Chapter 045 The Ambitious Regent 7
No one expected that the emperor of the time would be hiding outside this remote eunuch's residence. Shangguan Lin stood up suddenly, so frightened that he even forgot to perform the etiquette.
Thinking of what they had just said, cold sweat suddenly broke out on his back.
"emperor……"
However, Pei Mingjue didn't even look at him. He walked straight to the bed and looked at Chen Huihai with wide eyes. He took a deep breath and tried his best to suppress his violent emotions.
"Eunuch Chen, don't be afraid. You are also an old eunuch who watched me grow up. I will not punish you." There was a chill in his words, "But you have to tell me the truth about what you just said."
“Your Majesty… Your Majesty…” Chen Huihai struggled to get up and salute, but was stopped by Pei Mingjue. He looked up at the grown-up little emperor and suddenly burst into tears. “Your Majesty, in fact, I have wanted to tell you all this a long time ago, but the Regent has been stopping me, saying that it would be more beneficial to the country if you didn’t know these things…I didn’t understand either. I only knew that the Regent was wholeheartedly serving the country, so I listened to him! But now that I am about to die, there are some things I can’t hold back…”
Pei Mingjue's throat tightened. He intuitively felt that what Chen Huihai was about to say might subvert some of his cognitions and even put him in an irretrievable situation.
But he wanted to know the truth, no matter what, he didn't want to be kept in the dark.
Especially...it's related to Jian Ziyan.
"You can talk as you please." Pei Mingjue let Chen Huihai lean back on the bed, lifted his skirt, sat on the chair that Shangguan Lin had brought for him, and pretended to listen.
He glanced at Shangguan Lin, who was at a loss, and said coldly, "You can stay."
Shangguan Lin looked flattered. He stood trembling beside Pei Mingjue, listening attentively to Chen Huihai's unclear words.
"Since the emperor has heard it, there is no need for me to hide anything anymore. These secrets that I thought would be buried in the ground will finally see the light of day."
Chen Huihai was quite emotional, with tears streaming down his face, and he held the emperor's sleeve tightly. Pei Mingjue did not stop him, but listened with an expressionless face.
"Everyone thinks that the Regent is vicious and will do anything to climb up for power. He even disregarded the late emperor's kindness to him and deceived the late emperor. He has an unspeakable relationship with the late emperor. This is... a sin! In fact, the Regent has never done anything wrong to the late emperor. On the contrary, it was the late emperor who had abnormal thoughts about the Regent from the beginning."
"What did you say?" Pei Mingjue's pupils contracted, and he couldn't believe what he heard.
Shangguan Lin regretted staying at this time. He doubted that he would not be able to walk out of this door alive.
Chen Huihai was already in his twilight years, and once he started talking, he wanted to spill all the secrets that had been pent up in his heart. He didn't care about the reactions of the other two people and continued talking.
"Back then, the regent was not yet a regent, but a newly-appointed top scholar. When he stood in the throne room in his red top scholar robe, the late emperor was stunned. In fact, who wouldn't be stunned at that time?"
Shangguan Lin showed a look of longing. He entered the officialdom relatively late, when the Regent already held great power. He had only heard of his brilliance in the past, but it was a pity that he could not see it with his own eyes.
"How is this possible?" Pei Mingjue murmured in disbelief, "Doesn't father only have admiration for him?"
"What admiration... it's just a nice word!" Chen Huihai coughed and said with a desperate tone, "Your Majesty, there is no need for me to lie to you anymore. The late emperor was never what you and the world think he was! I have served the late emperor since I was a child. He was so good at disguising himself that he fooled everyone, even you, Your Majesty, and the number one scholar that year..."
There were no words that could describe the shock Pei Mingjue felt at that moment. He sat stiffly and straight in the chair, his eyes full of shock and confusion.
"At first, the number one scholar was just like everyone else. He thought the late emperor loved his talent and admired him very much, even serving him as if he were his father. He was only fifteen years old that year... What a naive age." Chen Huihai continued, "The late emperor really didn't plan to do anything to him at that time. The number one scholar was extremely talented, and the late emperor wanted to keep him to make more contributions to the country. As for him, he was in the hands of the late emperor no matter what, and he couldn't escape."
