After Prince Sui left, the snow fell even heavier. The dense, goose-feather-like snowflakes cascaded down, covering the vermilion palace walls with a layer of pure white.
The palace maids in the corridor wrapped their light purple cotton-padded jackets tighter, and the eunuchs kept stamping their feet. They watched the Prince of Sui's departing figure and silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"I hope the heavy snow will stop soon; so many people have already frozen to death." A young eunuch clenched his fists, looking expectantly at the snow-covered sky.
For some reason, he always felt that the Hall of Mental Cultivation was colder than other places. The blue brick floor exuded a bone-chilling cold, as if he were walking on ice.
Wait, didn't His Majesty just acquire a new piece of Spring Jade? Why is the Hall of Mental Cultivation still so cold? He dared not speak, nor dared he ask, so he could only rub his hands, which were covered in cotton gloves, and continue to wait outside.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Liang, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat upright on a sandalwood chair, the twelve symbols of imperial authority faintly visible in the candlelight.
However, the next second, his veins suddenly bulged, and his gilded armor swept across the table, sweeping everything in front of him away.
A jade brush holder, an inkstone, gold-flecked Xuan paper, and a mountain of memorials fell to the ground with a clatter, and ink smeared a stain on the gold-embroidered carpet.
Even so, Emperor Liang's hand, adorned with a jade thumb ring, remained firmly resting on the dragon head armrest as he coldly gazed at the wisps of black mist before him.
Before long, all the black energy gathered together, forming a shape resembling a human body with a snake's tail.
A dark green snake tail coiled around the pillar of the five-clawed golden dragon, its scales reflecting an eerie luster.
Her long, black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, adorned with a snake-shaped hairpin carved from blood jade. A pair of scarlet fox eyes looked at her mockingly, gleaming with an eerie light in the candlelight.
"I never expected that the ruler of Liang would still be so impatient." The demon extended his scarlet forked tongue, the silver bell on his wrist jingling with the movement. "You've been on the throne for so many years, yet you haven't learned even a trace of the former emperor's composure. You're just putting on an act."
The demon with a human body and a snake tail extended its scarlet forked tongue, looking at the scales on its arm, its eyes filled with a bewitching and eerie charm.
"What? You've killed so many sons and daughters, and secretly kidnapped so many concubines from another world, yet now you can't bear to part with them?"
"This is unlike you. After all, you were born cold-hearted and ruthless. You discovered me when you were still a child, but you kept it a secret and asked me to help you ascend the throne!"
"Humans are truly insatiable. Although I am a demon, I keep my promise and will allow you to sit in this position as you wish."
"You, on the other hand, have consistently broken your promises and refused to let me leave this palace. Moreover, you are so sinister, trying to absorb the luck of those with great fortune in Liang Kingdom in an attempt to harm me!"
"What do you think people with great fortune are? Even I, a demon, understand that those people carry the fortune of heaven and earth; they are the darlings of the heavens!"
"And if you attempt to bear the fortune of those people with your mortal body, you will surely be devoured by this immense fortune!"
The dark green snake tail climbed up a dragon tree again, and the evil creature with a human body and snake tail suddenly turned its head and lunged forward with its claws!
Emperor Liang had long been wary of this evil spirit, and he also stretched out his hand, and a huge, multicolored palm appeared out of thin air, knocking the snake woman to the ground.
The snake woman's body crashed into the dragon pillar, causing the entire Hall of Mental Cultivation to tremble and attracting the attention of the palace maids and eunuchs outside.
"Quickly, save the Emperor!" The delicate voice had barely uttered the cry when the group was driven away by Emperor Liang before they could even enter.
"Get out! No one is allowed to enter without my permission!"
A group of eunuchs, palace maids, and guards quickly retreated. They were already used to this kind of scene, and each of them ran faster than the last.
"Even if there's a backlash, that's a matter for the future. I can still deal with you now!"
"roll!"
The dark green snake tail angrily snapped off a golden dragon pillar in the main hall and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Emperor Liang took a step forward and suddenly slumped down on the brocade cushion, the jade beads on his nine-tasseled crown swaying erratically.
Seeing the disheveled state of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Liang looked utterly bewildered.
"Father, Father, do you think I'm wrong?"
"No, I did nothing wrong! If I hadn't killed you beforehand, how could I have gotten this throne? How could I have ruled the world? You certainly wouldn't have left this throne to me!"
"Moreover, if I don't draw on those people's luck, if I don't kill those concubines and children, how can I possibly gain the power to fight against that evil spirit?"
“Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts! Demons and evil spirits are all enemies of the Liang Kingdom. I killed you and extracted the luck of those people, all for the sake of the Liang Kingdom’s rule!”
After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Liang got up from the ground and shakily hugged the memorials to his chest.
"I am the emperor of Liang, the whole world belongs to me! What's wrong with me taking away the fortune of those people?"
"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"
A cold laugh echoed from inside the main hall.
"You're going to laugh at me too!" Emperor Liang suddenly threw the memorial in his arms at the golden dragon on the dragon pillar!
…
The Eastern Palace.
The night was deep, and snowflakes were pattering against the window.
The gilded palace lanterns inside the bedchamber cast long shadows of the imperial physicians, all dressed in dark blue official robes, their faces sweating profusely with anxiety.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has no illness and is perfectly healthy. It's just that he remains unconscious for some reason. He may be having a nightmare."
The old physician knelt on the ground, the wings of his official hat trembling incessantly.
Consort Shu wore a crimson-purple palace dress with gold trim, and the nine-phoenix hairpin with pearls in its hair swayed violently.
She abruptly threw down the blue-and-white porcelain teacup, shards splashing onto the peacock-blue curtains. "If she's perfectly healthy, why has my Yan'er been unconscious for three days?"
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