Knowing that because of his mother's incident, Zhu Yuanzhang had already killed tens of thousands of people. If he continued to kill, the blood at the palace gate would flow like a river.
To avoid pointing the butcher's knife at innocent people, Zhu Biao hurriedly explained.
"No, it definitely won't. After this incident, no one should dare to try to kill the Empress anymore."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed lightly, a trace of worry on his face.
"Alas, my son, you are still too kind. Before you die, you must kill all these arrogant nobles, otherwise, how can your throne be secure?"
Thinking thus, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject.
"Your Empress Mother loves to eat watermelon the most. When she wakes up, let's prepare more for her, shall we?"
As soon as he said this, Zhu Biao, who had been wearing a long face, finally smiled.
"That's a good idea. Mother loves watermelon the most. When she wakes up tomorrow, we'll let her eat more."
For the first time in a long while, a heartwarming scene unfolded between father and son Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao by Empress Ma's sickbed, a moment of warmth and harmony.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
At this moment, in the room, Empress Ma, lying on the sickbed, suddenly began to cough violently.
The cough came so suddenly that it startled the father and son, who were whispering.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately looked towards Empress Ma, and upon seeing her, he cried out in panic.
"Guards, the Empress's complexion has suddenly turned flushed and she's coughing violently. Qing Yunzi Zhenren, Imperial Physicians, hurry over here!"
His booming voice startled Wu Tao and the imperial physicians outside. Disregarding etiquette, they rushed into the room.
"Quick, quick!"
Concerned about Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, they rushed to the sickbed, wanting to get close and see what was happening.
However, as soon as she reached out, she was stopped by Wu Tao and the others.
"Your Majesty, Crown Prince, you are not professionals, please do not move the Empress Niangniang!"
An hour later, all the imperial physicians had arrived.
"Empress Niangniang's temperature is rising again?"
"The pulse has not changed!"
"But, judging from her complexion, it seems as if the lingering poison has not been cleared..."
After the imperial physicians had examined Empress Ma's body parts in the shortest possible time, they were all in despair at the findings.
What was going on?
We have been practicing medicine for decades, but we have never encountered such an illness!
Lingering poison, how is this possible?
What should we do? What do we do now?
"Shall we try using a bit more medicine?" a young imperial physician suggested.
As soon as the suggestion was made, all the imperial physicians refused.
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Empress Niangniang is of noble birth, do you think she is an ordinary patient?"
"If anything happens to Empress Niangniang, won't we all be buried with her?"
"Then let's use acupuncture. Let's stabilize Empress Niangniang's condition first!"
"Okay!" "That's a good idea, let's do that for now..."
...
"Not good!"
Zhu Biao suddenly saw something, his pupils slightly contracted, and he cried out in alarm.
"The poisonous spots on Mother's face seem to be reappearing."
As soon as he said this, it startled everyone present. A few impatient individuals hurried forward to examine closely, Zhu Yuanzhang among them.
Wu Tao, standing at the periphery and contemplating how to detoxify, was slightly taken aback but did not crowd with the others to get close to the bed.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded the crowd, ordering them to step back from the bed to make space for Qing Yunzi Zhenren to diagnose.
Wu Tao saw the empty space by the bed, paused for a moment, and then unhurriedly stepped forward to observe carefully.
After about half an hour, Wu Tao finally confirmed that it was not a resurgence of poison, but merely a trace of residual poison on her face that could not be completely cleared.
After reaching this conclusion, Wu Tao glanced at Zhu Biao, thinking the Crown Prince was making a fuss.
Wu Tao's somewhat chiding gesture was subtle, and no one else noticed it.
Because the lingering poison had not been cleared, in addition to the remaining poisonous spots on her face, Empress Ma was still unconscious due to the residual poison.
Seeing this, Wu Tao knew he had to use the Hua Yang Needle Technique.
This was good, as he wouldn't have to worry about justifying his earlier words, and it would show his foresight.
"Go and fetch my silver needles," Wu Tao said with unquestionable authority.
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang gave a look to the eunuchs and palace maids around him. The head eunuch Huang Minghao responded first and hurried out.
