Chapter 444: Ingenious Methods

The hall instantly erupted into chaos.

Li Chengqian was hurriedly helped out, and the Crown Princess, uneasy, lifted her skirt and followed.

In the blink of an eye, only Chen Yan, Li Shimin, and Empress Changsun remained in the inner hall.

The air seemed to solidify as Li Shimin and Empress Changsun exchanged a glance, each seeing heavy worry in the other's eyes.

They were not as naive as the young Crown Princess.

Many years ago, a wandering old physician had told them that purgatives can sometimes be powerful medicines for expelling evil and detoxifying.

After feeling Chen Yan's pulse, he said nothing and immediately administered the purgative; that action alone revealed many issues.

Li Shimin's fist clenched involuntarily, his knuckles whitening, the veins at his temples throbbing faintly; he suppressed the raging anger in his heart, his voice low and terrifying: "Cheng Qian… so he is indeed poisoned?"

Chen Yan met the emperor's sharp gaze, remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"It's a very strange toxin," he explained, "mixed with several components, making it hard to identify at once."

"The only certainty is that this toxin bears a strong resemblance to the one His Majesty previously suffered, yet on Brother Cheng Qian it manifests markedly worse symptoms; the situation is urgent, so I can only resort to extreme measures for now."

In fact, his preliminary judgment was heavy metal poisoning, but he also felt Li Chengqian's poisoning was not deep, so it shouldn't be this severe.

He suspected other toxins were mixed in, or some trigger had amplified the toxicity.

"Fine… very fine!" Li Shimin laughed angrily, his chest heaving violently, unable to contain his fury any longer.

A dignified Crown Prince, whose diet and daily life are subject to multiple inspections, yet even so, Li Chengqian was poisoned!

This differs entirely from his own poisoning by alchemical pills; it is clearly a deliberate plot against the Crown Prince.

"What audacity… such nerve!" Li Shimin's eyes flashed coldly, his voice icy: "To dare poison Cheng Qian right under my very eyes!"

"If I discover who did it, I will skin and cripple them; otherwise my hatred cannot be soothed!"

Empress Changsun, seeing this, hurried forward and gently pressed his arm, softly urging: "His Majesty, calm your anger; the most urgent matter now is Cheng Qian's health."

She turned to Chen Yan, worry filling her eyes: "Zi An, can this purgative truly counter Cheng Qian's toxin? He was so weak just now; might he not withstand it?"

"Your Highness may rest assured about my purgative; it will be fine, at most leaving the Crown Prince weakened for a few days," Chen Yan whispered, "Only that toxin, I'm afraid, is not so easily resolved."

"To detox, we must first know exactly what toxin it is."

At that moment, the Crown Princess happened to return.

Primarily because Li Chengqian wouldn't let her follow, she had to anxiously run back.

Upon hearing that Li Chengqian was poisoned, she felt faint.

Fortunately, Empress Changsun was quick-eyed and swift-handed, giving her a steadying hand.

"Duke of Wei… is my husband poisoned?"

Chen Yan gave no answer, his gaze lingering on a few strands that had just fallen from the Crown Princess's hair, frowning as he looked at her:

"Crown Princess, may I take your pulse for you?"

Those words made Li Shimin and his wife feel a sudden jolt.

The Crown Princess was startled, realized something, pursed her lips, and agreed.

Chen Yan took the Crown Princess's pulse, asking whether she had recently felt anything amiss in her body or experienced abnormal hair loss.

The Crown Princess gave affirmative answers to both.

"The Crown Princess is also poisoned, but only lightly, not serious," Chen Yan suddenly felt a headache.

"Is it the same toxin as Cheng Qian's?" Li Shimin almost lost control of his violent temper.

Chen Yan: "Yes, the same toxin as the Crown Prince's. I haven't misdiagnosed before; this toxin shares a striking similarity with the one His Majesty suffered, essentially a chronic poison."

"But the Crown Prince's symptoms are clearly abnormal; the toxin manifested too quickly. If Brother Cheng Qian hadn't been robust before, I'm afraid…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Li Shimin and his wife understood his meaning.

Chen Yan continued: "Please have the Crown Princess send someone to bring me the remnants of the Crown Prince's recent meals and the items he used, so I can examine them."

"I want to see if I can discover how the poisoner administered the toxin to the Crown Prince; only then can we know exactly what poison was used."

"Very well!" the Crown Princess replied solemnly, immediately dispatching people to search.

Immediately after, Chen Yan asked Li Shimin and Empress Changsun many questions about Li Chengqian's recent condition, and the Crown Princess added further details upon returning.

Upon hearing that Li Chengqian had previously suffered from paralysis and then developed wind disease, he stroked his chin, pondering.

Soon, a group of palace maids brought in each item, along with food and medicinal residue.

Chen Yan's first focus was on the medicinal residue.

He stepped forward and examined it meticulously, finding no issues; the dosage and usage of the toxic Aconite ('Fu Zi') were proper.

When used correctly, this medicine is the life‑saving elixir "Reviving Yang to Rescue the Reversed"; misused, it becomes the lethal toxin "Blood‑Seeing Throat‑Sealing".

In minute quantities, it can achieve a poison‑against‑poison effect.

Chen Yan temporarily set aside the residue, began inspecting the other items, even sampling the emperor's bestowed wine with a sip.

He found it to be a normally refined high‑proof liquor; since he had produced such liquor before, it was not uncommon in the palace.

"So, Zi An, have you discovered anything?"

Li Shimin pressed further.

"Not yet, but I keep feeling something's off," Chen Yan thought, recalling his repeated examinations, sensing he had missed something.

He thought it over, still unable to reach a conclusion, and decided to re‑examine.

Li Shimin and the others dared not disturb him; despite their anxiety, they knew the priority was to identify the toxin afflicting Li Chengqian.

During the second inspection, Chen Yan's attention was drawn to a block of ink, which he placed under his nose to sniff, squinting, then turned and asked: "Crown Princess, have you ever ground ink for the Crown Prince?"

The Crown Princess answered honestly: "My husband prefers quiet when handling state affairs; when I deliver his meals, I sometimes grind ink for him."

"Previously he always did this himself."

"I see," Chen Yan finally understood what he had overlooked; he rushed back to the residue, pinched a piece of Aconite remnants, then picked up a bottle of the imperial wine.

After scrutinizing the three items for a while, he couldn't help but think how truly clever the poisoner was.

Some heavy-metal poison was mixed into this ink ingot; Li Chengqian, who grinds his own ink over a long period, would thus suffer heavy-metal poisoning.

If that were all, it would merely be a chronic poison, taking effect quite slowly.

But the poisoner's method is quite clever, utilizing the aconitine produced by one medicinal ingredient used to cure the Crown Prince's arthralgia, and also utilizing the ethanol produced from the high-grade liquor bestowed by His Majesty.

Separately, the three are harmless; the wine and medicine are even beneficial.

But once combined, they greatly promote the absorption and toxicity of the heavy metals and aconitine in the body, turning the chronic poison into a deadly one.

"......"