The imperial physicians who heard her were rather surprised. They knew that Su Xi-er was no ordinary woman, but they were now able to witness her imposing manner for themselves.
Su Xi-er instructed, “Return to the palace to await further orders.”
The imperial physicians looked towards Pei Qianhao to seek his agreement before bowing and retreating.
After they left, Su Xi-er looked up at Pei Qianhao and said, “A-Jing, I’ll accompany you.”
Pei Qianhao stroked her hair and answered, “Okay.”
“A-Jing, where is Daozhang Zixu?”
“Daozhang Zixu got hurt while trying to stop these commoners. He’s resting in one of the rooms after the imperial physician checked on him.”
“How are his injuries? Let me take a look.” She then asked, “Which room is he in?”
“Xi-er, Daozhang Zixu’s injuries aren’t serious, and he has already fallen asleep. Let’s visit him tomorrow.” Pei Qianhao spoke steadily before his gaze turned to Yu Xiao. “Do you know it’s a crime to leave the army barracks without permission?”
Yu Xiao knelt immediately. “Prince Hao, my guess is that Yun Ruofeng is the one behind everything. He killed my older brother, and I have to take revenge! I’ll return to the army barracks and receive my punishment after this.”
“Fine.” Pei Qianhao said.
Su Xi-er walked up to help Yu Xiao up. “Yun Ruofeng is hiding in the dark, while we’re out in the open. We cannot be too reckless. Only by luring him out can we ensure that we can get rid of him once and for all.”
“Princess Consort, Yinluo Grass is from the Western Region and it’s a plant that’s been prohibited among the four nations in the central plains. Does it mean that he’s been to the Western Region? Or maybe he has subordinates in the Western Region?” Yu Xiao wondered aloud.
Su Xi-er contemplated for a while before saying, “That’s impossible!”
Pei Qianhao added, “With the personality of the Western Region King, Yun Ruofeng wouldn’t be able to go there at all.”
Su Xi-er looked at him and said, “This can only mean that he’s long since had someone in the Western Region to supply him with Yinluo Grass!”
It means that he had access to prohibited medicine when I was still Ning Rulan! Yinluo Grass caused mania upon ingestion, and it was highly addictive as well. Those who used it would usually suffer from malnutrition, and eventually die while in the throes of insanity. To think that Yun Ruofeng used such a thing while he was in the military, yet he was still a hero in the hearts of Nanzhao’s citizens!
He might have used it on the soldiers too! This reminded Su Xi-er of the times when their soldiers seemed to have such high morale that they were able to fight waves of enemies! Many of those who had died did so with euphoric expressions on their faces. Of course Su Xi-er had found it strange, but she would have never guessed that Yinluo Grass was the cause!
“This Prince thought that he was skilled in leading his men, but I never thought that he would have stooped to such lowly methods. To think that I was actually impressed with him at all.” Pei Qianhao scoffed.
Yu Xiao clenched his fists. How could he be so cruel!!! Among the unusual herbs that he knew about, Yinluo Grass had some of the most horrific effects on humans! Those under its influence wouldn’t even realise if they were torn limb from limb until they were already dead!
It was at this point that Mie Jinxiu entered the compound with Qin Ling. Catching their eyes, Pei Qianhao waved for the guard who had brought them to wait outside.
Qin Ling bowed and said, “Paying respects to Prince Hao and the Princess Consort. I heard from the guard about the symptoms among those commoners. If I’m right, it should be Yinluo Grass.”
To think that the master I’ve looked up to had actually… stooped to such a despicable method!
Su Xi-er looked at Qin Ling and asked, “We’ve confirmed that it’s Yinluo Grass already, however, there’s something I need to know. Qin Ling, tell me the truth: When did Yun Ruofeng get his hands on it?”
