Chapter 76
The wolf cub has almost arrived at the capital, Zhou Yun Sheng would give Gao Min a month to set the stage.
Half a month later, he made some stewed chicken soup using 100-year old ginseng and had it sent to the Yang Xin Temple.
Li Jin Tian was very suspicious lately, he had a servant test anything he ate. But the Hun pill was a chronic poison, the attack was slow, and the signs of injection into the blood would disappear in half a minute. Even a silver needle wouldn’t detect it, let alone a poison tester. Li Jin Tian has been eating the poison for a month, the toxicity has dissipated, and even the most experienced doctor in Da Yanguo wouldn’t be able to diagnose any abnormalities.
One day, after eating the lunch sent by Gao Min, he went to the imperial study to take care of governmental affairs. Just as he picked up the brush, he suddenly felt a stir in his chest and coughed up black blood.
“Your Majesty, what’s wrong?” The Head Eunuch felt his soul fly away in fright, he trembled, “This blood’s color is extremely abnormal, is it poisoning? Hurry, we need the imperial doctor!”
“Don’t shout! Make Xu Yuan secretly come over, no one can see him!” Li Jin Tian was the Emperor, he understood why this matter couldn’t spread to outsiders. He couldn’t let this out of the room before the truth was ascertained.
The Head Eunuch did not have time to close his mouth before the hidden spy followed the command.
Xu Yuan posed as a servant to enter the study, he knelt down to read the Emperor’s pulse, then shook his head after a moment- he couldn’t find out anything. He’d only taken two minutes to reach the study, yet the signs of poisoning had already vanished.
“Check this chicken soup.” Li Jin Tian pointed to the soup bowl on the table. Today, the only exception to his diet was the chicken soup sent from Zi Chen Palace. He didn’t want to doubt Qi Xiujie, but he couldn’t read people’s hearts.
Xu Yuan tested the soup and concluded that the chicken soup only had 100-yr old ginseng, it was a tonic that could only help the body.
“… There are more dishes here, continue testing.” Li Jin Tian slumped down into his chair. Except for the chicken soup from Zi Chen Palace, the other foods were all personally overseen by Gao Min. If it was not Qi Xiujie, it could only be Gao Min. That conclusion made his chest burn, it hurt a thousand times more and was more difficult to swallow than even the most dangerous poison.
If the Han pills do not enter the human body, its toxicity can last in the water or food it’s in for a long time. Gao Min had urged the attendants to dump and destroy the dishes as soon as the Emperor ate, but today, for some reason, the Head Eunuch had quietly entered the imperial kitchen and gathered the leftovers neatly into a food box.
After checking the Emperor’s favorite steamed bass, the doctor was surprised a moment, then he immediately threw away the chopsticks in his hands. After hearing the crisp sound of chopsticks falling to the ground, Li Jin Tian trembled. He eventually gritted his teeth and asked, “How is it?”
“Yes, this is the dish, it seems to be Han pills. Because the Emperor coincidentally ate the 100 yr. old ginseng today, it fought with the toxicity and caused you to cough up blood. If not for this ginseng, I’m afraid that you wouldn’t find out about your poisoning.” The subtext was to expect the possibility of death.
To clear any doubt, the doctor punctured the Emperor’s fingertips, took a drop of blood, and dropped it into a special fluid agent for inspection. After a moment, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, afraid to say it out loud.
Well, it finally came to this step. Is this the so-called fate? So why did God let me be reborn? Perhaps he wanted me to compensate someone, and that person was not Gao Min. Li Jin Tian gave a wry smile, then calmly opened, “Can I be saved?”
The doctor was silent.
Li Jin Tian understood and changed the question, “How many days do I have to live?”
The silence was deep, then the doctor finally whispered, “I p-predict…. perhaps in four or five days, His Majesty’s body will be completely exhausted.”
“Four or five days? So fast.” Li Jin Tian sighed, but his mood was unexpectedly calm. He sent the doctor away, and secretly called in the confidant he’d cultivated for three years.
