Song Ting gently placed her palm on his throat, her voice deep: "You're not allowed to say that."
Huaiyue ignored his warning and looked at him defiantly: "Am I wrong? Aren't you afraid of hurting the feelings of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty by defending that old friend like this?"
Song Ting's hands tightened little by little, her eyes turning bloodshot.
Yang Zhaowen knew how strong Song Ting was; he had personally witnessed this man effortlessly snap the necks of two palace maids in the Weichang Palace.
If they wanted to strangle Huaiyue now, it would be just as easy.
"Lord Song, please have mercy."
Song Ting coldly swept his gaze over him: "What, Commander Yang, are you increasingly disregarding me? I'm disciplining my own people, and you want to interfere?"
"I dare not, I was merely following orders."
Song Ting frowned slightly, then abruptly released her grip. Huaiyue clutched her neck, coughing violently, but her mouth remained unforgiving, laughing between coughs:
“My lord, look at this Commander Yang. Doesn’t he look a lot like one of your secret guards? They’re both wooden stakes. Why don’t you find a way to recruit him and make a pair of wooden stakes?”
Song Ting glanced at him expressionlessly and left.
Huai Xu waved a brocade handkerchief that seemed to appear out of nowhere behind him and called out, "Come again, sir! Were you satisfied with how I served you yesterday?"
"..." Song Ting's breathing was unsteady, and she almost made a fool of herself in front of Yang Zhaowen.
Not long after returning to the room, Xiao Wu appeared there without anyone noticing.
"You're back?"
"yes."
"How did things go?"
"The person has been delivered, please rest assured, sir."
Huai Xu's health condition was always a thorn in Song Ting's side. After finding the Ghost-Faced Doctor, he ordered several secret guards to send Huai Xu back to Chang'an without delay, just waiting to treat him after the prayer ceremony.
Finally, some good news came, and Song Ting breathed a slight sigh of relief.
“There’s one more thing,” Xiao Wu said, “Wang Guanghe will arrive at Baima Temple today, but… the young emperor is coming along too…”
A crack appeared in Song Ting's expression: "What did you say?"
Xiao Wu swallowed hard and had to repeat himself: "The little emperor... came along too..."
Song Ting pinched her temples, feeling a headache coming on: "What's he doing here?"
With the White Horse Temple in such a state of chaos, why is the young emperor coming to join in? Is he perhaps thinking it's not chaotic enough and has come all this way to add fuel to the fire?
Xiao Wu clearly couldn't answer his question, and said tremblingly, "This subordinate doesn't know, perhaps... perhaps it's because I'm worried about the Empress Dowager."
What are you worried about?
Song cursed inwardly.
"Go down first."
...
That evening, the carriage from Chang'an finally arrived.
Although he had been prepared, when Song Ting actually saw the young emperor lift the curtain and get off the carriage, his vision went black, and he almost couldn't help but hit him.
"Your Majesty." The emperor had arrived in person, and Song Ting was about to bow when the young emperor stopped her with a hand. "Minister Song, I came here secretly this time and didn't want too many people to know. There's no need for you to bow."
The White Horse Temple is not peaceful these days, so it's better if fewer people know that the emperor is here.
But since the young emperor understands this principle, why did he come here?
Song Ting felt a growing headache as she thought about it, and her face became even more pale.
Xiao Wu felt the cold gaze of his adult and felt a chill on his neck.
"Why does Minister Song look so unhappy? Are you displeased to see me?" Even the young emperor noticed, and asked Song Ting with a smile, knowing full well what was going on.
Song Ting said with a dark face, "Your Majesty, I dare not." He walked to the other side and helped Wang Guanghe, who was still in the carriage, out.
The latter had been jostled around in the carriage for five or six days, and his old bones were almost broken. He almost lost his balance when his feet touched the ground. If Song Ting hadn't been there to support him, he would have fallen off long ago.
"Thank you, Commander."
Song Ting nodded slightly.
"Is the head of the academy still holding on?" the young emperor asked.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, this old minister is fine."
Upon hearing this, the young emperor immediately said, "In that case, let's hurry and go see the Empress Dowager. I'm really worried about her!"
As Wang Guanghe and his entourage hurried to Baima Temple, the Imperial Guards along the way were already relaying the latest news, so without Song Ting needing to say much, Wang Guanghe already had a pretty good understanding of the Empress Dowager's current situation.
Seeing that he was walking unsteadily, Song Ting scooped him up and slung him onto his back, saying, "Lord Wang, I'm sorry."
Before Wang Guanghe could react, the man was already ten feet away—
"Hey—slow down—slow down..."
The Empress Dowager's health deteriorated day by day, and by this time she was almost constantly in a coma. Chunxin and Ruyi took turns staying by her bedside to take care of her.
Chunxin was standing next to him at this moment.
"Your Majesty, I have arrived."
"Mother, please open your eyes and look at your son."
The young emperor held the Empress Dowager's hand, his eyes red-rimmed, barely managing to hold back his tears. The Empress Dowager, however, kept her eyes tightly shut, completely oblivious to her son's calls.
"Your Majesty," Song Ting helped the young emperor up, "Let Chief Physician Wang examine the Empress first."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please do not grieve too much, lest it harm your health. With Chief Physician Wang here, Her Majesty will surely be able to turn misfortune into good fortune."
...
"Your Majesty, please have some tea to soothe your throat." The emperor and his minister sat at a table in the outer room. The door to the inner room was open, and half of the bed could be seen from their positions.
Chu Minghuan gripped the cup, his expression far from pleasant. "Does Song Qing know who is trying to harm the Empress Dowager?"
Song Ting suddenly knelt down: "Your Majesty, I failed in my duty to protect the Empress Dowager and deserve to die ten thousand times over."
"Why must you act like this before me, Minister Song? Get up. I was just asking casually; I'm not trying to punish you."
"..."
"I do not believe in any supernatural or supernatural phenomena. Ghosts and gods are not scary; what is scary is the human heart."
It was rather amusing to say such things in a temple, but both of them looked very serious. When the young emperor saw that Song Ting refused to get up, he personally helped her up.
"If there were ghosts and gods in this world, I would probably have been torn to pieces by the wronged spirits long ago."
Song Ting was startled: "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words."
The young emperor, however, didn't take it seriously and smiled nonchalantly: "Doesn't Minister Song think so?"
"..." Song was speechless upon hearing this.
Both he and Chu Minghuan had climbed to their current positions by stepping over countless bones. If there were truly vengeful ghosts that could claim lives, they should have died countless times long ago.
"Your Majesty is a true dragon descended to earth; even if there are ghosts and demons, they cannot get close to Your Majesty," he said calmly.
However, for some reason, the young emperor found these words amusing. He shook his head with a smile and then sighed, "Doesn't Minister Song know whether I am a true dragon or not?"
"..." Song Ting dared not respond to this. The emperor could tease him, but he absolutely could not, so he could only remain silent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com