I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Lu Yuan raised his blood-stained left arm and pointed to the inner room.

"All I ask is that you spare He Shen's life."

"Let him live long enough for the product to be made."

"You don't need to worry about the rest."

Liang Zhongwen did not give way, saying, "I cannot risk human lives to test Your Highness."

"You just said that once a wound festers, even a god can't save it."

Lu Cangqiong frowned and walked over.

"Ninth Brother, how confident are you?"

Lu Yuan looked at the tightly closed door to the inner room.

His maternal clan was small, and after his mother passed away, only his maternal uncle He Shen remained.

When he was a child, He Shen took him out of the palace, fought for him, and covered up the trouble he caused.

Even after He Shen became the commander of the Imperial Guards, he still treated him like a child who needed protection.

He Shen has now taken an arrow because of him.

He must save this person.

"Father, I cannot guarantee that my uncle will survive."

Lu Yuan turned around. "But if we follow the original methods of the Imperial Hospital, he will definitely not survive once his wounds fester."

"At least I can give him a better chance of survival."

Lu Cangqiong stared at him for a moment.

"What exactly did you ask the Ministry of Works to make?"

"A life-saving treasure newly bestowed by the old immortal."

Lu Yuan picked up a piece of paper and a pen from the side and drew the outlines of several objects.

"Regular spirits aren't enough."

"Your subject wishes to refine an even stronger and purer liquor from strong liquor."

"This product can clean knives, hands, and the area around wounds, killing those invisible filth that can cause wounds to fester."

Lu Cangqiong's worry for Lu Yuan lessened somewhat.

"Have you received another favor from the Old Immortal of Nanhua?"

"right."

"good!"

After Lu Cangqiong took the blueprints, he handed them directly to Zhou Fu. "Bring over the best craftsmen from the Ministry of Works. Give the Ninth Prince whatever he wants. If he's short a piece of iron or a copper pipe, I will hold Xie Guangkun accountable."

After receiving the blueprints, Zhou Fu immediately walked outside.

Lu Cangqiong then said to Liang Zhongwen, "The Imperial Medical Academy must save He Shen for me. No matter what the Ninth Prince asks you to do, as long as you don't kill He Shen on the spot, you must cooperate."

Liang Zhongwen lowered his head.

"Your subject obeys."

Lu Yuan made some more arrangements when he reached the door of the inner room.

"Ice should not come into direct contact with Commander He, nor should cold air be blown onto him. Just lower the temperature inside the room."

"Those who take care of Commander He must wear clean clothes and wash their hands before entering the room."

"The bandages used on the wounds are all boiled and dried before use, and new ones are used every time the dressing is changed."

Liang Zhongwen did not agree at first.

However, Lu Cangqiong was watching from the side, so he could only let the imperial physician do it.

Although He Shen's breathing was very weak, he was still alive.

……

In less than half an hour, Xie Guangkun arrived at the Imperial Hospital with eight craftsmen.

As soon as they entered, someone led them to an open space nearby.

The blueprints are not difficult to understand.

Following Lu Yuan's instructions, several craftsmen constructed a distillation apparatus using materials such as copper pots, copper pipes, and coolers.

Several jars of wine sent from the imperial kitchen have already been moved into the courtyard.

Xie Guangkun circled around three times before he finally spotted the equipment.

"Your Highness, can this thing really save lives?"

"Whether it can be saved or not, we'll only know after we do it."

Lu Yuan told him to check the interface and seal all the gaps to prevent gas leaks.

"This is not difficult."

Xie Guangkun rolled up his sleeves and personally led the men to adjust the copper pipes. "It's clearly good wine, why put it in to boil?"

"After removing the water from the liquor, what remains is the stronger part."

A young craftsman leaned over and sniffed: "The wine's all burned away, what's left?"

"It will naturally flow out from the other end."

The craftsmen began working with some skepticism.

Lu Yuan didn't do it himself, but just pointed out some things that needed to be modified.

The distillation process itself is not difficult, but it takes a long time to regulate the distillation equipment.

The first set of equipment leaked air, so it had to be sealed again.

The second heating was too high, and the resulting wine was still very cloudy.

It wasn't until the third time that the refreshing liquor flowed from the other end of the copper tube.

Xie Guangkun took the small bowl of soup, but quickly pulled it back when he brought it to his nose to smell it.