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Five days later, the Emperor suddenly had an accident, he was bedridden and the situation looked very critical. Gao Min and Gao Lang panicked after hearing the news, the poison effect was about 10 days earlier than their predictions, they still were missing a lot of preparations.
They thought that Li Jin Tian could drag on for a few days, but he seemed to be welcoming his death, he actually refused to take medicine. Instead, he called for the courtier representatives, the princes and their mothers to gather at the Yang Xin Temple, he seemed to want to make his final arrangements.
Gao Min kneeled together with Five Princes at the foot of the bed. Qi Xiujie kneeled by the bedside, followed by the courtier representatives. The princes, concubines, and servants all kneeled three meters away.
“I have no time, I want to explain my last whishes in front of all these people. Fu Shun, transcribe for me.”
Fu Shun was the Head Eunuch, he hurriedly got a pen and paper and listened.
“I and Gao Gui Jun have gotten along for a long time, I deeply love him, after death, I can’t bear to separate. After Gao Gui Jun buries me, I want to be born in different quilts, buried in the same hole. I beg your benevolence.”
Then he took a deep breath, he couldn’t look to see the suddenly pale Gao Min.
“I’m also willing to sacrifice.” Zhou Yun Sheng knocked his head on the ground and quietly opened, but his swollen red eyes and trembling body couldn’t hide his grief.
“You will live a good life.” Li Jin Tian gave a wry smile and waved. Even at this point in time, this person was still so silly. He never got to enjoy a life of honor, so he would let him live a good life in this world, this was the only compensation he could give him.
“I’m willing to sacrifice.” Zhou Yun Sheng kowtowed again.
But Li Jin Tian ignored him, he continued, “My seventh brother Li Wang never married a concubine, so he has no children. My heart hurts for him, so I will pass Five Princes to my younger brother. Give him filial piety, support him till the end.”
Gao Min suddenly looked up towards the dragon bed, his pale face was completely discolored. If Five Princes hadn’t pressed down his shoulder, he would’ve rushed over and desperately question Li Jin Tian.
He’s passing our son to Li Wang, was all the love he showed to Li Xu Yan false?
Li Jin Tian almost stopped breathing. Zhou Yun Sheng, like this was an addiction, once again kowtowed and expressed his willingness to sacrifice.
“You shut up!” Li Jin Tian overturned the medicine bowl by the bedside and ferociously shouted. He saw the other man finally quiet down. The man was kneeling is worship, his face buried between his palms. He did not look up, he just silently cried. This made Li Jin Tian think of the cold palace in the last life, this man had also weakly kneeled in front of his memorial tablet, even if he was in pain, he just buried his head in his arms and cried in despair and grief.
Li Jin Tian was even more determined to let him live a long life.
“Give me a decree, I’ll write the last wish myself.” He waved to Fu Shun.
Fu Shun quickly handed a blank decree to the Emperor. Except for Gao Min father and son, everyone stared intensely at him. He casually gave these two a burial and an adoption, as if all the love he’d showed them before was an illusion. Just what is the Emperor thinking? This is too unpredictable!
Li Jin Tian talked as he wrote, “Fate cannot be refused, shrines cannot be neglected, ministers cannot have no master, machines cannot lack unity. I know that my deadline has arrived, and after observing all the princes’ virtues, only Six Princes, Xudong, is fit to lead Da Yanguo. He’s dignity, natural talent, and filial piety is the best fit for Da Yanguo, to unify the country, to secure the four seas. I’ll announce his abilities to the heavens and earth, the ancestral shrines and the country.”
The heir will be Six Princes? Sure enough, it’s Six Princes. Some people we shocked, some were calm, but as for the princes, although they weren’t happy, it absolutely wasn’t bad news. Regardless of which prince had ascended the throne, they would be better than Five Princes being on the throne. Because of this father and son, the number of concubines who were neglected was simply countless, and all the slightly talented princes were miserably suppressed by Gao Jia.
They were so ruthless when not at the top, if they boarded the greatest height in Da Yanguo, no one would have a way out. In contrast, Six Princes was forthright, witty, modest, and had a very harmonious relationship with his brothers. Qi Gui Jun was also a humble person who did not lust for fame and fortune. Their lives would be much better off under these people than under Gao Jia.
