章 27: Chapter 3.5
That night, Zhou Yun Sheng went back home and told Shen father of his drunk antics and other events.
"I didn't think you would actually enter His Highness the Crown Prince's eyes, this can be considered rare. In recent years, His Highness' temperament has been violent, so there are few friendly encounters." Shen father stroked his beard and sighed, but his heart was quite worried. This prince's behavior was audacious, he'd gradually lost his saintly heart, and in recent years, a few court councilors have repeatedly presented memorials to the emperor to request a change of heir. It was a disaster for his son to get too close to him, not good fortune ah!
Zhou Yun Sheng also knew Shen father's thoughts, continuing, "When your son accidentally angered the Crown Prince, the Seventh Prince was silent in his seat, he was obviously pleased at the events. Father, the Seventh Prince is not our ally."
Shen father's eyes darkened, then he silently withdrew.
Zhou Yun Sheng returned to his room, sent away his personal servant, and sat in front of his lamp to meditate. He'd reincarnated many lifetimes, one of which was a founder of a demonic cult, not only was his martial arts high, his knowledge of poisons was unparalleled in the world. The scent of drugs on the Crown Prince's body was thick, he obviously took the drug at least once a day, but this prescription was really deadly.
The name of the medicine was HanShi San, its common name was- Five Mineral Powder, after taking it, people entered into a state of euphoria.
But its most fundamental usefulness was actually the treatment of typhoid fever, and it was a life-saving medicine. The proper use could quickly heal the typhoid fever and stabilize the body, but its abuse could cause addiction, poisoning the body.
Taking HanShi San could lead to a high fever, if not promptly cooled down, the patient would die. The method of heat removal was eating cold food, wearing thin clothes, sleeping on cold beds, cold baths, etc. The body couldn't get into contact with the tiniest bit of heat. But it was also necessary to drink a lot of wine, and the wine needed to be warm and good, the drunk state would greatly improve heat distribution.
After taking it for a long time, many side-effects would appear in the body. A violent temperament was only the first side effect, there was also excessively high body temperature, and easily bruised thin skin, so wearing soft, over washed, well-worn clothes was necessary. They couldn't wear new clothes, and the clothes needed to be relaxed and elegant, not too tight. In order to reduce foot bruising, they had to give up boots and only wear wooden clogs.
The point was, the Crown Prince didn't suddenly turn arrogant and wild, he had no choice in the matter.
Thinking of this, Zhou Yun Sheng opened 007 and searched for the state of HanShi San in DaZhou Dynasty, a moment later, he let out a guttural sigh. DaZhou Dynasty didn't have HanShi San on its records, obviously, the drug was a secret drug not handed down from ancient times. In the entire DaZhou Dynasty, perhaps only the Crown Prince was using it.
The thoughts of the person who'd offered him this drug, Zhou Yun Sheng almost didn't need to think to guess this.
The Crown Prince was 27, the prime of life, the Tian Chen Emperor looked healthy, but he was already over 50 . In these ancient times, he could be considered past longevity, sooner or later, he'd have to fly on a crane to the Western Paradise. The Tian Chen Emperor had always doted on the Crown Prince extravagantly, the Crown Prince also worked hard, in politics, he could be described as omnipotent. His governing talent was even better than the Tian Chen Emperor's, and in his early years, he'd received the support of most of the court councilors and the common people.
With such a good heir, who would be dissatisfied? As long as the Crown Prince was stable, naturally no one could surpass him. Someone couldn't shake the Crown Prince's position from the outside, so they tried to destroy it from the inside.
He had no choice but to admit that this method was very clever, getting rid of the most powerful enemy without a weapon or solider.
Recalling the heroine who had the medical space and spiritual spring, Zhou Yun Sheng guessed that this HanShi San was 99% the heroine and the Seventh Prince's handwriting. If they wanted to destroy the Crown Prince, then Zhou Yun Sheng would ruin their plans and help the Crown Prince ascend the throne.
Decided, Zhou Yun Sheng blew out the candles, and laid down to rest.
——————–
The Crown Prince felt that the small champion was very interesting, not only did he look beautiful, his courage was also great. He didn't exude flourishing vitality all the time, so when he was called in to see him, he felt comfortable.
