What bad thoughts could a genius doctor have?

Chapter 192 Chess Game
No matter how skeptical the people who received the news were, the news still spread.

Even the appearance and residence of the new person were clearly described, and it didn't seem like a misunderstanding.

One night later, Mu Xuan received more detailed information that the woman that Emperor Jianxing wanted to take into the harem was an expert in medicine and seemed to know the art of longevity.

Judging from this, the woman in the palace might be Shi Zhou who had been missing for many days.

Everyone knows that it is a common secret that Emperor Jianxing seeks immortality. There are countless Taoists and immortals refining elixirs inside and outside the palace.

No one knew whether the pills refined by those people were effective or not, but Emperor Jianxing's appearance became older and older every year, and everyone saw it. Only Emperor Jianxing himself felt that the pills he had been taking for many years could help him live longer.

Mu Xuan entered the palace early the next morning and first asked the Empress Dowager for news.

After hearing what Mu Xuan said, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but sigh: "The Saint told me about this a few days ago. I didn't ask who the girl was from, but I knew she was a commoner. The Emperor... is really getting more and more unwilling to listen to advice!"

Mu Xuan: "Shi Zhou has been missing for many days, and all the traces at the scene point to the palace. I'm worried..."

The Grand Empress Dowager suddenly said, "You have to say that... A few days ago, Doctor Shi came to say goodbye to me, saying that he was leaving the capital to return to Mount Dayou. The emperor happened to come, and when he saw Doctor Shi, he called him an immortal, insisting that he had seen Shi Zhou before he ascended the throne. The emperor's desire for immortality has never disappeared. Thinking about it this way, the woman in the harem is probably really..."

Mu Xuan's heart sank little by little. This was exactly what he was worried about.

What's more, Shi Zhou once told him about the mother-child Gu. At that time, he was severely poisoned and his life was hanging by a thread. It was Shi Zhou who used the mother-child Gu to extend his life, allowing him to live to this day.

If the mother-and-child Gu is taken out, it cannot save lives a second time. If the emperor wants to force Shi Zhou to help him achieve immortality, the only thing Mu Xuan can think of is that Shi Zhou must raise a new pair of mother-and-child Gu to achieve the goal of helping the emperor achieve immortality.

This process did not happen overnight. Emperor Jianxing did this in order to force Shi Zhou to stay in the palace to raise the Gu.

The Empress Dowager looked at Mu Xuan's face and said, "Mu Xuan, this matter will not be accomplished in a short time. Now the harem is full and the palaces are getting along well. If the emperor suddenly wants to take in a new person, the concubines and their families will jump out to oppose it first..."

As a result, Mu Xuan didn't care about the reactions of the major families at all. He was now angry that Emperor Jianxing had wanted to bestow gifts on him and Shi Zhou. He had clearly expressed his feelings for Shi Zhou, but now Emperor Jianxing wanted to take Shi Zhou into his harem.

Mu Xuan almost gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, this is for immortality, you have to do it at any cost!"

The Empress Dowager said, "You go back and wait. I have already sent someone I trust to get into the courtyard. The person I sent earlier said that the gatekeeper is a trusted eunuch of the Emperor. He will not give face to anyone. The servants are also appointed by the Emperor himself. It is difficult for others to get close to him. It is obvious that the Emperor is very concerned about that woman."

Mu Xuan: "At this point, I'm afraid we can't just sit there and wait for death."

The Empress Dowager raised her eyes to look at Mu Xuan: "Xiao Xuanzi, don't do anything stupid. He is the most noble person in the world. If you anger him, what good will it bring to you? I know you are anxious, but no matter how anxious you are, you have to consider your status..."

Mu Xuan agreed verbally, but sent someone to the Prince's Mansion that night.

The prince received a secret letter from Mu Xuan's men, "What is Mu Xuan planning?"

The counselor beside the prince said, "It was thanks to Young Lord Mu's reminder that we were able to handle the Zhao Chong incident last time. If we don't go, it will seem like the prince is deliberately distancing himself, and he will think that the prince is a person who will abandon the donkey after it has done its work. Rather than offend him, it is better to go and listen to what he is going to do."

The prince thought for a moment, "I am an upright person, how can I let him make up such a story? Tell the messenger that I will definitely attend the appointment as scheduled!"

Three days later, the prince went to a temple outside the capital to pray on behalf of Emperor Jianxing. Mu Xuan met the prince in a room in the temple.

Soldiers surrounded the temple, and people who used to burn incense and worship Buddha were not allowed to enter.

There was a chessboard by the window in the wing room. The prince walked over to take a look and saw the outcome at a glance. "Oh, no wonder the game stopped at this point. The winner and loser are obvious at a glance!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Xuan came out from behind the screen and asked, "Your Highness, why don't you take a closer look at the chess moves?"

The prince was not curious about why he did not come out just now, and sat on the side of the white flag that had won the game, "Why? Isn't this game obvious enough?"

Mu Xuan automatically sat on the side of the black chess piece: "That's not necessarily true. A chess game is like a battlefield or a court. If you make a mistake, you lose everything. But if you make a good move, you can turn the tide."

The prince raised his eyes and looked at Mu Xuan, "In that case, come on!"

The prince said, putting down his piece first, "It's your turn."

In the following time, the two did not say another word, and the two sides went back and forth without giving in a word.

At this moment, it seems that what is being played is not a game of chess, but a battle between two armies, or a game of power in the court.

After an incense stick of time, the prince dropped the chess piece in his hand and said, "You are still one step ahead."

