Ink Burns

Chapter 238 Taking the Pulse (Part 1)

[A note beforehand, I'll fill in the word count later: Some friends have asked, who is Yao Zaozheng? He's the only spy "Qingfeng" planted in the Censorate. Eager to climb the ranks and gain merit, he was tricked by Xue Xiao and Shan Yue into taking the "Pulling Mechanism" drug. Then, "Qingfeng" failed his mission and decisively abandoned him (the ten-day deadline passed without the antidote). Xue Xiao sent him to Cheng Xingyu for human experiments to obtain the antidote. Remember that?]

Taking advantage of the silence amidst the uproar, Xue Xiao raised his hand to his ear and made two "slap" sounds. Two imperial guards entered again, flanking the man on the left and right. However, the half-dead man in the middle was replaced by Yao Zaozheng, a sixth-rank censor from the Censorate who had never been qualified to enter the Qianyuan Hall to meet the emperor.

The newcomer was unfamiliar, but his whole body was swollen, especially his face. His eyeballs were squeezed into a narrow, rugged slit by his swollen eyelids, making his gaze unreadable. He had a square face facing forward, so thin that only his two protruding jaws remained. His face was swollen, but his flesh looked as if it had been sucked dry by a demon. His life essence had been drained away, leaving only an ugly, edematous shell.

Now dragged to the Qian Yuan Hall, Yao Zao's hands and feet trembled with excitement, yet she was still unable to break free from the guards' restraints; her lips opened and closed, but all her voices were blocked by her swollen throat.

"Help me—help me—" Yao Zaozheng opened his mouth wide and tried his best to make a sound, but all that could be seen was his swollen tongue!

Save him!
Save him!
Three months ago, he excitedly drank the Qianji Yin—he had heard of this miraculous medicine long ago: because the Qianji herb is rare, "Qingfeng" only allows those who are qualified to use it to drink the medicine. Once you take it, as long as you can complete the first major task assigned by "Qingfeng" within ten days and obtain the first antidote, "Qingfeng" will regard you as one of his own and do his best to support you to rise to the top!

My wife told me that only officials of the third rank or above in the court, including women of the third rank, women of the outer court, female officials, and court officials, are qualified to take it!

In other words, as long as he gets the first dose of the antidote in ten days, at least a third-rank official will be waiting for him!
A third-rank official!
A red robe!
The fifth, third, and first ranks are the three most difficult barriers for officials to overcome!
How many people spend their entire lives and still can't even wear the indigo-blue official robe with the white egret badge of a fifth-rank official!

After taking the drug, he stepped into the Tianbao Temple, the dark prison of the Censorate, once again. He was full of ambition and self-satisfaction. As he walked down the winding and narrow stone steps, it felt as if he had stepped onto a bright and wide road.

To his surprise, the moment his right foot touched the uneven dungeon floor, a black sack was suddenly shoved over his back, followed by a blow to the back of his head, and he lost consciousness! When he opened his eyes again, his limbs were tied to a bed frame, and four or five large torches illuminated the dark dungeon.

He was discovered by Tianbao Temple! He was detained!

Unable to leave Tianbao Temple, his ten-day agreement with "Qingfeng" for the first dose of antidote naturally turned to ashes.

The underground prison was dark and gloomy, making it impossible for him to escape or send any messages to anyone.

He can only wait to die.

If the first dose of the antidote is not taken on time, after three days, the person will experience severe edema, loss of consciousness, paralysis of the limbs, inability to speak, and inability to hear. As time goes on, the external skin and flesh will begin to rot from the feet, and the internal flesh and blood will begin to rot from the eyeballs. The person will not die, but will watch helplessly as they turn into a rotten fruit, slowly becoming a pool of rotten, foul-smelling stagnant water.

Yao Zaozheng felt nothing but despair.

