"What's so confusing?"
Su Xian was shocked and thought that this might be the key to the problem!
Li Qingniu casually picked up a teapot, which contained tea that Chen Di drank daily. He opened the lid of the teapot and frowned:
"Although this tea is not poisonous, it is steeped in a unique medicinal material!"
"May I ask Dr. Li, what kind of medicinal material is that?" Chen Keyan also realized that the question was wrong, stood up and came closer, with a deep sadness on her beautiful face.
Li Qingniu is worthy of being a miracle doctor, and he talks about the medicinal properties of various medicinal materials:
"It is a kind of mild and good medicine that can replenish qi. It is colorless and odorless. It can be soaked in water and drunk. However, this medicinal material also has disadvantages. It is easy to mix with certain medicinal materials..."
When Li Qingniu said this, he suddenly shut up.
His expression moved slightly, as if he remembered something.
Su Xian and Chen Keyan's eyes also lit up, and they suddenly became enlightened.
The three of them looked at each other and shouted in unison:
"The properties of the medicine are mutually exclusive!"
"I'm going to get the medicine my father drank." Chen Keyan turned around and entered the palace, walking a little faster.
"..."
After she left, everyone continued to eat breakfast.
Su Xian took a big mouthful of steamed cake, looked at Li Qingniu and smiled:
"Master is indeed very knowledgeable and knowledgeable. There is nothing in this world that you don't know about, as long as it involves medicinal materials, diseases, etc.!"
"Just like the medicinal materials soaked in water, they are colorless and odorless. Without the presence of Master, we would definitely not be able to distinguish them, let alone find out the cause of Emperor Chen's poisoning!"
Li Qingniu looked dismissive on the surface.
But the praise for Su Xian in his heart was very useful.
Without changing his expression, he slowly straightened his chest and said in a lecturing tone:
"That's natural. You are all still young. You have eaten more salt as a teacher than you have ever eaten. There are still many things you need to learn!"
"Yes, yes, what Master said is true." Su Xian smiled and nodded repeatedly.
"Um."
Li Qingniu was very satisfied with Su Xian's attitude.
He didn't eat breakfast either, just twirling his beard and nodding, looking quite contented.
However, when he rolled his eyes, he suddenly discovered that another apprentice on the table, Zhou Wei, was sipping porridge and did not listen to the teachings of his master!
Li Qingniu's face turned dark immediately, he coughed, and raised his voice and said:
"Young people should be more humble and keep a learning attitude. Don't always think about eating!"
Su Xian, Yang Zhilan, as well as the soldiers of the Hou Mansion and the masters of Butterfly Valley who were sitting there all turned to look at Zhou Wei.
However, Zhou Wei seemed to have never heard Li Qingniu's words, nor noticed everyone's gazes. He still buried his head in the porridge bowl and kept eating.
The entire living room suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of Zhou Wei drinking porridge.
It's a bit embarrassing.
Su Xian couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
"You can't teach a child!" Li Qingniu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he simply didn't bother to pay attention to him.
Seeing this, Su Xian quickly changed the topic:
"Master, once we determine the cause of Emperor Chen's poisoning, can we identify the mastermind based on the source of the water?"
"Of course you can!" Li Qingniu was full of confidence.
"What if... the disciple is saying, what if we can't pass through the water source and can't find the mastermind behind it?" Su Xian asked tentatively.
Li Qingniu was in a good mood, and was determined to resolve Nanchen's matter as soon as possible and return to the capital of the gods with his wife... So he boasted in Haikou:
"If we still can't find out the mastermind, I will change my name to you as my master!"
"..."
Just as he was talking, Chen Keyan suddenly returned.
As expected, she lived up to expectations and brought the decoction that Emperor Chen took as well as the medicinal materials for making the medicine.
Li Qingniu looked extremely serious as he inspected the medicinal materials and the boiled decoction one by one. No one dared to disturb him and just waited quietly.
When Su Xian saw the worry and sadness on Chen Keyan's face, he cast a "reassuring" look at her and nodded secretly...
After a while, Li Qingniu put down the medicinal materials.
It seems like the inspection is over.
But his expression was as calm as ever, and he just nodded and muttered, making it impossible for anyone to guess what he was thinking.
"Dare I ask Doctor Li, is there any problem with these medicinal materials?" Chen Keyan couldn't hold back and asked first.
Li Qingniu did not answer and continued to nod in thought.
In the end, he only said two words: "Weird!"
Su Xian and Chen Keyan's hearts sank. Is there nothing wrong with these medicinal materials?
They were full of questions, but they saw that Li Qingniu was deep in thought, so they didn't want to disturb him. They just waited anxiously, staring at Li Qingniu's face.
