Chapter 895

After stepping out, the disciples under his command immediately stepped forward to await orders,

"Master, are we truly going to invite Lord Shangguan to come?"

"What do you think?"

Faming's face changed; no longer the cautious, careful manner he had before Wu Zetian, he cast a sidelong glance at his disciple.

"This disciple deserves death, this disciple deserves death."

Only then did the disciple realize he had spoken wrongly, and immediately fell to his knees on the ground.

"Enough, get up! Tend to Her Majesty the Empress properly.

If she asks, just say I have already gone to Changancheng.

As for when I will return, stall as long as you can."

Faming did not blame him further either, and gave a casual instruction.

Then his figure stirred, and he had already vanished without a trace.

The disciple let out a breath and stood up.

It happened to be near lunchtime, so he went to the dining hall and brought a tray of vegetarian fare, delivering it to Wu Zetian's room.

Seeing the little monk, Wu Zetian, as expected, asked about Shangguan Wan and Faming.

The little monk naturally followed Faming's instructions and answered each question in turn.

Wu Zetian was trapped inside the meditation room and had no way of knowing the actual details, so she could only accept it provisionally.

More than ten days passed like this, until Wu Zetian could barely sit still any longer, even wanting to climb out of the meditation room.

Faming appeared once more, bowed to Wu Zetian and said,

"Your Majesty, fortunate enough not to disgrace the mission, this little monk has returned."

"Ah!"

At this moment Wu Zetian was sitting sprawled on the ground, both hands preparing to crawl outward.

Seeing Faming, she could not help feeling rather awkward, and said,

"I felt a bit stifled and wanted to go out and move around a little."

After briefly easing the awkwardness, Wu Zetian immediately asked again,

"Right, has Shangguan Wan come?"

"This little monk traveled all the way to Luoyangcheng and finally obtained an audience with Lord Shangguan.

But Lord Shangguan said the matter Your Majesty ordered has already been handled, and instead Your Majesty needs to return to the capital as soon as possible.."

Faming reached out and lifted lightly; an invisible force gently carried Wu Zetian back onto the bed.

695 I have a daughter?

Hearing this, Wu Zetian could not help a moment of blankness.

The matter she herself had ordered?

That must have been ordered by the Great Tang Empress from before!

But what exactly had she ordered done?

At this juncture, Wu Zetian did not dare reveal her true identity, so she could only respond vaguely, then asked,

"Then in my present state, how am I to return to the capital?"

"Your Majesty may rest assured; with this little monk accompanying you, Your Majesty's return to the capital will be uneventful."

Faming had clearly thought of this long before, and tapped lightly in the empty air.

A stream of true essence traveled from his fingertip and was channeled into the lower half of Wu Zetian's body.

The next moment, the sensation that had been lost had actually been restored.

Wu Zetian was overjoyed, stood up, and paced back and forth excitedly.

"Your Majesty! This is only a wisp of true essence from this little monk; once it is exhausted, Your Majesty will have to endure the inconvenience again for now."

Faming saw Wu Zetian's excitement and hurriedly reminded her.

Only then did Wu Zetian understand that this recovery had a time limit.

She wanted to recover fully as before, yet had no idea when that would be possible.

"Very well! Thank you, junior brother; let us set off back to Jingcheng."

In truth, Wu Zetian had already realized that to find Shangguan Wan she could only return to Jingcheng.

"Now!"

Faming immediately summoned several monks, who fashioned a soft sedan chair, and then lifted Wu Zetian into it.

Afterward Faming personally led the way, escorting Wu Zetian down the mountain.

The soft sedan chair appeared to have only soft curtains hanging down, yet Wu Zetian discovered she had absolutely no perception of the outside world.

Clearly Faming had cut it off.

Though annoyed in her heart, she ultimately knew she was not truly the Empress, so she could only hold back for now.

Bumping and swaying, rising and falling.

After an unknown length of time, the soft sedan chair suddenly stopped.

"Paying respects to His Majesty!"

A voice like a duck's quack rang out, followed by countless people outside crying "Your Majesty" in unison.

"Your Majesty's journey has been bumpy and she is somewhat weary; make way, all of you!"

The one speaking was, naturally, Faming's voice.

The people over there naturally did not dare question, and vied to clear the path.

Then the soft sedan chair set off once more and continued onward.

After another unknown span of time, the sedan finally came to a halt.

Fa Ming lifted the curtain and pointed at a palace not far away,

"Your Majesty, you have arrived at your sleeping palace. Please rest."

Wu Zetian found it strange—Fa Ming had said earlier that he had spent more than ten days rushing from Monk King Temple to Jingcheng.

But now, after only this short while, although Wu Zetian's perception was blocked, she still knew the time absolutely could not have exceeded one day.

After all, one's stomach would not lie.

Since leaving Monk King Temple until now, Wu Zetian had not taken a single drop of water or grain of rice, nor had she felt hungry.

Clearly, the so-called distance from Monk King Temple to the Jingcheng imperial palace was not that far at all.

Then why would Fa Ming openly lie right in front of her?

Curious in her heart, Wu Zetian found it inconvenient to ask.

She could only let several palace maidens carry her into the sleeping palace.

Afterwards, Fa Ming and the monks from Monk King Temple naturally vanished without a trace.

Surrounding Wu Zetian were all palace maidens of the imperial palace.

After they bathed and changed Wu Zetian's clothes, they carried her onto a Long Yi.

Then only after that did a eunuch come in to report,

"His Majesty, the Princess and the others have already returned and are awaiting summons outside the palace."

Wu Zetian was baffled, not knowing what princess, nor what matter.

But she had after all once been an empress, so at this moment, in order not to give herself away, she could only brace herself and say,

"Summon them!"

"Summon Princess Taiping, Eunuch Pang, and Lai Junchen for an audience!"

The young eunuch, having received Wu Zetian's order, immediately went outside the palace to proclaim the decree.

Only now did Wu Zetian realize that the so-called princess was Princess Taiping.

And there was also Eunuch Pang, Lai Junchen—these were rather peculiar forms of address indeed.

Before long, amid a wafting fragrance and the chiming of jade ornaments, a graceful and enchanting beauty, who bore a four-or-five-tenths resemblance to Wu Zetian, entered the hall.

She bowed to Wu Zetian and performed a salutation,

"Your child, Taiping, kowtows to His Majesty, and wishes His Majesty ten thousand blessings and golden peace!"

Your child?

Wu Zetian was dumbfounded for a moment.

I have a daughter now?