Shen Lixue understood and looked at Chu Youran: "It's getting windy, could you please go to the cabin and get me a small blanket?"
"Li Xue." Chu Youran held Shen Li Xue's hand tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with worry. Li Youlan was mysterious and unsettling. She had no interest in knowing her secrets and wished she could stay far away from Li Youlan.
Ke Lixue was seven months pregnant and had difficulty moving around. If she left, Li Youlan would harm her, and she wouldn't have much power to resist.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go to the cabin quickly." Shen Lixue gently patted Chu Youran's hand, offering silent comfort. Her clear, cold eyes sparkled with a confident smile, inexplicably convincing. Chu Youran's words of concern, which were on the tip of her tongue, changed to: "Take care of yourself. I'll be back soon."
A gentle breeze stirred, bringing with it a refreshing mist. Chu Youran's light purple robes fluttered in the breeze as she quickened her pace and stepped into the cabin. The painted boat moved slowly forward, ripples spreading across the shimmering water.
Shen Lixue glanced at Li Youlan and the three guards from the Zhan Prince's Mansion, and went straight to the point: "There are no outsiders here. Just say what you want to say."
"What is the antidote for poppy poisoning?" For days, Li Youlan had been suffering from the torment of poppy poisoning. At first, she could barely get through the poisoning by taking a few top-grade antidote pills. But gradually, the poisoning became more and more frequent, and no matter how many antidote pills she took, it was no use. The alternating chills and fever, itching and pain throughout her body were emanating from her very bones, shocking every nerve and tormenting her to the point of wishing she were dead.
She couldn't stand it anymore, and couldn't wait to study the antidote carefully, so she directly asked Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue was taken aback. Li Youlan had mistaken poppies for an ancient slow-acting poison, assuming there was an antidote: "An antidote for poppies? I don't know." Poppies are not ordinary slow-acting poisons; there is no antidote at all.
"You know so much about poppies, how could you not know its antidote?" Li Youlan looked coldly at Shen Lixue, her beautiful eyes almost spitting fire with anger. It wasn't that she didn't know, but that she didn't want to tell her.
When asking someone for the antidote, one should speak softly and plead, but Li Youlan pressed her with unwavering conviction, as if she owed Li Youlan something. She was expected to tell her the antidote, and if she couldn't, it would be as if she was deliberately concealing it.
"I just read a few more books, which gave a general description of what poppies look like and their medicinal effects, but didn't mention any antidotes."
Li Youlan's opium addiction was caused by Shen Yingxue, and had nothing to do with Shen Lixue. If Shen Yingxue were sincere and in a good mood, Li Youlan might tell her the solution. But with Shen Yingxue's attitude so bad, she might not believe Li Youlan even if Li Youlan told her the solution, and she wouldn't appreciate Li Youlan's kindness. So why should Li Youlan try to win her over and make a fool of herself?
"You really don't know?" Li Youlan asked in a low voice, her sharp eyes fixed on Shen Lixue's every move.
"Why would I lie to you? Poppies are extremely rare, and the descriptions in books are vague and unreliable. The Azure Flame doesn't even exist. I've never even seen the real thing, so how would I know about the antidote?"
Shen Lixue said calmly, "If you don't believe me, you can go to the palace to consult Physician Chen, or send someone to invite the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang. These two are very knowledgeable and their medical skills are unparalleled. If there is an antidote for opium poppy, they will definitely know."
In ancient times, people were unaware of the many uses of poppies. Even the highly skilled physicians, Chen Taiyi and the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang, might not have known how to cure them.
Poppies are a drug, but they are not as fast-acting as poisons. However, they are more dangerous than poisons. Getting rid of them is simple: just endure the pain of the onset of symptoms, and after a while, the addiction will gradually subside.
However, drug addiction can be unbearable, and many people cannot endure the pain and relapse into drug use, creating a vicious cycle where the addiction grows stronger. In modern times, most people addicted to drugs are sent to drug rehabilitation centers for compulsory treatment, and very few can successfully quit drugs on their own.
Shen Lixue had never witnessed Li Youlan's suffering from the poison, but she could imagine it; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to Qingshui Lake to ask Shen Lixue for the antidote.
Li Youlan's gaze darkened. Shen Lixue didn't even know the antidote for poppy poisoning. What should she do? Each time the poison took effect, the pain was getting worse. The poison might have penetrated deep into her bone marrow. If she couldn't find an antidote soon, she feared her days were numbered.
"Li Youlan, when did you become so foolish? You were completely fooled by Shen Lixue's few words." Accompanied by mocking laughter, a young man appeared on the deck. He had an ordinary appearance, but his eyes were sharp. His white brocade robe was embroidered with golden vines, with branches and leaves covering most of the robe, making him look mysterious and eerie!
Qin Junhao!
Shen Lixue was taken aback. Hadn't he returned to the Southern Frontier? How could he be here? Had the Prime Minister's Mansion lost power and Dongfang Zhan's influence diminished, so he secretly invited him back? No wonder she felt a sense of oppression and gloom when she looked at the painted boat in the Zhan Prince's Mansion earlier; it turned out he was sitting inside.
"Qin Junhao, what do you mean?" Li Youlan's face instantly darkened. Any woman would be upset if she were ridiculed so mercilessly.
"Shen Lixue was able to diagnose that you had been poisoned by poppies based on your symptoms, so she must know a lot about poppies. How could she not know the antidote?" Qin Junhao glanced at Li Youlan, his eyes full of mockery: "Only a fool like you would believe her lies to make excuses."
