140 Death
◎Exchange my life for a bright future, it’s enough◎
"Everyone, please be calm, don't gather here, leave immediately!" The guards of Zhaoyu were evacuating the people, but the more they did so, the more the people wanted an explanation, and slowly more and more people gathered at the door.
The leader drew his sword and pointed it at the people gathered at the door. "If you don't leave, I'll arrest you all!"
Some were terrified and tactfully left, while others continued to loudly cry out for justice, "They claim the confession wasn't forced, but now they're arresting even ordinary people like us! They're truly corrupt officials!!!"
Xue Ji was indeed cold and opportunistic in the eyes of the royal family, but in the eyes of the common people, he was a man who repeatedly escaped danger. He was a man of integrity and righteousness, a man who lived up to his name. No matter who was corrupt or accepting bribes, he was unmatched.
In addition, Rong Qianyu asked someone to spread the news, and followers came in an endless stream, all running around for Xue Ji.
Despite this, Xue Ji was still imprisoned and tortured. His once-clean face was now covered in blood. The high-ranking official, like all the other prisoners, was disheveled and grimy. Rong Qianyu was startled when she saw him.
I thought Fu Hua was just talking casually, but when I saw the wound on his back, I couldn't sleep at night for the past few days, and finally couldn't help crying at this moment.
"Open it." Rong Pan said.
The jailer opened the door and stood guard beside it.
"The Queen wants to speak to him alone. All of you leave."
"But the Queen's safety..."
Rong Qianyu didn't say anything. It was Rong Pan who did all the negotiating. "He's just a dying useless man. What the Queen wants to say, do you think you can listen? Why don't you leave!"
Rong Qianyu silently wiped away the tears from her eyes, turned around and glanced at the jailer, then obediently retreated. Rong Pan closed the door, leaving only the two of them alone, and guarded the outside himself.
They set out from the palace at night in order to get rid of this disaster quietly.
Seeing him again, Rong Qianyu felt relieved. She took two steps closer to wipe the blood off his face. "Jiming, are you okay? Jiming..."
Xue Ji was indeed on the verge of death. He could only eat rice soup every day. He was questioned and tortured, and the rest of the time he was drowsy with his eyes closed. Hearing a familiar voice, he slowly opened his eyes and saw a haggard face that was already covered with tears.
Xue Ji's eyes froze, and he tried hard to support himself and sit up, but he was so weak that he could only manage to utter, "The Queen is here."
The two people who had not seen each other for a long time had no extra emotions at this moment, only heartache. In this relationship, Xue Ji was the one who guided her and witnessed her lowest point, but now, Xue Ji became the one who needed pity.
The proud spine was bent. He had always been arrogant and looked down on everyone in the world. Even though he was humbled to the dust and sunk into the mud, his tenacious character did not change.
"Your Majesty seems to have lost weight. Is it because I'm worried... that you can't sleep at night?"
"You bastard." Rong Qianyu covered her mouth. Seeing him like this, she couldn't help but want to scold him. He was still trying to have fun at this time.
Zhaoyu Prison was unusually quiet tonight, as if it had been carefully dressed up. Usually, the prisoners were either fast asleep or cursing the injustice of heaven, but today there was nothing.
Xue Ji's sharp nerves quickly tightened, and he jokingly said to Rong Qianyu, "What's the matter, Your Majesty, are you going to trade my life for your future?"
At this moment, Fu Hua, who was hiding in the dark, was watching all this.
I wonder what it feels like to see the queen and the eunuch pouring out their hearts to each other.
After all, this matter was not glorious, and his pathetic self-esteem would not allow others to know such an eye-catching secret.
There was only one close guard following him, "Your Majesty, will the Queen do it?"
"She has no reason to refuse." Fu Hua said with great certainty.
During the conversation that day, Fu Hua couldn't figure out his own motives for a moment. It seemed that getting rid of Xue Ji became the most logical reason to attack Rong Qianyu after Rong Ruoyu's death.
It was not for any emotional reasons, but simply for himself and for the dignity of the Great Zhou in the eyes of the people of the world.
Although the imperial physician always said that everything was fine, only he knew his physical condition, so he had to arrange his affairs after his death and ensure a smooth transition of imperial power.
"Yu'er?"
"Yu'er is the eldest son, I want him to be the crown prince."
"..." Fu Hua hesitated for a moment.
Rong Qianyu added: "I can kill Xue Ji, my only condition is to make Yu'er the crown prince."
"Okay." Fu Hua agreed, "As long as you kill Xue Ji, I will personally rectify the situation, and Yu'er will become the undisputed crown prince of the Great Zhou."
Xue Ji leaned against the wall and said self-deprecatingly, "Trading my life for a bright future is enough." He raised his eyes and asked again, his voice a little tighter, "Then what were we before?"
Rong Qianyu stood in a corner of the room and did not answer Xue Ji's question. "You are a eunuch. It is your blessing to have served me. I will ask His Majesty to leave you with an intact body."
"Qianyu," Xue Ji paused, "Oh no, the Queen."
He struggled to get up, feeling as if the freshly formed scars on his body would split open and ooze bright red blood if he moved. He walked over to Rong Qianyu and, like a passionate and tragic song, they shared heartbreaking words. "Then I can only wish you success. If you want my life, I will give it to you with my own hands."
