Chapter 24: Emperor Jing has fallen seriously ill; his fate is unknown…

After they finished breakfast, they asked the waiter to collect the trash. Long Zhaoming yawned, and Seventeen took a sip of water and looked at him: "Your Highness, what are our plans for today?"

Upon hearing this, Long Zhaoming reflexively looked at Mingyue, but she kept her eyes down and did not meet his gaze.

"Your Highness?"

Seventeen saw Long Zhaoming looking at Mingyue, not understanding what the other party meant.

"Uh, Seventeen, you go and keep an eye on Xu the butcher's house first, and see if there will be any other problems with his daughter. Mingyue, you can stay here and we'll go to the town together to inquire about other situations."

Seventeen nodded, then darted out the window and disappeared like a nimble swallow.

"What does Your Majesty think?"

Mingyue pondered for a moment: "It seems that this master is genuinely kind-hearted, but... how could his soul have been mistakenly taken?"

"The so-called 'summoning the soul' seems like just a trick, but how exactly did this master manage to do it?"

Long Zhaoming was completely baffled. He had heard about what happened last night, and his mind was full of questions.

“This master only appeared a few years ago, which means he wasn’t here before, and there was no word of him before. This place is not far from Yejing, and most people who get sick and can’t be cured will go to Yejing.”

"News travels very fast among ordinary people. If there had been such a thing as a lost soul back then, I couldn't have been completely unaware of it while I was in Yejing."

The two exchanged a glance and both understood what the other meant.

"It seems that this master is probably behind all the trouble of the lost soul."

Mingyue took a sip of water, the warm water rolling down her throat, adding a touch of warmth to the cold winter.

“I’m very concerned about his statement that he won’t charge a penny… If they’re the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes, then why won’t they charge a single cent?”

Long Zhaoming fanned himself with his fan, and Mingyue glanced at him and said coldly, "If I see you fanning this broken fan again on a cold winter day, I'll throw you out, fan and all."

"Okay, okay."

Long Zhaoming reluctantly put away his fan, only because Seventeen wasn't there. If Seventeen were present, his elder brother certainly wouldn't dare to criticize his fan!

"Although on the surface we see that no money is being charged, no one knows whether they are actually being charged behind the scenes."

That's what they say...

Mingyue stood up, picked up her sword, and said to Long Zhaoming, "Let's go, let's go take a look around the streets."

Just as the two were about to go out, a short, sharp whistle made Mingyue stop in her tracks.

"What's wrong?"

"News has come from the palace."

Over the years, Mingyue has also built up his own power base in the palace. This time, he left Yuanfu in the palace, firstly to prevent anyone from discovering that he had left, and secondly to cooperate with Chen Jing to uncover the mastermind behind the scenes.

Mingyue caught the plump pigeon that fluttered towards her, took the letter tube off its leg, unfolded the note, and glanced at it.

"What news?"

Long Zhaoming frowned and asked. He didn't know that his elder brother would be with them, so he was genuinely surprised when he saw him in the carriage.

"Emperor Jing has fallen seriously ill, and his fate is unknown."

"?"

Long Zhaoming slowly uttered a question mark. "Emperor Jing is seriously ill, so who is standing in front of me?"

He immediately realized that they were trying to trap him like a turtle in a jar.

"Whom did Your Majesty leave in the palace?"

"Chen Jing".

Mingyue said calmly, "Once I have sent you to Jiangnan, I will immediately set off back to the capital."

With a "smack," Long Zhaoming slapped his fan into his palm, his eyes wide as he asked, "So, my royal brother was here to escort me?"

Mingyue glanced at him, somewhat puzzled: "Otherwise what? What if that group doesn't plan to go straight into the capital, but instead plans to capture you first?"

In an instant, Long Zhaoming realized how terribly filthy his previous thoughts had been! So that's how it was! So that's how his imperial brother had been thinking of him!

Mingyue, who knew her younger brother very well, immediately interrupted him, saying, "Stop! There's something else. The Empress Dowager has hanged herself outside the palace."

Long Zhaoming paused: "The Dowager Consort Ling is dead? Are you sure it was by hanging?"

"Yes, the Golden Guard's investigation is unlikely to be wrong."

"Why would she hang herself? No one outside knows she was a concubine dowager, and she had very few relatives left..."

Mingyue lowered his eyes and remained silent. When he sent Consort Ling out of the palace, he actually had his own selfish motives.

No matter how the Empress Dowager questioned her, she only admitted to her affair with her lover, but flatly denied that the former Crown Prince was her son, firmly insisting that the former Crown Prince was the late Emperor's child...

But he thought of something else entirely: the Empress Dowager had been deeply favored in the past, and even after the former Crown Prince's unfortunate death, the Emperor still sympathized with her and showered her with affection.

On such a fine day, why would she choose to find a lover? He had investigated this lover before; he was a guard from a certain family, tall and imposing, but not very handsome. The late emperor, who was about the same age as him, was much more handsome.

Could it really be the true love that Consort Ling is looking for?

