Chapter 123 It’s different, can you please not leave?
This sentence made no sense and Qing Guiyu was stunned by him.
"It makes no difference," he said softly, as if talking to himself. "It's just a different method. I'm pulling people down with me."
She stared at him,
A madman who has nothing to gain and just wants to destroy everything.
"Solution?" Shen Juansheng seemed not to dare to startle her any more and changed the subject.
"Yes." Qing Guiyu calmed himself down, stood up, and paced back and forth in the study.
"The nature of all herbs is to mutually promote and counteract each other. This poison, which is caused by the steaming fire energy, belongs to the dry evil of Yang. It needs to be neutralized with yin and soft things to moisten the lungs and clear the heart."
She paused and listed several prescriptions. "The antidote isn't hard to find. 'Gentian' clears heat, 'Honeysuckle' detoxifies, and 'Nine-sectioned Acorus' calms the mind. These three main ingredients are common, and any pharmacy in Yuzhou City can collect them in half a day."
But this is the most troublesome part,
Delivering the medicine door to door? Impossible. Not to mention the manpower and resources required, such a large-scale operation would immediately cause panic in the city, and rumors would spread, which would actually play into Shen Yan's hands.
Neither way is working, it's a dead end.
Qing Guiyu felt somewhat discouraged and looked around irritably, his eyes glancing at the corridor outside the door. A sheepskin lantern, used for nighttime lighting, hung quietly, swaying slightly in the evening breeze.
The light from the lamp shone through the thin parchment, casting a warm halo. Within the halo, a few moths, reckless of their lives, fluttered futilely against the lamp wall, making a faint rustling sound.
Lights...smoke...
Qing Guiyu suddenly turned his head and looked at Chen Juansheng who was still sitting at the table. The awkward panic in his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Lantern," she murmured, her voice still a little hazy with excitement, "Xun..."
Shen Juansheng tilted his head.
That's it!
The ambiguity and repression just now were completely washed away by this wonderful method. He felt elated for a moment, and the doctor's competitive spirit suddenly emerged, even a little complacent.
"He can kill people with poison mist, so why can't I save people with medicinal gas?"
She walked a few steps to the desk, not caring about any romantic thoughts, and grabbed Chen Juansheng's wrist, pulling his slightly cold hand in front of her.
Shen Juansheng's body stiffened, and his face instantly turned red again, but he just let her pull him silently.
Qing Guiyu paid no attention to his embarrassment, treating him as a convenient paperweight. Dipping her fingertips in tea, she began to draw rapidly on the tabletop.
"Look," she said hurriedly, pointing at the water on the table. "The source of that poisonous fog is likely highly pungent and hot herbs like aconite and wolfsbane. Burned by fire and steamed by water, they transform into invisible gas that invades the human body, damaging the heart and lung meridians. This poison is slow and subtle, difficult to detect, but it accumulates over time, depleting a person's very essence. This is similar to your method of refining marrow with cold poisons."
"To cure this poison, ordinary decoctions won't work. With tens of thousands of people in the city, we can't go door to door administering the poison. The only way is to use the same method to transform the antidote into invisible air and diffuse it throughout Yuzhou City."
"The fumigation method," Shen Juansheng said softly, looking at her spirited profile, "is the least expensive and most efficient."
"Lantern!" She excitedly pointed at the flame outside the window. "We just need to grind the antidote herbs into powder and mix it into the lamp oil, or make it into a sachet and hang it inside the lamp. The heat from the lamp will slowly evaporate the medicinal properties."
"This method, without anyone noticing, can solve the urgent problem quietly."
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, as if he could see the lights all over the city turning into medicine to save lives and heal the wounded.
"Yeah." Shen Juan responded softly, blushing and lowering his head.
"Mugwort, Atractylodes, and Realgar!" He suddenly felt happy and immediately drew up a recipe in his mind. "Mugwort is yang, Atractylodes is damp-drying, and Realgar is a detoxifier. These three herbs are common, inexpensive, and easy to find. Combining them into a medicine bag will be enough to neutralize most of the toxicity of the poisonous fog. At the very least, it can strengthen the body and protect the heart meridians, preventing the poison from penetrating the heart."
She finished speaking in one breath, then realized that she was still holding his wrist tightly. She quickly let go, and her ears felt a little hot.
Shen Juansheng raised his head and looked into her eyes that were sparkling with excitement.
