Chapter 66 You are such a piece of wood.
In the dim light of the lantern, Wen Xing saw who it was and was startled. "Li Dequan?"
Li Dequan was so frightened that he kicked his heels on the ground and retreated backward repeatedly, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, please don't scare me! I am too old to be scared. You should stay in heaven and why come down here for no reason?"
As he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something. He trembled and climbed to his feet, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, sobbing, "Your Majesty, is there anything you haven't told me yet? Or is there something you are missing in heaven? Please tell me, and I will burn it for you."
Wen Xing: ...
"I'm not dead."
Li Dequan was stunned, then he wiped his eyes hard, picked up the lantern, and approached tentatively.
His vision became clear, and he saw Wen Xing standing in front of him, with Xinghe standing beside him.
Li Dequan blinked and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty...you are not dead?" He approached hesitantly as he spoke.
The light from the lantern flickered, casting a vague shadow of Wen Xing on the palace wall.
His body stiffened.
Do ghosts have shadows?
Li Dequan, who had just come to his senses, felt a sharp pain in his nose. A flood of grievances surged in his heart, and he howled, "Your Majesty! You have deceived me so badly!"
Wen Xing quickly covered his mouth with his hand and lowered his voice, "Stop crying! If you cry twice more, you'll call the guards of the Imperial Mausoleum."
Li Dequan reacted and quickly fell silent.
He wiped the tears from his face, laughing and crying, and asked in a puzzled voice, "Your Majesty, why are you...?"
Wen Xing couldn't think of a reasonable excuse, so he just threw in the towel and said, "I'm tired. I want to retire."
"Ah?" Li Dequan was still puzzled.
But Wen Xing didn't explain much, only saying, "The bottom line is, I can no longer be the emperor. Also, you can't let anyone know that I'm not dead."
Li Dequan nodded quickly, "I will obey your majesty."
Wen Xing asked again: "Why are you here?"
Li Dequan gave a wry smile and said, "This old slave is here to guard the mausoleum."
Wen Xing's pupils trembled.
Shouldn't this be the treatment only given to demoted eunuchs? It's no different from exile.
He asked warily, "Did Ning Wujie demote you here?"
He should have thought that if that boy really hated him, he might take his anger out on the people around him, so he shouldn't have kept Li Dequan in the palace.
But Li Dequan shook his head and said, "I came here on my own. I was afraid that Your Majesty would be bored here alone, so I wanted to accompany Your Majesty and talk to you from time to time."
Wen Xing was stunned.
Li Dequan smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening. "But your Majesty is well, and I am finally relieved."
But I thought in my heart, Your Majesty, you have caused great harm to Lord Ning.
He could see that during this period of time, Ning Wujie was like a walking corpse with his soul drained out. After his tears dried up, even his eyes were empty.
It makes everyone around them feel distressed.
But... he looked at Wen Xing and suppressed all these feelings in his heart.
Wen Xing secretly clenched his fists, and suddenly pulled Li Dequan over and said, "Come with me."
However, just as he took a step, Li Dequan gently pushed his hand away.
He was puzzled: "What's wrong?"
Li Dequan shook his head. "I'm guarding the mausoleum here under Lord Ning's permission. If I just leave, Lord Ning might become suspicious."
"Your Majesty, do you not wish to be known as alive?"
He apologized to Lord Ning in his heart. Although he sympathized with him, in his eyes, His Majesty was still more important.
"Then you..." Wen Xing's voice was a little heavy: "You are the chief eunuch, and you are old. How can you endure the hardship here?"
"It doesn't matter where I am. As long as I know that Your Majesty is still alive, I will be happy." As Li Dequan said this, tears flashed in the corners of his eyes.
Xinghe's nose was sore when he saw this, and he couldn't help but said, "Master, let's take him with us!"
Li Dequan was adamant: "I cannot leave. Your Majesty, please do not delay. The patrol guards will be here soon."
Wen Xing thought for a moment, then pulled out the palm leaf talisman and stuffed it into Li Dequan's hand. "I'll come pick you up once I'm settled. This is a token from Tingchaoyuan. If you need anything, take it to any bookstore and say it's a letter to Huichunke."
"Someone will pass your message to me then."
