Chapter 50 Secrets of the Palace and the Search for the Truth
Mu Qingfei asked: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the emperor's first queen... the female horse queen who was Fenglongxiang? What disease did she die of?"
Feng Qingge pondered and replied: "I was only five years old when Queen Ma passed away. Feng Biqing was born not long ago. I vaguely remember that the wet nurse mentioned at that time that Queen Ma was infected with the effects of the cold medicine and died."
Xue Xichen blinked her eyes. Her keen sixth sense determined that this matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed. She said: "Not long after Queen Ma passed away, the late emperor made Feng Biqing's biological mother Xiao Guifei his queen. .However, Queen Xiao passed away not long after. Feng Biqing was later given to Concubine Rong to raise. This Queen Xiao died of illness."
"It is said that it was also the wind and cold." Feng Qingge also felt vaguely that something was wrong. "The two queens died one after another due to the wind and cold. Since then, my father has never appointed a queen. Looking back now, the two queens at that time They passed away one after another. The atmosphere in the palace was tense. My adoptive mother, Concubine Rong, kept me in the palace all day long and did not let me run around, let alone interact with other princes. I still remember that Concubine Rong's face was full of fear at that time. She was in panic all day long. Uneasy. As if she was afraid of something. Before I came of age, Concubine Rong also passed away due to excessive worry and stagnation of liver and qi."
Hearing what Feng Qingge said, the queens and concubines in the palace died one after another. There must be something ulterior in it. Xue Xichen became even more curious about the secrets of the palace back then.[
Mu Qingfei said: "I have been looking through old records these days and found that historians attributed the deaths of several queens, concubines, princes, and princesses to the cold. This aroused my suspicion. I tried to find the notes of the imperial physician at that time. Unexpectedly, I found that there was no record of it. What was the cause of the cold that caused the deaths of several empresses and princes one after another? And there was no record of it in the imperial hospital. I can only come and ask the Pope..."
Feng Qingge recalled the past. She tried hard to find clues in her memory, but there was no impression. "No...I was still young back then...Concubine Rong kept me locked in the palace all the time. I don't remember many things..."
Xue Xichen wondered, "Could it be that an infectious disease was prevalent in the palace at that time? Could the so-called wind cold...could it refer to some kind of severe infectious disease."
"Infectious diseases, do you mean something like smallpox?" Mu Qingfei said. "But, looking through history, there is no record of smallpox being prevalent in the palace."
Xue Xichen thought for a while and said: "Maybe it's not smallpox. It could also be malaria or plague. That's why one concubine died one after another. Everyone in the harem is in danger."
Feng Qingge shook her head. "No... in my memory, although the palace was very violent at that time, the palace residents were not isolated and placed under house arrest. It was not like an infectious disease..."
"Qingge. Is the late emperor obsessed with alchemy?"
Xue Xichen's sudden question made Feng Qingge startled. After thinking seriously for a while, he answered, "Yes. My father is indeed obsessed with alchemy. The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the West Courtyard of the palace is the alchemy room. There are many alchemy furnaces placed in it. My father is indeed obsessed with alchemy. He also specially raised a group of Taoist priests to help him refine elixirs."
"Elixir of Immortality."
"Yes. My father pursued immortality. Even until his death, he dreamed of being able to live as long as heaven and earth."
"Has the elixir of immortality been refined?"
"How can there be an elixir of immortality in the world?" Feng Qingge shook her head and smiled bitterly. "I once heard the wet nurse say that to refine the elixir of immortality, eighty boys and girls were needed to prepare the medicine. The emperor sent Jin Yiwei to the people to wreak havoc. The capture of young boys and girls caused the common people to complain and cry loudly."
Xue Xichen tilted her head and asked Mu Qingfei, "Has the elixir of immortality finally been refined?"
Mu Qingfei said: "According to historical records, Yuan Songtian, a Taoist priest from the Qingxu Palace, spent ten years making the 'Longevity and Longevity Ointment' and paid tribute to the late emperor. The late emperor Long Yan was greatly pleased and granted Yuan Song the position of Imperial Master. Hedian alchemy."
Xue Xichen asked: "Does it contain the ingredients of 'Fu Shou Ointment'?"
Mu Qingfei shook his head. "It's not recorded in the book."
Xue Xichen thought for a while and said: "There are still some noble concubines and concubines from the previous dynasty who are still alive. But there are still some people who are still alive."
Feng Qingge shook her head. "After my father died, according to his last wish before his death, all the concubines and concubines were buried with him. One of them survived."
"Okay. Then I won't be able to figure out the ingredients of the 'Fu Shou Ointment'." Xue Xichen shrugged and said, "It is recorded in all the historical records. All the palace ladies at that time were buried with them. It seems that the two former dynasties The real cause of the queen’s death can only remain a mystery.”[
"I have collected some interesting records from the people."
Mu Qingfei said, "According to the "Unofficial History of the Former Dynasty" written by Song Zhongyan, a folk historian of the former dynasty, the late emperor did not go to court for ten years before his death. He experimented in the palace and took pills. He was especially obsessed with 'Fushou Ointment'. Not only did the emperor like to eat it himself, but he also forced his concubines and princes to eat it together with him. The euphemistic name was: to live forever together. After the emperor took the 'Fushou Ointment', his eyes and ears became sharp and his power was great. He could control dozens of women at night. The late emperor was overjoyed. From then on, he took the 'Fu Shou Ointment' day and night. It was like being drunk and dreaming of life and death. He was addicted to women. He abandoned the government and handed over the affairs of the government to the princes Feng Qingge and Feng Long Xiang."
/
"Oh, it sounds like 'Fu Shou Ointment' is more like a psychedelic drug." Xue Xichen touched her little nose and said to herself, "Could it be opium."
"opium."
"From the description in Song Zhongyan's book, the symptoms of the late emperor are very similar to those of taking opium. Generally speaking, people who take opium for the first time will feel dizzy, nauseous or have a headache. But then they will experience an accompanying crazy hallucination. and euphoria. Even reaching a state of numb meditation.”
Feng Qingge joked: "I once heard from Concubine Rong that the reason why my father was able to stay young all the time was because he used a technique of harvesting yin and replenishing yang. Moreover, this secret recipe was passed down from the ancestors of Empress Xiao. Secret recipe.”
"Eh. Picking yin to replenish yang." Just hearing this name sounds extremely evil. "Taking yin to replenish yang... does it mean that you have to be with a woman..."
"Yes. According to Concubine Rong, Empress Xiao was born in a medical family. She is good at medicine and poisoning. This technique of extracting yin and replenishing yang requires giving the woman a pill every time before she goes to bed to promote her body. When the Yin and Yang are in harmony, the Yin energy becomes strong and the Yang energy is strong. However, this secret technique has a side effect. When the father gets younger and younger, the woman who sleeps with him will gradually age until the Yin energy is exhausted. In fact, when I was a child, I once doubted whether the death of those concubines was because of this technique of harvesting yin and replenishing yang..."
"Ah. The late emperor was so cruel."
Xue Xichen originally had a very bad impression of the late emperor. Now, she hates him even more.
Picking up yin and replenishing yang. It’s really disgusting.
Feng Qingge said: "Actually, the effect of taking yin and replenishing yang is better for virgins. There will be new maids entering the palace every year. My father will not only favor one woman all day long. Therefore, this matter is purely my guess. The truth should be it's not true."