“What is happening?” Everyone was extremely shocked.
Ye Jiuge immediately rushed toward the young man and checked his pulse. All the arteries and veins in his heart had ruptured. It was indeed a miracle that he did not die on the spot.
She used her Lightning Fire Needle to seal his fractured arteries and veins. After that, she looked at Li Zijun and shouted, “Prepare a quiet room for me. I want to treat him.”
“Alright!” Li Zijun was about to order an apprentice to get a room ready for her when Gong Hongyu blocked their way.
She pointed at Ye Jiuge and scolded her in a shrill voice: “D*mn you, Ye Jiuge. You produced Poison Pills to harm others. You are truly cruel and unscrupulous — you have no conscience at all.”
Then, she turned to the judges’ table and said, “I strongly implore the Pill Production Tournament judges to disqualify her from participating in the tournament.”
“I agree.” The Crown Prince immediately gave her the nod.
Agree my foot! Ye Jiuge thought.
Ye Jiuge raised her head and said furiously, “It is more important to save his life now. Is this the right time to discuss this?”
“He is already dead from your poison. You still have the gall to claim that you want to save him.” Gong Hongyu harrumphed coldly before saying to Dongfang Yao, “Great Master, Ye Jiuge is vicious and heartless. You should not let her get away with this.”
Dongfang Yao lifted Ye Jiuge’s remaining Heart Nourishing Pills to his nose and sniffed them. He furrowed his brows as he said, “There is nothing wrong with these Medicinal Pills.”
“Great Master, Ye Jiuge’s Medicinal Pill Tester drew his last breath in front of you. How can you insist that her Medicinal Pills are fine?” Gong Hongyu persisted vehemently.
“Gong Hongyu, you keep reiterating that there is an issue with my Medicinal Pills. Did you do anything to me?”
Ye Jiuge realized that she would not be able to save the patient. Since she could not resolve the conflict over her Medicinal Pill, she stood up then and there and pointed at the tall, thin apprentice and said, “He placed Heart Devouring Flowers among my Medicinal Ingredients. You must have been the one who gave him instructions to do so.”
“What Heart Devouring Flowers? I never gave them to you,” the tall, thin apprentice denied, shaking his head hurriedly.
“If you did not slip these Heart Devouring Flowers into my Medicinal Ingredients, are you saying that I brought them to the tournament myself?” Ye Jiuge pulled out a stalk of Heart Devouring Flowers from her pocket and smiled coldly.
Li Zijun walked up to Ye Jiuge and took the Medicinal Ingredient from her. He examined the flowers carefully before presenting them to Dongfang Yao. “They seem to be Heart Devouring Flowers.”
With one glance, Dongfang Yao was sure that they were Heart Devouring Flowers.
This flower was very similar in appearance to the Heart Nourishing Flower. Therefore, he’d deliberately reminded the apprentices to pay extra attention when they selected the flowers. It had never occurred to him that someone would place a large stalk of Heart Devouring Flowers among the Medicinal Ingredients on purpose.
The identity of the person behind this was crystal clear to Dongfang Yao. Originally, he’d wanted to wait until this round of the tournament finished before giving the Crown Prince a warning. However, he could not bear to restrain himself any longer.
The Crown Prince was unaware that his Imperial Uncle was dissatisfied with him. He even argued with conviction, “I do not know what Heart Devouring Flowers you are talking about. I only saw that, after your Medicinal Pill Tester ate your Medicinal Pill, he died. You are responsible for his death.”
“Unfortunately, my Medicinal Pill Tester has not lost his life yet. I am afraid that this news disappoints you,” Ye Jiuge replied stiffly.
Although the Medicinal Pill Tester was as good as dead, the Crown Prince’s words provoked her so much that it made her more determined to save the dying patient.
With a solemn face, Dongfang Yao went to the young man and checked his pulse. After that, he took a bottle of Rank Three Heart Nourishment Pills out and told Ye Jiuge, “Let him consume this.”
Ye Jiuge accepted it without any qualms then poured the entire bottle of pills into the young man’s mouth.
The sickly pallor of the young man’s face finally regained some color.
“Imperial Uncle, he is merely a Medicinal Pill Tester. I cannot believe that you gave him pills of such excellent quality. You are too wasteful!” The Crown Prince was foaming at the mouth.
Even if one had the money, one might not be able to purchase Rank Three Heart Nourishment Pills. His Imperial Uncle had given such a precious item to the Medicinal Pill Tester who was destined to die. He must have become senile.
