Dugong

Chapter 43 Swinging Left and Right
Li Ping'an has been looking forward to heroes since he was a child. He hopes that one day a hero will pass by the village, kill Sun Baopi's entire family, and divide the land among each household.

Now, hearing Doctor Lu reveal the hero's secret, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

If even the heroes have evil hearts, who will uphold justice for the common people?

"Mr. Lu, are there no real heroes in the martial arts world?"

"Yes, I have!"

Doctor Lu said, "Ten years ago, a sword master emerged in the southwest. Born into a poor and humble family, he single-handedly wiped out corrupt officials and bullies in five counties with his sword."

Li Pingan felt a pang of gloom: "Will he end up with his head and body separated?"

Doctor Lu bowed and said, "Eunuch An is very wise. The people of the five counties presented the Sword Saint with the Wanmin Umbrella, but soon after, they died at the hands of the nameless old man."

Li Pingan said coldly: "Could it be that the old man has a shrill voice?"

Doctor Lu didn't nod, but he didn't deny it either. He changed the subject and said, "Eunuch An is fine. I'll take my leave."

Li Ping'an lowered his eyes. He didn't care about the life or death of the Sword Saint. Anyway, he was not among the people of the five counties. Instead, he was worried about the nameless old eunuch.

The martial arts master known as the Sword Saint, whose talent and skills are absolutely top-notch in the world, was easily killed by a master from the Eunuch Department.

The water in the palace is unfathomable!
Li Ping'an put aside his doubts for the moment and took out a ball of dried bird's nest from his sleeve.

"Mr. Lu, please stay for a moment. I'm feeling unwell and want to try some bird's nest to nourish my body. Could you please take a look at this?"

Doctor Lu did not suspect anything. He took the bird's nest and examined it carefully, then sniffed it.

"This is blood bird's nest from the northern border, a superior medicinal material for nourishing qi and blood. However, its effect is a bit too strong, so it is not advisable to take too much."

Li Pingan said, "Isn't it a good thing to have strong efficacy?"

"Everything in the world has its limit, and too much is as bad as too little."

Doctor Lu explained, "It's fine to take bird's nest alone, but if you mix it with other tonics, the overpowering effect will disrupt the main, secondary, and auxiliary functions. At the very least, it will cause an imbalance in nourishment and deplete Qi and blood, and at worst, it will turn a good medicine into poison."

Li Ping'an suddenly realized that his godfather was really good at calculating.

The poison in the tribute was too obvious. It was difficult for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Pacification to trace the source and erase all traces. After all, all poisons have a source.

Now it is too much to make up for it, there is no poison and no trace, all the blame will be borne by the tribute department.

"Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your guidance."

Li Pingan took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve and said, "Take this silver, sir, and have some tea. Please don't spread what happened today."

Doctor Lu took the banknote and said, "Don't worry, Eunuch An. The first rule I learned when I entered the palace is to keep my mouth shut."

If a noble lady in the palace is ill, it will not only affect her own health, but may even affect the inheritance of the country.

The imperial physician must keep his mouth shut. If the news gets out, he will be dismissed and questioned at the very least, and his entire family will be implicated at the worst.

Of course, high risk comes with high rewards, and many imperial physicians colluded with the princes and the outer court, using the illnesses of nobles as merit for promotions.

Li Pingan tapped on the medicine box and said, "Mr. Lu comes from a famous family. Of course, our family can trust him."

Doctor Lu glanced over and saw a palm print appear on the solid wooden medicine box.

Cracking wood with Qi is nothing, any second-rate martial artist can do it, but the clear and detailed palm prints and every detail of the hand lines are visible, which is something that only an extraordinary person can do.

Doctor Lu bowed and said, "Eunuch An, I have never been here before."

"Okay, okay, you're worthy of being a man who has been through the underworld."

Li Pingan praised: "Mr. Lu, please come to the Tribute Bureau often and tell us more about the Jianghu. We have many rare medicinal herbs here."

Doctor Lu showed a look of delight. All the famous doctors in the world like rare and magical medicines. After a little hesitation, he bowed and agreed.

"I am honored!"

