Chapter 294 A Potentially Deadly Potion
Xue Han stared at the porcelain bottle Xue Quan had pulled out, momentarily forgetting to react.
They just took out the pills like that?
Are you just going to say that it was made by the True Person Miaoqing?
He came to investigate, already prepared to conduct a covert investigation if he couldn't get any information out of him; this went so smoothly that it was somewhat unsettling.
Looking at the smugness in Xue Quan's eyes, Xue Han understood a bit more: the emperor, who had been ill for many days, was in much better health, and his adoptive father believed it was thanks to the elixir he had offered. No matter how cautious he was, he still had a desire to show off.
Showing off in front of his adopted son is safe and reliable.
"This... is the elixir refined by Master Miaoqing?" Xue Han's gaze fell on the porcelain bottle in Xue Quan's hand, pondering whether to ask for it tactfully or directly.
“Exactly.” Xue Quan nodded with a smile, uncorked the bottle, and said, “Give me your hand.”
Xue Han: ?
Xue Quan frowned: "What are you standing there for?"
Xue Han silently reached out his hand.
Xue Quan carefully poured a pill into Xue Han's palm, hesitated for a moment, and then poured another one.
Xue Han's feelings were extremely complicated: "Father—"
Xue Quan could not hide his heartache: "This was given to your father by Master Miaoqing alone. There aren't many, so I can only give you two."
Xue Han raised an eyebrow, first wrapping the pill in a handkerchief and putting it into his purse, before asking, "I wonder what this pill is—"
“A miraculous medicine,” Xue Quan corrected, displeased.
Xue Han readily agreed and changed his question: "I wonder what the effects of this elixir are?"
Xue Quan raised his chin slightly, his tone unconsciously excited: "This elixir can greatly cure patients, and even prolong the life of healthy people."
Xue Han fell silent.
My adoptive father is a shrewd man, so why does he seem to have lost his mind?
Xue Quan misunderstood his adopted son's silence and patted his arm kindly: "Han'er, you are still young and don't need to eat too much. When Master Miaoqing gives me more elixirs, I will share them with you."
Xue Han forced a smile: "Thank you, Father. That Master Miaoqing entered the palace yesterday—"
Xue Quan's smile deepened: "The Emperor recovered considerably after taking Miaoqing Zhenren's elixir the day before yesterday, and yesterday he specially summoned Miaoqing Zhenren to the palace to accompany him."
"It seems that Master Miaoqing is going to surpass Master Mingwei."
"This is also a case of the capable rising to the top," Xue Quan said calmly.
Although Master Mingwei was the most proficient Taoist in Yuzhao Temple, his alchemy skills were far inferior to Master Miaoqing's. Master Miaoqing's disadvantage was that he had only been in the capital for a few years and had no opportunity to demonstrate his abilities to the Emperor. Fortunately, he had a discerning eye and would always remember his kindness when he became the Imperial Preceptor.
"Father."
"how?"
Xue Han wanted to say that one should be cautious about taking the elixir, but then he thought that Emperor Jingping had already taken it, and that saying such things would only anger his adoptive father, so he swallowed his words of advice: "Thank you for thinking of your child, Father."
Xue Quan laughed: "You're my only son, who else would I think of if not you?"
Leaving the imperial city, Xue Han headed straight for the outskirts of the city.
Xu Bo was lying on a chair in the courtyard, basking in the sun with a palm-leaf fan covering his face. Hearing the noise coming from the courtyard gate, he froze, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
Soon a familiar voice came: "Uncle Xu".
Uncle Xu remained silent.
"Uncle Xu, sunbathing."
Uncle Xu remained silent.
"Is Uncle Xu asleep?"
The palm-leaf fan covering his face was removed, and Xu Bo, unable to bear it any longer, jumped up: "Xu Bo wasn't asleep! Xu Bo is dead!"
That brat who never gets anything good when he arrives!
Xue Han chuckled awkwardly as he fanned Uncle Xu with a palm-leaf fan, saying, "Uncle Xu will surely live to be a hundred."
Uncle Xu glared at him fiercely: "Stop bothering me, maybe I'll live a little longer. So, what's bothering you now? I'm warning you, if you send me to that young girl's house to jail again, I'll poison you!"