The court representatives had been persuaded by the Emperor five days ago, so they naturally obeyed orders.
As the courtiers, princes, concubines, and servants as witness, Li Jin lifted a trembling hand to cover and seal the imperial edict, then he closed his eyelids.
Fu Shun called out his name in grief, while everyone who was kneeling walked a few steps forward to see his situation. Only Gao Min father and son, and Zhou Yun Sheng kept kneeling in their original places, the former glanced sideways, eyes flashing with hidden intention, while the latter buried his head in silence, his thoughts unknown.
Li Jin Tian barely struggled back from his last breath and grabbed the person nearest to him, Fu Shun’s, hand. He repeatedly stressed “Make Gao Gui Jun follow me immediately after death, I won’t leave him for a moment!” Since he couldn’t get Gao Min’s heart, he would take the whole person with him, they’ll go to death together. He would never let Li Wang have him.
Zhou Yun Sheng’s ear twitched, he sighed in his heart: Is this what it means to love someone to death? Li Jin Tian is really too difficult.
Fu Shun was in tears, he could only nod and whisper that he heard him.
Li Jin Tian closed his eyes in peace of mind. The doctor stretched his hand under his nose and slowly said, “The Emperor is dead.”
As anguished wails immediately sounded in the temple, a eunuch tried to knock the death knell, but a Tian Chen Palace guard stopped him. The sound of steel swords slipping out of scabbards echoed in the sudden cold silence.
Gao Min slowly stood up. His face didn’t show the slightest grief, only relief – fatigue and relief. He waved his sleeves and the guards surrounded everyone. He carried a sword and slowly walked to the front of Zhou Yun Sheng, then he raised his hand to chop….
Zhou Yun Sheng suddenly laughed, it sounded rather evil. He reached out his left hand and pinched off Gao Min’s blade, then he reached for Gao Min with his right hand and brought him close, tightly buckling the other’s fragile neck.
Da Yanguo’s Great Commander Gao Min was unexpectedly not his opponent.
Except for the Head Eunuch Fu Shun, everyone was stunned.
“Revenge, revenge, revenge. Li Jin Tian wanted revenge after his rebirth, Gao Min wanted revenge after his rebirth, so Qi Xiujie would also naturally want revenge. Revenge is such a vicious cycle, wouldn’t you agree?” He smiled and whispered against Gao Min’s ears.
Gao Min’s soul almost flew away in horror, he asked, “You were born again?”
“Who knows?” Zhou Yun Sheng harshly answered, his eyes showed contempt, “In the last life, Li Jin Tian would’ve always died because he was incompetent, you would’ve always died because of loyalty, what did that have to do with the hundreds of people in Qi family? Qi family’s leader just made a choice to adapt to the change in history. When you were reborn, that was your chance to examine the faults in your own actions, why did you immediately vent your anger on everyone else? You killed hundreds of innocent people, or at least, they were innocent when you killed them. Li Jin Tian was an incapable ruler, even when given a second chance, he was still incapable. If it were me, there are no courtiers I wouldn’t be able to control.”
Gao Min was frightened speechless. The rest of the princes, courtiers, concubines, and servants had quickly hid behind Qi Gui Jun, hoping he could offer some protection. If Qi Gui Jun could laugh so lightly and freely in this situation, he should’ve come prepared.
Zhou Yun Sheng never did anything that was uncertain. He raised his chin to Li Xu Yan who was standing opposite, “I’ll give you two choices, one, let us go and we give you Gao Min. Second, we kill Gao Min. How do you choose?”
Gao Lang had said they would take him as a hostage to threaten the wolf cub. That had made him very unhappy. He always preferred to give back exactly what he gets.
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T/N:
Born in different quilts, buried in the same hole – He wants him to follow him after death.
Four seas- Wikipedia “The Four Seas (Chinese: 四海; pinyin: Sìhǎi) were four bodies of water that metaphorically made up the boundaries of ancient China.”