Forensic Imperial Concubine

"When will the poison begin to take effect in the emperor's body?"
"Its effect is not like those of common poisons. But I guess it won't be long before he finds out that there is something wrong with
the pills. When he runs out of Longevity Pills, he will probably think that he would rather die than live without them," Harper
carefully said. "He had slowly poisoned his own son to harm his health and get rid of him. And now, the son has also poisoned
him and turned him into a drug addict in order to let it consume his body and spirit bit by bit. You could say it's retributive justice."
In the Tranquil Hall, the emperor had been feeling quite unwell. "Andy, bring me the pill."
"Yes, Your Majesty." In a hurry, Andy fetched a Longevity Pill for the emperor. Only when the emperor took it without delay did he
finally feel at ease. He felt so relieved and was no longer on edge.
"How many pills have I taken today?" the emperor slowly asked.
"Your Majesty, you have already taken three pills today," Andy quickly answered. Seeing that there were only a few Longevity
Pills left inside the box, he was a little worried. These days, the emperor wouldn't feel well unless he took a few pills every day.
However, he was now down to the last few pills. If the new Longevity Pills couldn't be replenished in time, the emperor would
surely fly into a fit of rage.
Nodding his head, the emperor then asked, "Is there any news from Harper?"
"News?" Andy echoed, looking at the emperor in confusion. Suddenly, a thought cropped up in his mind. Then, he replied, "Well,
Prince Francis' condition has become stable. It seems that his life is no longer in danger."
"That's not what I'm asking about!" the emperor sneered, feeling so irritated. He was actually asking Andy if Harper was able to
reproduce the Longevity Pills successfully.
Rubbing the back of his head, Andy helplessly said, "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but would you please tell me what is it that you're
asking about?"
"The Longevity Pills."
"Your Majesty, we haven't heard anything from Lady Harper yet. Since Prince Francis is sick, Lady Harper had to look after him.
I'm afraid she hasn't found the time to research on and reproduce the Longevity Pills yet."
"Tell her to develop and make the Longevity Pills as soon as possible."

"Your Majesty..." Andy hesitated for a while. "How about assigning the task of developing the Longevity Pills to the Imperial
Academy of Medicine? After all, Imperial Physician Hodge Su, who happens to be the disciple of Scott, the original developer, is
quite knowledgeable when it comes to the Longevity Pills. Even if Lady Harper successfully develops it, I'm afraid..."
'I'm afraid you won't dare to take it!' Andy thought to himself. Of course, he would never dare to say that out loud. Matthew was
such a cruel man, while Harper was a very domineering woman. It would be difficult to keep the emperor safe from the couple if
they wanted to do something evil. Even if Harper could somehow develop the Longevity Pill successfully, the imperial physicians
probably wouldn't allow the emperor to take it, even if they couldn't find anything wrong with it. All of them were well aware of
Harper's excellent medical skills, and that she could easily kill someone secretly with such ease.
With Andy jogging his mind, the emperor came to a sudden realization. After all, he had attempted to take Harper's life so many
times. Based on his understanding of the woman, there was no way she would forgive him so easily. And considering what had
happened in his birthday banquet, the emperor wasn't sure about Matthew's opinion.
"Tell the Imperial Academy of Medicine to develop the Longevity Pill at once!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As soon as they received the order from the emperor, the imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine were left with
no other choice but to put aside whatever it was that they were doing and focus on the development of the Longevity Pill instead.
As Scott's disciple, Hodge actually knew most of the medicinal materials used to make the Longevity Pill. But when he listed
down the medicinal materials that they would need to make it, all of the other imperial physicians helplessly looked at each other
in dismay. And the reason for that was because the saussurea involucrata from the Snow Mountain, the thousand-year-old
Ganoderma, along with ginseng, another ingredient with a history of a hundred years were included in the list. Unfortunately for
them, only the ginseng was available at the moment. The Ganoderma had been used to treat Francis. The saussurea
involucrata, on the other hand, had been taken away by Matthew to play up to Harper.
"Hodge, is there anything else we can use as substitutes for the saussurea involucrata and the Ganoderma?" The imperial
physicians all felt deeply troubled. It had taken Scott years to develop the Longevity Pill. Unexpectedly, the emperor ordered
them to develop it in only three days. They believed it was an impossible task.
"Since we don't have the Ganoderma with a history of a thousand years, all we can use is the one with a history of a hundred
years. And since we don't have any saussurea involucrata from the Snow Mountain, we can just use the common one. In any
case, we have to procure all the necessary materials before we can begin to reproduce the Longevity Pills. I'm afraid that we're

all going to be in big trouble if we fail to fulfill His Majesty's request," Hodge flatly answered. Needless to say, he was worried as
well, because making the Longevity Pill was no walk in the park.
"That being said, there are still several other medicinal materials which are not available."
"If they are unavailable, we have to find something similar to use as a substitute. We have to make the Longevity Pills in three
days by all means necessary," Hodge added at once. It had taken his teacher half a lifetime to collect all the precious medicinal
materials. Although there were rare medicinal materials in the Imperial Academy of Medicine, they were not complete. Right now,
there was a very urgent matter at hand. Given that he didn't really have much time to think about it, all he could do was try his
best to find the medicinal materials.
"Hodge, Lady Harper has remarkable medical skills. We can ask for her advice. Perhaps she'll be able to reproduce the
Longevity Pill," someone suggested.
A bitter smile appeared on Hodge's face. After all, if Harper could make the Longevity Pill, the task wouldn't have been assigned
to them in the first place. For that reason, he guessed that the emperor didn't want to risk letting Harper develop and make the
Longevity Pill. And even if she managed to make it, the emperor probably wouldn't dare to take it.
After being persecuted by the former crown prince, now the emperor cherished his own life very much. He ordered imperial
physicians to feel his pulse every day just in case, and all the food for him had to be examined strictly only in order to prevent
him from being poisoned again. If the imperial physicians were unable to develop the Longevity Pill in time, the consequences
would be unimaginable!