The people present each selected a medicinal bottle and consumed the poison within. The next step was to see if those who took the poison could be successfully detoxified before the poison took effect.
Gu Qianying looked at the medicinal bottle in her hand, twisted her wrist, and poured its contents into her mouth.
Seeing that she had already taken the poison, Su Yuxi beside her did not hesitate. She lifted her arm, closed her eyes, and prepared to drink it all.
However, just as her medicinal bottle had not yet touched her lips, a pair of hands suddenly appeared and grabbed her arm.
Her heart leaped violently. When she looked closely, the one stopping her was Gu Qianying.
"Don't drink this medicine." She was actually advising herself not to take the poison.
But she had clearly taken it herself earlier. What was her intention in stopping her now?
Su Yuxi frowned. Before she could retort, Gu Qianying spoke again.
"Earlier, I was just feigning. All the contents of the medicinal bottle were poured into the sponge in my sleeve."
Among those who had taken the medicine first, although one or two had taken the antidote in time before the poison took effect, they still collapsed on the ground due to the severity of the poisoning. However, these two were considered lucky. The other people who took the medicine had already died from the poisoning because they had not taken the antidote in time.
Looking at the people who had fallen before her, Gu Qianying did not rush to drink. Instead, she signaled Duan Xifeng to find something absorbent and hide it in her sleeve. Therefore, she had not drunk the medicinal bottle of poison just now.
Listening to Gu Qianying's explanation, Su Yuxi's eyes widened.
"Then what do you mean? Are you going to stuff that sponge into my sleeve in front of the judges?" Due to their actions, the judges had already noticed the two people pulling at each other.
Although Su Yuxi desperately wanted to win the competition, she would not cheat in front of the judges.
Knowing that Su Yuxi was blinded by the desire to win and had foolishly intended to take the poison to gamble, Gu Qianying was not angry at her words. Instead, she snatched her medicinal bottle, walked to the front of the crowd.
"Everyone, do not be blinded by the superficial rules of the competition. The true purpose of this round of competition is to identify poisons, not necessarily to consume them to recognize their properties."
After saying this, she took out the medicinal bottle she had just consumed and the one she had taken from Su Yuxi, opening them and smelling them at her nose.
"If a physician needs to test poison to find a way to save a poisoned person, and accidentally poisons themselves, wouldn't that mean they can neither save the patient nor their own life?"
Her words enlightened those who had not yet taken the medicine. They looked at the medicinal bottles in their hands and observed them carefully.
After speaking, Gu Qianying revealed the identities of the two poisons in her hands, the symptoms of the poisoned individuals, how to alleviate them, and which medicine could be used as an antidote.
She explained all of these and then stated the true purpose of this competition.
"In fact, this round is merely a test of everyone's observation skills, judgment, accumulated experience, and depth of knowledge."
Seeing her identify the two poisons with a single sniff and easily explain the antidotes, everyone present finally understood the disparity in their abilities.
Compared to Gu Qianying, who handled it so effortlessly, they were indeed far behind.
Unsure who started it, people began to applaud one after another.
"Miss Gu, we were indeed somewhat unconvinced by your victories in the first two rounds, but this round has truly made us see you in a new light. We are genuinely convinced of our defeat."
Seeing that everyone finally understood the rules, those who could identify the poisons by smell and color naturally remained, while those who could not chose to withdraw.
Gu Qianying nodded to Su Yuxi at this moment.
"I believe that with Miss Su's abilities, identifying poisons using this method should not be difficult. There are two poisoned individuals over there. I will go and help them detoxify first. Please feel free to do as you wish."
Although Su Yuxi's character was somewhat lacking, she did possess some ability as a physician. In the previous round, she had indeed diagnosed the woman's condition, but that woman was not seriously ill. However, given time, she might have suffered from the illness.
Thus, it could not be considered that she lost the competition.
Watching Gu Qianying walk towards the two physicians who had collapsed on the ground, Su Yuxi was momentarily stunned. Was this the gap between her and this woman?
She closed her eyes, trying hard to calm herself, and then picked up another medicinal bottle and sniffed it.
With Gu Qianying's efforts, the two women who were poisoned and nearly lost their lives were saved. Seeing themselves standing safely, they quickly bowed in thanks.
"If you had not intervened to save us, we would surely have met our maker by now. We will repay your life-saving grace with our own lives in the future."
The two were also people of great loyalty, and their promises would certainly be kept.
Gu Qianying truly did not need them to risk their lives to help her in any way. She helped them up and patted their arms.
"I do not seek any repayment from you. I only hope that you understand that at any time, you should not gamble with your own lives. Only when we ourselves are alive can we bring hope to more people."
Her words deeply touched the two women. They nodded, both grateful for the life-saving grace and thankful for the advice.
"Well said, truly embodying the spirit of a physician." The sound of applause reached their ears again. The female physicians who had left returned to the hall.
"Calm and composed in the face of adversity, with a sharp mind complemented by a wealth of medical knowledge. You truly have the potential to be a court physician." Her praise was unreserved, and this time, there were no doubts from those who remained.
After the performance just now, she truly deserved to win this round.
After announcing Gu Qianying as the winner of this round, Han Xintong then addressed the others.
"As physicians, saving lives and healing the wounded is our duty. However, as qualified imperial physicians, we must always maintain a clear mind and provide treatment to our patients while ensuring our own safety. This is the first point. Secondly, to be a physician, the most important thing is the accumulation of medical knowledge. Through this test, I believe everyone now knows their own level."
Having said this, Han Xintong signaled the judges to announce the list of qualifiers.
Gu Qianying had a complete victory in this round, and Su Yuxi, who later identified the poisons, naturally did not fail.
The other two women rescued by Gu Qianying also fortunately qualified.
After the first round of competition, only the four of them remained.
"The second round of competition is scheduled for tomorrow at the hour of Si (9 AM to 11 AM). Please do not be absent then." The female official announced the time for the second round of competition. Today's events finally concluded, and everyone could return to their lodgings to rest well.