Chapter 357
**Chapter 355: A Life Hanging by a Thread**
Li Yuanjing held Shen Wei's delicate hand in his grasp.
He was willing to lower himself to accommodate her, so he spoke gently, “Weiwei, I—”
Before he could finish, his dark eyes suddenly locked onto Shen Wei’s face.
He noticed that the corners of her pale lips bore an unusual dark purple hue.
As he touched the purplish edge of her lips, a realization struck him. He quickly tore away the bandage from her right arm.
With a rip—
The bloodied cloth fell apart, revealing a shallow wound.
The cut was small, barely the length of a pinky finger, and it only grazed the skin. But at that moment, the tiny wound had not healed, and it glimmered with a sinister blackish-purple.
Shen Wei seemed unaware of the gravity of the situation. She furrowed her delicate brows, still angry, “Your Majesty, why did you tear off the bandage...”
Suddenly, she felt dizzy.
A sharp pain shot through her throat, and she coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
She collapsed into Li Yuanjing’s arms, unconscious.
In an instant, his hands and feet turned icy cold, a chilling wave of murderous intent surged from his heart. He held the poisoned, unconscious Shen Wei tightly and shouted, “Summon the imperial physician! Where is he? Why hasn’t he arrived yet?”
Chaos erupted in Yongning Palace.
The most experienced old physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau rushed in, flustered. Dark clouds loomed over Yongning Palace, creating an atmosphere of extreme tension.
Inside the chamber,
Shen Wei lay with her eyes tightly shut, her once vibrant face now pale, shrouded in a deathly pallor. The old physician trembled as he took her pulse, probing the wound with a silver needle to test the black blood.
After a long pause, the old physician stammered, “Your Majesty, it seems the noble consort has been poisoned by a potent toxin. My medical skills are lacking; I cannot determine what poison it is. I can only use medicine to slightly alleviate the spread of the toxin...”
The other physicians were equally unable to identify the poison that had afflicted Shen Wei.
Li Yuanjing’s expression turned icy. “If you can’t save the noble consort, I will have the entire Imperial Medical Bureau buried with her.”
The physicians knelt in a dark mass, silent as the grave.
Li Yuanjing grasped Shen Wei’s cold hand and asked coldly, “Where is Mo Xun?”
Cailian, with red-rimmed eyes, replied, “Your Majesty, I went to the female physician’s office and found out that Physician Mo has taken a half-month leave to cultivate land by Luoyue Lake, growing medicinal herbs.”
Li Yuanjing commanded, “Bring Mo Xun to me!”
The Tiger Guards swiftly departed.
Shen Wei remained unconscious, her face increasingly marred by the toxin, her pulse growing weaker. Li Yuanjing stood vigil by her bedside, feeling as if a massive stone were crushing his heart, causing him unbearable pain.
Just a moment ago, Shen Wei had been alive, standing before him, conversing with him.
In the blink of an eye, she had fallen into a critical state.
It had been a long time since he had felt such torment; the last time his heart ached like this was when he lost his elder brother. As time passed, the image of his ailing brother from years ago merged with the sight of Shen Wei, who now lay on the brink of death.
It was a wound that cut deep into his heart.
The beaded curtain rustled, and a Tiger Guard outside reported, “Your Majesty, we’ve investigated the temple. The assassin, Xie Fanghua, has been living there in seclusion, often alone. This morning, she lay in wait on the official road to carry out the assassination.”
“We found traces of poison powder at Xie Fanghua’s residence, but no antidote.”
Xie Fanghua had taken her own life on the spot.
No one knew where she had obtained the poison, nor did anyone know the antidote.
Li Yuanjing closed his eyes.
A wave of regret washed over him; if he hadn’t been at odds with Shen Wei, perhaps this disaster wouldn’t have occurred.
Outside, night had fallen, and the spring night was filled with the incessant chirping of insects. The moonlight was as pale as the shrouds of a funeral.
