Chapter 66
Night had fallen, and the Vermilion Bird Palace was dimly lit, with the emperor's bedchamber particularly dark. Standing deep within the quiet palace grounds, it was as black and menacing as a monstrous beast that seemed capable of devouring lives.
The air in the bedchamber was stagnant and heavy, filled with a strange, pungent smell that seemed neither medicinal nor nonexistent, mixed with a peculiar fragrance. However, even this strong smell could not mask the putrid odor emanating from the dragon bed.
A series of footsteps broke the deathly silence in the hall. Mu Qinhan walked out from the thick darkness outside the hall and disappeared into the even deeper darkness inside.
This place seemed to be so dark that even the moonlight dared not venture there. A deep darkness enveloped every corner of the bedchamber, and everything was hidden in this indistinct darkness.
Mu Qinhan's gaze, however, sharply swept towards the figure that blended into the darkness in the shadows beside the bed.
That was a witch doctor who used poison to prolong the emperor's life.
He gazed at her, his voice as somber as the night: "How is Your Majesty's health?"
The Gu woman in the shadows stirred slightly, like a silent marionette. She didn't answer, but simply shook her head slowly.
Although there was no light in the hall, Mu Qinhan still understood what the Gu woman meant. He seemed to have a headache and raised his hand to rub his furrowed brow. "Light the candles. There is an imperial edict that His Majesty needs to review."
As soon as he finished speaking, several figures emerged from a corner of the bedchamber and carefully lit candles.
A few palace lanterns cast a faint light in the corner of the huge palace, their tiny flames burning quietly, looking rather pitiful.
The Gu worms that the Gu woman used to prolong the emperor's life were very strange. They could not be exposed to wind or light. Therefore, the doors and windows of this palace were always kept tightly closed, and no lights were ever lit. Even when candles were needed, only a few weak flames were lit in a corner, as is the case today.
Mu Qinhan took a few steps forward, approaching the layers of dark curtains beside the dragon bed, and handed the drafted imperial edict to the Gu woman guarding the bed.
The layers of curtains were also used to keep out the wind; they tightly surrounded the dragon bed, leaving only a gap, making it look like a dark prison.
The sorcerer had sprinkled some kind of potion on the imperial edict, and some small insects crawled out of her sleeves, circled the edict, and then obediently lined up and crawled back in.
After doing all this, the Gu woman nodded, and then two palace maids stepped forward and gently pulled back the curtain in front of the dragon bed.
After the bed curtains were drawn back, the emperor, who was lying on the bed, turned his head and stared at Mu Qinhan with wide eyes: "You still remember to come see me? You might as well just consider me dead."
The emperor's voice sounded decayed and aged, and there was always a "hoarse" sound coming from his throat, but he spoke fairly fluently and even sounded quite strong.
Mu Qinhan stood still, his figure appearing exceptionally tall and imposing in the dim candlelight. He stared at the emperor for a while, then urged him, "Stop talking nonsense. Once you've finished reading, stamp it. I'll issue the decree tomorrow morning."
A pair of skeletal hands emerged from beneath the bright yellow brocade quilt. The emperor took the imperial edict handed to him by the witch, glanced at it only once, and then shouted, "An imperial edict to bestow a marriage upon you? You haven't come to see me for two months, nor have you told me what has happened in the court. Today you come and ask me to bestow a marriage upon you?"
Mu Qinhan's lips curled up almost imperceptibly: "Still have the energy to shout? Looks like you can live a few more years."
At that moment, the Gu woman raised her pale, almost transparent hands, her fingertips hovering almost imperceptibly above the emperor's body, as if pulling on invisible threads. A moment later, a black worm crawled out of the emperor's nose, lingered quietly on his face for a while, and then stiffly fell down.
At the same time, another insect flew out from the Gu woman's sleeve and quickly burrowed into the emperor's nose.
The scene before us resembled a mysterious handover ceremony.
As the old worms crawled out but the new worms had not yet entered his body, the emperor suddenly gasped for breath, each breath appearing difficult and short, until the new worms crawled into his nose, at which point his breathing gradually calmed down.
He was a dying man, only kept alive by those strange Gu worms.
Once the emperor had fully recovered his strength, the Gu woman withdrew her hand. Then she glanced silently at Mu Qinhan, the meaning in her eyes quite clear.
We mustn't upset the emperor; every time we change the insects, he'll lose a breath.
After lying in bed for a while to calm down, the emperor finally spoke again and asked, "You've already drafted the decree, why do you need me to stamp it? Why don't you just stamp it yourself?"
His words carried a hint of defiance. Seeing that Mu Qinhan did not reply, he continued, "Even if you insist on giving her face and insist on bestowing a marriage upon her, fine, I can stamp it. But let me ask you, why do you insist on marrying a merchant's daughter? With her background, she would have a hard time even being a concubine, and you still want her to be your Princess of Dingyuan?"
After the emperor finished asking all his questions in one breath, Mu Qinhan slowly said, "Your Majesty, it is precisely because I value her and insist that she become my queen that I have come to you for your approval."
