boyutpedia Chapter 183 The Road to the Unknown Abyss
Chapter 183 The Road to the Unknown Abyss
Xiaolian knew that no matter how much she pleaded, it would be of no avail, so she could only stand up silently and follow the old eunuch out of the room.
However, just as Xiaolian was about to step out of the door, she suddenly stopped, turned to look at the old eunuch, and asked, "Eunuch, can I ask you a question?"
"Excuse me, young lady." said the old eunuch.
"His Royal Highness, what will happen to him...what will happen to him?" Xiaolian asked.
The old eunuch was silent for a moment before he slowly said, "Young lady, there are some things that you'd better not know."
After saying that, the old eunuch no longer paid attention to Xiaolian and walked out of the room, leaving Xiaolian standing there alone, with a confused look in her eyes, at a loss...
Xiaolian was led by the old eunuch, walking in silence. The palace walls were high and the ground was paved with blue bricks, but in her eyes it was like a road leading to an unknown abyss. She didn't understand what she had done wrong to end up like this.
"Eunuch," Xiaolian couldn't help but speak, her voice trembling, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...really..."
The old eunuch stopped and turned to look at her, a trace of pity flashed in his cloudy eyes: "Miss, I am just following orders. For some things, the less you know, the better. Just forget it."
Xiaolian's heart sank. The old eunuch's words undoubtedly announced Qi Tongwei's end. She lowered her head helplessly and let the old eunuch lead her to the palace gate.
However, at this moment, a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats broke the silence in the palace. A sweaty horse rushed into the palace gate. The rider was wearing a flying fish suit and an embroidered spring sword on his waist, which was exactly the attire of the Jinyiwei.
"Urgent military information! Express delivery within 800 miles!" The knight dismounted, not even bothering to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and rushed to the old eunuch, handing him a letter. "Eunuch, this is urgent military information from Liaodong. The emperor orders you to deliver it to the imperial study immediately!"
The old eunuch did not dare to neglect it, and hurried to the imperial study after receiving the letter. Xiaolian was left alone, but a glimmer of hope suddenly rose in her heart. Perhaps, this letter from Liaodong could change Qi Tongwei's fate?
She waited anxiously there, time passed by, but there was no movement outside the palace gate. Just when Xiaolian was about to despair, the old eunuch finally came back, his face was solemn, and his steps were much faster than before.
"Young lady, follow me." The old eunuch said this as he passed by Xiaolian.
Xiaolian was delighted and quickly followed. She didn't know what happened, but she could feel that things seemed to be turning around.
The old eunuch brought Xiaolian to the outside of the imperial study, but did not go in directly. Instead, he stopped and said in a low voice: "Miss, His Majesty is very angry. When you go in, you must be careful with your words and do not offend the emperor."
Xiaolian nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the imperial study.
In the imperial study, Emperor Chongzhen was standing in front of a huge map with his back to her, frowning and saying nothing. Xiaolian noticed that there were many place names marked on the map, and one of the places had the word "Shenyang" written on it. That was the nest of the Jiannu!
"Cough cough..." Xiaolian coughed lightly, trying to attract the attention of Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen slowly turned around and his eyes fell on Xiaolian, his eyes full of fatigue and gloom.
"What else do you have to say?" Emperor Chongzhen's voice sounded a little hoarse.
Xiaolian took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to say, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince...he was just confused for a moment. I beg Your Majesty to forgive him this time for his filial piety!"
"Filial piety?" Emperor Chongzhen sneered, "If he really had filial piety, he wouldn't have done such a treasonous thing!"
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..." Xiaolian wanted to plead for Qi Tongwei again, but was interrupted by Emperor Chongzhen.
"That's enough! I have made up my mind. You don't need to say anything more!" Emperor Chongzhen's tone left no room for doubt. "Someone, take this rebellious son away..."
Before Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, his face suddenly changed, his body swayed a few times, he covered his chest with one hand, and a look of pain appeared on his face.
"emperor!"
"His Majesty!"
Xiaolian and the old eunuch were horrified upon seeing this and hurried forward to help.
"Quick...quickly call the imperial physician..." Emperor Chongzhen uttered a few words with difficulty, and then his eyes went dark and he fainted...
Xiaolian's heart almost jumped out of her throat. The emperor actually fainted at this moment! She looked at the old eunuch in panic, but saw that this old eunuch who had been in the deep palace for many years was also at a loss at this moment, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"What are you still standing there for! Hurry up and call the imperial physician!" Xiaolian shouted, finally bringing the old eunuch back to his senses. He hurriedly ran out and ordered the young eunuch to call the imperial physician, while he himself was busy trying to calm down Emperor Chongzhen.
