Chapter 37 Attendants
In Shinju's eyes, crimson was something easily attainable, yet it was hindered by a layer of mortal clothing. Not for any other reason than to prevent this clear stream amidst the chaos—crimson—from leaving, Shinju instinctively clung to it.
Covered in the crimson dragon aura, he didn't know what a certain part of it corresponded to, so he began to explore. The place he touched was undulating with knuckles, long and slender with thin calluses, which should be the fingers that held the pen. He stroked the calluses, and suddenly felt several fingers curl up and lightly clench into a fist.
Shinjuku disliked the feeling of being excluded, so with irresistible force, he embedded his five fingers into the gaps between the other's fingers and between the thumb and forefinger, forcing the other's fingers to spread open and making it impossible for them to clench their fists.
A triumphant chuckle escaped his throat.
Whether the other party felt provoked or not, Shinju could feel a force resisting between his fingers, yet subtly restrained. His palm was pushed away by the pad of the thumb, but how could he back down? So he met the challenge head-on, making the pad of the thumb seem to be kneading his palm, the scorching heat like a spark igniting a fuse, spreading rapidly along the lines.
But Shinjuku didn't stop there. His fingers traced the slightly protruding wrist bone and continued upward along the taut lines of his forearm.
However, the next moment, the hazy scene before my eyes receded as quickly as a flood.
His mind became clear.
Shinju watched helplessly as the dazzling scene in his field of vision vanished, and the hand that had been lurking in the emperor's sleeve and causing trouble was actually connected to his own arm.
"..." It's over.
Unfortunately, it seemed too late to pretend to faint, so Shinjuku had no choice but to resign himself to raising his eyes and meeting the furious gaze of the King of Poison.
When Zhenwang saw that Zhensu's golden eyes had regained their usual brilliance, he knew that he had returned to normal. So he pushed Zhensu's hand away, leaned closer, and braced himself on the back of the couch with one hand, saying in a deep voice, "Who gave you the Five-Stone Powder?"
Shinju's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he was taken aback. He hadn't expected that the King of Poison was angry about this matter, rather than about his own offense.
Seeing Masakura's dazed expression, King Zhen's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but his tone remained ruthless, "Never touch this stuff again! Quit it. Otherwise... you won't want to know what I'm capable of."
This was the first time that Shinju had been scolded so fiercely by the King of Poison, but a corner of his heart softened.
Unable to explain clearly to the King of Poison, he could only nod, his eyes slightly brightening as he looked directly at the King of Poison.
The King of Poison concealed his aura, turned and walked towards the outer room, saying as he went, "Come out and have some food."
When Shinjuku followed him out, Kodun had already brought over a new breakfast and congee.
After Xiaodunzi finished tasting the food, he knelt down to one side and waited. At this moment, Shinju gave him a reassuring look, and the worry on Xiaodunzi's face disappeared, replaced by his honest smile.
The King of Zhen secretly watched their flirtatious exchanges, his hands remaining untouched for a long time.
Shinju was oblivious, as he was introspecting and discovered that one layer of the restrictions on his Purple Mansion had been removed, reducing the number of layers from twenty-eight to twenty-seven.
This made him understand why Shi Cai had been poisoned.
He used a toxin refined through a membrane. Initially, refining it through the membrane avoided direct contact with the unrefined toxin, thus avoiding the process of suffering poisoning. However, it now seems that perhaps this omission led to insufficient poison resistance in his body. Therefore, when he extracted this membrane-refined toxin for his own use, it inevitably triggered the toxin's corrosive effects on his body, resulting in poisoning.
Once he enters the stage of using poison to nourish poison, he will eventually have to come into direct contact with these poisons. Doesn't this prove that he can't actually skip the poisoning process? Without going through this, his ability to tolerate and resist poison won't improve, and his cultivation will likely be nothing more than a castle in the air, unable to truly forge a golden body.
Although the Five Ultimate Classic is a heretical path, in reality, even heretical paths never have any real shortcuts, and the price will always appear in unexpected places.
This time he paid the price for underestimating the Five Classics, but fortunately it wasn't too late.
After calming himself down, Masaya quietly began to eat his porridge.
The King of Poison wanted to remind him that it hadn't been a quarter of an hour yet, but thinking that the porridge wasn't prepared for him and was served in an ordinary earthenware pot, it shouldn't be poisoned, so he didn't stop Shinju.
A moment later, Zhixi knocked on the door and entered, reporting, "Your Majesty, it is almost time for court."
The King of Zhen glanced at Zhen Su, a hint of unease flashing in his eyes, and said to Zhi Xi, "I will not hold court this morning."
Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but look at King Zhen, only to see him walk to the seat opposite Shinju, pick up his chopsticks, and say indifferently, "Why are you looking at me? Drink your porridge."
Zhixi didn't try to persuade her further. After accepting the order, she took Xiaodunzi with her and prepared to deal with the matter of requesting leave.
On the table lay dried white fish fillets, five-ingredient buns, crispy biscuits, and a plate of pickled vegetables—all dishes perfectly suited for porridge. Yet, King Zhen didn't let Masashi touch a single one. His sharply angled eyebrows were lowered, carrying a subtle warning. While eating, King Zhen maintained his usual dignified and elegant demeanor, but unlike usual, he didn't just take a few bites; instead, he finished the entire breakfast on the table.
Shinjuku licked his tasteless lips, stole a glance at the King of Poison, who had finished eating and drinking, wiped his mouth and rinsed it, then returned to his desk and tossed him a calligraphy copybook.
It was clearly his first time serving the Emperor, yet somehow he had turned out this way. While the other servants were being tidied up, he sat there practicing calligraphy. After a while, he was even watched by the Poison King as he drank a large bowl of bitter medicine.
