Feng Lai had no time to spare for anything else, focusing solely on helping Emperor An catch his breath. “Your Majesty, don’t be anxious. Your health is paramount.”
Imperial Physician Jiang, kneeling nearby, took Emperor An’s pulse and said, “Your Majesty’s body has already been weakened. You must not be provoked further or let anger overcome you.”
“Weakened…?”
Emperor An was breathing heavily, his chest heaving as he recalled the excruciating headache from before. Leaning against Feng Lai, he gasped, “What’s wrong with my body?”
“This…”
Jiang Tian glanced at the imperial guards in the hall.
Emperor An turned his head. “Leave.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Get out!”
After Emperor An’s furious shout, seeing the guards remain unmoved, his eyes flared with rage. “Are my words meaningless now? Or is Liu Tong’en planning to rebel, so even you lot dare to defy me?!”
“We wouldn’t dare!”
Faced with Emperor An’s towering anger and his mention of Liu Tong’en, the guards exchanged glances and reluctantly withdrew.
Once they were gone, Emperor An, still panting, demanded, “Speak! What’s wrong with my body?!”
Jiang Tian lowered his voice. “Your Majesty, poison has seeped into your organs, damaging your body. If you don’t take care to recuperate, it may affect your lifespan.”
“Poison in my organs? Someone’s trying to harm me?!”
Jiang Tian hesitated. “It’s the golden elixir…”
Seeing Emperor An’s incredulous expression, he continued softly, “I warned Your Majesty before that the golden elixir should be taken sparingly. Though it contains no lethal substances, anything that boosts energy will harm the body if overused and can become addictive. Moreover, Your Majesty’s vitality was already depleted, and you should have focused on rest and abstained from excessive indulgences, but you didn’t listen.”
Emperor An hadn’t just ignored the advice, he had found Jiang Tian’s bluntness offensive, suspecting mockery of his waning vigor and advancing age. He had ordered Jiang Tian dragged out and beaten.
Back then, Jiang Tian hadn’t yet gone to Jiyun Lane or been drawn into Xiao Yan’s schemes. His concern for Emperor An’s health had been genuine, but loyal words often grate on the ear.
Relying on the golden elixir’s invigorating effects, Emperor An had spent night after night entangled with palace beauties, sometimes even indulging with multiple women in a single night or during the day.
The imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Bureau weren’t blind to the damage to his health, but when even Jiang Tian, his trusted confidant, had been punished, who else dared to speak up?
Emperor An’s face alternated between pale and flushed.
Jiang Tian continued quietly, “Though the golden elixir has nourishing effects, all medicines carry some toxicity. Even the best remedies, when overused, will turn against the body.”
“I advised Your Majesty several times to stop taking the elixir and focus on recuperating, but you wouldn’t listen and even accused me of meddling, barring me from approaching you.”
“For the past two months, I was only allowed to check Your Majesty’s pulse three or four times out of ten visits. Later, you replaced me with Physician Gao. I…”
Jiang Tian paused, lowering his head dejectedly. “I have failed you, Your Majesty. Please punish me.”
Emperor An’s face was a mask of humiliation and anger. But it was he who had ordered the beating, he who had forbidden Jiang Tian’s counsel, and even Feng Lai, who had cautiously suggested reducing the elixir’s use, had been reprimanded. In the end, Feng Lai could only comply, presenting the elixir daily as ordered.
Suppressing his shame and anger, Emperor An asked, “Is my life in danger?”
Jiang Tian shook his head. “Not at all. As long as you abstain from the elixir and… certain indulgences, and focus on recovery, you can heal.”
Emperor An instinctively ignored the mention of “indulgences.” In his mind, the golden elixir was the culprit, and quitting it would suffice. As the Emperor, how could he possibly depend on a mere elixir to survive?
He had been unconscious for a month without taking it and had survived, hadn’t he? Though even now, the thought of the elixir made his body itch with a clawing sensation, he believed he could endure it.
Feng Lai helped Emperor An sit up against the pillows and offered him some water.
Feeling his throat ease, Emperor An asked in a low voice, “What happened in the court while I was unconscious?”
