Ch. 557 - Recover One’s Youth Pill

| Yongning Palace Ancestral Hall, inside Mingde Hall. |

Looking at the mountains of account books piled up on the desk, Sun Shaozong suddenly felt like his head was as big as a bucket.

In fact, he heard that what was recorded in these account books were things that the Emperor might come into contact with in the near future, and he already had a clear understanding in his heart.

Later, when he privately inquired with Dai Quan, it turned out that, as expected, driving away evil spirits was just a cover. The real intention was to eliminate potential hidden dangers in the palace…

It seemed that through the Zhou family's extermination case, Emperor Guangde also realized that the followers of Prince Yizhong were brewing some conspiracy, so he began to investigate risks from his side with a proactive attitude.

The reason for using the guise of dispelling evil spirits was to avoid startling the snake with grass. Secondly, the situation has not been proven yet. If it was just an unfounded concern, it was easier to go down the stairs under the guise of ghosts and gods.

In fact, this was exactly the ultimate goal that Sun Shaozong intended to achieve by framing others before.

However, he didn't expect that the task of identifying risks would fall onto him!

Although he was only responsible for checking dead objects, the concubines and maids in the palace were secretly investigated by Qiu Shi'an, Dai Quan's deputy, and it was not possible to identify hundreds of things one by one in a short time.

And if it was delayed for a long time, the task of going south to quell the rebellion would naturally go to waste.

Sigh~

This was really a plan that could not keep up with the changes.

Sun Shaozong let out a helpless sigh and looked over his desk. He paused briefly on the purchasing supervisor, Eunuch Zhou, before decisively turning to the other side of the drug regulatory bureau supervisor, Chen Banxia.

This drug supervision bureau was a branch under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Hospital, named after Prince Yizhong. Its authority was naturally similar to that of later generations, mainly responsible for quality supervision of medicinal materials sold on the market.

And Chen Banxia's appearance here was naturally to assist Sun Shaozong in his professional field.

In addition to Chen Banxia and Eunuch Zhou, there were also twelve internal guards, twelve procurement eunuchs, and six eunuchs under the jurisdiction of the Drug Administration who had been temporarily transferred to Sun Shaozong.

The imperial physician belonged to the middle and senior professional titles of the Imperial Hospital, while the Imperial Doctors was a collective term for the doctors under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Hospital.

"Supervisor Chen."

After naming Chen Banxia, Sun Shaozong leaned forward to show respect before continuing to ask, "Do you know what types of medicines are commonly used in the palace?"

Although the power of Chen Banxia was similar to that of later generations, the current drug regulatory bureau was not even considered a county-level official, let alone a high-ranking official. Chen Banxia, as a supervisor, was only a minor eighth-grade official, not as good as his seventh-grade official position as an Imperial Physician.

Therefore, upon hearing Sun Shaozong's question, Chen Banxia quickly stood up from behind and respectfully reported, "Reply to Lord Sun, there are about eleven categories, 384 types, included in the scope of supervision in the palace..."

Sun Shaozong first asked Chen Banxia, firstly because subconsciously he was unwilling to deal with eunuchs; secondly, he also believed that medicinal herbs are different from other things and are strictly controlled daily. The quantity required for daily use was not too large, making it the most convenient to investigate.

Who would have thought that this casual question would bring out hundreds of different types?

One should know, this question was about commonly used medicinal herbs!

Could it be said that these thousands of people in the palace were all medicine jars?

After hearing Sun Shaozong's query, Chen Banxia quickly bowed down and added, "What you don't know is that besides medical herbs and Tonic Diet ingredients, the rouge powder, spices, and dyes commonly used in the palace are also under the supervision of the Drug Administration."

This was quite similar.

The most common people in the palace were women, let alone many eunuchs with damaged urethra, who also needed a large amount of powder and spices to cover them up. With all these things added up, how could the quantity and variety be much less?

However, this was good news for Sun Shaozong; it was better to deal more with Chen Banxia than to be entangled with eunuchs without eggs.

Therefore, Sun Shaozong sneered and said, "I thought the medicinal herbs wouldn't be used much in daily life, so I planned to investigate this aspect first, but I didn't expect there to be so many tricks inside."

Chen Banxia nodded and then took the opportunity to popularize science, saying, "Actually, no matter what kind of powder, it cannot do without medicinal herbs..."

"Actually, what you said is also correct."

At this moment, Eunuch Zhou suddenly interjected on the side and said, "There are not many medicines that are truly used for internal and external use in the palace, and even fewer can be presented to His Majesty; after all, medicine includes 30 percent poison."

Eunuchs were indeed eunuchs, and they were much more skilled than technical bureaucrats like Chen Banxia.

"That's indeed the case."

Upon his reminder, Chen Banxia also realized that his recent approach was somewhat inappropriate. He quickly changed his tone and said, "Even the tonifying medicine for nourishing the body and strengthening the foundation is rarely taken by His Majesty. It wasn't until recently that he used the Recovering One’s Youth Pill. Besides..."

“Recovering…”

Recovering One’s Youth Pill?!

Upon hearing the familiar name of the medicine, Sun Shaozong almost blurted out his voice.

"Lord Sun?"