Mo Xun, the divine physician who had been carefree in the fields, was brought back by the Tiger Guards.
Dressed in a peasant’s garb, with a gray scarf wrapped around her hair, her hands and feet still caked with dirt from the fields, she brushed off the soil and rushed into the chamber, her hair disheveled. “Let me see her!”
Shen Wei’s condition was dire.
Her pulse was weak.
Her breath was shallow.
Mo Xun took Shen Wei’s pulse, her expression growing increasingly grave. She quickly retrieved her silver needle pouch, placing the needles at critical points to halt the spread of the toxin.
Mo Xun swiftly wrote out a prescription and called for Cailian and Caiping: “You two, hurry and fetch the herbs and prepare the medicine. Whether your mistress survives the night depends on this medicine.”
Cailian and Caiping hurriedly dashed out.
Mo Xun withdrew her needles.
Li Yuanjing asked, “How is Weiwei?”
Mo Xun shot him a sidelong glance, her tone dripping with sarcasm, “For the past month, Your Majesty, you’ve been distant and neglectful towards the noble consort. I thought you didn’t care about her at all.”
Li Yuanjing replied coldly, “Let’s talk business.”
Mo Xun shrugged, stretching her sore wrists. “The poison on the blade is a lethal toxin from the Jianghu, known as Zhen Yu Qian Ye (literally 'Poison of a Thousand Nights'). It spreads through the bloodstream, coursing through the body, and is guaranteed to be fatal within twelve hours. This poison hasn’t appeared in the Jianghu for at least fifty years; the noble consort was just unlucky to encounter it.”
Li Yuanjing’s lips turned pale. He asked, “You’re a divine physician from the Jianghu; can you save Weiwei?”
Mo Xun replied, “Of course I can. I’m the best divine physician in the Jianghu. This minor poison can be cured with an antidote pill. However, it takes at least half a year to make one, and the noble consort’s fragile body can’t wait that long.”
Li Yuanjing’s dark eyes brimmed with murderous intent.
Mo Xun stiffened, sensing the terrifying aura.
She had a premonition that if she couldn’t save Shen Wei, Li Yuanjing might tear her apart on the spot.
Mo Xun pouted and continued, “Years ago, I traveled far and wide to collect medicinal herbs and painstakingly developed three antidote pills. My skills are vast, but the antidote pills I carry are useless. Once, while wandering, I met a girl named Sun Qingmei. Seeing her orphaned and pitiful, I gave her the three antidote pills.”
“That Sun girl is quite capable; she’s now a female general in Liangzhou City. With the ongoing border conflicts, she must have the antidote pills on her.”
Li Yuanjing had heard of Sun Qingmei’s antidote pills.
A few years ago, during a hunt in Dongshan, Sun Qingmei had given a pill to Princess Zhaoyang, which was used to save the emperor of Yue, disguised as a woodcutter, leading to their union.
Li Yuanjing quickly calculated the distance from Yanjing City to Liangzhou.
It was nearly four thousand miles.
With over a thousand relay stations along the way, even with the fastest horses, it would take at least half a month to send a message and return.
Li Yuanjing said, “I will summon Sun Qingmei back to the capital immediately. You find a way to delay the onset of the poison.”
Mo Xun sighed, a look of sorrow crossing her face. “I understand. But the world is unpredictable; it’s best to have the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepare a coffin, just in case.”
Hope was dim.
Outside, there was a commotion as Cailian and Caiping efficiently returned with the medicinal herbs. Mo Xun stood up to leave the chamber, preparing to personally guide the palace servants in brewing the medicine.
As she lifted the ornate beaded curtain, she cast a seemingly casual glance at the “poisoned and unconscious” Shen Wei, then at Li Yuanjing’s anxious, towering figure. The once-mighty emperor of the Qing Kingdom now resembled an ordinary man on the verge of losing his beloved.
Mo Xun clicked her tongue.
With a steady pace, she walked away.
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