"Give it to me." Song Ting took two steps forward, and the guard turned and presented the wooden box to him.
The scalding hot wooden box burned the skin on Song Ting's fingers as soon as it was in his hands, but Song Ting seemed not to feel the pain and opened the wooden box with a normal expression.
The wooden box was badly damaged on the outside, but fortunately the contents inside were unharmed.
"What is this?" The young emperor curiously took the papers and involuntarily read the words on them, "The sinner Chu Minghuan..."
The young emperor looked at each sheet of paper one by one. The names of the young emperor and the empress dowager were clearly written on these papers. With each sheet he looked at, the young emperor's face turned paler.
After looking around, the names on the paper matched exactly the names on the backs of the paper figures from before, and even the content was exactly the same.
The emperor was filled with shock and rage: "What on earth is going on?!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. There must be some misunderstanding here!"
Zhang Bingzhi was already quite frightened when the emperor was holding those few pieces of paper, but by this time he had calmed down and immediately knelt down.
"A few pieces of paper don't prove anything. The fate of the Dakini Master is currently unknown. Perhaps someone has framed him and deliberately created these things."
When they found the items in his room, they accused him of being a sorcerer and threatened to kill him. Now that they've found them in Kongxing's room, it's a frame-up. That old fox is truly shameless.
Huaiyue chuckled inwardly. However… his gaze casually swept around the room and met Song Ting's eyes not far away.
The latter gave him a barely perceptible nod, offering a reassuring look. It was a gesture to put his mind at ease.
—It seems that their formidable commander has already devised a plan and intends to use their own methods against them.
"I feared it was a misunderstanding, so I took the liberty of retrieving a copy of the sutra from the master's room. Your Majesty, please take a look." The guard handed over the sutra as well.
Huaiyue's attention was drawn, and her gaze followed the young emperor as he turned, discovering that the handwriting on the scripture was exactly the same as the handwriting on the note.
"Hmph!" Chu Minghuan handed the two items to Zhang Bingzhi. "Now that the evidence is conclusive, in my opinion, that so-called 'Kongxing' is not a master at all, but a demonic monk. This matter must be related to him. Your Excellency is confused and has been deceived by this demonic monk!"
Zhang Bingzhi trembled like a leaf: "This old minister...this old minister is only..."
"I know, Your Excellency was worried about the Empress Dowager's health, which is why you were tempted by that evil monk. I will not blame you, Your Excellency. Please come here quickly."
After saying that, the young emperor turned to Song Ting and called out, "Minister Song."
"Your subject is present."
"Find him for me, alive," Chu Minghuan said. "I want to see what that wicked monk is really up to!"
"Your subject obeys the decree."
...
Wang Guanghe's understanding of the Thousand-Day Intoxication was limited to the ancient books he had read. He could not find any effective antidote in a short time and dared not try it rashly. He could only rely on silver needles to keep the Empress Dowager alive.
Essentially, it's the same principle as Song Ting using internal energy to expel the poison.
The young emperor stood guard outside, with Huaiyue accompanying him.
This situation was beyond Chu Huaixu's expectations. He couldn't be sure if the young emperor really believed his fabricated identity, nor did he know what the other party was up to. He could only remain calm and quietly sit with the other party.
The woman was lying not far from him, her face as pale as paper, her body emaciated, barely clinging to life.
The toxins continued to damage her internal organs, and blood began to leak from her lungs again, intermittently gushing from her mouth...
Just by looking at her now, you can tell what kind of pain she is enduring.
A thousand days of intoxication.
The more appealing the name, the more terrifying the poison. It will render the poisoned person unconscious, amplify their deepest fears, and cause them to have recurring nightmares day after day, ultimately leading to their death from terror within those nightmares.
This kind of death suits the woman inside, and it also suits the young emperor and Zhang Bingzhi, and...
Song Ting.
Chu Huaixu suddenly felt a sense of exhilaration. He clenched his fingers, hidden beneath his sleeves, into his palms so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.
"Huaiyue." The young emperor suddenly called his name, and Chu Huaixu's thoughts came to an abrupt halt. He turned to face Chu Minghuan, "Your Majesty."
Chu Minghuan pushed the plate of pastries in his hand over: "The pastries at Baima Temple are very good, Huaiyue, have a taste."
Chu Huaixu nodded respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The young emperor smiled, and seeing that he didn't move, picked up a piece of mung bean cake and handed it to him. Huaiyue was stunned for a moment, then accepted it with trepidation and thanked him again.
The young emperor stared at him for a long time, his eyes filled with a multitude of emotions, as if he were looking at someone else through him, or perhaps just at him.
This made Chu Huaixu even more uneasy. He always felt that the young emperor's attitude was strange.
"No need to be nervous." The young emperor seemed to be able to see through his heart and said, "You look so much like my old friend. When I see you, I think of him and wonder what he would be like if he were still alive."
Huaiyue took a small bite of the mung bean cake and lowered her eyes, saying, "It can't be like a slave."
“You are indeed very different,” the little emperor said. He then picked up a piece of mung bean cake and took a bite.
The mung bean cake at Baima Temple is exceptional; it's soft, sweet, and melts in your mouth. However, Chu Minghuan felt a slight bitterness on the back of his tongue.
"Actually, calling him an old friend is just wishful thinking on my part. That person probably doesn't even remember ever having any interaction with me."
"..."
To be honest, Chu Huaixu really didn't remember. The young emperor had just been referring to him as an old friend, which Chu Huaixu found strange. He was used to the young emperor's sarcastic remarks, so he assumed the young emperor was being sarcastic.
Judging from the other party's tone at this moment, it seems that this is not entirely true.
This person didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him. But what connection could he possibly have with the young emperor?
He seemed to have barely even seen the young emperor a few times.
The young emperor, however, seemed to recall old friends and past events through this face.
He looked at Huaiyue again and said softly, "Since we have nothing to do, if Young Master Huaiyue doesn't mind, would you like to hear me tell a story?"
"..." Don't you want to listen to what you're saying? Your mother is still lying on her bed, her life hanging in the balance. How can you be so idle?
Chu Huaixu was speechless, but he couldn't directly offend the young emperor, so he could only say, "Your Majesty, please speak."
"Actually, I don't know where to begin. Back then, our statuses were vastly different. He was the late emperor's beloved grandson, while I was a prince who was not favored by the late emperor."
“Our situations in the palace were worlds apart. I couldn’t even get close to him casually, until one winter…”
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