Sun Kui walked in and reported, "Your Majesty, Prince Han requests to see you."
The emperor appeared surprised, "Why is that rascal ing here?" It was already the hour of Xu in the evening, and the palace banquet at Zichen Hall had ended. "Let him in."
Soon, Sun Kui escorted Zhao Yao inside, then exited and stood guard at the door.
Upon entering, Zhao Yao asked directly, "Who poisoned you?"
The emperor was momentarily taken aback but then smiled, "What poison?"
Zhao Yao sat directly on the couch, his gaze sharp as he looked at the feigning emperor.
"Was it my eighth brother?"
The emperor’s smile froze, and his expression quickly turned serious, "How do you know about my poisoning?"
"Never mind how I know." Zhao Yao said as he pulled a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and tossed it to the emperor, "This is a detoxification pill from Lingnan, capable of cleansing all but the most lethal poisons. Take it now."
"Is it really that magical?" The emperor poured out a pill from the small porcelain bottle and tossed it into his mouth without any suspicion.
"After taking it, you’ll vomit black blood."
Soon after, the emperor vomited a large amount of black blood, startling Sun Kui who had just entered.
After vomiting the black blood, the emperor felt much better.
Zhao Yao checked the emperor’s pulse, "The poison is neutralized, but your old injuries..." he said as he retrieved another small blue porcelain bottle from his pocket, "Take one a day to relieve pain."
"Where do you get all these medicines?" The emperor took the porcelain bottle and swallowed the contents again without hesitation.
"Just in case." Lingnan is full of miasma, and he often faced assassination attempts, so he’s always carried medicine to protect his life.
After taking the medicine, the emperor noticed that the pain from his old injuries was indeed alleviated significantly.
"Your medicine is quite effective."
"The witch doctors in Lingnan are very skilled." Zhao Yao glanced at the emperor sideways and said testily, "You didn’t take the medicine I gave you before properly. If you had, your old injuries wouldn’t have flared up, nor would they be painful."
The emperor averted his gaze and said, "All medicine has some level of toxicity. Why would I take it if nothing’s wrong?"
"Serves you right for being in pain."
The emperor retorted, "You little brat!"
Unwilling to bicker with the emperor any further, Zhao Yao brought the topic back, "Tell me, what kind of poison was it, and why did my eighth brother poison you?"
"It’s not lethal, something called Three-Cloud Green, won’t kill you." The emperor didn’t seem concerned about the poisoning, "Why do you think it was the eighth brother who poisoned me?"
"Who else but my eighth brother has the capability? The fifth brother?" Mentioning Prince Han, Zhao Yao sneered, "If he had that ability, he wouldn’t have staged a rebellion."
At that moment, Sun Kui brought in some ginseng soup. Earlier, the emperor had vomited a large amount of blood, so Sun Kui felt it necessary for the emperor to be replenished. Of course, Zhao Yao was included.
Zhao Yao hadn’t eaten much at the evening banquet; the food served was cold. Moreover, the dishes were greasy, and once cold, a thick layer of oil settled on them, making Zhao Yao lose his appetite.
"Mr. Sun, I’m hungry. Bring in some more dishes."
"I’m also hungry; bring more." The emperor added.
Sun Kui beamed, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Before long, Sun Kui had prepared a table full of dishes for the emperor and his son.
Father and son sat on the couch, eating and conversing.
"Why are you so sure it’s the eighth brother?"
"As I said, besides my eighth brother, no one has that capability." Zhao Yao furrowed his brows slightly, "What does the eighth brother want to do?"
"You should ask him."
"It’s not easy to poison you; how did my eighth brother manage it?" Before eating or drinking anything, the emperor would have a eunuch test for poison.
"What do you think?"
"A gradual poisoning? To a degree that the eunuchs testing for poison wouldn’t detect?" Zhao Yao thought and could only e up with this method, "How long ago did the eighth brother arrange for the poisoning? A year ago? Or two years ago?"
The emperor didn’t expect Zhao Yao to guess it all and laughed, "Smart brat."
"You still haven’t told me, was it a year or two years ago?"
The emperor replied, "The Imperial Physician said the poisoning started two years ago."
"Two years ago?" Zhao Yao pondered for a moment, "Before I went to Lingnan?"
The emperor looked at Zhao Yao in astonishment, "How do you know?"
"As I suspected!" Zhao Yao said gravely.
"You little rascal, what have you deduced?"
"Poisoning you before I went to Lingnan, it seems the eighth brother had everything planned long ago." Zhao Yao narrowed his eyes slightly, appearing thoughtful, "In that case, the eighth brother knew long ago that I was going to Lingnan. But why poison you because I’m going to Lingnan?"
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