Chapter 34: Execution
Deep in the sky prison, Siyu guarded Rongyu closely.
The injuries were not treated promptly, causing a high fever. Upon learning the news, Ye Chenyuan immediately asked Shen Qinghe to come to the prison for treatment.
Fu Shiping, the Minister of Justice, initially prevented Siyu from staying on the grounds that it was against the law.
Siyu slapped him without saying a word, causing half of his cheek to swell up. No one dared to say anything since then.
Now Fu Shiping used the same excuse again, trying to stop Shen Qinghe from taking his pulse.
Siyu's eyes flashed with a cold light, and she slapped him with her backhand. The other half of Fu Shiping's face also swelled up rapidly. Now the law was naturally logical.
Shen Qinghe left behind several prescriptions. Although Rongyu's high fever had subsided, he was still very weak. His consciousness often became confused, and he had very few moments of clarity.
Inside the Ganqing Hall,
Emperor Gan was reviewing memorials when a young palace maid came in with a food box and reported that it was black chicken soup made by Concubine Wu herself to nourish His Majesty's body.
Eunuch Yan took it, tested the temperature, and brought it to the emperor. The emperor drank the soup in two or three gulps.
Just as he put down the bowl, the palace door suddenly flew open! A biting cold wind, carrying a biting chill, howled in, and a dark figure stood in the shadow of the palace door like a ghost.
The visitor wore a veiled hat, a black robe, and held a long sword in his hand that shone with a cold light.
"Damn Emperor! Give me your life!" The man in black shouted loudly, and the sword broke through the air and went straight to the heart of Emperor Gan!
Eunuch Yan was so frightened that he screamed, "Protect the emperor! There's an assassin! Someone come and protect the emperor!"
Emperor Gan stood up in panic and tried to flee, but was intercepted by the man in black. The tip of the sword flashed coldly, and it was about to pierce his chest!
clang!
At the critical moment, another sword appeared out of nowhere and accurately blocked the fatal blow.
"Anyone who trespasses into the forbidden palace will die!"
Tao Yi's figure flashed like lightning, and he instantly engaged in a fight with the man in black. Their figures intertwined, and the flashes of swords were like waterfalls, making it difficult to tell who was stronger.
A hint of surprise flashed across the eyes of the man in black, as if he had not expected that there would be such a master in the palace, and he did not want to fight for a long time.
"The last time I sneaked in, I failed to see your true strength and thought that everyone in the palace was a good-for-nothing. It was my fault for being disrespectful." The man in black had a hoarse and dry voice, like a rotten dead tree.
"I let you escape last time, but today, I will kill you without mercy!" Tao Yi attacked like a tide.
"That depends on whether you have the ability to do it!" The man in black sneered, made a feint, and retreated quickly, rushing out of the hall.
Tao Yi chased after him relentlessly, but he was worried that if this was a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, His Majesty might be in danger. When he chased him outside the palace, the man in black disappeared in the shadows of the palace in a few leaps and bounds. Tao Yi could only watch him escape.
Tao Yi returned to Ganqing Palace worriedly, only to see Eunuch Yan looking pale and Emperor Gan lying on the imperial couch, spitting black blood from his mouth and unconscious!
News of the Emperor's sudden illness broke like thunder, then was quickly suppressed. Aside from a few highly respected ministers, everyone inside and outside the court knew only that His Majesty had suddenly fallen ill and was resting.
The government affairs are temporarily assisted by Prime Minister Wen, Grand Tutor Qiu, and Duke Ying. All other matters will be decided after Emperor Gan wakes up.
There was chaos in the Ganqing Palace. All the elite doctors in the Imperial Hospital were dispatched to give acupuncture and medicine for two hours, but Emperor Gan still looked as pale as gold paper and showed no improvement.
The imperial doctors knelt on the ground, helpless, while several important officials paced anxiously in the hall.
Queen Xu Yingying sat aside, her face as cold as water, contrasting with Wu Pingting's worried and tearful appearance.
