Prince: I want a prescription.
Doctor: Yes, Your Highness.
Prince: Poison...deadliest.
Doctor: Arsenic, vapours without a trace upon consumption.
Prince: It sounds perfect but...doctor?
Doctor: Yes, Your Highness.
Prince: Anything more deadly?
Doctor: Of course! (Pauses) The human heart. (Bows with respect).
***
Queen Ping Wah leaves her palace without a guard on a moonless night. She heads north toward the Royal Doctor's clinic.
Doctor: Your Majesty, I am at your service.
Queen: I need some questions answered.
Doctor: I give only my best, Your Majesty.
Queen: Is arsenic the darkest of all poisons?
Doctor: Absolutely. I have found no other competitors.
Queen: Very well, prepare a dosage for me but before that...doctor?
Doctor: Yes, Your Majesty?
Queen: Are you very certain that it is the darkest? Anything else that you have missed out?
Doctor: But of course, no poison is darker than the human heart. (Bows with respect).
***
General Ma left his company of officers much earlier than usual. It was just after midnight and as he disappears into the night, he went on a detour to visit the Royal Doctor.
Doctor: My Lord, what a pleasant surprise!
General: My old friend, Ching. It has been a long time since we met.
Doctor: Yes, while you defend the country with the power of your sword, I am ashamed that I only spend time with herbs and plants.
General: What is the might of a sword compared with the wit of a mind? You defend by saving lives while I defend by taking lives. The ground turns red.
Doctor: For the longevity and prosperity of His Majesty, the Heavenly King, we perform the tasks our postion brings upon us with loyalty.
General: Loyalty can make us blind.
Doctor: No, it is power that makes us blind.
General: Yes, something as innocent as a plant has enormous power to crush the life of a strong and well trained soldier.
Doctor: The silent killer is often the most addictive.
General: Can you spare me some?
Doctor: Yes, my old friend.
General: The most lethal.
Doctor: Arsenic.
General: I trust you but what is more poisonous?
Doctor: I believe it is the human heart.
