Chapter 79

Li Kuan returned to his tent to change clothes, preparing to visit a mysterious person. Meanwhile, in the highest center of power in the entire Tang Empire, the imperial palace, a confrontation was unfolding.

Sun Simiao stood inside the Zhaohexuan Palace, looking at the black-robed figure before him, his face grave. "Who are you? Why are you blocking me?"

"I am but a lowly servant of His Majesty, my name is not worth mentioning. Why is Mr. Sun in such a hurry to leave? Could it be that you truly have no solution for His Majesty's illness?" The black-robed figure's voice was hoarse, and he looked gravely at the old man opposite him.

The two had been in a standoff for a long time, which began the night before when Sun Simiao entered the palace. After diagnosing Li Yuan, his face turned grim, and he tried to leave. The guard, An Yi, who had been protecting him, could not let him go. The medical skills of the imperial physicians were far inferior to those of Sun Simiao, and if he left, Li Yuan would be left with no hope. So, the loyal old eunuch stepped in to stop him.

Little did they know that Sun Simiao not only had exceptional medical skills but also remarkable martial arts. Despite An Yi's unparalleled martial prowess, he could only barely hold back the divine doctor. This left An Yi in shock, as he had never heard that Sun Simiao knew martial arts. But then he thought about it: the divine doctor often traveled alone in the mountains to gather herbs. Without exceptional martial skills, how could he not fear the wolves and tigers in the deep forests? Moreover, with the constant wars and bandits, if someone with poor judgment targeted the old divine doctor, he would be doomed without martial skills. So, it was undeniable that Sun Simiao knew martial arts, but he never expected him to be so skilled.

Li Yuan, lying in bed, heard the sounds of their struggle and was also alarmed. However, he had to speak up to prevent the situation from worsening. If Sun Simiao decided to leave, what would he do? So, he forced himself to speak despite his discomfort. "An Yi, step back! I have something to say!"

"Your servant obeys!" An Yi withdrew, his black robe still disheveled from the intense struggle. The hood that had covered most of his face was lifted, revealing his pale complexion. One side of his face was smooth, while the other was scarred by burns. If he were to appear at night, he could scare ordinary people to death. No wonder he always kept his face hidden under the hood.

"Does His Majesty have any questions for this humble servant?" Sun Simiao was not frightened by An Yi's terrifying face. As a doctor, he had seen many patients, including those with smallpox. The divine doctor had even visited areas where smallpox had broken out to study the survivors.

"Why, divine doctor, did you become so angry upon seeing His Majesty's condition?" Li Yuan asked, out of breath.

"Your Majesty, this is not an illness but poisoning! And it is mostly self-inflicted!" Sun Simiao replied, though he was not afraid of the emperor's authority and believed Li Yuan would not harm him. However, living in this era, he still gave the current emperor some respect.

"It seems you know what is wrong with me!" Li Yuan felt a glimmer of hope. The divine doctor was indeed as famous as his reputation.

"I have a few ideas, but isn't it something you brought upon yourself? Seeking immortality, taking elixirs, and so on... Ha ha... You have brought this upon yourself, and His Majesty must have known it would come to this!" Sun Simiao's face showed a hint of mockery. He was a straightforward person, saying what he thought.

"What elixirs? When have I ever taken elixirs? When have I ever sought immortality? Nonsense!" Li Yuan was surprised that Sun Simiao thought he had taken elixirs, which was a huge misunderstanding and a great injustice. Although he had thought about immortality, he knew that the so-called golden elixirs were unreliable. He had seen the alchemists on Dragon Tiger Mountain, but could lead and mercury be consumed by humans? Li Yuan was skeptical of the alchemists' methods, but he thought the pills made from herbs were safe to consume.

"Is that not the case? The symptoms are the same as those of people who have taken elixirs and the Five Stone Powder." Sun Simiao was surprised, as the symptoms were identical.

"Indeed, I do not believe lead and mercury can be consumed!" Li Yuan affirmed.

"Then why are His Majesty's symptoms the same as those of a patient who took the elixir of immortality? Persistent diarrhea, weak pulse, and occasional coughing up of blood. These symptoms would not appear unless one had consumed excessive amounts of copper, lead, and mercury!" Sun Simiao was certain, as medicine was his expertise, and no one in the Tang Empire could match him.

"Indeed, I have consumed excessive amounts of copper, which led to this condition!" Li Yuan did not hide the truth, as there were no secrets between a doctor and a patient.

