Chapter 41: Distinguishing Medicinal Herbs

  The empress ordered an imperial attendant to summon Zheng Su'e into the palace while glancing at Imperial Consort Yao beside her.

  Yao Nu Guan understood and immediately left the palace, taking people directly to the registered address of Sheng Qi Ye outside the city of Beijing, Wangjia Village.

  Zheng Suhui returned to the Wu family and ordered someone to invite her husband Wu Changge into the inner courtyard.

  "Go tell your father that it's possible the weather will change..." Zheng Su Huan whispered to Wu Chang Ge, telling him to quickly pass on this message to Wu Chang Ge's father, Wu Lao Ye Zi, also known as the Duke of Wu, the divine calculator.

  Wu Changge's eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he looked at Zheng Suhui and said, "Don't go around spreading this."

  "Am I a person who speaks nonsense?" Zheng Su Xian was somewhat dissatisfied, but she didn't raise her voice. Instead, she spoke softly and gently, without even furrowing her brow.

  "I didn't mean that. It's just that this matter is too important." Wu Changge explained to her, asked two more questions, and then hastily went out of the second gate to discuss the matter with his father, Old Master Wu.

  They say that when the emperor changes, his ministers change too. Although these four families don't need to be overly concerned about who is the emperor, compared to the other three families, the Wu family still pays more attention to the changes in imperial power. This is because the Wu family controls more than half of the financial flow of the Great Xia Empire, and as long as the emperor replaces a few officials at will, it can have a huge impact on their business.

  Zheng Suxin and Wu Changge walked away, walking into the house to lie down on the couch, calling for a maid to massage her legs. She closed her eyes, wanting to take a nap.

  She hadn't slept for long before she was woken up by someone.

  "Old Madame, Old Madame, the eunuch Ruan from the palace has arrived. The Empress Dowager summons Old Madame to enter the palace. It's said that someone from the Sheng family is entering the palace to present a prescription." Zheng Suxin's maid gently woke her up and whispered.

  Zheng Suxin suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight, "What did you say? What Sheng family person? Which Sheng family?"

  "Master Ruan said that it's the Shen Nong Fu family, a prominent household. The Empress Dowager wants you to identify some medicine." The maid spoke as she quickly rearranged Zheng Suqin's disheveled hairdo.

  Zheng Suxin touched her hair, hastily stood up, and followed Ruan Tong into the palace quickly.

  "All the way, she was delighted to say to Ruan Tongdao: 'Ruan Gonggong, it's really heaven-sent that I finally waited for the descendant of my master.' She asked Ruan Tong again: 'Who is that person? Is he a member of the Sheng family who wasn't at home at that time? I remember it seemed like they were catching people according to the genealogy back then, does this person have proof to prove he's a member of the Sheng family?'"

  "We don't know either," Ruan said in a sharp voice. "It was all ordered by the Empress Dowager, I'm just passing on the message."

  Zheng Suxin knew that Ruan Tong's mouth was tight, and she was just a little anxious. After all, the entire Sheng family had been executed fifteen years ago. In these fifteen years, no one dared to come out and say they were a direct descendant of the Sheng family.

  Because he said it's just a matter of waiting for his demise...

  Arriving at the palace, Zheng Suhuan followed the leading palace maid to the Anhe Hall where Empress Dowager was handling affairs.

  "Empress Dowager, Zheng Yiren has arrived." The palace maid at the entrance relayed the message into the grand hall.

  The Empress Dowager called her in afterwards, and Zheng Suhuan walked in with a gentle swaying gait.

  As soon as she entered the inner part of Anhe Temple, Zheng Suxin saw a tall and thin man in green clothes standing opposite to her under the throne of the Empress Dowager. Although he was facing away from the direction she came from, his back looked too familiar. It was exactly the same as that of her former teacher, Sheng Lao Yezi.

  Zheng Suxin was so focused on watching that she didn't even notice General Zhou's gaze occasionally falling on her shoulder.

  Zhou Huai Xuan stood beside General Zhou with his hands behind his back, and upon seeing this, he hummed softly. His slender phoenix eyes gleamed with a cold light, as if wanting to cut off General Zhou's gaze that was fixed on Zheng Su Yin.

  Many of the palace maids who were secretly watching Zhou Huai Xuan couldn't help but shrink their necks and avert their eyes, looking around nervously.

  Zheng Suxin caught a glimpse of Zhou Huaixuan's heavenly appearance and was secretly shocked, hastily withdrawing her gaze, slowly advancing to pay respects: "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

  The empress nodded and pointed at the man in green, saying: "Su Xiang, come here. This is Sheng Qi Ye, supposedly your master's youngest son, have you heard your master mention him?"

  Zheng Suxin said with a blush: "Let the Empress Dowager down. Master never mentioned that he had a seventh son before his death, I only knew that Master had six sons, four legitimate and two illegitimate, but I don't know whether this Lord Sheng Qi is born to a wife or a concubine?"

