Chapter 85: The Witchcraft Calamity Begins

Under the guidance of Chu Fu, they placed two wooden puppets representing the Emperor and Empress in the due south and due north positions respectively. According to Chu Fu, "Let the puppets fully absorb the essence of the sun and moon, then swap their positions, and the yin-yang transformation will be complete."

Upon hearing this, Liu Che even felt this method was quite reasonable; it turned out witchcraft wasn't entirely about harming people.

Thus, a day passed. When Liu Che woke from his sleep, the first thing he did was open his eyes to look at the person beside him, and incidentally reach out to touch their chest to see if he and A Jiao had swapped back.

When he discovered they hadn't swapped back, the disappointment in his eyes was self-evident.

Consequently, for the following days, Liu Che was lost in thought by day and had dreams by night.

In his dreams, he saw Chu Fu's witchcraft succeed, and he successfully regained his male body. But when he woke up after a night, feeling the softness on his chest and looking at his own sleeping, handsome face, he actually felt a sense of disgust toward his own face.

Liu Che couldn't hold back and summoned Chu Fu: "Four or five days have already passed, why is there no effect at all?"

Chu Fu said: "Your Majesty, do not be anxious. Perhaps the puppets have not yet fully absorbed the essence of the sun and moon. Let us wait a while longer."

Hearing this, Liu Che had no choice but to wait patiently.

But time waits for no one. The sacrificial and hunting activities at Shanglin Park were about to begin, and A Jiao, as the Son of Heaven, was bound to go.

Compared to the body swap, the hunting activities he was once so keen on had become trivial. Moreover, Chu Fu had said that one person must approach the puppets once every day, otherwise the effect would be greatly diminished.

After much deliberation, Liu Che finally decided he would not go to Shanglin Park this time.

"Are you truly not going?" A Jiao confirmed with Liu Che.

"Mm, I will stay behind."

A Jiao gazed at him, her dark eyes seemingly containing a vortex, carrying an unknown, sinister light: "Very well, then I shall not hunt this time; I don't know how to anyway. After the Shangsi Festival purification ritual ends, I will return."

Liu Che stepped forward and leaned into her embrace: "That would be best."

Liu Li proposed accompanying A Jiao, as she wanted to go to Shanglin Park to see how the paper mill, the mint, and her clothing factory were operating.

Moreover, with summer approaching, the pressure on the clothing factory to produce down jackets would relatively decrease, providing an opportunity to stockpile goods.

Under the protection of a group of soldiers, the Imperial Chariot traveled slowly to Shanglin Park. As always, they first went to the temporary palace to rest, then adjusted the schedule to first inspect the soldiers at Shanglin Park, and after completing the purification ritual on the Shangsi Festival, they would return to Weiyang Palace.

After resting for a day at the temporary palace in Shanglin Park, Liu Li had the palace attendants take her to the paper mill.

Because of his contributions to paper-making, Sun Qiu had already been enfeoffed as a Marquis, though this Marquis title only came with a salary and no fief. Sun Qiu himself was quite content; after all, he had started as a servant for a landlord's family, and now he had actually become a Marquis—it could be considered a stroke of great fortune.

The courtyard of the paper mill had expanded significantly, and the manpower allocated to Sun Qiu had increased several times over. Several paper pulp vats were operating simultaneously, so the quantity of paper produced had also increased.

The dried paper would be specially organized by someone and finally sent to the Shaofu Office, to be distributed by the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Sang Hongyang.

Liu Li chatted with Sun Qiu for a while and proposed that he find a way to manufacture softer paper.

Sun Qiu was puzzled: "Princess, softer paper would likely be inconvenient for writing; there would be no use in making it, would there?"

Liu Li blinked her eyes and said with a smile: "Who said it was for writing?"

Toilet paper was, of course, for wiping one's backside! Liu Li could use the toilet paper she redeemed from the System Mall, but the common people could only use stones or leaves.

For the benefit of the people, it would be better to have Sun Qiu make some toilet paper.

Although Sun Qiu didn't understand what use the Princess had for such paper, he still accepted the order: "Rest assured, Princess, this subject will certainly produce the paper you desire as soon as possible."

The mint was a place guarded by heavy troops, and only those holding a token could enter. Liu Li could understand this, and she didn't force her way in to observe, so she turned and headed to the next stop: the clothing factory.

The scale of the clothing factory was comparable to a modern large-scale plant. The current person in charge of the clothing factory came out to receive Liu Li and introduced the scale of the factory to her.

