Condition deteriorated

  It wasn't until Long Hui Tian had finished dealing with all the memorials that it was already two o'clock in the morning, and outside had long since become quiet and still. The silence of the surroundings made the sounds of insects chirping even clearer, and only the imperial guards responsible for patrolling would occasionally pass by the door carrying lanterns.

  Long Yitian had instructed Gao Wuyong in advance when he started reviewing the memorials, and if there was no major military event, he would not be disturbed. Therefore, even though Gao Wuyong saw that the emperor's bedtime had passed for a long time, he didn't have the guts to speak out and disturb him.

  Even the eunuch in charge of delivering the green head card was dismissed by him on a pretext, because he could see that the emperor probably didn't have time to favor his concubine today.

  He stood up and stretched his muscles, but Long Hui Tian did not go to rest immediately. Instead, he walked slowly into the side hall where Yong Zhang lived.

  Although Yongzhang was only slightly affected by the cold, it had been many days and he still didn't see any improvement. Long Yitian couldn't help but feel a little worried in his heart, because if this high fever continued, Yongzhang's brain would eventually be damaged.

  As he entered the house, Long Yitian waved away the small eunuch who had been waiting here all along, then went straight to the bedside and sat down sideways on the bed. Afterwards, he stretched out his hand to feel the temperature of Yongzhao's forehead.

  He furrowed his brow slightly, and in addition to worry, a hint of doubt also flashed in his eyes.

  Logically speaking, after taking medicine for several days in a row, Yongzhang's wind chill should not have gotten worse even if it hadn't fully recovered. However, his body temperature is now higher than it was during the day, clearly indicating that his condition has worsened again.

  Faced with such an abnormal thing, Long Yintian naturally thought deeper, relying on his extraordinary wisdom and experience, he quickly guessed the general idea of what was hidden behind this matter.

  There are only two possibilities for such a result. One possibility is that the medicine was not suitable for the symptoms, which not only delayed Yongzhang's illness but also made his condition more severe; another possibility is that Yongzhang was secretly poisoned without realizing it, in other words, he was poisoned.

  This poison is different from the disease, if there is no antidote, this poison will never disappear forever, and Yongzhao's "disease" will naturally not get better, but also has a more severe trend.

  It's not that Long Yitian is too conspiracy-minded, after all, he has been living in the imperial palace since childhood, what kind of sinister and despicable means hasn't he seen? Tigers don't eat their own cubs, but those people will sacrifice even their own flesh and blood for power and status, so it's not impossible that they would secretly harm an imperial brother.

  What's embarrassing for Long Yitian is that he doesn't have an effective way to determine which of the illnesses he suspected was actually afflicting Yongzhang.

  If it were in the past, this little thing would absolutely not be difficult for him, but now the difficulty lies in that his Dragon Emperor Technique has been completely lost. Although the degree of fusion between his soul and this body is getting better and better, he still can't handle such a difficult task.

  After some thought, Long Hui Tian finally called in Gao Wu Yong, who had been waiting outside the door, and instructed him directly: "Gao Wu Yong, you personally go to Tai Hospital, and must bring Zheng Taai as soon as possible to Yangxin Hall. This matter must not be made public, the fewer people who know about it, the better."

  "Yes, I'll go right away." Gao Wuyong sensed the severity in Long Yitian's tone, so he didn't dare to delay and responded before quickly leaving the Yangxin Hall with only a small eunuch following him.

  Looking at Yongzhang on the bed, who was in a semi-comatose state due to his high fever, Long Yitian's heart still ached somewhat. Although the children of the imperial family had the highest status, they lost more than they gained.

  Many times, thinking back, Long Yitian felt that he was an extremely lucky person. His father emperor treated him with great affection and his imperial brother also treated him sincerely. The struggle for power and profit did not occur in their generation.

  However, there were still many people who wanted to harm him, and he grew up in such an environment. Everything has its pros and cons, and this kind of life greatly tempered his insight, perception, and predictive ability, so he was able to turn danger into safety every time. If there was even a slight mistake, he would not have survived to adulthood.

  Although Gao Wu Yong was a bit older, he was still quite efficient in handling matters. Before long, he had brought Zheng Taimei to the Nurturing Heart Palace. Along the way, he deliberately took those secluded small paths, and almost no one saw them, even the night patrol guards were carefully avoided by him.

  It was a coincidence that today was Zheng Taichang's shift, so Gao Wu Yong was able to find him so smoothly. Otherwise, Gao Wu Yong would have had to make another effort to leave the palace and look for someone.