Wu Tao turned back and solemnly said to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao with a stern expression:
"Next, I will use internal force to force the residual poison in Empress Niangniang's body to several specific acupoints, and then I will use the Golden Needle technique to bleed out the toxic blood. Do Your Majesty and the Crown Prince trust this humble Taoist?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flickered, but he still agreed, as he believed in trusting those he employed.
Seeing that his father had agreed, Zhu Biao said nothing more, nodded coldly, and agreed readily.
After receiving the approval of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, Wu Tao's confidence grew.
"Except for the imperial physicians, everyone else should leave. Your Majesty and the Crown Prince, please also move aside. The process of detoxifying Empress Niangniang requires absolute quiet and is extremely sensitive to interruption."
Wu Tao's words stunned everyone in the room. However, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was the first to understand, waved his hand and ordered everyone not relevant to the treatment out.
As he was leaving, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I entrust the Empress to Zhenren and the imperial physicians."
After that, Zhu Yuanzhang left the room.
Under Zhu Yuanzhang's supervision, everyone, whether willing or unwilling, had to leave Fengfeng Hall one by one.
When Huang Minghao brought a row of silver needles, Wu Tao immediately sent him away and tightly closed the door, leaving only the crowd outside, looking at each other but not daring to make a sound.
Time passed by slowly, and it was unknown how long it had been. The door of Fengfeng Hall had not opened, and no sound could be heard from inside through the door.
This unusual silence made Zhu Biao, who was waiting for news, increasingly impatient, and a shadow crept into his heart silently.
Even Zhu Yuanzhang, who had initially appeared calm, was now restless.
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was losing his patience, and everyone else had completely lost theirs.
With a creak, the door of Fengfeng Hall was opened from the inside.
Led by Zhu Yuanzhang, everyone reflexively turned their gazes to the open door.
The atmosphere became tense, as the matter at hand was crucial to the life and death of the mother of the nation.
Wu Tao, with a look of exhaustion on his face, slowly walked out from inside. Seeing the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, he smiled slightly and said with a hint of relief:
"It's alright, the residual poison has been completely removed. Empress Ma will wake up on her own after resting for a few more hours."
Wu Tao spoke with great confidence, as the virulent poison in Empress Ma's body had been completely purged.
In fact, the prolonged time it took to remove the residual poison was due to many unexpected complications that arose during the process.
To sum it up in one sentence, it was truly a series of twists and turns.
However, all of that was finally over, as the residual poison in Empress Ma's body had been completely expelled.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and the others were overjoyed, their previous gloomy mood completely dispelled.
The impatient Zhu Biao was about to rush in to see, but Wu Tao stopped him with a hand.
"Empress Ma is very weak now and dislikes noise. Also, I have suffered a great loss of energy in expelling the residual poison and need to recuperate for a while."
"I think it would be best if only a few people go in, preferably only Your Majesty," Wu Tao said solemnly to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Hearing this good news, Zhu Yuanzhang had no other objections. He nodded quickly, and without bothering to thank Wu Tao, he hurried into the bedroom alone.
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang entered the room, he smelled a foul odor and saw his wife still lying with her eyes closed on the bed.
In the open space in the middle was a basin of colorful bloody water, the foul smell emanating from it.
Recalling Wu Tao's somewhat pale complexion, it was clear that the situation was as Wu Tao had said, and it had cost him considerable energy.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately felt a sense of gratitude towards him.
As a founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang's martial arts skills were, overall, quite good.
He knew that for a Grandmaster in his prime, a significant loss of internal energy not only meant a loss of power but also of vitality and lifespan.
If Wu Tao's current body could live to 150, after this ordeal, he would only live to 140, losing ten years of his lifespan.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang was not concerned about these things now. His only concern was Empress Ma's condition.
Empress Ma on the bed was sleeping soundly. The poisonous spots that had been on her brow had vanished without a trace. Although her complexion was still somewhat sallow, her condition had clearly improved.
It seemed that the Empress's severe poison had indeed been completely cured. Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been trying to remain strong, could not help but weep with joy.