Pei Mingjue clenched his hands tightly under the sleeves of his wide robe. He wanted to loudly scold this old servant who was talking nonsense, and drag out and execute this unruly servant who dared to throw dirty water on the late emperor.
But deep down in his heart he also vaguely understood that what Chen Huihai said might be true.
Pei Mingjue suddenly felt a little confused.
Did he really understand his father? Since childhood, the distance between him and his father was like a chasm. Did he really understand his father, or did he only understand his imaginary father?
In this confusion and panic, Chen Huihai continued his story.
"But the champion was also a smart man. He finally saw through the late emperor's intentions. At that time, he was already the emperor's tutor. He angrily questioned the late emperor, asking him how he could become the common ruler of the world and set an example for the crown prince by doing this."
"But when the late emperor saw that he already knew everything, he dropped his disguise. He had been thinking about the number one scholar for many years, so he naturally couldn't let him go. So, he locked him up in the palace."
"However, the late emperor was not able to truly obtain what he wanted. After many years of seeking immortals and medicine, his body was already exhausted and he was simply unable to accomplish anything."
"But the late emperor also had his own ways of torturing people. He knew better than the ladies in the harem how to torture people without leaving obvious traces. He said that we should not be too ruthless, so that the people can still be useful, and we cannot let you, the emperor, know. So he temporarily controlled his temper and did not use the most despicable methods, just to make people obedient. At that time, the late emperor never let the old slaves in, and even cleared out all the servants around. All he could hear was people's suppressed shouting, sometimes until dawn."
"However, the top scholar was also a ruthless person. He pretended to be obedient while implementing his plan. Soon, he became the regent."
"At that time, the late emperor had become a little confused due to years of taking medicine, and the government was gradually controlled by the regent. Even the final killing of the late emperor was because the late emperor finally couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to torture the regent. In the eyes of those who didn't know, it was the regent who harmed the late emperor. In fact, if it weren't for the regent's efforts to turn the tide, this Dajing country would have been ruined countless times by those treacherous ministers! Even when the regent was at the peak of his power, he never thought of replacing the Pei family to sit on this country. Isn't this enough to prove his loyalty? Your Majesty, please don't... kill loyal ministers because of misunderstandings!"
Chen Huihai let out a long sigh, his voice choked with sobs, and the room fell into dead silence.
After a long time, Pei Mingjue's rough and hoarse voice sounded: "Even if he didn't harm my father, he did give me the Diesel Powder. I secretly hid the medicine residue and asked the imperial physician for confirmation. Why is this...?"
"Your Majesty, I don't know this. I am only a servant after all. I know a little about the late emperor's movements, but the regent has never told me about his actions. But Your Majesty, please forgive me for saying too much. Once you are infected with this Dichen Powder, there is no way to detoxify it. It is only a matter of time before it takes effect... If Your Majesty was really poisoned by Dichen Powder, considering his age, it is absolutely impossible for him to be safe and sound now."
Pei Mingjue opened his mouth, but for a moment, nothing came out.
For the past nineteen years, everything he believed in, admired, hated, and avenged himself on was not what he thought.
Chen Huihai took two hard breaths and looked at Pei Mingjue with pleading eyes: "Your Majesty, I risked my life to tell you all this, just hoping that you can... treat the Regent well. His life... is too hard. I didn't see the specific torture with my own eyes, but I really can't side with the late emperor and say against my conscience that the late emperor was worthy of him."
Pei Mingjue sat upright in the chair, his face as pale as a ghost. He seemed not to hear what Chen Huihai said, and was immersed in his own world.
Chen Huihai looked at Shangguan Lin who was standing aside in a daze. "Now that we have come to this point, let me tell Master Shangguan everything... The one who wanted to help you in the beginning was the Regent. He signaled me to help you, but he didn't let me say it was him who ordered me to do so. I have been holding it in until now, and now I can finally tell you everything."
"What?" Shangguan Lin was shocked. "Even my business... is..."
The old eunuch's thin and withered face showed a frank and comfortable smile. He slowly let go of the fingers that were holding Pei Mingjue's sleeve and said, "This is all I know. If the emperor wants to kill me directly, I am willing to obey your order."
