Chapter 232 Coolness

The details in the Record of Extraordinary People cannot be discussed in detail, but Xue Yao shared all the other information he had obtained about the Temple Gate with everyone without missing a single detail.

The group then discussed the Temple Gate's possible next move and who their potential backers might be.

It was past dawn when the sound of gongs being struck came from afar inside the palace.

"Alright, let's stop here. I haven't had a rest all night, my dear ministers, you've all worked hard."

No matter how well the temple gate is hidden, it cannot be found in a day or a night.

Alright, hurry up, everyone get out of the palace and go home for a good night's sleep.

Emperor Wu spoke, and everyone stood up, bowed, and left one by one after Emperor Wu waved his hand.

After the group left, Emperor Wu instructed Wang Da Dang to retrieve the memorial Xue Yao had previously submitted regarding the Record of Extraordinary People, and to carefully examine the recent information about the individuals listed on it.

Looking at the sky, Wang Da Dang went to Emperor Wu and said, "Everyone, let's get some sleep for an hour or two. Although there is no grand court session today, you all didn't get any rest last night, so you should take care of yourselves."

Emperor Wu heeded Wang Da's advice, put down the memorial in his hand, got up and went to the back of the palace. After lying down and closing his eyes, his mind was filled with complicated thoughts.

Emperor Wu thought that behind the temple gate, besides the major merchants of the Western Regions, there must also be a few disobedient small countries of the Western Regions supporting it, or perhaps a few small tribes of the Western Regions are involved.

Judging from the assassination attempt on him during the day and the violent acts of the Temple Gate assassins at night, there must be many people in the court involved behind the scenes.

How many members of the aristocratic families were involved? And who exactly were involved?

Among the princes and nobles, who was dissatisfied with their rule?

Or is he plotting to usurp the throne?

Did Du Qinghui, the enemy within his own ranks, who had initially agreed to not disrupt the peaceful lives of the people, also play a role in this?

For Du Qinghui, who developed gunpowder ahead of schedule, ending the era of cold weapons and ushering in the era of firearms ahead of time, how should this gunpowder be used to maximize its benefits?

How could the Tang Dynasty become even more prosperous and powerful during this period?

Amidst these questions, Emperor Wu fell into a deep sleep.

Wang Da Dang, who was guarding outside, heard that Emperor Wu's breathing had slowed down before he lowered the bed curtains and lightly moved to sit down to the side.

...

Outside Chang'an City, in an unnamed mountain area, outside a thatched hut.

The Holy Son's right hand and forearm were wrapped in white bandages with specks of blood seeping out, but he was still wearing the red robe he had worn when he was being chased.

The Holy Son stood outside the thatched hut, looking at the crescent moon that was faintly visible in the sky as dawn was about to break, his anger finding nowhere to dissipate.

"My lord, have something to eat."

Behind the Holy Son, a woman with a high ponytail and dressed in black held a bowl of steaming porridge and spoke to the Holy Son, who, despite being injured, still stood proudly upright.

The Holy Son calmed the anger in his heart from the loss of his troops and the difficulty of escaping, turned around and smiled gently at the black-clad woman who looked completely like a Han Chinese: "Thank you for your hard work, Little Rabbit."

The woman in black, nicknamed Little Rabbit, visibly blushed.

After finishing his porridge, the Holy Son, who had intended to return to the thatched hut to rest, stopped just before stepping inside. Without turning around, he lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Little Rabbit, don't worry, Black Dog will not have died in vain! I will definitely avenge him!"

After saying this, without waiting for the black-clad woman, Little Rabbit, to reply, the Holy Son stepped into the thatched hut. The servants inside closed the door, silencing Little Rabbit who was about to blurt out her words.

"My lord, my brother was captured willingly for your sake. As long as you are alive, that's all that matters!"

In fact, after the Holy Son finished speaking, apart from his tone, there wasn't a trace of regret, remorse, or sadness on his face.

How could the Holy Son truly believe that Black Dog, Little Rabbit's only brother, was loyal and righteous because he left a loophole and walked into the trap of the Imperial Guard in order to buy time for his escape?

The Son, in his own words, said: “I am here for the future of all my brothers and sisters. Where do I have time to be like a brother to one of my subordinates?”

"It was a voluntary sacrifice; since it was said to be voluntary, what's there to regret?"

As I sat down at the rough table inside the thatched hut, which had just been wiped clean of dust, the black-clad servant handed me the intelligence report he had just received.

The Holy Son skimmed through the text, focusing on the black powder and making marks on it with his fingernail.

"It seems we still need to contact Jiangnan East Road more often."

The Son lit the scroll of paper with the oil lamp handed to him by the servant and began to read the next one.

"Heh, this Li San Niangzi is quite lucky. The Record of Extraordinary People?"

It's a pity he died; hopefully we'll have the chance to meet again someday.

"Can't even catch a little child, what a waste!"

...

It is estimated that, apart from Emperor Wu and Du Qinghui, the other people listed in the Records of Extraordinary People, including Li Sanniang and Xing Yu, were unaware that they were being targeted by the Temple Gate.

Li San Niang had only slept for a little over an hour when Qiu Xiang gently woke her up.

She instinctively reached into the bed and found it ice-cold. Opening her eyes, Li San Niang realized that when she returned home yesterday, Lu Zhu'er had slept on the low couch in the side hall.

Not only Lu Zhu'er, but also Xing Jia's young master and young master Si Lang were there, and in the end, Li Da Lang slept with them on the low couch.

Fortunately, Dewdrop is still young, so it's alright for her to share a bed with her blood relatives. But she can't do that when she's a few years older.

Today was the day Li San Niang was to go to the Third Pharmacy for her shift. Although she still felt sleepy and her arms ached terribly, she forced herself to get up.

Before leaving, I went to the side hall to see Luzhu'er. Her little face was rosy from sleeping, and she looked very cute.

Li San Niang kissed Lu Zhu'er's forehead, then checked Xing Xiaolang's pulse, who was also unconscious, and confirmed that he was alright. She covered the three children with blankets, and then she, Qiu Xiang, and Shi Jiu got into the donkey cart and headed towards Yongpingfang.

Upon arriving at the Medicine Hall, Li San Niang was surprised to find Tang Mingyue waiting at the door.

"Dr. Tang."

"Third Sister".

The two apprentices had arrived early to open the door. The four of them went inside together and chatted for a few minutes before Li San Niang understood why Tang Mingyue was waiting at the entrance of the medical hall today.

Today was supposed to be Li San Niang's turn to be on duty, as previously agreed, but Tang Ming Yue's arrival was all due to his responsible attitude.

He specially took out a notebook that he had cut and bound himself, just like Li San Niang had done. "These are the medical records of the patients who came yesterday. I have recorded them all. If they come again today, San Niangzi can refer to them."

Li San Niang took the notebook and flipped through it. Yesterday, because the curfew was not lifted on the first day of the Emperor's birthday celebration, and because of the disturbance at the Temple Gate, quite a few people did come to see her for treatment.

This book records seventeen people, five of whom came to the clinic because of the fire in Xishi last night, as they were playing in Xishi when they were burned.

Tang Mingyue also specifically pointed out these five people to Li Sanniang: "One of them is seriously injured. I prescribed herbal medicine and applied the corresponding ointment from our clinic. This person will definitely come back today. The other four have minor injuries and may not come back."

Li San Niang nodded, indicating that she understood and would handle it properly.