As Li Li entered, the steward told him that Scholar Mu was out of danger, but Mu Wanyu was still unconscious and breathing weakly.
He ran into the garden and came to the bedside, where he saw the imperial physician administering acupuncture: "Imperial physician, how is she?"
The imperial physician shook his head slightly and sighed, "Miss Mu was already in poor health, and now it seems the prognosis is grim."
Upon hearing this, Li Li gave Mu Wanyu a deep look. Her face was deathly pale, and she lay there motionless. Enraged, he punched the pillar beside him, and his fist began to bleed.
"Imperial Physician, is there any way to save her?" Li Li, disregarding the injury on his hand, grabbed the imperial physician's arm, extremely panicked.
"Alas... It's a miracle that Miss Mu survived. I'm afraid she'll be bedridden from now on. Moreover, she has a high fever now, and we'll have to see if she can pull through."
As if all the strength had been suddenly drained from Li Li's body, she abruptly released the imperial physician's hand, tears streaming down her face: "It's all my fault, it's all my fault! Yu'er, please, please get well! I don't want anything else, I'll only stay by your side from now on!"
Li Li knelt down beside Mu Wanyu's bed and wept bitterly.
"Lord Li, I will do my best to save Miss Mu's life."
"Thank you, Imperial Physician, for your trouble." Li Li said with deep sorrow.
Huichun rushed in carrying the medicine: "Lord Li, quickly let Miss take this medicine!" Li Li took the medicine, and Huiqiu stepped forward to half-lift Mu Wanyu up. The two of them worked together to feed her the medicine.
Upon waking, Grand Scholar Mu ran into the Lan Garden in tears. The steward supported her and relayed everything to her.
"Why is my daughter so unfortunate? That damned Yang Mingyue, I will never let him get away with this!"
When Scholar Mu arrived at his daughter's bedside, he almost lost his balance, but Li Li caught him in time.
"Teacher, I will definitely avenge Yu'er. I will take care of Yu'er from now on! Please take care of yourself."
...
The next day, Zheng He led his men to the Grand Secretary's residence to deliver an imperial edict. Emperor Jingcheng rewarded him with many gifts as a symbolic gesture of appeasement, and then summoned the Grand Secretary to the palace.
In the imperial study, Emperor Jingcheng sat at the head of the table, while Emperor Jingyuan sat beside him, sipping tea. Yang Mingyue and Emperor Jingyuan sat facing each other, their eyes meeting before they subtly looked away.
Soon after, Zheng He led the Grand Secretary in: "Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary has arrived."
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Prince Yuan." He didn't even glance at Yang Mingyue. He had met this man before, and now he dared to harm his daughter.
Emperor Jingcheng hurriedly instructed the eunuch to help the university student to his feet and sit down to the side.
He asked with concern, "Grand Scholar, how is Miss Mu doing now?"
Grand Secretary Mu sighed deeply, his sorrow deepening: "Your Majesty, my daughter's life has been saved for now, but I fear she will be confined to her sickbed for the rest of her life."
Upon hearing this, Yang Mingyue knew he didn't want to marry a sickly woman who was useless and would require a lot of effort to care for. It was simply bad luck. But who exactly had sent that woman to his bed?
Yang Mingyue glanced at Emperor Jingcheng at the head of the table, showing great concern for this Grand Scholar; Prince Yuan beside him also looked full of regret. He looked at the two brothers, thinking that if it were them, they were simply too good at acting.
Could it be that useless Gong Yuhan, or his good ally Liu Xinqi? He couldn't make up his mind for a moment, but he felt that it could only be one of these people, and no one else would have any motive to plot against him.
"Grand Secretary, I am also sorry for this, causing your daughter to suffer such humiliation." Emperor Jingcheng shook his head sadly.
“Your Majesty, this matter is not your fault. However, the Emperor of Dongyang has remained silent and has not offered any apology from beginning to end, appearing completely indifferent. I am quite dissatisfied with this.”
The Grand Secretary turned his attention to Yang Mingyue, disregarding everything else and only thinking about avenging his daughter.
Yang Mingyue snapped out of her thoughts and chuckled, "Miss Mu appeared at the palace on her own, and just happened to be on my bed. I have nowhere to complain to."
Upon hearing this, Grand Scholar Mu nearly lost his balance, his face filled with disbelief and hatred. He pointed at Yang Mingyue and began to hurl insults:
"You call yourself the emperor? In my opinion, you are nothing but a shameless scoundrel. You are obsessed with beautiful women and pleasure, which is utterly despicable and vile. Not only do you not realize your moral failings, but you also turn around and bite the hand that feeds you. I think you... will bring about the downfall of your country sooner or later."
Emperor Jingcheng and Emperor Jingyuan tacitly approved of his actions. They were surprised to hear him curse so rudely, disregarding all etiquette. They never imagined that the usually gentle and refined Grand Scholar could have such a side.
Yang Mingyue would not curse others if he were insulted like this by a subject of a country, who even cursed him to bring about the downfall of the country. However, he liked Dongshan.
He strode forward angrily and grabbed the hand that Grand Scholar Mu was pointing at him: "How dare you curse me! You deserve to die!"
Just as Yang Mingyue was about to make a move, Di Jingyuan received a look from his elder brother, stepped forward, grabbed Yang Mingyue's hand, and said with dissatisfaction in his eyes: "Has the Emperor of Dongyang forgotten that this is Xijing, not Dongyang? Besides, what the Grand Scholar said is not without reason."
A murderous glint flashed in Yang Mingyue's eyes as he gripped the Grand Scholar's hand tightly, confronting Di Jingyuan's power. Di Jingyuan, seeing the murderous intent in his eyes, showed no fear, and instead smiled slightly: "Emperor Dongyang, calm down."
"Alright, let's sit down and talk this over." Di Jingcheng said calmly, with a hint of impatience. Was Yang Mingyue challenging Xijing?
Yang Mingyue suddenly burst out laughing, slowly releasing the Grand Scholar's hand, and Di Jingyuan also withdrew his hand.
Yang Mingyue walked to the side as if nothing had happened, casually adjusted his robe, and slowly sat down. Grand Scholar Mu snorted coldly, glared at him, and then sat back down.
"The solution is simple. Since Miss Mu has already had a relationship with me, I will take her as my concubine. However, Miss Mu's health is so weak, I wonder if she can withstand the strain." After saying that, he gave Grand Scholar Mu a provocative look.
Grand Secretary Mu was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Not marrying? Impossible! I will never hand my daughter over to a shameless man like you! You must apologize to my daughter, announce it to the world, and you must compensate her!"
"Your Majesty, what do you think? I believe the Grand Secretary's request is quite reasonable," Emperor Jingcheng said.
Yang Mingyue glanced at Di Jingcheng with resentment. It seemed that Di Jingcheng was the one who did this. To make him announce this to the world would be utterly ridiculous! It was laughable that the emperor of a country was being threatened like this.
He vehemently refused: "Impossible! That's wishful thinking!"
"Emperor Dongyang, you are challenging the authority of Xijing by asking me, Grand Scholar Mu, who is an important minister of our dynasty?" Emperor Jingyuan said with dissatisfaction.
"Emperor Dongyang wouldn't want to provoke conflict between the two countries, would he?" Di Jingcheng's tone was already somewhat threatening.
Yang Mingyue had no choice but to comply. He glared at the three men with resentment and said, "I agree." With that, he slammed the door and left.
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