"I see! I was too hasty, but His Majesty's poisoning is severe and will not be easily relieved. It will require long-term treatment, and the process will be painful, as we need to expel the copper from your body." Sun Simiao thought for a moment before speaking.

"That is fine; I am prepared! But the person you mentioned who took elixirs, was it the former Sui Emperor Yang Jian?" Li Yuan was interested in the person Sun Simiao mentioned.

"Indeed, it was him!" Sun Simiao confirmed.

"Wasn't Yang Jian a Buddhist? Why did he take Daoist elixirs?" Li Yuan had always had this doubt.

"Yang Jian was a man of great resolve, capable of doing what ordinary people could not. He appeared to be a Buddhist but secretly gathered a group of alchemists to create the elixir of immortality. I was often in the palace and knew a lot about this, but my advice was ignored. How could a man who could conquer the world listen to someone like me!" Sun Simiao sighed, seemingly reminiscing about the long-dead man.

"I see. I never thought Yang Jian would believe in the alchemists' methods. Lead and mercury are toxic; even ordinary people would become weak if exposed to them for too long, let alone consume them!" Li Yuan said with a hint of sarcasm, but he felt a bit embarrassed when he thought about his own situation.

"Moreover, not all of those alchemists were Daoists. Some had unknown identities. I do not know their specific backgrounds, but I know their methods were not solely Daoist!" Sun Simiao knew a lot, thanks to his exceptional martial skills and his special status that allowed him to enter and leave the Sui palace freely. He had witnessed many secrets that others did not know.

"Ah! So, Yang Jian's death was not solely due to the elixirs but had other hidden reasons?" Li Yuan was intrigued. People, regardless of their status, are often curious about gossip, and knowing something others do not gives one a sense of superiority.

"I suspect those people were from the纵横家 (Zonghengjia) and the杂家 (Zajia). Their methods were secretive and hard to guard against! I could only save one person, but I never imagined it would change the world!" Sun Simiao's face showed regret, as if he regretted saving that person.

"Let me guess, the person you saved must have been of high status, otherwise, it would not have affected the world. Was it the Emperor Yang?" Li Yuan, though weak, was in good spirits. Discussing the gossip of the Sui royal family with Sun Simiao was quite exciting.

"It was not Emperor Yang. Those people used a form of mental suggestion to brainwash him, making him believe that a deity in his dreams was teaching him. In reality, someone was teaching him, but he believed it was in his dreams. Their goal was to put him on the throne to achieve their own ends!" Sun Simiao looked at Li Yuan strangely, with a hint of doubt and a sneer, which made Li Yuan curious.

"Is this the truth? The deity in Emperor Yang's dreams teaching him was actually this?" Li Yuan was intrigued by Sun Simiao's expression, but the joy of solving a mystery overshadowed his curiosity. He had read a small book and knew about Emperor Yang Guang, but he could not understand it, thinking it was a fabricated story to draw his attention. Now, hearing Sun Simiao's account, he realized the world had such methods, which were truly shocking. If someone made him believe everything was a dream and convinced him to commit suicide or issue absurd edicts, it would cause chaos!

"Those people did not want chaos to profit from it. They wanted to use imperial power to restore their former glory. Since the Han Emperor Wu's exclusive promotion of Confucianism, these schools have been suppressed and have declined. They did not want to disappear from the world, so they took a desperate gamble! By controlling the emperor, they could build grand projects to showcase their knowledge and benefit the country, and wage wars to demonstrate their military prowess. They could also use this to suppress the Confucian scholars who opposed them. Emperor Yang executed seven prominent Confucian scholars and punished hundreds of Confucian students who opposed his eastern campaign against Goguryeo." Sun Simiao spoke calmly, as he was a Daoist and had long been dissatisfied with the Confucians' dominance, even though he was a hermit and did not care about these matters. He often heard other Daoists complain about the Confucians' suppression of Daoism.

"Then why did you not save Emperor Yang before he did these things?" Li Yuan had a new question. If Sun Simiao knew so much, why did he not save Emperor Yang, which might have prevented the chaos and suffering of the people? But then he thought, if that had happened, would the world still be under the Li family?

"It was not that I did not want to save him, but I was powerless at the time. When I had the ability to act, it was too late!" Sun Simiao said with pain. The feeling of helplessness at that time had always troubled him.