Chapter 36 Disguise
Meng Lingge stood up: "Poisoning? The evil arts of Lanyu Kingdom? But as far as I know, the young master has never been to Lanyu Kingdom, and wasn't this evil art lost?"
Wen Zhiming's symptoms were indeed quite different from those caused by typical fright. He had a clear consciousness and experienced joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, but his soul was stuck at around eight years old and could not grow.
The Golden Moon Kingdom and the Blue Feather Kingdom have been at war for many years. As the commander-in-chief of the Golden Moon Kingdom, Prince Anshun has always been regarded as a thorn in the side by the Blue Feather Kingdom. It is not unreasonable to say that the Blue Feather Kingdom used this evil magic to harm his son.
If the Blue Feather Kingdom has such powerful evil magic, why not use it directly on Prince Anshun and control the commander-in-chief? Then how could they not win the battle?
Is this evil magic only usable on children? Then why hasn't the Blue Feather Kingdom used this to threaten Prince Anshun all these years?
“When I was young, I traveled all over the country with my master and spent half a year in the Kingdom of Lanyu. I heard that the national advisors of the Kingdom of Lanyu in every dynasty used Gu poison, but forty years ago, the old national advisor had a dispute with the emperor at the time and left in anger. Since then, the Kingdom of Lanyu has lost this evil art.” Su Leyan looked at Meng Lingge. “I have heard that for many years, the Kingdom of Lanyu has been looking for the national advisor or his descendants, but unfortunately, they have found nothing.”
Meng Lingge said, "Doctor Su means that the Grand Preceptor of Lanyu Kingdom has fallen out with the royal family and disappeared. But it is very possible that the Grand Preceptor from back then is still alive, or that the Grand Preceptor passed on his Gu techniques to his disciples?"
Su Leran nodded and said, "That's right. They may be hiding in a remote part of Blue Feather Kingdom, or they may have gone to other countries, such as their nemesis, Golden Moon Kingdom."
If that's the case, then it seems to make sense.
They dared not go to the battlefield for fear of being discovered by the royal family of Lanyu Kingdom, but they were still people of Lanyu Kingdom and hated Prince Anshun for killing their country's soldiers, so they poisoned Prince Anshun's only legitimate son, Wen Zhiming.
Meng Lingge slowly sat down: "Doctor Su just said that he was not confident he could save the young master? I don't know much about Gu magic. I vaguely remember reading a miscellaneous book from the Blue Feather Kingdom before, which said that if Gu worms enter the body, the only way is to expel them. But the book didn't mention how to expel them. Is it because the medicinal materials needed to expel Gu worms are hard to find, or will expelling Gu worms harm the young master's body?"
If the medicinal herbs were hard to find, she would do everything in her power to obtain them, no matter the cost. However, if they would harm Wen Zhiming's health, then it would depend on the circumstances.
Su Leran said with a serious expression, "The Crown Princess is wise. If the Gu worm had just entered the body, I would be confident that I could expel it with medicine. But now the Gu worm in the Crown Prince's body has lived for many years and coexists with the host's flesh and blood. Forcibly expelling it may harm the Crown Prince's life."
Meng Lingge said in a deep voice, "Then wouldn't that mean there's no way to deal with this Gu worm? If the Gu worm isn't eliminated, will the young master never be able to return to normal?"
“Not only that.” Su Leran said seriously, “The lifespan of a Gu worm is only a dozen years at most. If it dies inside the host, the host will also die.”
"More than ten years?" Meng Lingge's face turned pale with fright.
She had already decided that since expelling the Gu worms would endanger Wen Zhiming's life, she would not remove them. Even if Wen Zhiming lived like this for the rest of his life, it wouldn't matter.
Despite the regrets, it still wouldn't affect her feelings for Wen Zhiming.
However, Wen Zhiming's condition has lasted for nearly ten years, meaning that the Gu worm has been inside him for ten years. If it is not removed, Wen Zhiming can only live for a few more years at most.
