Emperor Jingxi is forty-five years old this year, while the average age of previous emperors of Daxia is forty-nine.
Perhaps because he discovered that his predecessors did not live long, the older Emperor Jingxi got, the more he cared about his health.
In short, he had not enjoyed enough of the life of an emperor and did not want to go down to see his ancestors early.
In order to live longer, he often discussed health preservation methods with others, including imperial physicians, but also elderly court officials.
For example, the Minister of Rites, who had served two emperors and was now nearly seventy years old, was often kept in the Qianqing Palace by him to discuss the secrets of health preservation.
Exploring health preservation is not a problem. The important thing is that Emperor Jingxi must not learn from the last emperor of the previous dynasty to refine elixirs and pursue immortality.
Although Emperor Jingxi was not a pioneering ruler, he was also a commendable ruler who maintained the status quo.
The officials of the Great Xia court did not want to change the emperor for the time being, let alone change the dynasty.
Therefore, every time someone who was left in the Qianqing Palace by Emperor Jingxi to discuss health preservation methods came out, many people would come to test what he and Emperor Jingxi had discussed.
Most of these people were censors.
The censor had already thought about it.
It would be fine if the person coming out of the Qianqing Palace discussed serious health preservation methods with Emperor Jingxi.
If anyone tried to trick Emperor Jingxi into becoming addicted to elixirs, they would make him execute that person even at the cost of their life.
After several years of fermentation, the things these imperial censors discussed privately became known to everyone in the court.
At present, no court official is willing to become a seductress who confuses the emperor and kills the censor even if he makes a death-defying remonstration, and leaves a bad reputation for eternity after his death.
Under such circumstances, no one would have thought that someone would dare to present the elixir of longevity to Emperor Jingxi on the Emperor's birthday festival.
During the Emperor's birthday celebration, court officials presented gifts one by one, and soon it was the turn of an official with a big belly, a sunken face, and squinty eyes.
"Your Majesty, this is a longevity elixir that I accidentally found. Regular use can extend your life by ten years. I, a humble servant, cannot bear to enjoy this life alone, so I present it to Your Majesty."
The voice was so flattering that all the officials in the capital turned their heads and stared at him.
The guy with the worst popularity and a big belly who hasn't been promoted for many years: "..."
Why do I feel so cold all over?
The princes and princesses were the first to present gifts. Yan Cheng presented an authentic painting of a vast landscape by a famous artist, and the seventh prince presented a white jade Buddha statue found by the Yun family.
Seeing the small box in the hand of the pot-bellied minister, the Seventh Prince said to Yan Cheng, "He must have no connections in the capital."
Otherwise, he would have known that the officials in the capital were on guard day and night, fearing that Emperor Jingxi would develop the bad habit of taking elixirs.
"Maybe someone doesn't like him and wants to mess with him on purpose."
Otherwise, how could he jump out so accurately and hit the sore spots of the majority of Beijing officials.
"The Emperor hasn't spoken yet. I don't know what he's thinking. I feel like the Imperial Censor is about to jump out."
As soon as he finished speaking, an imperial censor jumped to the center of the stage.
A thin but bright-eyed young imperial censor stepped forward and shouted:
"You are so bold and treacherous! How dare you deceive the Lord with your alluring appearance? How can you present such an object of unknown origin before Your Majesty?"
Emperor Jingxi narrowed his eyes.
Everyone in the room was whispering and talking.
The fat-bellied minister's expression suddenly changed, and he glared at the censor angrily.
"You ignorant child, stop your nonsense! I spent a huge sum of money to obtain this elixir from a hermit master. It will surely help Your Majesty prolong his life and enjoy a prosperous era!"
The censor remained undeterred and declared, "Your Majesty, this man is a flatterer. I'm afraid the offering he made has ulterior motives! Where in the world can such a miraculous elixir exist? Could it be a demonic being crafted to harm Your Majesty?"
Emperor Jingxi frowned slightly and fell into deep thought for a moment.
Seeing this, the pot-bellied minister kowtowed hurriedly and said, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you, as the sun and the moon can attest! If this elixir is fake, I am willing to die as an apology!"
The Imperial Censor sneered, "Humph! You are such a cunning person, you will do anything to achieve your goals, how could you care about life or death!"
Emperor Jingxi: "Bring this elixir here for me to see."
The minister with a big belly showed joy on his face and quickly raised the brocade box high.
Seeing this, many court officials changed color.
The Imperial Censor also thought that Emperor Jingxi really believed in the effects of the longevity elixir, and he was extremely anxious and said again: "Your Majesty, this must not be done!"
Emperor Jingxi waved his hand and signaled for the pills to be brought over.
The Sixth Prince has been recuperating for a long time, and recently he was finally able to let go of his worries and go out for a walk.
There were three scars on his left cheek running from the side of his nose to his ear, which looked very scary.
In fact, he is in much better condition now than before.
When there were still blood scabs on his face, even he would be frightened and step back when he saw himself in the mirror.
"The longevity pill is obviously fake, so why did Father still believe it?"
Although the Sixth Prince was able to overcome his psychological trauma and go out for a walk with the guidance of his mother and brothers, he was still not as cheerful as before and was very gloomy.
The man who was as silent as a background suddenly spoke up, which scared the Seventh Prince.
He looked at the Sixth Prince several times before realizing that he was being spoken to.
"Father didn't believe it."
The Seventh Prince only said this.
The Sixth Prince wanted to say something, but after seeing the so-called longevity elixir, Emperor Jingxi had the minister with a big belly held down.
He was actually going to be caned in court on the emperor's birthday.
The fat-bellied minister's face turned pale, his whole body trembling, and he kept begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!"
The emperor looked at him coldly and said, "How dare you use your fake beauty to deceive me on my birthday? Your crime is unforgivable! Today I will make you pay for your crime!"
"Execution!"
At the emperor's command, two guards holding court sticks walked behind the pot-bellied minister, raised the sticks high, and brought them down heavily.
The court officials breathed a sigh of relief, and when they turned around, they found that the young man had returned to his seat at some point.
After the beating in court, the minister with a big belly had fainted and was carried out of the hall.
The emperor glanced at his subordinates and said, "I hope you will take today's events as a warning. Do not take chances and try to deceive me!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Halfway through the Wanshou Festival, Emperor Jingxi, along with his concubines, court officials, ladies and young people, moved to another palace to watch a play.
At this time people have free time.
Yan Cheng originally wanted to go directly to the next palace with the Seventh Prince, but the sun outside was too strong, so Qu Zhaoxing found them.
"I've heard that someone has set up a trap against you, with the goal of alienating your relationship."
He looked around to see if there was anyone else around, then lowered his voice and spoke bluntly.
Yan Cheng and the Seventh Prince looked at each other, and both saw surprise and confusion in each other's eyes.
They were surprised by Qu Zhaoxing's reminder and didn't understand who was targeting them.
Yan Cheng: "Who wants to alienate us?"
Qu Zhaoxing shook his head: "I just got this information by accident from a chess piece. I can't be sure who is targeting you."
"I'm not as smart as you. You should investigate the mastermind behind this yourself. I'm reminding you because I'm afraid you've been tricked and are really being alienated."
"If your relationship isn't good, it will be hard for me to repay you in the future. What if you both want me to target each other?"
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