As for the virtuous concubine Wang Ruomu, she simply stayed indoors and only used the excuse of being seriously ill, fearing that she would bring bad luck and be detrimental to Your Majesty's health.
Ye Chenyuan hurried over and scanned the faces in the hall, each with a different expression. His brows were filled with worry. "Mother, what did the imperial physician say?"
Xu Yingying put down the teacup in her hand and said calmly, "He's still being treated, he's fine."
"Empress! Your Majesty has been poisoned... We, your servants... are truly powerless." Imperial Physician Zhang kowtowed heavily, and the other doctors behind him also prostrated themselves to apologize. This statement was tantamount to a declaration: Your Majesty, I'm afraid you won't make it.
Upon hearing this, Wu Pingting rushed forward and sternly rebuked, "Your Majesty has been so kind to you! Now that his body is still warm, are you going to give up? Where is your conscience?"
Her heart was in turmoil. If His Majesty passed away, Xu Yingying's son would surely ascend the throne! All her and Ming'er's years of hard work would then be for naught! With Xu Yingying's methods, the day the new emperor ascended the throne would be the day she and her son perished. This was absolutely unacceptable!
"Doctor Zhang," Xu Yingying slowly raised her eyes, her voice still calm, "Is there really no other way?"
The hall fell into a suffocating silence.
After a moment, Shen Qing and Qing Yue's voices rang out: "Perhaps... the person who detoxified Concubine Xian that day still has a glimmer of hope."
Hearing this, Xu Yingying glanced vaguely at Wu Pingting beside her. The person she had tried so hard to kill had become the only straw that saved her life.
"Mother! Rongyu will definitely be able to save father!" Hope shone in Ye Chenyuan's eyes, and his voice was filled with suppressed excitement.
This may be the only chance to save Rongyu!
"My dear ministers, what do you think?" Xu Yingying looked around at the important officials.
Wu Pingting clenched her fists and glared at Xu Yingying fiercely, her chest heaving violently, but she didn't dare to speak up to stop him. She wanted Rong Yu dead more than anyone else, but at this moment, His Majesty must not die! As long as His Majesty lived, Rong Yu was under her control, and she still had a chance to kill him again! Speaking out now would only bring disaster upon herself.
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. After a moment, Prime Minister Wen said in a deep voice, "We second this motion."
Xu Yingying nodded slightly and called Eunuch Yan over: "Pass on my order to bring Rongyu into the palace immediately! No one is allowed to contact her during the journey!"
Execution ground.
The execution was originally scheduled for 3:30 PM, but Rongyu was taken to the scaffold at 2:30 PM.
The wind was biting cold, and snow was falling all over the sky. The thin prison uniform was no longer enough to withstand the biting cold. Rong Yu knelt in the center of the execution platform, his body frozen stiff and numb, swaying on the verge of collapse, his face as pale as paper.
This trip was worth it. I even got to experience the guillotine myself. If I really die, I can tell my grandma about this legendary experience in the afterlife.
"Host, don't worry, you will be fine. Ye Chenyin will definitely come."
"Execution?" Rong Yu's heart was filled with bitterness. At this point, the only option left was to rescue the person from the execution ground, which was the dramatic decision to spare his life.
"Execution!"
At the executioner's command, Rongyu's whole body suddenly tensed up!
'Is it time?'
'It's not even three quarters past noon yet.'
Rong Yu was horrified! Although he was not proficient in the ancient calendar, he knew the iron rule of execution at 3:30 pm.
Why in advance?
At one o'clock in the afternoon, the executioner threw the red lottery stick that was meant to take his life onto the execution platform.
There was an uproar and commotion in the audience. The execution was carried out before three o'clock. It was a very bad omen and there was a fear that he would be haunted by an evil spirit.
Only by carrying out the execution at the third quarter when the Yang energy is at its peak can the soul be dissipated and future troubles be eliminated forever. What is the intention of this executioner?