As the young man was at death’s door, his heartbeat was extremely weak. There was a risk that he might expire at any moment. That was why he’d specifically assigned that young man to Ye Jiuge.
He’d never thought that his Imperial Uncle would help Ye Jiuge to this extent. He had not predicted that this would happen.
“Shut your mouth.” Dongfang Yao looked up and berated the Crown Prince, “Before your involvement, everything went smoothly. Ever since you meddled in this tournament, there have been problems. I cannot afford to have someone as troublesome as you around. You should just return to the Capital!”
“Imperial Uncle, what do you mean?” The Crown Prince was so alarmed that his voice was trembling.
“That’s right. Great Master Dongfang, it’s obvious that Ye Jiuge produced the wrong Medicinal Pill and caused the Medicinal Pill Tester’s death. How can you hold the Crown Prince responsible?” Gong Hongyu was aggrieved.
She wanted to stand up for the Crown Prince. However, she didn’t realize that Dongfang Yao was about to deal with her next.
“Gong Hongyu, I disqualify you from the tournament.” Dongfang Yao’s gaze was devoid of emotion.
“Why?” Gong Hongyu shrieked.
“Because you cheated.” Dongfang Yao was not blind. Naturally, he’d figured out that Gong Hongyu’s Medicinal Tester was not actually sick at all.
Normally, he’d just turn a blind eye and forget about it.
After all, the Medicinal Pill that Gong Hongyu had produced was not bad.
However, since she was imperious to such a degree, she should not blame him for being inconsiderate of the Gong Clan.
Gong Hongyu was seething to the point of quivering. However, she did not dare talk back to a livid Dongfang Yao.
After she shot a spiteful glare at Ye Jiuge, she ran away crying.
Elder Chen and Elder Xiao looked at each other. Neither of them dared speak up.
The other Alchemists also maintained their silence.
Dongfang Yao gave a new order: “The Medicine Testing Session has concluded. Now, the Judging Session shall begin.”
Although Ye Jiuge’s Medicinal Pill Tester did not end up dead, her ranking still dropped to the bottom.
The other three Rank Two Alchemists retained their Merit grade, while Ye Shanshan came in first with the Highest Distinction.
Ye Jiuge did not mind this final result. She only asked Li Zijun to send the Medicinal Pill Tester to the Soaring Frost Hall.
With Dongfang Yao’s tacit approval, Li Zijun complied with her request.
Meanwhile, at the Ascending Skies Pavilion, the Crown Prince was scowling. It was as if dark clouds were hanging over his head.
When he returned to his lodging, he summoned Su Junqing immediately and gave him a dressing down. “Didn’t you tell me that if I acted according to your plan, we would definitely ruin Ye Jiuge? How can it be that she’s not only won the tournament round but also made Imperial Uncle hate me?”
As soon as he thought about how his Imperial Uncle would tell his father about this, he felt a chill permeating his body from head to toe.
“Your Highness, please quell your anger. I did not predict that things would spiral out of our control.”
Su Junqing had devised numerous pitfalls for Ye Jiuge and her allies so that he could doom them eternally.
He’d never expected that Ye Jiuge would not only see through his stratagem but also turn the tables on the Crown Prince. This turn of events was really unanticipated.
“By hook or by crook, I want you to destroy Ye Jiuge,” the Crown Prince raged.
“Crown Prince, you can rest assured that, even if Ye Jiuge becomes the champion of the Pill Production Tournament, she will not escape from our clutches,” Su Junqing said confidently.
“You keep repeating this every time. Yet, you have not managed to execute your strategies successfully even once. I have no idea why Mother sent you to help me. You are downright worthless,” the Crown Prince yelled at Su Junqing.
A dark glint flitted across Su Junqing’s eyes. However, they returned to normal shortly after.
He met the Crown Prince’s eyes with a smile, before speaking gently, “The Empress must have had her own reasons when she sent me to assist you. You might not trust me, but you cannot lose your faith in the Empress!”
When the Crown Prince looked into Su Junqing’s bottomless eyes, something clicked in him. He felt that Su Junqing was completely right.
Anyone could make a mistake, except his mother.
“Then, I shall believe you one more time,” the Crown Prince submitted.
“Alright. Then, I would like to ask you to do as I say!” Su Junqing briefed the Crown Prince on his next plan.
However, as the Crown Prince listened, he was stunned.
