Chapter 666 Not a single bit can be touched!
The clapper sounded at dawn. Li San Niang looked at the sky filtering through the window paper into the room. Although it was still pitch black, she had truly stayed up all night.
What Mr. Bu Ke and Li San Niang talked about when they were alone together is something only the two of them know.
As dawn approached, Uncle Hei emerged from the west wing, reeking of blood. In his hand lay a dozen or so sheets of paper covered in writing, all extracted from the merchant man discovered by Li San Niang.
Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi followed behind Uncle Hei, both of them expressionless, looking exactly like the Bad Guys.
The three arrived at the door of the house, and the hunchbacked servant who had been standing at the door knocked twice and asked in a low voice, "Sir?"
May we come in?
After the four entered the house, Uncle Hei first presented the information he had obtained from interrogating the merchant all night to Mr. Bu Ke for review.
After Mr. Ke took them, he began to look at them one by one.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and having read through more than a dozen papers, Li San Niang, with Mr. Bu Ke's permission, grabbed the dozen or so papers from the table and quickly began to read them.
As it turned out, Li San Niang's guess was correct. This merchant was not a wealthy merchant at all, but just a small businessman who partnered with others to do some business.
This man was not from Chang'an, but from Jingzhou. He came to Chang'an with his partner to participate in a goods transport business to the border town. After making a small profit, he stayed in Chang'an at the end of the year, thinking that he would buy some more goods next year to make another profit in the border town.
Therefore, on the Lantern Festival, the merchant, who was alone in Chang'an, went to the West Market to watch a show he had never seen before. When his drug addiction kicked in, he took the opportunity to smoke opium, which was discovered by Li San Niang.
"It says that when he was trading with the Turks, a foreigner came up to him and offered him opium to smoke."
Li San Niang put down the paper, which still had drops of blood on it, and said with a solemn face: "This person seems to be a decent person who can talk properly right now, but if he continues to use drugs, he will become thin and weak, pale, and with a dull gaze in less than three months."
If he continues to use drugs and ruins his health, even a minor cold could kill him!
"Mrs. Li, what would happen if we stopped him from continuing to use it?"
These questions came from Uncle Hei, because when he interrogated the merchant in the west wing, the merchant had fallen into a drug addiction. In order to obtain useful information, Uncle Hei forced the merchant to ask him all the questions he wanted before taking the pipe and the porcelain bottle and giving the merchant a small piece to smoke.
As Qiu Xiang listened to what Li San Niang said, she recalled the time when Uncle Hei was forcing the merchant to explain the origins of opium. The merchant was curled up on the ground, scratching his ears and cheeks, looking frantic and impatient. It was truly terrifying.
Qiu Xiang thought to herself that if Uncle Hei were to give the merchant a knife and let him cut him, the merchant would probably agree in order to get his hands on opium.
It's like a gambler addicted to gambling. Even if you cut off their finger, they'll still keep gambling with the severed finger.
"If we stop him from using it and just tie him up like that, once he gets over the craving, will that help him quit later?"
Uncle Hei's words gave everyone present some ideas. Even Mr. Bu Ke was looking at Li San Niang, wondering if it was possible to quit opium.
"Absolutely impossible!"
Li San Niang's resolute and affirmative answer resounded in everyone's ears. Judging from the expression on Li San Niang's face at this moment, everyone was certain of Li San Niang's intentions.
"Absolutely impossible!"
Unless a doctor uses this to treat an illness and can control the dosage, it is highly unlikely that this substance will be addictive.
Just like people making a bet, betting on a baked bun, a bowl of soup noodles, or a pot of wine, it's a kind of fun that we all know.
However, if one becomes addicted to gambling, then one becomes a gambler.
Gamblers not only suffer misery themselves, but they also bring ruin to their families, making their lives worse than death.
People who initially use opium simply for the fleeting euphoria have no chance of quitting it.
Just like a gambler saying he'll never gamble again, it's completely unbelievable for someone already addicted to drugs to say he'll never use opium again!
"You can't trust a gambler's words, so how can you trust someone who's already addicted to drugs?"
Li San Niang lowered her head, sighed, and slowly explained to Mr. Bu Ke: "If you don't believe me, just go and ask the people at the Imperial Medical Bureau."
If that doesn't work, sir, you can try this business. When he's having a drug craving, don't satisfy his need to take drugs, and see how he behaves.
And how many times?
How many days will it take for the withdrawal symptoms to subside?
Li San Niang took out a piece of paper from the table and drew a diagram with the charcoal pencil she had used before. "Sir, please take a look. The human body itself can produce euphoria. For example, when a couple makes love, or when they eat a food that really suits their taste, or when they run and jump to a certain degree, all of these can stimulate the human body to produce euphoria."
This is all natural.
However, opium inhalation is an external interference with the body itself, forcibly causing people to experience euphoria, which directly affects the human body.
Sir, even the most determined soldier cannot resist his body's instincts!
Just like a newborn baby sucks unconsciously, it's an instinct for survival.
These are innate human instincts; forcibly interfering with them could have disastrous consequences!
"According to you, this thing is so bad for people that we shouldn't even touch it?"
Li San Niang nodded emphatically, "Yes!"
The few remaining items in the Imperial Medical Bureau were simply kept in that archive.
We already have established remedies for treating dysentery, so we don't necessarily need to use this ingredient in medicine.
If you absolutely must use it, it can only be done if a doctor approves it and you receive permission, and only in small quantities.
However, it must never be used as a remedy for malaria (betel nut)!
This is definitely not something that's good for refreshing the mind or relieving fatigue!
As Li Sanniang spoke, Mr. Bu Ke naturally gained a deep understanding of the harm of opium she described. Although Mr. Bu Ke did not doubt that Li Sanniang was lying, a person of his high position naturally needed to see the facts with his own eyes to determine the truth.
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