poison
Yuncheng, the capital of Liang State.
Emperor Liang Hua Yuan once again saw the woman who impressed him so deeply.
She was dressed in a black dress, standing high above him, looking down upon all the insignificant things, including him, with disdain in her eyes. The large knife she held gleamed in the moonlight, and when she pointed it at him, Yuen Wah's eyes lit up alarmingly, and his heartbeat quickened so fast that it seemed as if it would burst out of his throat.
A surge of genuine excitement surged through his body, and his hair stood on end.
From the moment Yuen Wah was born, he lived in a place with imposing, carved gates, crimson-tiled roofs, and brilliant lights. His life was filled with opulent possessions, and he was treated with respect by everyone. The aroma of clinking wine filled the air, often making him feel intoxicated.
Such a life is by no means bad; it's even the paradise countless people yearn for. However, there's a certain element of indifference in human nature. Rather than readily attaining power, wealth, and status, Yuen Wah prefers to recall the thrilling moment of slaying the tiger; at that moment, he truly experienced the ecstasy of being alive.
Now he felt that ecstasy again, this time brought to him by this woman.
He gradually approached the woman, staring at her with eyes full of obsession. But the woman just looked at him with indifference and disdain, treating him as an ant looking up at the sky, not worth mentioning in her heart.
The firelight and moonlight intertwined, weaving a web around her. She was mysterious, beautiful, and dangerous. Yuen Wah could not restrain himself from approaching her, until the cold blade pierced his chest.
The knife was cold, a stark contrast to the blazing flames around it.
The woman's skirt swayed in the blazing air, and the wind blew her hair in time. Hua Yuan's pupils reflected her back, and he suddenly felt that such a woman must be hiding countless unknown secrets. So he continued forward, letting the blade pierce his chest.
He was about to touch the edge of the woman's clothes, but she seemed to melt into the moonlight of the fire, coldly keeping him at a distance.
Hua Yuan didn't touch her in the end.
In the dead of night in the imperial palace, Hua Yuan opened his eyes tiredly, feeling a piercing pain in his chest, as if everything that happened in the dream had really happened.
It did exist.
The pain forced him to cry out, and the sound startled the imperial physicians and palace maids outside the palace. They rushed into the palace, shouting, "God bless your majesty! Heaven will not destroy our Liang Kingdom!"
Hua Yuan frowned and struggled to stand. The imperial physician, upon seeing this, quickly supported Emperor Liang to prevent the wound from opening.
Hua Yuan, sweating profusely, gasped and asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Your Majesty, you have been in a coma for five days. You have woken up today. As long as you take good care of yourself, you will be able to recover as before." The imperial physician said slowly.
Hua Yuan covered his wound with his hands, his expression filled with annoyance: "If you can't recover as before, I will take your head."
The imperial physician broke out in a cold sweat and trembled as he knelt down, thinking to himself, "It really is true that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger."
After learning about his physical condition, Hua Yuan dismissed everyone and looked at the bright moon hanging outside the window alone, his mind drifting back to that night when flames were blazing into the sky.
Hua Yuan reviewed every scene at that time: the kneeling Zhong Yingqi, the woman who suddenly rushed into the fire, and the bloodshot eyes in the twilight under the flashing swords and shadows.
A doubt took root in Hua Yuan's heart, making him scratch his head. He was eager to know the answer, and it felt like a kitten was scratching his heart.
Who is she?
Hua Yuan rubbed his hands slightly, his eyes unclear.
…
Three days had passed since Yuan Ming and Zhong Yingqi had fallen out. During this time, Zhong Yingqi had come to visit, but Yuan Ming angrily turned him away.
Rulan stood aside, eating melon seeds, feeling very puzzled. Yuan Ming was too angry with Zhong Yingqi.
The sun was scorching hot. Rulan shielded her eyes with her hands and looked at the scorching sun at noon. It was almost winter, but she didn't even need to wear cotton clothes. She thought to herself that she should prescribe some Chinese medicine to reduce Yuan Ming's internal heat.
After cracking the melon seeds, Rulan leisurely walked into the small pharmacy that Zhang He had arranged for them. When she looked up, she saw steam coming out of the medicine stove.
"Huh?" Rulan looked at it in confusion and was about to open the stove lid to find out what was going on, but Yuan Ming was standing quietly behind her.
"What are you looking at?" Yuan Ming leaned close to Rulan's ear with a sinister look in his eyes, but his hand was playing with a small silver knife in front of Rulan.
The dancing little silver knife sparkled in the sunlight that came in through the window, and the pattern on it was clearly visible. It was the gift that Yuan Ming had given to Rulan earlier.
Rulan was so frightened that she just stood there motionless.
Yuan Ming raised her red lips, and used a small silver knife to lift the lid of the stove, revealing the dark medicinal soup inside. She then pried open Rulan's hand and put the slightly warm handle of the knife into her palm, which scared Rulan.
"Hold it carefully, don't leave it lying on the cutting board. Even though I'm giving it to you, I don't care what you do with it. But if someone who knows the value of this thing sees it, it could bring us trouble."
After saying that, Yuan Ming picked up the medicine stove with his ruthless iron hands and placed it steadily on the ground, his movements flowing smoothly.
Rulan came back to her senses, stamped her feet in anger, and said aggrievedly: "You scared me again!"
"Why would I scare you?" Yuan Ming said with a smile, "I'm just checking your recent homework."
