With their backs to Chief Secretary Ling, none of the staff noticed anything amiss.
Even when the King of Chu saw him faint, he merely chuckled and made no attempt to summon a doctor for him. He turned to another person and instructed, "Also, find a way to contact Alente..."
When this person's name was mentioned, the other staff members were stunned!
Alentel, that's the Khan of the Northern Di!
What was the King of Chu planning to do by sending someone to contact the Khan of the Northern Di?
Do you want to lure the tiger into the mountains, contact the Northern Di people, and have them kill the people of their Great Sang Dynasty?
It was only at this point that the advisors realized that the King of Chu seemed to have changed, to the point that none of them recognized him!
However, Chief Secretary Ling had just been punished by the King of Chu, and for a moment they didn't know how to persuade the King of Chu, only thinking that perhaps Chief Secretary Ling would have a solution.
But after waiting for a while, Ling Changshi still didn't speak. When they turned around, they found that Ling Changshi had fainted on the ground at some point.
"Chief Secretary Ling!"
One of the advisors, disregarding the enraged King of Chu, stood up and ran down the steps.
Upon hearing the piercing scream, the others turned to look, and then the staff followed and ran down the steps.
The first person to notice Ling Changshi had fainted checked his breathing with trembling hands, only to find that his breathing was shallow and weak, and his pulse was almost undetectable.
The man roared, "Your Highness, please ask Doctor Qu to examine Chief Secretary Ling. Chief Secretary Ling's condition is not good."
It wasn't just a little bad; his face was ashen, as if he were about to die at any moment.
Perhaps it was because of the furious looks his advisors gave him that the King of Chu finally sobered up completely at this moment.
He stood on the pavilion, staring blankly at Chief Secretary Ling, whose mouth was still bleeding, his brows furrowed: "How could this be?"
He only wanted to teach Chief Secretary Ling a lesson for his inaction, but who knew that Chief Secretary Ling was so fragile? He was about to die after taking two kicks and being hit on the head with a wine pot.
The King of Chu cursed his bad luck inwardly.
But he also knew that he couldn't live without Chief Secretary Ling.
Furthermore, if Chief Secretary Ling were killed by me, the remaining staff members would likely harbor resentment towards me.
The thought that he was already out of power and that his advisors might not be loyal to him made the King of Chu feel afraid.
He called out, "Butler Mu! Butler Mu!"
The steward, who was lounging behind the moon gate, only then heard the commotion and hurriedly ran out: "Your Highness."
"Go quickly and summon Doctor Qu! Hurry!"
Just as Butler Mu was about to turn and leave, he heard the King of Chu continue, "Go to the Queen and open the private treasury. Take out that century-old ginseng."
Chief Secretary Ling cannot die!
At least I can't die now!
He had to keep Ling Changshi alive with ginseng.
Butler Mu also knew the seriousness of the matter, so he sent someone to find Doctor Qu, while he himself went to ask the Princess to open the private treasury.
When Doctor Qu arrived, everyone had already moved Chief Secretary Ling to the couch in the guest room.
At this moment, Ling Changshi was breathing more gasp than he was taking in, and his face was slightly flushed from the difficulty in breathing.
Doctor Qu looked down and saw that Chief Clerk Ling was bleeding from all seven orifices...
He cursed inwardly and quickly sat down to take Chief Secretary Ling's pulse. After a while, he suddenly knelt down before the King of Chu: "Your Highness, please forgive my inability to help."
"Chief Secretary Ling has suffered serious injuries to his lungs and internal organs; there is no hope of recovery."
Whether it was bad luck or not, the second kick from the King of Chu broke his ribs. As he rolled down the steps, the ribs pierced his internal organs.
Furthermore, the King of Chu's indifference and late discovery, coupled with the significant movement, caused the ribs to penetrate even deeper.
The King of Chu's eyes widened, and he grabbed Qu Dafu by the collar, pulling him straight up from the ground: "What do you mean by 'helpless to reverse the situation'? You haven't even made a diagnosis yet, and you're already saying it's beyond saving?"
He violently threw Doctor Qu aside: "What use is a piece of trash like you to me! If Chief Secretary Ling can't be saved, you'll be buried with him!"
Dr. Qu felt completely unwell.
He is a doctor, that's true, but he's not a god!
Someone like Chief Secretary Ling, let alone him, even the most skilled physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy would shake their heads in disapproval.
Doctor Qu knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but his throat tightened, and he couldn't utter a single word. He could only keep kowtowing.
Upon hearing Steward Mu's words, Princess Chu immediately opened her private treasury and had Steward Mu take the ginseng to the guest room.
But when Butler Mu arrived, Chief Secretary Ling had already passed away.
King Chu stood blankly in front of the bed, staring at Chief Secretary Ling's lifeless face, and for a moment he was somewhat dazed.
How did Chief Secretary Ling die?
He was only kicked twice and hit on the head, how could he have died?
The servants in the mansion could be whipped dozens of times by him and they wouldn't die on the spot; this scholar's body was just too delicate.
The King of Chu was filled with a jumble of thoughts, and when he came to his senses, he heard the sound of sobbing throughout the room.
It's those staff members!
Only now do they truly understand the meaning of "the rabbit is killed once the hunt is over."
They held no hope for the King of Chu's great cause. They even knew that Chief Secretary Ling was the first among their advisors to die, but he would not be the last!
Faced with the silent King of Chu, the advisors felt a tremendous chill spread rapidly from their hearts to their limbs and bones, freezing them stiff and making their teeth chatter.
The arrival of the butler finally broke the silence in the room: "Your Highness, Your Highness..."
The King of Chu slowly raised his hand, signaling the steward to shut up. Then he pointed to one of his advisors and said, "Change the order we gave earlier. Have Jiang Ningqi contact Alentler and ask him to cooperate with our military campaign."
Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, he continued, "As long as he helps me become emperor, I will give him the entire Northern Desert!"
As the King of Chu spoke, his eyes blazed with intense desire, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.
The advisors tried to persuade him, but with Chief Secretary Ling's cold body lying there, they couldn't utter a single word of advice.
I will not persuade them. This act of joining forces with foreign tribes to kill our own people is a heinous crime that could lead to the extermination of nine generations of one's family!
If Bai Jiwu controls the Northern Desert Army, the Jiangnan Navy harbors no ill will towards His Highness, and the Jianghu people stand by His Highness's side in times of crisis, then let them rebel if they want.
But right now, they simply don't have the conditions to rebel!
They dared not offer any advice, and could only kneel there silently, attempting to protest through silence.
The King of Chu waited for a while but received no reply. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the people: "Are you all silent because you think I shouldn't rebel at this time?"
A smile curled at the corner of his lips, almost manic: "So when do you think would be a suitable time to arrive?"
"Should we wait until Qi Chengjun finds my private army, or until Gu Yuchen has planted his men in several prefectures in Jiangnan?"
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