Chapter 163 Immortality
The wife of Duke Qin sat upright on a rosewood armchair, with an unconcealable look of worry on her well-maintained face.
She looked at her son Qin Xiu, who was as silent as a mountain. He still looked tall and stern.
The dark brocade robe made his features look even more profound, but his tightly pursed thin lips and the hands hanging at his sides, with their knuckles slightly white from exertion, silently revealed that his heart was far from as calm as he appeared on the surface.
"Cheng Yuan..."
Lady Qin Guogong sighed, her voice filled with heartache and helplessness, "Mother has heard about Ning Pavilion. You've been there three times in the past half month."
Qin Xiu's Adam's apple rolled slightly, his eyes fell on the lines on the ground in front of him, but he didn't answer.
"Mother knows you are suffering."
The Duke of Qin's wife's voice softened. "Mother truly loved that child. She was calm, intelligent, and had a tenacious nature."
"Back then, mother asked a fortune teller to compare your horoscopes. The fortune teller said it was a match made in heaven, a fate of harmonious couples. Mother also thought she would be a good match for you and a blessing to our Qin family."
She paused, her eyes filled with regret. "But now she has received the imperial decree of marriage from the Zhenbei Palace. He Ning is determined to win her over. Chengyuan, in this life, some fates are missed and they are missed forever. You can't wait, and neither can our Qin family wait for a woman whose heart is not with you and who is about to marry someone else."
Qin Xiu slowly raised his eyes and looked at his mother. In those bottomless eyes, there was an emotion that Lady Qin Guogong could not understand, a kind of depression that was almost paranoid.
"Mother, I understand."
In the end, he only uttered these three words and said nothing more.
Lady Qin looked at his clenched fists and finally let out a long sigh.
The mother and son looked at each other in silence.
It was not until late at night that Duke Qin returned home from the palace, exhausted.
He did not go to the backyard, but went straight to Qin Xiu's study and said in a deep voice: "Chengyuan, follow your father."
Under the quiet pavilion.
Qin Lie dismissed his attendants. Under the candlelight, his dignified face showed a barely perceptible fatigue and a solemnity.
"I was on duty in the palace today and heard some rumors."
Qin Lie lowered his voice to a whisper, "Your Majesty has been summoning the Chief Judge of the Imperial Hospital for secret talks lately, and each time they last has been longer and longer. Although I don't know the specific content, Your Majesty has been looking unusually excited lately, and his eyes have been dazed at times."
"From what I have seen of Your Majesty's words and actions, it seems that your interest in the art of immortality is growing stronger day by day."
Qin Xiu's eyes suddenly focused.
Immortality?
Emperor Lu Bin was in his prime, why did he suddenly become obsessed with this?
Thinking of what my father said about his excited complexion but dazed eyes, an ominous thought flashed through my mind.
I'm afraid the dragon is in trouble, and it's not just an ordinary illness.
Qin Lie looked at his son's sharp eyes, nodded slightly, and said, "As a king, a single thought can shake the foundation of the country. You are in a position of power in charge of the prison, so you must always be vigilant and discerning. Don't let the love of your children blind you."
This last sentence is meaningful.
"My son knows."
Qin Xiu responded in a deep voice, with only cold clarity and sharpness remaining on his face.
He understood his father's hint.
Returning to the study in his courtyard, the candlelight was bright.
Qin Xiu stood quietly in front of the window, looking at the dark night, like a dormant beast.
The emperor's physical condition was like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond, causing huge ripples in his heart.
This may not be a turning point.
A turning point that would allow him to regain the initiative and even pave the way for Jiang Qingning.
"Qingzhi, Qingming." He called in a deep voice.
Two dark shadows appeared behind him silently like ghosts.
"Pass the order down,"
Qin Xiu's voice was cold and decisive, carrying an unquestionable murderous aura. "Use all your hidden channels, spare no expense, and find me a talented individual who truly understands the art of alchemy within three days! Remember, they must be truly talented and knowledgeable, and even more so, loyal and reliable!"
Three days later, early morning court.
When Qin Xiu stepped out and respectfully presented two old men in Taoist robes with immortal looks, and explained that these two were wandering immortals who had studied ancient elixir recipes and had the ability to maintain youth and prolong life, the entire Golden Palace fell into an eerie silence.
He Ning stood at the front of the military generals' team, looking at Qin Xiu's calm profile, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
Qin Xiu has been making a lot of noise these days, and he is actually searching for this thing in secret. He is trying to please the emperor.
A burning light suddenly burst out from Lu Bin's eyes, which were originally a little tired, like a refreshing rain after a long drought.
"My dear Qin, are you serious?" His voice was filled with a barely perceptible hint of urgency.
"I dare not speak nonsense. Your Majesty will know after one try." Qin Xiu lowered his head with a respectful attitude.
That night, Lu Bin took the first Nine-Turns Elixir that was refined on the spot by a Taoist priest after being tested for poison by dozens of eunuchs.
As the pill entered his stomach, a strange warm current instantly surged through his limbs and bones, sweeping away the fatigue of the past few days, replaced by an unprecedented feeling of energy and refreshment.
The next morning, Lu Bin looked at himself in the mirror and found that the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to have faded a little, as if he had become more than ten years younger.
"A magical pill! It is indeed a magical pill!" Lu Bin was ecstatic and the emperor was very pleased.
At the morning court session, Lu Bin was overjoyed and his steps were much lighter as he went to court.
He looked at the two Taoists in front of him, and Qin Xiu who was standing respectfully with his head bowed beside him, with even greater satisfaction in his eyes. He was worthy of being the younger brother of his beloved Concubine Qin and the uncle of his fourth prince.
Wang Deshun, who was standing by, received a signal from his eyes and immediately held the imperial edict in both hands. He stood aside and read aloud the imperial edict:
"Your Majesty has issued an edict! He has conferred upon the two Taoists the title of Protector of the Nation, bestowed upon them purple-gold robes, and ordered the construction of a special alchemy room in the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace for them to reside and refine their elixirs!
"The minister who made the greatest contribution, Qin Xiu, the Third Rank Dali Temple Minister, has been extremely favored by me. I have greatly trusted him. Now he has presented me with the True Man, which greatly pleases me. I have promoted him to the rank of Second Rank Minister of Justice and bestowed upon him the title of Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince!"
After Wang Deshun finished reading the imperial edict, the court and the public were shocked.
After being silent for more than a month, Qin Xiu once again gained the emperor's favor by presenting the elixir, and his power was even greater than before.
Not only did he overshadow He Ning, who was previously in the limelight, but he also took over such a noble and prestigious position as the Prince's Tutor. Everyone in the court looked at each other and gradually had some ideas in their minds.
harem.
"...I hereby grant Imperial Consort Qin the authority to manage the harem, and order the Fourth Prince, Lu Yong, to move to the Yangxin Palace to be raised by me. With all due respect!"
The former court and the harem were like this at that time. For a time, there was a constant stream of cars and people coming to Qin Xiu's mansion to congratulate him.
The world's attention was instantly focused on this silent contest.
How could He Ning sit idly by and watch Qin Xiu take the lead?
He immediately mobilized the forces of the Zhenbei Palace in the northern border, and even did not hesitate to use the secret lines of the Censorate, to search more frantically for the so-called masters of alchemy.
In just a few days, several more immortal masters were sent into the palace by He Ning.
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