After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Chapter 97 The Poison of Aconite

"Sect Leader, you've arrived!"

When Qingfeng saw Qian Xuzi, he quickly stepped forward to bow, his face showing a hint of grievance.

"These troublemakers came to file complaints, and that Imperial Physician Xue even said our elixirs are poisoned!"

Qian Xuzi waved his hand, signaling him to step back, then stepped forward and bowed to Han Chong in the hall. His expression was calm and his tone was even: "Your Excellency, I am Qian Xuzi. I have come to clarify the matter after hearing that someone has filed a complaint against me."

Han Chong saw that he had come in person, nodded slightly, and said, "Sect Leader Qian, you've come at the right time! These people are all unwell after taking the pills sold by your Medicine King Sect. You need to give an explanation."

Qian Xuzi gently shook his head and corrected him, "Your Excellency, you flatter me. Our Medicine King Sect helps people and saves lives. We don't sell medicine; we give it away for free."

Zhao Wu couldn't help but retort, "You're not lying through your teeth! One pill costs five hundred coins!"

Qian Xuzi glanced at him, his expression unchanged, and said calmly, "This benefactor may not know, but the Hundred Herbs Pill requires the blending and preparation of a hundred kinds of medicinal herbs. Just purchasing these herbs alone costs a lot of money. The money collected is all the capital for the herbs. My Medicine King Sect never profits from this."

Zhao Wu opened his mouth, wanting to refute.

However, he knew nothing about the price of herbs and was speechless for a moment.

Xue Xinfu stepped forward and said, "Even if it's made from a hundred kinds of medicinal herbs into such small pills, the cost wouldn't be too high. In my opinion, three to five coins would be enough."

Qian Xuzi turned to him, looked him up and down, and said in a calm tone, "Is this Physician Xue? Forgive my poor eyesight, but were you present when the Imperial Hospital tested the medicine?"

Xue Xinfu remained neither humble nor arrogant, clasping his hands in a fist and saying, "I am but a humble person with little influence, and I am not qualified to participate in the testing of the medicine."

Qian Xuzi nodded and then asked, "Since you're not qualified to test the medicine, why are you standing up now and saying there's a problem with it?"

Xue Xinfu replied, "My Xue family has been practicing medicine for generations and has a deep interest in medicine. When I heard that there were miraculous medicines in the folk, I bought a few to study. However, I did not expect to find that they contained poisonous substances such as aconite."

The common people didn't understand the word "acupuncture," but they understood the word "poison."

There is much discussion and speculation right now, with people pointing fingers and seemingly convinced that Baicao Dan is poisonous.

Qian Xuzi pondered for a moment and said, "Since Physician Xue discovered the problem, why didn't he inform the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, but instead came to Shuntian Prefecture? What's the logic behind that?"

Xue Xinfu said calmly, "I have already reported to the Imperial Medical Academy, and the head and judges are discussing it. I came to Shuntian Prefecture today because someone filed a complaint about the medicine, so I came to testify."

Seeing that he answered fluently and was not at a disadvantage, Qian Xuzi thought to himself, "He must have come prepared!"

But he still couldn't understand it. He had carefully calculated the amount of aconite in those ingredients. For something to go wrong, it would require taking it continuously for at least two months.

To be on the safe side, he only took the medication for seven days before stopping. How could something still go wrong?

If it's just one or two people, whose bodies are already weak, they might experience problems in a short period of time.

But with so many people, it doesn't make sense!

Seeing that the sect leader remained silent, Qingfeng assumed he was in the wrong and quickly jumped in, saying, "You must be framing us! We calculated the dosage precisely; there couldn't possibly be a problem now!"

Xue Xinfu's eyes lit up slightly as he noticed the flaw in the statement.

"You just said not now, does that mean there will be problems later?"

Qingfeng's expression changed, realizing he had misspoke, and he quickly shut his mouth.

Qian Xuzi glared at him fiercely, then turned to Xue Xinfu and said, "Since Physician Xue comes from a family of doctors, he must know that although aconite is poisonous, it is also a good medicine."