Xiaolian looked at the pale, short-breathing middle-aged man in front of her, feeling mixed emotions. In the world before she traveled through time, Emperor Chongzhen was a historical figure with mixed reputations. Some said he worked hard to govern the country, but was born at the wrong time; others said he was stubborn and self-righteous, and eventually destroyed himself. But in any case, he was the last monarch of the Ming Dynasty, the end of an era.
"Ahem..." Emperor Chongzhen suddenly started to cough violently, with a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Xiaolian was shocked. This scene looked like a sign of his death!
The old eunuch was also frightened out of his wits, and he shouted incoherently: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please hold on! The imperial physician will be here soon, you must not be in any danger!"
Xiaolian pushed the bewildered old eunuch away and shouted, "Stop crying! Go get some ginseng slices! I want top-quality ginseng slices, the sooner the better!"
The old eunuch was stunned by Xiaolian's momentum, and was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly crawled to find ginseng. Xiaolian took advantage of this opportunity to help Emperor Chongzhen lie down on the soft couch beside him.
Emperor Chongzhen had regained some consciousness at this moment. He tried to open his eyes, looked at the strange woman in front of him, and asked weakly: "You...you are..."
"Your Majesty, please stop talking and conserve your energy." Xiaolian said as she unbuttoned the collar of Emperor Chongzhen's shirt, hoping to make it easier for him to breathe.
Emperor Chongzhen felt a chill in his chest, and a faint fragrance entered his nostrils. He tried to turn his head to look at Xiaolian, but because of his weak body, he could only see a blurry figure.
"You...which palace maid are you from? Why...why are you so bold..." Emperor Chongzhen said intermittently, with a hint of imperial majesty in his tone, but it could not hide his weakness.
"Your Majesty, I am from the palace of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..." Xiaolian was interrupted by Emperor Chongzhen before she could finish her words.
"Rebellious son! Rebellious son! I... cough cough... I am not dead yet! He... he dares..." Emperor Chongzhen suddenly became agitated and coughed violently as if he was going to cough out his lungs.
Xiaolian quickly patted his back, trying to calm him down. However, Emperor Chongzhen had already fallen into a state of madness. He tightly grasped Xiaolian's hand, his eyes blurred, and muttered to himself: "Jiannu... Li Zicheng... are all traitors... are all traitors..."
Xiaolian sighed inwardly. It seemed that the last emperor had been pushed to the edge of a dead end. Internal and external troubles, an empty treasury, constant factional strife in the court, and powerful enemies surrounding the borders... The Ming Dynasty was like a dilapidated ship that was about to sink.
At this time, the old eunuch finally hurried back with the ginseng slices. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Emperor Chongzhen tightly holding Xiaolian's hand. He was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, spare me! I... I didn't see anything..."
Xiaolian: “…”
This old guy, what a mess is going on in his mind!
Xiaolian rolled her eyes. Wasn’t this old eunuch a fool?
"Your Majesty is not feeling well now, why don't you go and boil some medicine!" she yelled at the old eunuch in annoyance.
The old eunuch finally woke up from his dream and hurriedly left with the ginseng slices. Xiaolian looked at Emperor Chongzhen, who was lying on the couch, gasping for breath, and sighed in her heart. This last emperor was now at the end of his strength, and he was suffocated by internal and external troubles.
Emperor Chongzhen had recovered a little at this moment. He tilted his head slightly, staring at Xiaolian with his cloudy eyes, as if trying to see through her. "What's your name?"
"Your servant Xiaolian."
"Xiao Lian..." Emperor Chongzhen muttered to himself, as if recalling something. After a moment, he seemed to have used up all his strength, tightly grasped Xiao Lian's hand, and asked anxiously, "You...you tell me the truth, how is the prince...how is he now?"
Xiaolian was startled by his sudden action, and she felt mixed emotions as she felt the strength coming from the back of his hand. In the last moments of his life, this father was still thinking about his son the most.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is... fine." Xiaolian paused and decided not to tell Emperor Chongzhen that Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was no longer the same crown prince.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he seemed to let go of the huge stone in his heart. He slowly closed his eyes, leaned weakly on the couch, and whispered: "Okay... okay..."
Xiaolian looked at the old man in front of her, feeling a little pity. She gently put Emperor Chongzhen's hand back into the quilt and stood up to leave.
"Wait..." Emperor Chongzhen suddenly opened his eyes, with a sharp light flashing in his eyes, "Come here, I... ahem... I have something to ask you."
Xiaolian was shocked. How could this look be that of a terminally ill person? She slowly walked to the side of Emperor Chongzhen and asked softly, "Your Majesty, what do you want to ask?"
Emperor Chongzhen took a deep breath, trying to make himself look more energetic. He lowered his voice and said word by word: "Do you... know... why I suddenly became seriously ill?"