Ink Burns

Chapter 297 Fate (Part 2)

As soon as Shui Guang finished speaking, Xu Quyan felt as if he had lost his hearing, or as if a meridian in his brain had broken.

His eyes widened slightly, and he asked incredulously, "What? What do you have?"

Did he mishear?

What does water shimmer?
What is the antidote for "Qianji Yin"?

Since late autumn, he has ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to test antidotes and secretly asked his elder brother, Prince Yong, to dispatch the grain transport guild to search for folk remedies in the northern frontier, but so far, the solution remains elusive.

Because of the "tethering mechanism," he must always be wary of "Qingfeng" using those poisoned to fight to the death.

Why was Jing'an able to kidnap Madam He and travel unimpeded all the way to Qi County?

It was all because a few desperate criminals, who were being ensnared by the "tethering mechanism," made things much easier for her!

What if there are still some who have escaped from the palace?
What if the Imperial Guards of the capital still harbor one or two gamblers suffering from severe poisoning?

If the Imperial Kitchen still existed? If the Imperial Medical Academy still existed? If he still had these people around him, what would they do for the antidote, for their own lives?! They'd probably do anything!
"The mechanism" affects his court, his emotions, his safety, and even his life.

The little girl in front of him, with her wheat-colored skin, round, bright eyes, and two dimples that appeared when she smiled, told him that she held what he desperately needed in her hands.

Just like last time.

She swung on a pillar in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and as she swung, she broke the deadlock that had trapped him for decades.

The same is true now.

A single, casual remark could resolve his current predicament.

Even at the very beginning of their encounter, when he suffered a severe asthma attack, it was she who, while her eyes darted around, used acupuncture needles to save his life.

Xu Quyan felt a surge of inexplicable emotion welling up in his chest: a gratitude so intense it almost overwhelmed him, followed by an realization that his fortunes had turned around—his life, which had been filled with wasting time, wandering, loneliness, and sorrow, had been reversed and his luck had turned around with the appearance of the water.

Is the water light his medicine, or his life?
The little girl waved the page in her hand, like a large leaf, and the leaf fanned the wind, sending a cool breeze across Xu Quyan's face, waking him up.

"The antidote for 'Qianji Yin'!" Shui Guang raised her voice, her words like pearls falling on a jade plate, crisp and clear.

Shui Guang handed it to Xu Quyan and explained the whole story: "My sister gave me three pieces of paper back then. One said that there was something hidden in Emperor Zhaode's painting, and the other was this antidote prescription—do you still remember the plague in Jiangnan three years ago?"

Xu Quyan nodded: I remember, how could I not remember? Logically speaking, only when a ruler is immoral will God send down a great plague. But the plague a few years ago actually helped him out of nowhere. As a result, chaos broke out in the officialdom of Jiangnan. Bai Yusi, whom he threw into the officialdom of Jiangnan with a desperate gamble, was able to take advantage of the chaos and become a sharp knife deeply inserted behind enemy lines.

He certainly remembered the decisive point of the battle.

"That plague originated in Songjiang Prefecture. Fortunately, Dr. Cheng Xingyu, a skilled physician in the city, was kind and compassionate. He single-handedly protected thousands of people in Songjiang Prefecture. However, in this world, good people don't live long, and Dr. Cheng passed away last year."

Speaking of Cheng Xingyu, Shui Guang sniffed: "This prescription was left behind by Doctor Cheng at the cost of his life. It's just a pity that when Doctor Cheng passed away, the prescription was not yet complete, and two ingredients were missing."

Xu Quyan loosened his grip; it turned out the job wasn't done yet.
Xu Quyan was slightly disappointed.

Shui Guang then changed the subject: "These past few months, I've been holed up in the Imperial Hospital, working hard every day, to finally finish completing this prescription."

What's the point of suffering? Shui Guang is clearly under Wu Min's protection. Lin Yuanzheng is honest and not a fool. He is also under Wu Min's tutelage, so he teaches Shui Guang whatever he can and has never caused her any trouble.

Clearly, he had nothing to do and was looking for something to do. "The prescription I filled out is pharmacologically sound. A few days ago, when I left the palace, I brewed the medicine for my sister and took her pulse. I found that the poison had been reduced by six or seven tenths. After she finishes taking the medicine on the fifteenth of March, all the poison in her body will be eliminated."

Shuiguang touched her nose: "I am grateful to my sister for being my guinea pig, allowing her to stand on Dr. Cheng's shoulders and complete the prescription."