"Yes," the young man hesitantly withdrew his hand, twisted his wrist, and leaned forward slightly, letting a few strands of untied black hair fall onto the table. "This method will work."
Qing Guiyu had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his idea was absolutely perfect, but then he changed the subject.
"However, this matter cannot be handled by the government, and certainly not by the Cao Gang. Otherwise, it will only confirm the rumors that the grain is poisonous."
"We must make the people of Yuzhou willingly light these antidote lanterns themselves."
"What?" Qing Guiyu frowned.
"Using the name of chaos to carry out clear and bright deeds." Chen Jiansheng smiled, "Yuzhou is close to the river, and the autumn flood is approaching. The river is full of gods and ghosts, so we just need to go with the flow."
A strand of golden thread twirled between his fingers, and the young man continued with a smile, "The Tianji Pavilion is providing funds, and we're asking all the martial arts sects to contribute. This year, a fire on the river alarmed the river spirit, and there's a fear of flooding. To ensure safety, we need to light grass lanterns throughout the city to ward off evil. These lamp oil sachets will be purchased along with the lanterns."
"People are eager for profit and respect ghosts and gods." He extended his hand. "Within five days, medicinal vapors will be rising from this place."
Qing Guiyu pondered for a moment.
She wanted to save people, so she had to diagnose and treat the disease accordingly.
But what he was thinking about was indeed the human heart. How to use the teachings of ghosts and gods to calm the fear. How to devise a plan to dispel the disaster that could overturn the entire city, without leaving even a trace.
"You..." She nodded, looked him up and down, took his hand, and tried to make her tone sound just ordinary affirmation, "Not bad."
Well, it's more than okay.
Just as Master Shen Jinsheng said, it is indeed most appropriate for Tianji Pavilion to handle this matter.
For the next two days, Tingzhu Waterside Pavilion was very busy.
She brought along a few doctors she had found and converted a side courtyard of the waterside pavilion into a makeshift pharmacy. Hundreds of kilograms of mugwort, atractylodes, and realgar were continuously brought in.
The sound of pounding medicine in stone mortars filled the courtyard, and the rich aroma of medicine almost condensed the moist early autumn air into a paste. She had to personally oversee the mixing, grinding, and packaging.
She was so busy that she had no time to rest, but Shen Jiansheng was even busier than her.
Young Master Jin Sheng is rarely seen, simply because there are some matters that no one can replace him.
There are some things that cannot be explained by other than the silent engraving.
Whether it was the silver needed to purchase medicinal materials, or persuading the gangs of all sizes that had been entrenched in Yuzhou for many years to cooperate, or even how to fabricate the rhetoric of "the river god was angry and lit lights everywhere to ward off disasters and relieve misfortunes", all of them were handled.
Even which teahouse's storyteller was the best at inciting people, and which lantern shop owner had old ties with the imperial court were all listed in detail.
Many secret agents and contacts flowed in and out of the pavilion. From time to time, elders from martial arts sects were secretly invited, only to depart soon after with solemn expressions. The owners of several shops and oil mills in the city also visited late at night. Qing Guiyu occasionally passed by the study, only to glimpse the young man in black clothes bent over his desk through the cracks in the window lattice, either writing on a token or annotating a secret report.
Chaofeng and Pulao were sent to an unknown place on the first day. Fuxi and Li Chengjin often came in and out, and occasionally the three of them could be seen discussing matters in low voices.
Within just ten days, the saying that "the river god was angry and lit lamps to ward off disasters" spread throughout the streets and alleys of Yuzhou City.
Everyone was talking about it, and even children on the street were making up new nursery rhymes. There were even boatmen who swore that they had seen the shadow of a water monster in the middle of the river, and that they had been startled out of the fire in Lihua Bay and were coming to Yuzhou City to seek an explanation.
The rumor was so credible, and as the autumn flood was approaching, the people were already worried, and now they believed it to about 70%.
Naturally, major businesses in the city began selling straw lanterns. These were intricately crafted, and came with lamp oil and calming sachets. It was said that lighting these lanterns could ward off evil spirits and keep the family safe.
To be honest, Qing Guiyu felt a little unfair in his heart.
It was obvious that the Tianji Pavilion had cost a fortune, and this could be roughly estimated from the fierce look in Li Chengjin's eyes every time he saw her.