Li Qingniu pondered for a while, then suddenly picked up the medicinal materials again, carefully inspected each one, smelled or tasted it, his face was more serious than before!
Su Xian and others were even more confused and worried.
If it weren't for the problem with this batch of medicinal materials, then... the source of the poison that Emperor Chen was poisoned would probably never be found out.
Finally, after Li Qingniu put down the last medicinal ingredient, Su Xian hurriedly asked:
"Master, what's the result?"
"I see!"
Li Qingniu still ignored Su Xian. He was immersed in his own world. When he clapped his hand, his bull's eyes also lit up, as if he had gained something.
"Master?" Su Xian wondered. He really wanted to grab Li Qingniu's shoulders and shake him violently.
"What's the rush?"
Li Qingniu finally regained his composure and glanced sideways at Su Xian:
"The poisoner's method is indeed very clever. It's quite interesting. He almost managed to hide it from me!"
When Su Xian heard this, he felt happy. Before he could speak, Chen Keyan had already bowed down and asked Li Qingniu to elaborate on the reason.
Li Qingniu took his time and took out a piece of medicinal materials from the pile:
"That's it! This medicine is originally a good medicine for regulating and replenishing qi, but its properties conflict with the medicine soaked in water just now. If taken together, it can produce the symptoms that Emperor Chen is experiencing."
"I see!"
Su Xian, Chen Keyan and others nodded slowly, feeling relieved, because in this way, they could identify the mastermind through the water source.
Li Qingniu dropped the medicinal ingredients, clapped his hands, looked at Chen Keyan and ordered:
"Quickly get a portion of the water from everywhere in the palace. After I personally inspect it, I can find out the mastermind behind it!"
"yes!"
Chen Keyan's spirit was greatly invigorated and she went hurriedly.
She had actually arranged the work of collecting water from various places in the palace.
The forces in the palace are complicated, and the water is not easy to get. It must be arranged in advance. If you go to get it at the last moment, you may waste precious time.
Therefore, not long after she left, she hurried back and brought back dozens of small porcelain vases. The small porcelain vases contained water sources from all over the palace.
By this time, breakfast had been finished and the leftovers had been removed. Li Qingniu ordered Chen Keyan to put all the small porcelain bottles on the table so that he could inspect them one by one.
Chen Keyan did as she was told.
When everything was ready, Li Qingniudan sat down at the table and slowly stretched out his hand towards the pile of small porcelain bottles. Everyone's eyes followed his hand.
At the beginning, Li Qingniu's hand reached out to the small porcelain vase with the word "Queen" written on it. When everyone saw this, especially Su Xian, Yang Zhilan, Zhou Wei, etc., they all thought to themselves:
"Although the queen is the mother of King Li, she seems to be very gentle and kind. She doesn't seem like the mastermind behind the poisoning of Emperor Chen."
Li Qingniu's thoughts were almost the same as theirs.
Therefore, he paused for a moment, then reached out to the small porcelain vase with "Wang Guifei" written on it, and took it out without hesitation, preparing to inspect it.
When Su Xian and others saw this, they all thought to themselves:
"The royal concubine speaks in a very aggressive voice and is very harsh on the imperial doctors, eunuchs, maids, etc. Such a person seems to be the mastermind behind the poisoning."
Li Qingniu carefully pulled out the stopper of the small porcelain bottle, sniffed it with his nose, and found nothing unusual, then raised his neck and took a sip.
Everyone stared at him with burning eyes, and after he smacked their lips, Chen Keyan couldn't help but ask:
"Doctor Li, is there anything abnormal in this water?"
"This is it!"
Li Qingniu was very sure and looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand: "I can be sure that this water has been soaked in that medicinal material!"
"She is indeed the royal concubine!"
Su Xian, Yang Zhilan, Zhou Wei and others were all stunned.
Although they have never seen Wang Guifei's true face, they can guess what kind of person Wang Guifei is from the conversation hidden behind the screen yesterday.
Chen Keyan frowned slightly. Her thoughts were obviously different from others, but she didn't say much. She only said to Li Qingniu:
"Doctor Li, please check the other small porcelain bottles."
"No."
Li Qingniu waved his hand. In his opinion, it was enough to confirm that Wang Guifei was the mastermind behind the scenes. Why bother to do so?
Furthermore, his purpose was to complete Nan Chen's affairs as soon as possible and return to the capital of Daliang as early as possible so that he could reunite with his wives.
The less trouble, the better.
"Master, let's check the other small porcelain bottles. It won't take long." Seeing that Chen Keyan was hesitant to speak, Su Xian took the initiative to speak on her behalf.