Li Youlan paused, then looked up at Shen Lixue, her eyes burning with fury that seemed to consume her completely. Her anger was palpable: "Yes, Shen Lixue knows so much about poppies, how could she not know the antidote? She was just anxious about the poison in her body and neglected it. Shen Lixue is ruthless and cruel, leaving her to die without helping her. She wanted her to die from the poison!"
Faced with the dual pressure from Qin Junhao and Li Youlan, Shen Lixue remained calm and composed: "The Southern Border is the most skilled in Gu magic, and the people of the Southern Border are also the most proficient in casting and removing Gu. If one day I see someone suffering terribly and I judge from their symptoms that they have been afflicted by Gu, then wouldn't I also be able to remove Gu?"
Qin Junhao scoffed and said arrogantly, "The art of curing Gu is profound and complex, requiring many complicated materials and methods. It cannot be cured simply by looking at the symptoms..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Junhao suddenly realized he had been tricked. Just as he was about to change the subject, Shen Lixue didn't give him a chance and spoke first: "Gu techniques are profound and require specialists to decipher them. How do you know that poppy isn't profound and doesn't require specialists to decipher it?"
Her cold gaze swept over Qin Junhao and Li Youlan, her tone a mix of mockery and sarcasm: "Both of you are experts in medicine and poisons. Only specialized knowledge can ensure the right treatment and save lives. Do I need to tell you that?"
Qin Junhao's face flushed red and then turned pale, changing colors more than ten times in an instant. For the first time in his life, he was speechless at being ridiculed: "Shen Lixue, don't try to argue with me."
"I'm not being unreasonable; I'm just stating the facts. If recognizing the symptoms meant knowing the solution, then there would be no such thing as a unique secret method, and no one would be killed by poison or other unorthodox methods." Shen Lixue's words were resolute, leaving Qin Junhao speechless with anger. His large hands clenched into fists. Damn it, damn it.
"Shen Lixue, do you really not know how to cure poppy?" Li Youlan clung to her last glimmer of hope, refusing to give up.
"I don't know." Shen Lixue shook her head, answering decisively. When the opium flare-up takes effect, it makes life worse than death. As the flare-ups become more frequent and the pain intensifies, Li Youlan might take the risk of concocting her own antidote.
In ancient times, poisons were generally divided into two types: yin poisons and yang poisons. The antidotes were also yin and yang. Poppy is not a yin or yang poison, so no matter which antidote she took, it would be of no use. In more serious cases, the antidote would be in large doses and highly toxic, and she would be poisoned to death by the so-called antidote, saving herself the trouble of taking any action.
"Li Youlan, you've experienced Shen Lixue's cleverness and cunning more than once or twice, yet you still believe her lies?" Shen Lixue's sarcasm still echoed in his ears, and Qin Junhao was furious. He looked at her coldly and said, "She must know something about the antidote for poppy, but she just doesn't want to tell you. Take her back and torture her severely, and she'll confess."
Li Youlan frowned: "Qin Junhao, she is Dongfang Heng's person." She also disliked Shen Lixue very much, but Dongfang Heng had 400,000 elite troops under his command, and his influence was enormous. He doted on Shen Lixue. If they captured Shen Lixue, he would never let them off the hook.
With Dongfang Zhan's power diminished, he is at a disadvantage and it is not advisable for him to confront Dongfang Heng head-on for the time being.
Qin Junhao scoffed, "What's there to be afraid of? Just kill everyone nearby who knows the truth, and who knows it was us who captured Shen Lixue." Shen Lixue had always been against him, and he had long disliked her. Qing Shui Lake was sparsely populated, and she was all alone. Even if she really didn't know the antidote for poppies, he would still capture her and torture her severely to avenge the humiliation he had just suffered.
Without waiting for Li Youlan's agreement, Qin Junhao's eyes turned cold, and his demonic claws shot out like arrows, mercilessly grabbing at Shen Lixue.
A strong wind howled in, but Shen Lixue remained seated, a slight smile playing on her lips. Just as she was about to call for help, a glimpse of a sandalwood robe flashed past her eyes, and a large, pale hand lashed out at Qin Junhao.
"Bang." The two palms collided, causing the ground to shake violently, the water to ripple, and the ship to rock. Li Youlan and the guards on the deck all staggered several times before they could regain their footing.
Qin Junhao, the one who clashed with Qin Junhao, was forced back three or four steps by the powerful impact before stopping. His clothes fluttered, and he looked somewhat disheveled. He raised his eyes to look at the newcomer, his sharp eyes burning with anger: "Nangong Xiao."
Nangong Xiao, dressed in a sandalwood robe, was strikingly handsome and elegant. He swiftly opened his folding fan and, seeing the anger and resentment in Qin Junhao's eyes, a captivating smile flickered in his beautiful peach blossom eyes: "Crown Prince Qin, to poison a pregnant woman is not the act of a gentleman."
"I have never claimed to be a gentleman." Qin Junhao looked coldly at Shen Lixue. The golden sunlight shone on her, creating a warm yellow halo around her, a hazy and indescribable beauty.
Her beautiful eyes reflected a cold glint, like sharp, cold sword blades. All pretense was exposed before her. He had experienced her intelligence and cunning more than once. Any pretense of a gentleman disguised as a gorilla in front of her was simply asking for trouble.
"I've got my hands on her." Qin Junhao pointed at Shen Lixue, his firm tone resounding with determination.
"Anyone can talk big, but whether we can catch them depends on Prince Qin's abilities." Nangong Xiao lowered his eyelids and casually waved his folding fan, clearly not taking Qin Junhao's threat to heart.
As the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, Qin Junhao was being looked down upon for the first time. His anger burned fiercely, and he suddenly opened his clenched hand, gathering powerful internal energy in his palm. His tall figure shot towards Nangong Xiao.