Jingli pulled Ayi out of the door.
At this moment, the sun is setting in the west, the sunset glows on the villages, and smoke rises from every household.
Jing Li is now very familiar with the villagers. Occasionally, when he meets neighbors who have just returned from working in the fields on the road, they will greet each other.
“… You came too late today. I will take you to the stream tomorrow morning. The scenery there is beautiful.” Jing Li said to Ayi.
Ayi nodded and was about to say something when someone came towards him and called Jingli.
"Isn't this Qin Zhao's husband? Don't walk around in the village so late, it's almost dark." The farmer, carrying a hoe, looked like he had just returned from the fields.
Jing Li replied: "I'm going to Chen's house."
Farmer: "You're going to look for the kid from the Chen family again, right? I heard from his mother a few days ago that the kid from the Chen family was studying with Qin Zhao some time ago, right?"
"yes."
"It's good to read more books, and you will know everything. If my son hadn't already passed the elementary school age, I would have sent him to the town to study." The farmer sighed and looked at the boy behind Jing Li, "... Who is this?"
Ayi is a very shy person. When the farmer didn't notice him, he secretly hid behind Jingli.
When the other party mentioned this, she blushed immediately: "I... I am..."
Outsiders don't often come to Linxi Village, so Ayi's walking in the village inevitably arouses the curiosity of others.
Ayi was not good at speaking, so to avoid him being questioned by others, Jingli simply lied: "He is from the same hometown as me, and he came to look for me."
"Is it Shuang'er?" the farmer asked again.
Shuang'er looks very much like a man, but she usually has a small cinnabar mole on her body, and most of them are on her face, making her easy to identify.
Ayi had such a cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye.
Hearing the other party say this, Ayi was obviously a little nervous and quietly grabbed Jingli's sleeve.
Jing Li hurriedly said, "Uncle Wang, I can't delay any longer. My husband is waiting for me to come home. I'm leaving first!"
After saying that, he pulled Ayi away quickly.
The two of them turned along the path they had just taken before stopping.
“Sorry.” Jing Li felt a little guilty. “There is no Shuang’er in our village, so they are more… more curious.”
"It's okay," Ayi whispered, "At least they... don't mean any harm."
Unlike those people in the city, either they don't trust him because he is Shuang'er and dare not let him consult or prescribe medicine. Or, they come to the pharmacy just to find an excuse to get close to him and make a move on him whenever they get the chance.
Jing Li knew a little about his situation and patted him on the shoulder gently.
"It's really okay, I'm used to it." Ayi smiled softly, "Although sometimes I envy people like you, thinking if I didn't have this thing on my face, or if it was born somewhere else, would my life be much better?"
He touched the cinnabar mole at the end of his eye and whispered, "But this is what my father and dad left me. As long as I think about it this way, I won't feel uncomfortable."
Not all of Shuang'er's moles are on the face, a small number are on the back of the neck or wrists.
This kind of people are not likely to be discovered as Geminis, which makes life much easier for them.
Ayi always thought Jingli was the same.
Jing Li didn't know how to explain it to him, so he responded vaguely, "Let's go quickly, otherwise we won't be able to get home before dark."
Ayi: "Okay."
The two soon arrived at the small house where Qin Zhao had lived before.
This place is quiet and suitable for studying. Since Qin Zhao and Jing Li moved out, Chen Yanan has lived here.
They walked to the front of the house and heard the sound of reading coming from inside.
In order to prevent and control floods, Qin Zhao left the village for more than a month. After returning, he was sick for more than half a month. Not to mention guiding Chen Yanan in his studies, he himself had not touched a book for a long time.
However, after being taught by Qin Zhao several times, Chen Yanan gradually found a way to study and it was no longer as difficult as before.
Jing Li knocked on the door.
"Coming soon!" The sound of reading in the room stopped and Chen Yan'an shouted loudly.
"… Who is it, late at night—" Chen Yan'an muttered as he walked over to open the door. When he saw the person standing in front of the door, he was stunned.
It's not his fault. Anyone who opens the door and sees two handsome young boys, each with their own unique qualities, standing at the door would not be able to remain calm.
Chen Yanan opened his mouth and his face turned red immediately: "You, you, you...what are you looking for me for?"
Jing Li: “…”
Ayi: “?”
Is this person a stutterer
Wasn’t it the same when we were reading just now
Ayi blinked in confusion.
Jing Li already knew Chen Yanan's character, so he sighed helplessly and explained his purpose to him.