His gaze fell on the imperial edict in the emperor's hand. "You cannot come on the wedding day. Her family background, birth date, appearance, and character are all written on the edict."
His address of "Imperial Brother" was so sincere and heartfelt; he had never called him that in such a tone since he came of age.
The emperor remained silent.
After a long silence, he picked up the imperial edict again and read it carefully from beginning to end. Then, with a hint of sadness, he said, "But your edict praises her to the skies. I can't see a single piece of real and useful information."
Mu Qinhan knew that by saying this, he was actually agreeing.
Another long silence followed.
Then the emperor extended his hand to Mu Qinhan.
Mu Qinhan handed over the jade seal that had been prepared beforehand and watched as he stamped the imperial edict.
The emperor took a few deep breaths, and a strange hoarse sound came from his throat again. After a while, he slowly recovered and then asked the most crucial question: "You insist on marrying her and making her your queen, which means she will become the target of everyone in the court and the harem. Can you... protect her?"
The emperor seemed to be forcing a bitter smile, but his lips moved with difficulty, his withered face unable to express any emotion due to his extreme weakness.
He asked the question casually, but the weight of the question was immense.
Mu Qinhan couldn't possibly be unaware that if Mu Yulu truly became his principal wife, her identity as the daughter of a merchant would make her the biggest target in the treacherous court and harem.
The emperor's voice continued to echo in the cold, dark palace: "Don't follow in my footsteps, don't be like me, don't let your beloved woman..."
Before he could finish speaking, he coughed heavily.
The Gu woman cast another glance at Mu Qinhan, and Mu Qinhan knew that it was almost time for them to meet today.
Mu Qinhan remained silent for a moment, carefully put away the stamped imperial edict, and then looked up at the emperor again.
His gaze was profound, as if it had passed over his dying brother lying on his bed, pierced through the heavy palace walls, and glimpsed the not-too-distant past and future.
He then parted his lips slightly, his voice deep and clear, carrying an undeniable firmness: "She once told me that she would not be anyone's concubine. If I want to marry her, I can only make her a queen. Since I can only make her a queen, I will definitely protect her from harm."
A broken laugh escaped from the emperor's cracked lips: "Not wanting to be someone else's concubine? That's a woman with ambition."
He asked Mu Qinhan one last question: "I'm very curious, what exactly do you like about her? That you would go to such lengths for her?"
Mu Qinhan answered quickly, almost without thinking, "I have never seen anyone as vibrant as her. Only when I see her do I feel that I am still alive."
The emperor paused upon hearing this, seemingly recalling someone from his past. After a long while, he slowly nodded: "A person with vitality... Yes, yes, with vitality. Everything in this palace is decaying, but she has vitality..."
At this moment, the Gu woman raised her hand to signal, and several palace servants stepped forward to close the layers of curtains again and extinguish the lamps in the corner.
The vast sleeping quarters were plunged back into darkness.
Mu Qinhan stood by the bed for a moment, then turned to leave, when she suddenly heard someone behind the bed curtains say, "Take good care of Heming; this is my only wish."
Mu Qinhan paused, "The longer you live, the better his life will be."
After saying this, he turned and left, his steady footsteps gradually fading away outside the hall.
Mu Qinhan was not an impatient person. His thoughts were indeed as Mu Yulu had guessed. In his eyes, she was like a flower or a butterfly, blooming and dancing freely in the sunlight. She might cause him some trouble, but she would never leave this place.
However, the appearance of Sanzhou Jinse gave him an unprecedented sense of crisis. To be precise, it was Mu Yulu's attitude towards Sanzhou Jinse and their interactions that made him feel uncomfortable.
He had to transplant the flower to his own garden immediately so that no one would covet it anymore.
The imperial decree bestowing the marriage was issued from the palace early in the morning, and the palace servants who delivered the decree rushed to the Mu residence without stopping. However, Mu Yulu happened to be away from the residence at that time.
She and Feng Wentang went together to Qi Zhizhi's farewell banquet.
The couple who came to receive the imperial decree were Mu Yugang and his wife.
When the palace servants read the imperial edict, the two of them were grinning from ear to ear. After the edict was read, Mu Yugang was overjoyed and accepted it with both hands. He kowtowed to express his gratitude to the emperor and rewarded the palace servants. He was busy for a long time before he remembered to go find Mu Yulu.
Upon learning that Mu Yulu had gone to the No. 1 Restaurant in the World early in the morning, Mu Yugang roared in a mix of anxiety and anger, "Go and call her back right now! She's about to get married, and she's still so indecent, running around outside like this!"
The servants hurriedly responded and were about to go out to find Mu Yulu when Mu Zhaoshi stopped them.
She winked at Mu Wanyi beside her, "Such good news should naturally be told to her by her family. You should go over now and tell your sister the good news in person."
Mu Wanyi smiled happily and immediately agreed, leading the group towards the No. 1 Restaurant in the World.
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