Emperor Mingkang’s seclusion required absolute tranquility. Apart from Master Zhang delivering meals at scheduled times, no one was permitted to disturb him—not even Wei Wuxie could guard outside.
Glancing at the sky, Master Zhang decided to go in and check on the situation.
Wei Wuxie at the door swept a glance at the food box in Master Zhang’s hands, smiling with neither warmth nor coldness: “Didn’t Master Zhang say earlier that His Majesty would emerge from seclusion today? What time exactly?”
“His Majesty will emerge at the hour of the Pig,” Master Zhang casually deflected Wei Wuxie.
Wei Wuxie stepped aside: “Then Master Zhang should hurry in and deliver the imperial meal to His Majesty.”
Master Zhang nodded without revealing his thoughts, carrying the food box as he walked inside.
The room was filled with drifting smoke. Master Zhang headed straight for Emperor Mingkang’s meditation spot, and with just one glance, his soul nearly left his body in terror.
Emperor Mingkang, dressed in his Taoist robes, had collapsed sideways on the ground, revealing the bright yellow meditation cushion beneath him.
Master Zhang set down the food box and rushed to Emperor Mingkang’s side, calling out in a lowered voice: “Your Majesty!”
Emperor Mingkang showed no reaction.
Master Zhang hurriedly turned over Emperor Mingkang, who had been lying face down, revealing a dragon countenance as pale as paper.
“Your Majesty—” Master Zhang reached out to check Emperor Mingkang’s breathing and trembled all over in fright.
His Majesty had ascended to heaven!
After remaining frozen for quite a while, Master Zhang came to his senses and placed his trembling hand on Emperor Mingkang’s chest.
A faint warmth came through, and Master Zhang withdrew his hand in distress, breathing heavily in great gasps.
His Majesty wasn’t completely dead yet, but judging by his condition, he wasn’t far from it either.
What should he do?
Master Zhang’s mind raced with urgent thoughts.
He had long had premonitions about Emperor Mingkang’s health. The arrival of this day hadn’t surprised him too much—it just came too quickly, before he’d had time to flee!
No, he needed to find Marquis Guanjun for help.
But before that—
Master Zhang glanced toward the door.
Wei Wuxie was His Majesty’s closest confidant. Rather than wracking his brains trying to deceive him, it would be better to pull him in!
Master Zhang made his decision and walked to the door, saying softly: “Eunuch Wei, His Majesty summons you inside.”
The door creaked open. Seeing Wei Wuxie walk in, Master Zhang quickly closed and locked the door.
“What is Master Zhang doing?” Wei Wuxie asked, then instantly his face changed dramatically. He pushed past Master Zhang and rushed toward Emperor Mingkang. “Your Majesty—”
Quick enough reaction. Master Zhang sighed inwardly and lifted his feet to follow.
Wei Wuxie looked at the motionless Emperor Mingkang as if struck by lightning, his voice trembling: “Your Majesty, what’s happened to you?”
He wanted to touch but didn’t dare, turning to glare at Master Zhang with eyes splitting with rage: “Master Zhang, what exactly has happened to His Majesty?”
“Eunuch Wei, keep your voice down. His Majesty is still alive.”
Wei Wuxie’s face instantly flashed with wild joy.
Master Zhang continued: “But not by much.”
“Master Zhang!”
Master Zhang sneered coldly: “It’s useless for Eunuch Wei to shout at this humble Taoist. His Majesty now has only a bit of warmth left in his chest. What should be done—Eunuch Wei, quickly make a decision.”
“Wait here. I’ll go fetch the imperial physicians first.”
Seeing Wei Wuxie rise and head outside, Master Zhang called out from behind: “Eunuch Wei had better find someone trustworthy. If news of His Majesty’s incident during seclusion spreads, we’ll all lose our lives!”
Wei Wuxie’s steps paused, but he walked out without turning back.
Before long, an imperial physician hurried over with Wei Wuxie, nearly fainting at the sight of Emperor Mingkang’s condition.
“Director Li, don’t just stand there stunned. Quickly examine His Majesty.”
Director Li hurriedly examined Emperor Mingkang thoroughly, his face growing increasingly pale.
