The stolen magic is a bit magical

“Father…” the Seventh Prince exclaimed softly, then shook his head immediately: “Father is focused on the stability of the country. It is precisely because he only has the Crown Prince as a reliable figure that he trusts the Crown Prince even more. He could never be the Crown Prince’s opponent; he will only be the Crown Prince’s strongest support.”

Song Lifu nodded slowly: "Your Highness's words are very true! The first consideration of an emperor is always the country and its people. Although there are many complaints among the people about the Crown Prince's three-year regency, the borders are still stable and the imperial power is highly secure. Your Majesty would never dare to risk changing the Crown Prince."

Lin Xiaosu gently set down her teacup: "Your Highness, Lord Song, there is something you need to clarify."

"you say!"

"You need to figure out whether the Crown Prince became the Regent Crown Prince because of his outstanding abilities, or because His Majesty is incapable of governing and therefore needs to cultivate a Regent Crown Prince."

"My father's health has been poor for ten years. He works day and night and is unable to govern. That's why he appointed the Crown Prince to oversee the country."

"What if His Majesty recovers? What if he is able to govern? Would he still need to tolerate the Crown Prince's monopolization of power?"

"Young Master Li... does Young Master Li have a way to restore Father Emperor's health?" The Seventh Prince's eyes shone brightly.

"If Your Highness is willing to bring me closer to His Majesty, I am confident that I can help His Majesty recover quickly!"

The Seventh Prince and Song Lifu looked at each other in bewilderment.

From the perspective of the Seventh Prince.

This is absolutely good news with no downsides.

One reason is that he is, after all, the emperor, and his health is poor, so his children are always concerned.

Secondly, the Emperor is currently unable to govern normally, and all major national affairs are handled by the Crown Prince, whose power is equivalent to that of the Emperor. Under these circumstances, he cannot withstand any suppression. If the Emperor could govern normally, it would be equivalent to directly stripping the Crown Prince of his power.

Thirdly, if he could solve this biggest obstacle for his father, his father would definitely value him highly, and his situation would be a hundred or a thousand times better.

With so many benefits, the crux of the matter is only one: can Li Chengnian, the man before us, actually deliver on his promises?

Song Lifu said, "Young Master Li needs to know that His Majesty's illness has been seen by all the best doctors in the world over the past ten years, including imperial physicians and top masters in the cultivation world."

Lin Xiaosu said, "Lord Song also needs to understand one thing: sometimes an illness cannot be cured because of a problem with medical skills, and sometimes because of problems outside of medical skills. Some illnesses are incurable, and some are treated because no one dares to treat them!"

Everyone understood completely after that.

The Crown Prince controls the entire court.

What about the imperial physicians? Didn't the crown prince have them under his control?
Can the Crown Prince control the highly skilled cultivators in the outside world?
Even if the Crown Prince is truly incapable, isn't there still the unorthodox path?

Which spiritual practitioner would willingly antagonize unorthodox practices?

It might be difficult to cure you, but what difficulty is there in not treating you?
Could it be that His Majesty's illness was actually manipulated by the Heart Pavilion?

If it were anyone else pointing this out, it wouldn't be very credible. However, this young master Li Chengnian is a steward of Xin Pavilion, and he might know some secret information...

“Young Master Li, I may request an audience with the Emperor, but you must also know that this matter is not to be taken lightly,” the Seventh Prince said solemnly.

Lin Xiaosu laughed: "If Your Highness were to make such a joke, at worst you would be stripped of your princely status, but if I were to make such a joke, my entire family would be executed. Do you think I would make such a joke?"

The Seventh Prince took a deep breath: "Enter the palace now?"

"Your Highness, please!"

This day, late at night.

His Majesty sat in the Wenling Hall.

Wenling Hall and Wuying Hall are two key halls in the palace.

There are differences between the halls.

The Wuying Hall was the hall for handling government affairs, while the Wenling Hall was the hall for self-cultivation.

The Wuying Palace was heavily guarded, displaying the solemnity of its grand halls and pavilions.

Wenling was heavily guarded, yet it was a palace where His Highness lived alone.

Today, there are two people in the hall. His Majesty sits on the dragon throne, and beside him is Huo Gang, the commander of the Imperial Guards.

This guy practices divine magic.

He is also His Majesty's true confidant.

The palace doors slowly opened.

The two entered the hall.

The lights were not bright, and the starlight outside the window seemed particularly distant, casting long shadows.

Two young faces appeared clearly in His Majesty's eyes on the dragon throne, getting closer and closer.

The person in front is the Seventh Prince, Hong Yun.

The person behind him is Li Chengnian from Xin Ge.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!" Hong Yun knelt down.

"This humble subject, Li Chengnian, greets Your Majesty!" Lin Xiaosu simply bowed deeply. He was a scholar with the title of Juren, but he held no official position, so he was not required to kneel.

"Rise!" The two words were uttered softly and clearly.

The two stood up straight.

"Yun'er, can Mr. Li cure my illness?" His Majesty asked.

Would a ruler of a country easily meet with a commoner?
However, his illness left the imperial physicians helpless. Over the past ten years, how many people have lost their heads because of his illness? As a result, no one has dared to mention His Majesty's condition in recent years. If you do, you have to offer suggestions, and any suggestion basically means a life, because you can't cure him! No one has the skills to take on this delicate task, raising His Majesty's hopes only to crush them in the blink of an eye. How could His Majesty allow you to play such a game?

Who would be willing to do something so foolish as to risk their life for a moment of pleasure?
Therefore, it has been more than a year since anyone has volunteered to treat His Majesty's illness.

