Chapter 416 Fuxiu
"This poison is similar to the Blood-Rotting Vine, but slightly different. The Blood-Rotting Vine causes the blood of the injured to turn black and rot, leading to a slow death in extreme pain. These injured people did have their blood turn black, but it wasn't as severe as the Blood-Rotting Vine."
Wen Zhiming asked in a deep voice, "Is there a cure?"
The two elderly imperial physicians shook their heads in distress.
"There is no cure for the Corrupting Blood Vine. Although their condition is slightly better than that of those afflicted by it, it is only a matter of time. They can only hold on for a maximum of seven days. However, we need to try many times and search far and wide for good medicines to develop an antidote. Seven days is far from enough."
"Moreover, this poisonous minister and others have never encountered it before, so even if they create an antidote, it may not necessarily be effective."
Wen Woyu listened attentively and sensed that the imperial physician meant that Aunt Chunhong was beyond saving. She burst into tears and hugged Wen Zhiming's leg.
"Father, please save Aunt Chunhong! I don't want Aunt Chunhong to die..."
Seeing the little girl crying so sadly, everyone felt bad. Wen Zhiming looked at Lushui and Xu Wangyan, who hadn't said anything.
Do you two have different opinions?
Green Water mustered its courage and said.
"I am not certain. I have seen this disease in an ancient book. It is called Ink Beauty. The symptoms of this poison are similar to those of Blood-Rotting Vine, but it does not damage the lungs or internal organs. It only makes people sleep indefinitely until they exhaust their physical strength and die. I estimate that the injured person should be able to hold on for about half a month. If an antidote can be developed within this time, there should still be a chance of saving them."
Xu Wangyan, who was standing to the side, looked at Lüshui and chimed in, "Your Majesty, I agree with Doctor Lüshui's opinion and would like to request permission to work with Doctor Lüshui to develop an antidote. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request."
Although neither of them was certain they could create an antidote, this response at least offered a glimmer of hope.
Seeing that Lushui did not object, Wen Zhiming nodded in agreement.
The servants carried the three injured people away, and Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge took Wen Woyu back to the scene of the incident.
Seeing that the wood chips on the ground had been cleaned up, Jiang Lin, now a top-ranking imperial bodyguard, was sprinkling medicinal powder on the ground.
Wen Zhiming said with a calm expression, "I was wondering why you were so slow this time. It turns out you were sorting through evidence. Did you find anything?"
Jiang Lin stopped what he was doing and picked up the wooden box that was not far away from him.
"Your Majesty, I have collected all these poisonous wood pieces here. I suspect that this small wooden boat is a hidden weapon with a mechanism hidden at the bottom. The person behind it guessed that the princess might pass by here and placed the mechanism on the lake in advance. As soon as the boat is pulled ashore, the switch at the bottom will be triggered and it will disintegrate instantly."
"This person knows the princess's whereabouts and is familiar with the palace environment, so he is very likely someone who serves the princess. I have already sent the guards to investigate and search for suspicious persons, but so far we have not found anyone."
"Well done." Wen Zhiming nodded slightly. "Continue the search and make sure to find this person."
When Wen Zhiming's gaze fell on the inside of the wooden box in Jiang Lin's hand, he was somewhat shocked, "What is this?"
Jiang Lin had rearranged the wooden pieces. The largest pieces of wood from the ship were placed on the top layer. Each piece of wood had a character on it, in addition to the pattern. When arranged in order, they read, "To cure the poison, one must first restore its beauty."
Jiang Lin said, "I found these words while cleaning up, and tried to arrange them. This should be the true intention of the person behind the scenes."
Seeing that Wen Zhiming's expression was off, Meng Lingge also went over to take a look.
Upon seeing this, he immediately turned red with anger.
"To cure the poison, we must first restore the imperial concubine selection system. Doesn't this mean that to cure the poison, we must first restore the imperial concubine selection system? Sure enough, they came here for the purpose of selecting concubines. These people's methods are becoming more and more despicable and vile."
Seeing that urging and persuasion were ineffective, they have now resorted to poison and other contraband.
The key point is that they actually laid a hand on a three-year-old child.
Meng Lingge used to advise Wen Zhiming not to be too harsh on those who offered advice, but now she felt that she had been too soft-hearted, which allowed these people to become more and more ruthless.
"This matter is probably not that simple."
Wen Zhiming's words were concise and to the point.
With Wen Woyu present, he didn't want to be too explicit and let his daughter experience the complexities of the adult world too early.
After Jiang Lin was put in charge of keeping the evidence safe, the couple took their daughter back to Fengyi Palace.
After the fright, Wen Woyu fell asleep in Wen Zhiming's arms on the way back, perhaps because the Emperor gave her such a strong sense of security.
After sending his daughter to her room, Wen Zhiming returned to the master bedroom, where Meng Lingge had already prepared tea.
The aroma of tea filled the air. Meng Lingge handed a teacup to Wen Zhiming. "Your Majesty said earlier that this matter was not so simple. Did you already have a suspicion?"
In the heat of the moment, upon seeing the eight characters "To cure the poison, one must first restore the beauty pageant," she immediately listed the officials in the court who had advised Wen Zhiming to reinstate the beauty pageant as suspects.
But as she traveled, she carefully considered the officials in the court and couldn't think of any one of them who could do something so heinous.
They usually urge Wen Zhiming to select concubines and have an heir as soon as possible. The most serious thing they do is use harsh words and spread rumors.
Furthermore, although Wen Woyu was a princess, she was, after all, the only imperial heir. It was clearly illogical for the ministers to poison the only imperial heir in order to urge the emperor to select more heirs.
But if it wasn't them, who else could it be?
"The person who poisoned Woyu's food last time has not yet been found. Now, only a few months later, a special device has been put in place to deal with her. I have a feeling that this is not about the selection of imperial concubines or the issue of imperial heirs."
Wen Zhiming said meaningfully, "Four years ago, I went to war with the Blue Feather Kingdom and exchanged their sixth prince for a lot of weapons and horses. I said at the time that with so many military supplies missing, the Blue Feather Kingdom would not dare to covet our country for at least two years. But now it has been four years."
"Does Your Majesty mean that the mastermind behind this is someone from the Blue Feather Kingdom?" Meng Lingge asked, somewhat incredulous.
"But there has been no unusual activity from the northern border. And if it were people from the Blue Feather Kingdom, they would assassinate the people in our country who pose the greatest threat to them. Why would they try to harm a three-year-old child?"
The most threatening person to the Blue Feather Kingdom from the Golden Phoenix Kingdom is Wen Zhiming. The Sixth Prince suffered a major setback at his hands, but Wen Zhiming is too skilled and has many protectors, so they can't find an opportunity.
But if they were to settle for second best, they would likely choose to murder other generals or ministers of state; it would be far too easy for a three-year-old child to be involved.
Wen Zhiming smiled faintly.
"A message came from the Northern Frontier last month, saying that the old emperor of Lanyu Kingdom had passed away and the sixth prince had ascended the throne. Lanyu Kingdom suffered huge losses to save him back then, and this matter became a thorn in his side, which also led to doubts from his subjects. When he heard that he had ascended the throne, he boasted that he would definitely take over Jinyue within five years."
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