"General Li, I wonder where your majesty is? The old Taoist asked to see your majesty." Taoist priest Jiuru said.
He felt that someone must have said something to Li Shimin, and he believed that as long as he explained it clearly, it would be fine.
Li Junxianli ignored him and said to the imperial guards beside him: "If anyone breaks in, shoot and kill!"
"yes!"
The imperial guards around them stared sharply at the Taoist priests.
"You~" Jiuru looked at Li Junxian angrily.
It's been years since anyone talked to him like this.
Ever since he entered the palace to make elixirs for the emperor, no one from the emperor to the princes and nobles has been polite to him?
Li Junxian didn't even look at him, turned around and left.
These Taoist priests looked at each other and looked at each other.
"Let's go in first." Jiuru said with an ugly look on his face.
When the group returned to the hall, one of the Taoist priests couldn't wait to say: "Taoist Master Jiuru, what on earth is going on?"
"You ask me? I still want to know what's going on!" Jiuru said angrily.
Until now, he only knew that Li Shimin sent someone, and he didn't know anything else.
However, the more this happens, the more people can't help but think about it, and the more they think about it, the more panicked they become.
…
"See Your Majesty."
Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and more than 20 Li Shimin's closest officials felt very strange that Li Shimin suddenly summoned them to the Imperial Garden for an audience.
Li Shimin had summoned them in the Imperial Garden before, but since Li Shimin ordered all the flowers and plants in the palace to be shoveled away, he had never summoned them in the Imperial Garden again.
But when they saw Li Shimin's ugly face, they all became quiet.
Even Cheng Yaojin, who was usually carefree in front of Li Shimin, put away the smile on his face.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said to Li Mu: "Feed me again."
"yes."
Li Mu followed the previous steps and fed a chicken again.
Changsun Wuji and others:...
Could it be that His Majesty summoned us just to come and watch the chickens being fed?
But seeing Li Shimin's face, no one dared to ask any more questions.
Changsun Wuji saw a dead chicken on the ground not far away, and Li Shimin asked Li Mu to feed the chicken. His expression changed and he lost his voice: "Your Majesty, could it be?"
Li Shimin nodded expressionlessly.
The people present were all smart people. Based on the situation at the scene and Changsun Wuji's words, they all realized what had happened and their expressions changed drastically.
Of course, not everyone is aware of it, and there are also those who are slow to respond and haven’t realized it yet, such as...
"I said Duke Zhao, what are you trying to do?" Cheng Yaojin said dissatisfied.
Does it bother you that you keep half of it and keep half of it?
"The elixir is poisonous," Changsun Wuji said.
If Cheng Yaojin usually talked to him with this attitude, he wouldn't even bother to pay attention.
But now Changsun Wuji doesn't care about that.
"The elixir is poisonous?" Cheng Yaojin exclaimed: "What a courageous dog, actually poisoning your majesty's elixir? Fortunately, your majesty has good luck and discovered it in advance."
At this moment, the chicken that had been fed the elixir fell to the ground and twitched a few times, motionless.
"Your Majesty, have you ever caught the poisoner?" Changsun Wuji asked.
"No one poisoned it. The pill itself is poisonous," Li Shimin said.
"Your Majesty, this is impossible. Your Majesty has been taking this elixir for many years. I have been rewarded by His Majesty and I have also taken a lot of it. I have always been fine. How can the elixir itself be poisonous?" Changsun Wuji said in disbelief.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I have been taking pills, and there is nothing abnormal."
Everyone present had been rewarded with elixirs by Li Shimin. Now Li Shimin told them that the elixirs themselves were poisonous. How could they believe it?
"I can't explain the reason. I gave Lin Xuan the elixir as a reward before, but he rejected it. He advised me to eat less, and even asked me to try the elixir on chickens and ducks. You can see the result."
Li Shimin also thought about whether the elixir was poisoned, but when he thought of Lin Xuan's expression at that time, he was very disgusted with the elixir, as if it were a scourge.
"Your Majesty is saying that Lin Xuan came up with the poisonous elixir? Your Majesty, in that case why not call Lin Xuan and ask for clarification." Changsun Wuji said.
No one has discovered that the elixir is poisonous for so long. How did Lin Xuan know?
It would be great if Lin Xuan could be related to this matter.
Lin Xuan is already valued by Li Shimin. If he is allowed to perform meritorious service this time, it will be a big deal.
Changsun Wuji increasingly felt that his status in Li Shimin's heart was not as good as before.
Lin Xuan didn't go anywhere when he returned home, preparing to wait for the storm to pass.
However, he couldn't hide even if he wanted to. Not even an hour after returning home, someone came from the palace.
Lin Xuan had no choice but to follow him to the palace.
"I have met with your Majesty, your lords." Lin Xuan bowed and saluted.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said: "I fed the chicken the elixir as you said, but the chicken died before it was time for a cup of tea. Can you tell me why?"
"Isn't it obvious at a glance that the elixir is poisonous and the chicken will die naturally if it is eaten." Lin Xuan said.
Li Shimin was a little speechless. Is it because I don’t understand what I said, or is there something wrong with your understanding?
"What I'm talking about is why it was okay for me to take pills before, but why did the chicken die after eating it?"
"People don't die because they eat too little, but it's enough for chickens. The chickens will die after eating."
"Then why didn't the Marquis of Jingyang County remind His Majesty earlier?" Changsun Wuji asked.
Changsun Wuji's words made many people present change their expressions.
This sentence can be said to be very heartbreaking.
Lin Xuanming knew that the elixir was poisonous but never said it, so he was suspected of being an accomplice.
Lin Xuan naturally knew Changsun Wuji's sinister intentions, and said coldly: "Duke Zhao will really blame me, how do I know that His Majesty is eating this stuff?"
"Yes, although it is not a secret that Your Majesty takes elixirs, it is not something that everyone knows. Zichu really didn't know about it." Cheng Yaojin said loudly.
Li Shimin's taking of elixirs was considered an undisclosed secret. Everyone who knew it knew it, and those who didn't knew it didn't know it either.
It is not a good thing for the emperor to pursue immortality. If word spreads about it, it will be bad for his reputation.
Therefore, no one discussed this matter below.
"In that case, I would like to ask the Marquis of Jingyang County why he knew that the elixir was poisonous." Changsun Wuji asked.
You old yin coin just wants to kill me, right?
"I would like to ask Duke Zhao for advice. Does Zhao Guogong know what materials are needed to make elixirs?" Lin Xuan asked.
Changsun Wuji smiled and said: "Although I don't know much in detail, I do know a few things. They are nothing more than gold, silver, copper, iron, sulfur, saltpeter and other things."
"Zhao Guogong is very knowledgeable, so I don't know which one of these he thinks is edible? If Zhao Guogong likes it, I can give some more to Zhao Guogong." Lin Xuan said lightly.
"You..." Changsun Wuji looked at Lin Xuan with a livid face.
What am I? I allow you to seduce me, but I am not allowed to quarrel with you?
I'm not your father, and I won't spoil you.
"Your Majesty, the so-called elixir is nonsense. If it is really useful, why don't those Taoist priests take it? They should tell Your Majesty that this elixir is too powerful and should not be taken too frequently, right?" Lin Xuan said.
Li Shimin nodded and said: "Yes, they say that if you eat it too frequently, it will cause damage to your body. You can only eat one piece per month."
"That's right. If Your Majesty eats three to five pills every month, I'm afraid..."
When Li Shimin heard this, his face became gloomy and terrifying, and he said coldly: "Follow me to the Cangxian Pavilion and see the Taoist priests who have worked hard to refine elixirs for me."