"Princess, please look. This side was originally where we raised silkworms. According to your orders, after the cocoons were shed, they were all sent to the paper mill. These courtyards are where we process the down, and further back is where the weavers work on making clothes."

Liu Li went in for a look and found that the inventory accumulated in the warehouse wasn't very large. The person in charge said with a smile: "The down jackets invented by the Princess are especially popular in cold regions; these stocks have all already been reserved."

This development was somewhat unexpected for Liu Li. She had thought that after the down jackets were released, they would soon be imitated, but she hadn't expected them to be so highly sought after.

"However, recently, the price of down has risen significantly, and the Grand Minister of Agriculture has ordered us to stop purchasing," the person in charge said. "The Grand Minister of Agriculture said to wait until the sweltering heat of summer to purchase these in large quantities."

Liu Li nodded and smiled: "Not bad, not bad. He knows how to do business."

The next day, Liu Li followed A Jiao to the military camp for an inspection, climbed up to a nearby watchtower, and watched the soldiers drilling below.

The army had soldiers holding melee weapons standing on the left and right, with soldiers holding shields in the middle. Behind these soldiers were crossbowmen holding crossbows. Each of them was full of spirit, their eyes bright and sharp.

Of course, they were currently only facing straw men and wooden dummies, but even so, their momentum did not diminish in the slightest. Liu Li leaned on the edge of the watchtower with interest, watching the soldiers simulate combat. She found that although the crossbows were small, they were quite fierce, capable of piercing into the wooden dummies from a distance.

The only drawback was that after firing an arrow, the crossbowman had to stop to replenish the arrows. If this were on the battlefield, it would clearly be a fatal weakness.

It was a pity she knew nothing about cold weapons; the only cold weapon she knew of was the repeating crossbow improved by Zhuge Liang, which she had learned about on television while watching *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* as a child.

She remembered the television show saying that Zhuge Liang had improved upon the Warring States period repeating crossbow. The Zhuge repeating crossbow could fire ten arrows at once, and its lethality was not small.

Perhaps she could write this down and study how this Zhuge repeating crossbow was modified in the encyclopedia another day.

After watching the soldiers train for three consecutive days, the Shangsi Festival finally arrived. The *Book of Rites* notes: "Purification at the turn of the season, such as the Shangsi day in the third month by the water."

It roughly meant that on the Shangsi Festival, one needed to perform sacrificial activities such as washing away filth and eliminating disasters.

It was quite cold at this time; at the very least, Liu Li hadn't taken off her down jacket yet. But for the sake of the sacrifice, the Son of Heaven needed to take water from the Wei River to wash away filth.

Good heavens, bathing in such cold river water—it would be a wonder if one didn't catch a cold afterward!

No wonder in A Jiao's past life, Liu Che suddenly had a headache at this time; it turned out the root of the illness was all from bathing on this Shangsi Festival!

And yet, Liu Che, this superstitious Emperor, believed it was caused by witchcraft, that someone had performed witchcraft to harm him.

Thinking about it this way, the A Jiao of the past life was truly wronged, and it was no wonder that even after so long, she still couldn't let it go. If it were her, she would probably feel resentment too.

Liu Li followed beside the palace attendants and watched with her own eyes as several priests poured buckets of icy river water over A Jiao. Visibly, A Jiao's whole body trembled.

After the sacrifice ended, A Jiao's hair was almost dried by the wind, and only then did she return to the Imperial Chariot, shivering, ending the entire ceremony.

Her lips were frozen white.

Liu Li hurriedly handed the prepared hand warmer to A Jiao and draped a blanket over her, informing A Jiao of her discovery: "The Emperor of the past life probably got sick this way."

A Jiao was astonished upon hearing this, and then she suddenly threw away the blanket draped over her and the hand warmer in her arms.

"Mother, what are you doing?" Liu Li looked at her, puzzled.

"Since we are acting, let's make it convincing." A Jiao hugged her arms, her gaze incomparably firm: "Compared to pretending to be injured or sick, being truly sick is better."

"But catching a cold

will be very uncomfortable." Liu Li frowned.

"Isn't there you, A Li?" A Jiao said, her teeth chattering. "I believe you will protect me."

For a moment, Liu Li didn't know what to say; it was too crazy.

Sure enough, that very night, A Jiao began to run a high fever. There were no medical officers at Shanglin Park, so they had to be summoned from Weiyang Palace. Liu Li wanted to feed A Jiao fever-reducing medicine, but A Jiao insisted on not taking it. In the end, there was no choice but to use a towel on her forehead for physical cooling.

