Chapter 23: Entering the Palace Was Worth It
"How could this be?" Jue Chen quickly walked to the lingzhi, his brows furrowed as he muttered this worriedly.
"Right now it's His Majesty questioning you. What kind of answer is that?" Ever since Jue Chen had entered the room, An Bingshan's stare had been fixed on Jue Chen. He wished he could just kill Jue Chen with his glare.
"Your Majesty, please wait for a moment. Allow this humble Daoist to take a moment to divine things." Jue Chen paid no attention to An Bingshan's sneer and abruptly swung his horsetail whisk up. He walked around Central Dragon Palace a couple times, then finally stopped in front of the secret door.
"Forgive this humble Daoist for saying something disrespectful, but there is something filthy in this Central Dragon Palace and it's causing miasma to fill the air. This isn't something the lingzhi can withstand!" Jue Chen worriedly paced back and forth in front of the hidden door as he said this in complete seriousness.
"That's shit! You…" An Bingshan was so furious and frightened that he forgot about Ye Hongyi's presence and started cursing.
"An Bingshan!" Ye Hongyi looked towards An Bingshan coldly. When An Bingshan saw that the dragon countenance was angered, he finally realized that he had lost control and immediately knelt down in front of Ye Hongyi.
"Your Majesty, you must not listen to this swindler's made up nonsense. Central Dragon Palace is the residence of the heavenly son, how could there be something filthy in here? It's clearly because the lingzhi is unused to the environment, that's why it's wilting!" An Bingshan did his best to argue using logic.
"Yes, this is also what we were thinking. Daoist Priest, do you find Eunuch An's words unreasonable?" An Bingshan had served Ye Hongyi for many years, so Ye Hongyi didn't look deeply into An Bingshan's inappropriate outburst.
"Your Majesty, if you don't believe this humble Daoist, you can just move the lingzhi out of Central Dragon Palace. Fortunately, the root of the lingzhi hasn't been damaged yet. This humble Daoist dares to guarantee with his own head that as long as the lingzhi leaves Central Dragon Palace, it'll definitely start to flourish again," said Jue Chen firmly.
"Your Majesty, why not move this lingzhi to this old servant's room? This old servant will definitely look after it carefully," suggested An Bingshan.
"Forgive this humble Daoist for being verbose, but the lingzhi is a celestial plant, how is it something that someone with the fate of a servant would be able to handle? If it's moved to Eunuch An's residence, it'll probably die even faster." How could Jue Chen miss what An Bingshan was trying to do? He immediately spoke to prevent this.
"Forget it, move it back to Guan Osprey Palace for now. You two can withdraw, we're going to rest." Ye Hongyi felt a blunt pain pulsing behind his forehead, so he waved to dismiss the two, then walked into his bedroom.
At this time, guards were already carrying the lingzhi out of Central Dragon Palace and Jue Chen was swaggering out with them.
"Stop right there!" An Bingshan chased after him.
"Eunuch An, do you have business?" Jue Chen lifted his brows as he looked towards An Bingshan.
"Jue Chen! What exactly do you know?" There was no way An Bingshan would believe that Jue Chen had been standing where he had been due to coincidence.
"Eunuch An words are so baffling that this humble Daoist doesn't even know how to respond." Jue Chen looked towards An Bingshan with a completely confused expression even as a trace of pleasure flashed through his heart. Being able to see An Bingshan so indignant but helpless made this trip back into the palace completely worth it.
"Stop trying to assume airs, out with it! What exactly is your motive in coming to the imperial palace? For wealth and glory? If that's the case, with your senior brother here protecting you, you'll definitely be able to stay stably in your position as state preceptor!" An Bingshan voiced his offer.
"It's only thanks to having a senior brother like you that Jue Chen ended up so defeated. The second prince had been greatly benevolent towards Jue Chen, and if it weren't for you, would the second prince have died so tragically? Eunuch, you've also been living in this world for a long time, so you should probably understand that blood debts must be paid in blood!" Jue Chen leaned over slightly by An Bingshan's ear and slowly spoke, his every word coming out with icy restrained hatred.
