Hearing Zhu Pingjian's report, Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, finally remembered that he also had a son, and a few days ago, the good doctor of the Shu Palace, Li Liangde, had personally reported it. This son's situation is not good, and he may not survive this year.

Ay! The King of Shu sighed. Good things don't come in pairs, and bad things come in a bunch.

"It's rare that this eldest son is so benevolent, and he still thinks about his younger brother. Isn't this dad too much? The King of Shu had an uneasy conscience, and a sense of guilt flashed in his heart.

"Chen En, you go and bring the brocade box!" The king of Shu commanded.

The brocade box was soon served, a small square box covered with yellow brocade skin.

Zhu Pingjin wanted to stretch out his hand but did not reach out, so he first asked the king of Shu for his opinion. The King of Shu and the King of Taiping exchanged glances, and this kid obviously hadn't played, so they both felt funny. Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, heroically encouraged Zhu Pingjian: "Jin'er, you might as well choose boldly!" ”

Hearing his master's command, Chen En hurriedly opened the brocade box with Xiaoxiao. Five red pills were neatly arranged inside, each of which was round, reflecting a faint metallic luster under the illumination of the Qiong candle headlamp. But they are slightly different in size, color, and shade, and they are not very smooth.

"Father, sons and daughters will choose by themselves?" Zhu Pingjin rubbed the back of his right hand with the palm of his left hand, probably the monkey was in a hurry, and he rubbed it into his sleeve.

I've grown taller, but I'm still a kid after all. It is the nature of children to be playful, and they are always so curious when they see something they have never played!

"Thou shalt choose thyself!" The King of Shu smiled with interest.

"Okay! Thank you, Father! Zhu Pingjin happily agreed. But his fingers touched the brocade box, retracted it again, and said to himself: "I don't know what is the point of choosing this golden pill?" ”

So Zhu Pingjin turned around and said to Qin Wenjian and Zheng Anmin, the two long histories: "The two adults are both two-list jinshi, and this son is uninformed, I don't know if I can help this son choose one?" ”

Qin Wenjian shook his head with a cold face. He himself never believed in this thing, and he didn't eat it. What elixir, what immortality, are all ghost tricks of Fang Shi Demon Dao to cheat people out of money. Not to mention it, let's just say that in the first year of Taichang, the emperor was ill, Li Kezhuo offered red pills, and Guangzong took two pills and died violently, thus setting off a monstrous wave in the court. Zheng Guifei, Fu Wang, Shoufu Fang Congzhe and Li Kezhuo, Cui Wensheng and others who donated medicine were all involved. IN THE END, THE CABINET MINISTER HAN YI (KUANG), WHO WAS WIDELY ADMIRED BY THE MINISTERS, CAME OUT AND SAID A FAIR WORD, SAYING THAT THE COURTIERS WERE JUST ORDERED TO TAKE MEDICINE, AND FANG CONGZHE, WHO HAD ALREADY RETURNED TO HIS HOMETOWN, ESCAPED A CATASTROPHE, AND LI KEZHUO AND CUI WENSHENG WERE BOTH SENT TO WAR. However, the matter did not end there. In the Tianqi and Chongzhen dynasties, Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin Party continued to talk about the Red Pill case, and several famous ministers such as Gao Panlong died here. Qin Wenjian has gone through four dynasties, and he has become old and refined, so he is silent and will never participate in half a sentence.

Zheng Anmin was interested. When he heard the invitation of the prince, he walked over. He picked up an elixir from the brocade box and studied it carefully by the candlelight.

"There is a big mountain in Guangdong, the hometown of the minister, called Luofu Mountain, and I heard that it is the place where Gexian alchemy preached. When he was young, he heard the elders in the family talk about Ge Xian's ascension, but this pill was the first time he had seen it. The minister couldn't say how to choose. After Zheng Anmin finished speaking, he put back the pill and walked back to Qin Wenjian and sat down.

Zhu Pingjin reached out and took out the smallest pill from the brocade box, and looked at it like Zheng Anmin.

The color of dark red, the size of a dragon's eye. When I picked it up, the surface that was not very smooth was a little sticky, and when I squeezed it a little harder, there was a hint of softness. In the palm of my hand, I felt a heavy sense of falling.

