Chapter 94: Chen Li was awake once
This secret room is different from the previous one. It is much smaller and brighter.
The chairs and benches in the secret room were arranged in a very neat manner. In the middle sat a person, his black hair meticulously standing upright in a jade crown. His phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, but it could not hide the calmness and gloom in them that did not match his age at all. His face was very pale, in sharp contrast to the bright yellow pajamas he was wearing.
Wearing clothes of such color in this imperial city, it is obvious who this person is.
Sure enough, Qin Feng twitched his lips and asked, "Your Majesty?"
Fang Zhiming glanced at him and motioned him to salute, so everyone saluted the young man who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old.
"My Immortal Lord, you are so polite. My name is Xia Yan, and my courtesy name is Jiuan. You can just call me Jiuan."
Xia Yan also bowed from his seat and said, "Jiu'an's legs are not convenient, so I can't stand up to return the greeting. I hope the Immortal Lord will not mind."
Only then did everyone realize that he was sitting in a wooden wheelchair.
Fang Zhiming quickly replied, "Your Majesty, you are welcome. I have no choice but to come to visit you this evening. I did not expect to disturb your rest. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
Xia Yan nodded and smiled, "Why are you so rash? I have been waiting for you for a long time."
"Did you know we would come tonight?" Qin Feng asked with raised eyebrows.
It's no wonder Qin Feng asked this question. Naya said that just now, and Xia Yan is in this state now, as if their coming here was already expected.
Xia Yan explained, "I'm not the only one in this imperial city who knows this. After all, Prince Ren's death is no small matter."
After saying this, he looked up at Xu Xingxing and bowed solemnly, "Thank you, Immortal Lord, for helping us eliminate a great threat to Great Xia."
Xu Xingxing: ...
Although she hadn't done it, she accepted it calmly: "Your Majesty, you're welcome. However, what is it that you're not the only one who knows? Also, how do you know that Prince Ren's death was caused by me?"
Even though Fang Zhiming and the other three were there, he could still look at her accurately.
Xia Yan replied very frankly, "The Queen Mother knew of Prince Ren's death as soon as he died. She sent people to investigate Prince Ren's palace, but found no clues. She then reinforced the defenses of the Imperial City. Marquis Naya was in the most critical position, so the person she brought here must be the one who killed Prince Ren."
He paused briefly, gave a wry smile, and continued, "Of course, this is not the main reason."
Before anyone could ask, Naya bowed and said, "Xu Xianjun's presence here today has something to do with me."
Xu Xingxing looked at her steadily and smiled: "So what is your relationship with Nuoren?"
"Nuo Ren? That's not Ling'er..." Lin Yue didn't finish his words.
Fang Zhiming and Qin Feng both knew You Ling'er, and also knew why Gu Nuo came to Shengling.
Naya's face remained expressionless, and her words were emotionless. "Nuoren is my younger brother, born of the same mother. He's a mermaid twin who, when grown, can communicate through the full moon. He's been searching for me for years, and when he learned I was trapped in the Imperial City, he came up with the idea of using himself as bait. I hope you, Immortal Lord, won't blame me."
Therefore, Nuo Ren deliberately entered the ghost market and used You Ling'er to lure out Gu Nuo, wanting them to see what happened in the palace and then expose what happened in the imperial city.
This plan is not reliable and is prone to change. If only Gu Nuo and You Ling'er go to the palace in the end, their lives may be in danger.
Even Lin Yue, who was good-tempered, turned grim at the thought: "This has taken a lot of effort on my part. It would have been much easier to just report it directly to Kunlun."
"I know." Even when pressed, Naya maintained her expressionless face. "But because of the demon god, the mermaids no longer want to be associated with Kunlun. Nuoren and I lost our parents when we were young, and we have low status in our tribe. His demonic power is weak, so it's difficult for him to trust others. Furthermore, it was an evil cultivator who sold me to the ghost market. He has a prejudice against cultivators, and since my safety is at stake, I have no choice but to resort to this last resort."
Xia Yan took over and said, "Nuo Ren once tried to find a savior to help him, but there has been no trace of Immortal Lord Xu for a year. If it weren't for the urgency of the matter, I would never have taken such a desperate action. Today, I reveal this plan in full, only to seek the Immortal Lord's trust. I am weak and powerless, and have been pushed to the brink of despair. I still beg for your compassion."
Seeing Xia Yan and Naya being so frank, Xu Xingxing's doubts vanished completely, and she went straight to the point: "I wonder what exactly is this urgent matter that Your Majesty is talking about? Does it have anything to do with the Queen Mother?"
As she said this, she glanced at Hou Yuan, but saw that Hou Yuan was also looking at her. She was startled and then raised her eyebrows.
He had no interest in other matters, so his entire attention was on her. Seeing the look in her eyes, he knew she wanted to ask him if this was the thing he hadn't been able to explain.
So he nodded.
Whether it is Jinnu or Black Cat, there is a common figure in their memories.
And that figure looked familiar to him.
"The Immortal Lord is intelligent." Xia Yan laughed bitterly and said bluntly, "My mother, the current Queen Mother, is not a human, but a human demon."
Even though everyone was mentally prepared, they were still shocked when their guess was confirmed.
"Empress Dowager? The current Empress Dowager?" Fang Zhiming asked in disbelief. "No wonder there are monsters at the foot of the Imperial City. Is there any safe place in Kyoto? What about the Imperial Observatory? Why didn't Kunlun receive any news?"
"The Imperial Observatory is now full of demons. One cultivator has been captured by the Queen Mother, and the rest have died before we could tell you." Xia Yan's face was very pale.
