"Let me ask you first, why did His Majesty suddenly fly into a rage and kill someone yesterday? What wrong did that person commit?"
Qi Jin's expression turned puzzled. He frowned and looked at Gu Jiangli for a long time before asking, "Does Your Majesty think that the person His Majesty killed was because he made a mistake?"
"Otherwise what? What do you think I should think?"
"Outsiders all think that His Majesty is bloodthirsty, so he doesn't need a reason to kill someone. But do you really think that it was because that person made a mistake that His Majesty wanted to kill him?"
After Qi Jin finished speaking, Gu Jiangli understood the source of his doubts.
Qi Jin probably thought she, like everyone else, believed that the emperor was someone who killed people on a whim.
However, she felt that the emperor had a reason for killing people, which made Qi Jin feel strange.
Gu Jiangli smiled and said, "Because His Majesty's perception is different from that of outsiders, isn't it?"
Qi Jin's expression became somewhat dazed.
After a while, he seemed to sigh, and his tone softened considerably: "So there are people like Your Majesty in this world who don't believe rumors. No wonder His Majesty treats you differently."
"Stop beating around the bush, just tell me, what exactly happened yesterday, and why did His Majesty suddenly become so angry again?"
“The person His Majesty killed yesterday was not innocent. He was a death row inmate, a heinous criminal, who was specially brought out of prison by Eunuch Ming.”
Gu Jiangli breathed a sigh of relief.
She was right; although the emperor had committed regicide, those he killed were indeed people who deserved to die.
However, this method is rather too bloody.
"The condemned prisoners certainly deserve to die, but does Your Majesty need to do it personally? Does Tianyuan really need so many executioners?"
"Of course not. That person was brought to His Majesty specifically so that His Majesty could kill him."
Gu Jiangli was stunned. "You specially brought a damned person for His Majesty to kill, just so His Majesty could enjoy the thrill of killing?"
Qi Jin fell silent, his eyes filled with sorrow, his lips moving as if he had a thousand words to say but didn't know where to begin.
Gu Jiangli immediately noticed his hesitation and difficulty, and encouraged him, "It's alright, just tell me, is there anything else about this that is unknown to outsiders?"
Qi Jin sighed, his whole being radiating helplessness, and said in a low voice:
"Your Majesty was not like this before. He was the gentlest, most understanding, and most approachable monarch I have ever met. However, I don't know why, but in recent years Your Majesty's temper has changed. He has become irritable, cruel, and enjoys killing people."
"When His Majesty goes mad, he becomes completely ruthless, and he won't stop until he sees blood. At first, when His Majesty went mad, we, the secret guards and Eunuch Ming, would try to stop him, fearing that he would harm the innocent. But gradually we discovered that if His Majesty couldn't kill anyone, he would start to hurt himself."
"There is no other way. Your Majesty and I have come up with a solution together. Since His Majesty's desire to kill cannot be stopped, let him kill some people who deserve to die."
"Therefore, from time to time, the eunuch would disguise some death row inmates as newly arrived eunuchs or palace maids and bring them before His Majesty, so that His Majesty would kill them to help him get through those turbulent days."
"The same situation occurred yesterday."
"We originally kept this matter a secret from the outside world. At first, no one knew that His Majesty had gone mad, because when he wasn't killing people, he was still the gentle monarch. But later, His Majesty went mad more and more often, and more and more corpses were carried out of Jing'an Palace. We still couldn't completely keep it a secret."
"Rumors are flying around that His Majesty is a foolish and bloodthirsty tyrant who kills people at the drop of a hat and beheads anyone he doesn't like; that his temperament is unpredictable, and that he can be all smiles one second and then kill his entire family the next."
"We intended to defend His Majesty against these rumors, but he refused. Perhaps in His Majesty's heart, it was something that could not be refuted."
"After all, it's true that he killed several people by hand, and that he acted like a madman when he killed them."
"Anyone who has witnessed His Majesty killing someone would consider him a cruel tyrant..."
After Qi Jin finished speaking, he buried his head deeply.
Gu Jiangli could see Qi Jin's self-blame and pain. He really wanted to do something for the emperor, but all he could do was help the emperor kill people, and he couldn't do anything else.
He was tormented by guilt and worry about the emperor.
Qi Jin is also a very good person; at least in terms of loyalty, few can rival him.
The fact that an emperor has so many loyal subordinates suggests that his character is not too bad.
His condition was indeed unusual, and it's not hard to imagine that he was harmed by a villain.
She had seen the emperor both when he killed and when he didn't. When he killed, although his eyes were bloodshot, revealing his bloodlust and cruelty, she could also vaguely see his pain.
Moreover, the emperor's hands trembled twice when he placed the sharp blade against her neck.
At that time, she didn't understand the reason and thought the emperor was just indulging in killing. Now, she thinks that these strange occurrences have a reasonable explanation.
The emperor did not want to kill anyone, not even when he was in a frenzy.
But he couldn't control himself.
What could be the reason for this?
"Qi Jin, how long have you been serving His Majesty?"
Before Qi Jin could even change his sorrowful expression, Gu Jiangli suddenly asked this question. He replied in a low voice, "When Your Majesty was still a prince, I was already his personal guard. It has been fifteen years since then."
"Fifteen years, that's a long time... Did he become like this after he became emperor, or was he already like this when he was a prince?"
Qi Jin frowned in deep thought, "This situation started after His Majesty ascended the throne, around the third year of his reign. At that time, His Majesty's madness occurred at long intervals, only once every two or three months, but now the intervals are much shorter."
"Didn't you consider that His Majesty might be ill, and that these symptoms could perhaps be cured?"
Qi Jin smiled bitterly, "If it were really an illness, at least there would be a cure. But the imperial physicians in the palace have all come to treat His Majesty, and we have also secretly invited barefoot doctors from outside into the palace, but... nothing has come of it. In the end, His Majesty stopped seeking treatment."
"So many doctors say His Majesty is not ill?"
Qi Jin shook his head; the answer was self-evident.
"Could it be that someone poisoned His Majesty? Whatever His Majesty ate or drank caused the illness to take effect quickly, and the poison was neutralized after the murder, so the doctors couldn't find the root cause of the illness. Do you think that's possible?"
"Your Majesty's considerations are thorough, but we and His Majesty have also considered this situation. Before His Majesty's food enters His Majesty's stomach each day, it is tested for poison. To ensure that the person testing the poison is not a villain planted in the food, the person testing the poison is changed every few days. But in the end, only His Majesty went mad and killed people. Therefore, we can know that there is no problem with His Majesty's food."
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