Li Dequan clutched the Bayeux Talisman and nodded heavily, wiping his eyes. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Don't call me Your Majesty." Wen Xing gave him a deep look, "You must wait for me."
As soon as they finished speaking, the two figures disappeared into the dark night.
Li Dequan waved in the direction the two men left, choking with sobs as he said, "Your Majesty... take care!"
Wen Xing suddenly turned around and saw the old eunuch standing alone under the vermilion door. His hunched body was outlined in the dim light of the lantern, making him look thin and lonely.
His nose felt sore, and he turned his head abruptly and quickened his pace.
The sound of horse hooves gradually faded into the dark night.
*
Under the cover of night, the carriage moved slowly along the mountain road.
Wen Xing wrapped himself in a fox fur coat, curled up in the carriage with his knees hugged, his chin resting on his knees and his forehead leaning against the wall.
His gaze passed over the corner of the car curtain that was lifted by the wind, and looked at the scenery outside the car window that was fading away in the dark night.
For some reason, the pain in his heart began to spread again, like thousands of fine needles piercing the softest part of his heart.
What's going on tonight? I've taken the medicine, but the pain keeps coming back like a tide, refusing to let up.
Because of that fake death drug?
Fu Wenxin sat across from him. Noticing his pale lips, he brought him a bowl of medicine and handed it to him. "Drink this. Your body's circulation has been frozen for over ten days. It won't recover in a short time. You need a lot of nourishment."
Wen Xing took the medicine bowl and drank it all. Then he put the bowl down, endured the bitterness in his mouth, frowned and said, "The side effects of your medicine are quite serious."
Fu Wenxin suddenly became nervous, "Are you feeling unwell?"
As she spoke, she reached for Wen Xing's wrist and said, "Let me see."
Wen Xing calmly extended his wrist and said, "My heart hurts, it's an old problem."
Fu Wenxin concentrated on feeling the pulse for a while, then frowned and asked, "Are you still in pain?"
Wen Xing nodded slowly.
Fu Wenxin: "How painful is it? Describe it."
Wen Xing looked out the window at the dark night. "It hurts so much, like the aftermath of a heart attack. But I've already taken medicine, and it hasn't helped."
He thought for a moment and then said, "Do you think it's possible that I've taken too many medicines and developed drug resistance?"
Fu Wenxin stared at him intently for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his eyes, sighing, "It's so good! Woohoo, so sour and refreshing, it hurts like hell!"
Wen Xing slowly frowned and looked at her as if she were a fool, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
I can't understand anything I hear.
Fu Wenxin wiped away her tears and shook her head, "You're not sick, your heart rate is normal."
Wen Xing:?
"How is that possible?"
He was almost dying of pain.
He glanced at Fu Wenxin suspiciously, "How are your medical skills?"
Fu Wenxin sensed a challenge to his authority from his tone and said unconvincedly, "Please! Go ask around about the reputation of 'Rejuvenator'. Besides, it's just a heart rate check; any intern can do it. At least I was a director in my past life!"
Wen Xing pulled the corner of his lips, "Then how do you explain my problem?"
Fu Wenxin stared at him, sighed, and whispered to himself, "You're such a blockhead."
She wanted to make some mockery, but when she saw Wen Xing's expression, she couldn't do it anymore.
This person is "escaping from death". The original "Wen Xing" no longer exists in this world. Wouldn't it just add to his troubles if we try to wake him up at this time?
By then, besides Ning Wujie's poor child, there will probably be another sad person in the world.
Why bother?
If you want to say something like this, you should make it clear before the other person "escapes".
She thought for a moment and asked cautiously, "Do you regret it?"
Wen Xing was puzzled, "What are you regretting?"
Fu Wenxin continued, "Let me change the question."
"Let's say you really liked someone, but for some unavoidable reason, you deceived them terribly. Would you want to start over?"
Wen Xing said bluntly: "You want to ask me if I regret lying to Ning Wujie."
Fu Wenxin: ...
Wen Xing said firmly: "I don't regret it, because this is what I have to do."
"I'm part of history and have already influenced so much. I can't risk making the same mistake again. After all, it affects more than just me, and this is the only way I can remedy it."
He rested his head on the wall of the carriage and said in a low voice: "The most important thing is that if someone like me becomes emperor, it will really kill people."
