Chapter 119

Emperor Taichang didn't even wait for the eunuch to take them; he trotted over and snatched the red pills.

He sniffed them up close and felt refreshed and clear-headed.

This was just an illusion brought on by the body's hormones after the excitement for Emperor Taichang.

"Not bad, it is indeed exactly the same in color, smell, and shape as recorded in the late Emperor's will." After Emperor Taichang carefully identified them, a look of joy appeared on his face.

Chu Danqing wasn't worried at all that Emperor Taichang would be able to tell; currently, only Yuan Shanhu had come into contact with the red pills.

Plus, she had the corresponding knowledge and experience, so although the imitation wasn't exactly the same, it was difficult for Emperor Taichang to distinguish the true from the false.

However, Emperor Taichang didn't take them immediately; instead, he summoned the Imperial Physician to verify them.

It wasn't possible that just because his father said in his will it was an elixir of immortality, it was.

Why didn't his father eat it, but instead hid it in the Taiyi Academy? That was suspicious.

Chu Danqing took advantage of this gap to explain what had happened, and Emperor Taichang remained silent for a long time.

The red pills were stolen from the Taiyi Academy, the mission to present the medicine was intercepted, and they were all Shushen people.

"My dear official, what is your solution?" Emperor Taichang asked only after drinking his calming tea and relaxing.

The events couldn't be faked; fifty Imperial Guards assisted in seizing the red pills, and the City Defense witnessed the entry into the palace.

"There are people in the court colluding with the Shushen, and there are Shushen dens hidden in the capital!" Chu Danqing said sonorously: "I request Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

Emperor Taichang had expected this in his heart, but he couldn't make up his mind about who to let investigate.

Li Wanwu was indeed suitable, but the problem was that he was currently acting as his blade to clear out the Qiutan Party in the court.

The Qiutan Party was like a centipede that doesn't die even when cut; they had roots not only in the capital but also in the provinces.

Furthermore, such a major event happened in the capital; did Li Wanwu's Secret Service Bureau know nothing about it?

Emperor Taichang was naturally suspicious and couldn't help but think of Li Wanwu's previous behavior of hedging his bets.

If he could defect to him so decisively, would he defect to the Shushen when the building was about to collapse?

Just as Emperor Taichang was about to ask Chu Danqing who was suitable, the Imperial Physician spoke first.

"Your Majesty, this medicine is the same as what was left in the late Emperor's will, but it has not been tested, so its efficacy is unknown." The old Imperial Physician hurriedly said: "Since there are two red pills, one can be set aside to test the efficacy."

Chu Danqing immediately spoke up to oppose it: "Your Majesty, you must not."

"Since there are two pills, I fear they must be taken together—one for longevity, one for eternal youth."

"If you only take one and gain longevity but not eternal youth, it would be dangerous," Chu Danqing added.

It wasn't that Chu Danqing was being kind, but because drinking the Weak Healing Potion and Weak Energy Potion together provided a better sensory effect, making Emperor Taichang believe it was real.

Emperor Taichang heard this and thought it made sense.

If he only had longevity but not eternal youth, and his body became so old he couldn't move while still alive, wouldn't he become a sitting duck?

"Since the color, smell, and taste are the same, there is no need to test the efficacy." Emperor Taichang rejected the Imperial Physician's suggestion; if it were as Chu Danqing said, wouldn't he be giving away longevity to others for nothing and losing his own eternal youth?

However, he was cautious and didn't take it immediately, instead asking the old Imperial Physician: "Why did the late Emperor store the red pills in your Taiyi Academy?"

"This old official truly does not know." How could the old Imperial Physician know? It was the previous Emperor Taichang who had secretly hidden them there.

Chu Danqing knew, because his sanity was too low and he had become mentally ill; anything was possible.

For example, allowing the Ghost Market to transport people to the Shushen as labor to exchange for money—someone who could do such outrageous things was simply not right in the head.

There was no need to study the logic and motivation behind the opponent's actions; normal people couldn't understand them.

Emperor Taichang looked at the two red pills, his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

If he were still the Crown Prince, he would have eaten them without hesitation.

After all, he needed a good body to outlive his father.

But now his father was dead, and he was the Emperor, so naturally, he didn't have such great ambition.

After struggling for about three minutes, Emperor Taichang finally spoke: "Bring the red pills here."

Gritting his teeth, he decided to eat them.

The eunuch didn't hesitate to bring the red pills to Emperor Taichang.

Emperor Taichang grabbed them and stuffed them into his mouth, swallowing them without chewing for fear of affecting the efficacy.

After they entered his stomach, he only felt two currents of energy, one hot and one cold, spread instantly from his stomach to his limbs and bones.

At this moment, he felt a sense of being reborn; his body, which had been full of burdens, suddenly felt light.

His entire spirit and energy began to flourish.

In fact, it was all psychological; the Weak Healing Potion and Weak Energy Potion were indeed useful, but they didn't have the function of increasing attributes.

Emperor Taichang's problem was that his constitution attribute was too low, not that he needed to restore HP and mana.

"I have endless strength in my body; it is truly miraculous." Emperor Taichang sighed.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing was afraid Emperor Taichang would do something stupid, so he added: "Your Majesty is now immortal, but you should still be cautious."

Emperor Taichang asked why.

"Your Majesty is still a mortal of flesh and blood; blades, water, fire, poison, and plague can still harm you," Chu Danqing reminded him, lest he think he was immortal and could do whatever he wanted.

Then, if he really played himself to death, it would be troublesome.

From the current perspective, Emperor Taichang was still human-like, a standard, middle-of-the-road Emperor.

