Chapter 35

The person in the palace had already heard of this strange event.

Xuan Liaogu Xiang was granted an audience in the study.

"Your Majesty, I had searched for renowned doctors everywhere, but I never expected that a Taoist priest would save me in the end."

"really?"

The old minister lowered his eyes and said, "Yes, this old minister has been feeling much lighter in body recently."

The emperor looked at Gu Boyuan quietly. Although he was old, his complexion was ruddy, and he looked much better than he had seen him a few days ago.

Narrowing his eyes, Eunuch Su helped the man up, saying reproachfully, "You're already so old, His Majesty has asked you to sit down, so please sit down."

Where is this person now?

The old minister sat on a brocade stool, clasped his hands, and replied, "The Daoist is in the mansion. This old minister will have someone summon him immediately."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, and Eunuch Su quickly arranged for someone to leave.

Before long, the old Taoist priest was brought before the emperor.

The Taoist priest uttered blasphemous and disrespectful words from the very first word.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your grace, and there is something I must say."

The emperor's majestic eyes glanced at him, his face expressionless.

"Your Majesty, it is the greatest honor of my life to see Your Majesty's face. I had previously heard that Consort Li's younger brother, Hu Ziyi, was the lucky son of the Great Xing Kingdom, and I was very apprehensive and could not sleep at night. Now that I have seen Your Majesty's face, I can finally feel at ease."

The emperor asked in a cold voice, "Oh, why?"

The Taoist lowered his head even further, speaking in a loud and clear voice: "I am a person from another realm and do not wish to say much, but I am a citizen of the Great Xing Kingdom and should devote myself to the country."

"I recently saw this person in Yujing City. He was murky and of bad character. As for the good fortune they mentioned, I have never seen it."

He then added in bewilderment, "It's clearly just a cloud of mist; I've never seen such a strange stroke of luck before."

He bowed to the emperor again: "However, as soon as I entered the palace, I felt that it was enveloped by a vigorous purple aura and righteous energy, which put me at ease."

"In that case, it seems that what we heard before may have been a mistake. In my humble opinion, the chosen one of the Great Xing Kingdom should be Your Majesty."

Long after the words were spoken, a very soft laugh came from inside the hall, sounding like a light sneer or a hint of smugness.

The emperor raised his chin and nodded to the Prime Minister, his voice deep but his tone revealing obvious joy.

“Prime Minister, I find this man to be glib and smooth-talking. Could it be that you have been deceived by him?”

Gu Boyuan smiled calmly and said in agreement with the emperor, "Your Majesty is wise. I am old and blind. I only know that it is good to be healthy. I am far less far-sighted than Your Majesty."

The Taoist priest panicked and was about to offer some explanation when the emperor burst into laughter, pointing a finger at Gu Boyuan: "You bastard Gu Boyuan, I need to teach you a lesson!"

The ancient prime minister smiled but did not speak, and the solemn atmosphere in the hall eased considerably.

The Taoist priest knelt in fear, and the emperor asked again, "What else did you see?"

The Taoist priest pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time.

The emperor chuckled, and Eunuch Su said, "Daoist, His Majesty is asking you a question. Just say what you have to say."

The Taoist priest glanced at the emperor, then hurriedly lowered his head, looking as if he dared not look again.

"I forgive you for your crime, now speak!"

The emperor waved his hand casually, and the Taoist priest stammered, "This humble Taoist..."

"Just now, I observed Your Majesty's face. There was a faint black aura between your foreheads. Although it was suppressed by purple aura, if it is not treated for a long time, it will surely harm you."

The emperor's eyes darkened, and he raised an eyebrow, asking, "What is it?"

"Does Your Majesty still feel unbearably hot in the body, have difficulty calming your mind, and have trouble falling asleep at night in the winter?"

The emperor squinted at the Taoist priest, and Eunuch Su couldn't help but say, "The director of the Imperial Observatory said that it's because His Majesty's yang energy is at its peak. His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and the imperial physicians have also come to examine him and said that this is a normal phenomenon."

The Taoist priest paused, feeling a little uneasy, but still closed his eyes and continued, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Your Majesty should immediately stop taking the elixir. This is not something for achieving immortality, but rather something that wicked people use to bring disaster to their ruler."

"How dare you!"

Eunuch Su interrupted him sharply, and the emperor's mood darkened.

"The Qin Emperor pursued immortality for so many years, yet you call him a monster. How dare you be so arrogant! Do you even know what you're saying?!"

The Taoist priest lowered his body even further, his head pressed tightly against the ground: "This humble Taoist dares not speak nonsense. Your Majesty, you are the ruler of the country. A ruler is like a father. I regard you as my ruler and father. I only speak these words because I am worried about the safety of my ruler and father."

"If Your Majesty does not believe my heartfelt words, I will have no regrets. I only hope that Your Majesty will take good care of yourself, for the fate of the Great Xing Kingdom rests on your shoulders!"

Eunuch Su glanced at the emperor, whose face was somber and eyes were cold, but without any hostility. He only looked at the Taoist priest kneeling on the ground.

The ancient prime minister also angrily cursed the Taoist priest: "You evil Taoist priest, His Majesty, remembering your merit in saving me before, allowed you to come forward to pay homage, but you are ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, daring to utter such treasonous words!"

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this man is spreading heresy and misleading the public. He should be dragged away and beheaded!"

Eunuch Su remained silent, while the emperor stared coldly at the Taoist priest on the ground.

After a long pause, the emperor's deep, cold voice rang out: "In your opinion, the immortality that the Qin Emperor and I sought is a elixir of life that takes lives?"

The Taoist priest nodded shakily, and then said...

