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Chapter 127: Can Only Pretend Not to Know
'Crap! Did he see a flaw?'
Gazing at the old man's meaningful eyes, Qian Renxue felt a strange panic blossom in her heart. She quickly reassured herself, 'Impossible! There's absolutely no way he could see through it! This is a soul bone passed down from the Angel God, and its innate disguise skill can't be seen through even by a Titled Douluo.'
Yet, despite constantly telling herself that Sun Zhongjing couldn't possibly have seen through her disguise, Qian Renxue still felt a little uneasy. Fortunately, Sun Zhongjing didn't say much. She couldn't tell if he hadn't noticed anything or if he had but chose to remain silent.
The three of them walked into the Imperial Bedchamber.
There, they saw the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Emperor Xueye, reclining against the headboard of his bed.
He was a relatively handsome middle-aged man, but his face was pale with dark circles under his eyes, giving him the weary appearance of someone exhausted from excessive indulgence.
"Your Majesty, the Medicine King has been brought here," the middle-aged man said with a bow.
"I've troubled you, Your Excellency."
Emperor Xueye didn't just look weak; his entire being was frail. Even his voice was faint and feeble, as if it wouldn't be surprising for him to faint at any moment.
"It is a physician's duty, Your Majesty. There is no need for such courtesy."
Sun Zhongjing shook his head and began to feign a careful observation of Emperor Xueye, as if trying to diagnose his illness. But in truth, as a top-tier traditional physician whose skills in the four diagnostic arts—observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation—were maxed out, he had grasped the man's physical condition the moment he saw him.
He was undoubtedly poisoned.
However, the effects of this poison were extremely subtle; it was a type of chronic poison. Furthermore, it made the victim appear to be suffering from a natural illness due to old age and a declining constitution.
The most ingenious part was that he had been afflicted with a complex compound poison. Such special, potent poisons were bizarre and varied; it could be said that every person skilled in the art of poison used a different concoction. The most difficult to deal with was this very kind of complex compound poison. To create an antidote, one must first identify the source.
This type of poison was extremely difficult to identify. Without finding the specific source, one couldn't prescribe the right medicine and thus couldn't cure the poison. Besides the person who concocted it, almost no one could create a cure.
Of course, that "no one" didn't include Sun Zhongjing. To him, this little compound poison was completely insignificant. Concocting an antidote was as easy as flipping his hand. He could write tens of thousands of different detoxification prescriptions in an instant. When it came to poisons, no one in this world could compare to him, the Plague God.
After a moment of feigned observation, Sun Zhongjing retracted his gaze and put on a thoughtful expression.
"Your Excellency Medicine King, may I ask about His Majesty's illness...?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.
"Your Excellency, can you cure my Imperial Father's illness?" Qian Renxue also put on a worried expression, making it impossible for anyone to tell that she was the one who had administered the poison.
"Illness?"
"His Majesty is not sick, but poisoned. This old man is merely wondering who could possibly poison the emperor of a nation," Sun Zhongjing said, shaking his head.
"What? Poisoned!"
The middle-aged man and Qian Renxue exclaimed in unison. The former was genuinely shocked, while the latter was purely acting.
"Someone poisoned me?!" Emperor Xueye's expression immediately darkened upon hearing the diagnosis. No wonder his body had been aging so rapidly and he felt so weak and frequently ill lately. If he had been poisoned, then it wasn't strange at all.
But who could have done it?
At this thought, Emperor Xueye's gaze subconsciously flickered to "Xue Qinghe," played by Qian Renxue, listing this son, who had long been made Crown Prince, as a prime suspect in his heart!
This was not the first time a member of the Royal Family had been poisoned.
Prior to this, Emperor Xueye originally had four sons. Although Xue Qinghe was the eldest, he was, frankly, only average in all respects. Whether in terms of wisdom or cultivation talent, the most outstanding scion of the Royal Family back then was not Xue Qinghe.
The one he had been most optimistic about was his second son. He was a breathtakingly talented young man.
Perhaps he wasn't a top genius in Soul Master cultivation, but in terms of intelligence and wisdom, he was definitely a top figure.
To become an emperor, in Emperor Xueye's view, martial strength was sometimes not that important, especially since the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's Martial Soul was only so-so. Therefore, wisdom was often more crucial for an emperor to balance the court officials and recruit talent to strengthen the nation. For this reason, Emperor Xueye had always held this son in high regard and had even intended to make him the Crown Prince.
But this son, for whom he had such high hopes, died prematurely at the age of twelve.
