After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Chapter 102 The minister is guilty

Upon hearing this, Xu Sheng remained calm.

"Your Majesty, I can guarantee that the Hundred Herbs Pill is without any problems!"

The Hongzhi Emperor said calmly, "Tell me how you verified it."

Xu Sheng composed himself and said, "Our examination of medicine is conducted in four steps. First, we observe its color; second, we smell its aroma; third, we taste its flavor; and fourth, we test its properties. The sample sent by Qian Xuzi is jet black and glossy, with a clear and mild fragrance. It tastes slightly bitter with a sweet aftertaste, and has absolutely no pungent spiciness like aconite. We also took a small amount and dissolved it in water; the water was clear and not turbid at all. We tested it with a silver needle, and the needle remained as bright as ever. We fed a small amount to the rats, and the rats showed no adverse effects after eating it."

Chang Xing quickly echoed, "What Imperial Physician Xu says is absolutely right! We have practiced medicine for decades and are very familiar with the properties of aconite. That stuff causes numbness upon entering the mouth and the numbness does not subside even after prolonged use. But I have personally tasted the sample of the Hundred Herbs Pill, and it has absolutely no numbness."

Wang Pan also said, "I also used the method of roasting with fire. When aconite is exposed to fire, it has a special smell, which is pungent and spicy. But after that sample was roasted, it only had a grassy and woody fragrance and there was nothing unusual about it."

Seeing the emperor remain silent, Xu Sheng grew even more confident and continued, "Your Majesty, we examined the medicine for three whole days, trying every method to confirm its effectiveness before daring to report it. If the medicine truly had a problem, how could we not have noticed?"

The Hongzhi Emperor looked at Xue Xinfu: "You say there's something wrong with the medicine, so how did you test it?"

Xue Xinfu truthfully replied, "Your Majesty, the method I used was very similar to that of Imperial Physician Xu. However, after I dissolved the pill and filtered it through fine gauze, I found dark brown fragments in the residue. These fragments were hard and had a special toughness when pinched with a fingernail, which is the unique shape of Aconitum carmichaelii."

Upon hearing this, Xu Sheng scoffed, "It's just some scraps. How can you be sure it's aconite?"

Xue Xinfu continued, "I then placed the fragment on the tip of my tongue, and the numbing sensation was intense and lingered for a long time. When I roasted it over a fire, it emitted a pungent and acrid odor. Still not convinced, I fed a small amount to a rat. Less than half an hour after eating it, the rat became restless and began to breathe rapidly. Only then did I confirm that the medicine did indeed contain aconite."

Xu Sheng's expression changed slightly, but he quickly sneered, "Physician Xue, what you've said only proves that the few pills you have are problematic, not that the sample presented by Master Qian is also problematic. Perhaps someone tampered with the medicine later?"

Xue Xinfu said, "Since they all come from the Medicine King Sect, who can guarantee that His Majesty's herbal elixir is without fault?"

The two held their own opinions, and neither could convince the other.

Yang Shen spoke up inappropriately, "Dean Xu, have you tested all the remaining medicines?"

Xu Sheng paused, seemingly realizing the problem.

Chang Xing hurriedly said, "Why test the same medicine again?"

Yang Shen pressed further, "Have you tested it?"

Chang Xing glanced at Xu Sheng and had no choice but to shut his mouth.

Wang Pan forced a smile and said, "Sect Leader Qian sends a batch of medicines to the palace every few days. We can't possibly test every single batch, can we? That would waste so many medicinal herbs!"

Xue Xinfu said anxiously, "So you didn't test it even once? From the time Qian Xuzi first presented the medicine until now, it's been at least half a month, and dozens of pills have been sent to the palace. You didn't test a single one?"

Xu Sheng's face flushed red with embarrassment and anger: "What are you testing? That medicine is for His Majesty, and every single pill is extremely precious!"

"We can't possibly crush all of His Majesty's medicine for testing, can we? What would His Majesty eat then?"

Xue Xinfu was furious, shouting, "So you're concluding all the medicines are safe based on that one test? Imperial Physician Xu, aconite poisoning isn't something that can be cured in a day. If that medicine truly has a problem, the consequences of His Majesty taking it long-term are unimaginable!"

Xu was trembling with anger: "You—you're being insolent!"

Now that things had come to this, the Hongzhi Emperor finally understood.

The Imperial Medical Academy only carefully examined the medicine at the very beginning.

Xu Sheng wanted to argue, but seeing the Hongzhi Emperor's expression, he had no choice but to shut up.

The scene immediately fell silent; no one dared to speak.

After a long pause, the Hongzhi Emperor finally asked, "Minister Xue, how did you discover that those elixirs were problematic?"