Chen Yanan had not yet recovered from the shock he had just experienced. He was distracted while listening, his eyes darting around, and he did not dare to look at the two people in front of him.
Especially the young boy next to Jing Li.
Ayi is not as pretty as Jingli, but has a pretty face. She looks weak, gentle and shy.
It's a type that few people would dislike.
“… This is how it is, is that ok?” Jing Li asked.
Chen Yanan was absent-minded and said subconsciously: "Yes, yes, why not?"
Jing Li: "Thank you, then you can pack up now. I will take Ayi back first and come back later."
"Ah?" Chen Yan'an was at a loss, "What are you packing?"
Jing Li curled his lips and said, "Pack up your things and let the house go. Didn't you just agree to let Ayi and his grandfather stay here for a few days?"
Chen Yanan: “?”
At home, Xue Ren finished taking Qin Zhao's pulse and let go of his hand.
"It's nothing serious, it's just caused by deficiency of Qi and blood. Your health has been seriously depleted in recent years. After you finish taking the Shen Huan Powder, I will prescribe some tonic medicine for you and slowly regulate your body." Xue Ren stroked his beard and said leisurely.
Qin Zhao: "Thank you, sir."
"You should thank me." Xue Ren smiled and said, "Luckily you met me. If you had continued to follow that prescription for a few more months, I'm afraid no matter how many tonics you took, you wouldn't be able to recover. I said that prescription was a harmful thing, it's really..."
Qin Zhao's eyes moved slightly, and he asked in a low voice: "Mr. Xue seems to know a lot about Shen Huan and the antidote?"
"Is that so?" Xue Ren smiled bitterly, and subconsciously raised the teacup beside him to take a sip. "This medicine is not a secret. Which doctor in the world doesn't know it?"
Qin Zhao said: "But none of them would spend several years developing an antidote like you did, especially since... Shen Huan has been listed as a banned drug for ten years."
Xue Ren paused.
Qin Zhao said: "Ever since I knew I was poisoned by Shen Huan, I have secretly inquired about it. Shen Huan was indeed prevalent in the Central Plains more than ten years ago, but since the new emperor ascended the throne ten years ago, the first decree he issued was to list Shen Huan as a banned drug and began to promote the antidote throughout the country."
"… It took the imperial court less than half a year to destroy all the Shen Huan powder, and another year and a half to wean all those who had taken Shen Huan off the drug. In just two years, Shen Huan completely disappeared from the Central Plains… At least that was the case on the surface."
Qin Zhao paused, and then said, "Since this medicine no longer exists, why has Mr. Xue been researching the antidote, and after discovering that I was poisoned, he couldn't wait to approach me and detoxify me?"
"I knew you were a smart person." Xue Ren blew away the tiny tea leaves floating in the teacup and asked, "Why don't you guess why I did this?"
Qin Zhao was silent for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Chen Huansan... Is there any connection between you and Mr. Chen?"
"... Cough, cough, cough!" Xue Ren choked on the tea and coughed for a long time before he recovered. "Sometimes being too smart is not a good thing. Remember what I said."
Qin Zhao: "Sir, you are so kind."
Xue Ren: “…”
Xue Ren was too lazy to argue with him, so he cleared his throat and said leisurely: "Shen Huan San was originally prepared by me."
Qin Zhao's eyes darkened.
He did have some guesses.
For example, Xue Ren had no relationship with him, so why was he so eager to help him cure his illness
For example, he had previously learned that Shen Huan Powder was originally circulated from the palace, and Xue Ren once told others that he had treated the late emperor.
"Look at that look in your eyes. I didn't poison you!" Xue Ren snorted coldly and said, "I have spent my life developing medicinal herbs to save people. There is nothing wrong with my medicine itself. The problem lies with the people who use it."
Qin Zhao retracted his gaze: "Sir, what you mean is... this Shen Huan Powder is a medicine that can save people?"
"Of course." Xue Ren leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "This happened more than 20 years ago. When I first entered the Imperial Hospital, I was determined to do something. At that time, the late emperor had been ill for a long time and the entire Imperial Hospital was helpless. That's when I developed this prescription."
Qin Zhao: "Your Majesty's illness has been cured?"
"It's good." Xue Ren sighed, "But it's not good either."
"What does this mean?"
"The late emperor was born weak and overworked, which led to his serious illness. The medicine just happened to make people energetic and tireless. Not only the late emperor, but also several eunuchs who were used by the Imperial Hospital to test the medicine had similar situations."
