As the palace door opened, a bloody stench mixed with a strange fragrance spread out.
A sense of unease flashed through Chang Wei's mind.
Upon smelling the stench, Liang Jiusi and Ban Chun both turned pale, their eyes filled with worry.
Passing through the precious and rare ornaments and the screen, the three of them saw a scene beside the couch: one person was unconscious, and the other, though awake, seemed to have gone mad.
The thick stench of blood filled the air. Jun Wuyuan's cold face was dotted with bloodstains. His eyes were cold, scarlet, and his whole body exuded a chilling aura.
With a cold glance, it made the three of them instinctively go weak in the knees and kneel on the ground.
Before that scarlet gaze could turn even colder, Chang Wei quickly crawled on all fours to the emperor's side.
Taking a quiet deep breath, he didn't dare to say much. He took the silk handkerchief Ban Chun handed over and placed it on Ling Shan's wrist to feel her pulse.
Ban Chun and Liang Jiusi didn't dare to make a sound. They were so frightened by the scene in front of them that their hands and feet went limp.
Their hearts felt empty, and they didn't dare to think too much. Their eyes were sore and they wanted to cry, but they endured it desperately for the sake of the rules.
During the long and silent pulse - taking, they all silently prayed in their hearts for the heavens to protect Ling Shan / the Consort Zhao / their mistress.
Jun Wuyuan's hands and feet were ice - cold. For a moment, it seemed as if thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind, yet it also seemed empty.
Chang Wei's face was also unusual, even solemn. His eyebrows were so tightly knitted that it seemed they could crush a fly.
The good news was that he could now tell the emperor with confidence that he knew what this poison was!
The bad news was that even though he could tell the emperor he knew the poison, he couldn't detoxify it immediately!
"Your Majesty, the Consort Zhao has indeed been poisoned. It's the mysterious poison - Blue Abyss!"
Poisoned!
Blue Abyss!
Jun Wuyuan's scarlet eyes turned cold, and a flash of pain passed through them.
His arms tightened instinctively. His lips moved several times, but no sound came out.
After swallowing hard a few times, he finally managed to let out a hoarse and low voice.
"Is there an antidote? How painful will it be when the poison发作?"
Chang Wei knelt on the ground and replied,
"Your Majesty, this poison was lost in the previous dynasty. Because it's extremely sinister, it was already listed as a forbidden item by the previous royal family. The antidote... Your servant only has half a volume of records about Blue Abyss..."
Jun Wuyuan squinted his scarlet eyes, and the corners of his eyes were raised, clearly showing a meaning:
If you can't detoxify the poison and cure the Consort Zhao, there's only one outcome: death!
Chang Wei's back stiffened, and he quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Blue Abyss poison is extremely sinister. Those who are poisoned by it will have the poison发作 once a month on the fifteenth day. Each time the poison发作, it's like ten thousand snakes drilling into the heart and ten thousand ants gnawing at the internal organs. Every bone in the body will suffer great pain.
If there's no antidote, within half an hour, the bones and blood will dissolve completely, and there won't even be a corpse left!"
Jun Wuyuan's heart trembled.
He understood every word Chang Wei said, but when it came to Ling Shan, he found it hard to accept.
Jun Wuyuan, a man who could remain calm even when faced with the sight of people having their hands and feet cut off and their brains bursting out, actually changed his complexion greatly just because of a few words.
Just imagining those words in his mind made his heart ache so much that an almost world - destroying anger welled up in him. He wished he could grind that old hag to ashes!
However, soon Jun Wuyuan thought of a crucial point.
Ling Shan had been back from the Yao Tai Jin Feng for more than half an hour!
Moreover, Chang Wei didn't show any signs of anxiety or fear, which meant one thing...
Ling Shan's poison wasn't just from today. In fact, she had taken the antidote before!
So, why did the poison发作 this time?
It was precisely after she went to the Yao Tai Jin Feng and stayed alone in the inner palace for a while that the poison发作.
It was obvious that the Queen Mother had been controlling Ling Shan with the antidote!
This month, because of his recent actions and Ling Shan's whole - hearted support for him, the Queen Mother used the antidote to punish her!
Without the antidote, let's see if she can withstand the pain!
That old hag really deserves to die!
Sure enough, the next moment Jun Wuyuan heard Chang Wei speak again to confirm his suspicion.
"Your Majesty, the Blue Abyss poison in the Consort Zhao's body has发作 without the suppression of the antidote. Your servant detected from the pulse that the Consort has had the poison for more than a year. There were no abnormalities before because of the antidote."
"Didn't you say there's no antidote for Blue Abyss?"
"It should be like that originally."
When it came to the mysterious poison, Chang Wei's eyes lit up a bit:
"Your servant once read an ancient book. It recorded that there's no antidote for the Blue Abyss poison. However, the Consort Zhao has an 'antidote' to suppress it, which means the real antidote must exist!"
Chang Wei's breathing quickened a bit. In the gradually darkening night and the bright moonlight, he looked a bit annoying.
If he could really research the antidote for Blue Abyss...
Oh my god.
Chang Wei didn't even dare to think about it.
A divine doctor!
That was the title he had been longing for all his life. He had been working hard, studying countless ancient books and medical classics day and night.
"You seem very excited?"
A cold look landed on Chang Wei as expected.
It was like a basin of cold water poured from head to toe in the cold winter, completely dousing his excitement.
Uh -
Chang Wei's back stiffened. Just as he was wracking his brains to say something to make up for it, he heard the emperor's cold and merciless voice floating into his ears.
"If you can't find the antidote for Blue Abyss, I'll let you go and be excited with the sages!"
Chang Wei: "..."
He was just a little excited!
"Yes, Your Majesty, don't worry. Your servant will definitely..."
"Ugh -"
Ling Shan, who had been unconscious in Jun Wuyuan's arms, began to twitch strangely.
At the same time, a painful scream came from her throat. Then, before everyone could react in their panic, she vomited out mouthfuls of bright red blood.
"Ling Shan?!"
Jun Wuyuan's hands trembled. He pressed one hand on her twitching body in pain and held her cheek with the other.
His palm was instantly covered with the glaring red. His pupils contracted violently, and a sense of panic and fear that shouldn't have appeared welled up in him.
He roared tremblingly, "Chang Wei, Chang Wei..."
All traces of the emperor's majesty were gone. His eyes and actions all showed a husband praying for his wife's safety.
Mistress...
Ban Chun didn't dare to make a sound. Her eyes were red with sobs as she crawled on her knees to the couch, just wanting to get closer.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Your servant guarantees with his head that the Consort will be fine!"
"Your Majesty... Ling Shan... It hurts so much... Your Majesty..."