Between the gestures, Zhu Pingjin immediately formed a judgment. The dark red color is probably the Dansha that the Yuding Dao people say, which is the reducing product produced by mercury oxide through high temperature. The feeling of heaviness is due to the fact that there are heavy metal minerals in the elixir, such as mercury, lead, copper and other heavy metals that are denser than steel. The shiny and sticky texture of the surface is due to a thin layer of wax. The softness produced by squeezing hard may be a layer of traditional Chinese medicine wrapped on the mineral core, such as stimulants or aphrodisiacs. When a person eats it, the heavy pill will produce a sense of presence in the stomach, and the thin wax layer will dissolve soon after entering the gastric juice, releasing a stimulant or aphrodisiac, which will make a person immediately refreshed or have a strong libido. The person who took the medicine himself did not know the reason, and when he was fluttering and wanted to be immortal, he thought that the immortal medicine was taking effect.

Zhu Pingjin put his left and right hands together, and selected the pills one by one, with a hesitant look on his face.

"Jin'er, have you ever chosen?" Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, was a little impatient. When he saw the pill, he was worried about the two concubines in the harem. They must have been in limbo, anxiously awaiting the blessing of his king.

"Erchen really doesn't know how to choose." Zhu Pingjin truthfully reported.

"According to King Gu, the child is still young and can't serve the big one, so choose the smallest one." The King of Shu yawned, "Fourth brother, when you leave, choose one too." ”

"This ...... Thank you, Brother Wang! "Earned! King Taiping's heart suddenly burst into joy. He didn't have any spare money to hire someone for alchemy. Yesterday, I borrowed 10,000 taels of silver from Brother Wang, and today I was given a golden pill.

"In this way, Jin'er and the two adults will disperse!" The prince yawned again and added: "The silver from Chongqing Mansion must be transported back as soon as possible!" ”

"Sons obey orders!" Zhu Pingjin firmly grasped the golden pill in the palm of his right hand.

Chen En set up the remaining four gold pills, and was about to close the brocade box, when he suddenly saw that there seemed to be some dust on the gold pills, so he gently swept them with the corners of his sleeves. By the time he put the brocade box and went to help the prince, the prince had already stood up from the throne by himself.

"Lord Wang, please stay! The old minister has a book! Qin Wenjian's old voice sounded behind Zhu Pingjin again.

The king of Shu was walking off the treasure platform, and after listening to Qin Wen's words, he had to sit down again, and scolded this old dog who was not dead in his heart.

"The old minister has a book!" Qin Wenjian didn't care about the ugly face of the King of Shu, and said firmly: "Lord Wang, the old minister, as Zuo Changshi, is responsible for counseling and admonishment, and he doesn't dare not start with King Kuang's responsibility!" ”

"The boss has something to say, it's getting late, and the boss is working day and night on state affairs......"

"Lord Wang, please forgive your sins! This pill can't be eaten, Lao Chen is worried that it is poisonous! Qin Wen took a step forward and said.

As soon as these words came out, the hall was so quiet that it could be heard.

"This is Qin Lao Immortal who wants to frame King Fushun!" Chen En, the great eunuch who had already climbed to the king of Fushun, made a judgment for the first time.

But he didn't wait for him to jump out and refute. The King of Shu was already stunned and asked, "What credentials does Old Master Qin have?" ”

"The old minister has no credentials. It's just that the old minister has gone through four dynasties and knows that Emperor Taichang has eaten the red pill......"

"Lord Qin, Meng Lang!" Chen En seized the opportunity to jump out, "Lord Qin has no real evidence, how can he vainly guess that this golden pill is poisonous?" Why did Lord Qin vainly compare the red pill with the golden pill? ”

"The minister really has no credentials!" Qin Wenjian stiffened his neck and protested: "The minister is a disciple of Confucius, and he never believes in those immortals, ghosts, and gods!" All things are permanent, life and death are fate, how can a so-called elixir be reversed? ”

Qin Wen recommended that he scolded Zhu Pingjin together.

Zhu Pingjin hurriedly said: "The master of this world doesn't believe in these so-called elixirs either!" It's just that the second brother is sick, and the good doctors are helpless, and as an elder brother, how can this son sit and watch the second brother die? ”

As he spoke, the sweat in Zhu Pingjian's right palm had already soaked Jin Dan. But the hand was hidden in the sleeve of the robe, and no one could see it.

Seeing that the prince opened his mouth to refute, Chen En hurriedly helped his fist, and by the way, put Qin Wen's recommended behavior on the line: "The prince loves his younger brother, so he asks the prince to give him Dan; King Fushun loved his brother, so he offered Dan to the prince. What Lord Qin said, does it mean that King Fushun assassinated the prince, and that the prince blamed the second prince? ”

"The old minister didn't mean that!" Qin Wenjian resolutely denied it, "The old minister just thinks that without testing the poison, the prince will take it directly, which is too child's play!" If the prince has three long and two short, the subjects of my Shu country ......"

