After Wang Deshun finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent. Even Wang Yuanguang and Xie Lianhong, who were waiting to the side, looked up in surprise.

After a long silence, Emperor Cheng'an seemed to hear him only then, and asked very slowly, "What did you say?"

Wang Deshun bowed and repeated, "The five planets are aligned, a blessing from heaven! Your Highness's legs have fully recovered. This servant has come to report the good news to Your Majesty."

Emperor Cheng'an leaned forward, looking at him intently: "You said... the Prince of Qin's leg is healed?"

"Yes, indeed." Wang Deshun seemed oblivious to the emperor's heavy pressure, his tone still joyful: "The Fire Cave Immortal's elixir is miraculous; Your Highness's legs have fully recovered. Your Highness is currently holding a ritual at the temple to thank the Three Pure Ones. After the ritual, you will return to the capital. Because I feared Your Majesty might worry, I sent this servant back to the capital ahead of time to deliver the news."

Emperor Cheng'an almost laughed out loud; the Prince of Qin had really kept it well hidden.

What divine grace could possibly cause a leg injury that had been crippled for five years to heal without medicine? It's likely that the King of Qin had long harbored malicious intentions, which he had kept hidden all along!

Now he's not going to hide anymore, and he even dares to send people to openly demonstrate against him!

Emperor Cheng'an clenched his legs tightly on his knees, his face twitched uncontrollably, and a dark light flickered in his cloudy eyes, as if he was about to burst into anger.

But it just can't be.

To quell the rumors, Emperor Cheng'an had reluctantly kept Xue Shen, this troublesome figure, by his side all these years. He had considered eliminating him to prevent future problems, but he could never find a suitable opportunity. Moreover, Xue Shen had indeed lost the right to compete for the throne because he had crippled both legs. In recent years, he had never interfered in court affairs and had been focused on seeking immortality and indulging in a life of debauchery. Only then did Emperor Cheng'an reluctantly tolerate him.

It turns out that the claim of being disabled in both legs was a lie, and the story of seeking immortality and indulging in a life of pleasure was also a lie!

Emperor Cheng'an was filled with hatred, almost gritting his teeth, but he still managed to force a warm and loving smile on his face: "I never expected that the Fire Cave Immortal would be even more miraculous than the imperial physicians in the palace? He even cured the Prince of Qin's leg ailment that had been crippled for several years. With such Taoist magic, why not invite him back to the capital and let the Immortal take a look at me as well?"

Wang Deshun said, "Your Highness also heard from the Crown Prince that His Majesty had suffered a stroke and his health had been poor. He originally planned that this bone marrow cleansing would be helpful, so he invited the master to return to the capital to cure His Majesty's ailment. But who knew..."

He paused here, a look of surprise and regret on his face, his voice rising considerably: "Who knew that the Taoist priest would actually attain enlightenment and ascend to immortality while cleansing the prince's marrow and tendons!"

He sighed softly, "The True Man is probably already among the immortals now, but fortunately there are still some pills that the Taoist priest refined. The Prince is concerned about His Majesty's health, so he specially ordered this old servant to deliver them."

After saying this, Wang Deshun took out a small jade bottle from his sleeve and presented it to him.

Emperor Cheng'an stared at the jade bottle in his hand with a gloomy expression, his demeanor growing even more somber. Previously, the court and the public had praised this nephew extensively, saying he was a man of exceptional talent in both literature and martial arts, almost otherworldly in wisdom, and that upon inheriting the throne a century later, he would surely unify the north and achieve a great undertaking. He had only heard snippets of this praise and felt it was excessive; after all, his eldest son was no less remarkable.

But when faced with his subtle challenge, the King of Qin didn't even show his face. He simply sent an old eunuch, who calmly countered the attack, leaving no room for criticism.

Emperor Cheng'an even had to praise him for being "filial".

The successive shocks and frustrations caused a sweet, metallic taste to rise in Emperor Cheng'an's chest. The imperial physician had advised him to rest and avoid any further emotional fluctuations. Emperor Cheng'an, valuing his life, had refrained from wielding power these past few days, entrusting state affairs to the Crown Prince. He never expected that on his joyous day, the Prince of Qin would deliver such a devastating blow.

Emperor Cheng'an took a sip of tea to suppress the discomfort in his chest, ordered the attending eunuch to take the jade bottle, offered a few perfunctory compliments, and then dismissed Wang Deshun.

As soon as the others left, his straight back hunched over, and he coughed violently.

Wang Yuanguang and Xie Lianhong, who were standing nearby, rushed over worriedly, but Emperor Cheng'an waved them off. He clutched his handkerchief and said in a hoarse voice, "It's nothing. I was just too shocked and moved to hear that Prince Qin's legs had been healed, and my body couldn't take it for a moment."

Given Emperor Cheng'an's condition, he was naturally unable to discuss matters further, so he ordered the two men to return home first.

After dismissing the two men, he tucked the blood-stained handkerchief into his sleeve, had the chief eunuch Qi Zhong help him back to his palace, and then summoned the crown prince.

Xue Heng had just returned to the Eastern Palace when he was summoned again. He guessed that it was probably related to Xue Shen.

But after hearing Emperor Cheng'an's words, he still couldn't hide his surprise: "That's what he said?"

Emperor Cheng'an, sensing the underlying meaning in his words, looked at his son with a complex expression and slowly said, "You already knew?"

Xue Heng lowered his head and said, "I only found out when I went to visit Chuyun Temple a few days ago."

Emperor Cheng'an immediately realized the key point: "A few days ago?" Then he sneered: "This boy is indeed harboring evil intentions. I shouldn't have kept him in the first place."

He looked at Xue Heng with some disappointment: "Since you already knew, why didn't you report it to me?"

Xue Heng raised his eyes to meet his gaze, but instead of answering, he asked, "Father wants to kill Xue Shen? So those rumors are all true?"

Emperor Cheng'an was most averse to anyone mentioning those rumors, and upon hearing this, he immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Crown Prince, how dare you be so insolent!"

Xue Heng's gaze darkened, and he closed his eyes in anguish, almost choking back tears: "The late emperor treated both my father and me well, so why did my father do this?"

Since breaking with Emperor Cheng'an, he has only addressed him as "Father" in a distant manner, and has never again used the ordinary but intimate term "Father".

So much so that both father and son forgot that when Xue Heng was young, before Emperor Cheng'an ascended the throne, he was Emperor Cheng'an's most beloved and proudest son, and Emperor Cheng'an was also Xue Heng's role model in his youth.

Xue Heng lost his mother at a young age. When Emperor Cheng'an had to follow his elder brother to fight in the north and south of Zheng, he was raised by the late empress. Although the late emperor and empress treated him like their own son, he still cherished his father the most.

So when those rumors were rampant, his first reaction was disbelief.

At that time, many senior officials and important ministers in the court were the late emperor's confidants and raised many doubts about the sudden death of the late emperor and empress. Although Xue Heng was young and had not yet entered officialdom, he was able to tell that those senior officials were not making baseless accusations.

But he didn't want to believe that his respected and beloved father was a villain who murdered his brother and usurped the throne, so he went to find Xue Shen with a glimmer of hope.

What did Xue Shen say to him at that time?

He said, "Those rumors outside are all false. Brother, please don't let some unfounded rumors cause you to become estranged from His Majesty."

At that time, Xue Shen's personality had changed drastically due to the torment of illness, becoming sinister and extreme. But on that day, upon hearing his question, he surprisingly laughed.

Looking back now, that smile seemed so mocking. It mocked his self-deception, his inability to face the truth, and his attempt to force the isolated and helpless victim to give him a plausible reason not to confront the truth.