  Leading Zheng Taizong into the side hall, Gao Wuyong did not personally come forward, but instead watched with his own eyes as Zheng Taizong walked behind the screen and paid respects to the emperor. After that, he turned around and retreated outside the door, closing it behind him, then carefully guarded the entrance.

  Having lived in the palace for so long, Gao Wu Yong was very clear about his own identity and what he should ask or look at, as well as what needed to be avoided. Because he was very aware of the times and handled matters efficiently, most importantly, he was loyal to the emperor, which is why he was able to serve two generations of emperors in a row and maintain his position as the chief eunuch.

  Long Hui didn't waste any words with Imperial Physician Zheng either, and directly got to the point in a tone that carried a hint of threat: "Imperial Physician Zheng, I've specially summoned you so late at night because I hope you can conduct another thorough examination on Third Prince. Don't tell me that Third Prince just happened to catch a cold, I don't want to hear any perfunctory words, do you understand?"

  Zheng Taizhong heard this and couldn't help but understand, hurriedly knelt down again, his forehead beading with cold sweat in anxiety: "Your humble servant understands, even if you gave me ten more guts, I wouldn't dare deceive Your Majesty."

  Long Hanyan saw that his words had taken effect, so he didn't say anything more. He got up and sat down in a chair to the side, yielding the spot by the bed. Only then did he say calmly, "Alright, no need for idle chatter. Let Third Brother examine him carefully."

  "I obey your orders." After receiving the order, Zheng Taichang didn't dare to delay and got up with his medical box. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before starting to examine San A'ge with full attention.

  If this were in the past, if Ah Ge fell ill, the Emperor would at most ask a couple of questions and that's it, while those old people from the Imperial Hospital are not seeking to achieve merit but rather seeking to avoid blame.

  So if the prince has a serious illness, they will all try to downplay it and make light of it; if he has a minor illness, they will simply say so, in order to reassure the emperor about their medical skills.

  But now the situation is different, the emperor not only cares about San A Ge, but can even be said to have doted on him, and also extends this trust to these imperial physicians. If there were to be any deception at this time, once discovered by the emperor, it would not just mean being put to death, but could very possibly lead to the extermination of nine clans.

  Furthermore, since Zheng Taichang had only recently entered the Imperial Hospital and was still young, his position within the hospital was not high, so it was normal for him to be deliberately suppressed. Now, he suddenly had an opportunity to make a name for himself in front of the Emperor, and as someone who had always been ambitious, he naturally would not let it slip away easily.

  About the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Zheng Taichang turned around with a solemn expression and directly knelt down in front of Long Yintian without saying a word.

  Long Hui saw the situation and smiled slightly, it seemed that he had chosen Zheng Taizhong correctly this time. Zheng Taizhong obviously found out something, but due to various reasons, he didn't dare to speak easily. So he said with a hint: "Zheng Taizhong, get up and answer me, you just need to tell the truth about the third prince's illness, I will pardon your crime."

  Long Yitian's words couldn't be any clearer; if Zheng Taichong still tried to hide the truth at this point, it would be no different from seeking death.

  "Your Majesty, the Third Prince is not ill, but has been poisoned by a rare toxin from the north."

  "Poisoned......", Long Yintian raised his hand and gently stroked the lower lip with his fingertips, his eyes cloudy and unclear. Then he asked further: "Zheng Taishi, tell me more about it."

  "Yes." Zheng Taizhen saw that the emperor did not show any signs of shock, and he also understood that the emperor must have already known about this matter. He was secretly glad that he had told the truth, so he no longer had any reservations and spoke frankly: "This poison is produced in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, it's a relatively common type of miasma in the local area. The symptoms of poisoning are very similar to those of people infected with wind-cold. However, those who have been poisoned will continue to have high fever for many days without relief, and some dark red blood spots will appear in their mouths. Their pulse is sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but it's not like the pulse of someone with a wind-cold."

  Long Hui nodded and saw that Zheng Taishi's words were so detailed, not like a lie, he believed him and asked: "Can this poison be solved?"

  "Once I have the two local specialties from Yunnan, I can quickly prepare an antidote. However, these two medicines are rarely used and may not be stocked in the Imperial Hospital. It will also be difficult to find them in pharmacies within the capital."

  Long Hiding Heaven knew that Zheng Taizhong's words were true, so he called Gao Wuyong in again and directly ordered: "Gao Wuyong, go to my private storage room and see if there are the two medicines that Zheng Taizhong mentioned. If not, I will think of another way to send someone to find them."

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