Chapter 104 His body exploded and he died without leaving a trace.
Just as Bai Yuheng had said, within a day or two, some vassal kings took the opportunity to raise troops and head to the capital, all using the slogan of "upholding orthodoxy" to unify the country.
Among the several vassal kings, the most powerful was the Prince of Qin. He even found the palace maid who had served the Empress Dowager and who had run away after the Empress Dowager's death when she was to be buried with her. The palace maid claimed that the Empress Dowager had secretly met with her lover many times when she was still in her boudoir. After the Empress Dowager entered the palace, she became pregnant within a few days of being favored by the late emperor and secretly concealed the number of months she was pregnant.
In the end, even the midwife who delivered the Empress Dowager's baby was found out, and she also claimed that the Empress Dowager's premature baby looked exactly the same as the full-term baby!
The details and timing were described in great detail and with absolute accuracy.
Immediately, the court officials were in uproar, and the emperor was so enraged that he fainted in the court.
The regional princes advanced with unstoppable momentum, heading straight for the capital.
In an instant, the world fell into chaos, the number of refugees increased, bandits ran rampant, and countless people died or were injured.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Imperial Palace.
"Tian'er," the emperor said weakly, leaning against his pillow and taking Li Tiankuo's hand, "I heard that your fellow disciples are in your residence. Could you ask them to help investigate the cause of death of your brothers and sisters?"
Li Tiankuo frowned slightly: "Isn't this matter being investigated by the Dali Temple? Besides, the cultivation world is not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the mortal realm..."
The old emperor knew his upright nature, so he spoke slowly and gently: "The premise that the cultivation world does not interfere in mortal affairs is that demons and monsters must not invade our mortal realm! Cough cough cough..."
The old emperor, his eyes half-closed, looked pitiful, barely breathing: "Your brothers and sisters were harmed by those demons! Isn't it your duty to vanquish demons?"
"...Yes, Father, I will go back and ask for their opinions." Li Tiankuo did not immediately agree on their behalf.
The old emperor took it as a yes, coughed a few times, and said wearily, "Crown Prince, the deaths of your brothers and sisters must not be known to outsiders. We need to do it in secret. I will invite them into the palace under the pretext of exorcising evil spirits to protect me."
Li Tiankuo merely frowned, knowing that his words implied an unchangeable meaning, so he did not argue with him.
"yes."
As I came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, I happened to run into Princess Jing'an, who had come to deliver her medicine.
"Royal Sister," Li Tiankuo nodded and called out.
"Xiao Tian, wait a minute!" Princess Jing'an instructed her maid to bring the medicine forward, and she pulled Li Tiankuo's hand aside. "I have something to tell you."
"What's wrong?"
Princess Jing'an looked at it carefully from left to right, then took out a jade pendant from her bosom. It was made of white jade, but the patterns on it had been soaked with blood, like a blood lotus in bloom.
"What's this?" Li Tiankuo thought the object looked familiar. "From Jia Ning?"
“Yes.” Princess Jing’an nodded heavily. “This was found in the bedchamber where Jianing was murdered.”
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, her pitiful gaze filled with affection: "Before Jia Ning passed away, she asked me to accompany her to Chunshaju to buy clothes, but I never expected that the next day... the next day she... she was killed by demons!"
Li Tiankuo took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to her: "Royal sister, the dead cannot be brought back to life, please take care of yourself."
Princess Jing'an wiped away her tears and smiled at him, "Yes, we should look forward. I heard that the immortal sect you belong to has a special technique that can see the murderer through blood. I found this after the demon destroyed the entire palace."
Li Tiankuo took it, though he didn't know where she learned about this technique, he didn't investigate further.
"You must be busy, right? I won't bother you any longer," Princess Jing'an said with a smile. "We can have a proper chat once things have calmed down."
Li Tiankuo smiled as well. If there was anyone in the palace who had a soft spot for him, besides Consort Shu who harbored ulterior motives, it would be his elder sister, Princess Jing'an. As fellow victims of bullying, they had shared many moments of mutual support and sympathy. Thinking back to the few days since returning to the capital, he realized he hadn't seen her alone more than a few times. He really had a lot to say to his confidante, especially... that matter. Asking her was probably the most appropriate thing to do.
Li Tiankuo nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll definitely bring a few jugs of good wine over after this is over. Please don't think I'm being stingy, my elder sister."
Princess Jing'an smiled and said, "I'm happy that you came. There's no need for formalities between us, siblings."
Li Tiankuo smiled genuinely.
*
Bai Yuheng and the others followed the chief eunuch into the magnificent palace.
"Please rest in Yunxiu Palace for the next few days. If you need anything, you can call upon the servants in the palace." The eunuch smiled kindly and then gave them a jade-inlaid gold token. "This is His Majesty's token. As long as you show the token, it is as if you have seen His Majesty. Everything in the palace has been arranged, but His Majesty is always afraid that some ignorant person might offend you, so he bestowed this token upon you."
Bai Yuheng accepted it, flattered and surprised, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. We will certainly do our best."
The chief eunuch smiled and said, "You're too kind, Immortal Master. You've been traveling for a long time. Please rest first. If you need anything, please come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to find me."