Zhong Yingqi and his companions had to wait in Mucheng for several days, awaiting news from the capital. During this time, Yuan Ming, remembering his earlier plan to teach Rulan kung fu, trained her throughout the day, striving to teach her to flee in the face of danger, leaving her with a shadowy figure that the enemy could not catch.
Yuan Ming commented on Rulan's performance: "Your reaction is slow and your vigilance is lacking. If I were a killer, you would have seen the Black and White Impermanence by now. Go to the yard and practice jumping to improve your legs and feet."
Rulan pouted, put the small silver knife back into her waist pocket, and turned her attention to the medicine soup in the stove.
"What is this?" Rulan smelled it and frowned.
Yuan Ming answered frankly, "Poison."
"Ah!" Rulan was shocked. "Are we going to start so soon? I... I haven't prepared the money yet. Give me a moment, let me collect those herbs. There are medicines for colds and bleeding, as well as tranquilizers. We will definitely need them on the road."
Yuan Ming held Rulan back and said, "Stop, stop, stop. We're not running for our lives. There's no need to rush to prepare these."
Rulan thought it over again and again, then said cautiously, "Yuan Ming, tell me when you plan to poison General Zhong, so I can prepare the medicine in advance and then flee with you."
Rulan held Yuan Ming's hand tightly: "Don't worry, no matter what you do, I will definitely not hold you back. But have you really thought about this matter?"
Yuan Ming understood what he had said. He put his hands on his hips and jokingly said, "From what you said, between Zhong Yingqi and me, you chose me."
Rulan was speechless: "Why do you always think that I will side with General Zhong? Although he has indeed helped us a lot, we are the two who have always depended on each other. Compared to him, I will definitely trust you more."
After making this confession, Rulan turned away, and the roots of her ears beneath her hair turned slightly red.
"I've always told you not to repay kindness with enmity, simply because I didn't want to suffer retribution. Just take this as my simple view of good and evil. But now that you've truly decided to take action, General Zhong must have ulterior motives. I understand that one should always be on guard against others."
"What the hell is going on here?" Yuan Ming listened to Rulan's serious explanation and pointed at the dark medicine in the medicine pot. "The poison wasn't given to Zhong Yingqi. He's dying now, and his soldiers don't obey me. Why would I poison him for no reason?"
"What about this medicine..." Rulan asked.
Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes and said in a dangerous tone: "This is a special gift for the traitor."
Rulan held her breath, watching the decoction in the furnace. It had thickened, but she could still discern several herbs that, while harmless on their own, were highly toxic when combined. She suspected the poison's base was clashing with other herbs, creating a toxic effect.
But the toxicity seems to be a little weaker.
Rulan: "Do you need me to add a few more herbs? It can be more toxic."
Yuan Ming was stunned. "Are you really going to make this drug?"
"Others have already committed treason, so why bother with the methods used? Speaking of punishment, in the eyes of ordinary people like me, traitors deserve to be executed by slow slicing."
Yuan Ming smiled in agreement: "That's right. But this drug is quite toxic. If it's any stronger, the traitor will die on the spot, and it will be difficult for us to do anything."
Rulan was puzzled and asked, "So you want to make a slow-acting poison?"
Yuan Ming snapped his fingers. "That's right. It would be best if there was medicine to alleviate the symptoms, so that we can act more easily. Look, isn't the smell of this medicine a bit too strong? I know a little bit about medicine, but it's only a tad knowledgeable. I'm sure it works, but putting it in food or water is too obvious and would easily arouse suspicion."
Facing Yuan Ming's eager anticipation, Rulan rested her thumb and index finger on her chin, as if pondering. After a long pause, Rulan replied, "I have an idea!"
Yuan Ming chuckled, his eyes full of admiration.
Rulan fiddled with it for a while, added some herbs, and finally said happily, "It's done!"
Yuan Ming took a closer look and found that the strong herbal smell was gone. He dipped a little bit of the potion and tasted it. Sure enough, it was a colorless and odorless chronic poison.
Yuan Ming showed a relieved expression, held Rulan's hand, and said: "Now we are grasshoppers on the same rope, and the credit for following the dragon is definitely yours."
Rulan curled her lips a little proudly: "Pharmacology is not difficult for me."
However, this pride didn't last long. Seeing Yuan Ming methodically reprocessing the medicine in the furnace, each step impeccable, Rulan suddenly felt that this guy had been trying to get her on board from the beginning. Yuan Ming was obviously very good at making poison, so why would he need her help?
Damn it, Yuan Ming fooled me again.
"Come, give this medicine a name." Yuan Ming said.
Rulan hung her head and said, "Although this medicine is not common, perhaps our ancestors have already developed it."
Yuan Ming said nonchalantly, "What does it matter? None of the rare books in the palace contain this recipe. Maybe we are the first to make it. Once we kill the corrupt officials who betrayed the country, we can make this poison famous."
Yuan Ming lowered his voice, full of temptation: "Although it is a poison, don't you want a medicine to be named after you?"
Rulan was moved. Yuan Ming really knew how to control her.
"Let's call it Minglan Poison," Rulan said. "A poison that kills traitors, in a sense, isn't it also a life-saving medicine?"
Yuan Ming raised an eyebrow: "Transparent."
After a while, Yuan Ming rolled the cooled and solidified medicinal soup into small pills and explained to Rulan, "This size pill is just the right dosage. When you put it in food or tea, just press it lightly and it will turn into powder, making it highly concealable."
Yuan Ming was explaining the poisoning method incessantly, when Rulan suddenly asked, "Yuan Ming, have you used Minglan poison to kill someone before?"
Yuan Ming: “…”
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