Chapter 940 Gongsun Lan
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and a commotion suddenly came from outside the door.
Soon, Xie Shang led Jiang Jinyan, Xiao Yu, and others in, accompanied by Gongsun Ling and a woman dressed in a slovenly manner, resembling a beggar.
Before Xie Shang could introduce her, the woman hurried forward to Jiang Fenghua. She stared at Jiang Fenghua for a long time and shook her head repeatedly. "No, Gui Ning Wan does have the effect of causing temporary amnesia, but it will also lose its effect over time. The flower between her eyebrows did not appear because she took the antidote. It was all a coincidence."
Aoxue asked, "Why would you say that, Master? Didn't you say that Guining Pill has an antidote?"
Gongsun Lan leaned close to Aoxue's ear and whispered, "The purpose of my creation of Guining Pill is to eliminate people's pain and forget their troubles. It cannot completely erase memories, nor has it created an antidote. I said that back then just to make more money."
Ao Xue was speechless. When did her master become so greedy for money?
Jiang Fenghua then realized who the woman dressed as a beggar was, whose true appearance was not revealed. She was very close to them and had naturally heard what Master Aoxue said.
Jiang Fenghua wondered to herself: Is her master short of money?
Xie Shang asked doubtfully, "Does Lanlan mean that the flower between the Empress's eyebrows is not caused by the Guining Pill?"
If it wasn't the Guining Pill, could it really be as Xiao Chuanyun said, that Ruan Ruan was the reincarnation of the Queen of Yinchuan, and the mark between her eyebrows was the best proof?
Gongsun Lan stared at the flower on her forehead, lost in thought, before saying, "The flower on Your Majesty's forehead is called Manjusaka, also known as the Red Spider Lily. It grows in the Ghost Realm, which is said to be accessible only to the dead."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression turned horrified. "Isn't a place only the dead can go to hell?"
Gongsun Lan added, "Another explanation is that all the living people who went there became dead, and no one has ever come out of there alive."
"It matches up! It matches the clues I've been investigating all these years." Xiao Shang suddenly became excited and said to Gongsun Lan, "Old woman, where did you hear this legend? It turns out that the ruins of the ancient Yinchuan Kingdom are called the Ghost Realm. No living person can come out of there. What if you are already dead? After you die, you become a ghost. If the ghost comes out of there, you become a living person again. I am a living example."
Xiao Shang became more and more excited as he spoke, "Empress Jiang, did you hear that? I didn't lie to you. If you reach the Ghost Realm, you can come back to life whenever you want."
Jiang Fenghua was speechless. This wasn't how she was when she was reborn. When she opened her eyes after death, she looked like she did when she was a child. She had never been to or even heard of any Ghost Realm.
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Could it be that after the Northern King died, he became a ghost and went to the Ghost Realm?"
Xiao Shang paused for a moment, "No, I didn't die at all. How could I become a ghost? I was reading a book and then fell asleep. When I woke up, I was a different person. I don't know why this happened. The only one in the world that can explain this strange phenomenon is the ancient Yinchuan Kingdom, which appeared more than a thousand years ago, because only they have the method of bringing the dead back to life."
Xiao Shang made no attempt to conceal his origins: "Grandma, since you know about the Ghost Realm, you must know about the Ancient Kingdom of Yinchuan!"
No one could comprehend this, because they couldn't believe it. If it weren't for someone close to them, they wouldn't even dare to think about it.
When Gongsun Lan heard someone call her "grandma," her eyes turned green with anger. "Who are you calling 'grandma'? Do I look that old?"
Xiao Shang was stunned. With this attire and the dark, cracked skin visible on her body, wasn't she an old woman?
Xiao Shang finally found someone who understood, and he almost fawned over her, "Junior Xiao Shang, may I ask for your honorable name, Granny? Besides the Ghost Realm, what else do you know?"
Gongsun Lan saw that he was chained up and said, "He is the man you said knows sorcery. He can bewitch people's minds. He looks so stupid to me."
Gongsun Ling said, "Is he stupid? He is indeed a bit stupid." The emperor also said that he would conquer the Great Zhou in a few decades. Could it be that they are just scaring themselves?
Xiao Shang readily admitted, "To be honest, Grandma, I don't know any sorcery. I just used some external things to confuse their consciousness, which is easy to see through. Grandma, could you tell me where the Ghost Realm is?"
Gongsun Lan said, "I know, but I will tell you the location of the Ghost Realm."
She was angry. Did this man have no sense of propriety? He called her "mother-in-law."
Jiang Fenghua also found it amusing. Gongsun Lan was dressed in rags, so she must have just come back from outside and hadn't changed her clothes yet.
Xie Shang pulled Gongsun Lan aside, "Lanlan..."
Jiang Fenghua noticed that the two had a close relationship, unlike that of a ruler and his subject, friends, or lovers who had feelings for each other. However, Xie Shang called her "Lanlan," an intimate term that was not something someone like Xie Shang would use.
Aoxue then introduced to Jiang Fenghua, "Your Majesty need not worry about the relationship between my master and the Emperor. My master has always been a free spirit. She doesn't like to be constrained and is used to being alone. She has traveled all over the country and is only passionate about researching medicines and medical skills."
"How old is she?" Jiang Fenghua asked.
Ao Xue said, "I am twenty-five years old."
Jiang Fenghua was pleasantly surprised that Ao Xue, at only twenty-five years old, had already traveled all over the country. Ao Xue was not young either, and her master was only a few years older than her. This...
Aoxue explained, "Your Majesty, don't be fooled by our similar ages. My master is incredibly skilled. Her medical expertise is outstanding, and she has exceptional talent. Many elderly folk doctors today are no match for her."
Jiang Fenghua knew, of course, that the older a doctor was, the better their medical skills would be. After all, medical skills mostly depend on experience and knowledge. Gongsun Lan was clearly not very experienced, not to mention that she was a woman.
A female doctor, at twenty-five years old, doesn't get married, stays home to raise children, and is always out and about. She even dares to go to a place like a snow-capped mountain alone. Isn't she afraid of dying there?
Jiang Fenghua stared at Gongsun Lan and Xie Shang's backs, lost in thought. It was rare to see Xie Shang so relaxed.
Jiang Jinyan walked to Jiang Fenghua's side, his eyes full of worry. Just now, the Emperor had just left the Golden Palace for court, and he and Xiao Yu were preparing to follow the Emperor to the Imperial Study to discuss state affairs when Gongsun Ling suddenly entered the palace with Gongsun Lan. At that moment, the Emperor was the first to rush forward, his face beaming with smiles, and he immediately called out, "Lanlan, you're back."
Gongsun Lan did not perform the court etiquette between a subject and a ruler, and replied quite naturally, "I'm back. I didn't even come back when the Emperor ascended the throne. This is a gift for the Emperor."
She handed the emperor a box containing what appeared to be an exquisite jade-shaped object, which the emperor carefully placed in his purse.
No one knows why the Emperor suddenly pulled Gongsun Lan aside to whisper something that Ruan Ruan couldn't know.
Jiang Fenghua smiled calmly. In her previous life, she had never met Gongsun Lan, let alone knew that such a person existed. She was also certain that Gongsun Lan was not in Xie Shang's harem.
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