Chapter 112 Qishan Fengchan 19 The Truth 1
After a night, Xun Shu came to Xingyue Palace again.
Unlike last night when she was sneaking in, today she followed Li Xuanhe and entered the palace openly through the courtyard gate.
Since coming to Zhai Palace, Xun Shu has visited many places. Apart from the residence of His Majesty and the Prince, Xingyue Palace is the most magnificent palace in the entire Zhai Palace.
The ground is paved with blue bricks, the screen wall is carved from a whole piece of white jade, and every railing in the courtyard is carved with auspicious patterns.
It is clearly a magnificent palace, but now it seems to be covered with a layer of gray gauze, lifeless and dull.
The courtyard was filled with imperial guards, and all the people in the Hall of Eternal Life were locked up in rooms, awaiting their fate.
The door of the main hall was open, and the prince's personal guards were standing in front of the door. It was not until this moment that Xun Shu felt a sense of reality. The prince was actually planning to use such a direct method to deal with the imperial teacher in the Zhai Palace.
Xun Shu recalled the scene a moment ago.
She asked Li Xuanhe who would perform the sacrifice to heaven and earth in the Fengshan ceremony tomorrow. Li Xuanhe replied that the sacrifice would be performed by the crown prince.
Xun Shu wondered, "Even if the ministers in the court had no objections, how could the Imperial Master possibly agree?"
"He will never have the chance to see tomorrow's ceremony."
Seeing Xun Shu's bewildered expression, Li Xuanhe explained, "Reinforcements have arrived, and Prince Chen's men hiding in the mountains have been apprehended. The Zhai Palace is now sealed off, with no one entering or leaving without permission. This presents the perfect opportunity to deal with the Imperial Preceptor. The Hall of Eternal Life has long been entrenched in Daliang, and eradication won't be overnight. However, if the Hall Master can be eliminated, vacating the position of Imperial Preceptor, it will undoubtedly severely damage the Hall of Eternal Life's prestige. They need time to recover, and during that time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be able to stabilize the government and wait for the right moment to wipe out the Hall of Eternal Life."
Xun Shu listened carefully and nodded in agreement: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is amazing."
Li Xuanhe frowned slightly, wanting to say that this was an idea he came up with, but he also felt that this behavior was quite childish.
Why is he competing with the prince for favor? What are they competing for?
But after trying to hold it back, he couldn't help himself and whispered, "This is my idea."
Xun Shu was stunned, turned his head to look at him, and saw that his earlobes were red, then he said softly: "Then you are also very good."
Afterward, the two stood in the courtyard, enjoying the gentle breeze and bright moonlight, silent for a long while. The atmosphere was too intense, and Xun Shu racked his brains to break the eerie atmosphere. Just as he was about to ask when the Zhai Palace would be unsealed, Li Xuanhe spoke first.
"Would you like to meet with the Imperial Preceptor and thoroughly investigate Prince Chen's case?" Li Xuanhe explained. "The Imperial Preceptor won't survive tonight. He'll announce it to the world tomorrow, citing a sudden illness. If you want to get to the bottom of Prince Chen's case, tonight is your best opportunity."
Then Xun Shu followed Li Xuanhe to the Xingyue Palace and walked into the main hall.
The Crown Prince and the Imperial Master sat side by side in the main hall, talking about something. When they heard footsteps, they stopped talking and looked up at the two of them.
The prince seemed to have known they would come. His face was calm. He gestured for them to sit in the empty seats below. Only Chi Xiao Yu Chang and the four people around the prince were left in the hall. The rest were sent outside.
The palace door slowly closed.
The flickering candlelight in the room made the Imperial Master's face look less calm than usual. Instead, it looked like a ghost, a demon, and a bit sinister. His clothes and hair were disheveled, and he no longer had the slightest trace of an immortal. He stared intently at Xun Shu as he entered the hall, and suddenly said, "So it's you."
Xun Shu was puzzled: "Have you seen me?"
