Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder's Record of Counterattacks

Chapter 3605: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (24)

Ao Tianze believed his body was strong and robust, so he didn’t see how anything could be wrong with him unless he had been poisoned.

The imperial physician hurriedly knelt to take his pulse. He checked it for a long time, doing so repeatedly, before finally speaking. “Your Majesty has not been poisoned.

“If we are to speak of poison, Your Majesty has a mild case of elixir toxicity, but there are no other major issues.”

Ao Tianze breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing he hadn’t been poisoned. He then asked, “Then what is wrong with this emperor’s heart? Why am I even spitting up blood?”

The physician took his pulse again carefully. “It is possible that Your Majesty’s heart is weakening. This is likely due to your recent fits of rage attacking the heart. I will prescribe some formulas to reduce your internal fire.

“Your Majesty, I take the liberty of asking you to stop consuming the elixirs. Although the cinnabar within them has its uses, it is not good in excess. There are substances harmful to the body within them, and these toxins will settle permanently in your system.”

The physician took out a silver needle and dipped it into Ao Tianze’s blood. After a while, the needle slightly changed color.

It lost its original luster. The needle changed color because the elixirs contained heavy metals, likely mercury or something similar, which caused great harm to the body.

Ao Tianze looked at the discolored needle and frowned. “I understand. Go brew the medicine.”

He had to treat this blood-spitting habit first. The pain in his heart was simply too much to bear.

Ao Tianze had expected the elixirs to have some toxicity, but he was currently dependent on them and had no other choice. Even knowing they were somewhat poisonous, he would still take them. To him, the flaws did not obscure the jade’s beauty; the elixirs made him feel as vigorous as a dragon or a tiger, so he could accept a few minor side effects.

“Your Majesty, please do not be angry anymore. I will simply consider that I had no karmic bond with this child. Perhaps in the next life, the child will be reborn into a good family. This has nothing to do with my sisters in the harem. Please do not act like this on my behalf. I cannot bear such a weight,” Fu Min said.

Ao Tianze was the emperor, the ruler of all people under heaven, not an ordinary man.

If this continued, she would be labeled a vixen who bewitched the nation. Fu Min was well-read and knew that history was full of instances where the fall of a kingdom was blamed on a woman. Such women were branded as ‘calamitous seductresses.’

Men would play away their empires and ruin the land, then force women to take the responsibility. The women weren’t the emperors, nor were they the ones making the decisions, so how could it be their fault?

Fu Min knew Ao Tianze was doing this for her, and even intended to dissolve the inner palace, but such a thing was currently unrealistic. Ever since entering the palace, she had buried certain desires deep in her heart.

Ao Tianze grasped Fu Min’s hand. “Do not worry. This emperor knows what I am doing. This emperor will protect myself and will protect you. Such a thing will never happen again.”

Fu Min’s eyes shimmered. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life.”

Ao Tianze drank the freshly brewed medicine and then stayed to rest in Fu Min’s palace.

Ning Shu returned to Jiaofang Palace, where Consort Xuan was waiting for her.

The swelling on her face was still visible. She bowed and asked, “Your Highness, how is the emperor?”

Ning Shu looked at the bruising on her face, which was a frightening shade of purple. “The emperor’s rage attacked his heart. It is nothing too serious.”

Consort Xuan gave an ‘oh’ in response. She then told Ning Shu, “Noble Lady Li, Attendant Sun, and Lady Wu have been strangled.”

“Besides those three, who else?” Ning Shu asked. “How many servants were killed for their illicit companionships?”

It was fortunate that Ao Tianze had fallen ill. If he had continued his purge, wouldn’t a massive portion of the harem have ended up dead?

“Your Highness, I was nearly scared to death. How much longer must we live like this?” Consort Xuan thought about how she had angered Ao Tianze and been slapped so hard her face swelled. She feared she might be executed at any moment.

Ning Shu took a sip of tea and had the wet nurses bring the two children over. Seeing the two healthy, chubby infants, a smile finally broke through Consort Xuan’s gloom. No matter what, she still had these two, whom she had worked so hard to bring into the world.

No matter how favored Fu Min was, she hadn’t managed to give birth, had she? Thinking this way made Consort Xuan feel that life was much more worth living.

Ning Shu set down her teacup and held the two children for a while, playing with them.

Xi’er entered the room and bowed to Ning Shu. “Your Highness, news has come from your father’s estate. The servant who struck the civilian belongs to the third branch, and he only recently joined the household. That servant has now disappeared.

“He did indeed strike someone, and he did indeed kill an entire family,” Xi’er added.

Ning Shu rubbed her forehead. “What did my father say? He must find that servant. Who gave that man the right to act like that using the Tan family’s name?”

“He was a pageboy who served the second young master of the third branch,” Xi’er explained. “Master Tan said the boy might have been used by someone else to target our family. I have already passed your words to your father, telling him to restrain the servants and ensure no suspicious people enter the estate.”

Ning Shu rubbed her temples. In this era, women and commoners without status suffered the most. Even a mere pageboy dared to go around beating people. At any given time, it was always the people at the bottom who suffered. They had no way to seek justice for their grievances and no way to voice their pain, which was why everyone fought to climb the social ladder.

Xi’er massaged Ning Shu’s temples and said, “Your Highness, Master Tan asks that you be careful in the palace. Lately, the emperor has been acting very strangely.”

Ao Tianze was indeed acting strangely. The fruit of his and Fu Min’s love was gone, and his personality was shifting due to his elixir consumption.

“Your Highness…” Xi’er leaned in and whispered in Ning Shu’s ear, “Master Tan discovered that the priest from the palace has a residence outside the city. He keeps many girls there, aged twelve or thirteen.”

“The old priest is that… vigorous?”

Twelve or thirteen… They were just children. What an old beast.

“It is not what Your Highness thinks. The news Master Tan gathered says the priest wants the menstrual blood from these girls. To keep it pure, they aren’t allowed to eat food and can only drink dew.”

Drinking only dew would surely lead to starvation. Ning Shu was utterly dumbstruck.

She frowned deeply. She wondered if Ao Tianze knew about this. Owning a house in the capital was no simple feat. Property prices in ancient times were not cheap either! It was very likely that Ao Tianze had gifted him the house.

The old Daoist was currently in high favor with the emperor. Everyone in the court knew the emperor favored this man and was taking elixirs to seek immortality.

Until he could be sure whether the priest’s actions were authorized by Ao Tianze, the original host’s father didn’t dare move. If he did, he might walk right into the line of fire. Lately, he had been receiving a tongue-lashing from Ao Tianze every few days.

With the political winds blowing so obviously against him, he hoped his daughter would be careful in the inner palace and investigate whether this was Ao Tianze’s idea. He didn’t dare to expose the truth too hastily.

“How was this discovered?” Ning Shu asked.

“Lately, there has been a high number of missing girl cases in the capital.”

Ning Shu: …