Pei Mingjue still acted as if he didn't hear anything. In the dead silence, he moved his neck slightly, as if he hadn't moved or spoken for a long time, and his throat seemed to have been polished by sand.
"Don't worry, Eunuch Chen. I... won't kill you." He said in a very slow voice, "I just want to ask you, is everything you said just now true?"
Even Shangguan Lin showed a look of pity on his face.
Although the emperor asked this, he had not yet become angry, nor had he any intention of killing them, and it was obvious that he had already believed it.
"Your Majesty, do I still need to lie to you?" Chen Huihai said with difficulty, "If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can check. Although the late emperor hid it very well, you are the emperor now. If you want, you will definitely be able to find some clues."
“…Okay.” Pei Mingjue said.
He stood up stiffly, like a puppet being controlled, and walked towards the door without looking back.
Shangguan Lin saluted to his back and watched him leave. He always felt that there was something unbearable in this figure. If it were not for the pride of the emperor supporting him, he would probably have collapsed by now.
Shangguan Lin's eyes were solemn. He had a hunch that the emperor's abnormality was definitely not just because of the truth he had just learned. Could it be related to the missing regent himself?
So… where exactly is the Regent himself?
…
Pei Mingjue returned to Yanfu Palace. It was still the same as before he left. However, the moment he stepped in, he felt as if he was in another world.
He stood quietly at the door for a long time, and suddenly felt a little afraid to walk into his own bedroom.
He knew that Jian Ziyan was inside. What Chen Huihai had just said kept repeating in his mind. He seemed to be walking into a foggy path and could hardly see the direction.
If that's the truth...if that's really the truth...
Pei Mingjue calmed himself down and walked into the Yanfu Palace, which was as quiet as a tomb.
Jian Ziyan was lying on the bed, maintaining the same posture as when he was thrown onto the bed when he left. It was obvious that he had fainted at that time, and he had not moved until now.
Pei Mingjue was frightened. He quickly stretched out his arms, trying to pick up Jian Ziyan and adjust him to a normal sleeping position.
However, this
At this time, Jian Ziyan frowned slightly, coughed uncomfortably, and curled up his body unconsciously.
Pei Mingjue moved his head to his arms, his movements gentler than ever before. Regardless of whether the truth was true or false, he could no longer face Jian Ziyan with the pure hatred he had before.
He stared at Jian Ziyan's face, which was pale and his eyes were deep.
"What is the truth?" He didn't know whether he was asking Jian Ziyan, who obviously wouldn't answer, or asking his own heart, "You changed your attitude towards me overnight, from being my most beloved and respected teacher to being indifferent and disgusted with me. Is it because of what my father did to you...? Because you hated my father and me, so you poisoned me and wanted to take revenge on us father and son, is that right?"
With every word Pei Mingjue spoke, the hole in his heart grew wider, letting in a biting cold wind, making him unconsciously want to hug the person in his arms tighter.
In fact, at this point, all the logic fits in, and he can't convince himself that this is not true.
"Teacher..." Pei Mingjue closed his eyes tiredly and buried his face in the head of the person in his arms, "Tell me, tell me in person, okay?"
However, Jian Ziyan did not answer him, but started coughing violently.
As Jian Ziyan choked and coughed, dark red blood continued to flow out of his mouth, soaking half of his face and flowing onto Pei Mingjue's sleeves.
Pei Mingjue's pupils contracted, and for a moment he ignored the lingering doubt in his heart.
"Call the Imperial Physician." He murmured in a voice so soft that even he couldn't hear it. Then, as if he had suddenly woken up, he turned his head and shouted to the outside, "Call the Imperial Physician! I said call the Imperial Physician quickly!"
Hearing such a loud shout, Jian Ziyan trembled and opened his eyes slightly.
Pei Mingjue was delighted when he saw him open his eyes. He hugged Jian Ziyan carefully and said repeatedly, "Teacher, bear with it, the doctor will be here soon."
Jian Ziyan's whole body was shaking. After seeing Pei Mingjue's face clearly, he showed obvious fear on his face. Then he struggled hard, trying to get out of Pei Mingjue's arms.