Perhaps feeling there was no need to hide anything, the Imperial Preceptor said, "I've seen you twice in Chaozhou. The first time was shortly after you entered the coffin shop, and the second time was when someone introduced you to me. I once suspected you were a remnant of the Si Tian Pavilion and wanted to capture you and take you to the Chang Sheng Palace, but that person assured me that you could never be from the Si Tian Pavilion. On the contrary, Jiang Zheng from the coffin shop looked more like him, but I had no evidence. If I had known this earlier—" The Imperial Preceptor smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Perhaps it's all fate."
Xun Shu's eyes were clear as he refuted seriously: "Si Tian Pavilion is open and honest. It has not done anything to harm others in the past thousand years. The disciples of Si Tian Pavilion follow the changes of heaven and earth and have never been remnants of evil."
The Imperial Preceptor smiled and shook his head, a hint of derision on his face. Xun Shu wanted to ask more, but he had already turned to look at the Crown Prince beside him. "Since you've used the Sitian Pavilion to break my formation and control Chen Wangzang's forces and the Crown Prince, I have nothing to argue with. Now that the Zhai Palace is in your hands, I have no room for resistance. However, there's one thing I don't understand, and I hope Your Highness can explain it to me."
The prince put down the teacup in his hand and said, "Master, please speak."
"Last night, I observed the celestial phenomena and saw Mars in the center of the sky. His Majesty should have passed away. But when I went there this morning, he was clearly sitting there in good health. Your Highness, could you explain this to me?"
The prince smiled gently, "You are worrying too much, Imperial Master. Celestial phenomena are merely warnings from Heaven; not everything can be predicted. Human affairs should be handled by humans, not arranged by Heaven. Don't you agree?"
The Imperial Preceptor stared at him for a few moments, then sighed, "You're still so cautious." Seeing that the Crown Prince wouldn't elaborate, the Imperial Preceptor didn't ask further. "Why did you come here tonight? If you wanted to kill me, why did you come here in person?"
The prince smiled faintly and looked at Li Xuanhe beside him: "Xuanhe and Miss Xun want to see you. They want to know about the death of King Chen."
The Imperial Master's eyes were slightly quizzical. "Prince Chen's death was an accident from the beginning. It was not my intention. It was only half a day after I discovered his body that I realized his death might be related to me... Perhaps you know more about this matter than I do. Anyway, feel free to ask whatever you want to know. I have nothing to hide."
Li Xuanhe asked, "Was it you who ordered the sword to be thrust into Prince Chen's chest? I asked the Imperial Guards who were patrolling that night, and they didn't see anyone entering or leaving the Star-Moon Palace. How did you discover Prince Chen's body in advance?"
"The Imperial Guards didn't even notice Prince Chen's scurrying about, so how can you expect them to spot my men? Furthermore, after dark, it's not just the Imperial Guards who can roam openly within the Zhai Palace; the night watchmen are also there. It just so happens that the night watchman is a believer in the Hall of Eternal Life. A few months ago, when I visited the Zhai Palace, I met him a few times and formed a good relationship. I once told him that if he saw anything amiss while on night watch, he should report it to me at the Xingyue Palace. I just casually mentioned it, but I never thought it would actually come in handy."
The Imperial Master sighed softly, his expression faraway, as if he had returned to the dawn of the previous day. "That night, just after the hour of Yin, the night watchman suddenly arrived at the Star-Moon Palace. The guard on duty recognized him and, not wanting to delay, quickly brought him to the palace to find me. He then told me about the discovery of Prince Chen's body.
"Naturally, I couldn't go in person, so I had my best martial artist take the sword the Crown Prince's attendant had lost months earlier and go to the courtyard where the body was found. My original intention was to pin the blame on the Crown Prince, so he could find clues and discover who murdered Prince Chen. The evidence would then be brought back to me, and I could use it as leverage to coerce the murderer into working for the Hall of Eternal Life. Unfortunately, that person wasn't as perceptive as Lord Li from the Dali Temple, and he wasn't able to find the medicine bottle.
