The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 477

"what?"

Zhu Houzhao was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Ning leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, looking at Zhu Houzhao who looked astonished, and said, "I just examined your body and found that the poison in your body has been there for a long time, maybe several years ago, or even longer."

Hearing Jiang Ning's words was like a thunderclap exploding in Zhu Houzhao's heart.

"You're saying I was poisoned a long time ago?"

Zhu Houzhao looked shocked and incredulous.

"how is this possible?"

Zhu Houzhao could hardly believe it.

He initially thought the poisoning was recent, but Jiang Ning told him that it had happened years ago, or even earlier. How could he believe it? How could he dare to believe it?

Jiang Ning's words were tantamount to telling him that when he was still a child, when Zhu Youxin was still in power, someone had already secretly poisoned him.

Jiang Ning's words were so terrifying that Zhu Houzhao could hardly believe them.

"impossible!"

Zhu Houzhao instinctively and firmly retorted: "It's impossible for anyone to poison me for so long. When my father was alive, I was the crown prince, and now I am the emperor. How could someone poison me for so long without anyone noticing? If it were true, why is the poison only taking effect now?"

Poisoning either the crown prince or the emperor would be extremely difficult, let alone for such a long time. Zhu Houzhao didn't believe that poisoning could be carried out for so long.

“But it is true.”

Jiang Ning, however, said...

"The poison in your body is not potent, which is why it hasn't taken effect yet. It doesn't usually affect your life or endanger your life. But over time, the poison will accumulate in your body and will eventually take effect."

Jiang Ning had met Zhu Houzhao many times before, and Zhu Houzhao was in excellent health and showed no signs of poisoning. If Jiang Ning hadn't personally examined him this time, he wouldn't have known that Zhu Houzhao had been poisoned for so many years.

Zhu Houzhao's face was gloomy and unpleasant.

"So, my current coma was due to a poisoning attack?"

Zhu Houzhao spoke slowly.

"Do not."

Jiang Ning shook his head.

"I just examined your body. The main reason you fell into a coma this time is this Gu worm. The poison in your body hasn't reached the point of full toxicity yet. The person who poisoned you recently increased the dosage a little, but it's not enough to kill you. It will only make you weak. Normally, even without the Gu worm, you would have been seriously ill this time. It's just that the Gu worm you were poisoned by masked the signs of poisoning."

Zhu Houzhao's face remained gloomy, but he did not speak.

Actually, at this point, he already believed Jiang Ning's words.

"But you don't need to worry too much. You won't die for now. The person who poisoned you probably doesn't want to kill you yet. You can live for a while longer."

Jiang Ning then added a sentence.

However, Zhu Houzhao's expression did not improve much because of Jiang Ning's words; on the contrary, he was somewhat speechless.

Feeling heavy-hearted, Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning and asked, "Brother Jiang, can...can you cure the poison in my body?"

Zhu Houzhao harbored a glimmer of hope.

Since Jiang Ning can see the poison in him, he might have a way to help him detoxify.

really.

"can."

Jiang Ning agreed readily.

"The poison in your body isn't too strong; it's easy to cure."

Zhu Houzhao felt a little better after hearing this, but Jiang Ning's next words made his mood sink again, this time to rock bottom.

"I don't need to do anything about this poison; the imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital can cure it. So now I have another question."

At this moment, Jiang Ning spoke.

“You are the emperor, and your health is a matter of great importance to the country. There should be imperial physicians who regularly examine you and keep detailed records. Logically speaking, the poison in your body should not be hidden from the imperial physicians. They should be able to detect it as soon as they examine you. Why hasn’t your poison been discovered yet? Over the years, if even one imperial physician had been able to discover the problem in your body, the poison in your body would not have remained hidden until now.”

Chapter 649: Lure Them Out

Jiang Ning's words sank Zhu Houzhao's heart to the bottom like a boulder, leaving him speechless for a long time.

Zhu Houzhao wasn't stupid; Jiang Ning's words had already made themselves so clear.

Faced with this fact, Zhu Houzhao could only remain silent.

For some reason, Zhu Houzhao felt a bit cold.

He could feel a sense of fear rising within him, a feeling he had never experienced before, let alone since becoming emperor.

Seeing Zhu Houzhao's silence, as if he were frightened by his own words, Jiang Ning paused slightly and said, "Of course, there might be another possibility."

Zhu Houzhao raised his head and looked at Jiang Ning, his eyes filled with doubt.

Jiang Ning said, "That's because the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital are incompetent and couldn't see the poison in your body."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao smiled, but it was a very forced smile.

Are the imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy incompetent? Absolutely not.

However, Zhu Houzhao did speak up because of Jiang Ning's words.

"Brother Jiang, if it weren't for you, I probably would never have known that I had been poisoned for so many years until my death."

Zhu Houzhao's tone was somewhat hesitant, and his expression was indescribable.

Over the years, if even one imperial physician had noticed or spoken about the poison in his body, it would have been discovered by now. But the fact that none of the imperial physicians who examined him from childhood to adulthood had been able to detect or speak about it already suggests two possibilities.

Firstly, the imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy were incompetent and couldn't diagnose the problem, but such excuses for children are easily dismissed. If Zhu Houzhao actually believed them, he would truly not value his own life.

Aside from this impossible situation, there's only one other possibility.

That means it's unclear whether it was someone or some group that poisoned him. They were in cahoots with the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital. The fact that they could poison him continuously for so many years without being discovered is something no individual could do; it had to be a group.

