Royal Gold Magistrate

“What! They all died!? Old Fang, don’t lie to me!?” Li Yuanzhao simply couldn’t believe his own ears.

He had personally seen all those raw materials. They weren’t making poison, so how could over fifty people all die!?

Fang Zheng didn’t say a word. He silently turned around and yanked down the cloth screen behind him with one pull.

Inside the prison cell, over fifty corpses lay densely packed in all directions.

The guards around them saw this terrifying scene again and couldn’t help their legs shaking uncontrollably.

Too scary! Too scary!!!

The young man before their eyes wasn’t human at all! He poisoned over fifty people without batting an eye.

After those death row inmates were injected, some wailed nonstop saying it hurt, some convulsed all over, some even vomited everywhere… Each died a miserable death.

When it was over, he even kept flipping the corpses… pressing and pushing on their chests. Some he even squashed flat!

In all their years, even on the battlefield they had never seen such an evil thing!

He’s not human… He… He… He’s a demon!!

It was still alright before the crown prince arrived. Seeing the crown prince come, everyone felt safe.

That bowstring in their hearts could no longer hold. Many guards shed tears and cold sweat at the same time.

Some guards who had wormed their way in even pissed themselves…

Accompanied by the faint pissy smell in the air, the melancholy in Fang Zheng’s heart grew heavier…

Li Yuanzhao collapsed to the ground, tears in his eyes, muttering, “How could this be… How could this be… We tried so hard for half a month… Is it really beyond hope…”

Fang Zheng hurriedly helped Li Yuanzhao up. “Your Highness… Let’s return to the palace first. We’ll talk when we get back.”

Li Yuanzhao nodded and staggered to his feet, walking out first. His silhouette looked especially lonely.

Fang Zheng glanced back, revealing a bitter smile.

I, Fang Zheng… really have it rough…

The guards all shivered in unison. He laughed! He laughed! This corpse-abusing demon killed over fifty people and actually laughed looking at the corpses… Mama… I want to go home…

Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, Fang Zheng thought to himself, at this point he had already done his utmost. Perhaps this was the incompleteness of all things.

After a sigh, he turned and left the dungeon.

From this day on, for a hundred years a legend was sung in the capital of a Dungeon Poison King who could stop a baby’s crying at night, enduring through the ages…

………………….

Another two days passed and the princess fell ill again.

Things weren’t looking good on Li Yuanzhao’s side either. He was constantly thinking about the Fifth Princess, in a daze all day long.

Fang Zheng was also quite helpless.

Although he felt it was a shame if the princess passed away like a shattered jade, with the current technology and conditions, there was no way to produce penicillin.

But the crown prince was in a daze all day and wouldn’t listen to reason. How could he uphold his teacher’s dignity like this!!

Fang Zheng finally couldn’t sit still. He decided to go find Doctor Hu again and ask.

So he called for Liu Jin.

“Little Jin, go help me call Doctor Hu from the Imperial Hospital. This official has some questions for him.”

Liu Jin had also been in a daze these past days, constantly waiting for Fang Zheng to help his little jin regrow. He said diligently, “I heard Doctor Hu goes to Mingluan Palace every day recently to treat the princess. Why don’t… I take you to Mingluan Palace?”

Fang Zheng glanced at Li Yuanzhao and saw him sitting blankly in front of the Go board, staring at it in a daze.

Looks like he can’t accompany me in this state. Then I’ll take the risk and go alone!

No sooner said than done, Fang Zheng quietly snuck into Mingluan Palace following Liu Jin.

Fortunately, the servant girls and eunuchs in the palace had seen Fang Zheng before and didn’t stop him much.

After searching for a while inside, he found the imperial physician wasn’t there.

Fang Zheng randomly found a palace maid and asked, “How is the princess’s condition now?”

The palace maid answered honestly, “Reporting to my lord, the princess fell ill yesterday and is not doing well now. She’s still unconscious…”

“She’s already fallen ill three times this month… The first time was the most severe.”

Hmm!?

Fang Zheng keenly sensed something was off. He had neglected this matter earlier while busy with the experiments.

If the princess had pneumonia, it couldn’t possibly come and go in bouts! He had never heard of a case of repeated illness, and severe to the point of fainting each time.

Fang Zheng hurriedly asked, “Does the princess’s illness follow any seasonal patterns? Which season is it more severe?”

“Yes, it’s milder in winter. She didn’t fall ill last winter, but it became severe in summer.”

Fang Zheng vaguely felt he had grasped something…

He continued asking, “Where did the princess fall ill last time?”

“Right here, of course?” The palace maid looked completely clueless.

“Be specific!”

“The rear garden.”

“Take me to the rear garden!” Fang Zheng’s face was full of delight. It seemed very likely the princess’s illness was related to the rear garden!

The little palace maid hurriedly knelt down and refused. “My lord! The rear garden is Her Highness’s private space… You can’t enter!”

A twenty-tael silver banknote floated down to land in front of the palace maid.

The maid picked up the banknote and looked up to see Fang Zheng’s smiling face.

“Can I enter or not?”

The palace maid honestly placed the silver note on the ground and shook her head. “My lord, please don’t do this… Please take it back. It’s really not possible. If someone finds out, this servant will be beheaded!”

Another twenty-tael silver banknote quickly followed.

“Can I enter or not?”

The palace maid gritted her teeth. “My lord, it really won’t do!”

A stack of twenty-tael silver notes came raining down.

The palace maid was dumbfounded. She raised her head to look at Fang Zheng.

Then she silently collected the silver notes from the ground and said softly, “My lord, don’t let it get out…”

“Don’t worry. If someone discovers it, I’ll say I snuck in by myself!”

With a guide leading the way, Fang Zheng snuck into the rear garden after several close calls.

The rear garden was filled with blooming flowers, covered in eye-catching purple-red blossoms.

Fang Zheng pointed at the flowers. “What flower is this?”

The palace maid said quietly, “It’s called Coral Glow. It’s Her Highness’s favorite flower and can bloom all year round…”

Fuck! Could it really be because of this flower?

Fang Zheng said sternly, “The princess’s most severe bout of illness this month was in the rear garden, right? Did she touch this flower?”

The palace maid thought for a moment and nodded seriously. “Yes! She touched it. She even picked a big bunch at the time, saying she wanted to give it to His Majesty!”

Fang Zheng pulled the corner of his mouth.

The princess just had a pollen allergy! With so many people in the palace, no one discovered it?

No wonder she fell ill from time to time. After recovering, she’d go to the garden again. How could she not fall ill? This flower kept blooming endlessly all year round. It was probably because the temperature was especially low this winter so it didn’t bloom.

She’s been tossing and turning for ten years without dying. The princess sure had a sturdy constitution!

If he had known it was this simple earlier, he wouldn’t have stupidly made penicillin, leaving a bloody mess…

“Many thanks. Let’s head back.”