Although Sun Shaozong had tried his best to endure, he still showed some clues to Eunuch Zhou and listened carefully to ask him, "Do you think there is anything wrong with this Pill?"

Of course not!

It was completely inappropriate!

Based solely on this malicious name, there was no need to further investigate, and Sun Shaozong could conclude that there must be some tricks involved!

Speaking of Prince Yizhong, his skin was really tight. He wore lace underwear, promoted low-cut clothing (which he strongly advocated for imitating Tang Palace groups), casually leaked future storylines, and created spiritual treasures to give to others in advance

Now, there was another Recovering One’s Youth Pill!

If there were only him as a traveler in this world, it would be completely taboo. However, now, he was afraid he could only give him the song "Cold Off."

However, on the other hand, Sun Shaozong judged from the name that there was a problem with the "Recovering One’s Youth Pill."

But such a big matter must be thoroughly investigated. At that time, he couldn't say that he, like Prince Yizhong, had read "Dream of the Red Chamber" in another world, right?

"Hmm…."

After frowning and pondering for a while, Sun Shaozong said, "The case of the Zhou family being exterminated and Zang Liang being instructed to secretly indulge in the White Lotus Sect bandits has only recently occurred. Unfortunately, His Majesty has only recently started taking this "Recovering One’s Youth Pill," and I suspect there may be some connection between them..."

"Your Excellency."

Upon hearing that he was indeed questioning this medicine, Eunuch Zhou quickly reminded him, "This is the prescription presented by Prince Zhongshun. Moreover, I have heard that the Prince has been using it for almost a year, and it is confirmed that it is beneficial and harmless before I dare to offer it to His Majesty for use!"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Chen Banxia couldn't help but say, "This prescription has been tried by the Imperial Hospital for over a month and is indeed a good medicine for nourishing yin and tonifying the kidneys. I haven't found anything inappropriate."

So it was a prescription presented by Prince Zhongshun!

No wonder Emperor Guangde, who has always been cautious, would be reassured to take this "Recovering One’s Youth Pill."

Of course, this was also because he was eager to have a son at the moment. If it were before the Crown Prince had an accident, Emperor Guangde might not have…

Wait?!

According to this logical inference, was the case of the Crown Prince indeed the work of Prince Yizhong?

Or, in other words, were the remnants of the Niu family and Prince Yizhong actually colluding together?

At that time, rumors were pointing towards Prince Yizhong, whether it was his accomplice who indulged in the pursuit of capture or the Niu family who turned their backs and refused to recognize anyone.

Sun Shaozong was reminiscing about the details of the "Dragon Root Case" in his heart. While Eunuch Zhou saw him speechless for a while, he only thought that he had already been hesitant and couldn't find a suitable step, so he froze there.

"Your Excellency."

He spoke thoughtfully and asked, "Where do you think we should start investigating?"

Unexpectedly, when Sun Shaozong regained his senses, he immediately blurted out, "Let's start investigating this "Recovering One’s Youth Pill!"

Eunuch Zhou was dumbfounded and cautiously reminded, "But at the Prince's place..."

If there were no conclusive evidence, Sun Shaozong might have to consider the issue of risk. However, in the current situation, why hesitate?

He said unquestionably, "What we're investigating is the ”Recovering One’s Youth Pill,” not to investigate Prince Zhongshun!"

This statement was actually a bit unreasonable, but at the moment, Eunuch Zhou was afraid that Sun Shaozong would use some tactics. For example, by checking out some corruption cases so although he didn’t take it seriously, he couldn’t say anything more.

"Your Excellency."

Chen Banxia, however, did not pay attention to this aspect and was always a straightforward person. He immediately came out from behind the short table and argued, "This prescription was personally inspected by the court, with the assistance of two imperial doctors. Everything that needs to be tested has already been tested. Even if you ask me to test it again, I'm afraid I won't be able to come up with any tricks."

This statement slightly lowered the temperature of Sun Shaozong's brain, which was in a state of excitement.

Indeed, if there were any obvious side effects of this Pill, the Imperial Hospital wouldn't detect them.

Besides, Prince Zhongshun has been taking it for almost a year now, and even a small dose of chronic poison should show some effect already. If it would take several years to have an effect, Prince Yizhong might not be able to endure the poison.

As for things like the original Recovering One’s Youth Pill, the poison would start only after a year…

There was no need to ask Chen Banxia; Sun Shaozong himself vetoed it first; such poison could be said to have existed in ancient times, even in modern times with the developed chemical industry.

Or maybe…

Was it necessary to undergo a toxic reaction under certain specific stimuli?

However, Chen Banxia still shook his head and said, "The court has also tried. The various diets consumed in the palace have no medicinal conflict with this prescription."

"What about rouge powder, spices, and the others? Is there any conflict with the rouge powder used by the ladies?"

"I have also tried it, but there was no conflict of medicinal properties."

This was really amazing!

If it weren't for Sun Shaozong's preconceived belief that this "Recovering One’s Youth Pill" must have some tricks, it would have shaken his confidence.

He couldn't think of any other possibilities for a moment, but he refused and couldn't give up the investigation. After pondering for a while, he simply said, "Supervisor Chen, you are not the person in charge after all. It's better to send someone to invite Qin Yuanzheng first so that I can ask him for advice in person."

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