Feng Lai spoke softly, “That day, after Your Majesty issued the decree to appoint the Crown Prince and fell unconscious, this servant and Commander Liu tried to help you escape. But His Highness the Crown Prince took it upon himself to draft an edict of self-condemnation, listing your oversights in disaster relief, the wrongful persecution of the He family, and the attempt to harm Xiao Yan…”
“That traitor Xie Pingjia!” Emperor An gnashed his teeth in fury.
Feng Lai carefully helped him calm down before continuing, “After Xiao Yan obtained the edict, Cao Gong and others appealed to his sense of righteousness, and only then did he allow Your Majesty to return to the Yulong Pavilion. During the month of your unconsciousness, the Crown Prince governed in your stead, not only distributing the edict to every prefecture and county but also ordering a reinvestigation of the flood case from twenty years ago.”
“Xi Weifang, the Minister of War, confessed to colluding with the Lu family to sell offices and titles, revealing everything about the corruption in Shezhou’s three regions. Before his death, he produced two pieces of evidence: a blood letter from Tao Zian, the magistrate of Rongjiang, written during the great fire that consumed the city, and a letter from He Wenzhuo, sent back to the capital before his death, alleging irregularities in the shipwreck and urging the court to investigate Your Majesty and the Lu family.”
“With these two pieces of evidence, the burning of Rongjiang twenty years ago is all but confirmed.”
Emperor An’s face grew grim. “How did Xi Weifang have those?”
Feng Lai shook his head. “This servant isn’t entirely sure. Commander Liu has kept the Yulong Pavilion tightly guarded, barring anyone from entering or leaving. What I know comes only from snippets overheard from palace servants.”
“But I did hear that the Crown Prince used this matter to purge dissenters and install his own allies. Not only were many in the Six Ministries imprisoned or executed, but even the noble families weren’t spared.”
“With Xiao Yan backing him and the old case as a justified pretext, the court officials are in a state of panic. However, a few days ago, the noble families must have offered something to the Crown Prince, as he suddenly halted his actions. Those arrested from the Li, Fan, and Cui families have been released.”
Emperor An’s expression shifted unpredictably. Had the noble families thrown their lot in with that traitor Xie Pingjia?!
Feng Lai, as if oblivious to Emperor An’s reaction, continued with a guilty tone, “It’s my fault for being useless. I have no connections in the court, or I could have gathered more precise information.”
Jiang Tian, standing nearby, added, “How can you blame yourself, Eunuch Feng? You couldn’t even leave this hall, and Liu Tong’en has been utterly harsh with you. It’s remarkable you managed to learn anything at all.”
He turned to Emperor An. “I’ve fared slightly better. My family sent clothes, and I learned some news from them. The Dragon Court Guards have withdrawn, and the four garrisons outside the capital have settled down.”
“After that night, Xiao Yan hasn’t caused further chaos. General Yin and Marquis Wenxin helped calm the capital’s populace, and things have stabilized outwardly. However, the court and the capital are now under Xiao Yan and the Crown Prince’s control. And…”
He hesitated, glancing at Emperor An.
“And what?” Emperor An asked coldly.
Jiang Tian faltered before saying softly, “And everyone says Your Majesty is incompetent. Because of the Crown Prince’s edict, they believe the He family was wronged.”
“They say Xiao Yan’s forced entry into the palace was a last resort. No one calls him a traitor anymore. Instead, they’re discussing clearing his and the He family’s names, even the court officials agree.”
“Outrageous!” Emperor An roared, clutching the bedcovers tightly. “Is Liu Tong’en dead?!”
He had the imperial guards, his private forces, and the shadow guards he had personally entrusted to Liu Tong’en.
Even if he couldn’t confront Xiao Yan directly or bring down the Crown Prince, Liu Tong’en should have done something to salvage the situation, spreading rumors, for instance, accusing the Crown Prince of unfilial behavior and ambition, or branding Xiao Yan a rebellious traitor using the old case for personal gain.
Rumors, whether true or false, could muddy the waters and give him a fighting chance. Yet Liu Tong’en, that brainless fool, had done nothing but guard his bedside.
He wasn’t dead, but the situation was already decided.
The court, the people’s hearts, everything was in Xiao Yan’s grasp. What could he use to punish that traitor? What could he do to reclaim the situation?
That imbecile!
=================You can read ahead to chapterr 770 (100+ extra chapters) here
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