Prince Consort Ye Jingkuan personally donned his armor and led fifty elite soldiers out of the city overnight. Word spread that he had gone to fetch the antidote for the Grand Prince. The situation at the time had been so critical that many common people had witnessed the Grand Prince’s injury.
Quite a few citizens gathered anxiously before the county office. Watching Ye Jingkuan lead his forces out in grand procession, they swarmed back to the office entrance. It wasn’t that they truly cared so deeply about His Highness’s life or death—rather, the imperial decree this Highness had read aloud was what mattered most. The promises His Highness had made when he was still uninjured would naturally count if His Highness lived. But what if His Highness died just like that? If His Highness died just like that, some of the more knowledgeable ones lowered their voices and whispered to those beside them, “If something happens to His Highness, I think Yangquan County is finished.”
A scholarly middle-aged man wearing a head cloth also responded in a low voice, deliberately raising his volume slightly. “Exactly! If something happens to His Highness, His Majesty will surely be enraged. He’ll probably think we people of Yangquan County did it deliberately. By then, forget about the thirty percent dividend—in his fury, he’ll probably want to massacre the entire city! That’s the Grand Prince, the future heir to the throne!”
The surrounding elderly, young, women and children all became anxiously agitated. A large woman with a loud voice couldn’t help but cough a few times before raising her voice in a shout. “What does this have to do with us?! That heaven-damned Ma Yuantong is the one who harmed His Highness! How can they pin this on us?! We’d die of injustice!”
Someone beside her tugged at her, nearly pulling her off balance, then sighed and scolded, “Say less! Isn’t the situation chaotic enough already? Let me tell you all—everyone knows Ma Yuantong did it, but back then we all made our living under Ma Yuantong’s command. That fact alone implicates us. Now we can only hope the Prince Consort can truly obtain the antidote from the Cui family.”
“The Cui family really has an antidote?” Someone in the crowd asked suspiciously. “The poisons of our Jin region are strange and varied. Aren’t they afraid of making His Highness’s condition worse?”
Immediately someone laughed. “You make it sound like the Cui family isn’t from the Jin region! Who are the Cui family? They’re a prestigious clan that’s existed since the beginning of our Jin region. There’s nothing they can’t accomplish in Jin, not to mention their family runs so many apothecaries and employs groups of physicians. Besides, I heard the Cui family recently invited the Taibai Immortal to reside with them. Even if they don’t have the antidote, with the Taibai Immortal, what can’t be done?!”
Someone immediately chimed in. “What you say makes sense. Right now we’re not hoping for anything else, not any dividends—what’s more important than our heads and families? We just hope the Prince Consort can smoothly bring the medicine back from the Cui residence!”
The office gates suddenly burst open. Over a dozen Imperial Guards in flying fish robes with Embroidered Spring Blades at their waists filed out, frightening the crowd into scattering like birds and beasts.
Hongfa’s face carried a solemn killing intent as he cursed, “Damn it all! If those physicians hadn’t said the Cui family definitely has the antidote, I’d start a massacre! Not one of these bastards is any good—they’re all definitely connected to the rebels!”
An Imperial Guard beside him poked him with his hand and sighed. “What’s the use of saying all this? Quickly searching out the people is what matters. Find that Ma Yuantong, and we won’t let him die—we’ll definitely use every one of our methods on him. That’ll teach him for making me worry for so long! Thank heavens His Highness is alright. Otherwise, wouldn’t our superior skin us alive?! Let’s go, let’s go!”
From around the corner, several handsome boys who had been watching scattered and ran. They twisted and turned through alleys, winding past cobblestone paths, climbed along the mountain wall for a while, then slipped into a spacious cave draped with vines. Moving with practiced ease through the cave, they climbed to the northern face of the mountain. Here, shaded from the sun, a mountain stream flowed, rocks lay scattered everywhere, and from time to time, snakes would poke their forked-tongue heads out from trees, coldly wrapping around tree trunks and staring at people.
Several people grabbed hats from the side and put them on. Picking up sticks, they began systematically flicking snakes from the ground one by one and tossing them aside, clearing a path. Soon they reached the mountainside.
More people appeared at the mountainside—besides laborers covered head to toe in coal dust carrying loads and captured prisoners, there were also armored soldiers. Seeing them, they recognized them and lazily greeted them before asking, “How was it? Did anyone die over there?”
This godforsaken place was truly suffocating. Snakes everywhere—besides these snakes, insects, rats and ants, there were only these tiresome miners and women so black you couldn’t make out their original features. They truly missed the wine and meat of Yangquan County, missed the soft and fragrant young ladies in the pleasure quarters of Yangquan County!
The boys answered carelessly and competed to hurry up the path. Passing many randomly erected shacks, they finally reached the only decent two-story bamboo compound. After someone inside sent word out, they entered through the gate.
Ma Yuantong sat on a couch covered with tiger skin, panting heavily. He was dissatisfied with this place—poisonous snakes and wild grass everywhere. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but tedious scenery. Originally born to a wealthy household, he had never suffered hardship. Later, he had rebelled and become a petty emperor of sorts, enjoying all the blessings life could offer. Now suddenly forced into this godforsaken place where birds wouldn’t even shit, he felt a suffocating anger building inside. Seeing the boys enter, he immediately sat upright, his eyes gleaming as he asked them, “How is it?! Is he dead?!”
Deep down, he was inclined to believe he was dead. Although it had been dark at the time, the intelligence he received was very accurate. Later events had indeed confirmed that his men had hit the Grand Prince. The poison he used was extremely complex—even knowing what poison it was wouldn’t make it easy to cure. In such a short time, that Grand Prince could only wait for death.
Who would have thought all the boys shook their heads with bitter faces? They repeated the Imperial Guards’ words, adding, “I heard they went to the Cui family to fetch the antidote. The Cui family seems to have sent a letter saying they have the antidote and told them to come get it. The Prince Consort went personally.”
Ma Yuantong’s eyes immediately widened. He spat urgently on the ground and pressed, “What what?! The Cui family?!” Leaning back, his mouth began spewing a string of profanities. “Son of a bitch! Don’t even mention it—the Cui family might really have the antidote. That bastard Cui Yu obtained quite a few things from me.”