In the past few days, she has been buying medicinal herbs, making connections, and bribing various gangs. Even if she sells Qing Guiyu with her bones and flesh, it still won't be worth a fraction of it.
The joy in her heart was somewhat weakened by the overwhelming amount of gold and silver.
If you owe someone a favor, especially such a big one, you should at least let them know.
Qing Guiyu tied up the last packet of medicine powder in the pharmacy, patted the powder on his hands, and finally made up his mind.
Just say thank you.
It's just a matter of a word. No matter how sarcastic he is, just listen to him.
After passing through the corridor, I came to the study room at the back of the pavilion. The door was ajar, and a light shone from inside.
As I got closer, I saw the young man in black clothes bending over the desk, holding a pen in one hand and a scroll of illustrations in the other, and talking to Fuxi.
Under the light, he looked less leisurely. Due to days of hard work, his eyes were a little pale blue, diluting the sinister color a little.
When Fuxi saw her coming, he bowed tactfully and quietly retreated.
Shen Juansheng hesitated and refused to raise his head.
"About medicinal herbs,"
Qing Guiyu could only clear his throat, feeling a little uncomfortable. "And then there are all the things to take care of... I'm sure it will cost a lot."
Shen Juansheng still lowered his head and did not respond, but the fingers holding the pen tightened slightly.
Why aren't you speaking?
Qing Guiyu was puzzled and was about to say something when he saw the familiar crimson color spreading upwards from the back of his neck.
Chen Juansheng still didn't look at her, but stared fiercely at the picture in front of him. The wolf-hair brush in his hand was so frayed that it almost pierced through the fine rice paper.
Got it.
Qing Guiyu nodded, understanding what he meant.
I've seen this look before.
The poisonous snake coiled in the corner almost wanted to press its head under its body, probably because it was angry with her.
Young Master Jin Sheng used retreat as a means of advancement, turning defeat into victory. He was a master of both hard and soft tactics, acting as both a concubine and a slave, even saying such shocking words, with a thick skin that could block a knife.
How come now, just because she caught a little of my romantic thoughts, I feel like someone is worried about my innocence?
It's really incomprehensible.
She became impatient, pulled out her purple bamboo flute, and knocked on the table behind him.
Knock knock.
Shen Juansheng trembled, still not looking up, but his face flushed.
"Chen Tianji," he still didn't want to turn around, so Qing Guiyu had to poke his back with the flute again.
"What's this all about? A few days ago you were saying you wanted to be a Gu slave and then a concubine. Where's that shocking energy?"
Young Master Jin Sheng suddenly raised his head, his brows, already tired from working all day, turned even redder at this moment, and he glared at her fiercely.
"That's different!" he said urgently.
"Those...those..." Young Master Jin Sheng seemed to find it difficult to speak. He bit his lower lip, his face flushed with color, and even the cinnabar marks on his eyebrows seemed to come alive. "Those were all my schemes, I...planned them."
His face flushed like this, he turned his head quickly, then lowered it quickly and whispered, "That's different."
All the calculations, all the disguises, all the temptations became useless when she pushed open the door.
Qing Guiyu felt strange about what he said, and her face felt a little hot.
I just came to say thank you, why did it become like a private meeting?
The atmosphere suddenly became extremely strange. The distance between the two people seemed to be repeatedly burned by the lights, making it feel uneasy.
"That's enough." She felt that if she continued, she would also catch fire. She quickly stood up and waved her hand, "I just... came to see you. You... you should rest early."
After saying this, he wanted to slip away quickly. He felt uncomfortable staying in this place for even a moment longer.
But as soon as I turned around, my wrist was quickly grabbed by a slightly cold hand.
Those beautiful and sinister eyes looked straight at her and asked sadly.
"Could you please not leave?"
"I..." Shen Yansheng shifted his gaze to the side, his Adam's apple rolling with difficulty, a little shy, but because of the close distance, he looked charming, "I just don't know what to do."
Qing Guiyu was even more confused by what he said and looked at him in confusion.
"Miss Qing," Chen Juansheng raised his head, holding her wrist, his fingertips cold, "When you came over, I was thinking about what I should say and what I should do so that you wouldn't think I was plotting against you again."
"But I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I can't think of anything." He lowered his head in great sorrow, and the golden hair slid down his cheek. "That's all I know. Apart from that, I can't do anything else."
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