Chapter 64 064 Hypnotizing His Majesty: His Temperament Has Changed Dramatically Lately
The palace servants in Fusang Palace looked at each other in bewilderment.
A Meng's bright eyes flashed with anger: "What, now I can't even order you guys around?"
The palace attendant hurriedly said, "Your Highness, why don't you... go outside and take a look first?"
Just then, there was a rustling sound outside, as if many people were coming in.
As A-Meng stepped out of the palace gate, she saw many palace servants carrying things into the courtyard. She looked at Guang Si standing in the courtyard and sneered, "What is General Guang Si doing? Are you going to lead men to storm the palace and take me away?"
She was still quite young, with a clear, girlish voice, but when she questioned someone, she exuded a formidable aura.
Guang Si bowed and explained, "I heard that Your Highness likes peach blossoms. Now that the peach blossom season is almost over, I specially ordered people to collect the peach blossoms from Wuwang Mountain and make them into various delicacies such as peach blossom wine, peach blossom cakes, and peach blossom jam. I also transplanted the peach blossom branches into flowerpots, nourished them with spiritual power, and brought them to Your Highness's courtyard for Your Highness to enjoy every day."
As they spoke, following various jars and pots, hundreds more pots of peach blossoms were brought in. The Fusang Palace instantly transformed into a peach blossom island filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms.
A-Meng coldly watched the palace servants bustling about. Only after all the things Guang Si had brought had been moved in did she nod and say, "General Guang Si is truly thoughtful."
Guang Si smiled and said, "Whatever Your Highness likes, I am willing to offer it to Your Highness."
Before the words were even finished, the entire courtyard of peach blossoms was reduced to ashes in the fire.
Guang Si looked up in astonishment, only to see the arsonist coldly withdraw his spell.
A-Meng burned all the potted peach trees that Guang Si had sent, leaving only the one she had planted herself in the yard.
"Your Highness, what do you mean by this?" Guang Si's smile finally faltered.
A Meng said expressionlessly, "I like peach blossoms that grow naturally and cannot bear to see them trapped in pots, so I simply give them a release."
Guang Si's gaze fell on the last remaining peach tree in the courtyard.
A-Meng: "Oh, except for this one."
Guang Si: "..."
"What, General Guang Si doesn't like what I'm doing?" A Meng asked provocatively.
Guang Si chuckled, "How could that be? As long as Your Highness likes it, I will support it. Even if you set fire to the flowers I sent you, I will still say it's a good thing they burned."
A-Meng glanced at the peach blossom artifacts in the courtyard and gave the order: "Move all of these outside the palace and distribute them to the impoverished ghosts. General Guang Si, I presume you have no objections?"
The palace servants responsible for moving the items were all brought by Guang Si, and they all looked at Guang Si's expression.
Guang Si's expression was not good. He said in a deep voice, "Why are you looking at me? Didn't you hear Her Highness's order? Remember to distribute them in Her Highness's name, so that the recipients will remember Her Highness's kindness."
Upon hearing Guang Si's last words, A Meng frowned slightly, filled with disgust, no longer wanting to comply with his wishes or accept his favor. However, considering her current situation in the Ghost Realm, she ultimately did not refuse.
"It's getting late, General Guang Si, let's go to the training ground."
No matter how much she disliked this person, his skills were genuine, and A-Meng knew what was most important to her right now.
...
After today's court assembly, General Meng was kept behind by Yan Lie and questioned privately in the study with several important officials.
This marks the twenty-second consecutive day that General Meng has been kept behind, causing Princess Her Highness's studies to be disrupted, forcing the general to appoint his trusted lieutenant to take over.
The Ghost King, seated at the head of the table, kept rubbing his temples, his brows furrowed, as if he were suffering from a severe headache.
When it came to the campaign against the Heavenly Court, the civil officials, led by the Ghost Minister, insisted on their opposition, saying, "Your Majesty, the Heavenly Court and our Ghost Realm have just finished a great war, and both sides are now severely weakened. We should focus on recuperation and not continue the war."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Moreover, since Yuan Si ascended the throne as the Heavenly Venerable, the human world has been peaceful with few disasters. The Heavenly Court has a large number of believers, while the number of ghosts is limited. It is even more inappropriate to provoke conflict at such a time!"
Snap!
Enraged, Yan Lie lunged forward and hurled a teacup from the table at him. Shards of porcelain flew up and cut Gui Xiang's forehead, but he dared not dodge and could only kneel even lower.
"Hmph, all you do is boost the morale of others! What do you mean by this? Huh? Are you praising Yuan Si as the enlightened ruler of the Three Realms?!"
Yan Lie got up, pacing back and forth while pinching his head, like a raging and anxious lion.
