Illusion (Part Two)
The next day, Zhong Sanxue hurriedly entered the palace, but was stopped halfway by Eunuch Wang, a eunuch serving Emperor Yuan: "Lord Zhong, His Majesty summons you."
Zhong Sanxue followed the eunuch and asked, "Does Your Majesty have something urgent to attend to?" Today was supposed to be a teaching day.
Zhong Sanxue had an excellent reputation in the palace, especially among the servants. Everyone knew that Grand Tutor Zhong was gentle and refined, never making things difficult for or scolding servants, never looking down on eunuchs, and treating everyone equally with impeccable manners.
Therefore, Eunuch Wang also revealed: "About half a month ago, Prince Yong recommended a Taoist priest to the palace. His Majesty was seriously ill and took a pill offered by the priest. In just a few days, his condition improved, and now His Majesty is fully recovered. This is truly a cause for celebration."
Zhong Sanxue frowned. Prince Yong... that prince who was half-buried.
I still remember that Prince Yong was the fourth brother of Emperor Yuan. When the late emperor passed away, Prince Yong was still on the frontier. The late emperor did not establish a crown prince during his reign, and the eldest prince died young.
The Second Prince had just as many supporters as the Prince of Yong in the court. The Second Prince's faction, led by the Prime Minister, supported him to ascend the throne, and he became the current Emperor Yuan.
Prince Yong fought back with his broken body, relinquished his military power to appease Emperor Yuan's suspicions, and became a carefree prince.
When Zhong Sanxue entered the hall, besides Emperor Kaiyuan, there was a man with disheveled hair and a Taoist priest in a robe.
Upon seeing Zhong Sanxue arrive, Emperor Yuan hurriedly waved, his expression beaming: "Huaizhi! Come quickly! Look at me!" Emperor Yuan was already in his forties, but at this moment he resembled a spirited young man, twirling around in place several times. It was clear that he was in an extremely good mood.
Zhong Sanxue stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects and greet Prince Yong. I am overjoyed that Your Majesty is in good health."
Emperor Yuan hurried forward and helped Zhong Sanxue up, then pulled him close with deep affection: "Oh, Huaizhi, come quickly, this is the Taoist priest that my fourth brother found for me."
Zhong Sanxue looked up and stared directly at the smiling, gray-haired cultivator: "Greetings, Lord Zhong."
Emperor Yuan's eyebrows danced with delight: "You should also refine two strengthening pills for Huaizhi, so that Huaizhi can also benefit from them." Emperor Yuan pointed at the cultivator and said.
Zhong Sanxue smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty, I thank you. Is this medicine too potent? Would you require me to add some auxiliary medicine...?"
"Oh, no need, no need. I think this medicine is much better than your decoctions and infusions."
Zhong Sanxue nodded in agreement. His gaze turned to the prince, whose hair was disheveled but whose heroic spirit remained undiminished. The prince sat in a wheelchair, his cheeks were thin, his eyes were bright, and there was a gloating smile on his lips.
Emperor Yuan wanted to discuss methods of health preservation with the cultivators, so Prince Yong and Zhong Sanxue withdrew.
"Lord Zhong is of pure and kind nature, and he is impartial and unbiased, but in the court he is like a rabbit that has fallen into a wolf's den, and he still needs to find an ally." The two walked side by side, and Prince Yong teased.
Zhong Sanxue was surprised, not expecting that the Prince of Yong would speak to her. After all, if it weren't for his father, the Prince of Yong would be on the dragon throne now.
"Although Huai Zhi held a nominal position, he understood that a gentleman should cultivate his own virtue."
"That's true. The Zhong family has connections everywhere, why would they need to find an alliance? I'll watch you grow up. If the Zhong family ever falls from power, I'll definitely make sure you, little white rabbit, have a place to stay."
Zhong Sanxue smiled gently again: "This humble official still has to go to the Eastern Palace to take up his post, so I will not accompany Your Highness. Please take care, Your Highness."
Prince Yong's face froze, then he burst into laughter: "My lord, please wait!"
Teaching time had passed, and Zhong Sanxue had to leave after only seeing Lan Yu once, as the Crown Prince had a heavy workload and little free time.
He gave Lan Yu a small wooden rabbit that could hop around when pressed.
"Your Highness, talk to it when you're sad." The jacaranda blossoms trembled in the gentle breeze.
Lan Yu finally smiled, like an ordinary child: "I will keep it safe, Huai Zhi!" Zhong Sanxue has such energy, bringing peace and tranquility to people.
For several days in a row, Zhong Sanxue was summoned by Emperor Yuan to take elixirs with him in the court. Zhong Sanxue was forced to comply and had no choice but to take those "same" elixirs that could "prolong life".