A thin, tall, and gentle man suddenly pushed open his cell door. Without saying a word, he took his pulse three times a day, morning, noon, and night, meticulously recording the pulse details. On the fourth day, he began to frequently administer medicinal soup to him. Initially, the soup had no effect, but later, the man's senses opened up, and the soup suddenly took effect. He gradually regained feeling in his legs, followed by his hands, and slowly his throat and eyes.
He was overjoyed!
He thought the mad dog had cured him and would take the opportunity to kidnap him and force him to become a hidden arrow inserted into "Qingfeng".

As he pondered which ally he could ally with to gain greater benefits, the gentle and taciturn Physician Cheng forced him to drink another bowl of medicine. On the third day after taking the medicine, he returned to the state he had initially experienced after taking it: weakness in his limbs and gradual rotting of his flesh.
For the past three months, he had been constantly tormented by repeated cycles of being given medication, taking medicine, recovering, then being given medication again, taking medicine, and recovering. He could feel that each recovery was more effective than the previous one—until the fourth round, when he finally realized: he had become a test subject for the drug! When he recovered, he grabbed the gentle, thin doctor, weeping, and demanded, "The Censorate prides itself on justice, yet it would do such a disgraceful thing as testing medicine on people!?"

The doctor silently pulled the hem of the robe from his hand, raised his eyelids, and said calmly and gently, “How could it be a shameful thing? You have been praising and helping those in power, and your relationship with the Censorate has always been one of either you or me. Since Xue Xiao has seen through you, he will naturally deal with you—what makes you think that Xue Xiao will be merciful to you?”

He was stumped by the question, and after a moment of pause, he glanced at the doctor's gentle and slow fingers as he took his pulse—this doctor was a mild-mannered and taciturn man, and whenever he was unwell, he could tell that the doctor was genuinely anxious and worried.

He grasped at a straw and pressed on again, "And what about you?! You're a doctor! A doctor's heart is benevolent; a doctor should treat and save lives, not poison or harm them!"

The doctor smiled, his pale lips curving upwards, and said in a gentle, comforting voice, "Yes, in the eyes of a doctor, all lives are the same, with no distinction of high or low, noble or lowly—but the number is different. Sacrificing one of you to save hundreds or thousands of people trapped by the 'tethering machine' is naturally worthwhile."

He was shocked, he wept uncontrollably, and he was speechless.

He will die.

He admitted it.

And Xue Xiao, that mad dog, will squeeze every last drop from his bones before he dies, until he gets every last drop of oil.

Ten days ago was the last time he tested the antidote.

The day after he took the antidote, he examined the doctor's pulse and saw a gentle, relieved smile on the doctor's face.

He knew that the antidote for "Qianji Yin" was finally perfected, and that he was about to die and would no longer be of any use.

As he forced himself to remain calm, he was forced to drink the tenth bowl of "Qianji Yin" (a type of herbal medicine). Ten days later, he was dragged to the grand court session at the Qianyuan Hall, a place he had dreamed of three months earlier.

"Help—me—help—me!" Yao Zaozheng opened his mouth wide again, his chaotic eyes only able to see light, searching like a blind man for the group of superiors who were manipulating the "butterflies".

But no one responded to him.

Yuan Wenying watched all this in horror: In Qingfeng's eyes, Yao Zaozheng's appearance was tantamount to the dead coming back to life! Whether it was him or His Highness, when Yao Zaozheng lost contact, they were certain that Yao Zaozheng had been exposed and Xue Xiao would definitely send him to the Yellow Springs!
Yao Zaozheng, who should have died long ago, was dragged to the palace by Xue Xiao as a "witness" for the "tethering" incident.
Yuan Wenying swallowed hard: Xue Xiao pointed out that someone in the court was using the "Qianji Yin" to control officials and manipulate power—this guess was basically close to the truth, like a sharp sword piercing the foundation of "Qingfeng". Once Xue Xiao drew his sword, the veil covering "Qingfeng" would be overturned, and all the schemes of the Jiangnan gentry would be exposed!
One more chapter