The little Taoist boy's voice was so sharp that it seemed to blow the roof off. It rushed past Chu Lingxiao like a gust of wind and rushed to the side of Taoist Xuan Jing.

Xuan Jing pretended not to hear anything, and continued to stare blankly at the alchemy furnace in front of him that had exploded into two pieces.

Chu Lingxiao became even more anxious, squatted down, and asked anxiously: "Master Xuan Jing, how is the Yuan Dan?"

To Chu Lingxiao, these pills were his lifeblood and his path to success. If the pills failed to be refined, all the money he had spent on negotiations would have been wasted.

Xuan Jing woke up as if from a dream, and said to the little Taoist boy in a trembling voice: "Let's help the poor."

"Master, be careful." The little Taoist boy helped Xuan Jing up and helped him to the broken alchemy furnace.

Xuan Jing ignored the wound on his arm and leaned over to check the damaged alchemy furnace. He took out three or four black balls from it, his hands still shaking like sifting chaff.

His hand was unsteady and one of the black balls slipped from his palm, fell to the ground and rolled away.

The imperial guards who came in later also saw the pitch-black pills in Xuan Jing's hands and their expressions changed immediately.

Even without asking, they could guess that there was something wrong with this batch of pills.

Not good! Everyone knew that the emperor regarded this furnace of elixirs as his life. Not only did he send them to guard it, but he also asked Eunuch Xiao Wen to come and inquire about the progress every day.

The general flag officer in the lead looked solemn, and he bowed and said, "Please Lord Chu and Taoist Xuan Jing accompany me to the palace to see the emperor."

His tone was very strong and he didn't allow anyone to refuse.

Chu Lingxiao's heart sank instantly.

Xuan Jing wiped his face with his sleeve and said, "Please allow me to change my clothes so as not to offend the emperor."

"Sir, Master is injured. Please allow me to bandage the wound. Please, sir." The little Taoist boy also pleaded for Xuan Jing.

The general flag was a little hesitant, and after thinking about it, he felt that it would be bad if Xuan Jing's current miserable appearance frightened the emperor. Besides, Xuan Jing was quite favored by the emperor, and there was no need for him to offend him. What if Xuan Jing was in danger?

So the general nodded politely and said, "Master, it's my honor."

The general was also afraid that Xuan Jing would run away, so he sent a few people to "escort" him to change into a Taoist robe, and also simply treated and bandaged the wound on his arm.

Afterwards, the group took the scrapped black pills and left Yuanqing Temple and headed for the palace.

The emperor was still lying in the Yangxin Palace. His health had not improved in the past two months. He could only sit on the bed for a short while every day. He had to gasp for breath after walking a few steps. The eunuchs did not dare to let the emperor get off the bed and always tried to persuade and coax him.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation was filled with a strong smell of medicine that lingered.

When the general flag escorted Xuan Jing, Chu Lingxiao and the middle-aged man into the bedroom, the emperor was leaning on the dragon couch, weak and drowsy.

He knew it was Xuan Jing who came, and he barely lifted his heavy eyelids. The first thing he asked was about the elixir: "Xuan Jing, where is the Yuan-boosting elixir?"

The emperor had great difficulty saying just these few words, and his voice was no longer as steady and powerful as before, and he lacked confidence.

Xuan Jing's face turned pale. He bowed and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the alchemy furnace just exploded and the elixir is ruined."

The general flag presented the box of black pills.

"What did you say?!" The emperor was furious. His whole body was shaking violently. His teeth were chattering with anger. The veins on his forehead were bulging, and the anger seemed to be about to burst out along with the veins.

"Xuan Jing, didn't you tell me that you wouldn't fail? Didn't you say that as long as I have the medicine, I can make the Yuan-boosting Pill?!"

If the emperor had a teacup or paperweight with him at this moment, he would probably have picked it up and thrown it at Xuan Jing.

Xuan Jing raised his head and looked at the emperor, frowning with guilt, and sighed, "I have failed the emperor's trust. This Yuan-boosting Pill should not have failed. Everything went very smoothly until yesterday..."

Xuan Jing's face was pale, and the dark shadows in his eye sockets made him look haggard, as if he had suffered a serious illness. His complexion was not much better than the emperor's.

The emperor's heart seemed to be burned by a fire. He took a deep breath and asked, "Why did the alchemy furnace explode?"

Xuan Jing paused for a moment, glanced to the right, and then replied: "Your Majesty, add the medicine to the alchemy furnace at noon today..."

Chu Lingxiao: “…”

Chu Lingxiao's heart skipped a beat.

