With a secret guard running errands all the way, Li Yue soon fetched the items.
The small jade-white medicine bottle contained only five pills. That meant they had less than a month and a half.
Shen Qing didn't care about anything else. She poured out one pill and stuffed it into Ji Junye's mouth.
Qin Ye should be able to rush back within a month, right?
Still feeling uneasy, Shen Qing had imperial edicts posted, offering generous rewards for anyone who could cure the Bone-Eating Poison.
Although she knew the hope was slim, there was still a chance. Maybe there really were capable people in the common folks that they hadn't discovered?
She couldn't help but look at Ji Junye lying on the bed.
Aye, hold on. Leave everything else to me.
Shen Qing asked to be taken to the jail of the Golden Wu Guards.
As soon as she entered, a gloomy atmosphere mixed with all kinds of foul smells assailed her brain, making her nauseous. From time to time, there were heart-rending screams, which made one's scalp tingle just by getting close.
Such a place would first put psychological pressure on the prisoners and then gradually break down their psychological defenses.
Everyone in the Golden Wu Guards recognized Shen Qing. When they saw her coming, they all bowed respectfully.
Yelü Wují was tied to the rack. Whips soaked in salt and chili water lashed at his body one after another. The whips of the Golden Wu Guards were specially made, with barbs at the ends. Each lash would tear off some flesh. Coupled with the salt and chili water, the pain was simply unbearable.
Shen Qing hadn't even stepped forward when Zhui Yun spotted her.
"Have you got anything out of him?"
Zhui Yun shook his head. "He's really a tough guy."
Yelü Wují's mouth was gagged to prevent him from committing suicide. When he saw Shen Qing, intense hatred flared in his eyes. He wished he could tear Shen Qing to pieces.
Originally, he had planned to commit suicide when his plot failed, but Shen Qing's slap had come so fast that it had knocked out the tooth in which he had hidden the poison capsule. Now he couldn't even die!
Of course, Shen Qing wouldn't let him die easily. She motioned for his mouth to be ungagged.
Yelü Wují's mouth was finally freed, and he gasped for air.
Shen Qing stepped closer to him. Looking at this man who had been a hero in the previous life but was now a prisoner, her voice was full of mockery. "How did you know he was poisoned by the Bone-Eating Poison?"
Yelü Wují laughed bitterly and said word by word, "I won't tell you."
"If you have the guts, just kill me."
A faint smile escaped from Shen Qing's throat. She turned around and sat down on the interrogation chair. "Don't be in a hurry. You're definitely going to die, but when and how you die, you still have a choice."
Yelü Wují stared at her, like a fierce leopard in a cage staring at a weak rabbit. "I'm the bravest warrior on the grassland. A warrior will never yield!"
But Shen Qing was no rabbit.
She waved her hand, and someone behind her brought a bowl of something. They pinched Yelü Wují's chin and forced it down his throat.
Yelü Wují choked and coughed. "What did you make me drink?"
"Qin Ye has been researching the Bone-Eating Poison for so many years. Although he hasn't developed an antidote, he has figured out most of its ingredients and made some poisons with similar components."
A flash of panic quickly crossed Yelü Wují's eyes.
Shen Qing casually played with the torture tools on the table, her eyes slightly narrowed, showing her sharpness. "Since you like to use it to harm others so much, let's see if it can pry open your mouth."
Yelü Wují had been comforting himself that the Bone-Eating Poison wouldn't flare up so quickly and wouldn't be so concentrated. He was sure that Ji Junye couldn't hold out longer than him. But the next second, Shen Qing had someone light an incense stick.
The familiar yet strange smell domineeringly filled his nostrils. Even holding his breath was of no use.
This incense was used to trigger the toxicity, and it was an improved version specially made by Qin Ye for experiments. It worked the fastest.
Yelü Wují gritted his teeth. His hands, regardless of the pain on his body, clenched into fists. The veins on the back of his hands were black, and he seemed to be on the verge of exploding the next second.
Shen Qing had someone feed the poison to the other surviving captives as well.
The pain of the Bone-Eating Poison flaring up was far beyond what ordinary people could bear. She didn't believe that she couldn't pry open a single mouth!
Soon, suppressed and extremely painful wails rang out in the jail and grew louder and louder.
Shen Qing casually leaned back on the chair. Her figure was faintly visible in the curling smoke, like the god of death coming to claim lives.
At this moment, Yelü Wují really hoped that she was the god of death and would take his life away. He felt as if thousands of ants were gnawing at his blood vessels and tendons, trying to burst his body from the inside, but he just couldn't faint or die.
"Kill me!"
"Kill me!"
Even the Golden Wu Guards behind couldn't bear to look anymore and slightly averted their eyes.
As killers, they might face severe torture one day. Their interrogation methods were mostly physical and mental torture, but this poison was like breaking a person's bones one by one.
Shen Qing just coldly watched them in pain. She felt no pity for them.
Moreover, the suffering they were going through now was only one-tenth of what Aye had endured.
Just thinking about how much suffering her Aye had endured and how his life was now in jeopardy, she wished that those who had hurt him would suffer a thousand or a hundred times more!
When the incense stick burned out, Shen Qing's patience was gradually running out.
"I'll ask one more time. How did you know he was poisoned by the Bone-Eating Poison?"
"If no one says anything, I'll light another incense stick."
Yelü Wují remained silent, but someone couldn't hold it anymore.
"The Bone-Eating Poison was originally created by our shaman."
Shen Qing looked at the speaker with satisfaction. "Where's the antidote?"
"There's no antidote..."
"How could there be no antidote?!"
The man was on the verge of crying. "There really is no antidote... The shaman liked to research some poisons. Once he came back from a trip and was infected with this poison. He never developed an antidote before he died. Before he passed away, he asked someone to burn his body. Our tribe thought this poison had disappeared. Who would have thought that your former empress dowager told us..."
This incident was secretly passed down in their tribe, and many people thought it was just a legend. But the former shaman had indeed died from the Bone-Eating Poison.
This was also the reason why they had the medicine that could trigger the Bone-Eating Poison.
Although the former shaman was dead, he had left behind some notes to warn future generations. Although many of them had been damaged over the years, there were still some clues.
When they learned that the empress dowager of the Jing Kingdom had poisoned Ji Junye with this kind of poison, they had even scolded the empress dowager for being so cruel. How could she use such a poisonous thing on a child, and even her own adopted son?
The hope that had just risen in Shen Qing's heart sank again, just like her just-straightened back.
Really... there's no antidote?
Then what should she do?
Shen Qing stood up but almost fell back down. Hong Ling beside her wanted to support her, but Shen Qing waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.
"Give him a quick death. As for the others, continue."
"Continue" naturally meant continuing to light the incense and let them continue to suffer until they died.
In this situation, those who died first were actually the lucky ones.
Shen Qing left the jail of the Golden Wu Guards and went straight back to the Zichen Palace.
The Zichen Palace had originally been Ji Junye's bedroom. He hadn't liked it much before, so it had been left idle. It was only redecorated when they were about to get married.
Everything here had been arranged by him personally.
He had never thought of letting her live anywhere else.
Shen Qing took a bath and changed her clothes before entering. She was afraid that the smell on her body would bother him. As soon as she entered the door, she heard Si Bao's childish voice.
"King Qin said, 'I've heard that those with unripe feathers cannot soar high...'"
When she went in, she saw Si Bao sitting on the footstool by the head of the bed, holding a copy of Strategies of the Warring States and reading it to him.