Li Ping'an ordered Xiao Beizi to send Doctor Lu away. Looking at the blood bird's nest in his hand, he originally planned to send it to Zhaoyang Palace, but now he hesitated.

"Just saying that it's more effective than ordinary bird's nests is hard to convince people. If we can't defeat godfather, we'll have no choice but to flee to the ends of the earth..." Godfather is not fighting alone, he has his godfather, ancestors and even the queen behind him.

Any one of them could easily crush Li Ping'an to death.

Li Ping'an was not sure whether Zhengli Wuying could escape, because there were many old eunuchs under his ancestor's command.

……

Two days later.

Li Ping'an did not delay or stop the fire-burning boy under the Immortal from taking the medicinal materials for alchemy as usual, and let him take the tribute away.

Little Yuzi reported, "Godfather, I received extra Poria cocos and donkey-hide gelatin from the Immortal. They're not needed for alchemy. Should we investigate?"

Li Pingan shook his head and warned in a cold voice.

"You are naturally intelligent and insightful, and you can benefit from it and cause harm. Little do you know that there are some things in the palace that are punishable by death if you guess them."

Xiao Yuzi shuddered. Poria cocos and donkey-hide gelatin are commonly used medicinal herbs to replenish qi and stabilize pregnancy. Now there is only one noble lady in the palace who is pregnant.

"Thank you, godfather, for your advice."

"You must remember this: cleverness will eventually lead to mistakes."

Li Ping'an waved his hand to let Xiao Yuzi leave, and sat alone in the master's room. He looked up at Zhaoyang Palace and tapped the armrests of the armchair with his fingers.

"The Princess' due date is premature, and Godfather has given her several tonics to no avail. When the dog is desperate, it will definitely poison you. That will be our opportunity.

When Concubine Yuan gives birth to a prince and her position in the palace is secure, I'm sure she will be happy to accept our family's service..."

Li Ping'an felt like he was walking on the edge of a cliff, with endless abysses on both sides. The only way to survive was to rush forward desperately.

a few days later.

It was just as Li Ping'an expected.

Seeing that Zhaoyang Palace's pregnancy seemed stable, Eunuch Sun could no longer contain his anxiety and went to the Tribute Department again to get medicine, with a much larger amount than last time.

Li Ping'an watched from behind his godfather and took back the tribute with problems.

"Fortunately, the local officials sent a lot of tribute. Otherwise, it would be such a waste. I don't know where to find a replacement."

Of course, the tribute items that were exchanged would not be wasted. They would be given to Xiao Yuzi to resell to merchants. After all, this guy had already embezzled more than 100,000 taels, so it didn't matter if he had to take on more accounts.

As a godson, isn’t your job to bear the debts, accounts, and blame for your godfather?
As for whether the drugged tribute would kill people, Li Ping'an didn't care at all. The poor people couldn't afford it anyway.

Killing a few wealthy businessmen might be a good thing for the court.

More than half a month later.

Eunuch Sun put the medicine in front and Li Ping'an sabotaged it from behind. This went on for several times and in the blink of an eye it was mid-July.

According to the date, Princess Yuan is about to give birth.

During this period, news came from Zhaoyang Palace that an assassin disguised himself as a servant of the Palace Supervisor and sneaked in to try to assassinate him. After being discovered, he fought to the death and refused to flee.

When he was dying, he shouted "Mother of No Birth, Home of True Emptiness".

After investigation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs determined that the assassin was a member of the White Lotus Sect. He was unable to find the emperor's residence and mistakenly entered the Zhaoyang Palace.

"The Queen is really angry!"

Li Ping'an perked up and kept his eyes on the tribute treasury.

Now he is in a state of hesitation. If the Empress succeeds, he will continue to serve her. If the Princess gives birth smoothly, he will immediately jump ship and sell himself out to survive.

Li Ping'an would never be loyal to any nobleman, but only to the emperor who gave him power, or to the dragon robe and the dragon throne, and he didn't care who wore it or who sat on it.

My godfather taught me that officials are only responsible for the source of their official positions, and don't need to care about others...

(End of this chapter)