Lian Shenwei changed his clothes and walked out from behind the screen with the help of Tiannan.

It was already late at night, with a bright moon and few stars.

Feng Ke was dealing with the six "peach blossoms" taken from his body. The insect only had time to balance the poison and medicinal properties in Lian Shenwei's body before it was forcibly pulled out by Feng Ke.

After two pokes with the thin silver needle, the marrow-eating dragon curled up and slowly died. He then put the body into a jade bottle.

Hearing the noise, Feng Ke said coldly without even turning his head, "It's hard for you to still stand up."

Lian Shenwei's face was visibly pale, his eyelashes were frosted, he was cold, and his movements were slow. The second half of the treatment required adding ice cubes to the bathtub. He woke up during the alternation of hot and cold, and after that, he could not feel anything but cold, not even pain.

He sat opposite Feng Ke: "Thank you."

Ming Cang poured him a cup of hot water to warm his hands.

Ming Candle: "I'll go get you some food."

Lian Shenwei: "Go ahead."

"Stretch out your hand," Feng Ke felt his pulse, his heart sinking, but he glanced at him calmly: "If you come back one day later, I guarantee you will be cooler than you are now."

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"The candle should have been mentioned in the letter."

"That's too general. All we know is that you encountered an assassin. What I want to know is the details. There are traces of the poison invading your lungs. You must have suppressed the pain for a while after using your internal energy, and did not take the medicine immediately."

Lian Shenwei was silent for a while, "I met Qiu Che."

"What?"

Feng Ke was surprised, and then his expression became strange: "When that guy found out that your hand was disabled, didn't he get mad on the spot?"

Lian Shenwei: "He doesn't know, and I don't want him to know."

Feng Ke's brows relaxed slightly. This was quite typical of Lian Shenwei's character.

I would rather hide all my pain for a lifetime than see other people's sympathetic eyes.

"He went to Dulan, and I returned to the capital. We'll say goodbye from now on."

Lian Shenwei briefly mentioned what happened during the southern tour, and then asked: "I heard from Tiannan that you went to the emperor's bedroom to take a look, but didn't give him a pulse."

"You want me to save him?" Feng Ke raised his eyebrows. "If you want, I can save him. But even if I save him, he will die soon. He will only live a few more months or less."

"Your apprentice asked me if I had any solution, and I declined, so he naturally didn't say much."

Lian Shenwei: "No need to save him, he's not worth it."

"Okay, I understand," Feng Ke stood up, stretched his waist, and instructed, "We have barely gotten through this difficulty, but you should understand that after the treatment of the marrow-eating snake, your bones will ache for a few days as your body warms up."

Lian Shenwei nodded.

He is very familiar with this process.

"After this, your health may not be as good as before, so you should be more careful. I have searched almost all the medicinal materials in the Central Plains. If you want to improve the prescription, you have to look for new medicines elsewhere."

He rambled on for a few sentences.

Lian Shenwei listened carefully, and waited until he finished speaking before asking, "How long can I live?"

Feng Ke was surprised: "Why do you ask that?"

"What are you thinking? You are fine now. You just need to recover from your weakness. It is really unlucky to talk about whether you will die or not. I still want to cure you. Let's settle the medicine bill for you together."

Lian Shenwei nodded, "Is there enough blood in Ning Feng?"

Feng Ke said vaguely: "Wait a few days."

"I'm leaving. I always go out late at night. If I'm discovered by the people in the Loyalty Marquis' Mansion, it will arouse suspicion. If there is anything, ask Tiannan to notify me."

Before he left, he secretly winked at Tiannan.

Not long after he left, Tiannan whispered to his master, "I'll go check on Mingzhang to see why he hasn't come back yet."

Seeing Lian Shenwei's response, he retreated silently.

Feng Ke was at the corner of the corridor on the right side of Lian Shenwei's bedroom and waved at him.

Tiannan walked over and lowered his voice: "Mr. Feng, what is the matter that made you ask me to come out alone?"

Feng Ke no longer felt relaxed as he did when he was next to Lian Shenwei just now, but frowned, "Your master is not in good condition."

Tiannan's heart skipped a beat, and his voice became tense unconsciously: "What's wrong, Master?"

"Unexpectedly, the pulse is very strange. I can't figure it out for the time being..." There has never been a pulse that he couldn't figure out in this world.

Feng Ke clenched his hands at his side, "But overall he is weak. It may be that this imbalance has caused some new changes in his body. I will research new medicine as soon as possible. You and Ming Cang should pay attention to whether your master has coughed up blood, difficulty breathing, slow blood clotting or other abnormal symptoms recently."

"If you have, tell me immediately."

Tiannan: "What does the symptom you mentioned mean?"

Feng Ke was silent for a while: "I won't let anything happen to him."

Tiannan felt a little disappointed.

Finally, he managed to maintain his composure and glanced at the dark circles under Feng Ke's eyes. "Thank you for your worry, Mr. Lao Feng. You haven't slept for a few days. The master's health still depends on you. Please take care of yourself."

Feng Ke nodded and left with a heavy heart.

…

The moonlight fell quietly in the wind, slowly drifting to the ground.

A young man in a robe had his long hair loose and stood quietly in the corridor with his eyes lowered, his pale fingers holding the railing.

The wind chimes tied to the eaves rang softly, startling the occasional birds that stopped by.

Ming Cang came over with a bowl of porridge he had just prepared, and at a glance he saw his master who had been standing in front of the bedroom door at some point in time.

She walked over in two or three steps: "Master, it's windy outside. You just finished the treatment, so you should hurry in."

"The moonlight in the capital city is always dim, trapped in the narrow courtyards of every household." Lian Shenwei said softly.

Ming Candle said: "It's not as bright as the moonlight during the southern tour."