The emperor's every word and action is extremely important. All the people in the world rely on him. An edict, a decree, or even just a casual comment of his preference may affect the fate and even life and death of countless people.
He really can't do this kind of work, it's too tiring.
Even if you just play badly, you will feel tired.
"Let him hate me if he wants." Wen Xing said this almost to himself.
He did something so outrageous, it's only right to hate him.
Just don't let Ning Wujie find out that he is still alive.
Just like Xinghe said, even if you are deceived, it is better to be kept in the dark than to find out the truth.
But for some reason, after saying this, his heart was still stabbed hard.
Fu Wenxin fell silent, the thought in her heart instantly dispelled. She sighed, clutching her chest and sobbing, "Alright, now my CP is completely gone, so sad."
Wen Xingmu looked at her with a sullen face.
Fu Wenxin howled for a long time before finally sniffing, wiping her tears, and patting his shoulder again, soothing him: "Don't worry, it will heal slowly..." She sniffled again, "It won't hurt anymore, time will heal everything."
Wen Xing stared at her for a long while before uttering two words: "Quack."
"Hey!" Fu Wenxin was not convinced and wanted to say: You have a heart disease, and heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine, do you understand?
But Wen Xing's medicine...
Fu Wenxin sighed slightly, but stopped talking. She took out a small medicine bottle and handed it to him, "If you really feel pain, put one of these in your mouth and it will go away." She looked Wen Xing in the eyes firmly, "Trust me."
Wen Xing took the medicine bottle and asked, "What is this?"
Fu Wenxin thought it was just a sugar pill, a placebo. But he lied and said, "A universal painkiller, you know aspirin? It's similar, but a hundred times more potent!"
Wen Xing said "Oh" and took out one and put it in his mouth.
It’s actually sweet.
He looked at Fu Wenxin suspiciously again, but when he met her unquestionable gaze, he shut up again.
But it seems...it doesn't hurt much anymore.
Wen Xing didn't dwell on this question any more. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you have any way to change my eye color?"
His eyes are so special that if he doesn't cover them up, he'll be exposed before he gets far.
Fu Wenxin nodded. "I've been researching this recently and have found a solution, but the materials are precious and difficult to obtain."
As she spoke, she took out a glass bottle and placed it in his palm. "This is a test product. You can use it for the time being. When my skills are mature, I will ask someone to bring it to you."
Wen Xing held up the bottle and took a closer look. He saw that it contained a transparent liquid with two crescent-shaped flakes in it.
"Take it easy, this is all I have right now."
She gave some further instructions and left some tonic medicine for Wen Xing, then reached out and knocked on the carriage.
The carriage stopped, she jumped off the shaft, turned around and said, "I'll take you here, have a safe trip! Remember to bring me news when you get there."
Wen Xing got out of the carriage, stood on the shaft and waved at her: "Thank you."
The woman swiftly took the reins from the driver, jumped onto the horse's back, and her figure quickly blended into the dark night.
Wen Xing stood alone in front of the carriage, looking down from halfway up the mountain.
The lights of the capital city at the foot of the mountain are dim, like stars falling on the earth, and the outline of the imperial city stands tall in the night, magnificent and solemn.
Thousands of lights were reflected in his pupils, flickering, as if taking in the light and shadow of the entire city.
The night wind, bringing the coolness of the mountains, blew across his clothes, taking away the last bit of warmth in his body.
He sighed silently.
Ning Wujie...Goodbye.
Never see you again.
*
A few months later.
Funing Hall, the air is filled with ambergris.
The palace was silent, with no lights or candles lit. Only the moonlight filtered through the window lattices, casting a hazy glow inside the palace.
There was only a lonely figure sitting silently on the couch. The couch still maintained its original appearance, with soft pillows piled on top of each other, and the silk quilt was just as soft and clean as when that person was still alive, and permeated with that person's faint breath.
Ning Wujie leaned against the soft pillow, holding the entire quilt deeply in his arms, and almost greedily absorbed the remaining scent on the quilt.
However, the breath is becoming thinner and thinner, and it may not be long before it dissipates.
Just like the life of that person passing away in his arms.
