boyutpedia Chapter 152 The Emperor is Poisoned
Chapter 152 The Emperor is Poisoned
On the surface, the father is loving and the son is filial, but in their hearts they are calculating and exploiting each other.
Meng Huaibei entered the palace upon receiving the imperial edict and heard that there was another Taoist priest by His Majesty's side.
He never believed in these things. After all, if there really were gods in this world, why didn't they care about the suffering people, but instead came to the emperor's side?
What does the emperor lack? He has everything in the world.
The only thing on his mind now was Jiang Nianwei. Thinking of everything he had seen at the beginning, his heart still ached.
And now that he has lost contact with her, he seems to no longer have the qualifications to stand by her side.
These are not important to Meng Huaibei. What is important is that she is safe and happy. Her birth is a sin.
Jiang Nianwei has given me the happiest time in my life, and that is enough.
Meng Huaibei knelt on the ground, his voice clear and respectful: "Your Majesty, may you be healthy and live forever. I, your humble servant Meng Huaibei, kowtow to the face of the Lord and wish your Majesty long-lasting blessings."
"My dear, please don't be polite. I am very pleased. There have been frequent reports of victories on the frontier. I heard that you are brave and good at fighting, and have made great achievements. You are really my good son. I am very happy. Now I specially grant you the position of Langzhongling, accompany me, guard the imperial city, and reward you with 100 taels of gold to commend your merits."
The Langzhongling was equivalent to the emperor's personal bodyguard, and this position was already quite important for him.
"I obey your command. Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Several other officials were rewarded together with him, but the official position he was awarded was the highest, so he should be closer to his goal.
Meng Huaibei raised his head, but was shocked to find that the familiar figure had quietly changed hands, and was replaced by an old Taoist with a strange face and white hair and beard, who was standing leisurely under the imperial steps.
Although they were far apart, there seemed to be an indescribable sense of familiarity in the old man's manner.
Meng Huaibei quietly observed his every move, thinking to himself: "Impossible, how could he be a young lady? A young lady cannot become a Taoist priest."
But once this thought came to him, he felt that the two were becoming more and more similar.
Jiang Nianwei also discovered that one of the people kneeling on the ground was actually Abei. From a distance, his face looked a bit weathered, and it was unknown what he had been through.
After the group of rewarded officials left, Meng Huaibei couldn't help but look at that figure.
He began to inquire about the Taoist priest privately, and when he heard that his surname was Jiang, he became even more suspicious of the man's identity.
His feeling could not be wrong, especially about the young lady. That man was definitely the young lady in disguise.
But now was obviously not the time to recognize each other, so he could only withdraw from the hall first.
Baili Jingyao coughed a few times, his voice mixed with a barely perceptible fatigue, and he slowly said: "Master Jiang, recently my dragon body seems to be increasingly unable to do what I want."
Jiang Nianwei narrowed her eyes slightly when she heard this. She took out a small exquisite bottle from her sleeve and gently placed it on the imperial desk. Her tone was gentle but firm: "Your Majesty, this is the elixir that I have carefully refined in my recent retreat. It gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and will definitely be of great benefit to your majesty's dragon body. I hope your majesty can enjoy it with peace of mind."
Baili Jingyao's eyes fell on the small bottle, and his fingertips gently stroked its warm bottle body, but he was not in a hurry to open it. He just smiled calmly: "Master Jiang has put a lot of thought into this elixir, it must be extraordinary."
"Besides." Jiang Nianwei changed the subject, her expression becoming more solemn, "I dare to suggest that Your Majesty should take this opportunity to cultivate your body and mind, study Taoism with me, and abandon worldly disturbances to avoid wasting the energy of your dragon body.
Baili Jingyao's eyes deepened when he heard this, as if he was thinking carefully in his heart, "Master, what you said makes sense. I am already old..."
"Your Majesty walks like a dragon and strode like a tiger. Time has not only not diminished your vigor, but has made you even more sage-like. How can you worry about aging? Your Majesty is destined by heaven. In your previous life, you must have been the reincarnation of an immortal spirit from the nine heavens. Therefore, your path in this world is naturally more difficult and full of trials and tribulations than that of ordinary people. However, since I have received the destiny of heaven, I will do my best to clear the way for your Majesty and remove all obstacles one by one, so that we can reach the immortal fairyland together."
Jiang Nianwei's words were actually all nonsense. She had to think of a way to make Baili Jingyao stop believing in Tan Yangshuo.