He was already frustrated by his failure in refining the elixir and felt that his credit for finding the medicinal ingredient was probably gone. Now, after hearing what Xuan Jing said, he felt that something was wrong.

Chu Lingxiao's heart sank.

Xuan Jing continued, "Ah, it's the medicine that caused the problem."

"Impossible!" Chu Lingxiao quickly defended himself, "Your Majesty, this marrow balm was found according to Taoist Xuan Jing's request. I still have a little left."

Chu Lingxiao took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms. His hands were trembling slightly, and he was almost scared to death.

Xuan Jing asked for one ounce of marrow balsam, so Chu Lingxiao bought all five ounces of marrow balsam from the store at a high price and gave them all to Xuan Jing. The little bit he had in his hand was a sample in a bottle from the store.

Eunuch Ni took the small porcelain bottle and was about to present it to the emperor, but he heard the emperor say, "Show it to Xuan Jing."

The emperor was still angry, his dull eyes were bloodshot due to anger, and his rage was surging.

Xuan Jing agreed, took the small porcelain bottle from Eunuch Ni, poured some light yellow powder into his palm, sniffed it, sniffed it again, and tasted it.

Chu Lingxiao recited by heart: "Marrow balsam tastes sweet, sour, and astringent. It is warm in nature, light yellow in color, has an oily luster, and is hard in texture. It can be broken into pieces with a light tap."

This mission was too important, so Chu Lingxiao not only wrote down the key points about the marrow balm, but also recited them over and over again many times. He had memorized them by heart and there would be no mistakes.

At this time, Xuan Jing raised his head, frowned, and looked unhappy. He insisted: "Wrong."

There was silence in the bedroom.

Chu Lingxiao: “!!!”

Chu Lingxiao couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Impossible, this is clearly marrow balsam, and he has also confirmed it with other medicinal material merchants, how could it be wrong!

Chu Lingxiao hurriedly defended himself, "It can't be wrong, this is the marrow balm!"

Xuan Jing did not argue with Chu Lingxiao, but simply handed the small porcelain bottle back to Eunuch Ni and explained, "Marrow balsam tastes sweet, sour, and astringent, but this bottle of marrow balsam lacks astringency, and is sweet and sour. It should have been made with vinegar."

Xuan Jing shook his head helplessly, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.

What?! Chu Lingxiao's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but say, "Master Xuan Jing, but you didn't say that you can't be jealous."

He turned to look at the middle-aged man, trying to find his colleague's approval: "Thank you, sir, don't you agree?"

Lord Xie didn't want to get involved in this matter, so he quickly distanced himself from it: "Lord Chu, I don't know about this. It was you who found the marrow balm."

Lord Xie denied all the credit. He was originally dissatisfied with Chu Lingxiao taking the credit, but now he was secretly glad that Chu Lingxiao took the credit.

Chu Lingxiao: “!!!”

Eunuch Ni also poured out a little powder from the small porcelain bottle, tasted it carefully, and then nodded to the emperor, indicating that it was indeed as Xuan Jing said.

Xuan Jing sighed deeply: "Hey! Lord Chu, this is like me asking you for raw meat, but you brought me cooked meat. It's really a matter of a hair's breadth."

The emperor looked towards Chu Lingxiao with eyes as sharp as arrows, his gaze seemed to be filled with poison.

Chu Lingxiao opened and closed his mouth, once again feeling helpless.

"Your Majesty..." Chu Lingxiao wanted to say something, but the emperor no longer wanted to listen. He snatched the small porcelain bottle from Eunuch Ni's hand and threw it hard at Chu Lingxiao.

Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Chu Lingxiao opened his eyes wide and did not dare to hide at all. He let the small porcelain bottle hit his forehead and then fell to the ground, breaking into pieces, and the powder of the marrow balm was also scattered all over the ground.

The palace servants were already used to it, so they lowered their heads and stared at the tip of the shoe with lowered brows.

"Your Majesty, please be wise. I am innocent." Chu Lingxiao bent his knees and knelt down humbly. A stream of blood spurted out from the right corner of his forehead. The bright red blood was shocking.

Chu Lingxiao's heart became even more panicked, confused, and terrified.

He couldn't help but think of what happened last year, when he went through untold hardships to run back to the capital from the northwest to report the news to the emperor, but the emperor did not believe him, and instead stripped him of his title and ordered him to be exiled.

He thought of his imprisonment and the suffering of exile in Youzhou, and became more and more afraid.

How will the emperor deal with him this time?

