An Endless Supply

"Endless flow, ever-renewing!"

A single Life-Creating Pill completely transformed Rong Tianding's body, lasting for several hours.

Zhang Xuezhou's success in taking the Life-Creating Elixir was not achieved overnight.

He could feel every slight change in his body and endure the continuous recovery brought on by the medicine.

Although the recovery was subtle, he could still perceive it.

Of course, the fact that his stomach was constantly moving and he was passing gas also indirectly proved that he was still under the influence of the medication.

"It's nothing serious, he just needs to rest... Ugh!"

Du Luo, the physician from the Pingyang Marquis's residence, took the patient's pulse for several dozen seconds, but his diagnosis also failed.

However, he did bring some good news: regardless of what kind of pill Zhang Xuezhou had ingested, Zhang Xuezhou was perfectly healthy and would likely recover on his own after some rest.

Duro couldn't figure out what kind of poison Zhang Xuezhou had ingested, but everyone knew he was alright.

This actually absolved Marquis Pingyang of the charge of poisoning the scholar serving the current emperor.

As long as everyone is safe, let's all go about our business peacefully.

Of course, if something happens to Zhang Xuezhou, the Marquis of Pingyang is, after all, the emperor's son-in-law, the new emperor's brother-in-law, and also holds the title of Marquis of Pingyang. How to handle it would be a family matter for the emperor.

"Then you all take good care of him until he is fully recovered!"

Li Guang, who was in charge of the follow-up matters, covered his nose and gave instructions. Suddenly remembering something, he added further instructions.

"Scholar Dongfang is unwell, and he should have brought his family to take care of him. Send someone to the camp outside the city to inquire and ask his family to come and help," Li Guang said.

As the head of the imperial guards at the Weiyang Palace, Li Guang was responsible for the emperor's personal safety and also had absolute authority to protect the entire entourage on this trip.

The caravan had been traveling without incident for eight days outside Chang'an City, but problems arose during their rest period, a situation that left Li Guang speechless.

This inevitably made it difficult for Li Guang to relax. If the new emperor hadn't gone to the Northern Border, which was an area he knew very well, Li Guang felt that he would have felt a lot of pressure.

"Spring Festival Ancestor Worship!"

The new emperor's reasons for traveling were irresistible.

Even the most capable officials in the imperial court could not stop an emperor from worshipping his ancestors.

The new emperor's trip was neither wasteful of resources nor extravagant. Apart from some young officials, the rest of the officials he brought were from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, responsible for ancestral temple rituals, and also included Sima Tan, the Grand Historian who recorded official history.

If the new emperor were to remove officials needed for the normal operation of the court, officials in various departments would have some objections, but the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were responsible for the imperial mausoleum and sacrificial rites. This was their job, and losing a few would not have any impact on the court.

And so, everything proceeded smoothly and naturally.

This didn't even cause the slightest resistance.

The King of Huainan is still in Chang'an City, while the new emperor has already left Chang'an City far away.

"I wonder if His Majesty is trying to avoid the King of Huainan!"

Li Guang sighed heavily.

He hoped the new emperor would be blessed by his ancestors, so that he wouldn't have to go out to worship his ancestors only to find that the throne had already been changed when he returned to Chang'an City.

For the new emperor, the other party had too few confidants and too few means to control his ministers.

Without a large number of loyal officials around him, an emperor is essentially a lonely figure.

For the new emperor to attract a large number of loyal officials, the other party must be able to offer sufficient benefits to gather talent, rather than simply relying on the basic salary of one thousand or two thousand shi of grain. After all, none of the important officials in the court lacked those thousands of shi of millet.

Emperor Jing may have left behind a great dynasty, but in many ways, this dynasty was not under the emperor's control.

"If the King of Huainan ascends the throne, the court will definitely undergo a major reshuffle. I wonder if he can reach an agreement with the many ministers. If he can, why didn't he approach me? Does he look down on me? Come to think of it, without the Heaven-Shaking Arrow, it's possible that he might not even notice me?"

Li Guang wasn't particularly scheming, but he wasn't entirely without ambition either; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to rely on the Great Han Dynasty.

He was filled with anxiety and uncertainty until the Grand Historian Sima Tan came over with a pen and a scroll of bamboo slips, at which point Li Guang quickly snapped back to a state of alertness.

"Commander Li, how's the situation?" Sima Tan asked casually. "Should we write about the Marquis of Pingyang's failed attempt to poison and assassinate the emperor?"

"You... hope I won't be portrayed too tragically in your writing in the future!"

Upon hearing Sima Tan's words, Li Guang felt that these historians were insane.

This group of people doesn't cause trouble, but they love to record all sorts of conflicts. As long as it involves conflicts between the court and the people's livelihood, they will record it all.

Li Guang had also read some related historical materials, but he didn't find many good things in them. Either the king was tyrannical and killed a certain minister, or someone was unwilling to accept the darkness of the dynasty's rule and thus rose up in rebellion, or a certain ruler acted absurdly.

In just a few words, these people's brief records can give later generations a very direct impression.

The good deeds of those people in history books are unclear, but they certainly don't forget all the bad deeds they did.

"Scholar Dongfang is in good health. Apart from the constant turbidity making it difficult for him to move, he is currently fine," Li Guang said.

"So, this is what happens when you eat a stinky pill?" Sima Tan asked.

"I've never heard of such an elixir," Li Guang said.

"Now we have it!"

Sima Tan unfolded the bamboo slips, intending to begin writing, but was stopped by Li Guang.

"Does such a trivial matter need to be recorded?" Li Guang asked.

"No matter how small the matter, it's always useful to record it," Sima said.

"Then you should also ask the person involved for their opinion," Li Guang said.

"Didn't you say he was unable to move?" Sima Tan asked doubtfully.

"Yes, he has difficulty moving, but I didn't say he couldn't move his mouth!"

"Oh!"

Sima Tan responded, then nodded emphatically and followed Li Guang's directions into the room where the patient was being housed.

"Why do I feel like I've smelled this scent before?"

Ordinary people avoid the foul air in the human body like the plague. Even when a physician went to diagnose Zhang Xuezhou's condition, he would leave quickly. However, Sima Tan stayed in the room for a relatively long time after entering, and even tried to distinguish the smells inside.

"Those historians must be out of their minds!"

Li Guang murmured to himself.

"There's a very unique scent in this fragrance; I'm sure I've smelled it before... Is it... does it smell like Imperial Physician Guan Yili? Or perhaps the Empress Dowager?"

Sima Tan seemed to be deep in thought, Li Guang couldn't help but feel curious upon hearing his voice.

He had never seen anyone who could identify a scent by smell, yet Sima Tan seemed to have recognized it.

The other person mentioned two names, but didn't continue.

"Hesitant speech is the least likable trait. If you're going to say something, just finish it. How could you possibly bring up the Empress Dowager with this kind of elixir...?"

As Li Guang was complaining, a thud was heard from the side room, revealing that Sima Tan had been too close to Zhang Xuezhou and had inhaled too much of the stench, apparently fainting.