The alarm blared, sharp as a death knell. Lu Qingwan realized the source of the poison was near her, and not just a little.
She scanned her surroundings but found nothing that could conceal poison and cause Emperor Jingyou to be poisoned.
Lu Qingwan grew anxious, her steps quickening. The firewood in the medicine stove suddenly exploded, sparks flying onto her clothes and emitting a pungent odor.
"Your Highness, be careful!"
Li Su followed, reaching for Lu Qingwan's clothes. But Lu Qingwan suddenly turned, roaring, "Don't move!"
Li Su froze in shock. Tang Xiao anxiously asked, "Your Highness, have you discovered something?"
Lu Qingwan didn't reply, her eyes fixed on Meng Tang, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Tell me, what kind of poison do you suspect His Majesty has been afflicted with?"
Meng Tang stiffened nervously. "It, it's Western Regions Soul-Disturbing Incense..."
"Western Regions Soul-Disturbing Incense, does it need to be ignited to maximize its efficacy?"
Meng Tang nodded mechanically. "Of course. Moreover, Western Regions Soul-Disturbing Incense has a faint aroma but a lasting effect, confusing one's senses. Frequent exposure can make people unable to distinguish their own thoughts from what others tell them. Therefore, in the Western Regions, it's also called the 'Obedient Incense.' Legend has it that it was initially used by the royal family of Shache in the Western Regions to control their guards..."
While Meng Tang was still showing off his knowledge, Lu Qingwan picked up a shovel from the ground and scooped it into the medicine stove.
The alarm from the spatial laboratory grew sharper. Lu Qingwan looked up slowly, "Your Majesty is using this kind of black charcoal to prepare his medicine?"
"That's right, Your Highness. His Majesty is frugal. Apart from the brazier near him, he rarely uses premium red charcoal. Therefore, the noble ladies in the palace use ordinary black charcoal for preparing medicine and heating the floors. Only hand warmers and the braziers in the halls use red charcoal."
Lu Qingwan tossed the charcoal pieces into the medicine stove. "Then investigate thoroughly for me, where this tainted black charcoal came from."
Tang Xiao's eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock. "Your Highness means the poison is in the charcoal?"
"Didn't you hear Meng Tang say that Western Regions Soul-Disturbing Incense has a faint aroma and a lasting effect? Preparing medicine involves smoke and fire for a considerable time. Let alone the decoction above the medicine stove, even the medicine pot and the person preparing it would be permeated with the scent."
"No wonder the medicine boy who prepared the medicine these past few days has been so listless and even spilled His Majesty's medicine bowl."
Tang Xiao felt as if struck by a divine revelation and immediately responded, "This subordinate will immediately investigate the source of this charcoal."
Having found the source of the poison, Lu Qingwan considered her task complete. She returned to her palace to bid farewell to Emperor Jingyou.
Emperor Jingyou was impatient. "When will I be able to act as usual?"
Lu Qingwan dared not tell him that his body was too weak to withstand the potent tonic for now. She could only say euphemistically, "As soon as I entered the palace, Your Majesty was full of spirit. My disguise would be revealed. Please bear with it for two more days, Your Highness. When Divine Doctor Lin enters the palace, he can resolve Your Majesty's troubles."
Knowing that Lu Qingwan's disguise was also an important trump card for Feng Xiwu, Emperor Jingyou did not force Lu Qingwan to administer the medicine immediately. He let her leave the palace properly.
As soon as she exited the palace, Lu Qingwan issued orders, "Shadow One, go to Bai Xing Lin immediately and check if there has been any abnormal consumption of atropine and scopolamine. Li Jin, send a message to Wu Ying at once; I need to see her."
The two responded in unison. At the fork in the road, Shadow One quietly departed, and the shadow guards following secretly also left discreetly.
As soon as Lu Qingwan entered the Prince's manor, she asked Li Jin, "How much do you know about people and affairs in the martial world?"
The martial world and the imperial court were two completely opposing factions. Lu Qingwan had just come from the imperial palace, the epitome of the imperial court. When she suddenly asked about matters of the martial world, Li Jin was momentarily taken aback.
"What specifically does Your Highness mean?"
"With Ming Wuya's martial arts and the power behind him, how many people in the Da Qian martial world can surpass him?" Lu Qingwan finished speaking and then added after some thought, "For example, someone who could ruin his reputation and prevent him from becoming the martial arts alliance leader, or even make him disappear completely?"
Li Jin was quite startled by Lu Qingwan's audacious question. "Although Ming Wuya is not a good person, Your Highness, he was formally tutored by the Xuantian Sect and later established his own sect, creating Mingyue Villa. Ming Wuya is backed by the Xuantian Sect, and many of his disciples came from there. Su Bojun also facilitates things for him. Killing Ming Wuya would not be difficult, but to ruin his reputation and unseat him as the martial arts alliance leader would be quite challenging."
As the chief steward by Feng Xiwu's side, Li Jin was undoubtedly the person most familiar with Feng Xiwu's style of operation. To a certain extent, his opinion represented Feng Xiwu's.
Lu Qingwan was surprised to hear that it was difficult. "Xiao Hanyun was also a martial arts alliance leader, and he held the position for so many years. How was he so tragically harmed by a scumbag like Lin Qingquan? Both were martial arts alliance leaders. Ming Wuya has only been in power for less than a year, while Xiao Hanyun was the alliance leader for at least thirty years. Is Ming Wuya even more difficult to deal with than Xiao Hanyun?"
Li Jin nodded repeatedly. "Xiao Hanyun became the martial arts alliance leader through the martial arts heroes' assembly. Furthermore, he was righteous and loyal, earning the support of his peers in the martial world, which is why he was the leader for so many years. If not for encountering a traitorous daughter like Xiao Yueying and someone with wolfish ambition like Lin Qingquan, it wouldn't have been so easy for others to seize his position as the martial arts alliance leader."
As martial artists themselves, though one came from the military and the other from the martial world, Li Jin undoubtedly admired, even respected, Xiao Hanyun. When speaking of Ming Wuya, his tone was filled with disdain.
"But the process of Ming Wuya's ascension was not clean to begin with. He has a guilty conscience, so he naturally takes extra precautions. As the martial arts alliance leader, his martial arts are naturally not bad, and he is also quite suspicious. I heard that Mingyue Villa was specifically built with the help of the Tang family's mechanism masters and the Eight Trigrams, making its defenses impenetrable. Ordinary people who enter would die in Mingyue Villa's various traps and formations before even seeing Ming Wuya. When he travels, his escorts on both sides, from guards to servants to drivers and maids, are all top-notch experts. Assassinating him is probably more difficult than assassinating a general of the imperial court."
Lu Qingwan also gained insight. "Living so fearfully, how guilty must this person be?"
Li Jin chuckled. "Perhaps he knows his character is poor and he has offended too many people."
Lu Qingwan puffed out her cheeks. "Ming Wuya is backed by Su Bojun and has a close relationship with a noble consort of the Xiliang Emperor. Was someone acting as a go-between, or did Ming Wuya genuinely have his fingers in multiple pies?"
Thanks to Xiao Yueying's previous actions, Li Jin had thoroughly investigated this newly appointed martial arts alliance leader. Therefore, he could answer Lu Qingwan's question without hesitation. "Ming Wuya's status as a disciple of the Xuantian Sect was facilitated by Xie Shiyu, while he connected with Su Bojun himself." He paused, his eyes brightening. "Speaking of which, Ming Wuya is indeed a man with his fingers in multiple pies. He has many schemes of his own. So, Your Highness wishes to make him fall?"