The purification ceremony had just been performed during the day, and by night, the Son of Heaven was unconscious. Was the Son of Heaven possessed by evil spirits?

The palace attendants at Shanglin Park spoke more and more mysteriously. Su Wen suggested: "Princess, why not invite the priests to see the Emperor and see if he is truly possessed?"

Liu Li naturally knew this wasn't possession by evil spirits, but she now needed to make everyone believe that the Son of Heaven was possessed. Thus, she nodded in agreement and had Su Wen bring the priests over as quickly as possible.

The priest paced around the Emperor's bed, muttering some incantations, and then turned to report to Liu Li with a look of panic: "Princess, the Emperor's symptoms are fierce; I fear evil spirits have entered his body."

Liu Li rolled her eyes in her heart, but said: "What does the priest mean? How could the Emperor be possessed by evil spirits when he was perfectly fine? Wasn't the purification ceremony performed just the day before yesterday?"

The priest said: "Then someone must be using witchcraft to harm the Emperor!"

Everyone around gasped upon hearing the word "witchcraft."

Liu Li also cooperated by showing a shocked expression: "Who on earth has performed witchcraft on my father?!"

The priest found something resembling a compass from his sleeve. Liu Li stood on tiptoe to take a peek and discovered that what he was holding was a small Eight Trigrams Array.

Good heavens, truly all paths lead to the same destination; the Yinyang School is everywhere. Awesome.

The priest held the compass, and after some calculations, pointed his finger in the direction of Weiyang Palace: "According to my preliminary deduction, the evil art seems to be coming from that direction!"

Everyone followed the direction the priest was pointing, their expressions changing drastically. It turned out someone in Weiyang Palace wanted to harm the Son of Heaven!

Now that the Son of Heaven had fallen into a coma due to evil spirits entering his body, everyone turned their eyes to Liu Li. Although the current Princess of Jianling was only seven years old, they inexplicably believed that the Princess had the ability.

Liu Li's expression darkened, and she said: "Su Wen, go call Leader Wei, and arrange for people to protect the entire temporary palace. As long as my father has not woken up, no one is allowed to enter."

Su Wen hurriedly said: "Yes."

By the time Wei Qing received the order and arrived at the temporary palace, it was already late. Wei Qing had also heard that the Son of Heaven had suddenly fallen ill and was unconscious. Now waiting in the side hall, he felt very anxious.

Liu Li walked out of the Emperor's bedchamber with Su Wen accompanying her. Wei Qing turned to look at the young girl walking in from outside the door, seeing her firm steps and a nobility about her that could not be ignored.

She was clearly just a seven-year-old girl, yet at this moment, she looked like she had the bearing of a monarch. Wei Qing recalled their journey of exploration in the dense forest and the Princess of Jianling's unparalleled wit. Under those circumstances, if it hadn't been for the Princess of Jianling, their group would likely have perished in that unknown forest.

Thinking of this, Wei Qing felt a sense of awe toward the little Princess before him.

"Princess." Wei Qing raised his hands in a bow.

Liu Li walked up to Wei Qing, took a deep breath, explained the current situation, and then ordered: "Leader Wei, I now order you to take the Feathered Forest Guard to Weiyang Palace, seal the palace, and search it. You must capture the person behind this harm to my father."

Upon hearing this, Wei Qing's expression became solemn, and he hurriedly said: "Yes."

Liu Li wore an expression of "everything depends on you": "Leader Wei, the safety of my father depends entirely on you."

"Qing will certainly not fail the mission."

Watching Wei Qing leave the main hall, Liu Li raised her eyebrows, having some thoughts in her heart.

The news that the Son of Heaven had suddenly fallen into a coma had already been deliberately sealed by Liu Li. Only when Wei Qing and Su Wen took people to search the palace would everyone gradually realize it.

This scene was just like that time, that moment.

At this time

Searching the palace, with priests accompanying them, a group of people began a grand search in Weiyang Palace, not even sparing the bedchambers that were not occupied.

Such an action certainly caused panic among the palace attendants. When they searched the Pixiang Hall where Wei Zifu lived, Wei Zifu quietly pulled Wei Qing aside and asked: "Younger brother, what happened? Why such a grand display?"

Although the Princess of Jianling had emphasized that this matter must be kept secret, Wei Qing believed his sister would not be someone who would harm the Emperor behind his back, so he quietly told Wei Zifu the truth.

Witchcraft!

This word was like a thorn, fiercely piercing into her nerves, and her face turned pale in an instant.

