Chapter 162 Starting from the Beginning
Everyone in the hall knelt down in unison, silent as a mouse.
No one dared to look at the "thing" that was still squirming weakly on the ground.
It's still alive.
This fact is even more creepy than its horrifying appearance.
To kill or not to kill?
To stay or not to stay?
This is the emperor's grandson, even if... he is a monster.
The emperor's gaze fell on the purple-black deformed baby like an ice knife.
There was not an ounce of tenderness that a grandfather has for his grandchildren in those eyes, only a chilling murderous intent and bottomless disgust.
It was like looking at the dirtiest and most unlucky thing.
He raised his chin and spat out two words coldly at the director of the Imperial Hospital who was kneeling in the front.
"Go and take a look."
"I...I obey your order!"
The Imperial Physician shuddered all over, and cold sweat instantly soaked his official uniform.
He has been practicing medicine all his life. What kind of difficult and complicated diseases and what kind of bloody scenes has he not seen?
But this... this thing in front of him has exceeded everything he has learned in his life and exceeded his understanding of "human beings"!
He crawled over trembling, and the fear in his heart deepened with every inch he got closer.
He didn't dare touch it with his hands, and could only use a silver needle to carefully feel the monster's breath. Then, with trembling wrists, he tried to feel the pulse that was so weak that it was almost non-existent through the swaddling clothes.
After a moment, he suppressed the churning in his stomach, stood up and walked to the bedside to check the pulse of the unconscious Shen Jiao.
The only sound in the entire side hall was his heavy and suppressed breathing.
Finally, he withdrew his hand, crawled back to his knees before the emperor, his voice trembling.
"Report...report to Your Majesty..."
"This baby... this baby is born with congenital deficiencies and is extremely deformed. Its internal organs are misplaced, and its meridians are in disarray... Your servants... your servants have been practicing medicine for decades, and this is unheard of!"
"As for the Third Prince's Consort..."
The doctor swallowed hard before continuing.
"The Third Prince's wife's pulse is weak, a sign of severe postpartum Qi and blood depletion. However... there are no signs of poisoning or external harm."
"I don't know why... such a... such a..."
He didn't dare say any more.
Not poisoned?
Wasn't it caused by external forces?
So where did this monster come from?!
"emperor!"
The Queen Mother, who had been silent all this time, finally exploded at this moment.
Her face was pale, and she pointed at the monster on the ground with a sharp and shrill voice.
"Listen! Listen!"
"It was the Imperial Astronomical Observatory! It was Lu Jiuxiao who confidently claimed something like 'purple air coming from the east, a divine dragon appearing in a dream'! He claimed it was 'conceived on behalf of the heavens', a rare auspicious sign for our royal family!"
"Auspicious?!"
The Queen Mother laughed bitterly, her laughter full of despair and irony.
"Now he has given birth to something like this... something like this! How is he supposed to explain it?!"
This question was like a heavy hammer, hitting the emperor's heart!
right!
Imperial Astronomical Observatory! Lu Jiuxiao!
The emperor reacted suddenly, and a raging rage instantly ignited in his red eyes!
If it weren't for Lu Jiuxiao's words of "auspiciousness", why would he have made this matter known to the whole city! Why would he have made the entire royal family a laughing stock!
"Someone come!"
The emperor's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with bloodthirsty madness.
"Bring me Lu Jiuxiao, the chief inspector of the Imperial Observatory!"
"As you wish!"
The guards in front of the palace received the order and rushed out like wolves and tigers.
In the side hall, dead silence fell again.
Everyone knelt on the ground, their heads lowered, and even their breathing was cautious.
Only the strange purple-black baby was still wriggling faintly in its cradle. Every movement was like an invisible needle, piercing everyone's heart.
Soon, a chaotic sound of footsteps came from afar.
Two guards carried a middle-aged man in official uniform with disheveled hair and quickly dragged him into the side hall.
With a "bang", the man was thrown heavily to the ground.
It was the chief director of the Imperial Observatory, Lu Jiuxiao.
As soon as he looked up and saw the scene in the hall, especially the purple-black "thing" on the ground, his face turned pale and the blood in his body turned cold.
"Lu Jianzheng!"
The Queen Mother's shrill voice exploded above his head like a thunderclap.
She pointed at Lu Jiuxiao lying on the ground with trembling fingers. Her well-maintained face was now covered with traces of tears and resentment.
"It was your Imperial Observatory! It was you, Lu Jiuxiao, who was so sure of it!"
"Something like 'purple air coming from the east, a dragon entering a dream'!"
"They say this is 'conceived on behalf of the gods', a blessing that my Dayin royal family has not seen in a century!"
"Auspicious?!"
The Queen Mother raised her voice so sharply that it almost pierced one's eardrums.
"Now, something like this... something like this has been born! How do you explain it?!"
"Where is God's will?! Where is the dignity of my royal family?"
"Chen...chen..."
Lu Jiuxiao was shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, cold sweat dripping down his spine, instantly soaking it.
He kowtowed repeatedly, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.
explain?
How is he going to explain?!
He hesitated, his mind went blank, and he could only instinctively refute it.
"Your Majesty... Her Majesty the Queen Mother... God's will... God's will is unpredictable!"
"God's will is unpredictable?!"
The emperor kicked the incense burner in front of him hard, causing it to roll over and ash to scatter all over the ground.
"What an unpredictable fate!"
The emperor's eyes were red as he stared at Lu Jiuxiao, as if he wanted to eat him alive.
"Are you saying that it is God's will to destroy our Dayin?!"
"I dare not! I absolutely dare not!"
Lu Jiuxiao was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, leaving blood marks on his forehead.
At this moment when tensions are high and everyone is in danger.
A cool and calm voice, like a stream of clear spring, slowly poured into the boiling oil pot.
"His Majesty."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Chen He had walked out from behind Xue Minglan without them noticing.
She lifted her skirt, walked to the center of the hall, and knelt down gracefully and calmly not far from the emperor.
That calmness formed a stark contrast to the panic and chaos around him.
The emperor's eyes fell on her with a complicated expression.
Chen He seemed unaware, and just lowered his eyelids. The sound was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone.
"Your Majesty, I believe that if you want to understand the true intention of Lord Lu's actions, you may have to start from the very beginning."
"Oh?" The emperor raised his eyebrows and became interested.
Shen He continued slowly.
"Initially, it was because my sister, the Third Prince's wife, Chen Jiao, was found to be pregnant during the Tianfu Festival when she was praying for the country."
"This is against palace rules. According to the law, she should be confined to the palace and await His Majesty's decision."
Chen He paused, raised his eyes, and looked at Lu Jiuxiao, who was shaking like a sieve, with a clear gaze.
"But, Lord Lu stood up."
"He single-handedly portrayed the fetus in his sister's womb as a 'divine heir' bestowed by heaven in gratitude for the royal family's kindness."
"Your Majesty, tell me, why is this?"
As soon as these words came out, Lu Jiuxiao screamed like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
"You're talking nonsense!"
He retorted anxiously, his face flushed, not caring about his impoliteness in front of the king.
"I didn't! How could I say that on my own?"
Lu Jiuxiao turned to the emperor and defended himself eagerly.
"Your Majesty, behold! On that day, strange phenomena descended from the sky: purple clouds swirled, divine bells suddenly rang, inscriptions were left in ancient books, and blood congealed into a fetus!"
"These... these were witnessed by everyone in the palace, from top to bottom! They were all witnessed by everyone!"
"How come I am the only one who said that?!"
"Miss Shen, you...you are slandering me!"
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