Chapter 53: Collecting Medicinal Herbs and Using Poison as an Antidote to Poison (1/2)

Translator: Ma Xinmo

Proofreader: Prof. Zhu Yuan

“Eliminate the toxin.”

Beiming Xuan’s secret words reached Ruan Jiujiu’s ears. Ruan Jiujiu glared silently at Beiming Xuan who was standing calm and composed. She wished really hard she was able to use secret words, so that she could swear at Beiming Xuan, entirely free from inhibitions.

Having tried hard to repress her anger, Ruan Jiujiu followed Beiming Xuan’s order and walked towards Imperial Concubine Dan.

All eyes were fastened upon Ruan Jiujiu. She decided to concentrate all her efforts on eliminating the toxin. She thought she had better be careful to properly handle the current situation.

The poison in Imperial Concubine Dan’s body was not Wusi Poison.

If she was attacked by Wusi Poison, she would have died a painful death.

It did look like Wusi Poison. And that was why nobody raised an objection after Ruan Jiujiu claimed that Imperial Concubine Dan was attacked by Wusi Poison. Murong could tell Ruan Jiujiu was wrong, but he didn’t bring that into the open.

Imperial Concubine Dan was breathing easily although she looked ghastly haggard. However, her breath was too weak to be detected as if she was giving her last gasp.

That meant the drug was highly poisonous.

This highly poisonous drug had impaired the functions of the patient’s body. Without timely treatment, the patient would die of physiological dysfunction. Injecting the antidote into the patient’s blood vessel would be of no help when the patient was in terminal decline.

It seemed that this drug was more terrifying than Wusi Poison in terms of that.

There were only two options open to Ruan Jiujiu right now. One is trying hard to prevent the poison from taking effect, and the other is finding the antidote as soon as possible.

The crux of the problem was that nobody had found the antidote.

Ruan Jiujiu had to find the solution on her own.

All eyes were fastened on her right now. She had to be careful not to let them get any evidence against her. Right now, even a minor mistake would put her in great danger.

Those who were standing behind her harbored ulterior motives!

Ruan Jiujiu mobilized her mental energy and swiftly pricked Imperial Concubine Dan’s skin on a silver needle.

Those who had their gaze fixed upon Ruan Jiujiu failed to see Ruan Jiujiu’s hand movements clearly.

Ruan Qingqing was frustrated. She couldn’t even make out where Ruan Jiujiu stored her silver needles.

It seemed that Ruan Jiujiu took out the silver needles from nowhere!

That was impossible!

Ruan Qingqing felt a sharp pain in her eyes as she saw Ruan Jiujiu manipulating those silver needles in a well-versed way. She could barely resist the urge to cast her doubt openly. Empress Xiao stopped her by pulling her arm when she was about to speak. She turned round and met Empress Xiao’s frosty stare.

The time was not ripe.

Ruan Qingqing bit her lip and kept her mouth shut.

After a while, a good number of needles were applied on Imperial Concubine Dan’s body.

“That’s it?” Empress Xiao asked first. It was easy to discern a sense of disappointment in her tone.

Extremely excited, Beiming Yue asked in uncertain terms, “The toxin has been eliminated?”

Ruan Qingqing clenched her fists, trying to control her feelings.

The Emperor knitted his eyebrows slightly: “Ruan Jiujiu, The toxin got eliminated?”

“Your Majesty, judging by common sense, we have to apply antidote in order to eliminate the toxin,” Ruan Jiujiu turned round and spoke to the Emperor in a flat tone. A contemptuous look crept onto her face.

“How dare you! Whom do you think you are talking to?” The Emperor got irritated.

Ruan Jiujiu answered with her palms up, “Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Dan was attacked by Wusi Poison, and it was a highly poisonous one. Eliminating the toxin simply through giving an acupuncture treatment is a downright impossibility. You could consult the imperial physician if you don’t trust me.”

She was talking about the man she once held under duress. He was an imperial physician. And he was also present at the welcoming ceremony in the city tower.

“Your Majesty, Wusi Poison is highly poisonous,” the imperial physician answered with trepidation. He recoiled in horror at the sight of the Emperor’s frosty look.

Ruan Jiujiu just ignored that. Then she spoke to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, to concoct the antidote, I need to collect some medicinal herbs first.”

Medicinal herbs? The Emperor knitted his eyebrows. Ruan Jiujiu was by no means making excessive demands. The Emperor, however, hoped that things could be settled on the spot. He had run out of patience.

“What do you need? Write them down and I will send someone to collect those medicinal herbs for you.”

“No way!” The Emperor’s request was met with Ruan Jiujiu’s blunt refusal. She pronounced every word in emphatic voice: “Your Majesty, did those imperial physicians know how to deal with Wusi Poison?”

You would never have an opportunity to raise captious objections like that if any one of them could figure out a solution. The Emperor wore a sullen look.

“The imperial physicians were not able to eliminate the toxin, and it seems that no one could guarantee Imperial Concubine Dan’s safety except me. So I need to collect those medicinal herbs personally,” Ruan Jiujiu kept acting in all apparent seriousness. “You should know that administering the medicine requires careful consideration. The medicine’s potency would be lost if the errand runner doesn’t bring me medicinal herbs with desirable qualities and growth years. I might also need a specific part of a medicinal plant. I’m afraid nobody could fulfill my requirements even if I write those requirements down.”

“So what are you going to do?” The Emperor tried hard to speak patiently as he pulled a long face.

Ruan Jiujiu answered with her palms up, “Where is the Imperial Dispensary? I’m going to collect the medicinal herbs personally.”

“No way!” The Emperor refused flatly. What Ruan Jiujiu said was closely reasoned and well argued. The Emperor thought she wouldn’t be able to play dirty. However, he would by no means agree to let her go to the Imperial Dispensary alone.

Ruan Jiujiu put on a resigned expression as she knitted her eyebrows: “Then I would apologize to Imperial Concubine Dan.”

She stepped forward and started to collect her silver needles which had been applied on Imperial Concubine Dan’s body. Nobody came to stop her except for Beiming Yue. He rushed towards Ruan Jiujiu and roared, “Ruan Jiujiu, what are you doing?”

“Since His Majesty refused to let me make antidote, I have no choice but to let her die a relatively painless death. You should know that people who were attacked by Wusi Poison have to go through an excruciating ache. What I did was to help her die a quicker yet less painful death.”

Beiming Yue froze upon hearing Ruan Jiujiu’s words. “Die a quicker yet less painful death?”

“Father, she just wanted to collect some medicinal herbs. She would cause no trouble. It is my mother’s life that truly matters!” Ruan Jiujiu had pointed out that it was the Emperor who stopped her from eliminating the toxin. Beiming Yue understood. So he turned round and started to plead with the Emperor.