You can imagine how tempting it is to have a medicine that can make people energetic and achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Qin Zhao understood: "They abused this drug?"
"Yes." Xue Ren said, "I was still young at that time. Seeing that the late emperor liked this medicine, I followed the Imperial Hospital to improve the prescription according to his request and enhance the efficacy. His Majesty was very pleased and named this medicine Shen Huan Powder, and let it spread among the court and the princes and nobles in Kyoto."
"… From the imperial palace to the capital, from the border military camps to the entire Central Plains, Shen Huan San has been popular for a full ten years."
"In the first few years when Shen Huan San was popular, scholars could write several articles and countless poems every day, and the soldiers in the military camp were full of vigor and invincibility. The whole country was jubilant." Xue Ren said, "In fact, this medicine will not be dangerous as long as it is not taken in excess. At that time, almost everyone in our Imperial Hospital, the eunuchs in the palace, and the eunuchs were taking it. With the imperial doctors watching over the palace, there was no harm, but we can't control the people."
Taking the same medicine for a long time will inevitably weaken its efficacy. If you want to achieve a similar effect, you can only gradually increase the dosage.
This is where addiction comes from.
"More and more people are becoming addicted due to overdoses, and even their families are broken up... You know what happened next."
Qin Zhao asked again: "The antidote prescription that was later promoted was also from your hand, sir?"
"Of course not!" Xue Ren's face changed and he said unhappily, "How could I write such a recipe that harms people?"
Qin Zhao frowned slightly, but Xue Ren seemed reluctant to mention these things, and said vaguely: "It's not hard to imagine, the drug we developed caused such serious consequences, how could the higher-ups still keep us?"
Qin Zhao: "The new emperor dismissed the Imperial Hospital?"
"It's not as simple as dismissing them..." Xue Ren sighed and said, "When the situation became increasingly difficult to control, the late emperor ordered the Imperial Hospital to develop an antidote, but before we could develop the prescription, the late emperor passed away."
"After the new emperor ascended the throne, some of the imperial doctors were imprisoned or executed, but I... escaped on the eve of the incident."
"You can say I'm afraid of death or that I don't have a sense of loyalty, but I just can't swallow this!" Xue Ren looked a little tired, and said slowly, "I was the one who prepared the prescription in the first place. If it weren't for me, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"I can pay the price for what I did, but I won't accept dying like this."
They developed this drug with the intention of saving lives, but in the end they are punished for those who abuse it. This is unfair.
"Besides, you've seen it too. Without the Imperial Hospital, what have they developed?" Xue Ren was very dissatisfied every time he mentioned this matter. "Those idiots who don't understand pharmacology will harm others and themselves one day!"
Perhaps Xue Ren was the only one in the world who dared to abuse the imperial court like this. Qin Zhao felt inexplicably uncomfortable, coughed lightly, and pretended not to hear it.
Xue Ren added: "Anyway, I have been looking for the real antidote for these years, and I finally got what I wanted not long ago."
Qin Zhao asked: "So, sir, do you really want to test the medicine on me?"
"Well..." Xue Ren touched his nose and laughed, "These days, ordinary people can't buy Shen Huan Powder at all, and it's even harder to meet a patient who has taken Shen Huan. Even if someone takes it, the government will directly use the prescription promoted by the court. How can I get involved?"
Therefore, he could only wait outside the medical clinics and drugstores in the city every day, hoping to see if there were any patients who had taken Shen Huan's medicine and could come to try the medicine.
Until that day, he met Jing Li, who was helping Qin Zhao sell medicine, in front of the drugstore.
At this point, Qin Zhao understood everything.
Qin Zhao said: "In any case, thank you for saving my life. If you need me in the future, I will definitely not refuse."
Xue Ren waved his hand: "I came to you to test the medicine, you don't have to do this. But if you really want to thank me for something, I do have a request."
Qin Zhao said: "Sir, please speak."
Xue Ren pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I heard that you want to take the imperial examination?"
Qin Zhao: “Yes.”
Xue Ren said slowly, "I hope you will promise me that if my prescription can really cure the Shen Huan San in your body, and if you can really pass the exam to go to Kyoto and become a successful person... after you become an official in the court, you must find a chance to promote my prescription. Just... don't let anyone else suffer the same fate as you."
Qin Zhao looked at Xue Ren for a while, then stood up and bowed to him: "Sir, a doctor has a kind heart. Qin will remember this."