AUBTN -Chapter 96 Ancient Stimulants

But for some reason, most of the anger in her heart had dissipated.

“Drink the medicine.”

Shen Jue loosened his grip, speaking irritably.

Su Hewan felt as if she had just been pardoned. She quickly lifted the bowl and gulped down the bitter potion in a few mouthfuls—so bitter it made all her facial features scrunch up.

At that moment, a piece of candied fruit was suddenly shoved into her mouth.

The sweetness spread across her tongue instantly, suppressing the lingering bitterness.

Su Hewan looked up in surprise, only to see Shen Jue turning his face away, wiping his hands with a cloth, as if he hadn’t been the one to feed her the candied fruit just now.

A person who was tough on the outside but soft inside—Su Hewan chewed the candy with a gentle smile.

However…

She recalled the look in Shen Jue’s eyes when he had just called himself a “waste,” and a strange, unexplainable twinge rose in her chest.

Even knowing it was an act, all these years he had carried that identity, climbing step by step to this position under everyone’s disdainful gaze. How much bitterness had he hidden in his heart?

【Shen Jue…】

She whispered his name softly in her mind.

【One day, I’ll help you reclaim the young man you were—the one in fine clothes, riding proudly.】

Just as Shen Jue was about to leave, his steps suddenly faltered.

He was facing away from Su Hewan, and his fingers hanging at his sides trembled slightly.

After a long pause, he finally resumed walking and exited the room.

The moment Shen Jue stepped out, Su Hewan’s whole body went limp, as if her bones had been drained, and she collapsed onto the bed.

That scene had been exhausting.

“Wanwan! Wanwan, are you okay?!”

The window was gently pried open from outside, and a stealthy figure slipped in.

Who else could it be but Yu Qing?

“Still alive.” Su Hewan rolled her eyes, annoyed.

“How did you climb in through the window? And why are you only just here? You missed the carnage earlier—I almost got devoured alive by that old bastard Zhao Shuo.”

“Ah, I was held back by that poker-faced Lu Yan! He forced me to drink some warming ginger soup—it burned like hell!”

Yu Qing huddled by the bed, peering at Su Hewan with all the curiosity of a gossip.

“I heard Shen Duzhu went head-to-head with Zhao Shuo just for you? That’s love right there!”

“Stop spouting nonsense.”

Su Hewan sat up, her gaze landing on the pile of precious medicinal herbs Zhao Shuo had sent.

Thousands-year-old ginseng, top-grade deer antler, and all sorts of rare tonics with names she couldn’t even pronounce, piled up like a small mountain.

“Wow! Zhao Shuo really knows how to spend!” Yu Qing’s eyes sparkled as she reached for a box of lingzhi mushrooms.

“If I take a bite of this, will I live longer?”

“Don’t touch it!”

Su Hewan suddenly snapped, swatting Yu Qing’s hand away.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Qing jumped.

Su Hewan didn’t speak. Her gaze fixed on a seemingly inconspicuous brocade box tucked in the corner of the pile of herbs.

The box was half-open, revealing a plant with dark red stems and serrated leaves.

It looked plain, almost like a common roadside weed, but under the flickering candlelight, the veins in the leaves seemed to pulse with an eerie red glow.

Su Hewan felt a nerve in her brain twitch sharply.

Her professional instincts had kicked in.

When she had studied ancient court secrets in the modern era, she had seen a drawing of this plant in a fragmentary, rare manuscript called Records of Exotic Plants in the Southern Borders.

“Chi Yan Cao…”

Su Hewan murmured, her expression instantly turning grave.

“What kind of herb is it? Is it valuable?” Yu Qing asked, puzzled.

“This isn’t about the value.” Su Hewan lifted her handkerchief and carefully pinched the herb, bringing it to her nose. A faint sweet-and-fishy scent drifted in.

“This is a death-bringer.”

Su Hewan sneered.

“Zhao Shuo, that old fox, truly has no good intentions. This Chiyan Grass grows in the scorching regions of the southern frontier and is extremely potent. Taken alone, it can indeed warm the womb and dispel cold, but if…”

She pointed to the box of top-grade deer antler beside it.

“…if mixed with this deer antler and consumed together, it’s essentially an ancient version of a stimulant.”

“A stimulant?” Yu Qing’s eyes widened.

“You mean Zhao Shuo wants you to compete in the Olympics?”

“…” Su Hewan shot her a wordless glance.

“I mean, this substance can temporarily awaken human potential, making one feel energetic, almost as if they’re resurrected with a second wind. But in reality, it drains one’s life force. Long-term use will gradually deteriorate the internal organs, eventually causing sudden death.”

At that, Su Hewan suddenly recalled something, her pupils shrinking sharply.

“Wait… the late emperor!”

“You mean the old emperor who passed away not long ago?”

“Historical records note that the late emperor, in his later years, became obsessed with alchemy and the pursuit of immortality. His energy was extraordinary—often staying up all night reviewing memorials—but then he suddenly died.”

A chill ran down Su Hewan’s spine.

“If I’m right, the late emperor didn’t die from overwork at all. He was poisoned with this Chiyan Grass!”

“Good grief! Zhao Shuo plans to use the same method to have me unknowingly die in Shen Jue’s mansion, then frame Shen Jue? That’s some skillful borrowed-knife murder!”

Fifteen minutes later.

In the secret chamber of Yu Garden.

Shen Jue sat in the main seat, toyed with the Chiyan Grass in his hand, his eyes sharp and cold.

Lu Yan leaned against the doorframe, brows tightly furrowed.

Su Hewan took a deep breath and laid out her deductions.

“…In conclusion, this Chiyan Grass very likely was the main ingredient in the elixir the late emperor once consumed.”

“Heh.”

Shen Jue let out a faint laugh. With a slight press of his fingers, the Chiyan Grass instantly turned to powder.

“Now it makes sense why that old man died so strangely.”

He lifted his eyelids, his gaze vicious.

“And the ‘immortality’ Jiang Huai mentioned before dying probably relates to this too!”

Su Hewan understood immediately. Zhao Shuo was backed by an immortality organization. Or rather, he might be its mastermind, using this substance to control assassins—and even emperors—creating a false illusion of eternal life, all to manipulate the throne.

Lu Yan spoke coldly, “If what you say is true, then how many in the court have already taken this medicine? All under control…”

The consequences were unimaginable.

This wasn’t just palace intrigue—it was a conspiracy shaking the foundation of the kingdom.

“Is there a cure?” Lu Yan turned to Su Hewan, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Yu Qing bit her lip.

【If this were the modern era, a quick centrifuge analysis in a lab, and an antidote could be made in minutes. But in the Ming Dynasty, without even a microscope… how am I supposed to figure it out?】

Lu Yan: “…”

He didn’t understand centrifuges, but he understood it would be extremely difficult.

Shen Jue glanced at Su Hewan, as if catching the echo of her inner groan, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

“No matter how hard it is, it must be solved.”

Shen Jue stood.

“Zhao Shuo sent this right under our noses. That’s a provocation. Since it’s poison, there must be an antidote. Find it, and we can strike back, wiping out this immortality den.”

He stepped in front of Su Hewan, looking down at her, though his gaze was slightly softer than before.

“You’re smart. You can do it, right?”

That damn sense of pressure! And this inexplicable trust—what is this about?!

Su Hewan could only grit her teeth and nod. “I… I’ll do my best.”