Female Novel
Chapter 658 Develop The New Longevity Pill (Part One)
After giving it much thought, Jason had to agree with Francis that Lucas seemed most likely to bechosen by the emperor. However, Lucas was rather notorious, having a bad reputation as a playboy.While he very much enjoyed seeking pleasure, gambling and going whoring, he had shown littleinterest in serious matters. If the throne ended up in his hands, there would be a good chance that hewould give it to someone else in the blink of an eye.
"If the throne is handed over to Lucas..." Jason whispered under his breath, lost in thought. After awhile, with his eyebrows raised and a faint smile on his lips, he continued, "Will he choose beautiesfrom all over the country to enter his harem every year? Or will he exchange ten cities for a beauty froma foreign country?"
These wild thoughts of his made the corners of Francis' mouth twitch slightly. Although he didn't humorJason with a response, the expression on his face shifted.
"Will he end up losing the national treasury completely by gambling?"
The corners of Francis' eyes began to twitch when he heard that, and the smile on his facedisappeared completely.
"Will he waste manpower and money just so he could taste some delicacies, neglecting the commonpeople and letting them live in poverty and misery? For example, he may want to have watermelons orthe newly picked fresh litchis during winter?"
At this point, Francis cast Jason a suspicious glance, wondering if Lucas would really go this far.
Jason couldn't help laughing at the thought of the terrible things that could happen if Lucas were tobecome the new emperor. "If Lucas becomes the emperor, there's no doubt that the imperial harem ofthe Bright Dynasty will be filled with numerous beauties. Because of that, he will end up indulginghimself in the pleasure and neglect his duties as the emperor. He probably won't have time to attend
imperial court sessions or discuss the national affairs. Instead, he will drown himself in wine andsurround himself with women. Maybe he'll even force the courtiers to go gambling with him. The merethought of it is enough to make me laugh."
"Go away," Francis exclaimed as he could not bear listening to Jason's ramblings any longer. As far asFrancis was concerned, if Lucas really was such a playboy, he never would have survived the fight forpower. Moreover, Francis had investigated him countless times already, and every single time, he gotthe same result just as Jason had imagined. If it was true that Lucas was only keeping a facade all thetime, that would make him an extremely devious and cunning man.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll take my leave now," Jason said, walking out of the room. In fact, he thought thathe was only telling the truth, and nobody would blame him imagining Lucas in this way. After all, it wasLucas himself who brought all of it onto himself and established his own bad reputation. That beingsaid, how could such a good-for-nothing playboy take care of the different forces with such easewithout getting himself implicated? Was he really a good-for-nothing playboy?
When Fred finally came to senses and found himself at the back gate of Matthew's mansion, he brokeout in a cold sweat out of fear. It wasn't until he entered the mansion and found out that Harper wassafe and sound that he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Your Highness."
"Where have you been?" Matthew asked, looking at Fred, who seemed quite distraught anddisheveled. Fred had been working for him for many years, but this was the first time he had ever seenhim acting like this.
Resentment flashed across Fred's face. "Forgive me, Your Highness. When I was at Prince Francis'mansion, I fell into someone's trap and lost consciousness because of knockout smoke."
"Go and get flogged thirty times."
"Yes, Your Highness."
While reviewing official documents, Matthew thought about what had happened the night before. Hewondered what would have happened if he hadn't come back last night. With these thoughts runningthrough his head, he concluded that what had happened to Fred last night must be Francis' doing.
"What are you thinking about? You look so deep in thought," Harper asked in confusion. As soon asshe walked into the study, she stumbled upon Matthew staring blankly into space.novelbin
"It's nothing," Matthew said in a rather serious tone. "I'm just working."
Grabbing the official document from Matthew's hand, Harper went ahead and turned it upside down.After that, she immediately said, "Darling, you were holding the document upside down. Even thoughyou can read ten lines at one glance, I think it would still be very hard to read it upside down. Pleasejust read it like a normal person would."
Despite being red in the earlobes, Matthew tried not to show any sign of embarrassment. Putting downthe official document as if nothing happened, he asked, "How did you fall asleep at Francis' mansionlast night?"
"It was a bit weird. I just felt drowsy all of a sudden and then fell asleep. Then, you got there as soon asI woke up," Harper answered, rubbing her temples. "I was planning to go back home by myself as soonas Francis' condition became stable, but somehow, I dozed off."
Hearing that, Matthew could more or less guess what had happened. "I don't want you to go to Francis'mansion ever again, even when he is dead," he said in a domineering tone.
"Okay, okay, it's up to you," Harper obediently replied. Snugging in his arms, she then continued,"There's something I have to tell you."
"What is it?"
Taking out a pill, Harper said, "This is the Longevity Pill His Majesty has been taking. Guess what's init."
"Poison?"
Harper shook her head at first, but then nodded right after. "It's not really a poison, but it could beconsidered poisonous. It's poppy. Someone has refined the poppies in the pill."
"What are the side effects of taking it?"
"Poppies can be used to treat cough and diarrhea and to relieve pain. But prolonged use should beavoided, because it would act as a poison which slowly takes effect and is highly addictive as well.Once you become dependent on it, the pain will be like being bitten by tens of thousands of ants whenyou stop taking it," Harper explained, playing with the pill in her hand. "You can tell just how muchFrancis hates his father. He's dealing with his father in the same way his father has been dealing withhim."
"If it is poisonous, shouldn't the imperial physicians have found out the truth already?"
"When poppies are mixed in the pills, the tiny amount on a single pill is not lethal. However, they will belethal after long-term use. Given that, how could imperial physicians notice it? Besides, when someonestarts taking the poppy, they will feel sober and refreshed. I guess by the time the emperor has takenall the Longevity Pills in his hand, he would become totally addicted to it." Upon saying that, Harper putaway the pill. "I'm afraid that Francis is about to take action," she remarked.
"He is a very patient man," Matthew simply said. In spite of everything, he couldn't help but admit thatFrancis was indeed patient. Even though the current situation was already quite favorable to him, hewas still acting humbly. He did his duties and treated everyone sincerely. Right now, he still looked as
gentle as ever. The gentle and courteous attitude he always showed had won the hearts of manycourtiers.