Every day the Emperor toured the gardens and held banquets for amusement, in excellent spirits.

Daoist Yu remained constantly by the elixir furnace, so it was inconvenient for the Emperor to ask him directly at any time. Each day when Wei Yan came to check the Emperor’s pulse for his routine health examination, the Emperor would ask about the progress and condition of the longevity elixir’s refinement.

In front of the Emperor, Wei Yan neither exaggerated nor belittled Daoist Yu, simply reporting honestly what he had observed.

“Immortal Master Yu is highly skilled in selecting medicinal materials and refining elixirs; his choices and measurements are extremely precise.”

“The other immortal masters are also extremely dedicated to the refining process.”

“The young acolytes watching the furnace are divided into three shifts, staying by the furnace from morning onward without ever growing lax.”

And so on, in this manner.

The Emperor was quite pleased with Wei Yan’s conduct. In private, he said to Prince Yan, “Sending Imperial Physician Wei to oversee the refining progress was indeed the right move. He harbors no jealousy toward Immortal Master Yu and reports everything honestly. I am truly gratified!”

Prince Yan said with a smile, “Indeed! That Father has such a loyal and capable man by his side—your son is happy for you as well.”

The forty-nine days passed in the blink of an eye, and the longevity elixir was finally completed.

Daoist Yu led the group of Daoists to present the elixir.

The refined longevity elixirs were a pale red color, round and lustrous, about the size of a bean, giving off bursts of an unusual fragrance. One glance was enough to tell they were no ordinary item.

“Thanks to Your Majesty’s great fortune, this batch of longevity elixirs has been successfully refined. Sixty elixirs in total have been produced.” Despite having labored hard for over a month, Daoist Yu showed no sign of having grown thin or haggard—his complexion remained ruddy and his voice clear and forceful. “Taking just one elixir a day for a month straight will extend one’s lifespan by ten years!”

The Emperor’s eyes lit up. “Is what Immortal Master Yu says true? Does it really have such a miraculous effect?”

Daoist Yu smiled proudly, his expression full of confidence and self-satisfaction. “Before Your Majesty, this humble Daoist would not dare utter a single false word.”

“This humble Daoist spent decades in painstaking research before developing this formula for the longevity elixir. I began refining and taking the elixir at the age of eighty. Twenty years have passed since then, and I have never fallen ill again—my white hair has turned black, and my body grows ever stronger.”

“Hearing is not as reliable as seeing. I ask that Your Majesty order Imperial Physician Wei to inspect the elixirs, so that you may begin taking them as soon as possible and see the effects all the sooner.”

The Emperor laughed happily. “Very well. If the longevity elixir truly proves effective, I will reward you most generously.”

Daoist Yu bowed respectfully in thanks.

The Emperor immediately had Wei Yan and Imperial Physician Zhou summoned, ordering the two of them to take ten of the longevity elixirs for examination.

…

According to palace custom, of these ten elixirs, only five were to be examined, while the other five were to be archived and preserved, in case they needed to be examined again should some unforeseen incident occur later.

Imperial Physician Zhou took one elixir and ground it into powder, first examining it carefully, then smelling its scent, tasting a small amount, and finally using various methods to examine its composition.

The pharmacy attendants beside him recorded each of Imperial Physician Zhou’s findings one by one.

Wei Yan did the same on his side. Tian Dong, brush in hand, had already filled an entire page. These examination results were all to be kept on file for future reference.

Once the two of them had each finished their examinations, they came together to discuss.

“Imperial Physician Wei, what do you think of this longevity elixir?” Imperial Physician Zhou asked in a low voice.

A flicker passed through Wei Yan’s eyes, and instead of answering, he asked in return, “I wonder, what does Imperial Physician Zhou think?”

Imperial Physician Zhou stroked his beard, and after a long moment said, “The raw materials in this longevity elixir don’t seem to be a problem—they’re all medicinal materials brought out from the palace. It’s just that the refining method is vastly different from our usual practices. For now, it seems harmless to the body. As for its actual efficacy, that’s hard to say at this point.”

Wei Yan smiled and gave a slight bow with clasped hands. “Imperial Physician Zhou is indeed perceptive. I examined the elixir as well, and I also believe it poses no major harm.”

“So what Imperial Physician Wei means is…” Imperial Physician Zhou lowered his voice further, “we should report this to the Emperor just as it is? If we do, the Emperor will have someone test the elixir and then take it himself. If this longevity elixir really does prove effective, this Daoist Yu will surely become the Emperor’s favorite from now on. What use would we physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine have left!”

At the end of the day, everyone is selfish.

As physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, they had the most direct conflict of interest with the alchemist Daoists. If they could use this opportunity to suppress these people’s arrogance, nothing could be better!

Wei Yan was sharp enough to immediately catch the implication in Imperial Physician Zhou’s words.

Wei Yan smiled faintly. “Imperial Physician Zhou, don’t forget who recommended these Daoists in the first place. If the elixir truly had problems, we could intervene. But as it stands now, this elixir genuinely poses no harm to the body. If the two of us don’t speak the truth before the Emperor, would that person simply let it go?”

A chill ran through Imperial Physician Zhou’s heart.

The person Wei Yan referred to was, of course, Prince Yan!

Everyone knew of the Emperor’s favoritism toward Prince Yan.

Prince Yan had deliberately recommended the Daoists to refine elixirs for the Emperor, and who knew how many good words he had put in behind the scenes. If Prince Yan learned that they had spoken ill of Daoist Yu before the Emperor, he would surely take it to heart.

Prince Yan was by no means a broad-minded man. If he bore a grudge and went out of his way to cause trouble later, what chance would a mere physician have against him? It was entirely possible he could end up with his bones broken…

Forget it! It was best for them to stay out of such matters as much as possible, lest they bring disaster upon themselves!

The clever Imperial Physician Zhou quickly worked out the implications and looked at Wei Yan gratefully. “Thank you for the reminder, Imperial Physician Wei. Tomorrow when we see the Emperor, I’ll know what to say.”

Wei Yan smiled modestly, not claiming any credit. “There’s no need to thank me, Imperial Physician Zhou.”

Judging by its medicinal composition, this longevity elixir truly had no issues.

However, one of the ingredients was harmless in small amounts, but if taken too much, it would gradually cause addiction.

It seemed this was Prince Yan’s true purpose. By presenting the longevity elixir, he sought to win the Emperor’s favor, and once the Emperor became addicted, he would never be able to part with the elixir again.

By then, Prince Yan would be able to hold the Emperor in the palm of his hand, using him to issue decrees under coercion…

This move was indeed a clever scheme.

No matter how capable the Crown Prince was, he was still only the heir apparent. As long as the Emperor remained alive, the realm still belonged to him. Who would ultimately sit upon the throne was also the Emperor’s decision to make.

For the sake of the throne, Prince Yan had truly exhausted every scheme.

If the Crown Prince and the Crown Grandson had been caught completely unaware, they would indeed have fallen into a passive position. But now that Ling Jingshu had promptly sent word back to the capital, the shrewd Crown Grandson had likely already guessed Prince Yan’s intentions and made preparations in advance.

The next day, Wei Yan and Imperial Physician Zhou went together before the Emperor to report their findings.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble subject has examined them carefully. These longevity elixirs pose no harm to the body,” Wei Yan reported respectfully.

Imperial Physician Zhou clasped his hands and concurred. “This humble subject shares the same view. However, as for the elixir’s actual efficacy, that can only be confirmed once someone has tested it.”

The Emperor’s brow relaxed, and he nodded with a smile. “Good. I understand.”