"Your Highness, do you have any more questions?" Zhou Yun Sheng held the "Book of Changes" and bowed slightly.
The Crown Prince seemed to be listening to his lecture, but he was actually staring at his graceful, opening and closing lips. He saw him glance over with his pair of peach blossom eyes, and finally woke up, waving, "No, sit down, help me practice my characters for a while."
After getting along for one month, the two had already become extremely familiar. Zhou Yun Sheng sat down and automatically grinded ink for the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince used to write in a quick and bold Semi-cursive script, but three years ago, he suddenly switched to cursive, and it was the most difficult to master wild cursive.
He had extraordinary talent, and understood many things, after a few months he'd mastered wild cursive.
Zhou Yun Sheng looked down to see him write quickly and powerfully, penetratingly, the words rapidly flowing onto the paper:
Too much I have decayed!
Alas, all my life I've seen friends and companions fade away,
And now how many of them are left?
With gray hair hanging in vain three thousand meters long,
I laugh away all worldly things.
Is there anything left, you ask, that might cheer me up?
I see in green mountains such alluring charm;
I expect that they see the same in me,
For in heart and in appearance
We are a bit similar.
Goblet in hand, scratching my head by the east window
I presume that Tao Yuanming, having finished his poem "Halting Clouds,"
Was in the same mood now I am.
Those on the south side of the Yangtze who got drunk only to seek fame,
How could they know the magic of the turbid wine?
Looking back, I conjure a gust of wind and send clouds flying.
I regret not that I can't meet the ancients,
But that the ancients had no chance to see my wildness.
The number of people who understand me
Is no more than two or three
(Poem is called Congratulating the Bridegroom by Xin Qiji, translation stolen from How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology by Zong-qi Cai)
I regret not that I can't meet the ancients, but that the ancients had no chance to see my wildness. Zhou Yun Sheng slowly chewed on this sentence, then caught a glimpse of the Crown Prince's hair on his temples, which was actually showing an early hint of gray, and couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. He could write such a magnificent poem in unrestrained calligraphy; the Crown Prince should not have such a ghastly look.
Seeing the Crown Prince put down his writing brush and pick up his wine cup, Zhou Yun Sheng couldn't hold back his words any longer, "Your Highness, you cannot go on like this."
The Crown Prince was not angry, only glancing at him with a faint smile.
Zhou Yun Sheng continued, "Please Your Highness, forgive this insolent official, this official wants to take a look at Your Highness' medication."
"Why, you want to try it?" The Crown Prince put down the wine cup and raised a delicate brow. If someone else coveted his god medicine, he would've long ago chopped that person into meat sauce, but since it was the small champion, he couldn't even work up the slightest bit of anger.
"No, if this small official wanted to try it, this small official would've already compounded it, and wouldn't wait until now."
"You would compound it? How? In this world, only I know the ingredients."
Regardless of if it was appearance or ability, the Crown Prince was far above regular people, but one thing was somewhat unsatisfactory, that was his frail body. This was an ever-present defect, it couldn't be managed, and every winter would bring about an unbearable cough. But he was blessed by Heaven, one day, while hunting outside of the palace, he saved a Taoist priest, and the Taoist priest was grateful, offering him a body strengthening medicine. He said that after five years, it would eradicate every illness and grant longevity.
The Crown Prince helped the Taoist priest for several months, but the man died from his injuries despite the extensive medical care. The Crown Prince naturally tested the prescription on someone to find out if it was fake, but after the test subject took the drug, the effect was significant.
The Crown Prince knew that if he sat on the supreme throne with a weak body, he'd always suffer. He tested the drug on dozens of test subjects, seeing their thin bodies grow more robust every day, how could he not be tempted? Now, he had already been taking the medicine for three years, and had long been unable to get rid of the drug's control.
Speaking of which, although this HanShi San was poisonous, it really could be regarded as a life-saving god medicine. After taking it, the fierce medicinal effect triggered HuoDu, but after the HuoDu spilled out, the accumulated severe illness would also be taken away, which really could quickly return someone to health. Its medicinal efficiency not only relied on cold food, cold clothes, cold baths, and cold beds, it also relied on a great amount of exercise, which tempered the body.
Three years ago, the Crown Prince was very thin, but now, he was muscular, which could clearly be seen through his open collar. So, he was naturally convinced of the efficacy of the drug.
