After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 981 Exposure
Xie Wenzai has always been knowledgeable and has a strong memory. He can usually remember the books he has read very clearly, unless the content is something he really dislikes.

During those years in the northwest frontier, he had a hard life. Although he was taken care of by his cousin's family and had a certain guarantee of food, clothing, housing and transportation, he was an exiled official after all, and there were always things that the Hai family could not take care of. In addition, all of them were pampered officials in the capital, and they were suddenly thrown into the bitter and cold frontier to live, so it was inevitable that they would get sick. Hai Xiya could provide them with material assistance as much as possible, but there was no way to find a reliable doctor to accompany them all year round, and many people died of illness because of this. Xie Wenzai therefore taught himself medicine so that when he, his relatives, friends and companions were sick, they would not lose their lives due to lack of medical care and medicine.

He taught himself medicine. In addition to consulting doctors and military doctors in Chang'an and the border town, he also often read medical books. He borrowed as many medical books as he could get his hands on to study. He didn't remember when he had seen the record of the poison that Jin Jiashu was poisoned with. He only had a vague impression that it seemed to be a strange poison that had appeared in the court of the previous dynasty, and there was only one antidote for the symptoms. The reason why this record appeared in the medical books of the northwest was because the antidote and the poison also came from the Western Regions. The two are interdependent and mutually exclusive, which is very rare. But because the poison can take people's lives silently, the chance of being picked is greater.

Xie Wenzai remembered the name of the poisonous weed more clearly, but he had a vague impression of the name of the antidote: "I think it's called something like Begonia? It may not have been called this name originally, but the writer thought it had beautiful colors and a shape that resembled a Begonia flower, so he deliberately gave it this name. Because this flower is beautiful, some people in the northwest plant it as a rare flower and keep it in their gardens for appreciation. I'll write back and ask, even if the Zhenguo Mansion doesn't have it in its collection, there must be other generals who were stationed on the frontier and have female relatives who follow the army at home, who would be happy to plant this flower for appreciation."

Lu Bainian remembered something: "Tangtang's yard has many rare flowers and plants brought back from Chang'an, and there seems to be one called Begonia. I wonder what the detoxifying flower you mentioned, Old Xie, looks like?"

Haitang now lives alone in a small courtyard in her home in Beijing, separated from her cousin Xie Wenzai in the front courtyard by two doors. Although the latter is old, he will not run to the girl's courtyard, so he doesn't know what flowers and plants are planted in her courtyard. But Lu Bainian has always liked to paint a few strokes. He is also Haitang's calligraphy and painting teacher. He often sees her practice works. He is deeply impressed by the Tianxin Begonia that appears several times in it. He once asked her if that flower color really exists. Haitang only mentioned it once, but he remembered it. Now thinking back, it hits the point.

Haitang sighed inwardly, thinking that it was meaningless to continue hiding the existence of Tianxin Haitang. The flower was there, and it would bloom again next year. When the time came, as long as the grandfathers came to her room to take a look, who could she hide it from? Why should she hide it?

She glanced at Jin Jiashu again, and seeing that he had an understanding expression and had no intention of objecting to her frankness, she said, "The flower I planted is called Tianxin Begonia. When it blooms, it is as blue as the sky and very beautiful. I don't remember where it came from. Maybe it was given by the girls of the Zhou family, or it could be a gift from another general's daughter, or it could be that I collected it myself at the market. There are too many flowers and plants like this, and I didn't pay much attention to their origins. Why don't I move the flower here and let my cousin uncle take a look. If it is really a detoxifying flower, it will be a real surprise!"

Xie Wenzai already had a look of surprise on his face: "Are the flowers really blue? Hurry and move them here!"

Haitang bowed and took her leave, then hurried back to the yard, took an old half-awning, folded it in half, and used it to surround the pot of Tianxin Begonia, carefully protecting it, and moved it to the wing room in the front yard.

As soon as she put the flower on the ground, Xie Wenzai and the others came over. At this time, Hai Xiya also arrived. He and Ma heard the whole story and were very surprised. They carefully looked at the pot of Tianxin Begonia and kept discussing whether it could detoxify. Only Jin Jiashu was still sitting on the kang with a hand warmer. He occasionally looked around, but he was very calm in his heart - he knew that the pot of flowers was the real thing. He had taken the medicine once and it was very effective. Could it be fake?
But he felt a little sorry for Haitang because she had to move the flowers around by herself in such a cold weather. He didn't know if her fingers were frozen, so he poured her a cup of hot tea and asked her to hold it in her hands to keep warm.

The two juniors were interacting privately, and the elders didn't notice. Their attention was drawn to the pot of flowers on the ground.

At this time, the flowering period of Tianxin Begonia has passed, and the fruits have been picked for medicine, leaving only bare branches and leaves. Xie Wenzai has never seen a real Tianxin Begonia, and just by looking at the branches and leaves, it is difficult to judge for a while whether it is the Tianxin Begonia with a flower color as blue as the sky as recorded in medical books. He turned around and called "Tangtang", and the begonia quickly withdrew and ended the eye contact with Jin Jiashu, smiling as if unintentionally: "I'm here, cousin."

Xie Wenzai blinked, glanced at Jin Jiashu again, and then turned his attention back to the crabapple tree: "Has this flower already bloomed? Is there not a single flower left?"

Haitang nodded and gave a detailed account of the date the flower bloomed, its shape, and the size, shape, and smell of the fruit after it faded. Finally, she said, "The fruit has fallen for more than half a month, and now there is nothing left. I have tried to extend its flowering and fruiting period as much as possible, but the weather in the capital is cold, and some things are really beyond human control."

"It's okay." Xie Wenzai didn't think it was a big deal. "According to what you said, it only takes a year for this flower to grow, bloom, and bear fruit. Now the branches and leaves are still growing vigorously, and even in the middle of winter, it doesn't show any signs of withering, which shows that you have taken good care of it. If nothing unexpected happens, it will hopefully bloom and bear fruit again next year. You take good care of it, and we'll wait another year and see. If it has flowers and fruits again in the fall of next year, we can try to use it to make medicine."

Xie Wenzai felt that with Jin Jiashu's current physical condition, he could afford to wait another year. As for the prescription, he could just leave it to the Imperial Hospital. It was not that the Imperial Hospital did not know this kind of flower, it was just that it could not find it.

Of course, he would not put all his hopes on this pot of plant that looked like Tianxin Begonia. He planned to write to Chang'an in the spring of next year to ask his old friends in the northwest for news about Tianxin Begonia. If he could collect more flowers, the Imperial Hospital would have more raw materials to prepare medicine, and Jin Jiashu's detoxification would be more certain.

Hai Xiya, Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian were also very happy to hear this, and they all said that they also had their own friends in Chang'an, many of whom also liked to collect exotic flowers and plants. They also wanted to write letters to ask, and collect as many Tianxin Begonias as possible, even if it was difficult to transport live potted plants, and get dried flowers and dried fruits. Now that the throne has been replaced, the new monarch is on good terms with the Empress Dowager and the Zhou family, and the court will no longer make things difficult for the Northwest Border Army. The flow of materials from the capital to the northwest will be more prosperous, and there will be more people in the caravans. As long as they are willing to spend money, are they still afraid of not being able to find a rare flower?

Seeing his elders so enthusiastic in helping him find an antidote, Jin Jiashu was moved, but also a little panicked.

He was about to get the antidote, so the elders really didn't need to mobilize so many people...

Goodbye 2024, hello 2025~~~ I wish you all a happy new year! Good health and success~~~