Chapter 275: Possessed
Gu Zhaolin asked in a tone of accusation, "Have you searched the bottom of the cliff for help?"
Zhang Lie and Chu Yian both looked embarrassed.
"That cliff is extremely steep, making it impossible for us to descend. Furthermore, we were being pursued. Even if we wanted to, we would be powerless. This is not an attempt to shirk responsibility; it is the very truth."
"A normal person would be hard to save if they fell off a cliff, let alone His Highness Prince Jin, who was seriously injured. I'm afraid... it's our incompetence that failed to protect His Highness. Please forgive us, General!"
Gu Qishan sat on the handsome chair, his tall figure seemed to hunch down in an instant, and an unconcealable grief welled up in his eyes.
The result he least wanted to see still happened.
Something happened to Xiao Yanci in Xiping. How should he face Concubine Rou?
That was her only son. Could she withstand the blow when she found out about this?
Gu Zhaolin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yanci had been causing him a lot of trouble in Xiping during this period, and Gu Zhaolin had long wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Now, he is finally dead, and Gu Zhaolin felt a flash of satisfaction in his heart.
Even if the emperor wants to punish people, he should blame the Qiang flute people. There is absolutely no reason to punish them severely.
But seeing Gu Qishan's sad face, Gu Zhaolin felt unhappy.
An unrelated prince, dead or alive, why would he make such a gesture? It was as if his own son had died.
Gu Zhaolin thought of something else and asked hurriedly, "Where's Xu Bai?"
Compared with Xiao Yanci, Ge Xubai is even more of a thorn in his side.
Thinking of Ge Xubai, Chu Yian felt a pain in his shoulder.
"Commander Ge did not return with the army, and his whereabouts are unknown."
Gu Zhaolin was ecstatic.
Gu Qishan's heart sank again.
"What's going on? Explain clearly!"
Zhang Lie lowered his head. "Qiang Di had a large force this time, and General Ge and I were fighting on our own. We didn't notice him at all. When I led our troops out of the enemy encirclement, we got separated from him, and only a small number of his men returned."
Gu Qishan frowned, "How many troops did Qiang Di dispatch this time?"
"My subordinates estimate that there are nearly five thousand."
Ge Xubai had only brought a thousand elite soldiers with him at the beginning, and no one knew how many had been lost. Now, there were only a few hundred people following him at most.
If they were to fight against the remaining Qiang Di soldiers, they might not necessarily gain the upper hand.
Xiao Yanci has already died, and he can only accept this result no matter what.
But there was a possibility that Ge Xubai was still alive, so he couldn't just leave it alone.
Gu Qishan didn't care about anything else and immediately ordered 10,000 troops to go out of the city to search and rescue.
"We must rescue him no matter what!"
Gu Zhaolin lowered his eyes to hide the coldness in his eyes.
If something happened to me, would he be so anxious? Would he be willing to send 10,000 people to rescue me?
Ge Xubai is doomed this time. No matter how many people are sent, it will be in vain.
The army was sent out, but no one expected that the army would return the next day with half of its men killed.
Gu Zhaolin quickly asked, "What's going on?"
The leading general knelt down and apologized, "Reporting to the Major General, we engaged in a battle with the Qiangdi tribe. We were initially confident of victory, but for some unknown reason, the soldiers suddenly began to convulse and become insane, as if they had been possessed by an evil spirit! The Qiangdi people took advantage of the situation and launched a counterattack. We were defeated, and to avoid further losses, I had to lead my troops back."
Gu Zhaolin's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked loudly again, "Why would they suddenly go crazy?"
The leading general was bewildered, "I don't know what's going on..."
Gu Qishan stood up and walked out with big strides.
"Lead the way, take me to see it!"
Most of the soldiers who fell ill were killed by the Qiangdi people, and only a few dozen were brought back.
When Gu Qishan arrived, they had already calmed down, but their eyes were dull and lifeless, as if they were daydreaming. They did not respond when someone spoke to them.
Gu Qishan frowned deeply.
At this moment, someone came hurriedly to report, "General, it's bad, many people in the city have also been possessed by evil spirits!"
These words made everyone feel a chill in their hearts.
Gu Qishan immediately went to the city to check, and sure enough, many people suddenly became crazy and attacked people, and they became completely mentally deranged and could not recognize their relatives. Their condition was very terrifying.
Xiping City, which had been slowly returning to peace, was once again in turmoil.
Panic quickly spread in the city and rumors spread.
"There must be something wrong with the medicine we're taking!"
"Yes, there must be something wrong with this prescription. It may have been helpful at first, but it's actually harmful to our bodies. If we continue taking it, we'll become like half-human, half-ghost!"
"This prescription was prescribed by the Jiang family. I heard that the Jiang family is a criminal and has been exiled by the emperor. They are now guilty! Maybe they are holding a grudge and deliberately prescribed this harmful prescription for us to take."
"That must be the case! No wonder I always feel worse after taking this medicine. It turns out they have evil intentions."
"The original prescription that Doctor Zhao gave us was clearly very good. Why do we need to change it? Let Doctor Zhao treat us!"
In just one day, the situation in the city was reversed. The makeshift medicine shed was smashed and looted by the people, and the imperial physicians and Jiang's family were pelted with rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves.
Doctor Jiang tried to reason with them, but the people were so agitated that they wouldn't listen. One child rushed forward excitedly, "It's all your fault! You're the one who made my dad become like that! You're a bad person, a really bad person!"
Old Doctor Jiang was knocked to the ground, sprained his waist, and was unable to get up for a long time.
Finally, soldiers arrived and took control of the situation.
Xu Guozhen looked at the old doctor Jiang with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
"Mr. Jiang, tell me the truth, is there any problem with this recipe?"
Old Doctor Jiang held his injured waist with a look of pain on his face. He took a few quick breaths before he finished speaking.
"This prescription is absolutely fine. The Red Shadow Vine is the most suitable medicine for this condition."
Xu Guozhen was still a little skeptical, "Then why do the people have such symptoms?"
Doctor Jiang also didn't understand. "I haven't personally examined their pulses, so I don't know what the problem is. Bring the sick patients here and let me take their pulses first. As long as I feel their pulses, I will definitely be able to find the cause."
Xu Guozhen was also afraid of taking responsibility, so he naturally hurried to make arrangements.
But this matter was somewhat beyond his control. The people were outraged and believed that there was something wrong with the Jiang family's prescription. As a result, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau were also treated with hostility. The families of the patients who fell ill were simply unwilling to let the old imperial physician Jiang take their pulse.
Old Doctor Jiang had a serious back injury. He had been working hard day and night recently and was already forcing himself to do so. Now he was being scolded by the people. He suffered severe damage both physically and mentally. Finally, he could not hold on any longer and collapsed completely. This illness made him comatose and unconscious.
Without him as the backbone, the other members of the Jiang family were completely at a loss, and Xu Guozhen and other imperial doctors became a mess.
They took the pulse of the sick soldier but found nothing.
People in the city began to panic, and this panic and rumors also spread to the army.
Children also began to sing nursery rhymes.
"The fairy lady's prescription saves all directions, the official's medicine lies on the bed."
The fairy lady they were referring to was Zhao Shuning.
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