"Why does this wine smell so good?"

"This is exactly what I need."

Lu Yuan took a strip of cloth, dripped a few drops of wine on it, and then placed it next to the candle.

Soon, the sound of burning alcohol could be heard on the strip of cloth.

All the craftsmen took two steps back.

Xie Guangkun's eyes grew brighter as he looked at the strip of cloth.

Can alcohol really burn?

"Ordinary wine won't do; only wine like this will do."

Lu Yuan poured the remaining wine into a porcelain bottle. "From today onwards, this bottle will be called 'Strong Liquor'."

"This method is currently kept secret within the palace. All participants are prohibited from disclosing any information to outsiders without the Emperor's permission."

Xie Guangkun immediately led the workers to pay their respects.

"We understand."

After getting the first bottle of strong liquor, Lu Yuan returned to his room.

Liang Zhongwen was already waiting at the door.

"Is this the life-saving thing Your Highness was talking about?"

"Wash your hands first."

Lu Yuan poured the alcohol into a small bowl, and then took a few clean strips of cloth.

Liang Zhongwen frowned after smelling a pungent odor.

"This stuff is even more potent than imperial wine."

"It cannot be poured directly into Commander He's chest."

Lu Yuan handed him the porcelain bottle: "Use it to wash your hands, silver knife, scissors, and around your wounds."

"The internal bleeding from the arrow wound has stopped, so you can't move the person unnecessarily. This must be done every time you change the dressing."

Liang Zhongwen washed his hands as instructed.

He immediately frowned when the alcohol touched the small cuts on his hand.

The young imperial physician beside him immediately asked, "Your Excellency, how is the hand?"

"It stings a little."

Looking at his hands, Liang Zhongwen said, "There are no scars on my hands, at least not visible to the naked eye."

Lu Yuan continued, "Unseen wounds can hurt, and unseen filth can certainly harm people."

This time, Liang Zhongwen did not refute.

He led two imperial physicians into the inner room, and as Lu Yuan had instructed, cleaned the filth around He Shen's wounds and replaced them with boiled and dried cloths.

After some time, Liang Zhongwen came out again.

"Commander He's pulse is still very weak, but it is not getting weaker."

"The next twelve hours are the most crucial!"

"Only by getting through this can we have any hope of survival."

Lu Yuan leaned against the door, looking down at the bloodstains on his clothes.

He Shen is currently under protection.

Then it was time for the assassins to make their appearance.

Last night they besieged the prince, and today they shot and killed the commander of the Imperial Guards.

It was clear that the other party didn't just want to silence this person, but also wanted to kill the last member of his mother's clan.

He will settle this score one by one.

No matter who is manipulating things behind the scenes, he will make them pay the price.

……

Consort Shen's bedroom.

A teacup shattered at the feet of a palace maid.

"A dozen or so assassins couldn't even kill a wounded Lu Yuan?"

Consort Shen stood in the hall, her chest heaving.

"Today they attacked him again in front of the Imperial Guards, and even handed the man over to him."

"What use are you to me?"

The personal maid quickly bowed.

"Your Majesty, the assassin has taken poison and left no survivors."

"All the people responsible for providing support outside the palace have also been withdrawn."

"Even if His Majesty orders a joint trial by the three judicial departments, they won't be able to find anything on us."

Consort Shen turned to look at her.

Where is Lu Yuan?

"They have already returned to the palace."

The palace maid reported all the information she had received.

Lu Yuan only suffered an injury to his left arm and was not in mortal danger.

He Shen was shot in the lung by an arrow. Although the Imperial Hospital removed the arrowhead, it was still unknown whether he would wake up.

Upon hearing that He Shen was nearing the end of his life, Consort Shen's anger finally subsided somewhat.

"Lu Yuan is lucky, but He Shen might not be."

"His maternal clan only has this one uncle left."

"With He Shen dead, I want to see who he can rely on to control the Imperial Guards."

She looked in the direction of the Second Prince's residence.

The position of Crown Prince can only belong to Lu Cheng.

Anyone who dares to stand in their way will die.

Consort Shen suppressed her anger and turned to ask, "When will the Celestial Master arrive?"

A young eunuch entered from outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, the Celestial Master has arrived."

"We're waiting outside the palace right now."

Consort Shen immediately stood up.

"Please come here immediately!"