This elixir was truly strange. After taking it, he did feel a brief surge of power, but Zhong Sanxue knew that the void was ever-present. In less than half a month, Zhong Sanxue was exhausted, his eyes were dark, and despite trying every possible method after returning home, he inevitably suffered from side effects.
He was a favorite minister of Emperor Yuan, who specially granted Zhong Sanxue permission to use a sedan chair in the palace, which drew criticism. Zhong Sanxue was unwilling, but he felt physically unable to do so and could only agree with a smile.
As soon as they emerged from the palace, a carriage was waiting outside. But instead of offering a footstool, a young eunuch knelt down and bent over to serve as one.
After taking the elixir, Zhong Sanxue became mentally scattered and his temperament became unpredictable. He had been restraining himself, but now he finally lost his temper and shouted, "Didn't I say I didn't want anyone to be my footstool?!"
The two attendants beside him were so frightened that they knelt down. It was the first time they had ever seen their lord lose his temper. "My lord, please don't get angry and hurt yourself. We've never seen this boy before. We didn't expect that His Majesty sent him to serve you. That's why we didn't stop him!"
Zhong Sanxue was alarmed and stepped forward to lift the young eunuch, but the eunuch refused to look up. He immediately recognized who it was and was furious: "Please, young eunuch, come into the carriage to talk." Then he said to the attendants, "For the sake of our lives, I hope you two will not make a fuss about what happened today. Please rise."
The two servants then stood up, furtively glancing at the two of them. But when they met Zhong Sanxue's gaze, it was no longer as gentle and clear as before. Instead, it held an undisguised hostility and impatience. They immediately lowered their heads again.
Inside the carriage, Zhong Sanxue rubbed her temples with her eyes closed, her face full of weariness: "Who ordered you to do this?"
Xiao Zhu seemed not to understand and said with a wronged expression, "Master... what do you mean?"
Zhong Sanxue raised her eyes, her anger already blazing: "What do you mean?! You think an ordinary person can bypass me and get you a set of inner court clothes?! Do you think I'm stupid?! You're all watching me! What do you know? What's your purpose?!"
Xiao Zhu was stunned with fear, his face, which resembled Lan Yu's, filled with terror, and tears streamed down his face. "I...I...Master said he would come to see me later, but I never saw him, so I took the opportunity to come out. I stole the clothes. I was wrong! I hope Master will be magnanimous and not hold it against me." He sobbed and knelt in the carriage.
Zhong Sanxue had a splitting headache and blamed herself for treating a child like that. Besides, he was Lan Yu's brother and the Empress's son.
This face, almost identical to Lan Yu's, was pleading with him through tears. He raised his hand and slapped himself to calm himself down.
Xiao Zhu was startled and immediately fell silent.
He looked up, his jade-like face bearing a wry smile, still as gentle as it had been a few days ago: "I'm sorry, I frightened you. I've been taking the wrong medicine lately." He pulled Xiaozhu to sit beside him: "Take off your clothes, I've had them burned. After this, you absolutely mustn't act rashly. Okay?"
Xiao Zhu suddenly fell silent, his head bowed, his hands gripping the clothes on his knees tightly. Zhong Sanxue placed her hand on his shoulder: "What's wrong?"
Water droplets dripped down, soaking the fabric around her knees. Zhong Sanxue sighed, having never seen a child cry so easily: "Is this inappropriate?"
Xiao Zhu remained silent, but Zhong Sanxue seemed determined this time: "Staying here is a dead end."
"So you want to die too?"
Zhong Sanxue was taken aback, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a single word. Silence filled the carriage. The carriage drove all the way to the manor, where he helped Xiaozhu out of the car, changed his clothes and washed his hair by himself, and watched him eat his fill before finally arranging for him to go to bed.
"Think about what I said during the day." With that, he gently closed the door. He collapsed heavily onto his bed, his forehead covered in sweat, and fainted from the pain.
Zhong Sanxue felt as if he had fallen into an icy lake. He couldn't swim, and the biting cold felt like countless tiny needles piercing every inch of his body. He was freezing and in pain, unable to breathe in the water, and it seemed that he didn't even have the strength to tremble.
In a daze, he saw a red figure standing on the ice not far away. As if grasping at a straw, he shouted, "Sister! Sister!" The woman turned around and was dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding robes, with stunning red makeup. She smiled gently, tears streaming down her face, and resolutely jumped into another ice cave.
Heartbreaking, utterly devastating. In the midst of despair, something was stuffed into his mouth.
"Eat it, you'll feel better after eating it."
Zhong Sanxue frowned and swallowed the pill with difficulty. She finally opened her eyes to a familiar face, one that held a hint of expectation. Relieved, Zhong Sanxue forced a smile and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Highness..." before fainting again.
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