"My dear official, rest assured, I know what I'm doing." Emperor Taichang took it to heart; he wasn't invulnerable, and if someone really stabbed him in the heart, he would still die.

"Someone, draft an edict to confer upon Lord Chu the title of County Duke with a fief." Emperor Taichang was happy and directly gave Chu Danqing a title.

A group of eunuchs quickly completed the edict, and after Emperor Taichang reviewed it, he gave it directly to Chu Danqing.

"In urgent times, we must act with expediency; Lord Chu, do not mind." Emperor Taichang didn't intend to hold any ceremony for Chu Danqing; if he wanted one, he could hold it himself when he returned.

Chu Danqing didn't take the imperial edict, but said: "Your Majesty, this is too precious."

"It would be better to reward me with treasures like the Valley Konggu Youlan or the Night-Shining Pearl of the Boluo Kingdom; I am fond of these little trinkets."

What use was a broken County Duke title to him? To him, it was just a hollow name.

Hearing Chu Danqing's refusal, Emperor Taichang became even more satisfied.

Greedy for wealth but not for power, capable of getting things done, and loyal—how could he not like such an official?

In fact, he had regretted it a little after conferring the title.

Titles couldn't be conferred lightly, and he just happened to follow Chu Danqing's lead.

"Very well, Lord Chu may go to the Great Treasury to select three treasures, and I will also bestow upon you a mansion and a thousand gold pieces." Emperor Taichang changed the reward.

Chu Danqing was quite satisfied with the bonus this time, but his goal hadn't been reached yet.

"Not enough; I also want to serve as the chief official for the suppression of the Shushen case in the capital, and I request an edict that allows me to execute first and report later, acting with full discretion."

"I truly cannot trust the Provincial Military Commander Li; the Secret Service Bureau is incompetent, even letting such a major event as the red pills leak. Even if Commander Li was unaware, he cannot escape the crime of dereliction of duty," Chu Danqing said.

Speaking of Li Wanwu, Emperor Taichang also had a thorn in his heart.

Not many people knew about the red pills of immortality; except for Chu Danqing and Li Wanwu, everyone else had been imprisoned by him.

Chu Danqing certainly wouldn't have leaked it; he had delivered the red pills.

The only person left who could have leaked it was Li Wanwu—unless it was Emperor Taichang himself.

"Granted. Draft the edict, and go fetch my personal sword." Emperor Taichang agreed without hesitation.

"Then what if it involves Commander Li?" Chu Danqing asked again.

Emperor Taichang paused: "Submit a secret memorial, and I will decide."

Even if he knew Li Wanwu was problematic, he couldn't move against him immediately; he had to wait until he had no value left before killing him.

Chu Danqing suspected that Emperor Taichang intended to kill two birds with one stone.

First use Li Wanwu as a blade to deal with the court, and after that was done, push Li Wanwu out to be killed to appease the people.

In this way, all the problems would be Li Wanwu's fault, and Emperor Taichang would not only control the court but also have an unblemished reputation.

Chu Danqing responded, took the imperial edict and the sword, and then returned.

What followed was simple: when in doubt, show the imperial edict, and if they still dared to disobey, draw the sword and kill.

Mobilizing the various forces in the capital to work for him was not a problem at all.

Chu Danqing didn't just have authority; he had troops in his hands.

People might wait and see if you only have authority, but it's different when you have troops; Chu Danqing really dared to take action.

After getting what he wanted, Chu Danqing couldn't wait to head toward the Great Treasury.

The mansion and money were useless to him, so it didn't matter.

But these kinds of treasures could truly strengthen him.

After arriving, the Great Treasury was still brightly lit. After showing the note stamped by Emperor Taichang from the Internal Affairs Bureau, someone accompanied Chu Danqing into the Great Treasury to select treasures.

"Does Lord Chu have any items in mind?" the Deputy Treasury Keeper following Chu Danqing asked.

Chu Danqing didn't hide it: "Beast control, spirit summoning, or things similar to the Boluo Kingdom's Night-Shining Pearl."

Although the Deputy Treasury Keeper had never heard of rare terms like beast control or spirit summoning, he could understand the meaning.

"Yes, yes," the Deputy Treasury Keeper said immediately: "Lord Chu, please this way."

While walking, he introduced the origins of the various treasures in the Great Treasury to Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing also confirmed them through his Apostle authority.

Not everything could be recognized by the Paradise as an attribute panel item.

Most of them did not meet the quality standards.

The treasures that did meet the standards were all Common Tier, and Excellent Tier ones were very rare.

Now it seemed that the Valley Konggu Youlan and that box of Night-Shining Pearls were already considered rare treasures.

Emperor Taichang was indeed not stingy; he was very generous with the bonus.

The Deputy Treasury Keeper led Chu Danqing into the depths.

The further in they went, the more formal the items were, and the higher the quality.

"My lord, please look at this item, called the Seven-Treasure Eagle, cast from gold, silver, glaze, coral, amber, giant clam, and agate."

"It was a treasure offered by the King of the Suoluo Kingdom when Taichang was founded," the Deputy Treasury Keeper said, pointing to a treasure cast from seven materials.

Chu Danqing took one look and said directly: "Change to another one."

It was beautiful, but it was only Common Tier quality; his minimum requirement was Excellent Tier, and then there were the limiting conditions.

This item belonged to the treasure category, similar to the Night-Shining Pearls, but the selling price was lower.

Compared to Paradise Points, he still preferred to obtain summoning types directly, which could save the middleman from making a profit.

(End of Chapter)