Chapter 2581 Cutting Meat to Feed the Wolves
"I've always found it strange that the thief left so many treasures and only stole a pill. Perhaps this pill is unusual?"
“……!”
Xue Yun's shoulders twitched slightly.
But she still said calmly: "No matter how unusual it is, it's just a pill."
Chen Zixiao said: "I'm afraid that's not the case."
Xue Yun frowned slightly, looked up at Chen Zixiao, and said, "Master Chen, what do you mean by this? Could it be that I would deceive you again?"
“…”
Chen Zixiao narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a while.
Then he said, "This time, the Duwei Mansion was robbed, and you, Doctor Xue, were the only victim. There were no witnesses, and there were no traces of the thief in your room. The only clue is this medicine."
“…”
"This thief risked his life and went to great lengths to enter the Duwei Mansion to steal this medicine. There are only two possibilities."
"Which two possibilities?"
"First, this medicine is extremely valuable. If the thief steals it and resells it, he can make a lot of money."
Xue Yun's eyes were cold, and he said calmly: "That's a pity. This first possibility is impossible."
"oh?"
"Although the herbs used to refine this medicine are precious, they are not priceless. It costs less than ten taels of silver. If the thief hopes to make a fortune from this, he is probably making a wrong calculation."
"Then, there is only the second possibility."
"What is that?"
"That is—"
Chen Zixiao looked directly into Xue Yun's eyes with a gleam in his eyes, and said word by word: "The thief may know the effect of this medicine, and he just needs this medicine to cure his illness and save his life."
“…”
"Therefore, I need Doctor Xue to tell me in detail the properties and efficacy of this stolen medicine. Only then can we follow this clue and investigate further."
“…”
Xue Yun frowned.
She remembered clearly that the emperor had asked the imperial concubine to pass on a message to her, asking her to tell the people in the Duwei Mansion about the theft. He also instructed her to only report the theft, and that matters regarding the medicine and the antidote must naturally be kept confidential and not be known to anyone else.
But now, Chen Zixiao's words——
Just as Xue Yun was hesitating, Chen Zixiao looked at her and said, "Why, Master Xue made the elixir himself, don't you understand the medicinal properties of it?"
Xue Yun looked at him again.
Then he said, "As for the efficacy of the medicine, it is nothing more than opening up the mind and calming the spirit. If you want to use this as a clue to investigate, then I will wait for the results."
After saying that, he raised his hand, saluted, and turned to leave.
Chen Zixiao stood there, looking at her back, without saying a word.
Seeing this, Gu Ziyun and the others couldn't help but frown and said in a deep voice, "You are just a mere imperial physician, yet you dare to act so arrogantly in front of your Excellency. You really don't know your place."
The two bodyguards standing behind him gently pulled Gu Ziyun's sleeves.
Gu Ziyun turned around and looked at them: "Huh?"
The personal guard had always been by Chen Zixiao's side. He whispered, "Mr. Gu, please be careful with your words. Although this imperial physician is not of high rank, he has been by the emperor's side for many days. He even stayed by his side during the inspection of the Yulian River."
"oh?"
"Just now, even the Imperial Concubine's attitude towards her was different from others. I'm afraid—"
Gu Ziyun frowned.
Although they were far away in the northwest, the wind from the capital still blew here from time to time, and they knew some of the rumors.
Especially this time, when the emperor came to Handongwei, even the imperial concubine did not accompany him, only she stayed by the emperor's side.
Could it be that the rumors are true?
Gu Ziyun thought carefully for a moment, then looked at Chen Zixiao: "Sir, do you still want to investigate this medicine?"
Chen Zixiao watched Xue Yun's back disappear in front of him, then slowly turned around and said calmly, "She reported the loss, so of course we have to investigate. However, it's just a pill that can open up your mind, so it's not that easy to investigate. Besides, the battle in White Tiger City is what we should really focus on right now. Let two people keep an eye on this matter."
“…”
"Of course, by the way, keep an eye on her."
Gu Ziyun immediately understood.
He bowed and said, "I understand."
Only then did Chen Zixiao put his hands behind his back and turned to walk towards his room.
|
"what's on your mind?"
Zhu Feng and Nan Yan led a large group of people out of Handongwei and headed eastward. The sound of horses' hooves shook the ground slightly and raised a cloud of dust.
We ran until the sun set and finally found a place with water to set up camp.
Countless bonfires burned, illuminating the sky which was beginning to turn gray. Zhu Feng said a few words to Ying Shao and the others, and when he walked back, he saw Nan Yan sitting in front of the fire with a solemn expression on her face.
As if thinking about something.
He walked over to her and sat down next to her, asking, "Why do you look so listless?"
"Well?"
Nan Yan suddenly came to her senses and immediately said, "Is there? I don't have any."
Zhu Feng said, "Maybe he's exhausted."
“…”
"I told you not to come."
Nan Yan immediately said, "I'm fine. Your Majesty is too disrespectful. I've been riding for so long. Did Your Majesty hear me cry out in pain?"
Zhu Feng looked at her: "Then what were you thinking about that expression just now?"
“…”
Nan Yan raised her brows slightly but didn't speak immediately.
All along the way, she was actually thinking about what Xue Yun said to her when she left the Duwei Mansion.
She wanted to talk to herself alone, but she didn't know what to say.
Is it about detoxification? Or is it about refining medicine?
Or something else important?
Nan Yan was a little hesitant about whether to tell Zhu Feng about this, but she didn't know what Xue Yun was going to say. If she was alarmed by any disturbance, she was afraid she would not say anything.
It seems that we should not talk about it for the time being.
After meeting with Monk here, she will go back and see what she wants to say to herself. After careful consideration, if she can tell Zhu Feng, she will naturally not hide it.
So Nan Yan just smiled and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking about what the emperor told me before. If you told Arslan that you wanted to help both him and Monk, wouldn't he suspect that the emperor's original intention was to have it both ways and gain benefits?"
Zhu Feng glanced at her.
Then he said, "I told him to prevent him from making wild guesses. I will not hide anything, including Monk."
“…”
"Given their nature, it's impossible for them not to guess that I want to please both sides. The fact is, no matter how unwilling they are, at this moment, they all need me. So, even though they know I want to reap the benefits, they can only cut flesh and feed the wolves."
He glanced at Nan Yan and smiled, "This is called 'power is stronger than people'."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com