Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 1045 - 107: Mannaruo (Part 2)

"The idea of the Tenth Brother eating locusts is very clever." In the northern borders, everyone was scrambling to eat locusts. The commoners and merchants were enthusiastically catching them. Many common people earned quite a bit of money by catching locusts.

Thinking back to when he first went to the northern borders and saw the scene of the people joyfully capturing locusts, Prince Chu couldn’t help but laugh.

"A few days ago, His Highness Prince Han even asked me to send a large number of locusts to the capital. I heard that the Emperor started eating locusts, and then the entire capital followed suit. Now the restaurants in the capital are also rushing to buy locusts, but unfortunately, all the locusts in the northern borders have been caught." In retrospect, the fact of eating locusts is quite unbelievable. "I also sent some to Yangzhou in Jiangnan. Initially, no one dared to eat them and scorned the northern people as barbarians for eating locusts. Unexpectedly, not long after, they fell in love with eating locusts, and no one spoke ill of it. Many officials even sought me out, hoping I could sell some locusts to them." The people of Jiangnan have long looked down on those from the north. When they heard that northerners were eating locusts, they were all disdainful. But once they tried them, they no longer mocked the northern people. According to Yao Yao, this is what you call "truth in flavor."

"I was also catching locusts." Fortunately, they started catching them everywhere right from the start, and although they caught a lot, they have been sold out over time, leaving not much behind.

"This time, it was thanks to the Tenth Brother that we were able to get through the locust plague without any danger." Not only did his idea save the crops from being destroyed by locusts, but it also allowed the commoners to earn some money by capturing them. Most importantly, from now on, the people will no longer fear locust plagues.

"By the way, Your Highness, I also sent some locusts to your mansion previously."

"I know that you and the Tenth Brother are thoughtful."

"Your Highness, you are too polite; locusts are not anything special."

Prince Chu returned the money pouch to Liang Run, "Are these embroidered locust things sold in the capital?"

"Yes, they are also sold in Jiangnan, and they sell very well." Liang Run recommended to Prince Chu, "Your Highness, the embroidery here in the Western Regions is different from that of Great Zhou. You can buy some to take back as gifts for family and friends."

"I will go buy some later." Just after Prince Chu said this, he suddenly remembered something and his expression turned solemn, "Do you know about the forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi?"

Liang Run’s face changed dramatically, exclaiming, "The forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi?!"

Seeing Liang Run’s reaction, Prince Chu knew he was aware.

"Do you know what the forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi are?"

Liang Run, with a serious expression, said, "Your Highness, the Da Yuezhi have many forbidden drugs, but among them, the most famous is a poison called Mannaruo."

"Mannaruo?" Prince Chu asked with a confused look, "What kind of poison is that?"

"Mannaruo is also known as Mandala, which is a poisonous flower."

Prince Chu was familiar with Mandala, a type of flower from Tianzhu.

Liang Run continued, "The poison of Mannaruo from the Da Yuezhi is not simply made from Mannaruo or Mandala; it is made from a dozen or so poisonous flowers, herbs, and venomous insects."

"Instant death upon contact?"

Liang Run shook his head and said, "The poison of Mannaruo is not like the Great Zhou’s red-crowned crane venom, which kills instantly upon swallowing. This poison doesn’t immediately claim a life; it takes seven days for it to manifest, causing the internal organs to turn to mush, yet the person’s appearance remains unchanged."

Prince Chu grasped the key point, "What do you mean by the person’s appearance remains unchanged?"

"Your Highness, typically, a poisoned person would show swelling or their complexion would turn purple or black, but someone poisoned by Mannaruo displays none of these symptoms. On the contrary, they appear radiant, as if experiencing a moment of renewed vitality. The strangest thing is that after death, the body doesn’t decompose for a year or a little longer."

Prince Chu listened in astonishment, "Is there really such a poison?"

"The royalties of the Da Yuezhi consume Mannaruo specifically to prevent their bodies from decomposing temporarily after death. For this reason, Mannaruo has become a forbidden drug of the Da Yuezhi, only allowed to be consumed by the royal family." After Liang Run finished, he realized that Prince Chu, being far away in the capital, shouldn’t have known about the forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi, so he curiously asked, "Your Highness, how did you come to know about the Da Yuezhi’s forbidden drugs?"

"I heard that someone was specifically purchasing the Da Yuezhi’s forbidden drugs, but I had no idea what they were," Prince Chu asked further, "What are the other forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi?"

"The other forbidden drugs are mostly aphrodisiacs or other peculiar medicines, with Mannaruo being the only poison. If someone is purchasing the forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi, it is likely Mannaruo." Liang Run, with more familiarity of the Western Regions, explained, "There have always been people trying every means possible to acquire Mannaruo." Prince Chu, having just arrived in Wusun, heard about the forbidden drugs of the Da Yuezhi; it was probably Intel from an informant planted by Prince Chu in Wusun. Could there be someone in the capital looking to purchase Mannaruo?

"Is there any antidote for Mannaruo?"

"No, but I’ve heard Tibetan Orchid can mitigate the effects of this poison." Liang Run, noticing Prince Chu’s intense concern over Mannaruo, curiously asked, "Your Highness, why are you so concerned about the Da Yuezhi’s forbidden drugs?"

Prince Chu, with a calm tone, replied, "Just curious."

Liang Run felt that Prince Chu couldn’t merely be curious. Seeing that Prince Chu was unwilling to say more, he refrained from further questioning.

Prince Chu soon changed the subject, not mentioning the matter of the Da Yuezhi’s forbidden drugs anymore. Once their conversation ended, he went out to buy specialties from Wusun.

After Prince Chu left, Liang Run immediately summoned someone to investigate the matter of the Da Yuezhi’s forbidden drugs.

Although Prince Chu wished to stay a few more days in Wusun, his status did not permit him to do so. Besides, he still had to return to the capital to report his duties.

After staying in Wusun for two days, Prince Chu set off for the capital. He traveled back with Liang Run’s caravan. However, this time, Liang Run did not accompany him back as he had to stay in Wusun for a while longer.

Meanwhile, the impostor Prince Chu was still being pursued. The assassins from the previous days were not ordinary assassins, but members of a suicide squad. Fortunately, Tiger Thirteen and the others had prepared in advance; otherwise, they might not have been able to resist the onslaught.

Sending out the suicide squad still couldn’t kill Prince Chu, and Prince Han was furious, yet no matter the rage, Prince Chu remained untouchable. Seeing that Prince Chu was on the verge of entering the territory of Yong State, Prince Han and his companions were extremely anxious.

Once Prince Chu entered Yong State, they could no longer openly attempt to assassinate him.

"Your Highness, at present, the only course of action is to dispatch our suicide squad." Without any other options, Yang Qi would never have suggested such a thing.

Prince Han didn’t want to send out the suicide squad from the Han Prince Mansion, but now he had no choice.

"This time, Prince Chu must die!"

"Your Highness, with our suicide squad taking action, Prince Chu will definitely not survive."