"The amount of poison they gave you this time was small; they didn't intend to kill you, it was just a warning."

Jiang Ning then said, "The fact that these people have been secretly poisoning you for so many years proves that they have a lot of power. Many people in the court are their people, and many of them are even high-ranking officials. And the dosage of poison they have been using for so many years has remained the same. They wouldn't increase the dosage for no reason. It must be that what you have done recently has offended their interests, or that what you have done recently has made them uneasy. So they want to warn you to stop and be a puppet emperor."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's analysis, Zhu Houzhao's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Seeing Zhu Houzhao's expression, Jiang Ning asked, "What have you been doing lately?"

Zhu Houzhao paused for a moment, then recounted what he had been doing during this period.

Zhu Houzhao has been interfering in court affairs recently. This young emperor, who has only been on the throne for a short time, is eager to use his power and wants to replace some positions with his own people.

That was bad enough, but Zhu Houzhao also wanted to try to seize military power.

"You're too hasty in your actions."

Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Jiang Ning couldn't help but shake his head.

"You have only been on the throne for a short time. You should not show off your talents. Instead, you should learn to conceal them. If you try to interfere in the court so soon after taking the throne, they will find out that you are restless."

The imperial court is not like the martial arts world. Many disputes and conspiracies in the martial arts world can be resolved by personal martial arts, but the disputes in the imperial court are much more dangerous. Zhu Houzhao does not have extraordinary martial arts skills, nor does he have an army under his command. Such recklessness will inevitably make them realize that Zhu Houzhao is not a peaceful person, and they will definitely target him.

"But they probably won't increase your dosage because of something like this,"

Jiang Ning continued, "The reason they went to such lengths to increase the dosage this time is probably because your attempt to seize military power touched a nerve, which is why they wanted to warn you."

Although this was merely a warning to Zhu Houzhao, and they didn't intend to kill him, it was enough to demonstrate the arrogance of those people. Zhu Houzhao was only trying to exert some military power, and they directly warned him that if he didn't restrain himself next time, they might cause him to die unexpectedly.

Zhu Houzhao remained silent.

This incident did indeed deal him a significant blow; he felt as if something invisible was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao remained silent and his face remained grim, Jiang Ning asked, "Are you scared?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao looked up at Jiang Ning and forced a smile.

"Afraid, of course."

Zhu Houzhao chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"I originally intended to reform the bureaucracy, improve people's livelihoods, and reorganize the Ming army after ascending the throne. I thought I would do better than my father. I never expected to be warned and almost lose my life just for trying to touch military power. How could I not be afraid?"

Jiang Ning stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a pillar, looking at him calmly.

"So you're going to back off?"

"Back down? Of course not!"

Zhu Houzhao answered without hesitation, his tone resolute.

"Do they think this will frighten me? Do they think this will make me back down? On the contrary, I am very excited."

Although this was a great blow to Zhu Houzhao, even instilling fear in him, it did not make him bow his head. Perhaps this was the unique courage and indomitable spirit of a young man.

You want me to back down? I'll just keep going!

You want me to bow my head? I'll hold my head high!

"Brother Jiang, is it really possible to cure the poison in my body? This is a matter of life and death, you must be absolutely certain!"

The next second, Zhu Houzhao turned to look at Jiang Ning with a nervous expression.

Jiang Ning laughed upon seeing this.

"of course."

"Then how do I get rid of the poison in my body?"

Zhu Houzhao asked somewhat urgently.

Although he knew that the poison in his body would not kill him for the time being, Zhu Houzhao could not wait a moment longer.

"There are too many toxins in your body, and they cannot be completely eliminated in a short time. I will use my internal energy to eliminate most of the toxins in a while. The remaining toxins will require you to take medicine every day to regulate your body. Only in this way can you be completely detoxified."

Jiang Ning said.

Zhu Houzhao was somewhat disappointed to learn that a complete cure for the poison could not be found, but he could only nod.

Now, Jiang Ning is the only person he can trust.

"Then let's get started."

Zhu Houzhao said.

Jiang Ning nodded, then had Zhu Houzhao sit cross-legged. Jiang Ning placed his hands on Zhu Houzhao's back as before to transmit internal energy, but this time, he was detoxifying Zhu Houzhao.

A pure white gas emanated from Jiang Ning's palm, and Jiang Ning's internal energy flowed into Zhu Houzhao's body, beginning to clear the toxins accumulated in Zhu Houzhao's body.

The detoxification effect of the Innate Skill was remarkable. In just a short while, Zhu Houzhao felt that his body was different, as if he had broken free of some heavy shackles and his body felt light.

"So amazing."

Having never experienced anything like this before, Zhu Houzhao felt as if it were a miracle.

"Brother Jiang, is the internal energy of all martial artists so miraculous?"

Zhu Houzhao asked a question.

"That's not it."

Jiang Ning replied.

The Innate Skill is the supreme divine skill of Taoism, and it is also extremely effective in healing injuries and detoxifying.

Half an hour later, Jiang Ning finally withdrew his hand.

Zhu Houzhao's complexion was much rosier at this moment.

Feeling the changes in his body, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but feel a little happy.

"Brother Jiang, thank you very much this time."

Zhu Houzhao said to Jiang Ning, "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would still be in the dark, and I might even die mysteriously in the future."

Jiang Ning didn't have much of an emotion; he had done this kind of thing many times before, it was just that this time the person he was treating was the emperor.

"I'm calling in outsiders to investigate the Miao women who cast the curse on me."