Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

In the inner hall of the East Palace, the flickering candlelight illuminated Chu Ning's pale face lying on the couch.

Sun Simiao's skinny fingers rested on his wrist, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, the pulse under his fingertips was sometimes as weak as a gossamer, and sometimes as rapid as a drum.

Shen Wanying clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her knuckles turning white, and her voice trembled: "Doctor Sun, how is His Highness?"

Sun Simiao did not answer, but slowly lifted Chu Ning's clothes.

Everyone gasped in shock - they saw purple-black blood vessels spreading on Chu Ning's chest like a spider web, densely intertwined together, as if something was wriggling in his blood.

"This..." Shen Wanying covered her mouth and tears burst out.

Sun Simiao's fingertips gently pressed on the protruding blood vessels, his expression solemn: "Your Highness has been poisoned."

"Poisonous?"

Shen Wanying's voice trembled: "But His Highness has clearly taken the antidote for the blood spider poison."

"It was because of the remnants of the blood spider venom that your highness's life was saved."

Sun Simiao said in a deep voice: "These two poisons restrain each other in your Highness's body, offsetting some of each other's toxicity. Otherwise, your Highness would have already..."

He didn't say anything else, but everyone understood what he meant.

Shen Wanying fought back her tears: "What should we do now?"

Sun Simiao took out a silver needle from the medicine box and said word by word, "I will first use the silver needle to seal your highness's heart meridian to prevent the poison from spreading further."

"Please step aside for the moment." Sun Simiao said without raising his head.

Shen Wanying wanted to say something else, but Liu Shouren beside her gently stopped her: "Your Majesty, Dr. Sun needs to concentrate on acupuncture. We will only disturb him if we are here."

Shen Wanying bit her lip and finally nodded: "Okay, let's go out and wait."

Everyone left the inner hall, leaving only Sun Simiao.

He took a deep breath, picked up a silver needle as thin as an ox hair with his fingertips, aimed it at the Tanzhong point on Chu Ning's chest, and slowly inserted it.

The moment the silver needle entered the flesh, Chu Ning's body trembled violently, and the purple-black blood vessels seemed to be stimulated and began to wriggle violently.

Sun Simiao remained unmoved and took out several silver needles in succession, inserting them into Chu Ning's Tiantu, Jiuwei, Juque and other major acupoints.

As the silver needle pierced into Chu Ning, the purple-black blood vessels under his skin gradually calmed down, but his breathing became weaker, as if it would stop at any time.

Outside the hall, Shen Wanying paced back and forth, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

Every time there was a slight movement in the hall, her heart would tighten.

"Your Majesty, please sit down and rest for a while." The maid Xiaoqing advised in a low voice.

Shen Wanying shook her head, her eyes fixed on the closed palace door: "I'm fine."

Lu Xiuwen whispered to Ling Haoran, "The poison that His Highness was poisoned with was strange."

Ling Haoran narrowed his eyes: "To be able to poison the East Palace, this person must be someone close to me."

The two looked at each other, and a name appeared in their minds at the same time.

After an unknown amount of time, the palace door finally opened.

Sun Simiao walked out with a tired look on his face, and beads of sweat covered his forehead.

"Doctor Sun, how is His Highness?" Shen Wanying stepped forward anxiously.

Sun Simiao said slowly: "I have used silver needles to temporarily suppress the poison, but this method can only last for three days."

"Three days?" Shen Wanying's face turned pale. "What about after three days?"

Sun Simiao sighed: "We need to find an antidote, otherwise..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood what he meant.

Shen Wanying staggered back a step and almost fell.

Liu Shouren quickly supported her: "Take care, Madam! The most urgent task is to find out who poisoned her!"

Shen Wanying bit her lower lip tightly, not letting go until she tasted blood. "Pass the order down, seal off the East Palace, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"

Her eyes swept over everyone present, her voice as cold as ice: "I want to see who dares to murder the crown prince!"

At this time, footsteps were heard outside the hall.

The King of Chu walked hurriedly, followed by several guards.

His face was gloomy and his eyes were filled with anger. From afar, he saw Liu Shouren and five other ministers gathered in the corridor and discussed in low voices.

"Your Majesty!" Liu Shouren and others bowed hurriedly when they saw the Emperor of Chu coming in person.

The King of Chu raised his hand to stop him, his voice cold and stern: "How is the Crown Prince?"

Liu Shouren stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Divine Doctor Sun has temporarily suppressed the poison with his silver needles, but the poison in your body has not yet been resolved, and your condition remains extremely critical."

"Poisonous?"

The Emperor of Chu's pupils suddenly shrank, and he clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white from the force. "Who is so bold as to dare to murder the Crown Prince in the East Palace?"

He shouted angrily, and the sound made everyone's face change drastically.

However, before he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed something strange.

The five ministers' gazes unexpectedly fell on him simultaneously, their expressions filled with scrutiny and hesitation.

The King of Chu was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage: "What do you mean? Are you doubting me?"

Liu Shouren and others remained silent, but the vigilance in their eyes remained.

The Emperor of Chu laughed in anger, "Excellent! Very excellent! I entertained the Crown Prince yesterday, and we drank and ate together. If I had poisoned him, would I have risked my own life?"

He swung his sleeves violently and said sternly, "What's more, the military and political power in the court is now in the hands of the Crown Prince. I am just a hollow emperor, who only thinks about building the imperial mausoleum and living out my days. What reason do I have to harm him?"

The corridor fell into dead silence.

The Chu Emperor's chest heaved violently, and the anger in his eyes gradually turned into a trace of sadness:

"If I really wanted to fight for power, I wouldn't have given it to the Crown Prince in the first place! Now I can't even mobilize the Imperial Guards, how can I harm him?"

His voice was hoarse and full of self-mockery. "An emperor who doesn't even have to attend court meetings, an emperor who doesn't even have to review memorials, what kind of trouble do you think I can stir up?"

These words were so powerful that the five ministers looked at each other and their expressions gradually relaxed.

Indeed, the current King of Chu has long stopped caring about state affairs, and even the most basic military power is firmly controlled by Chu Ning.

If he wanted to poison the prince, what was his motive and how did he do it?

After a moment of silence, Ling Haoran, the Minister of Justice, stepped forward and said with a bow:

"Your Majesty, calm down. We do not doubt you, but this matter is of great importance, so we must proceed with caution."

The Emperor of Chu snorted coldly, "Cautious? Your 'caution' means being the first to doubt me?"

Ling Haoran said in a deep voice, "I am willing to personally investigate this case and give Your Majesty and the Crown Prince an explanation!"

The King of Chu stared at him, the anger in his eyes gradually subsiding, and finally nodded slowly: "Okay, I agree."

He paused, then added in a cold voice, "Remember, no matter who poisoned me, I will make him pay with blood!"

Ling Haoran took the order and left, and the other ministers also took their leave.

The King of Chu stood alone in the corridor, looking at the falling leaves, with a complex and indistinguishable emotion in his eyes.

How could someone actually poison Chu Ning?

Who poisoned Chu Ning and when?

What is the purpose of the other party?

It seems that Kyoto City will not be at peace again.