"What for? Do you think there is something wrong with the water in other small porcelain bottles?" Li Qingniu was dissatisfied, his eyes widened slightly, and he said:
"In my opinion, you should follow the clues and figure it out as soon as possible. There is a problem with Wang Guifei's water source. Doesn't this explain the problem?"
Su Xian smiled and said: "This disciple is not questioning the master's ability, but... this matter is too involved, so it is better to be cautious."
"That's all."
Li Qingniu was very impatient, but he also reached out to the pile of small porcelain bottles. This time he directly took the bottle with the word "Queen" written on it, pulled out the stopper and started to inspect it.
Su Xian, Zhou Wei and others were not so bad, but Chen Keyan was particularly nervous, staring at Li Qingniu's face, seeming to be very concerned about the outcome of the Queen's water source.
In fact, although Su Xian insisted on checking other water sources, he also believed that there were no problems with other water sources, so he seemed careless.
However, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
He rubbed his eyes to brighten his eyes and looked at Li Qingniu again...
He was sure that he was not dazzled, but Li Qingniu's face turned out to be very ugly. He looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand with a look of disbelief, frowning and lost in thought.
"Master?" Su Xian broke the silence.
"Weird thing!" Li Qingniu's expression was not very good, and he stared blankly at the small porcelain bottle in his hand: "The water in this bottle... has also been soaked in that medicinal material!"
"Are you sure?"
The expressions of Su Xian, Zhou Wei and others also changed. This result was so surprising that the truth about the mastermind behind the scenes became confusing.
Chen Keyan's expression relaxed slightly, then her eyebrows tightened again, and she quickly looked over with doubts.
"It's certain!"
Li Qingniu had to put aside his suspicion, and had a premonition that Nan Chen's matter was not that simple. He couldn't help but feel a slight headache. His wives were still waiting for him to return in the city of gods!
Su Xian's face gradually became solemn, and he glanced at the small porcelain bottles on the table:
"Master, why don't you check all these small porcelain bottles?"
"That's fine."
Although Li Qingniu was dissatisfied, he did not show it externally. He checked all the small porcelain bottles as instructed.
The final result left everyone confused and confused——
The water in all the small porcelain bottles has been soaked in that medicinal material!
In other words, there is a problem with the water in the entire palace!
There is no way to find out the mastermind through the water source!
Everyone fell silent. Although they found out the cause of Emperor Chen's poisoning, they could not find out the mastermind behind it. In the end, their work was in vain.
Li Qingniu can now understand that this trip will not go smoothly. The date of returning to Daliang Shendu to reunite with his wife may be postponed for a long time.
When he thought of this, Li Qingniu became extremely angry. He didn't like Su Xian, the "chief culprit", so he gave Su Xian a few words of reprimand as his master.
Su Xian pursed his lips and looked sideways at Li Qingniu:
"Disciple remember, master boasted to Haikou just now that if the mastermind could not be found out through the water source, master would call the disciple master!"
"you……"
Li Qing Newton was speechless, his face turned pale for a while, and he could no longer utter any words of complaint.
The corner of Su Xian's mouth curled up slightly, but he let it go.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Wei on the side didn't know which nerve he had picked up, and said loudly:
"Master always teaches his disciples that a true man must keep his word!"
"Since Master has boasted so much, let's quickly call Senior Brother Master. As the saying goes, if you don't believe, you can't stand... Hey, Master, why are you hitting me? Master, please stop!"
"..."
After a while, the fuss between masters and disciples Li Qingniu and Zhou Wei stopped.
Zhou Wei had several red slap marks on his face, but he didn't dare to say anything. He squatted aside and sulked. He was very confused and angry -
Why are Master's words and deeds inconsistent?
Su Xian, Li Qingniu, Chen Keyan and others were sitting around the big round table in the living room, but everyone was silent and really didn't know what to say.
Not surprisingly, the search for the man behind the poisoning of Emperor Chen has reached a dead end, with all clues lost.
"Miss Chen, have you found a replacement for the special silver needle for the Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Gate?"
Su Xian suddenly broke the silence.
Chen Keyan's face darkened again, and she rubbed her eyebrows:
"Not yet... but the secret guards are stepping up their investigation. I believe there will be results tomorrow."
Li Qingniu took a sip of tea, looked at Chen Keyan calmly, and slowly reminded:
"If a replacement special silver needle cannot be found before noon tomorrow, Emperor Chen will not die immediately, but the gods will not be able to save him!"
Su Xian frowned deeply. If Emperor Chen was really critically ill, then all his efforts to Nan Chen would have been in vain, but he had no better way.
Although Chen Keyan had known this for a long time, when she heard Li Qingniu say it again, she still felt like she had been hit by a hammer, and her fingertips were trembling slightly.
She took a deep breath and finally said:
"I will definitely find the right silver needle before noon tomorrow!"