The emperor stared at Chu Lingxiao coldly for a while, took a deep breath, ignored Chu Lingxiao for the time being, and asked Xuan Jing: "Xuan Jing, can you refine it again?"

"..." Xuan Jing looked bitter and embarrassed.

The emperor's heart sank again, and he said, "The Jinyiwei has already gone to Tutai Mountain to look for the marrow balsam. I can send someone to rush 800 miles to Tutai Mountain to deliver the message. There will be no mistakes this time."

However, Xuan Jing shook his head heavily: "Many of the herbs used to refine the Bu Yuan Dan are very precious and rare. Several herbs are not enough. For example, Ling Bencao, Xuan Mingzi, Nan Tinghua, etc. are not common herbs in the Central Plains. Some come from Chidi, some from Hao State and Haozhou, and some are left by my master and ancestors."

"The most precious one among them is a medicine called Nine-Layered Lotus Seeds, which I got by chance when I went to Tianshan ten years ago. The Nine-Layered Lotus only produces lotus seeds once every hundred years, which is a rare opportunity. I can still look for other medicinal herbs, but I am afraid I can't find Nine-Layered Lotus Seeds."

"Alas, what a pity! If we could refine the Yuan-boosting Pill, taking it would cure all diseases and allow the person taking it to reach the state of a Yuan-zhen child's body. Then, taking pills in the future would be more effective."

Xuan Jing's tone was sincere and solemn. At this moment, he suddenly covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed violently. When he looked up again, the snow-white handkerchief had been stained red with blood...

The emperor and others were all shocked, and Eunuch Ni cried out: "Master, what are you doing..."

Xuan Jing sighed quietly again, his lips stained red with blood, and he looked even more haggard against his pale face.

He added in a hoarse voice: "And this time I sacrificed my life to make the elixir..."

The emperor's anger grew like fuel to the fire. He looked at Chu Lingxiao angrily and took his anger out on him.

Yes, Xuan Jing had been doing his best for him, even at the cost of his life span, to refine the Yuan Dan for him. His loyalty was evident to all! But Chu Lingxiao, a useless waste, ruined his good deeds! At this moment, the emperor regretted that he should not have brought Chu Lingxiao back to Beijing in order to control Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen. As a result, before he could take action, he was tricked by Chu Lingxiao again! Now that the Yuan Dan was scrapped, wasn't there any hope for him to recover? !

The emperor became angrier and angrier, wishing he could chop Chu Lingxiao into pieces. He gritted his teeth and ordered, "Come here, take Chu Lingxiao away!"

At the emperor's command, two eunuchs came in immediately and dragged Chu Lingxiao out roughly.

Chu Lingxiao was still protesting for himself, but it was in vain. His hoarse voice gradually faded away, and in the end, nothing could be heard.

"You really refuse to repent!" the emperor shouted angrily, his mouth trembling with anger, and he felt both irritated and angry.

Lord Xie silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He felt that he was lucky to have saved his life this time. He would have to go to Baiyun Temple to fulfill his wish another day.

Others also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it was a great blessing not to be affected by the disaster.

Xuan Jing's eyelids trembled, and he shook off the snow-white whisk stained with blood, and bowed to the emperor on the dragon couch again, his voice becoming heavier: "Your Majesty, I have consumed more than ten years of my life in order to refine this Yuan-boosting Pill. I have calculated for myself, and I am afraid that I will not live much longer."

"Alas, Your Majesty, please forgive me. I can no longer accompany you..."

As he spoke, Xuan Jing's eyes turned red and sparkled with tears, and he looked ashamed and helpless.

The emperor thought about Xuan Jing's loyalty and dedication to him, and his anger turned into reluctance. Previously, Xuan Jing only said that refining the Bu Yuan Dan would shorten his lifespan, but he didn't say that it would shorten Xuan Jing's lifespan by more than ten years. He was sorry for Xuan Jing.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The emperor felt a little guilty and regretful, and sighed with deep emotion: "Xuan Jing, you really took a lot of trouble for me. I understand your loyalty."

"Since you have made up your mind to leave, I will not keep you here."

Originally, the emperor was thinking of appointing Xuan Jing as the imperial teacher in a few years, building a Taoist temple and sculpting statues for him, so that he could enjoy the incense and worship of the world... What a pity, perhaps this was also a tribulation in Xuan Jing's path of practice.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xuan Jing lowered his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, reluctant to leave.

The emperor seemed to be hesitant to speak and sighed. In the end, he said nothing. He only issued an oral order to reward Xuan Jing with a thousand taels of gold.

