Chapter 1322

Qiqi felt dizzy again; the bee venom was extremely potent. Hu Xiaotian had summoned imperial physicians, but none of them were skilled in detoxification, facing the situation they were all at a loss. Hu Xiaotian ordered Quan De'an to return first to the Prince Yongyang's mansion; he still had some Blood‑Cleansing Pills, which had some effect on detoxification, and meanwhile asked him to send over his medicine box.

Hong Beimo had been waiting outside the door all along; seeing Quan De'an come out, he asked with concern, "How is Your Highness's condition?"

Quan De'an delegated the tasks Hu Xiaotian had entrusted to him to another little eunuch, then explained the situation to him. Hong Beimo furrowed his brows. At that moment, a eunuch's announcement came from outside—it was the old emperor, Long Xuan'en, who had personally come upon hearing the news. Since Long Xuan'en had reclaimed the throne, he had never voluntarily visited anyone, not even bothering to attend court assemblies; this shows that Qiqi still holds a very important place in his heart.

Long Tingzhen also came along, and Hong Beimo and the others hurriedly knelt before the Emperor.

Long Xuan'en nodded and said indifferently, "All right, rise."

Hong Beimo and Quan De'an arrived before him at the same time, and Long Xuan'en asked, "How is the situation?"

"It's poisoning!" Quan De'an said in a low voice, then added, "Lord Hu and several imperial physicians are inside."

Long Xuan'en nodded. At this moment, Hu Xiaotian walked out from inside; hearing the commotion outside, he came out to greet the imperial carriage. Before he could perform the salute, Long Xuan'en waved his hand and said, "No need for much ceremony; I just came to see Qiqi's condition." He stepped toward the interior, and Quan De'an and Hong Beimo followed. Long Tingzhen wanted to follow in, but Hu Xiaotian blocked him face-to-face. Long Tingzhen wanted to flare up, but meeting Hu Xiaotian's cold gaze, he pressed his lips together and actually swallowed his anger. Hu Xiaotian followed behind and entered the palace interior, locking Long Tingzhen and his entourage outside.

Seeing Qiqi fall into a coma again, Long Xuan'en couldn't help but feel somewhat anxious; he turned his gaze to the group of imperial physicians, who were frightened and lowered their heads one by one. Long Xuan'en said in a deep voice, "Have the people from Xuantian Guan arrived?"

Quan De'an said, "I have already sent for them."

Long Xuan'en angrily said, "Send someone to urge them again. If Qiqi suffers any mishap, I will kill all these useless quack doctors."

Those imperial physicians were terrified out of their wits; they all knew this old emperor's temper was unpredictable—what he said, he would do. Hu Xiaotian told the physicians, "You may go out first!" Since these physicians couldn't come up with any decent treatment plan, it was better to let them leave first, so as not to be an eyesore here.

While Long Xuan'en listened to Quan De'an's explanation of the condition, Hu Xiaotian pointed out to everyone the spot where Qiqi had been stung; at this moment the color seemed to have deepened somewhat, and the redness was visibly spreading outward.

Seeing the condition of Qiqi's wound, Hong Beimo couldn't help but frown; this subtle change in expression did not escape Hu Xiaotian's eyes.

Long Xuan'en said, "Minister Hong, you are well-versed and knowledgeable; do you know what kind of bee is so vicious?"

Hong Beimo said, "It seems to be the Crimson Flame Mad Bee of the Wuxian Sect; the Crimson Flame Mad Bee is normally very small. If it is as large as the princess described, like an ordinary honeybee, then it must be a queen‑level toxic insect, its poison is unparalleled, and even I, your humble servant, am powerless against it."

Hearing this, Long Xuan'en's heart sank. It was unexpected that, with Qiqi's wedding imminent, such a thing would occur. Hu Xiaotian, as her fiancé, would not likely harm her in this marriage; this marriage poses no disadvantage for him. Could it be Long Tingzhen? Yet Long Tingzhen seems to have no connection with the Wuxian Sect. Or could Hong Beimo be trying to eliminate Qiqi to remove a powerful rival for Long Tingzhen? That is quite possible. Given Hong Beimo's ability, for him to immediately claim helplessness is clearly a deliberate excuse to avoid saving Qiqi. Thinking this, Long Xuan'en let out a long sigh and said, "Minister Hong, I am not unaware of your abilities; I believe you will surely find a way."

Hong Beimo, hearing his tone, already understood that Long Xuan'en was suspecting him. Qiqi's poisoning should not be a feint; it's merely that she happened to be injured at an incredibly coincidental moment—Hu Xiaotian had just been assaulted, and she was secretly poisoned here. These two events occurred simultaneously, so Hu Xiaotian naturally had no suspicion, and the biggest suspicion naturally fell on himself and Long Tingzhen. Others do not know that he and Qiqi have secretly formed an alliance; although Long Tingzhen appears recently to be mighty and formidable, he is merely a pawn they intend to discard in the end. In their plan, they would use Long Tingzhen to remove the old emperor, then have Qiqi carry out Heaven's mandate, eradicate the traitors, and naturally ascend the throne; by then the subjects would have no choice, and no one would again bring up Qiqi's female identity.

Hong Beimo realized that the plan was not unfolding as expected; they had still underestimated Hu Xiaotian. Could it be that this fellow colluded with the Wuxian Sect, staging this linked bitter‑sweet scheme to make the old emperor suspect him and turn the spear toward him? Hong Beimo also understood that if he did not say something substantive, it would only make Long Xuan'en suspect him more. He spoke respectfully, "Your Majesty, in my view, the Princess should have no immediate threat to her life; although I currently have no cure, I will surely do my utmost."

