Ink Burns

Chapter 239 Taking the Pulse (Part 2)

"Alarmist talk! What 'troublesome'? What 'poison'? What 'antidote'? This is the imperial court! Not some shady street urchin! — Just three similar acute illnesses, and Lord Xue has twisted them into someone defying the court behind the scenes! I might even suspect that you, Xue Xiao, poisoned Marquis Guanbei and Imperial Censor Yao based on Lord Xue's symptoms!" Yuan Wenying's loud voice broke the silence of the court!
A subtle, triumphant smile flickered across Xue Xiao's lips.

Yuan Wenying caught that smile.

Yuan Wenying's chest pounded, and a terrible premonition suddenly arose within her.

"Yes, someone is using poison to control the court, but that's just my guess."

Xue Xiao readily admitted it.

"But since this concerns the foundation of the Great Wei dynasty for thousands of years, we can be as cautious as we can."

Xue Xiao kowtowed again and delivered his first remonstrance of the day: "I beg Your Majesty to see the truth! The pulse of someone poisoned by Qianjiyin is like a string of pearls, sometimes as weak as silence, sometimes as strong as a raging wave. Moreover, at the three acupoints on the body, Yintang, Shenque, and Yongquan (upper, middle, and lower), one can feel a burning and rapid warm current even if one touches less than half an inch away—this is easily discernible from the pulse of anyone who has taken Qianjiyin!"

Cui Bainian stared at him intently, motionless.

"The Emperor only needs to mobilize the physicians and pharmacists from the Imperial Hospital, Xinglin Hall, and Jimin Pharmacy to examine the pulses of officials, ladies-in-waiting in the Forbidden City, and ladies-in-waiting outside the palace. This will reveal whether the drug 'Qianji' is real and how many people in the court have been poisoned. Those who have been poisoned will be controlled and exploited by the instigator. It will not be too late to clean up the mess based on the facts!"

"If my judgment is wrong, and this leads to chaos in the court and unrest among the people, I request to be stripped of my second-class academic title and punished as a commoner. If I am torn apart by five horses, then I shall be torn apart by five horses; if I am to have my entire family executed, then I shall have my entire family executed!"

Xue Xiao's voice emanated from his dantian, extremely loud, echoing throughout the high and spacious Qian Yuan Hall, and everyone in the hall could hear it clearly.

Standing in the hall, Wu Dajian had already raised his eyelids, taking in the expressions of all the officials.

Everyone has different expressions.

Some were taken aback, but quickly regained their composure; some turned deathly pale, clearly afraid of something; some kept their heads down, making it impossible to see their expressions; and some hurriedly looked up, searching around for something.

Inside the Qianyuan Hall, there were only about thirty people of the third rank or above, and upon closer inspection, four or five of them had unusual expressions.

Supervisor Wu bowed respectfully, secretly memorizing the name of the person with the strange expression.

Yuan Wenying wanted to retort, but the acupoint between his eyebrows suddenly started burning intensely—he had drunk that "Qianji Yin"!
He was different from the Cui family; he wasn't from any powerful family in Jiangnan. He was just an ordinary scholar from Linjiang in Jiangnan! He was just good at studying!

He's different from the Chang family! The Chang family followed the Cui family and the Grand Princess from the very beginning, but he was only recruited into "Qingfeng" after becoming a fifth-rank civil official!
All he could do at the time was drink!

He only got to eat meat after drinking the poison!

He's just Yao Zaozheng who succeeded!
If he speaks up and is caught by Xue Xiao, the doctor will start examining him, and he will be the first one to be hit!
Yuan Wenying secretly lowered her head and silently took a step back.

No one dared to speak again.

All eyes, whether open or hidden, were focused on Cui Bainian and Cui Yulang.

Cui Bainian raised his head, but just when everyone thought he was about to step forward, he naturally tucked in his sleeves and lowered his head again with the same respectful demeanor.

One of the officials could not contain himself and questioned sharply, "This is unprecedented and will never be repeated. Lord Xue, do not push the Sage into a position where he is subject to criticism!"

"How could this be?" Xue Xiao frowned, puzzled. "To care for the health of one's officials and bestow upon them imperial physicians to examine their pulses and diagnose their illnesses—isn't that the act of a wise ruler throughout history? Oh—"

Xue Xiaoru seemed to remember something and spoke leisurely: "The Censorate first invited Chief Physician Liu to examine the Marquis of Guanbei's pulse, but Chief Physician Liu declined, saying he was unwell. Then Chief Physician Sun came to examine him, but only said that he had suddenly fallen ill and suggested that he go home to rest. The two heads of the Imperial Medical Academy are, one is old and weak and can no longer be of great use, and should retire long ago; the other is a good-for-nothing who has accomplished nothing and should improve his medical skills in time so that he can share the burden of the Emperor and his clan. This time, when the officials examine the pulse, the Imperial Medical Academy should select the best ones to use. If they are all incompetent and cannot examine the true pulse, our Great Wei is vast and has many talented people. It would be a good thing to take this opportunity to select a few doctors with real skills to share the burden of the Emperor."