When Xu Boyi thought about those days at Lengxiangju that were even more unbearable than being in prison, he gritted his teeth.
At least in jail you don't have to constantly worry about being discovered.
"I'm not going anywhere this time." Xue Han took out a pill. "Uncle Xu, could you please take a look at the effects of this medicine?"
"Another bunch of weird medicines." Uncle Xu was immediately exasperated, reluctantly taking the pills to examine them. "Is there any special information about these medicines?"
"It is said that it can greatly improve the health of patients and prolong the life of healthy people."
That doesn't sound like an exaggeration.
Xu Bo then asked, "What does 'great' mean?"
"After being bedridden for several months, he looked no different from an ordinary person after taking it."
“I’ve never heard of such a miraculous medicine before.” Uncle Xu shook his head, put away the pills, and said, “Come back tomorrow and bring some pastries made by Fangzhou.”
"Thank you, Uncle Xu."
Uncle Xu waved his hand, shooing Xue Han away.
Xue Han returned to the city early and arranged to meet Qiu Heng.
"His Majesty's health has improved because he took the elixir refined by Master Miaoqing. I obtained two of the elixir, and I sent one of them to Uncle Xu."
Qiu Heng was shocked: "You found out so quickly? And you even got your hands on the elixir?"
Xue Han awkwardly forced a smile: "It was a spiritual medicine that my adoptive father offered on behalf of Master Miaoqing... Master Miaoqing gave my adoptive father a bottle of spiritual medicine, and my adoptive father gave me two pills."
Qiu Heng: "..."
In this situation involving Xue Quan, she was inevitably constrained by Xue Han, but she never expected that going all out to ask Xue Han for help would be so easy...
"Uncle Xu asked me to come over tomorrow; he wants to eat the pastries made by Fangzhou."
The request was too simple. The next day, Qiu Heng and Xue Han went to see Uncle Xu together, bringing two large boxes of pastries.
Uncle Xu was already waiting for Xue Han, and he wasn't surprised at all that Xue Han had brought Qiu Heng along.
"Uncle Xu, Fangzhou was especially happy to hear that you wanted some snacks. In addition to the ones we usually make, we also have her newly researched cherry pancakes, which taste much better than what you can buy outside."
"Cherry fritters?" Uncle Xu nodded. "It's the season for cherries, so it should be good."
Xue Han spoke up: "Uncle Xu—"
Xu Bo shot him a sharp look: "Not as sensible as Aheng at all."
Xue Han shut up obediently.
Xu Bo didn't waste any more time and said directly, "There's a problem with the pills you sent yesterday."
Qiu Heng and Xue Han exchanged a glance.
"You say that the patient's condition has improved significantly after taking this medicine, but in reality, it only temporarily suppresses the symptoms with its strong effects, without considering the balance of yin and yang, and overdraws on vital energy and blood. It can be described as a poisonous medicine to quench thirst." Xu Bo said these startling words in a very calm tone.
He had seen this kind of thing many times before.
Xue Han's face was extremely ugly.
This medicine was given to the current emperor by the True Person Miaoqing through her adoptive father, and the current emperor has already taken it!
If this matter is brought to light, and the Emperor believes it, then the adoptive father will be doomed; if the Emperor does not believe it, then he is framing the father.
Qiu Heng was filled with mixed emotions after hearing what Uncle Xu said.
The medicine that would kill upon ingestion was transformed into a potent drug that seemed to improve one's health. However, even after taking such medicine for some time, Emperor Jingping could not escape death.
What is the other party's purpose in doing this?
When the two remained silent, Uncle Xu suddenly asked, "Young Xue, did you bring this medicine from the palace?"
Xue Han composed himself and looked at Uncle Xu in surprise.
Over the years, Uncle Xu has always done more and asked fewer questions, knowing full well that knowing too much is not a good thing.
Xu Bo looked at Qiu Heng.
"Ah Heng knows everything about me, so Uncle Xu doesn't need to hide anything from her."
Xu Bo remained silent for a moment, then sighed and asked, "Is this medicine for the Emperor?"
(End of this chapter)
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