Wei Qing noticed his sister's expression was wrong and asked with concern: "Elder sister, what's wrong?"

Wei Zifu regained her composure, tugged at the corners of her lips, and replied: "I'm fine."

Over there, the guards had already searched Pixiang Hall and found nothing. Wei Qing bid farewell to Wei Zifu, preparing to go to the next place to continue the search.

Wei Zifu suddenly reached out and grabbed Wei Qing. She hesitated for a moment and said: "Younger brother, you..."

"What is it?" Wei Qing was puzzled.

Wei Zifu hesitated in her heart, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and said nothing, only saying: "It's nothing, go do your work."

Wei Qing nodded: "Alright." After saying this, he focused his expression and led the soldiers to the next palace.

Wei Zifu leaned against the pillar of the pavilion, watching Wei Qing leave. Her hand gripped the railing tightly for a long time, and finally, as if she had lost all her strength, she slowly slid down the pillar to sit on the ground, looking ahead with hollow eyes.

In the fifth year of Yuanguang, Empress Chen ordered the witch Chu Fu to set up a shrine in the palace and perform witchcraft. Afterward, Empress Chen was deposed and imprisoned in Changmen Palace.

Was it that in this world which had already changed so much, some things remained unchanged?

Wei Zifu slowly closed her eyes, and she couldn't help but think of the Witchcraft Calamity that began in the first year of Zhenghe.

In the first year of Zhenghe, Gongsun Jingsheng, the son of her elder sister Wei Junru, was imprisoned for unauthorized use of military funds. Subsequently, Zhu Anshi, who had been arrested and imprisoned, reported to Liu Che that Gongsun Jingsheng had an illicit affair with her second daughter, Yangshi Princess, and had even buried wooden puppets on the way to Ganquan Palace to curse the Son of Heaven.

In the second year of Zhenghe, Liu Che, having investigated and confirmed the truth, ordered the arrest of Gongsun He, which subsequently implicated her youngest daughter, Zhuyi Princess, and the eldest son of her brother Wei Qing, Wei Kang.

The heartless Liu Che actually disregarded family ties entirely, not only ordering the execution of Wei Qing's eldest son but also not sparing his own two biological daughters.

At that time, Wei Zifu was grieving for the death of her two daughters, never imagining that a greater conspiracy targeting the Crown Prince was brewing behind it.

Liu Che was old, and perhaps after having a nightmare, he felt someone was trying to harm him upon waking up. Jiang Chong, who had always been at odds with Ju'er, used this opportunity to frame the Crown Prince for also practicing witchcraft, intending to usurp power.

Recalling the events of that year, Wei Zifu felt deep regret. If Liu Che hadn't heartlessly executed her two daughters, she wouldn't have neglected her son's affairs due to grief.

Liu Ju learned of Jiang Chong's framing in advance and was very afraid, as Liu Che's attitude toward witchcraft was that he would never spare anyone; his own father had even killed his own biological daughters.

Liu Ju knew his mother was grieving for the death of his two sisters and dared not trouble her with such matters. His teacher, Shi De, fearing implication, offered a plan to Liu Ju: why not capture and kill Jiang Chong first?

Liu Ju was indecisive and hesitant, feeling that as a son, he could not execute a minister without authorization.

Shi De used the example of Crown Prince Fusu and Zhao Gao from the pre-Qin period. Liu Ju thought of Fusu's fate and could not think of a better idea, so he followed his teacher's plan.

Subsequent events developed to an uncontrollable point. Only after Liu Ju personally supervised the beheading of Jiang Chong did Wei Zifu learn of the whole matter.

By this time, the situation was no longer something Wei Zifu could control. To protect himself, Liu Ju not only moved the armory but also mobilized soldiers from Changle Palace.

Chang'an City was in chaos, and no one knew who was spreading the rumor: "The Crown Prince is rebelling."

Recalling it now, Wei Zifu thought, if her Ju'er had been more decisive and ruthless, and hadn't let the Prime Minister Liu Qumao escape, giving him the chance to go to Ganquan Palace to tip off Liu Che, perhaps Ju'er might have truly succeeded in the end.

But there were no "ifs."

Upon hearing everything that had happened in Weiyang Palace, Liu Che, in a fit of rage, mobilized troops to attack Chang'an. This battle lasted for five days and five nights, with over ten thousand casualties. At that time, the gutters in the streets of Chang'an were flowing with blood.

Liu Ju was defeated and fled Chang'an under the cover of his subordinates. Wei Zifu, who remained in Weiyang Palace, had her Empress seal and ribbon reclaimed.