Bai Yuheng and the others nodded.
After watching the chief eunuch leave, the four of them entered the magnificent palace.
Cui Mingcan took a long breath.
"Little Kuo, your family is really..." Cui Mingcan said with exaggerated expression, "This is my first time in the palace! It feels just as good as our sect!"
Cen Ying rolled her eyes at him, inwardly cursing his lack of ambition, but the next second she became excited: "Who isn't! When I get back to my uncle's house, I'm definitely going to have a good chat with my cousin! This is the imperial palace, after all!"
Li Tiankuo chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.
Compared to Cen Ying and Cui Mingcan, Bai Yuheng and Pei Yuan appeared much calmer and more composed.
One had seen the palaces of past dynasties and was naturally not surprised, while the other was indifferent to these worldly things and only cared about people.
"With this token, things are much more convenient. The Soul-Seeking Lamp is pointing to the Imperial Palace." Cui Mingcan repeatedly touched the token, thinking that they had searched the north thoroughly these past few days, leaving only the Imperial Palace unsearched. The fragments of the Four Directions Mirror must be here.
“However, we must be careful,” Li Tiankuo said. “Father is very suspicious. If he sees that we have ulterior motives, he may think that we are using him. It would be better if we couldn’t explain it to him, but I’m afraid he might stop us.”
Cui Mingcan frowned and suggested, "Why don't we just say it directly?"
Bai Yuheng nodded in agreement: "That's the only way. The palace is too big. We can't possibly set foot in it all on our own. We need the emperor's support to make things much easier."
"Then let Xiao Kuo handle this matter."
The four looked at Li Tiankuo, who nodded.
"Alright, let's rest for a bit, and then we'll go check on the place where the princess and prince were killed."
"Um."
Afternoon.
The five split into several groups. Bai Yuheng and Pei Yuan went to the palaces of the Crown Prince and the two princes who had been killed first, respectively. Cui Mingcan went to the princess's palace, Cen Ying examined the bodies, and Li Tiankuo was summoned by the emperor. With the Crown Prince and several princes murdered, the emperor was so enraged that he was bedridden and unable to handle state affairs. Only Li Tiankuo and Prince An remained, so the prime minister assisted them in managing the government.
It is said that the Crown Prince's palace was in a more tragic state than the others. He died as if his body had exploded, with blood and flesh dripping and filling the entire palace. All the items in the palace were also destroyed.
The other princes and princesses at least had some intact parts of their bodies.
Standing outside the palace, Bai Yuheng could smell a strong, foul, and bloody stench. The palace servants said that the palace had been thoroughly cleaned more than a dozen times, but the smell still lingered, faint and menacing, sending chills down one's spine.
But beneath this stench, there was always a familiar scent, faint and fleeting, as if I had smelled it somewhere before.
Since the scene had already been cleaned up and all the items had been destroyed, she walked around inside and found that everything was newly purchased and she did not find anything unusual.
The doors and windows were repaired, the utensils were in order, and everything looked flawless. It seemed that, just as the rumors said, the emperor was not legitimate and angered the gods, who then sent down divine punishment, causing all his children to die by exploding.
Bai Yuheng watched over the little eunuch waiting to receive orders. He only dared to stand a few meters away, looking humble, and upon closer inspection, his legs were trembling slightly.
"Are you a servant in the Crown Prince's palace?"
"Yes, Your Highness, this servant is in charge of Your Highness's daily life."
Even his voice trembled slightly when he spoke.
Bai Yuheng smiled: "Was there anything suspicious before the Crown Prince fell asleep?"
The young eunuch shook his head, his face turning pale as he recalled the bloody scene he had witnessed when he opened the door. His legs trembled, and he felt as if he were about to vomit.
"Your Highness was perfectly fine before he went to bed, and even told me that he would be boating on the lake with Princess Jianing tomorrow."
"Did you hear any noise after you went to bed?"
The young eunuch shook his head again: "No, this servant has been guarding the side room and did not hear any sound."
"How does it taste?"
The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, thought carefully, and then shook his head: "I didn't smell anything along the way, but I was definitely awakened by the smell of blood the next day..."
Bai Yuheng nodded, seeing that she couldn't get any information from him.
"Oh, by the way, does the Crown Prince have any personal items? Like his nightgown or something?"
The young eunuch was somewhat embarrassed: "Those things were all ordered to be burned by the Empress..."
Bai Yuheng frowned: "What about the other princes and princesses?"
"...and so it is."
"Why were they prepared for the coffin so quickly? Did the Dali Temple find any clues?"
The young eunuch stammered, "This...this is all an order from above. This servant is just following orders...As for why the burial was done so quickly, firstly, the Empress is heartbroken at the loss of her son and cannot bear to see the princes' remains left unburied; secondly, it is the rule of the Great Zhou royal family that if it is not a natural death, the deceased's clothes and belongings must be burned as soon as possible, otherwise they will have nothing to wear or use in the afterlife..."
"As for the Dali Temple, this servant knows nothing about it..."
