Ji Shang, accompanied by several men in black, knelt down before the Emperor with a thud and said softly, "Your Majesty, we are late in coming to Your Majesty's aid. Please punish us!"
Li Qiji struggled to sit up, looked at Guan Zhiyue not far away, shook his head and said, "I'm fine!"
"Go quickly and see how the Empress is!"
Guan Zhiyue was completely dumbfounded. She had never encountered anything like this before. In her world, murder was illegal and would result in arrest and execution. But what had she just experienced?
Murder! Two living, breathing lives! I almost died at their hands.
Everyone says this is the era of cold weapons, but people really do kill without blinking an eye!
Ji Shang walked over, knelt down in front of Guan Zhiyue, and respectfully asked, "Your Highness, are you injured?"
Guan Zhiyue snapped out of her daze, looked at the man in front of her, and didn't recognize him. She then looked around and, not seeing Li Qiji, shouted loudly as if she had gone mad, "Where is the Emperor?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
Ji Shang said, "Your Majesty, don't rush! The Emperor is in the carriage ahead. Please go quickly!"
Ji Shang pointed to the carriage parked at the entrance of the alley. Guan Zhiyue stumbled and ran over. She didn't know anyone here. At this moment, fear, apprehension, helplessness, and horror all converged on her.
"Your Majesty, are you alright? You could have easily dodged, why did you save me?" Guan Zhiyue looked at the man lying on the verge of death in the carriage.
With difficulty, Li Qiji stretched out his hand, his mouth trembling as he forced a smile, but he didn't speak. The group of people anxiously headed towards the palace.
However, Su Xu and Xin Chenchen were also quite frightened, especially Xin Chenchen. You would say he was a scholar who rarely wielded weapons, let alone killed anyone.
"Prime Minister Su, what are your thoughts on tonight's events?" Xin Chenchen asked.
Su Xu thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, they were probably targeting the Empress. I didn't expect the Emperor to suffer the consequences."
"I wonder who the Empress has offended that dared to attempt an assassination in public."
Su Xu didn't speak, but instead narrowed his handsome eyes, a chill spreading from the soles of his feet to his entire body.
Who wants to hurt his Yue'er? Do they really not know the meaning of death?
“Assistant Instructor Xin, let’s go back to the residence first! The Emperor is still unsure of the situation, so I need to go to the palace again!” Su Xu said, glancing at Xin Chenchen.
Xin Chenchen bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to Su Xu before striding away. He was going back to discuss the matter with his father.
──
The Imperial Palace.
In Chengqian Palace, all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy were dragged out of their beds by Ji Shang, and now they are all crowding around the palace.
The old men gathered together, discussing amongst themselves what to do with the arrow lodged in the emperor's chest—it was just a fraction off target and would have pierced his heart.
The problem is, we can't pull out the arrow now. What if it causes massive bleeding? That could be fatal!
The imperial physicians could only treat the other wounds with medicine to stop the bleeding, but no one dared to speak about what to do about the arrow in the chest.
Just when everyone was at a loss, a eunuch announced at the door: "The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
The imperial physicians then all turned to look in the direction of the door.
Empress Dowager Xin entered the room and saw it filled with imperial physicians. She asked them with concern.
"Chief Physician Zhang, how is the Emperor?"
Head of the Imperial Academy, a thin old man, stepped forward from the crowd and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, the arrow in His Majesty's chest is poisoned, and it's still a fraction of an inch from his heart. We old ministers dare not remove the arrow at this moment, for fear..."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager staggered a few steps and only regained her balance with the help of several palace maids. Then, her eyes filled with tears. Was she going to have to bury her son, a woman with white hair?
"Where is the Empress?" Empress Dowager Xin asked.
Hua Quan reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress was too frightened and has now been given a calming medicine and is sleeping."
Empress Dowager Xin nodded without saying anything. She then turned her head to look at her son lying on the bed, and then at the imperial physicians filling the room. She then turned to Grand Secretary Su Xu, who was standing to the side, and said, "Grand Secretary Su, what should we do?"
Su Xu thought for a moment and said solemnly, "Remove the arrow and treat the patient as soon as possible!"
"Let's write an edict first! If the Emperor doesn't make it today, the throne will be passed to Prince Xiaoyao. If he wakes up, this edict will be null and void!" Empress Dowager Xin said with a heavy heart.
Su Xu and the imperial physicians nodded in agreement. Empress Dowager Xin then instructed, "Hua Quan, do as I say!"
Hua Quan nodded respectfully and went to handle the matter. Guan Zhiyue, who was being drugged, was unaware of what was happening.
"Please keep tonight's matter a secret. As for tomorrow's morning court, please have Chief Minister Su take care of it!" Empress Dowager Xin said, pounding her chest in frustration.
Su Xu respectfully clasped his hands in greeting, said nothing, and waited quietly to the side. Only Guan Zhiyue was given a sedative, but she was still in a daze, half-asleep and half-awake state, and her nerves were constantly on edge.
The murdered man lay dead in front of her, and a wave of terror washed over her. Guan Zhiyue, still asleep, was startled awake and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you alright? Your Majesty, wake up!" Bilian called out anxiously, looking at Guan Zhiyue, who was already drenched in sweat on the bed.
"Ah, Your Majesty has a fever, she's so hot!"
"Quickly, go and fetch a royal physician," Bilian said to Shiliu beside her.
Upon hearing that the Empress had a fever, Shiliu was alarmed and immediately ran to the next room.
Inside the main palace of Chengqian Palace, the imperial physicians were discussing who would remove the arrow and who would stop the bleeding when Shiliu rushed in and knelt down before Empress Dowager Xin.
"Your Majesty, my master has a fever. Please send a royal physician to examine him." Shi Liu kowtowed repeatedly to Empress Dowager Xin.
Empress Dowager Xin was not a malicious person. Upon hearing that the Empress was also ill, she simply pointed to a royal physician and sent him to examine her.
In the end, Chief Zhang had his apprentice remove the arrow, because removing the arrow required a burst of energy, and since they were too old, they needed a young man like him to do it.
After reaching a final agreement, the group began preparations in an orderly manner.
——
"Alright, I'll start removing the arrows now. Are you all ready?" the young physician asked.
The others nodded. The young imperial physician took a deep breath and pulled the arrow out. Li Qiji, who was lying on the bed, was jolted up from the bed as the arrow in his chest was suddenly pulled out, and a mouthful of poisoned blood gushed out.
"Quickly, stop the bleeding! Stop the bleeding!"
"Has the antidote been brought over?"
"They're here! They're here! Where is the imperial physician who's going to test the medicine? Quickly, let's try it!"
Everyone tensed up immediately and began to busy themselves, fearing that something might happen to the Emperor. Empress Dowager Xin held a string of Buddhist prayer beads and kept turning them.
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