"Your Majesty is blessed with boundless fortune; there is no need for such magical arts."

The emperor chuckled and suddenly changed the subject.

"You're saying that Consort Li's younger brother isn't a lucky man?"

The Taoist priest nodded hastily.

“I had met Young Master Hu before. At that time, I saw him stuff a woman into a carriage. I also saw that Young Master Hu was shrouded in black mist, so I knew that he would not live much longer.”

Hearing this, Eunuch Su was somewhat surprised, and then cautiously glanced at the Emperor.

The emperor's eyes remained cold, but he suddenly laughed.

He casually pointed at Gu Boyuan: "Prime Minister Gu, are you aware of what he said?"

Gu Boyuan hurriedly knelt down and replied, "Your subject has indeed heard some things..."

"You knew about this too?"

The emperor's voice turned cold, and his oppressive aura permeated the hall, making it difficult for the Taoist priest to breathe.

After a long while, he was escorted out by Eunuch Su.

After the Taoist priest went to the Gu residence, he told Gu Hanyu and Jiang Yunshu everything that had happened.

Jiang Yunshu was still somewhat worried, but Gu Hanyu smiled.

"Congratulations, Daoist Master! If you ever attain the rank of First Grade Official, please do not forget the friendship we have shown you today!"

The Taoist priest looked completely bewildered, but Gu Hanyu just smiled and had a large pile of things sent to the Taoist priest's house.

Jiang Yunshu asked, "How do you know it won't be a fatal disaster?"

Gu Hanyu took a sip of tea with an air of profound mystery, looked at her with disdain, and said, "No wonder you can't defeat Madam Shen."

Jiang Yunshu was momentarily speechless. Before she could speak, Gu Hanyu asked with a smile, "The one with you, isn't your biological brother? I've checked, your cousin's brother is still in Jiangnan. This one isn't related to you by blood."

“Even if he’s not a blood relative, he’s still my brother. Ever since my dad picked him up, he’s been a member of our family.”

Gu Hanyu persisted: "I don't think he thinks that way at all. What if he passes the imperial examination and asks you to marry him?"

Jiang Yunshu was startled by her blunt words, and the image of Ling Jingchu carrying betrothal gifts to propose to her flashed through her mind.

He quickly shook his head, saying firmly, "How could that be? We're like family. He treats me like his own right hand. Besides, I still have Ayao. Ayao definitely wouldn't want a stepfather..."

"You're so long-winded. I didn't expect you to be such a fussy person." Gu Hanyu clicked her tongue lightly. "That's true, otherwise you wouldn't have stayed in this swamp-like Marquis's mansion for seven years before you came out."

Jiang Yunshu did not refute further, admitting that she was indeed stubborn and indecisive in some matters.

But she has too many things she dares not lose, and she can no longer be as carefree as before.

"It's getting cold, let's have some mutton soup."

Gu Hanyu's voice pulled her back to reality. Looking at the mutton soup in front of her, she thought of A Yao in the palace.

"How is Ayao today?"

Gu Hanyu took a sip of mutton soup: "It's nothing serious. I suppose the Third Prince is just using A Yao to keep the Jiang family in check."

Jiang Yunshu was still worried: "But after this incident..."

Gu Hanyu couldn't offer any words of comfort, nor could she get the person out.

After talking for a while, Jiang Yunshu returned to the west of the city.

She assumed Ling Jingchu was studying in his room, so she didn't disturb him. But she didn't expect to smell a familiar fragrance as soon as she entered the courtyard.

She followed the smell to the other end of the yard, where Ling Jingchu, Su Ye, and Qing Shuang had set up a pot and were all busy cooking.

The smoke from the burning firewood filled the air, and through it, she seemed to see the busy figures of her parents from her childhood.

When she was young, she read some storybooks that said you must eat duck, beef, and persimmons on the day of Frost's Descent in order to get through the whole winter safely.

She believed it wholeheartedly, so throughout her childhood, this day was the busiest time for her parents.

She loved the persimmon cakes, chestnut cakes, and hawthorn candy that her mother made for her.

"Miss, you're back just in time! The chestnut cake is still warm!"

Qing Shuang ran towards her with a small plate in her hand. Seeing her in a daze, she smiled and fed her the chestnut cake: "It's so delicious!"

It has a strong chestnut sweetness and a refreshing aroma.

"What's wrong, Miss?"

She was about to say it was nothing, but her throat tightened and she couldn't speak.

She had almost forgotten how long it had been since she had eaten chestnut cake and hawthorn candy on this day, as well as steaming beef and duck in the pot.

"Eat quickly, there's still a lot to do later."

Ling Jingchu's blurry face appeared before her eyes, seemingly more affectionate than usual, though his voice sounded no different.

But for no apparent reason, Jiang Yunshu thought of Gu Hanyu's words.

For some reason, the image of skin that was faintly visible that night came to mind, as well as Ling Jingchu's inexplicable attitude these past few days.

She blinked, her vision clearing, and looked straight at Ling Jingchu.

After thinking for a moment, she took Ling Jingchu's hand and walked a little further down the corridor.

“Ling Jingchu, you…”

Jiang Yunshu took a light breath, her eyes resolute, and was about to speak when Ling Jingchu suddenly spoke.

"The Grand Tutor has entered the palace. The Second Prince will be released tomorrow, so you don't need to worry."

His deep eyes stared at her meaningfully before he turned away abruptly, his eyes filled with only weariness and gloom.

Jiang Yunshu looked at his lonely figure and felt uncomfortable.

Never mind, Gu Hanyu was just talking nonsense. She knows the truth in her heart. How could Ling Jingchu have such thoughts about her?