Imprisoned in Jiaofang Hall, Wei Zifu constantly heard news of the Crown Prince's former subordinates being captured; news that all of the Crown Prince's guests had been executed; and that those soldiers who had risen with the Crown Prince had all been exterminated for treason.

Even... their Shi Huangsun and their great-grandson, who was still in swaddling clothes, Liu Che did not intend to spare!

Wei Zifu attempted to seek Liu Che to plead for mercy, wanting to explain the truth, wanting to tell him that their Ju'er was a kind person and would never actively rebel; everything was forced by desperation.

But everyone blocked her, not letting her see the Son of Heaven. Perhaps... it was just that Liu Che did not want to see her.

Finally, upon receiving the news of her son's death, Wei Zifu was completely disheartened and hanged herself in Jiaofang Hall.

"Madam, why are you sitting here? Be careful of catching a cold." Xia Ling saw her Wei Madam sitting on the ground with a hollow expression and hurriedly ran over to help her up: "What's wrong with you? Why are you full of tears?"

Wei Zifu woke from her memories. She looked at the maid before her with moist eyes, and the resentment and grievance in her heart could no longer be contained. She lowered her head, leaned on Xia Ling's shoulder, and sobbed in a low voice.

The witchcraft affair of the fifth year of Yuanguang, Liu Che, why didn't you slaughter Empress Chen's entire family? Why did you only depose her as Empress but not touch her family?

She had been diligent and conscientious as Empress for thirty-eight years, bearing him children and managing his harem.

Her brother Wei Qing had performed great service for the Han, and her nephew Huo Qubing had even sacrificed his life for the Han. In the end, what she received was the outcome of the entire Wei family being almost completely wiped out.

How could she not hate, how could she not feel aggrieved?

Liu Che, how could you be so unfair!!!

Wei Qing had searched almost all the palaces and found nothing related to witchcraft. Just as he was preparing to withdraw his troops and return to Shanglin Park to report, the priest pointed in the direction of Jiaofang Hall: "The evil object seems to be over there."

Wei Qing turned to look in the direction the priest was pointing, his brow darkening: "Presumptuous, that is the Empress's residence, how could there be evil objects?"

The priest pointed to the compass in his hand: "It is the guidance of the Heavenly God."

Su Wen also said: "Leader Wei, all other places in the palace have been searched, only the Empress's Jiaofang Hall remains. Why don't we go and search it, so we can have an account."

Wei Qing frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Very well, you few come with me."

In Jiaofang Hall, Liu Che had long heard about Wei Qing searching the palace, but he couldn't find out exactly what was happening.

So when Wei Qing brought people to search Jiaofang Hall, Liu Che naturally wouldn't allow anyone to run wild in Jiaofang Hall.

He blocked Wei Qing with a stern face, not letting him enter: "To search Jiaofang Hall, you must give me a reason. Is the Empress's residence a place you can search whenever you want?"

Wei Qing said respectfully: "Your Majesty, we are acting under orders."

"Under orders? Whose orders?" Liu Che sneered and looked at Su Wen, who had followed along, his brow furrowing: "Why are you here too? Where is the Emperor?"

Su Wen: "Your Majesty, the Emperor suddenly fell into a coma at Shanglin Park and is in critical condition. The priest says someone in Weiyang Palace is practicing witchcraft to curse the Emperor. This servant and Leader Wei are acting under orders to search the palace."

Liu Che's expression changed drastically: "What? How is the Emperor? Who is so bold as to practice witchcraft?!"

As the words fell, Liu Che's expression instantly stiffened. The person practicing witchcraft wasn't it himself?

That wooden puppet for reversing yin and yang was still placed in the underground palace of Jiaofang Hall!

Wei Qing also said: "We believe Your Majesty would not harm the Emperor, but we have searched the entire

Weiyang Palace, and only Jiaofang Hall has not been searched."

Liu Che: "..." I'm not letting you in to search because there really is witchcraft in Jiaofang Hall!

Su Wen: "Your Majesty, this concerns the Emperor's safety, please let us go in and search."

At this moment, the more Liu Che refused to let them in, the more suspicious it seemed. But if he let them in, they would certainly find the two wooden puppets.

Liu Che's brow furrowed. He could only let Wei Qing and the others in to search the palace while arranging for Fuqu to notify Chu Fu to first dismantle the altar and hide everything.

However, the actions of Liu Che and Fuqu did not escape Wei Qing's eyes. Wei Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he arranged for a soldier to quietly follow Fuqu. ===== CHAPTER 86 =====