"After that, I pretended I didn't know about it, and everything went on as normal. Until noon the next day, new news came from outside the Star Moon Palace. Not only was there news of Prince Chen's death, but also that a hidden medicine bottle had been found next to Prince Chen's body. The moment I learned about the medicine bottle, I immediately thought of the elixir of immortality that I had put away. However, when I returned to the palace, I found that the bottle of medicine was still safely stored in the secret compartment. Only then did I realize that there were two elixirs in the world, and the only people who knew about it were me and the little Taoist who made the elixir. How could Prince Chen possibly know? Besides, the medicine was hidden in the secret compartment in my room, so even if he wanted to steal it, he wouldn't be able to do it.
"But then, a strange sense of unease suddenly rose in my heart. I dissolved some of the elixir in water and fed it to a monkey I'd caught in the mountains. The monkey immediately died after taking it. This elixir of immortality was actually extremely poisonous! At that time, I couldn't confirm whether someone had replaced the medicine or whether the medicine I handed to him was poisonous from the beginning. After all, according to my calculations, after I gave the elixir to His Majesty, he should have taken it immediately. But since His Majesty was in good health, how could the medicine in my hand be poisonous?
"That afternoon, as usual, I went to the alchemy room to test the medicine, but discovered that the pill I had just refined the day before had disappeared. I then realized that when I had said in Your Majesty's palace the day before that I would also refine an elixir of immortality for the Crown Prince, only Prince Chen had taken it seriously. I speculate that Prince Chen secretly came to the alchemy room that night, believing that the poisoned pill there was the elixir of immortality refined for the Crown Prince, and then stole it, took it in a secluded place, and carefully hid the medicine bottle in a corner of the courtyard. Afterwards, before he could leave the courtyard, he suffered a setback from the poisoning and collapsed in the yard. Now, everything makes sense.
"That evening, the people I sent to monitor the young Taoist priest refining the elixir of immortality reported that he had secretly left the Star-Moon Palace. My men didn't see who he met, and he was dragged back to the Star-Moon Palace. This person must have a secret. The young Taoist priest was brought before me, and I gave him a few casual threats. He then spilled the beans and told me everything about him and the Crown Prince. Only then did I realize that the two elixirs had been switched long ago... You all know what happened next."
Li Xuanhe carefully noted what the Imperial Master said. Before he could speak, Xun Shu beside him couldn't help but ask, "Then why is the immortality elixir you left behind poisonous? Your Majesty's is clearly non-toxic! Do you know who swapped it with it?"
The Imperial Master looked at Xun Shu with a strange smile. "Little girl, what's the point of this question now? After all, no one died because of these two pills. Besides—" He stretched out his voice, speaking meaningfully, "How do you know that the pill was swapped at my place? And how do you know that the pill that was swapped was the one in my hand?"
Xun Shu's heart moved, and she was about to ask again, but her hand was suddenly grabbed by the person next to her, who held it in his hand and squeezed it, stopping her from saying anything.
Seeing Xun Shu calm down, Li Xuanhe breathed a sigh of relief and smiled to explain: "Those two pills are indeed unimportant. I'm more curious about why the Imperial Master would refine poison in the Star Moon Palace? I sent people to sneak into the alchemy room and found a lot of smudged recipes. After having someone identify them, they said that the traces of changes were intended to make the already highly toxic poison even more toxic while delaying the onset of the poison. Who was that medicine prepared for?"
"It doesn't matter anymore." The Imperial Master's face gradually calmed, as if he was extremely exhausted. "No matter who it was prepared for, it was ultimately Prince Chen who took the poison. Perhaps, in some mysterious way, this was meant for him." He let out a long sigh, leaned back in his chair, his voice becoming increasingly erratic. "I've answered so many of your questions. Could you please answer one for me? Is there really an elixir of immortality in this world?"
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