Rong Qianyu took out a short blade from behind her and stabbed it into Xue Ji's abdomen. Pain immediately spread all over his body, and cold sweat soaked his skin.
Xue Ji groaned from the injury and instinctively reached for Rong Qianyu's knife-wielding hand, but Rong Qianyu didn't stop, and the knife stabbed deeper. Blood was visible at the corner of Xue Ji's mouth, and he trembled as he struggled to hold on. He gave a forced, helpless smile, then struggled for a moment before collapsing.
The torture of more than ten days had left him unable to endure any more pain, and he died in a moment.
Seeing that the person in front of her was completely calm, Rong Qianyu finally realized that she had killed someone. Reason took over her mind, and it seemed like an instant. She hurriedly threw away the knife in her hand that was still dripping with blood.
There were gusts of cold wind in Zhaoyu Prison, bringing with it a dampness that was harmful to the body. Rong Qianyu stood in the shadows, looking at Xue Ji lying in a pool of blood, holding his stomach, his face grim, his eyes staring straight in her direction.
Three days later, Xue Ji's body was hung at the city gate for public display. It was rumored that Xue Ji had escaped from prison and was plotting something illegal, so he was executed in front of the palace gate. Many officials close to him were also executed at the same time.
After that night, Rong Qianyu fell seriously ill and was bedridden for several days. Fu Hua ignored her and continued to concentrate on his own affairs, as if nothing had happened.
Cui Rumei continued to be favored, even more than before.
"Your Majesty has been feeling unwell lately. Would you like to summon the Imperial Physician to come and see him?"
Fu Hua was also listless and felt powerless to do many things. "Heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine. Even if the imperial doctors are very skilled, they can't cure heart disease."
"Then Your Majesty, would you like to find a folk alchemist to take a look?"
Fu Hua tilted his head to glance at Cui Rumei, who understood and began to recommend.
"What alchemist?"
"I guarantee that I'm definitely not some charlatan. I'm a Taoist priest that my brother met when he was in office a few years ago. This Taoist priest is very powerful. He can cure any strange disease that even the masters of medicine can't."
"So powerful?" Fu Hua said, "Then please come into the palace and take a look. Once this matter is settled, your brother's affairs will be forgiven."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will go and revise the book right away!"
"By the way, how is the Queen?" Fu Hua asked. If he hadn't asked this question, it would seem as if he and Rong Qianyu had never had any grudges against each other.
Cui Rumei massaged Fu Hua's head while saying, "After the Empress came out of the prison, she fell ill again and stayed indoors for quite some time."
"She is also worried. I don't know if she is too frightened or heartbroken." Fu Hua said to himself.
Cui Rumei had been in the palace for a while, and she had lost the outward aggressiveness she had when she first arrived. And now that she was pregnant, she acted even more virtuous and steady. "Perhaps it's because Master Xue just passed away. He couldn't marry during his lifetime, and he wasn't seen having affairs with any of the palace maids. He and the Empress were close friends, so the Empress must be very upset."
"A friend of life and death?" Fu Hua keenly grasped this sentence from many ambiguous words.
There were many things he had not participated in and was not aware of. When Cui Rumei suddenly brought them up, it was discovered that he and Rong Qianyu had very little in common.
"yes."
Fu Hua frowned slightly and said, "Don't mention this matter again."
A few months later, a man dressed as a Taoist priest was brought into the inner court by a young eunuch.
This person's eyes were wide open, observing everything in the palace without averting his gaze: the magnificent corridors with golden arches, the orderly eunuchs and palace maids, and the not-too-dignified, pale-faced emperor.
After a brief greeting, the old Taoist took out his tool and began to tell fortunes in a serious manner.
When the tortoise shell falls to the ground, the hexagram is complete.
The old Taoist stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, this hexagram suggests neither good nor bad luck. If it is not resolved, it may harm your Majesty's dragon body and even the country. However, resolving it is not easy. Everything depends on your Majesty's luck."
Fu Hua: "What do you mean?"
"Looking at the hexagram, it's a bad omen. Yin and Yang intertwine, clouds and mist linger, making it difficult to discern good or bad luck. You must wait patiently. Your Majesty is destined to have a noble person to help you, but the opportunity for this noble person and your Majesty has not yet arrived. If it succeeds, it will be like a new hope after a dark period. If it fails, it will be like the end of the road, and it will be difficult to compete!"
"How much truth and how much falsehood does what you say have? Why should I believe you?"
The old Taoist stepped forward, looked directly at Fu Hua, and asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, whether you have recently been experiencing fatigue, restlessness, frequent cold sweats at night, increased urination, and frequent nightmare awakenings?"
"Yes, yes, your Majesty has these symptoms." Cui Rumei echoed.
Fu Hua was caught in the middle and didn't know what to say. He had all these hidden illnesses from taking the elixir, and it seemed inappropriate to expose them. So he just acquiesced to his symptoms, half-understanding them. "Then how can I facilitate the opportunity for you and me to be together?"
The old Taoist squinted his eyes, stroked his beard and said, "This noble is trapped in a thick fog, and Your Majesty needs to clear the clouds and see the light yourself. However, I have some methods that may help Your Majesty escape from this predicament as soon as possible."
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