Then, the following year, his third son, who was extremely talented in Soul Master cultivation, died prematurely at the age of eleven. And so, of the original four sons, only two remained.
Sensing something was amiss, Emperor Xueye secretly dispatched trusted subordinates to investigate the matter thoroughly. The investigation concluded that the poison that killed both princes was identical, yet it didn't seem like a conventional poison. Instead, they had been poisoned by a Soul Master's Martial Soul!
A Soul Master with a poisonous Martial Soul!
Someone was clearly making trouble in the shadows!
But who was it?
Emperor Xueye unconsciously shifted his gaze to his eldest son, Xue Qinghe. Even now, there was no evidence to prove that his eldest son was behind it.
But no one was a fool. If there was no evidence, one simply had to find the person who stood to gain the most from the two princes' deaths. There was a high probability that this person was the culprit.
With the second and third princes dead and the fourth still young, who stood to gain the most?
Without a doubt, it was Xue Qinghe, the eldest prince! With them out of the way, the position of Crown Prince was practically his for the taking.
Of course, besides the eldest prince resorting to underhanded means to harm his brothers for the throne, it wasn't impossible that people from other nations were responsible. But the problem was, if outsiders wanted to strike at the Heaven Dou Empire's Royal Family, why did they spare only the eldest son?
One had to know that although Xue Qinghe's talent wasn't on par with the second prince's, he was still quite intelligent, and his cultivation talent was decent. While not particularly outstanding in any area, he could still be considered excellent—a good heir.
If the goal was to damage the Heaven Dou Empire by killing its outstanding heirs, why spare this eldest prince?
It made no sense at all.
In Emperor Xueye's view, his eldest son was most likely the murderer. But even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.
First, there was no evidence. His belief that the eldest prince was the murderer was based purely on analysis and speculation. What if the truth came to light and he realized he had made a mistake? Wouldn't it be too late for regrets?
Second, Emperor Xueye originally had four sons, but now only two were left. If he were to depose the eldest prince, his youngest son was not only a rebellious wastrel unfit for any great responsibility, but he also had a terrible reputation among the officials and the common people. Making him Crown Prince was impossible!
So, in the end, the eldest prince was his only choice. Even though he knew this son had done many wrong things for the sake of the throne, he couldn't kill him for the sake of the Empire's stability and succession.
He could only pretend not to know and even had to make him Crown Prince!
(end of chapter)
'Crap! Did he see a flaw?'
Gazing at the old man's meaningful eyes, Qian Renxue felt a strange panic blossom in her heart. She quickly reassured herself, 'Impossible! There's absolutely no way he could see through it! This is a soul bone passed down from the Angel God, and its innate disguise skill can't be seen through even by a Titled Douluo.'
Yet, despite constantly telling herself that Sun Zhongjing couldn't possibly have seen through her disguise, Qian Renxue still felt a little uneasy. Fortunately, Sun Zhongjing didn't say much. She couldn't tell if he hadn't noticed anything or if he had but chose to remain silent.
The three of them walked into the Imperial Bedchamber.
There, they saw the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Emperor Xueye, reclining against the headboard of his bed.
He was a relatively handsome middle-aged man, but his face was pale with dark circles under his eyes, giving him the weary appearance of someone exhausted from excessive indulgence.
"Your Majesty, the Medicine King has been brought here," the middle-aged man said with a bow.
"I've troubled you, Your Excellency."
Emperor Xueye didn't just look weak; his entire being was frail. Even his voice was faint and feeble, as if it wouldn't be surprising for him to faint at any moment.
"It is a physician's duty, Your Majesty. There is no need for such courtesy."
Sun Zhongjing shook his head and began to feign a careful observation of Emperor Xueye, as if trying to diagnose his illness. But in truth, as a top-tier traditional physician whose skills in the four diagnostic arts—observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation—were maxed out, he had grasped the man's physical condition the moment he saw him.
He was undoubtedly poisoned.
However, the effects of this poison were extremely subtle; it was a type of chronic poison. Furthermore, it made the victim appear to be suffering from a natural illness due to old age and a declining constitution.
The most ingenious part was that he had been afflicted with a complex compound poison. Such special, potent poisons were bizarre and varied; it could be said that every person skilled in the art of poison used a different concoction. The most difficult to deal with was this very kind of complex compound poison. To create an antidote, one must first identify the source.
This type of poison was extremely difficult to identify. Without finding the specific source, one couldn't prescribe the right medicine and thus couldn't cure the poison. Besides the person who concocted it, almost no one could create a cure.