Pei Mingjue noticed his movements and became even more anxious. He grabbed the quilt and wrapped Jian Ziyan tightly, hugging him tightly in his arms: "Teacher, are you cold? Someone, come! Hurry up and get the charcoal brazier, quickly!"
However, his actions not only failed to bring comfort to Jian Ziyan, but made his face as pale as paper. The corners of his eyes were red, full of resistance and fear, and he even began to push Pei Mingjue's chest away.
His strength was nothing to Pei Mingjue, but his mind was distracted and he was full of worry about Jian Ziyan. He was afraid that he would move around and hurt himself, so his voice unconsciously became a little louder.
"Stop moving!"
After hearing this, Jian Ziyan seemed to be frozen in place, with fear and rejection all frozen on his face.
Pei Mingjue subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but before he could think about it, an invisible membrane quickly enveloped Jian Ziyan's pupils, and all his expressions disappeared.
He no longer struggled or resisted, and stayed obediently in Pei Mingjue's arms. It seemed that no matter what he did to him, he would not move at all, and was as obedient as the most well-behaved puppet.
Pei Mingjue's face darkened along with his heart.
He remembered that before he left, Jian Ziyan was in this state, listening to him obediently and doing everything he asked, just to... let him not kill Consultant Shan.
At this time, palace servants came one after another, some brought charcoal basins, and some opened windows for ventilation.
If it was before, Jian Ziyan would have been angry and ashamed to see so many people coming in, and he would have swept all the cups and bowls on the bedside table and smashed them.
But now Jian Ziyan, even though he watched so many people come in, did not react at all. His eyes were empty, as if he had lost his soul and no longer had any spirit.
Seeing this scene, Pei Mingjue suddenly felt an incomparable fear in his heart. He hurriedly lowered the curtain to prevent others from seeing Jian Ziyan, and at the same time, he eagerly held Jian Ziyan's face and looked into his eyes.
"Teacher, please look at me and talk to me, okay? Even if you have to scold me, please talk to me!"
Jian Ziyan had a blank expression. Even though his eyes were forced to look in Pei Mingjue's direction, his focus was not on him. It was as if he was looking past him and into the distance.
The fear and panic in Pei Mingjue's heart were torn into a huge hole. He wanted to say something eagerly, but his throat was blocked by something. He could only stroke Jian Ziyan's face with his fingers over and over again, trying to bring him back to his senses.
Just then, someone cautiously passed on the message that the imperial physician had arrived.
Pei Mingjue seemed to have just woken up from a dream. He let the imperial physician in and carefully let Jian Ziyan lie in his arms, leaving only his pale and thin wrists exposed.
He couldn't face Jian Ziyan's empty eyes, and temporarily closed his eyes with trembling fingers.
The imperial physician was none other than the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau who had been responsible for treating Jian Ziyan before. He cautiously opened the curtain and came in. When he saw the emperor's red, tearful eyes, his heart trembled for a moment. He immediately became fully alert and took Jian Ziyan's pulse.
"Doctor Wang, what's going on?" Pei Mingjue's voice was hoarse, but it contained a murderous coldness. "The Regent King has such serious symptoms, is it still the loss of Qi and blood that you mentioned before?"
Doctor Wang's hand trembled as he took the pulse. He considered carefully for a long time, his face becoming more and more shocked.
Then he knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head and said, "Your Majesty, when I felt the pulse of the Prince Regent before, it was indeed just a symptom of blood deficiency, and it is still now..." Before Pei Mingjue was about to get angry, he immediately added, "It's just that I noticed another pulse beating very weakly, as if it was suppressed by some special means, and I really can't tell what it is now!"
Pei Mingjue's anger was suppressed in his throat. He lowered his eyes to look at Jian Ziyan's quiet face in his arms. If he didn't know, he would probably think that he had fainted again.
"Suppressed?" he murmured. "Teacher, what are you hiding?"
Without his order, Doctor Wang did not dare to leave. He could only maintain the posture of bowing his head, trembling with fear and waiting for the emperor's verdict.
In his opinion, the regent might have some physical problems, but there must be something seriously wrong with the little emperor's mind.
