SEEKING FOR THE WEIRD PLANTS

"How come nobody recorded this plant? This plant is quite dangerous, anyway, it can make people's faces swell?" Confused, Zhu Su turned his gaze to the woman. "Alright, thanks for your information. Now you can go to Physician Li." They also provide a type of reward; for those who got sick, they would be given free medical treatment based on the services they provide. "But what causes her face to swell is a plant that isn't recorded in ancient books, will Physician Li be able to cure her?..."

His curiosity made him get closer to Li Heng.

Apparently, Li Heng was talking with a middle-aged man. Properly speaking, the physician was advising him in detail.

"You shouldn't eat this plant. It is called Xiangzishu, a poisonous plant." Pointing at a plant in his grasp, Li Heng explained to a middle-aged man sitting opposite him.

The man sighed. "But what else can I do? No food everywhere, only this stuff which grows up near our house."

"But in the end your son becomes the victim, right?"

The man bowed his head, his face looked gloomy.

"It's better to be hungry than getting poisoned. Now your son is difficult to be treated?"

"Then how to find another since only this plant grows as far as we can see? My house is very arid, even the standing-upright trees are rare, let alone fresh fruits." The man said grimly as he pulled his gaze at a teenage boy. The boy was lying on the bed, clutching his stomach and incessantly moaning in pain.

"That's why we are doing this research. To help all of you being spared from food poisoning," Zhu Su uttered.

All of them immediately paid their respects. "Yes... Your Highness! Please help us! My son suffers so much, from yesterday he can't eat, he even can't move, he just moans in pain... Please help him so that he can get well... and so as we won't be starving again!" The man shouted, his voice sounded very pitiful.

"Yes Sir... we will definitely exert our best efforts to help you all!" Zhu Su assured him. Li Heng also nodded encouragingly, then examined the young woman.

"But aren't the legumes all edible?"

The question was asked in a loud voice. Zhu Su turned his head. An old woman seemed to be arguing with Hu Nayin.

Hu Nayin explained, also in loud voice, "But your daughter is sick, it means this legume is poisonous, right? After all, it's still a plant, some of them must be poisonous." It seemed unusual when Hu Nayin, who usually spoke in a soft voice that was even barely heard, could make such a loud voice.

"But I never heard that some kinds of legumes are poisonous!" The old woman replied again with a loud voice.

"I tell you, this kind is poisonous, Ma'am!" Hu Nayin responded loudly.

"Then what should I do?"

"Wait a minute. I'll ask the experts." Hu Nayin got closer to Zhu Su and Li Heng.

"What's wrong, Nayin? Does that woman make any trouble?"

"Yes, Your Highness... she asks about this type of legume." Hu Nayin handed a few small legumes in her hand. "She is also hard of hearing, so I have to explain aloud to make she hears me. Besides, she is a bit senile, so it needs several explanations to make her understand."

"Oh... it makes sense then. You always speak with a low voice, but now have to shout out loud."

"Yes... I'm sorry... I have behaved impolitely," Hu Nayin answered, getting embarrassed.

"Take it easy, Wang Fei. Different people, different treatment methods. We must choose treatment according to the variability of an individual. After all, most elders will behave like that because their Qi has been drained a lot with age," Li Heng assured her.

"So, what's her problem?" Zhu Su observed the legumes on Hu Nayin's hand.

"She said, her daughter ate this legume the day before, then she got sick. Everyone immediately claimed that she falls sick because of this legume, but she keeps headstrong. She believes that all types of legumes are edible. Such a difficult thing to give her explanation. So may I ask, is it true if this kind of legume is poisonous?"

"We must search for any information in the books first." And Zhu Su immediately flipped through the pages of his books with the help of Li Heng. They searched for any information about these legumes, but...

"No information about it!" Disappointed, Zhu Su closed his book.

"We've searched more than five books, but we still can't find it," Li Heng muttered.

"These ancient books really lack any beneficial data to help society," Zhu Su concluded. "We are in the correct path since we will research it ourselves."

"And Your Highness... that is indeed our greatest obstruction. Without the help of data, it is as if we are dropping ourselves into the unknown abyss."

However, Zhu Su did not agree with Li Heng.

Because he had another plan. According to him, this plan would definitely help him succeed in creating great momentum to complete his research.

***

The sky stretched out endlessly, its majesty was hard to be described in words. The clouds passed over, sometimes blocking the morning sun and the atmosphere turned cooler. Far below the blue sky, the earth was proud of its beauty. The vast forests, the green pastures, the fog-enshrouded mountains, and the lakes were clear, peaceful and statue still.

That was the kind of landscape that Zhu Su was about to explore, a little while later.

"Your Highness! You really want to wander around just for this research?!" Standing beside him, Wu Qi expressed his surprise - it was mixed with disapproval.

Zhu Su nodded. "Kaifeng doesn't provide adequate pieces of information we need. The qualified plants are distributed all over Ming. As consequence, of course, I have to research other areas."

"But, Your Highness! The Fan Wang must not leave his territory as he likes! What if the Emperor finds out?"

"Don't worry, the Emperor will not find out. Besides, this is for the sake of people's welfare. To achieve a big goal, there must be a price to pay and we must be brave to take that risk. After all, I've experienced that incident and of course, I don't want it to happen again. I will be very careful and I won't get caught."

Wu Qi turned his gaze to Hu Nayin. "Wang Fei! Please give advice to His Highness! That he doesn't need to be so focused on his research, because he is a Fan Wang at all!"

"You make wrong strategy, Wu Qi," Zhu Su smiled. "Nayin agrees with me."

Wu Qi's eyes went round. "Impossible! Wang Fei, how come you allow His Highness to take such a dangerous risk?!"

Hu Nayin gave a half-smile. "Yes... I agree..."

"Wang Fei?!..."

"His Highness is willing to risk his Fan Wang's title to help people, isn't this the thing that deserves support? We should give him support."

"You are wrong, Wang Fei. This precisely will harm His Highness. The case of Yunnan's exile in previous times may occur again!"

"Well! Don't argue anymore!" Zhu Su immediately stepped forward. "Get out of my way, Wu Qi! You're wasting my time!"

Wu Qi bit his lip. He also stepped forward. "Then, let me accompany you!"

Zhu Su's smile widened. "Ah! if you are willing to accompany me, that's great. Then, let's go!"