"Your Majesty..." He let out a suppressed cry, his fingertips unconsciously tightening, wrinkling the soft satin. "What poison did you take? Why are you experiencing a relapse of your heart disease?"
In a trance, he seemed to see the man's pale lips and slightly furrowed brows again.
"...Does it hurt?"
An intense feeling of heartache struck Ning Wujie, and he tightly gripped the satin quilt, as if he wanted to embed the last bit of his fading breath into his flesh and blood.
"I have consulted all the imperial physicians and even sought out common healers, but no one has ever heard of this poison."
"Who on earth gave you this thing?"
"If I find that person, I will tear him into pieces!"
However, when he said this, his eyes darkened again, and his voice was filled with unspeakable regret as he said hoarsely, "In fact, I am the one who deserves to die the most."
"If I had believed you earlier, I wouldn't have to..."
A teardrop slid down silently, landing on the cool satin, slowly rolling down along the delicate texture, and finally silently soaking into the wooden texture of the edge of the couch.
......
In the darkness, the shadow guard appeared silently.
"master."
There was silence in the room for a long time.
Ning Wujie suppressed the piercing pain in his heart and it took him a long time to find his voice: "Speak."
Suixing lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the identity of the spy who committed suicide has been found out."
"He was an orphan who grew up in the orphanage in the west city. His background was clean, and he had no relatives or friends. However, during the autopsy, an old branding mark was found on the back of his left shoulder."
As Suixing spoke, he walked to the desk and lit the lamp.
The room was lit up by lights, and the emotions in Ning Wujie's eyes gradually disappeared after the lights came on, just like the calm sea surface in the middle of the night, and no one knew what kind of turbulent waves were hidden under the sea.
Only the sea was dead silent.
The shadow guard dipped his fingertip in a little ink and quickly sketched a pattern on a piece of white paper. It was a symbol shaped like a flame.
Ning Wujie's eyes fixed.
It seems like I've seen it somewhere.
He closed his eyes, and the memory of the fire and the sound of the blades clashing emerged -
During a fire at the Gyeongjeongjeon Hall, he was trapped by three assassins. Having strangled the assassins and then been trapped by the flames, he used the body of one of them to break through the flames. Upon landing, the body's clothing had been scorched by the flames, revealing what appeared to be a symbol on the back of its bare shoulder.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
He always thought that they were assassins sent by the Queen Mother.
But now the Queen Mother has long been killed. Why would this spy with the same mark come to steal the secret letter he sent out?
Could it be that someone took advantage of the Empress Dowager to set fire, sent assassins to assassinate him, framed the Empress Dowager, and hid himself perfectly?
So the person who sent assassins to kill him back then is the same person who leaked the marching map today.
"Go check." Ning Wujie's eyes moved slightly, and he said coldly: "Thoroughly investigate the whereabouts of all the orphans in the orphanage in the past twenty years."
"Yes!" Suixing accepted the order and was about to leave when Ning Wujie said, "There is one more thing."
Jupiter bows its head and waits for orders.
Ning Wujie stood up and walked to the desk, his eyes falling on a document from the Ministry of Works.
It contained a detailed list of the renovations to the imperial mausoleum over the previous year. His fingertips slid across the paper, finally stopping at the renovation of the mausoleum for the Grand Tutor's burial.
He remembered that in February, he had asked His Majesty about the fact that the expenses for the imperial mausoleum were higher than usual. At that time, the person said that the money was allocated to the Taifu to build a mausoleum for the accompanying burials.
However, the document submitted by the Ministry of Works clearly stated that the Taifu's burial mausoleum was completed in one month.
He handed the document to Jupiter.
"Send someone to the Ministry of Works to check the list of all the craftsmen recruited to the imperial mausoleum construction site in February. If there are any new faces, bring them to the palace immediately. I want to question them personally."
"As you wish."
Suixing took the document and vanished. The hall returned to dead silence, filled only by the silent scent of ambergris.
Ning Wujie sat alone at the desk, doubts surging in his eyes.
Your Majesty...what exactly did you do under the pretext of repairing the tomb of the Grand Tutor?
Wait, he'll find out.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: 5j: Who gave my wife the poison! (sinister) (gritting teeth) Kill them, kill them all!
Fellow villager: Haha! (sniffs) (shivers down my spine)
???
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