But why does Xiao Fang look so surprised? Could it be that the palace hasn't developed this formula yet? It doesn't make sense that a formula that Doctor Cheng and she combined could handle, but the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital can't solve? Isn't it said that the capital has always been a place of dazzling wealth, and that talented people sell their literary and martial arts skills to the imperial family? What are they selling? What kind of crippled goods are they selling!

Hmm, Shui Guang secretly felt a sense of competition, unaware that her criticism of the Imperial Medical Academy was biased: Cheng Xingyu was able to extract the antidote formula because Xue Xiao had found the dregs of the "Qianji Yin" formula for him, allowing him to solve the problem like answering a test. Xue Xiao even continued to supply Yao Zaozheng and the Right Battalion Commander of the Xishan Camp as test samples, so that he could know whether the answer was right or wrong in time and make corresponding adjustments afterward.
Xue Xiao is a mad dog; he doesn't mind relying on Tianbao Temple to test drugs on people.

Emperor Yongping, however, was a gentleman, so why would he openly engage in such immoral behavior?

Xu Quyan took the prescription. There were two kinds of handwriting on the paper. The first kind of handwriting was scattered and weak, lacking strength and energy. The other kind of handwriting had no sharp strokes, but was written quite large, with smooth and powerful strokes. A single character could fill the entire grid by extending vertically.

Xu Quyan lowered his head, looked at the prescription for a long time, and then looked up and said softly, "The first piece of paper your sister gave you points to the edict of succession, and the second piece of paper points to the antidote. You said your sister gave you three pieces of paper? What about the third piece of paper?"

Shui Guang trusted Xiao Fang a lot.

Their lives were intertwined several times; she used acupuncture to save him, and he protected her as they navigated the burning Imperial Ancestral Temple. They did all sorts of outrageous things together, and Xiao Fang was even willing to risk his life to take her to a secret room to eavesdrop.
The third piece of paper, it seems, is temporarily useless.

Shui Guang took out a neatly folded third piece of paper from her sleeve pocket. Since it was useless, it wouldn't hurt to let Xiao Fang "take a look".

Xu Quyan opened it to take a look.

The third piece of paper was clearly a land deed.

Three hundred li east of Fushou Mountain in Qiuming County, Songjiang Prefecture, there is a total of fifty mu of land, including a manor, forests, crops, and houses. Everything on this fifty mu of land, along with the land deed, is registered under the name of a woman named "Wei Ruchun".

Before Shui Guang entered the palace, she was called "Wei Ruchun," taking the surname of the barefoot doctor from the mountains who adopted her.

"This is.?"

Xu Quyan was a little stunned and asked in a soft voice.

“The three pieces of paper represent a cause-and-effect progression.” Shui Guang chuckled and counted on her fingers: “First, they told me to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to remove the late emperor's portrait. My sister doesn't know what's inside either. If this violates the heavenly laws, I'll lose my life. Then I'll take out the second piece of paper and use this antidote to save my life. Since I've saved my life, I can't stay in the palace anyway. I might as well take this land deed and happily return to my Pingning Mountain to be a country bumpkin—”

"People say that parents who love their children plan far ahead for them. My sister loves me and also plans far ahead for me. She thinks of everything, one thing after another."

Shui Guang was overjoyed: "Who would have thought that the first one would produce a life-saving edict of succession, and that no one would even investigate a capital offense like burning down the ancestral temple that would result in the extermination of nine generations of one's family? So naturally the second one would be useless!"

Xu Quyan's gaze fell lightly and heavily on the land deed, his lips slightly pale. He raised his head, his eyes like a probing line, looking for uneven spots and potholes in the ground: "In that case, the third land deed is just a precaution."

Shui Guang clicked her tongue and said, "That won't do. I have to keep this safe, I'll need it sooner or later. There's not much to keep in this palace. When I leave, I'll build you a room in my house. If you can leave the palace, you can come find me and we can live a good life together."

Xu Quyan felt as if a huge boulder had fallen heavily upon his heart.

She wants to leave.

She wanted to leave the palace.

She said she wanted to "happily return to Pingning Mountain and live the life of a country bumpkin."

The heavens, in a rare act of kindness, bestowed upon him a lucky charm, only to then attempt to steal away his medicine, his fortune, and his nascent, promising life.
What kind of fate is this?

What kind of fate does he have?