After Jiang Nianwei left, Baili Jingyao stared at the pill in his hand and asked the eunuch who was testing the medicine to take half of it first.
The young eunuch took the order and swallowed the half pill with trembling hands. At first, he only felt a warm current rising from his dantian, which instantly spread to his limbs and bones. Then, the whole person seemed to be reborn, full of energy, and even his breathing became exceptionally fresh and refreshing.
"Your Majesty, the pill is non-toxic."
"Yeah." Baili Jingyao then took it with peace of mind. His originally tired body suddenly felt lighter, and his body seemed to be a little younger.
"This elixir is really useful. Daoist Master Jiang did not lie to me."
The more he trusted Jiang Nianwei, the more suspicious he became of Tan Yangshuo. After all, a mere pill from Taoist Jiang had such a miraculous effect. Tan Yangshuo's complicated and slightly strange Yin-Yang replenishing technique seemed pale and powerless, repeatedly making him feel exhausted and unable to find his former glory.
Moreover, since the noble lady Yan was transformed by Taoist Jiang's magic, she has become more beautiful and considerate.
The empress is cold and arrogant, the imperial concubine is spoiled, and everyone else tries to please him just because he is the emperor.
But Concubine Yan was different. He reminded her of her youth. He was considerate in every way and even remembered her preferences over the past twenty years. He took care of her in an orderly manner.
So he continued to live in Concubine Yan's palace, and Concubine Yan was soon promoted to Concubine Yan.
Tan Yangshuo's sense of crisis became stronger as he got older. He requested to see the emperor many times but failed. Finally, he met him under the pretext of offering elixir, but Baili Jingyao became much more distant from him.
"Master Tan, is there anything else you want to explain to me?"
"Your Majesty, the women selected earlier have already entered the palace. Your Majesty... can choose a few that you like to serve you."
Baili Jingyao stroked his beard and almost forgot that there were fewer and fewer women in Zhaiyue Tower, so Tan Yangshuo came up with this idea to select women born in Yin hours from all over the country. Now, beautiful women from all over the country have entered the palace one after another.
Baili Jingyao hesitated for a moment, he still remembered what Taoist Jiang had said to him.
Tan Yangshuo continued to persuade him, "Your Majesty, we are still one step away from success. Your Majesty will not give up so easily, right?"
"I will go and see the women who have entered the palace."
The women selected this time are all young and beautiful, and all men like women of this age, and Baili Jingyao is no exception.
But on the surface you have to follow the rules and not let outsiders see any flaws.
Jiang Nianwei had already started planning in secret, she knew that Tan Yangshuo would take action against these beauties sooner or later.
Therefore, he replaced all the perfume powder used by these women with the ones he mixed himself. The perfume powder smelled very fragrant, and the concubines were ignorant of worldly affairs.
Hearing that they were going to meet the emperor, everyone naturally needed to dress up.
Jiang Nianwei walked to the rockery, but was suddenly pulled into the rockery by someone.
However, she did not panic because she already knew who this person was.
Meng Huaibei's voice sounded from behind: "Miss, how come you are in the palace? As you know, the palace is full of dangers. If you are not careful, you will lose your life!"
Jiang Nianwei shook her head and did not answer his question. She just asked, "Abei, how do you know it was me?"
"I only need to take one look at you to know it's you, miss. It's too dangerous here. I'll take you away from here!"
Jiang Nianwei did not move at all. Her eyes passed through the palace walls in front of her, as if she had seen the scenery farther away.
"I finally entered the palace, how could I possibly leave here? You can see that His Majesty trusts me very much now."
"Once His Majesty knows you are deceiving him..."
"Then he will never find out."
Jiang Nianwei said this in a cold tone, but soon explained: "Your Majesty will not find out, and I will take good care of myself, but you are now a minister."
Meng Huaibei felt mixed emotions, but he was still humble to her: "If it weren't for you saving me back then, I would have become a pile of bones. No matter what you want, I will stand by your side."
"Abei, thank you very much."
Jiang Nianwei thought of the scene that night and the words Ah Bei had said to her. In the end, she still kept her distance. "You just need to be yourself, and that will be the greatest help to me."
As Shizhonglang, he was in charge of the palace guards. Ah Bei's identity was still of some help to her at this moment.
"Although this place is secluded and deep, it is still difficult to escape the prying eyes of the palace. We should leave quickly to avoid any trouble."
Before he finished speaking, a burst of inappropriate laughter suddenly penetrated the silence of the night, coming from deep in the rockery, with a bit of ambiguity and insolence.