“Director Li, how is His Majesty?” Wei Wuxie asked.
Director Li had no time to answer Wei Wuxie’s question. He immediately opened his medicine chest, took out a piece of aged ginseng, sliced it, and placed it in Emperor Mingkang’s mouth. Only then did he wipe his sweat, his voice trembling: “His Majesty… may not survive tonight…”
Wei Wuxie and Master Zhang exchanged glances.
“Is there no other way?”
Director Li shook his head: “It’s beyond saving, unless—”
“Unless what?” Wei Wuxie and Master Zhang pressed.
If His Majesty died during his Taoist seclusion, they would all lose their lives.
The only way to save their lives now was to hope His Majesty could wake up and at least summon the court ministers to speak some final words, so they could extricate themselves from this matter.
“Unless Physician Li were here.”
“How could that be possible?” Wei Wuxie was halfway through his words when he suddenly stopped, hesitating: “This servant has heard that Marquis Guanjun’s wife is Physician Li’s disciple—”
Looking at Emperor Mingkang’s increasingly greenish complexion, Wei Wuxie gritted his teeth.
Forget it. Now they could only try treating a dead horse as if it were alive. No matter what, they had to ask Marquis Guanjun’s wife to try.
“This servant will find a way to invite Marquis Guanjun’s wife over. You two stay here and don’t act rashly, especially don’t let the Jinlin Guards detect anything amiss,” Wei Wuxie instructed.
He could only be grateful that he controlled internal affairs while Jiang Yuanchao controlled external matters—they could still cover things up for a short time.
A young eunuch took advantage of the night to go to Shao Mingyuan’s residence.
Just after the young eunuch left, a figure emerged from the shadows.
The person had an upright build and an indifferent expression—undoubtedly the Jinlin Guards’ Commander Jiang Yuanchao, whom Wei Wuxie most feared.
Why would a eunuch be going out at this hour?
Jiang Yuanchao turned back to glance at the palace where Emperor Mingkang practiced Taoism, revealing a meaningful smile.
After receiving the eunuch’s message, Shao Mingyuan’s expression didn’t change much. He said to the young eunuch, “Wait a moment. This marquis will go speak with my wife.”
“Emperor Mingkang is dying?” Qiao Zhao had just finished her evening toilette, wearing only a somewhat worn pale pink shirt. Under the lamplight, her skin was as delicate as jade.
Looking at such a wife, Shao Mingyuan was extremely reluctant to let her go to that place of turmoil. However, Qiao Zhao said: “Now that Wei Wuxie has sent someone to request my help, if I don’t go, it would be refusing to save His Majesty. If they make a fuss about it, we’ll be in trouble.”
Seeing Shao Mingyuan still frowning, Qiao Zhao persuaded: “Right now His Majesty has suddenly fallen into crisis. If he dies like this, there will surely be great chaos. Tingquan, we need to buy a few days to prepare.”
Shao Mingyuan was finally persuaded by Qiao Zhao. Gripping her hand tightly, he said: “Alright then, I’ll secretly follow you there.”
The traveling palace wasn’t as heavily guarded as the imperial palace after all. Over this past month, Shao Mingyuan had already quietly figured out the guard patterns and terrain, preparing for exactly this kind of emergency.
“You must be extremely careful. If there’s any danger of being discovered, quickly avoid it—don’t worry about following me. I’m going to save His Majesty, so there shouldn’t be any safety issues.”
Shao Mingyuan smiled: “Don’t worry about these things. Change your clothes and follow the eunuch.”
The young eunuch had specifically brought a eunuch’s uniform. Qiao Zhao was already petite and slender, and after changing clothes, apart from being overly delicate, she looked no different from an ordinary young eunuch.
Taking advantage of the night’s cover, Qiao Zhao followed the young eunuch, avoiding the guards as much as possible as they quietly made their way to the traveling palace.
When they reached the palace gates, both breathed sighs of relief.
Just then, a familiar voice came: “So late at night, where have you two eunuchs been?”
Qiao Zhao’s heart tightened. She quickly raised her eyes for a glance and saw Jiang Yuanchao under the palace lanterns, his hand resting on his embroidered spring knife, looking over with a faint smile.