  Sheng Qiye knew that Zheng Suhan was the gate disciple of his father, Sheng Lao Yezi, and didn't treat her as an outsider. He said: "I am the youngest son by birth. Because when I was born, my mother's age was already advanced, and it was quite difficult to give birth to me. From a young age, I had poor health, and my father used many methods but couldn't cure me. In the end, he sent me to the temple to become a monk, and only then did my illness gradually improve. Later, when something happened in the Sheng family, I returned to secular life."

  Sheng Qiye spoke with a calm and collected demeanor, as if he didn't care at all whether he would be beheaded along with the others.

  Zheng Suxin smiled and said: "Sheng Qiye really has a good temper. So many years, no one dared to claim that they are the descendants of the Sheng family's direct line."

  Sheng Qiye heard this and became somewhat displeased, the smile on his face fading away. He didn't want to speak with Zheng Suhuan anymore, so he turned around and bowed to the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty, I came into the palace to rescue someone, and have long since put life and death out of my mind. Please grant me this opportunity."

  The Empress Dowager nodded slightly and said to him, "Good. As I just said, if you can cure the Emperor's illness, not only will I not cut off your head, but this title of the Sheng family will be yours!"

  Sheng Qiye bowed his hands and said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your kindness."

  The empress then nodded slightly towards Zheng Shu Xian and said: "Zheng Yi Ren, you listen to his prescription."

  "Please speak, Seventh Master Sheng." Zheng Suqin nodded her head in a slight bow.

  "Ginseng 7 qian, Tian Dong 4 qian, White Poria 3 qian, Cooked Rehmannia 5 qian, Blood Dragon 2 qian, wine-washed Eucommia 3 qian, Ligustrum lucidum 3 qian, Cordyceps sinensis 8 fen, Sanguisorba officinalis 3 fen, Gramineae 2 qian... and also use Wangbuliuxing, Zi Bei Tian Kui and Guo Shan Feng Du as guides..."

  "Nonsense!" Zheng Suxin suddenly interrupted Sheng Qiye's narrative, her face flushing red, her high chest heaving up and down, extremely moving.

  General Zhou hastily turned his head away, not daring to look in Zheng Sufen's direction again.

  The empress dowager also furrowed her brow and asked: "The venom of the Gu Shan Feng?"

  Zheng Suxin's voice was stern as she said, "Sheng Qiye, this prescription of yours, the first part is passable, although it has no effect, but at least it doesn't harm. But you've mixed Wang Buliuhang, Zibei Tiankui and Guoshan Fengdu Ye together as a guide, are you trying to shorten His Majesty's life?"

  Wangbuliuxing and Zibei Tiankui can both promote blood circulation, generally used for people with excessive blood and qi.

  The Gu is a venomous creature that everyone in Dashan knows about. It's the king of snakes, with extremely potent venom that has no antidote to cure it.

  Sheng Qiye said with his hands behind his back: "Your Majesty's illness has been dragging on for 15 years, and only a strong medicine can be used to first tonify the body before slowly regulating it. As for the venom of Guo Shan Feng, Zheng Yiren, you also followed my father to learn medical skills, how could you not know that the venom of Guo Shan Feng is the most suitable medicine for treating this disease?"

  "I certainly know that the medical book mentions it. Zheng Suheng furrowed her brow, 'But believing in books is not as good as having no books at all. The Gu mountain wind is extremely toxic, how do you know how much of the toxin can cure a disease without harming someone's life? Do you have so much Gu mountain wind to extract the toxin and try out the most suitable dosage?"

  Talking about toxicity without considering dosage is just a bunch of quacks pretending to be gods. However, finding the right dosage for something as rare and toxic as Gu poison is indeed extremely difficult.

  Sheng Qiye smiled wryly and said, "Just a little bit won't kill you." The Gu poison he had collected was only a tiny amount to begin with, it would be strange if it could kill someone. Besides, wasn't Siyan fine?

  Sheng Qiye still has confidence.

  However, the Empress Dowager and Zheng Suhuan were not at ease, so they finally decided to let Sheng Qiye first decoct a bowl of medicine according to his prescription and use the rabbits raised in the palace for testing.

  Sheng Qiye hesitated and said: "The venom of the Gu Shan Feng is extremely rare... it's a waste to give it to the rabbit."

  "Even if it's rare, it's better than a lethal dose." Zheng Suxin kindly reminded Sheng Qiye.

  Sheng Qiye had no choice but to agree, personally brewing medicine in front of the medicine stove in a corner of the main hall.

  Under the watchful eyes of everyone, no matter who wants to make a move, it is impossible.

  The medicine was almost ready when a palace maid came in and announced: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the wife and daughter of Seventh Master Sheng have arrived."

  "Let them in." The empress smiled and beckoned, "Let me take a look at them."

  Sheng Qiye and Zheng Suhuan both felt a sudden tension in their hearts.

  Neither of them had expected the Empress Dowager to be so swift and decisive, bringing the family members of Sheng Qiye into the palace so quickly. This was a rhythm of being prepared for any eventuality, wanting to catch everything in one net...

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