Bai Yuheng took a deep breath, decided not to make things difficult for the little eunuch, nodded, turned around and walked out of the East Palace to meet up with the others.
The first person they saw was Pei Yuan, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
"How is it?" Bai Yuheng stepped forward and asked.
Pei Yuan shook his head: "Everything has been cleaned up."
“It seems someone is in a hurry.” Bai Yuheng narrowed her eyes. “In that case, we don’t need to check the other people’s residences. Let’s go ask Xiaoying and see if she can find any clues on the bodies.”
Although it is called a corpse, it is actually just a corpse pieced together from pieces of varying sizes.
The scene was bloody and horrific. Even a coroner with years of experience in performing autopsies was greatly shocked by it, tossing and turning all night, and nearly vomiting.
Several people waited for Cen Ying to come out outside the palace where the corpses were kept.
A short while later, Cen Ying emerged, pale-faced and dazed.
"Xiao Ying? Xiao Ying!" Bai Yuheng shouted, bringing her back to her senses. Cen Ying immediately broke free from her hand and ran to the flower bed to vomit.
I almost vomited up all the bile.
"Are you alright?" Bai Yuheng asked worriedly, her delicate brows furrowed.
Cen Ying vomited a few times, waved her hand, took out a medicine bottle from her bag, poured out a pill, and only felt better after taking it.
Taking a few deep breaths, she said in an extremely complicated tone, "Terrible! Absolutely terrifying! It's even more ruthless than killing an enemy!"
Bai Yuheng was relieved to see that her eyes were red and her pale face had regained some color, but her heart jumped when she heard her words.
"Oh dear, I don't think I can eat dinner tonight! I feel nauseous..."
Cen Ying frowned, smelling the blood on her clothes, and said with disgust, "Let's go back first. I need to wash myself properly, I smell terrible..."
Bai Yuheng and the others nodded. She helped her out of the palace and returned to Yunxiu Palace.
A patch of green gauze glimpsed behind the palace gate.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Please add this to your favorites! You can add "The Demon Lord Actually Wants to Conquer Me" to your favorites on the author's page! [cat emoji][dog emoji with rose emoji]
The Light of Righteousness x Bloodthirsty Demon Lord
Sweet and righteous girl x Love-obsessed villain
Before her sudden death, Zhu Tan, who had been a peony grower for many years, vowed that in her next life she would enjoy life to the fullest and have a sweet romance.
She closed her eyes and soon realized that she seemed to have transmigrated into a book.
She transmigrated into a fantasy novel she had recently read, and even became the daughter of the Cloud Sect leader, a minor cannon fodder character with the same name as her.
The original owner of this body was a delicate and beautiful woman, Zhu Tan secretly chuckled, thinking that she could lie down and do nothing after that...
Can anyone tell me what this "Exorcising Demons and Protecting the Righteous Path System" is?
Zhu - Born with a life of toil - Tan: How despicable!
In a fit of anger, I snapped (〃＞皿＜)！！
With tears in her eyes, she packed her bags and embarked on her journey of leveling up and defeating monsters.
*
Demon Lord Ying Wuyu is a being feared by all three realms. He is a bloodthirsty, cruel, and ruthless Asura who kills without blinking an eye.
He suffered a qi deviation during cultivation and nearly exploded and died.
But she was saved by a system called the Love System.
Xiao Ai: [Please claim your Love Manual, host. Let's find sweet romance together!]
Ying Wuyu: "Get lost."
puff--
He spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Gentle Xiao Ai smiles sweetly: [Rule number one in the dating manual: Be a gentleman and don't swear at girls!]
"..."
[Please see which romantic partner you need guidance on~]
"..."
Controlled by an unknown force, Ying Wuyu could only lie low, glancing at the delicate and beautiful woman who could be strangled with one hand.
Once he gets rid of this system, he'll slap this world to death.
The Demon Lord at the beginning: I want to kill you.
The future Demon Lord: (wagging his big tail) (looking at me expectantly) Don't you love me anymore? ...You didn't even smile at me today... (looking pitiful)
Zhu-Wuqing-Dull-Tan: Get out of here, get out of here, I cultivate the path of ruthlessness.
Being in a relationship will only slow down my sword-drawing speed!
*
A serious malfunction has occurred at the Skywalking System's task distribution center. At this time, the system is assigning tasks to the host...
The Love System, Xiao Ai, has been successfully launched: [Congratulations, host, you have been bound to the Love System. I am your love mentor...]
Huh?
Why is its host a man?
Or is he a terrifying demon?
*
[System integration successful. Congratulations, Your Majesty, on successfully binding to the Demon Extermination and Righteousness System. I am you...]
Um?
How did my host turn into such a delicate beauty?!
Isn't he supposed to be an arrogant and domineering protagonist?
#Oops, the system has linked the wrong person! What should I do? Help!#
#Oh well, let's just accept it as a mistake and make the best of it#
#Due to a glitch, the Demon Lord is forced into a relationship#
#What happens when the Demon Lord gets a love manual...#
#Long Aotian Bets on Love#
#Daily routine of taming a disobedient big dog#
#The Demon Lord's Self-Conquest Notes#
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