Instinctively, Mingyue didn't quite believe her, but the Empress Dowager was really stubborn and wouldn't say anything else no matter how she asked.

Left with no other choice, he decided to keep the person in the palace for the time being, send some people to keep an eye on him, and report any suspicious activity immediately.

It was during this time that Consort Ling hanged herself in the room. By the time Ling Jiu and the others found her, her body was frozen solid.

It was really strange... Although people were sent to monitor him, he ate three meals a day normally during that period, but he looked a little haggard and did not seem to have any intention of dying.

Why would she suddenly hang herself? Along with the letter came a message: the Dowager Consort had left a note.

In the note, she admitted that the former crown prince was not the late emperor's child, but rather her child with her lover. The former crown prince's death was not sudden, but rather because the guard and she... were blood relatives. It was already quite remarkable that a child born to blood relatives could grow up to be around twenty years old.

Long Zhaoming looked at the pensive Mingyue with great confusion: "Brother, what are you thinking about?"

Mingyue glanced at him, then looked out the window, pondering whether to tell Long Zhaoming about it. But then she thought that she hadn't found out anything yet, so she decided to leave it at that.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about the matter of Consort Ling. Chen Jing has already started investigating, and we should have results soon."

"So, what do we do now?"

Mingyue stood up, picked up her sword again, and said, "Let's go for a walk."

Long Zhaoming closed his mouth regretfully, scratching his head in frustration. He felt that his elder brother seemed to know something incredible, but he wasn't telling him. This made him very curious, but he could only pout and follow Mingyue out the door.

The waiter looked on curiously that day, wondering why the guard was even fiercer than his master.

On the other side, Seventeen squatted in the same spot where he and Mingyue had squatted yesterday, staring intently into the room.

Qianniang looks much better today than last night. Her parents won't let her work in the fields; she needs to rest for a while first.

She couldn't go against her parents' wishes, so she could only obediently stay at home and drink soup.

Even so, Qianniang still felt a warmth in her heart. Her parents had always doted on her. Other girls her age had married early and had two or three children, but she had not yet found a husband.

Some people came to her home to propose marriage, but her parents were too satisfied and turned them away. She had also said that she would just pick a family that was not bad, since her own family was just like that and she couldn't be too picky.

But her parents waved their hands, insisting that she find a suitable husband before they would agree. As time went on, she became what everyone called an old maid.

But her parents didn't care at all. Her father even said that when he was feeling better, he would teach her how to slaughter pigs! He wanted to show those people that the Xu family's daughter was not a weak and delicate person. Even if her parents passed away, no one would dare to bully her.

Qianniang lowered her head and took a sip of soup. The hot soup slid down her mouth to her throat and into her stomach, bringing warmth to everything it passed through.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was feeling unwell. She put down the soup in her hand, gently covered her chest, and began to breathe softly.

Seventeen was also watching her nervously. Would something happen to this girl?

Qianniang clutched her chest and breathed for a long time until fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Only then did she lean against the headboard as if all her strength was gone, and pick up the soup beside her to continue drinking it in small sips.

Chest pain...

Seventeen secretly noted down this anomaly. When he came, he also took the opportunity to find out who had been saved by those masters before. After waiting for a while and seeing that there was nothing else unusual, he simply changed his target.

He hopped between houses like a nimble sparrow, arousing no suspicion from anyone.

Although he was always said to be not very good at kung fu, he learned light footwork better than others, which the instructor said was his talent.

Seventeen had never imagined that she had a talent for light-body skills.

But at this moment, his light-footed skill really came in handy.

The small, dark figure did not disturb any of the guards. He crouched in a secluded corner, quietly watching the guards walking back and forth below.

According to what he learned from the stall owner, this family was wealthy, one of the top merchants in the area, and had many dealings with Yejing.

About a year ago, the family’s precious son suddenly fell into seizures. They consulted many doctors and prescribed a lot of medicine, but none of them could cure him. Just when the master of the house was getting anxious, he heard his servants mention a master. With a try-it-and-see attitude, he took a lot of money to seek medical treatment, but the money was refused. The master came to the mansion and cured his son effortlessly.

Now the master's reputation has been fully established. Before, the master only attracted ordinary people, but after the wealthy merchant spread the word, many people from other places came to visit him, but the master refused them all.

The master gave the order not to leave the city, because his kindness was there, and he would not accept money, otherwise he would be tainted by the karmic consequences of the mortal world again, making it impossible for him to return to the Heavenly Court smoothly.

Although some people were skeptical, most people went because it was free. Over time, many people were cured, and the people secretly added to the reputation of this master, but they all tacitly kept it a secret.

Seventeen came to this wealthy merchant's house. His idea was simple: the butcher's family was a typical poor family, relying on their skill in slaughtering pigs to make a living, but they could not be considered rich and powerful. This wealthy merchant was the complete opposite. Perhaps two different patients would make different discoveries.

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Author's Note: This chapter will be available for purchase starting Thursday, beginning with chapter 22. [Milk Tea emoji] Thank you all for your support! [Kiss emoji]