Chu Chenyi pulled Feng Jin to his side, stopping her from speaking such nonsense. Damaging His Majesty's dragon body would be a grave offense. If she succeeded in diagnosing His Majesty, it would be a great merit.
However, if she failed, Feng Jin and the entire Ling family would be in great trouble. He had promised Ling Mohan that he would not let Feng Jin get into any danger. He absolutely could not let Feng Jin act rashly in such a dangerous matter. If anything were to happen, he would not be able to explain himself to Ling Mohan.
The Empress Dowager cast a suspicious glance at Feng Jin. She had never heard of such a thing before and was worried that if it failed, Feng Jin's crime would be difficult to escape.
"This matter is of great importance, are you truly fully confident?"
Feng Jin also regretted her words just now. After being analyzed by the Empress Dowager and Chu Chenyi, she felt as if she had stumbled into a major issue. It was as if a sharp sword was hanging over her head, leaving her in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
Could she still go back on her word now?
"Your Imperial Grandmother is asking you a question, why are you愣着 (lèngzhe - stunned)? Are you truly foolish not to answer quickly?"
Chu Chenyi urged Feng Jin to answer quickly. He didn't know whether to persuade Feng Jin to quickly retract her statement and say she couldn't treat His Majesty, or to let Feng Jin take the risk.
After hesitating for a moment, Feng Jin replied resolutely, "This consort is willing to try her best."
The Empress Dowager stood up and walked to the windowsill, looking out. After a moment of contemplation, she turned and walked to Feng Jin, extending her hand to help Feng Jin up. "If you are truly confident, then try your best. Whether you succeed or not, I will not blame you."
With the Empress Dowager's assurance, Feng Jin slowly breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, in such an environment, she did not have complete confidence in whether she could succeed.
"Yes, Your Empress Dowager."
Feng Jin responded in a deep voice, then stepped forward to Emperor Xuanwen, took out a silver needle, and pricked his middle finger, drawing blood.
"Your Empress Dowager, the blood has been drawn. This consort requires a quieter place to conduct the analysis."
"Very well, Aunt Cheng, have someone prepare the side hall and let the young madam conduct her analysis there. Give the order that no one is to approach the side hall."
"This old servant obeys." Aunt Cheng immediately agreed, her gaze then shifting to Feng Jin. "Young madam, please follow this old servant."
Feng Jin followed Aunt Cheng as she walked forward.
"Young madam, this is the side hall. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to tell this old servant."
After a moment of thought, Feng Jin slowly said, "Could Prince Jing be of assistance? I truly cannot manage alone."
Chu Chenyi heard the voice and turned to look at Feng Jin. After a moment of daze, he finally reacted and quickly agreed, "This prince will help you."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he hurriedly followed Feng Jin into the side hall.
"I trouble you, Aunt Cheng, to have people guard the outside and ensure that no unauthorized individuals enter."
Feng Jin said respectfully to Aunt Cheng, then immediately closed the door.
"You asked me to come in, what can I help you with?"
He wondered what Feng Jin was up to this time. She was so mysterious and insisted that he come in. What help could a man provide by coming in? It would all be for naught in the end.
"Since I asked you to come in, it's naturally because you are useful. Otherwise, why would I ask you to come in, to keep me company and alleviate my boredom?"
Feng Jin glanced at Chu Chenyi with cold eyes, instantly feeling that there might be something wrong with Chu Chenyi's brain. Such a simple and clear matter, yet he insisted on asking her again without giving up. Since she asked him to come in, she naturally wanted his help.
"Stop the nonsense and hurry up and start working. Time waits for no one. If we delay any longer, His Majesty will truly be on his last breath, and you will be able to inherit his father's business faster."
"What do you mean? How is Father Emperor's condition? Is it serious? Didn't you say earlier that you couldn't figure out what the illness was?"
Chu Chenyi immediately sensed something was amiss and hurriedly grabbed Feng Jin, bombarding her with questions, determined to get to the bottom of it.
Earlier he said he couldn't figure out what illness it was, but now it was as if he was on his last breath.
What was Feng Jin trying to hide? He was becoming increasingly unable to understand what Feng Jin wanted to do.
"Because His Majesty is not ill at all, but poisoned."
"Poisoned? You mean someone poisoned Father Emperor? How is this possible? Who in the imperial palace has such audacity to poison Father Emperor? Do they not wish to live!"
Chu Chenyi was shocked and even more furious. He couldn't believe that someone in the imperial palace dared to poison his Father Emperor. Who dared to do such a thing? It was simply treasonous.
"I am not sure about that. That is your business. The immediate priority is to quickly prepare the antidote. If we delay any further, His Majesty will truly lose his life."
From the moment she took his pulse, she had realized that Emperor Xuanwen was not ill at all, but had been poisoned.
As for what kind of poison it was, she couldn't tell for a moment. Only by drawing blood for analysis could she better prepare the antidote. The urgent matter now was to quickly prepare the antidote and save the person. Every extra word spoken would increase Emperor Xuanwen's danger by one point.
"What do you want me to do?"
Chu Chenyi asked urgently. His mind was in a mess, and he had no idea what to do. He had to follow Feng Jin's instructions.
"Go and boil water."
She needed to analyze Emperor Xuanwen's blood. Without distilled water for separation, she would have to make do with hot water for now.
"Alright, I'll go right away." Chu Chenyi nodded and immediately followed Feng Jin's instructions.
Feng Jin worked until dark before finally stopping.
"How is it? Have you prepared the antidote?"
Chu Chenyi watched Feng Jin's every move intently. Seeing Feng Jin stop, he hurriedly approached her and anxiously asked about the situation.
"Although I have prepared it, I cannot confirm its efficacy yet. I need to find someone to test it before I dare to give the medicine to His Majesty."
Mainly, this poison was too strange, and she had never encountered it before. The antidote she prepared had also not undergone any testing.
After all, Emperor Xuanwen's status was not ordinary, and she dared not rashly administer the medicine to him.
"You mean find someone to test the medicine?"
Chu Chenyi immediately understood Feng Jin's meaning. After a pause, he said, "Why don't I test it?"
"No, if something were to happen to His Majesty, you would still need to preside over the situation. There can be no mistakes whatsoever. For now, we must find someone to test the medicine."