"Do you think you even have the ability to do anything to me!? Humph!" An Bingshan flung back his sleeves and left angrily, but inwardly he was very uneasy. If it weren't for the fact that an issue had occurred with the pills, he wouldn't be this scared. However, the emperor had already started taking this batch of pills. If he tried to get the pills back from His Majesty now, it's definitely arouse His Majesty's suspicions. Rather than do that, it'd be better to…
As Jue Chen watched An Bingshan leave, his lips hooked in a cold smile. As long as he could achieve his goal, he was willing to be used and he did sincerely feel grateful towards Yao Mowan.
After three days, when Ye Hongyi appeared in Guan Osprey Palace, Yao Mowan was currently napping on the chaise lounge. Next to her, Fluffy and Jewel were also leaning lazily against her chest and napping.
As Ye Hongyi gazed at the little beauty on the chaise lounge, he reflexively walked over and reached out to stroke her delicate cheek with his slightly coarse finger. How long has it been since he had been near her body? Just this simple touch was enough to make his body stir, but he couldn't. These recent days, his body had felt increasingly uncomfortable whenever he felt this heat.
"Your Majesty… You came!" Yao Mowan suddenly opened her eyes and her face glowed with her innocent, childish smile. It made Ye Hongyi feel even stronger of an urge to take her.
"Yes… We've come to visit Wan er and also see how that lingzhi's doing." Ye Hongyi forced down his impulse and moved his finger away as he turned to look towards the lingzhi that was by the window. When he saw that the lingzhi was emitting a faint violet glow like it had regained new life, his gaze turned cold.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty! Those gardeners come every day to give the lingzhi fertilizer. They take care of it really well! It's a shame Wan er doesn't know how to take care of it, otherwise Wan er would definitely take care of it personally for Your Majesty." Yao Mowan walked in front of Ye Hongyi as she said this cheerfully in her soft, sweet voice.
"The gardeners are the only ones taking care of this lingzhi?" Ye Hongyi glanced down at Yao Mowan as he asked this.
"That's right! Wan er didn't even let Ye Junqing enter this room these last two days!" Yao Mowan nodded as she said this seriously.
"Why?" Ye Hongyi looked at her in confusion.
"He's always so clumsy. What if he ended up knocking over Your Majesty's treasure?" replied Yao Mowan as if it was obvious. In reality, Yao Mowan was worried that someone with ulterior motives would try to use the revival of the lingzhi to say that Ye Junqing had the fate of an emperor. In this imperial palace, she had to be extremely careful.
"Wan er is truly considerate… We forgot that we still had something to deal with. You should sleep for a while more. We'll come again to keep you company later today." Ye Hongyi forced a slight smile, then patted Yao Mowan's head before turning to leave Guan Osprey Palace.
As Yao Mowan watched Ye Hongyi rush away, a strange smile appeared on her face. The stage has been set, and an exciting show was about to start.
In the imperial study, Ye Hongyi threw the memorial on the table towards An Bingshan's head. Dark anger swirled in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, please investigate wisely! The pills that this old servant has refined do not have any issues! Their only effect is to guarantee Your Majesty's longevity, there's no way they can be anything filthy! Your Majesty, please don't fall for that swindler's lies! Your Majesty, don't you remember? He was one of the second prince's supporters. This old servant had been suspicious of his motive in entering the palace from the start and this old servant found through investigation that the second prince had once saved that swindler's family. The reason he entered the palace this time is very likely for the sake of getting revenge for the second prince! Your Majesty, if you don't get rid of this person, he'll definitely cause disaster!" An Bingshan had predicted the fact that the lingzhi would recover, but he hadn't expected for Ye Hongyi to react this strongly.
"Revenge? Then why don't you tell us how he'll get revenge for Ye Mohan? Just by talking?" Ye Hongyi clearly didn't believe An Bingshan's explanation.
"Your Majesty, please think about it. Why hadn't that lingzhi appeared earlier or later and just happened to be discovered by him on the day he arrived? This old servant…" An Bingshan knelt on the ground, flustered. He knew very well that the only reason His Majesty had been generous to him all these years was because of the pill refining room. If there was something wrong with the pills, then he'd soon have to face death.
"That's because the imperial palace didn't have any expert like this in the past! Do you think us a fool? We've already instructed for people to examine the lingzhi stalk. The gardeners told us that the lingzhi has lived in Guan Osprey Palace for at least three hundred years! Do you mean to tell us that Jue Chen has even bribed the gardeners into helping him trick us?"
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]Enjoy~
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