Xue Xinfu just gave a detailed account of the medicine testing process, but the Hongzhi Emperor knew very well that he would not test the medicine without a reason.

Someone reported it to the Shuntian Prefecture, and then the medicine was found to be problematic. Is this just a coincidence?

And what's more, the victim was from the development zone, which makes it even more coincidental.

Xue Xinfu did not hide anything and said, "Your Majesty, I recently visited the Wuqing County Development Zone."

The Hongzhi Emperor asked, "What are you going to the development zone for?"

Xue Xinfu replied truthfully, "A new clinic has been established in the development zone, and the head doctor is a woman who has a deep understanding of pharmacology. I went there to learn from her."

"What does this have to do with your sudden decision to get the drug tested?"

"Your Majesty, that female physician also prepares a kind of herbal pill, but it is different from the pills Your Majesty takes. Her herbal pill is for preventing colds and flu, and the main ingredients are warming and nourishing herbs such as astragalus, saposhnikovia, and atractylodes. At that time, I happened to have a pill that I obtained from Zhenwu Temple, and the female physician saw the problem at a glance."

Xu Sheng interjected, "How much of what an unknown woman says can be trusted?"

Xue Xinfu ignored him and continued, "At the time, I dared not believe it rashly. Therefore, after returning, I examined it carefully and found that the pills were indeed problematic. I then purchased several more pills from the market at a high price, ground them up, and tested them. Sure enough, they all had problems!"

Xu Sheng remained silent this time, because he had also realized the problem.

Although Xue Xinfu held a low official rank, his abilities were beyond question.

If the test results show a problem, then there really is a problem.

The Hongzhi Emperor said with a stern face, "Bring over the remaining Hundred Herbs Pills for on-site verification!"

"yes!"

Xiao Jing immediately went to fetch the medicine.

The Hongzhi Emperor then said to Li Chun, "Bring those disciples of the Medicine King Sect here; I want to question them in person!"

"yes!"

Li Chun clasped his hands in response, then turned and left.

A moment later, Xiao Jing came over carrying a porcelain bottle.

Xu Sheng wiped the sweat from his brow, picked up the porcelain bottle, and extracted the pills from inside.

Then I picked one up, held it under my nose, and smelled it.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically, and his fingers trembled.

Beneath the delicate fragrance, there is a subtle, almost imperceptible, hint of spiciness.

I didn't smell this odor when I tested the sample.

The Hongzhi Emperor asked, "Test it!"

"Yes—yes, as you command!"

Xu Sheng wiped his sweat again and called Chang Xing and the others to examine the medicine together.

With trembling hands, he poured the pills from the porcelain bottle onto the table. There were more than a dozen pills in total, all black and shiny, exactly the same as the sample that Qian Xuzi had sent before.

Chang Xing and Wang Pan came over, but neither of them said anything.

Xu Sheng picked up a berry and carefully examined its color. Then he brought it close to his nose again and took a deep sniff. Although the pungent smell was very faint, it was real.

Sweat broke out on his forehead again.

Chang Xing had already taken a small amount of the medicine powder and dissolved it in the water. The water was clear at first, but after a while, it gradually became turbid, with fine sediment at the bottom.

He inserted a silver needle, left it for a moment, and when he took it out to look at it, the needle was slightly dark.

Wang Pan then used a fire-roasting method. He first took a small piece of the pill, placed it on a silver spoon, and slowly heated it with a candle flame. After a while, an aroma spread out, but it was no longer the original herbal fragrance. Instead, it carried a faint, pungent odor. Although not very strong, it was still noticeable—it was the aroma of aconite.

The group looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.

Xu Sheng was still unwilling to give up, so he took a small amount of powdered medicine and put it directly into his mouth.

He closed his eyes and savored the moment.

It starts with a slight bitterness, followed by a sweet aftertaste, but right after that sweetness, a faint tingling sensation gradually rises on the tip of the tongue.

The tingling sensation was very light, so light that it could be easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention, but it was definitely there.

Xu Sheng slowly opened his eyes, his face deathly pale.

He recalled that when he tested the sample, the medicine tasted only bitter and sweet, with absolutely no numbing sensation.

Although the numbness is now faint, it is still very real.

Chang Xing whispered from the side, "Dean Xu, this—"

Xu Sheng ignored him, took some more powdered medicine, and this time placed it directly on the tip of his tongue, gently grinding it with his teeth.

The tingling sensation I felt earlier was even more pronounced.

He put down the pills, feeling his hands trembling.

The Hongzhi Emperor, who had been watching them closely, asked, "Have the results been confirmed?"

"Your Majesty, I--I am guilty!"

Xu Sheng's face turned pale, and he knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.