Xuan Jing thanked Long En again.

After that, the emperor sent Xuan Jing away.

Xuan Jing respectfully left the Yangxin Palace and then left the palace with Eunuch Xiao Wen.

Eunuch Xiao Wen only sent the person to the palace gate and then said goodbye to Xuan Jing, saying politely, "Master, have a good trip." This time, he did not send the imperial guards to "escort" Xuan Jing back to the temple.

Xuan Jing also made a polite reply, then walked away swinging his whisk. His wide sleeves were blown up by the wind, giving him a Taoist look.

"Finally I'm out." Xuan Jing whispered to himself, feeling lightened. It was not until this moment that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. The ancients were right.

As early as the moment Xuan Jing proposed to the emperor to refine the Bu Yuan Dan, he had already been paving a way out for himself.

Xuan Jing originally wanted to escape by making the elixir, so he told the emperor that it would take 9981 days to make the Bu Yuan Dan. However, the emperor sent the imperial guards to guard Yuan Qing Temple day and night.

This made Xuan Jing realize that even if he managed to escape, it would be useless.

All under heaven belongs to the king. If he sneaks away, he will have to live like a shameful rat for the rest of his life. Moreover, he will most likely be caught by the emperor's men. Therefore, if he wants to leave, he must leave with dignity.

Xuan Jing also knew that it was not easy to get the emperor to agree to let him go. He could not have any regrets. He had to make the emperor feel that he had worked hard for him and was willing to sacrifice himself, or even make the emperor feel guilty about him.

It's someone else's fault, and it can only be someone else's fault.

Xuan Jing hid in the alchemy room for several days and looked through various ancient books, but he couldn't find a solution. Later, he accidentally remembered that he had heard someone mention marrow balsam. This medicinal material is extremely rare and can only be found in Tutai Mountain in Youzhou. Marrow balsam is easily affected by moisture. In order to facilitate preservation, drug dealers usually prepare it before transportation.

So, Xuan Jing had an idea and proposed to the emperor to use marrow balsam as a medicine.

His plan was successful! While thinking, Xuan Jing looked back in the direction of the palace. From where he was, he could no longer see the back of Eunuch Xiao Wen. Only the majestic-looking imperial guards were still guarding the palace gate.

Xuan Jing said in his heart: Chu Lingxiao, I don’t mean to harm you.

He had no grudge against Chu Lingxiao, and he didn't want to frame him. However, this was an opportunity he had created with great difficulty. If he missed this opportunity, he didn't know what else he could do. Alas, he could only blame Chu Lingxiao for his bad luck.

Either Chu Lingxiao is unlucky or I am unlucky. In comparison, it is of course better for Chu Lingxiao to be unlucky.

Xuan Jing withdrew his gaze without any hesitation and continued walking forward with big strides.

Now, he can finally go.

After Xuan Jing left the palace, he did not leave Beijing immediately, but returned to Yuanqing Temple.

He always knew how to build momentum for himself. After returning, he arranged for his men to spread the word to the Taoist priests and pilgrims at Yuanqing Temple, saying that he had failed in refining the elixir, that his life span was about to run out, that the elixir had not been made because his heart had not yet been made into a Taoist, and that he could not make it through the eightieth difficulty on the path of cultivation, and that this was his fate...

Xuan Jing was a celebrity known to everyone in the capital, especially because he was highly regarded by the emperor. In the past year, he had been the focus of attention of the dignitaries in the capital. There was no need for Xuan Jing to add fuel to the fire. The news spread rapidly in the capital with exaggeration, and some people even added some more legendary colors to the story.

For example, on the day when the alchemy furnace exploded, hundreds of birds wept in Yuanqing Temple; for example, Taoist Master Xuanjing’s hair turned half white because of his shortened life span; for example, the Three Pure Ones statues in Yuanqing Temple also shed tears for this...

…

These rumors intensified in just a few days, and many people said that Taoist Xuan Jing was indeed an accomplished master who was only one step away from ascending to heaven, but unfortunately he still died.

These words also reached Chu Qianchen's ears.

Chu Qianchen hugged the soft pillow and threw himself on the beauty couch, laughing and rolling around, making his clothes wrinkled.

The black cat Yueying, squatting in a corner of the beauty bed, looked at its two-legged beast with a puzzled expression, its round cat face slightly tilted.

Too much joy leads to sorrow. After laughing for a while, Chu Qianchen couldn't help but hiccup.

"belch--"

She covered her mouth and burped twice, her rosy cheeks puffed up slightly, making her look like a goldfish, very cute.