"Look, look!"
Yan Lie pointed to the antique shelf next to him, which was glittering with jewels and shimmering with divine light from top to bottom.
"Look at these! Ah? These are all spoils of war that General Guang Si seized from the Heavenly Court! With the power of a single soul, Guang Si conquered three cities in succession and severely injured the heavenly soldiers and generals. And what about you? You're all just sitting around doing nothing, what can you do besides wailing here?! By the way, where is Guang Si? Where is General Guang Si?! Bring Guang Si here for me, I don't want to see these good-for-nothings again!"
The attendant standing nearby broke out in a cold sweat. His Majesty the Ghost King's temper was getting worse and worse, especially at times like this, making it extremely dangerous for anyone to approach.
Just a few days ago, a palace maid who happened to be serving tea in the study accidentally coughed, and Yan Lie twisted her neck and broke it.
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? General Guang Si has been unsettled lately and has taken leave to rest at home." The attendant replied cautiously in a low voice.
"What did you say?" Yan Lie grabbed the servant by the neck, his eyes bloodshot and veins bulging on his forehead.
The servant was so frightened that he repeatedly begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
"Your Majesty," General Meng spoke up, "has your headache flared up again? Perhaps we should summon the Ghost Physician to take a look?"
All the civil and military officials in the imperial study looked at General Meng with admiration. At such a time, he dared to speak up; he was truly risking his life.
The poor servant was released, barely escaping with his life, and scrambled to his knees on the spot.
Yan Lie seemed to realize that he had lost control of his emotions. He took a deep breath, waved his hand, and signaled someone to go find the Ghost Doctor.
The Ghost Doctor arrived, and Yan Lie dismissed everyone.
Gui Xiang and the others left with troubled expressions, muttering to themselves, "What's wrong with His Majesty lately?"
"Alas, His Majesty's temperament has changed drastically lately; this is probably not a good thing."
"Let's all be more careful with our words from now on, especially you, General Meng. Speaking up for that servant today was too risky."
Ghost Xiang looked at General Meng and said, "General Meng intends to save that servant's life, but in my opinion, that man will probably not survive."
General Meng was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and his eyes darkened.
The Ghost Minister is right. His Majesty's paranoia is getting worse and worse. He would never keep a subordinate who was almost killed by him and who owes favors to other ministers by serving him closely.
Sure enough, at the court assembly the next day, Yan Lie's personal attendant was replaced.
During the court meeting, various trivial matters led to heated arguments. Yan Lie then left several important officials in the imperial study for a private discussion. However, halfway through the discussion, Yan Lie suffered an unbearable headache and nearly killed someone.
This time, however, General Meng did not leave immediately. Instead, he stayed outside the palace gate, waiting for the Ghost Doctor to come out so he could inquire about Yan Lie's condition.
"Alas, His Majesty's headache is an old injury from years ago, which only flares up occasionally. I don't know what's wrong with him these past few months, but the attacks have become more and more frequent and more severe each time, and we can't find the cause."
General Meng asked, "Does the Ghost Doctor remember exactly when the first relapse occurred?"
The entire Ghost Realm knows about His Majesty's headaches; it's not a hidden ailment that needs to be concealed. General Meng is a high-ranking official, and all he asked about was the date of His Majesty's first attack. The Ghost Physician felt there was no need to hide anything, so he checked the medical records and gave General Meng a date.
General Meng calculated that Yan Lie's first illness occurred on the third day after Guang Si's return.
Upon returning to his residence that evening, he ordered the undercover agents secretly monitoring Guang Si's residence to return and report that Guang Si had indeed been resting his soul in the residence these past few days and had not left the house.
General Meng then carefully explained the new tasks to the hidden agents before calling his deputy over for questioning as usual.
"How was Your Highness's lesson today? Was there anything you didn't understand?"
The lieutenant patted his chest confidently: "Don't worry, General, everything has been completed step by step according to your plan. His Highness is indeed intelligent and understands things immediately."
General Meng nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Is Your Highness unhappy?"
The lieutenant asked in confusion, "Unhappy? Why would you be unhappy?"
The young man lowered his eyes, intending to say it was nothing and send the man away, but at that moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something unusual about the deputy general out of the corner of his eye.
"Come here." General Meng's gaze suddenly turned sharp.
The lieutenant was completely bewildered and startled by his general's appearance. "General, what's wrong?"
General Meng, however, was too lazy to waste words with him. He strode towards him and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, General, you're going to extinguish the Soul Flame!"
"Shut up." General Meng stopped his deputy, stared intently for a moment, then his expression suddenly changed, and he stared at the deputy, "When were you hypnotized?"
The one who cast the spell was actually a god.
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