Chapter 1566: Regent Prince Dotes on Me Too Much—What Should I Do? 35

Three days later, at the border mountain far from Jiangnan and other cities.

Xianming did not understand why Han Zhou insisted on taking the corpse away, nor why, over these past days, Han Zhou treated the corpse as if it were still alive, feeding it water and food while it remained in the carriage.

Even if his feelings for Mu Zhengzheng were deeper, he still believed he could not go so far as to refuse to let even a corpse rest.

Xianming wanted to bury Mu Zhengzheng, but Han Zhou reacted strongly to the advice, repeatedly trying to draw his sword to stop it, leaving Xianming no choice but to follow along the whole way.

"It's already the fourth day." Xianming's wounds had mostly healed; he had left the divine medicine with His Majesty in exchange for a chance to live, but for now he could not simply wander off at will.

"In the midsummer heat of a bitter summer… even if you're unwilling in your heart, you can't let Elder Brother Mu lose even his last dignity."

Han Zhou heard this, suddenly realizing something, he snapped out of the endless silence, glanced at Xianming, reined in his horse, lifted Mu Zhengzheng from the carriage, and laid him flat on the ground.

"What are you doing now?" Xianming asked, bewildered, as he dismounted and stepped closer.

"Feeding him medicine." Han Zhou replied in a muffled voice, taking a pill from his sleeve and stuffing it into Mu Zhengzheng's mouth, then sat beside him, knees drawn up, waiting.

"Feed… medicine?!"

Xianming glanced at the corpse on the ground, which showed no change, then looked at Han Zhou, whose belief was unusually strong, and gradually realized: "Did you give Elder Brother Mu a feigned-death medicine in advance?"

Although the feigned-death medicine is hard to come by, it has drawbacks: after its three-day duration expires, the ruse will be exposed.

Han Zhou nodded, his gaze still fixed on Mu Zhengzheng, his throat tightening: "But… it's a special feigned-death medicine."

"What kind of special?" Xianming hurriedly asked, "Quickly tell me—maybe I can help."

"Once my lord awakens, he will lose all his martial power and will never be able to cultivate again."

"What did you say?" Xianming's pupils shrank in disbelief, "You… do you know what this means?"

In the Great Jin, even ordinary commoners can practice martial arts; a random beggar pulled off the street is at a low-level practitioner's level. Those who cannot cultivate are either like His Majesty, pampered from childhood, or else they might drop dead one day without anyone noticing.

"I can only do this." Han Zhou's body grew even tenser; noticing Mu Zhengzheng's fingers twitching, he involuntarily reddened at the eyes and whispered stubbornly, "Under heaven, all land belongs to the king—do you think His Majesty would allow my lord to retain the ability to take revenge?"

Should the feigned-death ruse ever be exposed, Mu Zhengzheng will face only a more gruesome end.

Mu Zhengzheng woke up and heard Han Zhou's words.

He slowly sat up, locking eyes with Han Zhou, whose eye sockets were red, and though his face was still stiff, he managed a faint smile.

Just then, a sound of horse hooves came.

Han Zhou instantly grew alert, reverse-gripping his dagger, he helped Mu Zhengzheng into the carriage, saying, "My lord, please don't come out."

"Be careful…" Mu Zhengzheng whispered, gripping Han Zhou's hand tightly.

He suddenly felt endless regret and a subtle sense of relief.

What he regretted was being deceived by the false Xianming; the plan that should have been carefully considered was led by Jin Chen, even though Han Zhou had long sensed something was off.

What he felt relieved about was that, during their last calm conversation that night with Jin Chen, the answer to that question was Han Zhou—perhaps that is why Jin Chen was willing to spare his life.

The person who came riding was the Heavenly Secret Guard Yi.

Unlike the highly vigilant Han Zhou, he showed no killing intent; after dismounting, he said coolly, "By order of the Regent Prince, I have come to invite the Divine Doctor Xianming to enter the palace and be granted the position of Vice Director of the Imperial Medical Institute."

Xianming frowned tightly, "I've already given you the divine medicine—why do you still need me to enter the palace?"

As for that place, he hardly had any fondness for it, and only his senior brother, the Grand Preceptor, would be willing to stay there forever.