Mu Xuan said, "That's because I have figured out the chess game in advance." The prince raised his eyebrows: "Mu Xuan, what do you mean? There is something else behind your words!"

Mu Xuan lowered his head and smiled, "It has been more than seventeen years since Your Majesty appointed the crown prince."

As soon as Mu Xuan said this, the prince's face darkened.

He has been the crown prince for so many years, and I'm afraid he is the most miserable crown prince so far.

The high position above everyone else was right in front of me, and clearly within my reach, yet I had to endure year after year until today.

Emperor Jianxing pursued immortality for decades. Everyone said that Emperor Jianxing's health was not as good as before. He took too many elixirs and his spirit was sometimes good and sometimes bad.

When things were bad, the prince even had the sinful thought that he wished Emperor Jianxing would die, but Emperor Jianxing has lived to this day with that kind of health.

However, the prince recently heard from the imperial physician that the emperor was taking too many pills and was wasting his energy, so he was worried about his health.

To put it nicely, it was because he was worried about the emperor's health, but in reality, the health condition of Emperor Jianxing was very poor. The imperial physician revealed such words to the prince as a way of showing his confidence in the prince's accession to the throne and taking the opportunity to express his loyalty.

The prince knew very well that he had become impatient, otherwise he would not have been bewitched by Zhao Chong and almost rebelled against Tiangang.

If the imperial physician's words hadn't made him patient, he wouldn't have known what kind of mood he would be in now.

The prince thought he had calmed down a long time ago, but after hearing what Mu Xuan said, he still felt humiliated. It was clear that Mu Xuan was poking at the prince's lungs.

The prince slammed the small table and shouted, "How dare you! Mu Xuan, you are so bold that you actually mock me?!"

Mu Xuan's expression did not change, and the soldiers outside the door did not come in to ask questions.

Mu Xuan looked at the prince with a smile: "Your Highness, you and I were just chatting about our parents, why did Your Highness react like this?"

The prince stared at Mu Xuan and asked, "What crime should I be punished for privately discussing the crown prince's affairs?"

Hearing this, Mu Xuan stood up and bowed in front of the prince, "Mu Xuan apologizes to His Highness. However, Your Highness, don't you realize that the prince's current situation is just like the chess game just now?"

The prince's eyes fell on the chessboard and he said nothing.

Mu Xuan: "Your Highness thought that the matter that was sure to win ended in failure, which made your diligence and hard work seem insignificant."

The prince frowned, his tone even more unhappy: "What do you mean by that?"

Mu Xuan: "Recently, there has been news in the palace that His Majesty is about to be crowned a concubine. I wonder if Your Highness has heard of it?"

The prince said: "But my father's empress has added people to the palace, and it is not my turn to take care of them as ministers or children."

Mu Xuan: "Your Highness is a considerate and filial son, but he didn't know that the beauty that His Majesty is about to take into the harem can make the wrong medicine for His Majesty that he doesn't want for longevity."

The prince was not moved at all: "Father has been worrying about his elixir for so many years, it's just one more woman in the harem who eats and drinks for free."

Mu Xuan: "Your Highness is wrong this time. This woman did not enter the palace voluntarily, but was abducted from my house by Your Majesty. This woman's name is Shi Zhou, and she is a student of the ghost doctor Fu Tu. She really can't make any elixir of immortality, but she can raise the rare mother and child Gu in the world. If the mother Gu is fed into the stomach of a healthy person, even if the person who swallowed the child Gu is terminally ill, as long as the body is intact, the person can borrow the body of the healthy person to prolong his life."

The prince was stunned. "Nonsense, how can there be such a thing in the world? Moreover, witchcraft can harm people, and can it be used for such a purpose?"

Mu Xuan said, "I didn't believe it at first, but... Your Highness should know that I was born with poison. I was once determined to be dying by the imperial physician. I heard from the imperial physician that I would not live past the age of fifteen. Last year, I left the capital to seek medical treatment and later met this woman. At that time, the poison had taken effect and I was about to die. It was she who used the mother-child Gu to save me."

Mu Xuan stood up and said, "There is a young Gu in my stomach. It feeds on my flesh and blood. It survives on my body, and I survive on its existence. If it weren't for this young Gu, I'm afraid I would have died outside long ago."

Of course the prince knew that Mu Xuan had poison in his body. Who in the capital didn't know that?
Normally, a sickly child like Mu Xuan should have been abandoned by the family long ago. However, Emperor Jianxing was very interested in the birth of this child and wanted to bring him into the palace to raise him. Later, the empress dowager, who was still alive at the time, opposed it and he was unable to do so. However, Emperor Jianxing paid special attention to and doted on Mu Xuan.

Otherwise, Mu Xuan would not have been able to act so arrogantly in the capital and beat up many descendants of aristocratic families.

Rumors had been circulating inside and outside the palace that Mu Xuan would not live long, and those young masters from noble families who had been beaten up secretly hoped that Mu Xuan would die soon.

When Mu Xuan disappeared from the capital for a whole year, many people said that he must have died on the way to seek medical treatment. Unexpectedly, a year later, Mu Xuan suddenly came back lively and energetic. Not only that, his complexion and health looked even better than when he was in the capital.

When the prince contacted Mu Xuan, he realized that the reason Mu Xuan was still alive was probably because there really was a so-called...zi Gu in his body?
If this mother-child Gu can really prolong a person's life, and if that woman in the palace develops the mother-child Gu, wouldn't my father be able to live forever? !