Chapter 219: New Medicine, New Atmosphere

Upon hearing this, Jun Zijin’s gaze turned as cold as thousand-year ice.

That look seemed capable of freezing the surrounding air instantly; had Quan Aoyu not been by her side, others would likely have been frozen into ice sculptures by that stare.

Upon hearing this, Quan Aoyu’s face also darkened, and he gripped her hand tightly to offer comfort.

Jun Zijin was not particularly concerned about Quan Tianyi wanting to kill her; now that she possessed the space, it would not be so easy for him to take her life.

Jun Zijin silently mocked in her heart that Quan Tianyi’s brain must have short-circuited, inviting a wolf into the house; it was easy to invite a god, but sending one away would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

With that level of intelligence, he still wanted to be Emperor, refusing to live a good life and insisting on provoking those wolves.

When the time came, he would have nowhere to cry, and in the end, her blockhead would still have to clean up the mess.

The two ate and drank their fill before quietly exiting the cave. Just like that, they flickered through the secret passage as if playing a game, and Quan Tianyi remained completely unaware.

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Inside the Imperial Study of the palace, candle flames flickered, and light and shadow danced wantonly on the walls, rendering the atmosphere exceptionally heavy.

Tonight, Quan Wuji’s eyelids kept twitching; he felt restless and did not sleep all night.

Quan Aoyu walked with hurried steps, and the moment he stepped into the study, he knelt with a "thud," his voice, usually somewhat lazy and charming, now carrying a hint of urgency and panic:

"Father Emperor!"

Quan Wuji looked up from the mountain of memorials, his thick brows furrowing slightly. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he regained his usual composure in an instant and said in a deep voice:

"Yu’er, get up and speak. What exactly has happened to make you so panicked?"

Quan Aoyu stood up, took a deep breath, and said:

"Father Emperor, the secret guards saw that mysterious person and the Second Imperial Prince of the Northern Kingdom, who is lurking in our Tianqi, enter the secret passage. Zijin and I snuck into the passage to investigate, but I never expected that what we discovered would leave me completely stunned. The matter is of great importance, and I dared not conceal it."

Quan Aoyu’s face was full of heartbreak, his fists clenched tightly, as if he were still immersed in the shock of what he had seen in the secret passage.

He did not tell Quan Wuji that he had already learned the identity of the mysterious person before entering the passage.

Although the Emperor doted on Quan Aoyu the most, since ancient times, the mind of an emperor has been harder to fathom than a needle at the bottom of the sea; if he were not careful, he might be suspected of being unable to tolerate his brothers, leading to trouble.

Quan Wuji’s expression turned gloomy in an instant, his eyes revealing vigilance and scrutiny as he asked:

"What exactly did you find? Do not stutter."

Quan Aoyu gritted his teeth and presented all the evidence of Quan Tianyi’s crimes he had collected to the Emperor.

A few days ago, Jun Zijin had discovered the mysterious person conspiring in a private room at the Bibo Pavilion.

She took advantage of the convenience of the Bibo Pavilion’s private room and ordered the Shopkeeper to build a partition in the wall.

Feiyan monitored them closely; when the mysterious person met with whom, and what they said, were all listed clearly.

Ahem, even the little things like when the mysterious person picked his nose, cleaned his ears, or scratched his feet while alone were all recorded. Heh heh.

Quan Wuji was furious, but he quickly calmed down. The anger on his face faded rapidly, replaced by an unfathomable calmness.

In fact, ever since the incident where the old thief Gao was executed, he had already begun to suspect Quan Tianyi.

It was just that he never dreamed that what was being unearthed now would be such a heaven-shaking case of treason, with implications far exceeding his imagination.

Quan Tianyi was a son he had watched grow up; how could he not know that this child was ambitious?

But there was always a shred of reluctance in his heart, and he always held onto a bit of forbearance and expectation, thinking the child would eventually turn back and walk the right path. After all, blood is thicker than water; that was, after all, his own flesh and blood.

But now it seemed that not only was Quan Tianyi inseparable from the incident five years ago, but now he was selling out his country for glory, and even colluding with foreign thieves, plotting to take the life of his own father.

The last shred of warmth in Quan Wuji’s heart dissipated completely, leaving only boundless anger and resolute murderous intent. How could he tolerate this rebellious son any longer!

But this matter was extremely thorny; the cave was full of mechanisms, and the secret passage was as complex as a maze. Acting rashly might trigger even greater chaos.

The only plan now was to lure the snake out of its hole and wipe out the enemies in one fell swoop.

After Quan Aoyu withdrew, Quan Wuji tapped on the desk for a long while before he spoke to call someone.

"Someone come."

As soon as the words fell, a black shadow flashed from the darkness like a ghost and knelt on one knee; it was Xiao Han, commander of the Dragon and Tiger Guards.

"You are to take the Dragon and Tiger Guards immediately and closely monitor every move of Prince Yi. Do not alert him unless absolutely necessary. I want to lure the snake out of its hole and wipe out this gang of traitors in one fell swoop. Remember, if there is the slightest mistake, bring me your head."

"This subordinate obeys!"

After receiving the order, Xiao Han’s figure flashed and instantly disappeared into the darkness, as if he had never appeared.

Quan Wuji leaned back on the Dragon Throne and slowly closed his eyes.

Quan Tianyi, this empire is my life’s work; how could I allow you to hand it over to others?

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Days that seemed calm but were actually surging with undercurrents passed for half a month.

The weather gradually warmed up, and Jun Zijin went to the hill Quan Aoyu had given her and finally planted the Gastrodia seeds with her own hands.

By next year, when the Gastrodia grew, these would not only be the key medicinal ingredients for the new medicine she was developing but also precious nourishing herbs, a source of vast amounts of silver.

Half a month ago, someone in the capital contracted an epidemic, and the situation showed signs of spiraling out of control.

Quan Wuji was overwhelmed, and the imperial physicians and the physicians in the capital were at their wits' end.

The Tong'an Hospital and Tong'an Hall were also overcrowded; among the crowd, there was nothing but painful groans and calls for hope.

There were elderly people with incessant coughs and pale faces, supported by their families, their eyes full of longing for recovery.

There were mothers holding children with high fevers, their faces full of anxiety, whispering to soothe their crying babies.

And there were young and middle-aged people whose bodies were hunched from the torment of illness, bracing themselves, hoping to find a glimmer of survival here.

Jun Zijin handed the hospital over to He Linger to manage and buried herself in the laboratory.

Almost without sleep or rest, she finally developed several types of broad-spectrum anti-infection drugs, antiviral drugs, and fever reducers, and put them into mass production.

As soon as the news spread, Tong'an Hospital and Tong'an Hall were instantly flooded by a surging tide of people.

Before dawn, the commoners brought their families to line up; the long queue snaked out from the hospital entrance, with no end in sight.

And after treatment, those who had used the antiviral and anti-infection drugs gradually began to recover.

The capital returned to a scene of bustle and prosperity; the streets were once again crowded, the peddlers' cries rose and fell, and the teahouses and wine shops were filled with people chatting, giving a faint sense of a new atmosphere.

Quan Wuji stood on a high building in the palace, overlooking this scene of bustle and prosperity, and the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily; the girl Zijin had indeed not disappointed him.

The epidemic that used to take many lives every year was now nothing to fear, and the Tianqi Kingdom had invisibly stepped onto a new level.

But in the Imperial Hospital, it was a different scene. When Jun Zijin’s research results were placed before everyone.

Good heavens, it was like throwing a super-sized bomb into a pond, kicking up heaven-shaking waves.