The Heavenly Secret Guard gave no reply, merely gazing at him with the stillness of an ancient well, waiting for an answer.

But at the same time, Xianming keenly sensed a familiar killing intent—it was the Dark Dragon Army lurking in the shadows.

Xianming instinctively glanced at Han Zhou and the carriage behind him, let out a slight sigh, and walked toward the Heavenly Secret Guard, saying, "All right, I'll go with you to the palace."

Han Zhou stopped him, "If you're unwilling, why torment yourself?"

"If I'm unwilling, you… probably won't be able to leave either."

Han Zhou furrowed his brows, slowly withdrew his hand, and said, "Thank you."

Xianming opened his mouth, intending to say that Han Zhou should take good care of Mu Zhengzheng, who would thereafter be unable to cultivate, but recalling the past few days' journey, he felt it would be superfluous of him to say so.

No one could look after Mu Zhengzheng better than Han Zhou.

"Safe travels."

Xianming whispered to Han Zhou, mounted his horse, and followed the Heavenly Secret Guard toward the temporary palace.

——

Inside the temporary palace hall.

Imperial Physician Liu's expression was unprecedentedly tense; before him lay the divine medicine that Xianming had handed over, after the entire Imperial Medical Institute had researched it, and only today did they reach a conclusion.

"Your Highness, this divine medicine is good, but… for you it merely treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

Xie Zhiwei had expected to hear some good news today, but he never imagined that what awaited him was this sentence.

He lowered his gaze, focusing on the plate of divine medicine; even from a distance he could smell the faint, refreshing fragrance exuded by Youyou—subtle yet lingering.

"Continue." Xie Zhiwei said, his tone suddenly turning grave, colder than a sudden downpour in the midsummer of Jiangnan.

Imperial Physician Liu wiped away cold sweat and continued, "Once the divine medicine is made into a pill, at most it can let you go half a year without drinking His Majesty's blood, but after half a year you will revert to your original state."

"Although His Majesty's health has recently improved through rest, his innate frailty remains; if a few more years pass and he relies on medicine to sustain his life, he will only be able to support you by feeding on your blood."

This had originally been Xie Zhiwei's plan: if Jin Chen had not appeared, in a few years the young emperor would be extremely weak, unable to do anything but lie in bed each day, sustained by drugs, living his whole life as his puppet bloodbag.

But now that's impossible; he absolutely cannot let Jin Chen become like that.

"Young Master Xianming, do you have a solution?" Xie Zhiwei twirled a strand of hair between his fingers, his gaze dropping to rest on that dagger.

The Xianming invited in by the Heavenly Secret Guard finally understood his purpose.

Regarding the matter of bloodletting and consumption, he had just learned of it, and deep inside he felt a shock.

Xianming walked up to Xie Zhiwei, knelt, and said calmly, "Please, Your Highness, allow this humble one to take your pulse."

Xie Zhiwei placed his hand before Xianming; the pale white wrist that emerged from his dark sleeve was like a white snake lying in wait in the mountains and woods, full of danger.

Xianming had never felt that someone could imbue even a light, floating gesture with killing intent; even though he usually regarded life and death lightly, he couldn't help feeling a bit tense, pressing his lips together as he reached out to feel the pulse.

After a long while, Xianming withdrew his hand, stepped back a few paces, and said, "Besides what that physician just said, there is another method."

"Oh? Do tell."

「You, after abolishing your own martial power and exhausting the qi in your meridians, will no longer need to use blood, and only then can you prolong your life by ten years. 」

After saying that, without needing Xie Zhiwei to rebuke, Xianming knelt first, secretly shaking his head.

As for this method, the imperial physician might be able to detect it, but one cannot say that he has nothing; naturally he fears no authority.

The hall grew even quieter; only the sound of rain, filled with misty humid vapor, drifted in.

「Ten years ah…」

「Forget it, you all may leave. 」

Xie Zhiwei sat alone in the hall filled with dampness; the rain that clouded the sky and blocked the sun made the unlit hall dark as night; the midsummer rain brought not a hint of coolness, but instead made it sultry to the point of being unable to breathe.