The Rebirth of the Deposed Empress

"The secret guard reported that nothing strange happened in Hua Mansion last night."

"I specifically ordered them to bring back the medicinal residue that Lin Siyu threw out of the yard. I just took a look and it seems that this medicinal residue is not red bamboo root."

Qingmei handed the wrapped medicinal residue to Hua Wu Ke. She flipped through it for a few seconds, recalling the appearance of the red bamboo root she saw in the medical book yesterday.

Red bamboo root is the rhizome of a kind of bamboo, as thick and long as a finger, and the medicinal residue is obviously some kind of leaf.

"Take this medicine residue with you and go to the medicine shop where we saw the maid yesterday."

In order not to alert the enemy, Hua Wu Ke went out with only Qingmei.

The two men disguised themselves and climbed in from the backyard of the pharmacy.

There are not many customers today, so the young apprentice is busy in the front, while one of the shopkeepers is drying medicinal herbs in the backyard.

The two men climbed in from the backyard and deliberately made some noise when they landed to attract the shopkeeper's attention.

The shopkeeper, who had his back to them, turned around and saw two girls in the empty yard.

One of them had threatened him yesterday by putting a dagger to his neck.

He looked at Qingzhu and his eyes widened in horror.

Just as the shopkeeper was about to shout for help, Qingzhu pulled out a dagger.

Before the dagger was placed on his neck, he had already remembered the cold feeling yesterday and tactfully closed his open mouth.

Asked carefully:

"Two... ladies, what is the matter?"

Hua Wu Ke pressed down Qing Mei's hand holding the dagger and smiled slightly:

"Don't panic, shopkeeper. I came here today just to ask you to help identify a medicinal herb."

Seeing that Hua Wu Ke seemed quite kind, the shopkeeper finally calmed down a little and said to them:

"What?"

The shopkeeper took the medicinal residue handed over by Hua Wu Ke, held it under his eyes and looked at it carefully from left to right, then moved closer and sniffed it gently.

After observing carefully for a long time, the shopkeeper's brows became deeper and deeper.

"follow me."

The shopkeeper said this and turned and walked into the house.

The two followed him into a room on the second floor.

It looks like a study.

After placing the medicine residue on the desk, he fumbled on the shelf behind it for a long time and found a booklet.

"I have never seen this medicine residue before, so I can only help you find out what it is. If you can't find it, there is nothing I can do."

Hua Wu Ke knew that he was worried about his own safety, so he comforted him:

"Don't worry, shopkeeper. Just do your best. We won't make things difficult for you."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper looked at Qingmei and saw that she didn't say anything. He then realized that the person who spoke was the master.

With his master's promise, he naturally felt relieved.

The shopkeeper flipped open the "Collection of Hundred Medicinal Materials" and compared them carefully, and found that no herb matched the dregs.

He sighed and said:

"I really don't know what this medicine residue is. I have never seen it, and it is not recorded in this book."

Although Hua Wu Ke was very disappointed, he did not show it. He thanked him softly and put away the medicine residue.

He also asked Qingmei to take out two silver ingots and place them in front of the shopkeeper.

"Sorry for bothering me. These two ingots of silver are my apology. Please pretend that you have never seen us."

Two ingots of silver are not a small amount.

The shopkeeper didn't expect that these two suddenly appearing heroines would be so generous.

He put the silver away, and suddenly thought of something, and said to Hua Wuke:

"Young lady, maybe you can go to the west of the city. There is a shop there that specializes in selling poisonous drugs and poisonous plants."

"I have seen so many medicinal herbs in my life, but I have never heard of this medicinal residue. Maybe it cannot be used as medicine, but only as poison."

Hua Wu Ke heard this and nodded in gratitude.

The two men climbed out from the backyard and went to the west of the city.

On the way, they passed by a clothing store and Hua Wu Ke stopped.

"The west side of the city is complicated, so it's better to cover up."

When they came out of the clothing store again, they both wore bamboo hats with hanging gauze.

The shops in the west of the city are a mixed bag, selling all kinds of things.

The drug trafficking shop was located in a remote corner, so the two of them spent a few taels of silver to find a swindler who often hung around in the area and finally found out its exact location.

After turning into several alleys that became narrower and more remote, we finally saw the shop called "Ji Le Fang" that Xia Sanlu had mentioned.

The name sounds like a place of romance, flowers, snow and moon. Hua Wu Ke originally thought that this 'Jilefang' was built like the Yaochi.

The result was a shabby appearance, with a damp and blackened door frame, mossy stone slabs, and a wooden board with the words "Jilefang" written on it standing diagonally next to the wall.

Hua Wu Ke felt a little uneasy seeing this scene. He wasn't sure what his boss's temper was like. So, just in case, the two of them took detoxification pills before going inside.

There was no one inside. Hua Wu Ke walked to the wooden counter and took a look. He saw a few porcelain bottles scattered on the shelf behind, all of which looked similar.

She knocked on the counter.

"Is there anyone?"

After waiting for a moment, no one responded.

She knocked again without giving up, and then she heard an impatient voice shouting:

"Three taels of silver for a bottle. Leave the silver. Take the porcelain bottle on the shelf yourself!"

The boss didn't even ask her what she wanted and just let her take it herself. Isn't he afraid that others will buy the wrong medicine?

"Could you please ask the shopkeeper to come out and see me?"

"Tsk! What a hassle! They're all poisonous, so just grab a bottle and it'll be over!"

There was an impolite complaint coming from the inner room, and then a middle-aged man in a brown gown came out.

His gown was a little baggy and he looked sleepy, and it was obvious that he had been woken up from his sleep.

"These poisons are fatal when they strike blood. As long as you use them well, I guarantee you will kill them all with one poison."

"anymore question?"

Hua Wu Ke ignored his previous words and asked:

"Can the shopkeeper identify poisonous weeds?"

The man then realized that Hua Wu Ke was not here to buy medicine, and he leaned on the counter with his hands.

"Identify the poisonous weeds and get six taels of silver."

Hua Wu Ke handed over the silver and the medicine residue. The man first put the silver into his arms, and then quickly opened the brown paper to reveal the medicine residue inside.

His originally lazy expression became a little serious after he saw the medicine residue. He glanced at Hua Wu Ke and the other man and said:

"You little girl from the north is quite brave. Aren't you afraid that I will report you to the police and arrest you as a spy?"

Hua Wu Ke was stunned. Could it be that this medicinal residue was related to the Northern Kingdom?

She said:

"Shopkeeper, you misunderstood. I am not from the North. I only got this medicine residue by chance. From what you said, this medicine residue has something to do with the North?"

The man looked at her. Although her face could not be seen clearly because of the hat she was wearing, her figure did not seem to be from the north, not to mention her obvious Beijing accent.

"This is white bone grass, which grows in the Black Xing Mountain in the North. Although this white bone grass is only slightly poisonous, the poison it makes is the most difficult to decipher in the world, so the Northern Royal Family likes to use this grass to make poison the most."