"Why is that?" Qin Feng asked with a frown. "There are also masters in the Imperial Observatory. They shouldn't be killed so easily. You said the Queen Mother is a demon? Then who is the person possessed by this demon? Do you know him?"
"She was awake once, just once." Xia Yan raised his eyes and looked at everyone, "She said her name was Shen Li."
Everyone was shocked, even Xu Xingxing's pupils shrank suddenly at the name.
Just because of this person, she knew.
Chen Li was one of the few adults in Xu Xing'er's memory who was kind to her.
When Xu Xing'er was punished, she would scold Xu Yi. When her clothes were torn, she would buy her a bunch of new clothes. When Xu Xing'er was injured, she would hold her in her arms, tears streaming down her face, and she would say over and over again: "Does it hurt? Don't be afraid, your godmother will protect you."
Yes, she is Xu Xinger's godmother,
I heard that she has a very good relationship with Xu Xinger's mother.
But she suddenly disappeared when Xu Xing'er was five years old, without any trace, not even a goodbye.
Xu Xing'er was so heartbroken that she couldn't control herself at one point. During that time, only Gu Nuo would take out some wine and try to comfort her in a weird way when she was crying. He would get very drunk and cry even more painfully than she did.
Xu Xing'er was too young at the time and had very few memories of Chen Li. Therefore, when Xu Xing'er saw the Hibiscus Jade Pendant, she didn't immediately think of her.
"Chen Li? Chen Li?" Fang Zhiming's eyes widened. "Could it be that they have the same name? How could it be such a coincidence? Senior Shen has been in seclusion for many years, how... how did he become... the Queen Mother?"
Lin Yue's face was covered with worry: "If that monster used Master Shen's body, the Imperial Observatory might really be destroyed piece by piece."
Before the various sects of Kunlun were united, Chen Li was the elder of Lingdan Pavilion. After Kunlun was united as one, she had become the well-deserved peak master of Qingmo Mountain. Everyone who participated in the Demon-Exorcising War was saved by her. She saved the dying and the wounded, and she was a true doctor with a compassionate heart.
He is also Gu Nuo's orthodox master in medical skills, although he himself does not admit it.
Qin Feng patted Fang Zhiming's shoulder to comfort him, and glanced at Xu Xingxing worriedly before asking, "Your Majesty, could you elaborate?"
Xia Yan nodded, and then told what he knew.
When she entered the palace, the woman was not called Chen Li, but Shu Ji.
Shu Ji was originally a girl brought back by the Emperor's uncle Xia Yan. The Emperor's uncle loved her as his life and regarded her as a treasure. But for some reason, before Shu Ji married his uncle, she was recruited into the palace and became the Emperor's concubine.
Afterwards, the wise ruler gradually became a tyrannical and incompetent ruler.
He was obsessed with women, ignored state affairs, persecuted loyal officials, and even killed his own children unjustly.
The emperor seemed to have lost his mind, unable to distinguish between good and evil, loyalty and treachery.
At the beginning, Shu Ji hid her identity and took her time to figure it out. Later, the Imperial Observatory became useless and the court was in chaos. Anyone who raised any objections would end up dying miserably.
There were demons among the officials. If anyone tried to report it to Kunlun, his entire family would be wiped out the next day, but the truth was concealed.
The emperor's health deteriorated until he finally died from excessive indulgence.
The will announced that Xia Yan, who was only seven years old, would inherit the throne, and Shu Ji would be the empress dowager.
Xia Yan's fingers gripping the wheelchair had turned white, his eyes were red, and his body was trembling violently. "If the Crown Prince hadn't been killed, how could I have sat on the throne? He even severed my tendons to make it easier to control me! I've survived until now, doing everything I could, and finally got to see the Immortal Lord..."
Having said that, he lifted his legs with his hands, put his feet on the ground, held the chair with both hands, and stood up with difficulty.
When everyone looked at him in surprise, he simply relaxed his strength and knelt heavily on the ground, his knees making a loud collision with the ground.
A trace of pity finally flashed across Naya's eyes, which had been dull all the time, but she did not go to help. She even helped Xia Yan stop the people who were panicking and trying to help.
Xia Yan's face was red from the pain, but he still didn't shed a tear. He raised his eyes and looked at Xu Xingxing steadily:
"Everyone knows that the ruler of Great Xia is a puppet in the hands of the Queen Mother. All affairs of Great Xia are now controlled by the Queen Mother, and I, as the emperor, am useless. I feel guilty towards my brother, the Crown Prince, the King of Qi, and the ancestors of the Xia family! Although I am disabled and useless, I only hope that before I die, I can bring this demon to justice, so that I can comfort the soul of the loyal and good man who died tragically!"
Blood was oozing from his lips as he asked word by word:
"Would you, Immortal Lord, be willing to help me?"
He still hadn't shed a tear, but Xu Xingxing was about to cry. She hurried to support him, but Hao Yuan had already helped him up and put him back in the wheelchair without any explanation. Xu Xingxing ignored the rudeness in his action, looked at Xia Yan seriously, and made a promise:
"Don't worry, I will kill her."
After saying this, Xia Yan finally shed tears.
Xu Xingxing didn't know how to persuade him, so he asked, "You said Chen Li was sober once? Can you tell me in detail?"
Xia Yan nodded, then explained in detail, "That was five years ago, three years after my father's death. That day was the anniversary of my father's death. A wandering cultivator who had a good relationship with my father went to pay homage to the emperor's mausoleum that day. He discovered that there seemed to be a demonic aura in my father's tomb. Worried, he sneaked into the imperial city that night."
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