Su Leran comforted him, "However, Princess Consort, there's no need to be too pessimistic. If we can find the person who cast the Gu poison, and she can lure out the Gu worms, the harm to the prince's body will be minimized."
Meng Lingge was not pleased at all upon hearing this. Firstly, she did not know what this person looked like, making it extremely difficult to find him. Secondly, this person had used a Gu poison with the intention of harming Wen Zhiming, so why would he be willing to lure out the Gu worm?
Su Leran may have thought of this as well, and continued, "Besides this, there is another method that can be tried. The Gu worm in the prince's body coexists with the prince's flesh and blood, and is connected with the host's mind, sharing joy and anger. If the host experiences betrayal and abandonment by everyone, and great sorrow and grief, the Gu worm may sense that the host's heart is dead and may leave the host's body on its own. However, this method has not been actually implemented, and its effectiveness cannot be guaranteed."
That's why he spoke last.
Moreover, Prince Wen is the only legitimate son of Prince Anshun and his wife, and the princess is also loyal and devoted to him. He will never experience betrayal and abandonment by everyone, and there is basically no time when he feels utterly hopeless.
He wouldn't have suggested this method if he hadn't been so disappointed in Meng Lingge.
Meng Lingge was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I will put on a show with the Princess to deceive the Prince. Even if he does fall for it, his mind is still that of an eight-year-old. I am worried that he will not be able to handle such a great grief and that something else might go wrong."
Even though the crown prince has the mind of an eight-year-old, he is still very clever, and not easily fooled. If she and the queen have made thorough preparations and their acting skills have deceived the crown prince, how will he face the result of being betrayed and abandoned by everyone?
The thought of despair welling up in those sincere and innocent eyes made Meng Lingge's heart ache.
The side dishes and congee in front of her had gone cold, but she had no desire to touch them.
Since it concerned Wen Zhiming's life, Su Leyan didn't say much. She lowered her eyes and said, "The Crown Princess is my savior. I will repay her kindness. Although I don't have any other good solutions for the time being, things are possible with effort. One day, I will find a proper way to get rid of the Gu worm in the Crown Prince's body."
Meng Lingge knew that Su Leyan was trying to comfort her, and said with a faint smile, "Thank you for your help, Doctor Su. This matter is of great importance, and I need to consider it carefully. I hope that you will keep your mouth shut and not let it be made public."
“That’s natural.” Su Leyan nodded and said, “I have traveled all over the country and have many friends. My greatest strength is that I keep my mouth shut.”
Meng Lingge lowered her head sadly, still unwilling to give up, and said, "It was dark last night, so perhaps Doctor Su didn't see clearly. The young master may not have been poisoned by a curse. Perhaps he was just overly frightened, as the imperial physician said."
If it was just excessive fright, Wen Zhiming wouldn't have died.
Although they had only been married for a few days, she really couldn't accept that Wen Zhiming would leave her at such a young age.
Su Leyan narrowed her eyes: "Actually, there is another way to verify whether the young master has been infected with Gu worms. When Gu worms enter the body, they usually leave two light black marks on the left groin. The longer they are in the body, the darker the marks become."
He knew Meng Lingge was harboring a glimmer of hope, but he trusted his own judgment.
Meng Lingge lowered her eyes, unable to recall whether Wen Zhiming had a black mark on his left groin. Although the two had been very close these past few days, who would stare at their groin to investigate when they were deeply in love?
I'm getting a little anxious now and want to go back home to confirm things.
Before leaving, Meng Lingge whispered to Su Leran, "It's good that Doctor Su is cautious when traveling the world. But constantly disguising yourself will probably cause some trouble. My Yun Shen Pavilion is very safe, and Granny Li is not a troublemaker. Doctor Su doesn't need to be so guarded here. You can stay here comfortably and at ease."
Su Leran was taken aback, then laughed and said, "The Crown Princess actually saw through it. I thought I had disguised myself very well. I really made a fool of myself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