Zhou Yun Sheng quickly organized his words, cupping his hands to say, "Reporting to Your Highness, this small official's sense of smell is far above ordinary people, just a sniff is required to distinguish all true smells. This small official is also quite proficient in traditional medicine. Your Highness takes this medicine all year round, your body is thick with the smell of medicinal herbs, this small official learned the necessary ingredients of this drug, and their quantity, with one sniff."
The Crown Prince was interested, hooking his lips in a smile, "Then tell me, if there's a mistake, I'll punish you." After saying this, he stroked the young man's slender neck, his movements dangerous and ambiguous.
Zhou Yun Sheng nodded, then listed the ingredients one by one, "Stalactites three portions, amethyst two portions, milky quartz half portion, sulfur three portions, ochre… …"
As he spoke, the Crown Prince's expression became capricious.
Zhou Yun Sheng was completely fearless, when he finished listing, he frankly said, "Reporting to Your Highness, this medicine is a good medicine, but if it's taken for a long period of time, the outcome will be life-threatening. In recent years, Your Highness has become increasingly temperamental, this medicine is the initiator."
The Crown Prince placed his right hand on his sword, his eyes flashing, killing intent leaking out.
Zhou Yun Sheng didn't wait for him to launch an attack, continuing, "Your Honorable Highness, you certainly tested the medicine before taking it, but this method only checks the short-term effects, not the long-term. This small official has a better method, Your Highness can always punish this official for his insolence after testing it. This official also knows that today's words should not be said, he fears incurring death from excessive speech, but this official couldn't bear to watch the Crown Prince be unknowingly killed by some schemer, so he risked death to advise royalty. Please Your Highness, give this official a chance to prove himself."
The Crown Prince pinched his jaw, his malicious gaze boring straight into him. Glimpsing the heavy concern and love in his eyes, the Crown Prince's heart shook fiercely.
"Fine, I will give you a chance." After a long time, he let go of the boy, his thin lips raised into a cold smile.
Zhou Yun Sheng's chin was already imprinted with a few purple bruises from his grip, he backed up two steps and rubbed his chin, his eyes tearful.
Seeing his pitiable and lovely look, the Crown Prince's piled up rage was unexpectedly swept away.
————————-
The next day, the small champion brought two little white mice into the palace and presented them to His Highness the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince carefully raised them for several days, he seemed very fond of them.
One day, when he returned from court, a palace eunuch hurriedly ran over, saying in a panic, "Reporting to Your Highness, the two white mice had an accident."
The Crown Prince's heart was apprehensive, he quickly entered his room.
He found the two already crazy white mice, squeaking and biting at the golden cage. Their two incisors were already broken, but they didn't give up, even using their claws to scratch, wrapping around each other in a crazy fight. A quarter of an hour later, only two pools of stinky flesh remained in the cage, the two lovely mice were long gone.
The Crown Prince stared at the golden cage, his complexion changed from white to green, then green to purple, he was obviously angry to the extreme.
What Taoist priest, what god medicine, what gratitude! Who is behind this? The Second Prince? Third? Fourth? Or are all of them joining hands to kill me?
The Crown Prince slowly walked to the table, drank from the pot of warm wine, and finally couldn't suppress a chuckle. No matter who, he would rather kill them all than let one slip away!
===========================
T/N:
Yes, that's the poem in the story. No, it was not easy tracking down the translation.
HanShi San – Cold-Food Powder/ Five Minerals Powder. Wikipedia "….a poisonous psychoactive drug popular during the Six Dynasties (220–589) and Tang Dynasty (618–907) periods of China."
Book of Changes– I Ching/Classic of Changes. Wikipedia "…an ancient Chinese divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics. Possessing a history of more than two and a half millennia of commentary and interpretation, the I Ching is an influential text read throughout the world, providing inspiration to the worlds of religion, psychoanalysis, business, literature, and art."
Semi-cursive/Wild Cursive– XingKai Script, or Running Kaishu, a semi-cursive script. Wild Cursive, google it, it looks cursed. According to Wikipedia, semi-cursive is considered artistic and cursive is considered sloppy.
HuoDu- Wiki "an infection caused by a burn or scald". Okay then.
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