor Chen still didn't dare to take action. His hands were shaking as he held the golden needle for the first time.
"Does Concubine Yun know about this?" Doctor Chen asked treasonously, "If she knew, I'm afraid she wouldn't agree."
Fu Zhiyu was not angry either. He even reached out and patted his shoulder as a comfort: "I will tell her so that mother won't worry anymore."
Doctor Chen still didn't dare to do it. He dared to ask again: "Master, why are you like this?"
Fu Zhiyu sighed and did not answer directly, but asked: "If you have a choice, Doctor Chen, would you enter the palace?"
Imperial Physician Chen didn't think much about it and shook his head immediately. He came from a family of imperial physicians, and from the moment he was born, he was destined to enter the palace and become an imperial physician.
"Only those who practice medicine and save the world are doctors. Living in the deep palace for a long time is just being a minister, not a doctor."
"Very good," Fu Zhiyu said, "Do as I say, and I promise you will get what you want in the future."
It is better to move farther and farther away from this whirlpool, otherwise you will be trapped in it forever and unable to escape.
Doctor Chen gritted his teeth and finally gave the acupuncture.
The grand sacrifice was originally held to pray for peace, but the royal family was not at peace this winter. The Ninth Prince was said to have overcome the difficulties, but for some reason, he had a fever again and would not go down.
The fever continued intermittently for more than ten days, and Fu Zhiyu returned to the palace from the temple.
"Don't overact," Fu Zhiyu said as she sat in the carriage back to the palace, wiping away tears from her mother's eyes distressedly. "Your eyes have been red for several days. Don't hurt yourself."
"Dr. Chen's acupuncture is too harsh," Concubine Yun touched his face and lowered her voice, worriedly, "Is there really a problem? I touched your forehead and it was hot, just like the real thing."
Fu Zhiyu said: "It's okay, I just forced it out when the other doctors were consulting, it's all fake, if I don't do this, I can't fool them."
"What are you trying to achieve?" Concubine Yun sighed, "Even though you are pretending, it's not pleasant to torture others like this."
Fu Zhiyu: "Nothing, after we return to the palace, we can just watch the dog-eat-dog fight."
High fever is just a process, what Fu Zhiyu wants is the result.
"Now I am a person whose brain is burnt out," Fu Zhiyu didn't want to say this anymore. He leaned on Concubine Yun and acted like a normal boy to his mother. "Mother, I want to eat milk cake."
"You are not allowed to eat this," Concubine Yun knocked on his head, "Doctor Chen said that you still need to take medicine, so you are not allowed to eat this."
Fu Zhiyu raised her head and looked at her. His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince had been giving him a lot of trouble during this period of time. He had lost a lot of weight, and his eyes looked bigger. When he blinked, he looked pitiful.
"I'll just give you a bite," Concubine Yun said in defeat. "I'll tell Caiyan later that the kitchen is not allowed to make these things recently. They will delay the prince's health."
Due to the Ninth Prince's illness, he could not stand the bumpy road, so the convoy moved very slowly. However, the area in front, behind, and on both sides was tightly guarded, so no one could disturb them.
News is the easiest to keep secret, and Fu Zhiyu had no intention of concealing it. The fact that the Ninth Prince's brain was damaged by a high fever was already known in the imperial city. The fact that the brain of this prince, who was praised as a "genius" by the Grand Secretary of the dynasty, was damaged might be more dramatic than his death from illness.
Everyone was curious about what the Ninth Prince looked like after he was burned.
No one noticed that there was a person following the convoy returning to the palace.
Xie Ke never expected that things would turn out like this. During this period of time, he had not found a chance to meet Zhiyu again. Now, the convoy was surrounded tightly. With his current status and strength, it was not impossible for him to break out by force, but the troubles that followed were beyond his ability to handle now.
After being back for so long, he only had contact with Zhiyu that night, but he fell asleep and didn't say a single word. He thought he could wait until Zhiyu felt better, but things didn't develop as he remembered.