Lian Shenwei was silent for a long time, "Maybe I made the wrong choice. On the Southern Tour, I should have visited the villa."

This topic was too jumpy. Mingzhu didn't understand what it meant and said nothing.

Lian Shenwei did not explain, but sighed, "Change all the handkerchiefs I usually use in the palace to dark colors."

He turned and went into the bedroom, "Don't tell Tiannan that I came out, so he won't worry."

The candles were lit one by one.

Lian Shenwei did not go to the couch to rest after finishing his meal.

Inexplicably, a string of urgency was tensed in his heart. Tiannan and his officials had compiled a report on the current situation in the capital city on the table.

He moved a lamp over and looked at it carefully.

——

Foquan Temple.

Moda unfolded the letter.

After a long time, a strange look of doubt appeared on the old man's face.

"Lian Shenwei, Lian Yubai, Lian..."

He burned the letter and said, "Investigate carefully again. This time, don't investigate the underworld. Investigate the birth mother of our Crown Prince. Don't miss any royal secrets."

"I remember that some of the former emperor's personal guards are still alive, right?"

"Yes," Mu Xiang said, "What about the letter you sent to the border?"

"According to the plan, even if Li Ningfeng's leg recovers, I'm afraid he won't be able to get to the border in time. As for the capital..."

Moda hesitated for a moment.

"Let's wait and see what the Regent does for now."

…

Emperor Jingcheng was only awake for a short while at night, and after falling asleep, he fell into a coma again.

The ministers who had just heard the news that the emperor was in better condition put on their court robes and went to court. The atmosphere in the court was tense. The eldest prince, the third prince and Ying Jingjue sat on both sides. Lian Shenwei sat in his chair with a calm expression, without any trace of paleness.

They waited for a long time, and what they heard was Eunuch Li saying that the court would be adjourned today.

All the ministers were outraged.

Lian Shenwei: "Didn't you say you woke up?"

Eunuch Li was in a dilemma: "I was awake last night."

I'm afraid your majesty is really not going to make it this time.

This thought flashed through many people's minds, and their eyes had different expressions, but they all showed worry.

Zuo Cheng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is ill, and the Crown Prince should be in charge of the country. Please ask His Royal Highness to come out and take charge of the overall situation."

"Left Prime Minister, this is wrong. Your Majesty is seriously ill, but the Crown Prince is still young, and the Regent is familiar with court affairs. Please let the Regent take charge of the overall situation."

"Your Highness is sixteen, how can you be young? When Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, he was only fifteen years old. With ministers assisting him, wouldn't the court be stable?"

"You also said that it is the ministers who assist. If that is the case, why can't the Regent assist by the side?"

Lian Shenwei: "Okay."

The noisy sounds gradually died down.

Lian Shenwei felt cold and painful in his bones and didn't want to move, so he just sat on the chair and watched them.

"What you all said makes sense. I think that the capital is in turmoil right now. The eldest prince, the third prince, and the crown prince are all your majesty's descendants. They should shoulder their responsibilities and help your majesty share his worries and solve his problems."

"You three are brothers, so you should communicate well. No matter how skilled I am, I am only one person, and sometimes I am overwhelmed."

He stood up leisurely and smiled, "So, Your Highnesses, please do your best."

Lian Shenwei's words conveyed two meanings to those who were paying attention.

First, he himself had no interest in the throne, nor did he care who ascended the throne or whoever won the competition would sit on the supreme seat.

Second, he will not interfere, will not shoot from behind, and will not sit idly by and watch the fight between tigers.

Some are happy, some are sad.

Because of his words that he was afraid that the capital would be in chaos, the relationship between Ying Jingjue and his two royal brothers became increasingly tense, with both open and covert attacks.

After running back and forth for several days between attending to the sick in the Purple Palace, handling affairs in the Eastern Palace, and visiting Li Ningfeng at the Marquis of Loyalty's Mansion, Ying Jingjue lost a lot of weight, but his eyes became sharper and sharper, like a polished sword, revealing a faint edge.

"The last attack we encountered after getting off the ship was carried out by my eldest brother. Wei Mingda is the new commander of the city defense. He was originally a civil servant, and it will take him a long time to adjust to the position of Linfen City."

The only place where Ying Jingjue could relax every day was the Loyalty Marquis Mansion, where he could also come and sort out his thoughts.

"Wei Mingda is not familiar with the affairs of Linfen City. He has nothing to do with the eldest brother. He is just a shield pushed out."

"Does Lian Shenwei really not care? Didn't he almost get injured in Linfen City before? The eldest prince can actually sleep well."

Li Ningfeng's legs went from being painful at first to numb later, but now he could feel them again. The rotten flesh had disappeared, leaving only the meridians exposed and the muscles atrophied, looking scary.

Ying Jingjue shook his head: "Except for the Eastern Palace, most of the memorials were sent to the Regent's Palace. He has too much power. If he interferes, our chances will be even smaller."

"It's a good thing he's choosing not to intervene now."

"By the way, how are your legs? What did Mr. Fubiao say?"

Li Ningfeng: "It's entering the final stage soon. I've stopped taking the medicine for two days. Mr. Fu Biao said it will be continued today." He touched his leg. "The treatment is slower than expected. It will be autumn when it ends. Plus, I still need time to train and recover..."

"It's fine as long as it can be cured," Ying Jing paused, "What medicine has been stopped for two days? Do you need me to find it?"

"No need."

Feng Ke dressed up as Fu Biao and came in holding a small jar.

Ying Jing decided: "Mr. Fu Biao."

Feng Ke hummed and took out the prepared medicine mud box on the table, "The missing medicine has arrived."

He opened the small jar, and the dark blood inside was as thick as insoluble ink.