Chapter 662 Opioids are a double-edged sword!
Li San Niang moved the lamp closer so that she could see the objects on the table more clearly in the dim light.
Li Sanniang took out a cloth from her sleeve and examined the opium pipe carefully through it. By looking at the pattern on the metal pipe part where the opium was stored, Li Sanniang felt that it must have come from the Western Regions.
Holding the opium pipe, Li San Niang opened the metal pipe part through the cloth. Sure enough, inside were incompletely burned brown opium residues, with a very unpleasant sweet smell.
After putting down her opium pipe, Li San Niang still used a cloth as a pad to pick up the small porcelain bottle. The bottle was very exquisite, and judging from the craftsmanship, it should be a Tang Dynasty product. After removing the stopper, she found fermented, brownish-red, strip-shaped pieces of opium inside.
Li San Niang shook the small porcelain bottle; about a third of the contents remained. It seemed that the man who had been drugged by Uncle Hei and remained unconscious for nearly a day was already addicted.
After all, during the Lantern Festival, people would take out their pipes to smoke while watching the performances; how could that not be an addiction?
After sealing the porcelain bottle and placing it back on the tray, Li San Niang sat down and looked at Uncle Hei, saying, "Uncle Hei, could you please give me a pen and ink?"
Uncle Hei turned and left, going to the next room to get not the usual writing implements, but rather slightly rough and sturdy paper and charcoal pencils.
After thanking her, Li San Niang picked up the charcoal pencil and began to write on the paper.
After about fifteen minutes, Li San Niang finally stopped writing, looked up, and placed the paper full of writing in front of Uncle Hei.
"Uncle Hei, you're professionals at interrogating people, so I won't get involved."
I'd appreciate it if Uncle Hei could help me ask about all the questions on this paper.
Uncle Hei picked up a piece of paper covered with tiny, densely written characters from Li San Niang on the table. As he was looking at it, he heard Li San Niang, who was looking at the pipe and porcelain bottle still on the tray on the table, speak up: "This thing is a medicine. In the herbal medicine business, some call it 'Afurong,' while others call it by its original name, Di Ye Jia."
This opium is the main medicine of Diyaqi, but since it's just a name, some people have started using it interchangeably.
Previously, this Diyejia was a medicine presented as tribute by the Western Regions' Fulin Kingdom (the Eastern Roman Empire), and it was also recorded in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
If used in the correct dosage, it can suppress coughs and stop diarrhea, and is commonly used for dysentery.
Uncle Hei sat down opposite Li San Niang without making a sound, holding the paper full of questions. He stared blankly at the items on the tray, keeping his head down and not saying a word, only listening quietly to Li San Niang's voice echoing in the room.
"But this medicine is not made from herbs that we already have here, so the quantity is small. At first, only the Imperial Medical Bureau received a small amount."
Moreover, we already have a better prescription, which uses local medicinal herbs. This prescription is just a record.
I only found out about it when my master, Aye, and I were trying to create a drug that could temporarily and reversibly cause loss of consciousness and pain for use in surgery. My master mentioned it to me, and that's how I learned about it.
However, the anesthetic powder we ultimately produced didn't use opium. Besides the production issues, the main reason was that this herb is a double-edged sword!
Li San Niang's expression grew increasingly serious, and even her voice took on a cold tone.
Not to mention Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi, who were familiar with Li San Niang, even Hei Shu, who was sitting opposite her and was fairly familiar with Li San Niang, could sense the worry, fear, and disgust in Li San Niang's voice.
"Opioids are addictive."
You should understand better than I do just how powerful this thing called an addiction can be.
Gambling is forbidden in our Great Tang Dynasty. Anyone who gets involved in gambling will end up in a bad way.
And it's not just him; his family members will also suffer.
We all know what a gambler's addiction is.
If one becomes addicted to opium, it's like a gambling addiction multiplied by hundreds or thousands of times!
Li San Niang raised her head and looked at Uncle Hei: "Uncle Hei, this thing shouldn't be circulating among the common people. If it's to be used as medicine, it should be regulated."
Moreover, if I may be cynical, this item is rare and expensive, and even ordinary merchants from the Western Regions shouldn't have access to it.
Even in the Kingdom of Fulin, this is something that only the upper-class nobles could use.
The merchant must be questioned thoroughly to find out where he obtained the item.
Merchants are naturally adept at traveling far and wide, and they are the most capable of distributing goods throughout the Tang Dynasty.
Before the New Year, the Emperor had said that the border trade should be vigorously developed, and now a merchant has brought opium into Chang'an.
Uncle Black, I really don't think this is a coincidence.
The three people present understood what Li San Niang meant.
Uncle Hei's already gaunt face, now with his furrowed brows and tightly pursed lips, made him look somewhat frightening.
Li San Niang's words just now did not specify the exact addictive nature of opium, but Uncle Hei, an undercover agent working for the scoundrels, had seen plenty of gamblers' inhuman and monstrous appearances when their addiction flared up.
When a gambler's addiction kicks in, they'll do anything, even cut off his hands or feet.
“If the opium addiction is as Li San Niangzi says, and when it strikes, it is hundreds or thousands of times more intense than when a gambler is addicted to gambling, then Li San Niangzi, this matter is not something I can decide on my own. I must report it to the master.”
“Uncle Hei, even if you hadn’t said anything, I still wanted to see the Master. This matter is too important, it’s necessary, and the Master should report it to the Emperor!”
Uncle Hei suddenly looked up at Li San Niang. He was surprised. He had thought that telling Mr. Bu Ke was already a sign of taking the matter seriously, but from what Li San Niang said, the matter was incredibly serious, even involving a sage.
Li Sanniang, a Chinese person who traveled from modern times and studied modern Chinese history, had an innate aversion to opium.
When Li San Niang saw the look in Hei Shu's eyes, she understood that Hei Shu still wasn't taking this matter seriously enough!
"I'm not leaving tonight; I'll wait here."
"I would trouble Uncle Hei to deliver this to Mr. Bu Ke. If he is able to come, I would like to ask him to come and see me."
Li San Niang stood up and bowed to Uncle Hei. Her solemn demeanor made Uncle Hei understand that this matter was not to be underestimated.
After saying "Wait a moment," Uncle Hei took the paper that Li San Niang had written earlier and turned to leave the house.
After Uncle Hei left, Li San Niang lowered her head and stared at the things on the table without saying a word, lost in thought.
It wasn't until Qiu Xiang sat down next to Li San Niang and gently touched her arm that Li San Niang snapped out of her reverie.
Faced with Qiu Xiang's worried gaze, Li San Niang could only relax her brows and smile at Qiu Xiang: "It's nothing, but this matter is quite serious, and I'm really a little anxious."
Li San Niang glanced at Qiu Xiang, then smiled apologetically at Lao Shi behind Qiu Xiang: "It seems the three of us won't be sleeping tonight. You two will have to stay up with me again."
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