Of course, that "no one" didn't include Sun Zhongjing. To him, this little compound poison was completely insignificant. Concocting an antidote was as easy as flipping his hand. He could write tens of thousands of different detoxification prescriptions in an instant. When it came to poisons, no one in this world could compare to him, the Plague God.
After a moment of feigned observation, Sun Zhongjing retracted his gaze and put on a thoughtful expression.
"Your Excellency Medicine King, may I ask about His Majesty's illness...?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.
"Your Excellency, can you cure my Imperial Father's illness?" Qian Renxue also put on a worried expression, making it impossible for anyone to tell that she was the one who had administered the poison.
"Illness?"
"His Majesty is not sick, but poisoned. This old man is merely wondering who could possibly poison the emperor of a nation," Sun Zhongjing said, shaking his head.
"What? Poisoned!"
The middle-aged man and Qian Renxue exclaimed in unison. The former was genuinely shocked, while the latter was purely acting.
"Someone poisoned me?!" Emperor Xueye's expression immediately darkened upon hearing the diagnosis. No wonder his body had been aging so rapidly and he felt so weak and frequently ill lately. If he had been poisoned, then it wasn't strange at all.
But who could have done it?
At this thought, Emperor Xueye's gaze subconsciously flickered to "Xue Qinghe," played by Qian Renxue, listing this son, who had long been made Crown Prince, as a prime suspect in his heart!
This was not the first time a member of the Royal Family had been poisoned.
Prior to this, Emperor Xueye originally had four sons. Although Xue Qinghe was the eldest, he was, frankly, only average in all respects. Whether in terms of wisdom or cultivation talent, the most outstanding scion of the Royal Family back then was not Xue Qinghe.
The one he had been most optimistic about was his second son. He was a breathtakingly talented young man.
Perhaps he wasn't a top genius in Soul Master cultivation, but in terms of intelligence and wisdom, he was definitely a top figure.
To become an emperor, in Emperor Xueye's view, martial strength was sometimes not that important, especially since the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's Martial Soul was only so-so. Therefore, wisdom was often more crucial for an emperor to balance the court officials and recruit talent to strengthen the nation. For this reason, Emperor Xueye had always held this son in high regard and had even intended to make him the Crown Prince.
But this son, for whom he had such high hopes, died prematurely at the age of twelve.
Then, the following year, his third son, who was extremely talented in Soul Master cultivation, died prematurely at the age of eleven. And so, of the original four sons, only two remained.
Sensing something was amiss, Emperor Xueye secretly dispatched trusted subordinates to investigate the matter thoroughly. The investigation concluded that the poison that killed both princes was identical, yet it didn't seem like a conventional poison. Instead, they had been poisoned by a Soul Master's Martial Soul!
A Soul Master with a poisonous Martial Soul!
Someone was clearly making trouble in the shadows!
But who was it?
Emperor Xueye unconsciously shifted his gaze to his eldest son, Xue Qinghe. Even now, there was no evidence to prove that his eldest son was behind it.
But no one was a fool. If there was no evidence, one simply had to find the person who stood to gain the most from the two princes' deaths. There was a high probability that this person was the culprit.
With the second and third princes dead and the fourth still young, who stood to gain the most?
Without a doubt, it was Xue Qinghe, the eldest prince! With them out of the way, the position of Crown Prince was practically his for the taking.
Of course, besides the eldest prince resorting to underhanded means to harm his brothers for the throne, it wasn't impossible that people from other nations were responsible. But the problem was, if outsiders wanted to strike at the Heaven Dou Empire's Royal Family, why did they spare only the eldest son?
One had to know that although Xue Qinghe's talent wasn't on par with the second prince's, he was still quite intelligent, and his cultivation talent was decent. While not particularly outstanding in any area, he could still be considered excellent—a good heir.
If the goal was to damage the Heaven Dou Empire by killing its outstanding heirs, why spare this eldest prince?
It made no sense at all.
In Emperor Xueye's view, his eldest son was most likely the murderer. But even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.
First, there was no evidence. His belief that the eldest prince was the murderer was based purely on analysis and speculation. What if the truth came to light and he realized he had made a mistake? Wouldn't it be too late for regrets?
Second, Emperor Xueye originally had four sons, but now only two were left. If he were to depose the eldest prince, his youngest son was not only a rebellious wastrel unfit for any great responsibility, but he also had a terrible reputation among the officials and the common people. Making him Crown Prince was impossible!
So, in the end, the eldest prince was his only choice. Even though he knew this son had done many wrong things for the sake of the throne, he couldn't kill him for the sake of the Empire's stability and succession.
He could only pretend not to know and even had to make him Crown Prince!
(end of chapter)
