Falling Dreams Of Fang Hua

Chapter 31: Strange Illness (Part 1)

Fang Hua sat down and waited for a while. Han Zichuan and Nongyu must have had plenty of faith in his medical skills because neither expressed any anxiety or misgivings. Instead, both retreated to the sides to talk about state affairs or the price by weight of medicinal ingredients.

My head drooped as I held the cloth bag in my arms, bored into drowsiness. Suddenly, a sleeve flashed before my face, startling me awake...just in time to see Fang Hua extend his hand, warm it up a bit, and start pulling out the needles.

The silver needles had flashed when they were stabbed in and still gleamed as they were pulled out, with no changes in color.

Remarkable.

Just by looking at the emperor's face, he was definitely poisoned...but there was no way to scope out the source. I held my cloth and reached out to receive the needles, but Fang Hua brushed me aside, shaking his head as he gave me a cold glance. While I was trying to puzzle him out, he blew on a needle held between his fingers.

Goodness...

The shiny needle immediately turned black, giving one a sense of dread.

"This poison is very odd and hard to perceive. The needles I stuck inside....most of them changed colors. I'm afraid that the poison has already hurt his internal organs."

"Is there any possibility of a cure?" Han Zichuan's face sank as he hurried over.

"I'll write a prescription first to temporarily restrain the poison. The rest will be left for afterward." Fang Hua turned his glance towards me, and I took the hint to start grinding some ink from the inkstick.

He raised his sleeves without a second thought, writing words with a brush like floating clouds and flowing water[1] as he recorded the name of the ingredients and its various weights. I cast a sidelong glance and saw that it was a medicine he rarely prescribed... I used to jokingly call it a miracle pill, and had sold it for a high price to Nongyu.

Nongyu took the formula into his hands and carefully reviewed it, before calling for the eunuchs to bring over the stove.

This guy...

He really was lazy, insisting on making his inferiors labor before him. I wanted to help, but Fang Hua lightly held me back, quietly shaking his head. Then he lowered his head and went about his own business, drinking tea. Han Zichuan stared at me with shining eyes, before giving a thoughtful gaze towards Fang Hua, and sat down on a chair to play with a ring on his finger[2].

Two or three eunuchs carefully followed the formula to measure out the weights for each ingredient. Nongyu directed them from the sides and frequently jumped in to do the job himself. I couldn't hold back a yawn as I closed my eyes, though I suddenly caught a glimpse of a certain young eunuch briefly raising his sleeve. I looked down and fell silent.

A decoction of medicinal ingredients had been cooking for around four hours, enough to fill many small bowls. The eunuchs handling the bowls had to drink first, then the imperial physicians, before it reached the emperor. Each of them looked as if they were drinking a rebirth elixir[3], their eyebrows knitted as they held their bowls while shaking in fear. I really wanted to laugh...

They were a bunch of fools. The good fortune they'd cultivated in former lives allowed them this chance to drink such a treasured medicine. Just one sip would prevent light poisons from entering the body for half a year.

I pursed my lips and walked over, getting myself a bowl. Abruptly, I felt a heated stare at my back that put me ill at ease. I started, uncomprehending, before lifting a bowl to take a whiff....before my eyebrows knitted and I took a sip.