They even came up with backup plans to prevent the Imperial Medical Academy from falsifying information!

The commotion among the officials subsided once more.

Everyone was waiting for Emperor Yongping, who was on the dragon throne, to make a judgment.

During the court assembly, the incense in the large cauldron went out.

"allow."

Emperor Yongping spoke softly: “This matter involves the Censorate, so it is inconvenient for Censor Xue to intervene again. In that case, let the Inner Palace Administration take the lead, and select and screen personnel from the Imperial Hospital, Xinglin Hall, and Jimin Pharmacy to examine pulses in batches according to their official rank—” Emperor Yongping paused, seemingly in thought.

During this brief pause, Cui Bainian finally spoke.

“Sage—” Cui Bainian said respectfully, raising the ceremonial tablet high above his head.

After receiving a signal from Emperor Yongping, he continued, "Since we care about the health of our officials, why not start from the bottom up? Although I find Censor Xue's guess extremely absurd and I do not agree with the practice of having officials take pulses, upon further reflection, I realize that there are some advantages to it—lower-ranking officials have low monthly salaries and are busy with miscellaneous tasks, so they usually have no free time. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have their pulses taken by the imperial physician?"

Cui Bainian turned to look at the officials of the third rank and above, dressed in red and purple, and said in a consultative tone, "We officials have received too much favor from the Emperor in the past. Why don't we give way this time?"

Cui Bainian used this opportunity to speak, and immediately won the approval of many.

Emperor Yongping was lifted high, and after thinking for a moment, he finally nodded slowly: "Then let us do as Marquis Wuding says."

Marquis Yongping made the final decision, and the course of action was set.

When the court session ended, it was already broad daylight.

Xue Xiao strode swiftly out of the Forbidden City through a side gate, turned a few alleys, and boarded a waiting carriage.

There was only one person inside the carriage.

In the sweltering heat of July, Cheng Xingyu was still wearing a linen cloak.

Seeing Xue Xiao mount his horse, Cheng Xingyu leaned forward, his eyes gleaming, and asked in a low, urgent voice, "Is this feasible?"

Xue Xiao nodded: "It's settled." He added: "Doctors have been drawn from the Imperial Medical Academy, Xinglin Hall, and Jimin Pharmacy to take pulses. The Emperor has been running the Imperial Medical Academy for four or five years. Although he has not yet fully recovered it, he has cultivated his own trusted followers. He is not afraid that all of them will be fake. But it is hard to guarantee that some of them will be bribed. At that time, you will still need to be in charge—just like today, when you are waiting outside the Forbidden City, guarding against the Emperor's summons."

Cheng Xingyu lowered his eyes, shook his head and smiled, but did not continue Xue Xiao's words. He only said, "There are two more ingredients in the antidote that I am still considering. The prescription is under the jade Pixiu statue in the west wing. If you have time, you can take it and try it. The two prescriptions have been adjusted so that they do not conflict and can both detoxify."

Cheng Xingyu smiled gently, his words showing no resentment: "After all, my house is also your property, so it's convenient for me to come and go, and I'm familiar with it."

Xue Xiao paused, then asked, "How did you know?"

"I remember the mountain moon's paintings and appearances, and I never forget what I see; I come from a humble background as a herbalist in the countryside, so naturally I can recognize how similar the many branches of the same old locust tree are in terms of their roots and leaf color." Cheng Xingyu spoke gently, his eyes tender, sitting upright in the carriage, inexplicably like a high-ranking monk who had passed away peacefully.

Xue Xiao stared at him intently for a long time.

Cheng Xingyu kept smiling: "You should treat Shan Yue well—a person who is always full of grievances and resentment, often vicious and twisted, wishing that the mountains and rivers and the years would be buried with his hatred."

“Shanyue is different; she always planned to only hurt herself.”

"You must trust her, understand her, and accept her. No matter what she does, you must not be disappointed, you must not give up on her, and you must not leave her."

Cheng Xingyu's voice gradually softened, as if he were plucking a silent string.

Xue Xiao keenly sensed that something was wrong.

Because of Shan Yue, he rarely spoke with Cheng Xingyu, but today's conversation made him feel something was off: Cheng Xingyu seemed to be...
"puff--"

Suddenly, a warm spray of blood hit Xue Xiao's face.

Before anyone knew it, Cheng Xingyu could no longer support himself and leaned forward, with streaks of crimson blood trickling down the corners of his mouth!
"Xingyu!"

Xue Xiao scooped up the swaying Cheng Xingyu and immediately lifted the curtain, shouting, "Return to the manor first! Ji Feng, go find Xiao Po and immediately summon Physician Xiao from the Imperial Hospital to the South Mansion!"

It’s indeed not right!

Cheng Xingyu is giving him his last words!

Ever since he was punished by his master at Qingyue Temple for cursing his mother when he was twelve, Xue Xiao hadn't sworn in anger for a long time: "Damn it! What kind of last words are you giving me! This young doctor is out of his mind!!"