Pei Mingjue didn't get an answer, his throat moved up and down, and he swallowed a mouthful of bitterness.
He was just about to wave his hand to signal the imperial physician to come down and prescribe a few prescriptions, but he saw Jian Ziyan suddenly react.
As if he could no longer suppress his emotions after suppressing them for a long time, Jian Ziyan's body shuddered suddenly, and then he continued to tremble as if he had just woken up. Although he still didn't open his eyes, his face became paler and paler, and the red at the corners of his eyes and lips became deeper and deeper, and even had a tendency to turn black.
Pei Mingjue was shocked and shouted, "Come and take a look!"
Before the imperial physician could get up, Jian Ziyan seemed unable to bear it anymore and suddenly spat out a mouthful of sticky black blood!
Because Pei Mingjue was holding him tightly the whole time and the distance between them was very close, the blood sprayed directly onto his face and body. He seemed to be frozen in place, staring blankly at Jian Ziyan's shrinking body, with unprecedented panic on his face.
"Teacher, how are you? How could this happen?" Even if one is not familiar with medical knowledge, one should know that people should not spit out black blood! Pei Mingjue glared at Doctor Wang angrily, "Is this what you call Qi and blood loss?!"
Doctor Wang did not dare to delay and crawled up to check Jian Ziyan's pulse again. However, Jian Ziyan refused to cooperate this time. He grabbed Pei Mingjue's clothes with his pale and slender fingers, with a pleading look on his face.
"Your Majesty... ahem! Your humble servant, I did not mean to... ahem, disobey Your Majesty. Please don't be angry... don't kill me... ahem."
While he was begging Pei Mingjue, black blood was still gushing out of his mouth, spreading across the front of his white undergarments.
Pei Mingjue's blood seemed to have frozen. He was unable to utter a word. He could only cooperate with the imperial physician to hold Jian Ziyan's wrist to prevent him from struggling.
Jian Ziyan seemed not to notice the presence of the imperial physician. His mind and eyes were filled with Pei Mingjue. Under Pei Mingjue's coercion, he did not dare to struggle, but his expression became more terrified and his voice became shrill.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I really didn't mean it. I won't do it again! Please don't be angry, Your Majesty! Please!"
Pei Mingjue felt as if he had been hit hard on the head. His head was buzzing and even his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of blood.
"I am not... angry." Every word he spoke seemed to come from the cracks in his heart. "I will not kill the general, teacher, don't worry."
Of course he knew why Jian Ziyan was so obedient to him, and of course he knew for whom he did all this.
Sure enough, after hearing his assurance, Jian Ziyan stopped shouting, as if he was afraid that any further noise would anger him. He just trembled quietly, with only a pair of eyes looking at him with fear.
This time, Doctor Wang took the pulse quickly. After finding out what was wrong with Jian Ziyan, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately knelt back on the ground, not even daring to look at the emperor's face.
"Your Majesty! The Prince Regent has been poisoned by the Dust-Clearing Powder! The poison has already spread to his internal organs, and his five internal organs have slowly melted!"
Pei Mingjue's eyes suddenly froze. He turned his neck inch by inch and looked at the imperial physician on the ground.
"What did you say?"
Doctor Wang was trembling all over, not daring to stop for a word. "Your Majesty, the Regent must have used some method to suppress his pulse before, so I didn't diagnose it. Now that the suppressed pulse has been exposed, the Regent has indeed been poisoned by the Dichen Powder, and has been poisoned for a long time. I think the redness of the Regent's eyes and lips is also due to the accumulation of toxins... It's just that there has been no record of the description of the Dichen Powder poisoning before, so I didn't know it!"
"This is impossible!" Pei Mingjue said sharply, "He has only taken Dichen Powder for less than two months, and he only has some abdominal pain symptoms. How is it possible...!"
His voice suddenly stopped.
"...How long has he been poisoned?" he asked in a ghostly tone.
Doctor Wang did not dare to look up: "Your Majesty, preliminary judgment is... it should be more than five years."
Five years.
Pei Mingjue held Jian Ziyan's trembling body in his arms, his eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was cold.
So, this Dust-Clearing Powder was not given to me by you, but was given to you by our father... right?
This is...his way of controlling you.
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