After finishing the drink, Shinju suddenly realized that he shouldn't have been so close to the Poison King. Getting too close would increase the risk of revealing that he was a cultivator; restoring the relationship between ruler and subject was the safest option.
A thought flashed through Shinju's mind: perhaps it was precisely because he had always remained outside the core of power that he had gained the favor and trust of the King of Poison. What if he were to intervene in state affairs?
So Shinjuku went straight to the point and asked, "Your Majesty, why not grant the Empress Dowager's wish and continue the renovation of the former site of Yunguang Taoist Temple?"
King Zhen paused, not asking how Shinju knew about the matter in court, but instead asked him with interest, "Why should I grant her wish?"
"Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important, isn't that right?"
"If I could always act this way, without considering anything else, it would certainly be a worry-free and effortless method. However, it's hard to say who would sit on the dragon throne in the end," the Prince of Zhen chuckled. "Little Qingzi probably doesn't know where the old sites of the Taoist temples are."
Majutsu had never thought about this before, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where are the old sites located?"
The King of Poison sneered, "One of them is the place where you were buried."
"?!" Shinju thought about it carefully. Wasn't that the secret room where the alchemy materials were hidden? Could it be that the other old sites also had secret rooms, where they hid their swindling and cheating business?
The King of Poison didn't explain further, but instead squinted at Shinju and said, "You never ask these things normally, are you worried about me?"
He's been putting on quite a show of anger in court lately, and it seems he's really frightened people. But it's not all fake. Ever since that night at the bathhouse, he's had an unnamed rage burning inside him, so his anger towards the court officials is mixed with some genuine emotion.
I was feeling irritable this morning, but I didn't expect to be able to calm down like this now.
King Zhen glanced at Zhen Su's speechless expression and couldn't muster any anger. He slowly said, "Yun Guang's reputation is so bad that it's tantamount to ruining the Empress Dowager's reputation and the royal family's reputation. If I agree, I will win the Empress Dowager's heart, but I will lose the people's hearts."
"..." Shinjuku choked up a little. His initial question seemed to have sided with the Empress Dowager, but the King of Zhen didn't hold it against him at all and patiently explained things to him. Although his original intention was to distance himself from the King of Zhen, Shinjuku hesitated at this moment, feeling a faint, stabbing pain in his heart.
Though the King of Zhen's smile was cold, it inexplicably revealed a hint of loneliness to Zhen Su. "I intend to convert the old site into an academy, letting those from humble backgrounds argue with those mouthpieces." Building an academy would be a good thing for those from poor families. Scholars value their reputation and image above all else. Even those from humble backgrounds who have already achieved success and don't want others to compete with them, certainly wouldn't dare to openly express this opinion. Once they stand against the vast majority of students from poor families, their careers would come to an end.
Shinjuku vaguely understood why the King of Poison was doing this, and nodded in agreement.
The news of Prince Zhen's absence from the morning court session quickly spread outside, sparking heated discussions in both the court and the inner palace.
Previous Dynasty —
"Is Your Majesty unwell? Why has Your Majesty suddenly missed the morning court session? I have never seen Your Majesty miss the morning court session before!"
"This is truly rare. Should we request the imperial physician to take a look?"
"Quickly report to the Empress Dowager! That matter needs further discussion. If His Majesty is angered to the point of illness, no one will benefit..."
Harem—
"This is impossible!! Whose palace did the Emperor stay in last night?! Which little hussy was it? Who is she?!"
"His Majesty never stays overnight in the concubines' palaces. Could it be that he summoned someone to the Zhengren Hall? No? Could it be that person again..."
"No, no, we cannot draw a conclusion yet, Your Highness, please calm down..."
"His Majesty has only missed one day of court, yet they're so anxious. Luli, stop watching the spectacle and come help me pick out a hairpin."
Although he did not attend the morning court, King Zhen was not idle at all. One after another, court officials came to see him, mostly to inquire about King Zhen's situation under the guise of business. Before noon, concubines insisted on bringing soup to visit King Zhen.
Shinju was left in the bedchamber to write. King Zhen forbade him to follow and serve. Shinju initially wanted to protest, but after thinking about it, he realized that this was more to his liking, so he ultimately didn't insist on going with him. Only King Zhen went to the imperial study to handle state affairs and meet with court officials.
As Zhixi passed by, Zhensu finally couldn't help but ask her, "Why did His Majesty wash and change his clothes by himself in the morning? I wasn't there to report for duty then, so where were the eunuchs who were with him before?"
Zhixi glanced at him indifferently, stopped and replied, "His Majesty has never liked people getting close to him. Even the former Eunuch Bao was never allowed to serve him personally. Besides, he retired two days ago."
So it seems he's just filling in for Eunuch Bao? After all, dislike is dislike, but the necessary personnel still need to be in place. That's fine too; the Poison King won't keep him around forever, so he won't have to worry about not having time to cultivate. Zhen Su thought to himself.
.
The Ministry of Justice prison.
Inside the dark cell, the occasional squeak of rats could be heard from a corner. A jailer slowly walked to the front of two adjacent cells, looked around, and then handed a piece of paper to an old man with completely white hair and beard inside.
The old man unfolded the paper, his drooping right eyelid barely opening, and read the contents of the paper with his only intact black eye.
After reading it, the old man blinked his pale left eye strangely.
After the old man finished reading, the jailer pointed to his mouth. The old man was silent for a moment, then crumpled the paper into a ball, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it, before opening his mouth again for the jailer to check.
The jailer nodded, glanced around without saying a word, and left the cell.
The old man, dragging the heavy shackles on his feet, walked to the stone wall, rummaged through the clutter underneath, and soon revealed a hole. He whispered into the other end of the hole, "The old woman has unleashed her power; things are finally going to get chaotic over there. Junior brother, we'll be able to get out soon."
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