Rongyu's heart instantly rose to his throat, beating wildly, almost bursting out of his chest!
The executioner grabbed the wine jar and took a gulp, using all his strength to splash the dirty wine onto the heavy ghost-head knife, and a lot of it also splashed onto Rongyu.
Such a strong bad breath.
Immediately afterwards, the executioner pulled out the death card from Rongyu's back.
Rong Yu closed his eyes tightly, his lips moving as he called out silently over and over again: "Ye Chenyin... Ye Chenyin, please save me... Ye Chenyin..."
The ghost-head knife was raised high, and the executioner gathered all his brute force. The blade cut through the air and chopped down fiercely with a whistling sound of death!
Some people couldn't bear to watch and closed their eyes in advance; others opened their eyes wide with excitement.
The blade was only an inch away from the back of the neck!
Ding!!!
A deafening sound of metal clashing resounded through the sky, and the ghost-head knife flew out of his hand and fell heavily to the ground.
A pale blue figure rose from the crowd like a startled wild goose, landing steadily on the scaffold. Pointing a long sword at the executioner, his voice icy and piercing, "You have such a guts!"
Rongyu suddenly opened her eyes, and the familiar figure finally came!
The executioner took a closer look and saw that it was King Jing Ye Chenyin. He was immediately frightened out of his wits!
This person is notoriously unreasonable.
"Your Highness Prince Jing! How could you...how could you rob the execution ground?" The executioner mustered up the courage to ask, but his voice was shaking.
"You will soon know the reason." Before Ye Chenyin finished speaking, a sharp and high-pitched voice pierced through the wind and snow: "The Queen's decree! Bring the prisoner Rong Yu and bring him into the palace immediately!"
The executioner was struck by lightning and collapsed into his chair, his face pale.
It turns out... they were making room for him...
Ye Chenyin picked up Rongyu horizontally and turned to walk out of the execution ground. Eunuch Yan hurried forward to stop him: "Your Highness! The Queen has decreed that no one is allowed to touch Rongyu..."
Ye Chenyin glanced at him sideways, ignoring him as if nothing had happened. He carried Rongyu and boarded the carriage that had been prepared long ago. Without this imperial decree, they might have been on the run from now on.
He gently placed Rong Yu on the cushion and examined her carefully.
Fortunately, there were no new injuries, but the old injuries had not healed. After all the ordeal, I was exhausted.
"Sleep peacefully, I'm here." Ye Chenyin's low voice carried the power to soothe people's hearts.
Rongyu looked up at him, her eyes blurred with tears, like a child who had suffered so much and finally saw his family.
Even though his injustice has not been redressed, Ye Chenyin at this moment is the god who descended upon him in his desperate situation.
Eunuch Yan didn't dare to stop him and had to get on the carriage. Witnessing the meticulous care that King Jing gave Rong Yu, he was surprised. Could the rumored King Jing, who was so arrogant, actually have such a side to him?
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of Wenwu Gate.
Eunuch Yan urged repeatedly.
Rongyu was sleeping soundly, and Ye Chenyin couldn't bear to wake him up, so he held him firmly in his arms and strode into the Ganqing Hall.
When everyone in the hall saw this scene, they found it absurd, simply because this man was King Jing, who disregarded even the law.
After a while, Rongyu slowly woke up in his arms.
"Your Highness, put me down." Rong Yu reminded in a low voice.
"Don't move."
King Jing's reputation is indeed well-deserved.
After a moment, Ye Chenyin gently placed him in front of the imperial bed.
Rong Yu leaned over to check on Emperor Gan. His limbs were as cold as iron, his face was pale, and his lips were a strange purple color.
He gently pried open Emperor Gan's eyelids, and saw that the whites of his eyes were covered with terrifying bloodshot, and there was a faint red glow deep in his pupils!
Although he had no knowledge of medicine and was just pretending to treat her, he was able to keenly notice that the symptoms were very different from those when Concubine Xian was poisoned.
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