In the meantime, the little eunuch that Quan De'an had sent to fetch Hu Xiaotian's medicine box had returned, panting; Hu Xiaotian took his medicine box and from it took out a Blood‑Cleansing Pill.

Supporting Qiqi to sit up, her consciousness was hazy; hearing Hu Xiaotian say, "Qiqi, take this Blood‑Cleansing Pill first; it should do you good."

Hearing the three words "Blood‑Cleansing Pill," Hong Beimo could not help but ask, "Is it the specially made Blood‑Cleansing Pill from the Divine Farmer's Society?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "It is indeed the Divine Farmer's Society's secret effective medicine."

Qiqi held the Blood‑Cleansing Pill in her mouth, but it immediately fell out again. Seeing this, Hu Xiaotian could only crush the pill with his mouth and, mouth‑to‑mouth, pass the medicine into her vermilion lips. Those nearby, witnessing the scene, all turned away to avoid it; even Long Xuan'en secretly sighed, thinking this fellow was indeed terribly rude, daring to kiss Qiqi in front of so many people. He also understood that Hu Xiaotian had no other choice.

After Hu Xiaotian had Qiqi swallow the Blood‑Cleansing Pill, he said to everyone, "Please step aside for a moment; I wish to examine the princess's wound."

The people looked at each other, wondering, "Didn't he just examine it? Why examine again?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I want to see whether any poisonous sting remains in her body."

Hong Beimo secretly thought, having long heard that this fellow had done some research in medical arts; now it seemed true indeed. While Hu Xiaotian opened his medicine box, he glanced inside and saw the various instruments neatly arranged, which made his eyes light up.

Long Xuan'en nodded and said, "Let's go out first."

After the others had left, Hu Xiaotian kept Granny Liang and a few palace maids as assistants. He carefully examined Qiqi's left shoulder, using a willow‑leaf blade to separate a bit of skin, from which he extracted a small vermilion‑colored spine; this must have come from the Crimson Flame Mad Bee. Judging from Qiqi's current condition, it was still fairly stable—her pulse and breathing were very steady, and her temperature was normal.

After Hu Xiaotian had finished treating Qiqi's wound, he prepared to go out to see Long Xuan'en, but before he could leave, he heard an announcement from outside—it was someone from Xuantian Guan arriving. This visitor was in fact an old acquaintance: Meng Zizai, the martial uncle of Qin Yutong. Seeing Meng Zizai come forward, Hu Xiaotian felt a spontaneous relief in his heart; Meng Zizai is one of the top experts of Xuantian Guan, though his identity is mysterious, his medical skill is profoundly deep, especially adept at detoxification. He recalled that when he had gone to Xichuan, Meng Zizai had also gone there together with Xi Yan; he did not expect that Meng Zizai would already have returned so soon. Li Yuncong had recently told him that, years ago, Ren Tianqing had once disguised himself as Meng Zizai to enter the Cangshuge, and that this person might be connected to the disappearance of the 'Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man' illustration and the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing.

Although Li Yuncong's words might not be entirely trustworthy, they also cannot be wholly disbelieved; whether the person before us is Meng Zizai or Ren Tianqing, as long as he can help Qiqi recover her health, that is already enough to be reassured.

After Meng Zizai had examined Qiqi's wound, he inquired further into the details of the poisoning, then came to Hu Xiaotian's side and asked him what kind of treatment he had administered.

Hu Xiaotian showed great respect, recounting his earlier response in full, and then presented to him the bee sting he had removed from Qiqi's body.

After listening, Meng Zizai took the bee sting and examined it carefully for a while, then nodded and said, "The Divine Farmer's Society's Blood‑Cleansing Pill is an effective detoxicant; it can cleanse the blood and eliminate toxins, and it can completely cure ordinary snake and insect venoms. However, the princess this time was stung by the Crimson Flame Mad Bee, and this bee is in fact the queen of that species."

Hu Xiaotian had just heard Hong Beimo say the same thing earlier; now Meng Zizai's statement should also be correct, except that one said it was the king and the other the queen. Hu Xiaotian asked, "Mister Meng, can you neutralize the toxin of the Crimson Flame Mad Bee?"

Meng Zizai said, "This poisonous bee is a unique toxic substance of the Wuxian Sect; they have secret methods to control it. In this world, all things are mutually generating and overcoming; no matter how potent a poison, there will be a corresponding antidote, and the Crimson Flame Mad Bee is no exception."

Hu Xiaotian delightedly said, "Then I will have to trouble you, Mister."

Meng Zizai said, "Just because I say there is an antidote does not mean I happen to have it on hand."

Hu Xiaotian's heart gave a start: "How?"

Meng Zizai said, "The best way to clear bee venom is to use the Black Ice Clam; simply attach it to the wound, and the toxin will be drawn out by the clam. At most, repeat the process three times, and the toxin in the body will be eliminated instantly."

Upon hearing mention of the Black Ice Clam, Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled that in Yongdu, Xue Shengjing had once lost a Black Ice Clam; at that time, Xi Yan had staged her own poisoning, pretending to be poisoned in order to borrow the Black Ice Clam from him, and later had gone to great lengths to steal it from the Prince Yan's mansion. Now the Black Ice Clam should be in her hands. If the bee venom that afflicted Qiqi was her doing, then getting her to act would be difficult for Qiqi herself. Thinking this, Hu Xiaotian could not help but feel anxious. (To be continued~^~)