Chapter 462: The Gamble

"Trash!"

"You are all a bunch of trash!"

"Trash, good-for-nothings!"

Xie Ling of Pingzhou had been flying into a rage for half a month straight.

The items on the dining table were once again overturned onto the floor by him.

The Prince of Lu, standing to the side, did not even dare to speak.

"Hmph, if you aren't trash, then what are you? Huh? What are you if not trash!"

Xie Ling's face was twisted; the moment he thought about how his entire plan had failed, he wanted to kill someone!

Chen Ran!

Xie Zhen!

And that bunch of Southern Barbarians in Liangshan!

In order to keep Liu Zheng's head in Liangshan, he had calculated so much and sacrificed so much from beginning to end! It could be said that from the moment the Southern Barbarians invaded, this entire affair had been directed by him!

However...

He lost!

He still lost!

Not only did he lose, but now the entire land of Chuan Shu was completely out of control. Liu Zheng had begun to truly take charge of Liangshan. He had lost this contest in a complete and utter mess!

Why?

Was this Prefect Liu truly so invincible?

Why!

Xie Ling gripped his wine goblet tightly, his gaze cold and sinister: "You tell me what to do, what should I do now! Huh? My Opium was burned away by that great fire, just like that! Burned away! Burned away! It's all gone, what's the point of playing this game anymore, what's the point!"

He roared.

Opium was supposed to be his magic weapon for amassing wealth! Now it was all gone, a total defeat!

"Pfft..."

He could not help it, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

"Your Highness..."

The group of people beside him were all terrified.

The Prince of Lu sighed: "Your Highness, the matter has already reached this point; being angry now will not solve anything. Listen to me, the current turmoil in the imperial court is what Your Highness should be more concerned about."

Xie Ling was stunned for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Does Imperial Uncle mean..."

The Prince of Lu advised: "Your Highness, the Emperor he..."

He did not dare to say anything disrespectful, but he continued: "Your Highness, nowadays, the struggle for the succession has entered a white-hot stage. You should not continue to stay here, but should return to Jinghua..."

Xie Tianyao's illness had been worsening recently.

Many were rumored that he could not hold on much longer, at most surviving past this birthday. Under these circumstances, the Crown Prince Xie Fang had long since begun to maneuver, winning over civil and military officials, Powerful Clans, and military commanders... Empress Zheng Fu had also summoned Xie Ling to return several times, but Xie Ling was single-mindedly obsessed with destroying this Prefect Liu, and now he was already in a passive position.

"No..."

Xie Ling suddenly gritted his teeth and said: "No, I cannot go back for now, I cannot! If I go back, I will have truly lost this battle!"

The Prince of Lu was startled: "Your Highness, you..."

Xie Ling stood up and said: "Follow me to Yinzhou; I want to make one last gamble!"

The Prince of Lu's expression changed drastically.

Xie Ling said indifferently: "Imperial Uncle, do you think Father Emperor doesn't know about me dealing with Prefect Liu?"

The Prince of Lu was speechless.

Xie Ling said sinisterly: "Father Emperor knows, he knows everything... But why didn't he stop me? It's very simple: one, he also wants Prefect Liu dead! Two, in his eyes, we are his children, not Prefect Liu!"

"Therefore..."

"At this time, rushing back to Jinghua will not help the succession struggle; it would be better to go all out against Prefect Liu one more time! If I can make his Liangzhou completely collapse, only then will Father Emperor truly value me, understand?"

The Prince of Lu was shaken: "Your Highness is truly far-sighted!"

Xie Ling gave a cold snort.

All-in!

He was going to make one last all-in!

Xie Tianyao was critically ill.

For his birthday, he had summoned him to the capital.

Liu Zheng did not need anyone else to warn him; he knew it himself.

Xie Tianyao was very likely going to settle scores with him.

It was a headache...

He gave a bitter smile, his gaze shifting to a vessel nearby... At this moment, that vessel was refining, refining that pile of white stuff... Yes, this was what he had been doing while locking himself in this room alone recently.

This process was actually very simple, so I will not elaborate on it here.

Opium was something that had always been terrifying throughout history. Raw opium, after being boiled and fermented, could be made into Refined Opium—Liu Zheng had discovered in the past few days that this was what Shama Zhuoyi and Naibao Rize had been doing on this farm.

In other words, their refining technique was very simple and crude: Opium Pill.

However.

Why could this thing exist legally in some places? It was very simple: the Poppy had great value in medicine.

Opium, also known as the "Forget-me-not Flower," could treat headaches, dizziness, deafness, strokes, amblyopia, bronchitis, coughs, asthma, abdominal pain, jaundice, hemoptysis, spleen hardening, kidney stones, urinary diseases, fevers, edema, leprosy, menstrual irregularities, depression, poisoning, and insect bites, among many other illnesses.

Wait!

Liu Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up.

Hemoptysis?

Isn't the current Xie Tianyao suffering from the symptoms of hemoptysis?

Suddenly, he felt excited in his heart.

He did not know too much about Xie Tianyao's medical condition, but according to folk rumors, Xie Tianyao had started coughing up blood since last year. However, there are many causes for the symptom of hemoptysis. Generally speaking, it is mostly caused by lesions in the lungs—

Synthesizing the various rumors, Liu Zheng frowned.

Could it be that this Xie Tianyao is suffering from lung cancer?

This is very likely!

The most common cause of hemoptysis is bronchogenic carcinoma.

No...

Liu Zheng frowned again.

He had heard before that Xie Tianyao often consumed so-called "Immortal Pill"s...

This kind of heavy metal poisoning issue should be a liver problem.

Hematemesis?

He could not help but have his eyes light up.

Hemoptysis and hematemesis, the difference between these is huge... but in ancient times, people often confused hemoptysis with hematemesis!

Simply put, the difference between the two is this.

Hemoptysis is mostly a disease of the lungs!

As for hematemesis, the causes are numerous, such as stomach, intestinal, or biliary tract disorders, or diseases like cirrhosis with portal hypertension!

Logically speaking...

Xie Tianyao should have liver cancer?

Lung cancer, liver cancer!

It is just these two situations!

Or perhaps both!

Liu Zheng took a deep breath and could not help but want to laugh up at the sky.

Xie Tianyao, oh Xie Tianyao, it seems that this time, it won't be so easy for you to kill me!

Heaven has bestowed opium upon me; even if it cannot cure your illness, if it lets you live a few months longer, do you want it?

Bet!

Liu Zheng intends to gamble once this time!