Poisoned?
The Great General looked utterly shocked, instinctively glancing at his pricked fingertip, where only a faint blood mark indicated what Qin Liuxi had done.
Lord Zuo was also highly surprised and said, "Poisoned, how can this be?"
"Indeed, even if the Imperial Physician doesn’t check the Peace Pulse daily, they do it every few days, and there’s always a house doctor here who checks the Peace Pulse every day. They never ntioned I was poisoned." The Great General was both amazed and angry.
Qin Liuxi said, "This is a chronic poison, not like the Crane Crown Red, those tiger and wolf dicines that kill in an instant. It’s like the Silent. Slowly invading your body, it makes you increasingly depleted, fatigued, and weak over ti. This poison stays in your body for a long ti, leaving you increasingly exhausted and unable to muster any energy. You’ll end up bedridden due to weakness, struggling to eat until your organs fall into disarray, life force dwindling, leading to death, and outsiders won’t find out, only thinking you succumbed to long-term illness."
The Great General’s eyes widened like copper bells, almost bulging out, terrifying indeed.
He knew he had felt fatigued lately, unable to sleep well, ntally unwell, and thought it was because of his beloved daughter’s disappearance, unaware that it was poisoning him.
He felt cold all over, the chill rising from the soles of his feet, spreading throughout his body.
"What is this poison called?" Lord Zuo swallowed hard.
"In the Sheng Dynasty, there’s a secret drug nad Silent, which causes the body to weaken gradually, the spirit to dwindle, eventually leading to death by not treating. It’s also difficult to detect," Qin Liuxi replied. "The main ingredients to make this poison include Buddha Flower, also known as red spider lily; supplented by the Heavenly Immortal Vine and other toxic herbs lted down and ground into fine powder to make Silent."
The two, upon hearing this, felt their scalp tingle.
Qin Liuxi wiped the blood mark on her finger with a handkerchief and said, "I just tasted the flavors of Buddha Flower and Heavenly Immortal Vine in your blood, alongside vermillion."
"Vermillion?"
"Exactly, vermillion is poisonous. In the past, Emperor Sheng was obsessed with alchemy and consud elixirs made mostly with vermillion, which also carries toxicity. Consuming it for a long ti causes the toxin to solidify, becoming difficult to dissolve, rendering the dicine ineffective." Qin Liuxi continued, "Recently, you’ve found sleeping difficult, having dry mouth and tongue also due to vermillion toxin, causing your stomach to heat up and liver fire to accumulate, naturally making sleeping troubleso."
"Wasn’t it because of my daughter’s matter?"
"When an illness forms, multiple causes contribute. Your emotional stress over Miss Zheng’s disappearance, ntal exertion, and heavy worrying are part of it. Additionally, when afflicted with poisons, it further burdens your body’s endurance." Qin Liuxi spoke seriously, "Moreover, when I checked your pulse earlier, your body carries hidden injuries and chronic ailnts, I guess you had once suffered damage to your lungs, narrowly escaping death due to being young enough to recover. Yet external wounds are easier to heal than internal ones, which require delicate care over ti. All these factors together make you progressively frail."
The Great General instinctively clutched his abdon, saying, "During my twenties, I was stabbed in the abdon with a spear in a battle."
That year was indeed a year of misfortune for him.
"Besides, you have more than one hidden injury, several in fact, along with those caused by external injuries, your body couldn’t bear the burden, forcing you to relinquish power. Otherwise, which Great General retires honorably before sixty?" Qin Liuxi added.
People with power grip firmly onto it until the end unless forced, as elders and particularly Generals don’t willingly let go of military power, for what remains after power is just appearances.
Among those commanding troops, who willingly steps down and relinquishes military power? Even Quan Jing, a tyrant, had his successors secure their place before the family elder would step down for honorable retirent, which is only easy if successors are ready; without them, it’s simply returning to the fields.
The Great General retired before turning sixty, not just because he lacked heirs, but more so because his body couldn’t manage it, forcing him to let go of power.
The Great General glanced at Qin Liuxi, "You know a lot." Isn’t she a Daoist? How does she understand such intricate matters?
Lord Zuo, anxious on the side, thought, is this the ti to talk about this?
"Where is the chronic poison applied? Since doctors can’t diagnose it, doesn’t it an it’s silent and hidden?" Lord Zuo asked.
The Great General shifted his focus to the pressing matter at hand, curious about how this poison was administered.
"Since it’s nad Silent, indeed, it should be quiet and hidden. Such powder doesn’t require much ingestion, only needs to be burned with incense to be inhaled silently," Qin Liuxi replied.
"Just slling it, the poison can penetrate ridians, and even blood can taste the poison’s components?" Lord Zuo suddenly felt his brain overloaded.
Qin Liuxi smiled softly, "When pregnant won sll musk and similar substances, they can’t carry the child or miscarry. As for tasting poison in the blood, naturally, he did drink the poison, not much, occasionally mixed in soup or dicine."
The Great General felt frigid throughout.
Who, who wants to harm him?
He’s already lost his daughter, his elderly mother has been bedridden for years, barely hanging on, soon to beco utterly alone, who would be so displeased with him, wanting him dead?
"Old Zheng, do you use incense?" Lord Zuo asked.
The Great General’s body slightly stiffened: "Calming incense, naturally, I’ve used it."
Due to his beloved daughter’s matter, he couldn’t sleep well, often waking from dreams, so he frequently burned calming incense to sleep.
Lord Zuo looked at Qin Liuxi, who said, "It wouldn’t hurt to check."
The three got up to visit the bedroom, and as they walked out of the flower hall, their faces uniformly changed.
Qin Liuxi looked at the two elders with unchanged expressions and clicked her tongue, indeed they were long accustod to power, montarily stunned as if Five Thunders Bombing had struck them, yet walking out facing outsiders, they acted as though nothing had happened, avoiding alerting the snake.
"General." Steward Wu stepped forward to serve.
The Great General said to him, "There are guests, bring so fresh goods from the manor yourself, and prepare so talisman paper and vermillion for backup."
Housekeeper Wu glanced at Qin Liuxi, bowed respectfully, "Yes."
He was about to leave when Qin Liuxi’s voice rang in the Great General’s ear again, instantly sharpening his gaze towards her.
Qin Liuxi smiled lightly, as if she hadn’t said anything.
The Great General saw Lord Zuo’s unmoved reaction and called out to Mr. Wu, "Also invite Mr. Luan, tell him I’m hosting guests, my health feels unwell, if he has ti, let him co help greet them."
Mr. Wu was sowhat surprised but agreed.
The Great General led Qin Liuxi and Lord Zuo to his own courtyard, and once the door was closed, he set aside everything else, frowned at Qin Liuxi, and solemnly asked, "Why did you have call my future son-in-law here on this matter?"
Qin Liuxi’s eyes flickered, grinning, "Naturally, I want to see what it ans to be truly devoted."
Lord Zuo: I’m not speaking, but I feel like you an to see if that guy plans to finish off the entire family!
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