"The Thousand Gold Prescriptions states that aconite is used to restore yang and rescue from collapse, warm the meridians and dispel cold. It can be seen that the function of aconite is to warm and tonify yang qi. In the Hundred Herbs Elixir of our school, the main ingredients are astragalus, codonopsis, and atractylodes, while aconite is only an auxiliary medicine, playing a guiding role in the meridians. It is by no means the poison you mentioned."

Xue Xinfu shook his head and said seriously, "The function of aconite is to warm the yang and dispel cold. The dosage of aconite in your medicine is not enough to have a warming and tonifying effect. It can only give people a temporary boost. To put it bluntly, it's just pain relief and euphoria, and it has nothing to do with treating the disease!"

Qian Xuzi ignored his words, turned to face Han Zhong, and cupped his hands, saying, "Prefect, if the head of the Imperial Medical Academy had said these words, we could discuss it, but Physician Xue's rank is too low, so I'm afraid his words don't count."

Xue Xinfu said frankly, "Whether it counts or not is not important. I am just reporting the facts. I hope Prefect Han will investigate thoroughly."

Han Chong stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Physician Xue, if these people experience problems after taking the pills, can you treat them on the spot?"

Xue Xinfu nodded: "Yes! First, detoxify the aconite, then decoct licorice and mung beans and drink the decoction to relieve the symptoms. Subsequent treatment will depend on each individual's constitution and will be based on syndrome differentiation."

Han Zhong said, "This prefecture requests your on-site diagnosis. Is the illness in these people caused by aconite poisoning?"

"yes!"

Xue Xinfu agreed, then came to Wang Er's side and squatted down.

He first reached out and took Wang Er's wrist, then paused for a moment, examined his eyelids and tongue, and then stood up and said, "Prefect Han, this man's pulse is large and rapid, and his tongue is red, which are signs of aconite poisoning."

After saying that, he went to the second patient and did the same thing.

She was an old woman in her fifties, with a sallow complexion, who kept groaning.

Xue Xinfu squatted down and said softly, "Old man, let me see your hand."

The old woman stretched out her arm tremblingly.

Xue Xinfu placed three fingers on his pulse, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Where do you feel unwell?"

The old woman said weakly, "I feel palpitations, shortness of breath, and can't sleep at night. As soon as I close my eyes, I feel my heart pounding, like it's going to jump out of my chest."

Xue Xinfu nodded, examined her eyelids, and then asked her to open her mouth to look at her tongue.

"The tongue is bright red with no coating, and the pulse is thready, rapid, and hurried."

He stood up and said to Han Zhong, "Prefect Han, this person also shows signs of aconite poisoning. Aconite depletes the heart's yin, and the old man was already deficient in it. After being poisoned, his heart's yin was further depleted, hence his palpitations and insomnia."

Upon hearing this, the old lady's daughter-in-law burst into tears: "I told her that the medicine shouldn't be taken, but my mother-in-law insisted on taking it to strengthen her body, and now look what happened—"

Xue Xinfu comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, it can be cured."

After saying that, he got up and went to the fourth person.

This was a middle-aged man, burly in stature, but at this moment he was hunched over, his hands covering his stomach, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

Xue Xinfu took the man's pulse, and it was rapid and hard, as if something was pushing against it.

What are your symptoms?

The man gritted his teeth and said, "My stomach hurts, like it's being stabbed with a knife. I feel nauseous and want to vomit but can't."

Xue Xinfu then examined his tongue coating; the tongue itself was dark purple, and the coating was yellow and dry.

"Have you vomited?"

The man shook his head: "I didn't vomit, I just dry heaved."

Xue Xinfu stood up and said to Han Zhong, "This person's pulse is deep and tight, and his tongue is dark purple. It is caused by aconite poisoning, which leads to stagnation of qi and blood and intestinal obstruction. Aconite is very hot. If it cannot be neutralized in time after entering the abdomen, it will stagnate in the middle jiao and cause severe abdominal pain."

Upon hearing this, the man gritted his teeth and said, "I spent five hundred coins and all I got was a stomachache! That damned Medicine King Sect, they're inhuman!"

Qian Xuzi's face turned ashen, and he remained silent.

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