Zhiyu was clearly aware of that bowl of medicine in his previous life and avoided it unharmed. Why did he drink it this time
Xie Ke still remembered the chill he felt all over when he received the news. Since then, Longquan Temple was under martial law again, and he could no longer go in at night. He could only see the imperial doctors coming and going in Beiyuan, and each of them said that the situation was not good.
As he listened to these words, he felt as if he were trapped in the memories that made him despair again. He was so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe, and his mind went blank.
Never let accidents happen again!
Xie Ke followed the convoy all the way. He did not expect to have the chance to see Zhiyu again, but he was extremely afraid that something might happen to him again. Until the convoy slowly entered the palace, Xie Ke stared at the vermilion palace wall for a long time before turning around and leaving.
It’s not enough, he thought. Although it was critical and timely to come back at this time, he was still too weak.
Zhiyu is the prince. It is not enough to protect him and possess him legitimately.
Fu Zhiyu knew nothing about this, and he didn't intend to think about Xie Ke's affairs at this time. He had to set the tone for his life first.
After he returned to the palace, the first person he saw was the emperor.
Emperor Qingyuan Fu Qingyan is forty-five years old this year and is still in good health. He looks like he is in his early thirties and has a dashing appearance. He has been emperor for twenty years and his temperament is subtly noble. At first glance, he really has the demeanor of a wise and enlightened ruler.
He had a feeling for Concubine Yun that no one else could match. Fu Zhiyu looked like Concubine Yun and was intelligent. She had been favored by Emperor Qingyuan since she was a child.
"Why has Xiaojiu become so thin?" When Emperor Qingyuan saw Fu Zhiyu's face, he also showed some distress on his face, "Father has ordered people to investigate again, and they must give an explanation."
The incident at the Ice Lake was an accident, but if there was something wrong with the medicine, then someone must have murdered the prince.
This time, Fu Zhiyu gave Fu Rongli enough time to clean up his mess. Whether the emperor can find out about him depends on his ability. However, it seems that if he can't find out about it at this point in time, the chances of finding out about it later will be very slim.
Fu Zhiyu really didn't want Fu Rongli to be found out. If Concubine Xue's lineage fell into decline, the current stalemate between the Third Prince and the Crown Prince would be broken. The Crown Prince's family would be the only one in power, and his life would be difficult.
Fu Zhiyu thought about this in his mind, but smiled and said, "I believe in my father."
Emperor Qingyuan looked at his smile and was stunned.
The imperial physicians had reported to him before, especially Imperial Physician Chen, who had been in charge of treating the Ninth Prince. They said that the high fever had not subsided and had caused some damage to the Ninth Prince's brain. Although he had not turned into a fool, he was not as smart as before and his memory was also somewhat damaged.
Of course, the imperial physicians' words were rather tactful, but Emperor Qing Yuan could almost understand them.
This was the first time he saw Xiaojiu today. At first he didn't notice anything unusual, he just thought he had lost a lot of weight. But now when Fu Zhiyu smiled, he felt something was wrong.
Xiaojiu was precocious. He could write political commentaries at the age of eight and play chess with the university scholar at the age of ten. In terms of talent, he was the best among the princes.
The wiser the person, the more worried he is. Xiaojiu hasn't laughed like this since he was ten years old.
Such a smile is too... mediocre
Emperor Qing Yuan came up with an adjective like this in his mind: this is the carefree smile that only an ordinary teenager would show, as if what he encountered was nothing and he was not worried about how to deal with himself in the future.
Xiaojiu he...
A trace of pity suddenly emerged in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He was like a kind father, touching Fu Zhiyu's head and said, "Go and have a rest. Take good care of yourself, and you will get better."
Fu Zhiyu nodded obediently.
There has to be a limit to pretending to be stupid. Fu Zhiyu knew that many people in the palace were skeptical about whether his brain was burned out. At least the prince, who was extremely suspicious, would not believe it all at once.
He regressed too much all of a sudden, which was a bit too much. It was easy for him to reveal his flaws. It was also easy for him to be set up by others, and he had to accept the trap just to maintain his image. It was not worth it.
If you really pretend to be a fool, you will be too passive.
He just degenerated from an outward genius to an ordinary person, that's all.