"Keep your voice down. Don't forget, this is the Palace of Etiquette."
"So what? No one saw what we were doing."
Then, the two of them made blushing and heartbeating sounds.
Meng Huaibei's ears turned red, but he pretended to be calm and coughed lightly to hide his emotions, "Ahem—"
His reminder awakened the two people who were immersed in their private world and they left immediately.
The atmosphere between the two people who stayed behind suddenly became awkward. "Miss, if you need any help, you can always come to me."
Jiang Nianwei nodded, "Okay."
……
Baili Jingyao looked at those beautiful girls who were as pretty as flowers and jade, and couldn't help but admire: "They are more beautiful than flowers. The girls selected this time are all stunning in appearance."
Seeing that his eyes were lingering, Tan Yangshuo continued to persuade him, "Your Majesty can choose the one you like first."
"I'm a little reluctant."
Those beauties waiting to be selected are like the most beautiful flowers in spring. Not only are they stunningly beautiful, but they also have a fresh and unworldly fragrance lingering around them. The fragrance blows gently in the wind, as if they are slightly tipsy by the morning dew, making people feel excited and as if they are drunken in a flower bush.
Baili Jingyao was just about to choose a woman when he suddenly felt uncomfortable in his chest and thought about what Taoist Jiang had said.
"I suddenly feel unwell, so let's put this matter aside for now."
Just as he was about to leave, Tan Yangshuo handed over another pill, "Your Majesty, this pill was carefully prepared by me. It will surely help your Majesty dispel fatigue and show your dragon power again, so that your Majesty can enjoy the happiness of family life while governing the country."
On one side is a beautiful woman, the temptation to replenish yin and yang.
With Taoist Master Jiang's instructions to him, Baili Jingyao hesitated for a moment, but finally chose a beautiful lady to sleep with him.
As the night deepened and everything was quiet, the beautiful girl was quietly led to Baili Jingyao's bedroom. The room was filled with fragrance, which added a bit of charm. In the past, he only needed to take a pill to become vigorous, but tonight was unusual.
Baili Jingyao gently embraced the beautiful girl in his arms and was about to make love with her, but unexpectedly he felt an inexplicable throbbing in his chest, and then a fishy-sweet taste overflowed from his throat, and a mouthful of blood spilled on the brocade bedding.
The concubine was so frightened that her legs seemed to be pulled away by an invisible force. She fell to her knees involuntarily and called out in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, what happened to you?"
Outside the door, Eunuch Chen's ears keenly caught this unusual fluctuation. His face suddenly changed, and he quickly raised his voice and asked anxiously through the heavy door: "Your Majesty, is there any change in the palace?"
"Eunuch, it's bad... His Majesty... He vomited blood!" The concubine's voice was filled with tears.
The palace was in chaos. The imperial doctors came in a hurry. The oldest and most skilled imperial doctor placed his finger on Baili Jingyao's wrist, and a solemn expression gathered between his brows. "Your Majesty's pulse is strange. In my opinion, it seems that you are poisoned. May I ask you, did your Majesty eat anything different than usual today?"
Upon hearing this, although Eunuch Chen's heart was in turmoil, he tried his best to maintain a calm face. He carefully recalled every detail of today, especially the things that His Majesty took, which were all strictly tasted by the eunuchs who tested medicines and confirmed to be safe before being presented, even the elixir given by the mysterious Taoist Jiang was no exception.
It’s just… His Majesty went out with Tan Yangshuo, and he didn’t follow them, so he had no way of knowing whether he had taken any strange elixir.
Eunuch Chen slowly raised his head, his eyes deep: "You have been hiding in the shadows, accompanying His Majesty for a long time. Have you ever witnessed His Majesty do anything unusual? In particular, have you seen His Majesty directly take in anything?"
A guard in the shadows, with a light figure, quietly stepped out of the darkness, bowed and replied: "Reporting to Eunuch Chen, that day His Majesty specifically ordered us to retreat to a distance to avoid disturbing you. But I saw that when Your Majesty was alone with Taoist Tan, Taoist Tan personally handed over a pill of strange color, and Your Majesty seemed to take it without hesitation..."
"How dare you! This is a serious crime of plotting to murder His Majesty. Come, bring Tan Yangshuo here immediately!"
Tan Yangshuo was originally feeling smug, thinking that his plan was still useful. After all, how many men in this world could resist a young and fresh beauty?
But the next second, several guards came and detained him.
"How dare you! Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this? Let me go!"
"You are the one who is about to die for murdering His Majesty. Drag him out!"