"The minister seconded the proposal! The pill should be tested for poison! "Zheng Anmin is not as old and spicy as Qin Wen's officialdom, but he is not stupid.

"Alright, alright!" The king of Shu spoke out to stop the argument. The King of Shu remembered that when King Fushun offered Dan last year, Qin Wenzhuan, the old dog, also staged a trick of crying blood. He just doesn't want to take responsibility!

"Since Lord Qin wants to test the poison, this son is willing to test the poison for his father!" Zhu Pingjin was the first to jump out, and the pill in his hand was already in his mouth.

"How does this work?" Zheng Anmin immediately quit. What is the difference between a dead prince and a dead prince? If he dies, he can't get rid of it!

"Chen En, quickly find a living person!" The prince commanded repeatedly. Thinking of Concubine Liu, he was very annoyed.

Chen En got the order, and in the blink of an eye, he called in a small eunuch from the gate of the palace. Chen En was about to mobilize the little eunuch, and Zhu Pingjin was already standing in front of the little eunuch, holding the smallest golden pill between the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

"Open your mouth!" Zhu Pingjin ordered the little eunuch.

The little eunuch, who was at a loss and didn't know what was going on, opened his mouth obediently.

"Bigger!" Zhu Pingjin roared.

A golden pill was put into the mouth of the little eunuch in full view of everyone.

"Chew it and swallow it!" Chen En also learned from the prince and yelled at the little eunuch.

Half an hour passed, and the little eunuch still looked around cautiously with frightened eyes, and had no intention of falling down at all.

"Lord Qin, Lord Zheng, this is okay!" The prince said with unconcealable anger.

"The old minister is guilty! The old minister is just for the prince's country......" Qin Wenjian knelt down and kowtowed.

There is no one left on the throne of the vassal king.

"Blessed are you, boy!" Chen En said to the little eunuch with a slight sourness: "Do you know what you just ate?" It's an elixir! The prince of Fushun offered a total of five, and you ate one! ”

Elixir! No wonder, the little eunuch thought, why am I a little fluttery? Comfortable, it's really comfortable, is this the feeling of ascending to immortal? He couldn't help but show an expression of wanting to die on his face, which made the Taiping King who passed by itch in his heart.

Could it be that eating the elixir will really go to heaven? How long is the road to heaven, if you are halfway up, this medicine has passed, and you will not fall into the dust? King Taiping held the golden pill in his palm, stared at the little eunuch who had eaten a golden pill hatefully, went straight out of the main hall, got into the soft sedan chair and went home.

Zhu Pingjin and Zheng Anmin helped Zuo Changshi Qin Wenjian out of the palace of the King of Shu. Out of the gate, Zhu Pingjin did not rush to get into the sedan chair, but insisted on standing at the gate to send Qin and Zheng away one by one, and then walked back to the Shizi Mansion on foot under the escort of Li Sixian and Wei Chen and others.

The south gate of the palace of the king of Shu and the north gate of the royal city are only a few dozen steps. Zhu Pingjin and his guards walked quickly, and no one spoke. Li Sixian, who was walking in front of Zhu Pingjin, swayed the lantern in his hand back and forth with the footsteps of walking, so that the elongated shadow behind Zhu Pingjian also swept back and forth on the stone floor.

When passing by the moat outside the royal city, I don't know who kicked a small pebble while walking.

With a pop, the pebble fell into the river, stirring up a small wave.

The pebble slowly sank into the silt at the bottom of the river, and no one paid attention to it anymore, and it was gone forever.

The Taiping Palace, in the southeast of Wangcheng, north of Yandao Yamen (now Yanshikou, a prosperous place in Chengdu. Note 1). King Taiping sat in a warm sedan chair swaying up and down, playing with the begged golden pill, and the little eunuch's expression of wanting to die was beating in front of him. Suddenly, an irrepressible urge erupted from the bottom of his heart. He swallowed the golden pill in one bite, but after a while, there was a sharp pain like a knife in his abdomen. The remnants of consciousness made him call for help to the palanquin, but his throat felt like someone was choking him so hard that he couldn't make a sound.

Note 1: According to the "Chengdu Chengfang Historic Monuments Examination", the Taiping Mansion of the Ming Dynasty is on the west side of the Shu Palace, adjacent to the Deyang Palace, the Fushun Palace, and the Chengdu Right Guard Yamen. Another article pointed out that the Taiping Palaces were in the southeast of the royal city and the north of the Yandao Yamen. The plot needs it, and Hibiki takes the latter.