Gu Jue gently patted her back to divert her attention: "Would you like some tea? I'll make it for you."

Of course Chu Qianchen wanted to drink the tea that Gu Jue brewed. He sat up while holding Yingzhen and nodded: "Yes!"

Her sudden movement startled the cat, and it jumped off the beauty couch.

Gu Jue began to brew tea skillfully. His movements were elegant, deft, clean and neat. His movements were done in one go, soft yet strong, without any drag or unnecessary movements.

With these hands as the medium, water and tea leaves are perfectly blended together.

Chu Qianchen liked watching him make tea. This was probably what a beautiful woman was like, everything she did looked good.

She covered her mouth and burped again, then moved her face closer and asked, "Your Majesty, did you know this a long time ago?"

As early as when Chu Lingxiao took the job in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gu Jue said that within a month at most, there would be problems with Chu Lingxiao's job.

really!

Chu Qianchen held his chin and looked at Gu Jue, his eyes sparkling, as bright as the stars in the night sky.

After Gu Jue brewed the tea, he put down the kettle and said calmly, "I know Xuan Jing should be running away soon."

"Xuan Jing is a bit clever, very utilitarian, and always seeks profit and avoids harm."

"Things have come to this point. Since he can't cure Gu Lang, he won't just wait to die in the capital. He must have found a way to escape. But he didn't escape. Instead, he took the initiative to propose to refine some elixir for Gu Lang. That means there must be something wrong with his elixir."

Gu Jue handed the freshly brewed tea to Chu Qianchen. As Chu Qianchen took the teacup, he burped again.

She pursed her lips in embarrassment and said, "Gu Lang fell ill because of the poison. If he had been willing to use the imperial physician's medicine at the beginning, he might have had a chance of survival. But now, the poison has probably invaded his heart. There are no more than two people in the world who can cure Gu Lang."

Chu Qianchen casually pointed up two fingers, one was himself and the other was his master Lin Miao.

"If Xuan Jing can't make the medicine that can cure the imperial physician, he will definitely be finished. Someone like him who knows how to seek benefits and avoid harm will definitely not attribute the problem of the medicine to himself, so of course he will push it to others."

Therefore, whoever takes this task will be unlucky.

Gu Jue smiled slightly and blew gently on the freshly brewed tea.

From the moment Xuan Jing brought up the marrow fragrant resin, Gu Jue guessed the beginning of Xuan Jing's plan, and the marrow fragrant resin should be the key to it.

Gu Jue also had people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After Gu Jue gave some suggestions, this task naturally fell into Chu Lingxiao's hands.

Of course, Chu Lingxiao could have been passive and lazy like his colleagues, but Chu Lingxiao was a person who was eager for quick success and instant benefits, always conceited, and always wanted to achieve success overnight.

If he wants to take credit, he will ignore his colleagues and take the credit himself.

Although Gu Jue did not mention these key points, Chu Qianchen could understand them. This was Chu Lingxiao's personality, so he did not want the job in the Ministry of War and would rather go to the Imperial Household Department. He felt that he would have a greater chance of working for the emperor, and he thought that he would have to endure for many years before he could make a name for himself in the Ministry of War.

Some people will never learn their lesson no matter how hard they fall.

Chu Qianchen's lips curled slightly. She could imagine that Chu Lingxiao was still imprisoned in the Sky Prison. He must be blaming others and feeling that he was not wrong and that others were harming him.

Chu Qianchen drank the hot tea slowly. The tea was clear and the aroma was mellow, which complemented each other. He praised: "Your Majesty is really amazing!"

I don’t know whether he was praising him for making tea or something else.

"It seems that I'm not hiccuping anymore." Gu Jue pursed his lips and smiled, as gentle as the gurgling spring water.

She is always easily satisfied and will be happy with even the smallest things.

Chu Qianchen took another sip of tea, sat there and waited for a moment, then smiled: "No more hiccups."

She laughed again, this time so she could control her laughter for fear of hiccups again. She rubbed her face against his chest for a while and changed the subject: "Your Majesty, is the 'time' right?"

She spoke vaguely, but Gu Jue understood what she was asking. He rubbed her hair and said, "Not yet. We have to keep him in the prison until he finds that he has no other way out. That will be the best time."

Chu Qianchen nodded obediently: "Well, we are not in a hurry."

Let him suffer a little more, so that he won't be ignorant of the world and try to raise the price! 　If there is a guaranteed monthly ticket, vote for it~ 　　 　 (End of this chapter)