Having finally found one, His Majesty, in a state of desperation, granted him an audience.

Lin Xiaosu slowly raised her head: "Your Majesty's illness is not actually an illness, but a scheme!" Not an illness, but a scheme!
His Majesty's brows furrowed suddenly...

Huo Gang's sharp eyes suddenly fell into Lin Xiaosu's eyes as well.

The seventh prince, Hong Yun, felt his heart pound.

Entering the palace and meeting the Emperor was no ordinary event. He had asked Lin Xiaosu many questions beforehand, trying to gauge her reaction, but Lin Xiaosu avoided the sensitive topics.

Now, upon meeting his father, the emperor, his first words were earth-shattering.

Father's illness is not a disease, but a scheme.

"Young Master Li, what do you mean by that?" the Seventh Prince asked.

Lin Xiaosu said, "Your Majesty's illness was diagnosed by the imperial physicians as 'yin-yang disorder,' which is a misdiagnosis. In fact, Your Majesty has fallen victim to a treacherous scheme."

"Go on!" His Majesty said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Lin Xiaosu said, "The trick Your Majesty fell for is called 'Cause and Effect Mistake,' which is a variant of the Dao of Cause and Effect. This method of harming people is extremely bizarre, passed down from ancient times, and has never been passed down in the world. Over the years, thousands of people have been treated for Your Majesty, but no one has recognized the Cause and Effect Mistake, which is probably because of this."

"How did you know that?"

Lin Xiaosu said, "It was by chance that I once read a book called 'The Book of Ten Thousand Laws,' which happened to record this kind of karmic harm technique."

His Majesty took a deep breath: "Tell me what you know about the cause and effect of this matter."

"Yes!" Lin Xiaosu said, "The essence of the cause-and-effect error is to bind the two people together, so that one rises and the other falls. In other words, the stronger the yang energy of the person bound to His Majesty, the weaker His Majesty's yang energy will be. The greater the power of this person, the less power His Majesty will have."

The Seventh Prince's heart pounded wildly.

Is this a case of cause and effect, where one rises while the other falls?
The two people are bound together; one prospers while the other declines.

Who exactly are they talking about?

The answer seemed obvious, but he dared not utter a word, for the matter was of such magnitude that it was truly unparalleled.

He seemed to understand Lin Xiaosu's initial restraint. No matter how he tried to get information out of her, Lin Xiaosu refused to utter a single useful word in front of him, because this matter was so important—it was the biggest event in the entire Great Wilderness Dynasty...

His Majesty's face was completely hidden in the darkness. He exhaled very softly, "Tell me again, sir, how is this method performed?"

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince's heart seemed to freeze.

Because that's a difficult question to answer.

His Majesty is supreme and well protected; who could possibly cast a spell on him?

If you don't answer this question well, all the previous questions will become a deadly noose, and you will be irrevocably convicted of the serious crimes of "speaking recklessly before the emperor" and "sowing discord in the royal family."

Lin Xiaosu said, "This method mostly originates from the art of praying for blessings! Your Majesty might recall whether you prayed for someone ten years ago? The moment of praying for blessings is the beginning of binding cause and effect!"

The seventh prince suddenly looked up: "Father, could it be the Cloud-Swallowing Blessing from ten years ago?"

His Majesty suddenly stiffened...

He remembered it very clearly without the Seventh Prince needing to remind him.

Ten years ago, the current Crown Prince, then the Third Prince Hong Ding, suddenly fell ill with a strange disease and was on the verge of death. The Imperial Advisor suggested that he swallow clouds to pray for blessings.

This great king went to Tunyun Temple at night to meet the eminent monk Xuankong.

Master Xuan Kong, relying on Buddhist teachings and drawing upon his centuries of cultivation, used a secret Buddhist technique. His Majesty knelt before the Buddha for nine hours, holding a green lamp, and the effect was immediate; Hong Ding recovered the very next day.

This move was widely praised by the court and the public, who hailed him as a benevolent ruler.

Master Xuankong of Tunyun Temple was even known as a great Buddhist monk of his generation. After this Buddhist ritual, his cultivation was almost completely ruined, and he began a long period of recuperation.

Who else but Xuan Kong embodies the spirit of selflessly saving others?

Now, this young man in front of me claims that the conspiracy began with swallowing clouds and praying for blessings.

That grand Buddhist event was not a Buddhist gathering that would make him known for his compassion and benevolence, but rather the starting point of a huge conspiracy!

Over the past ten years, his health has steadily declined.

He had doubted many things. The palace grounds had been dug up countless times, the feng shui had been changed countless times, the people in the imperial kitchen had been replaced batch after batch, and the imperial physicians had been killed generation after generation.

However, he never doubted the practice of swallowing clouds for blessings.

This prayer is something he is very proud of.

He was not a kind person by nature, and he rarely showed any acts of kindness in his life. This was a landmark event that demonstrated his compassion.

For a moment, His Majesty's mind was in turmoil...

If this is a treacherous scheme.

So many people need to reconsider what they were talking about back then.

That imperial advisor!

That eminent monk!

And...his crown prince!
The Crown Prince's illness came on strangely and went away strangely. Was it a real illness or a fake one?

How many people were involved at the time, all thinking of getting rid of him so that the crown prince could ascend the throne?

His Majesty kept his eyes closed for a long time before slowly opening them: "What you said today, sir, is truly earth-shattering. I wonder... how can it be verified?"

Lin Xiaosu said, "Your Majesty, I believe that instead of verifying this matter, it would be better to resolve it. If this matter is resolved, it will in turn verify this matter."

His Majesty's eyes suddenly lit up: "Is there a solution?" (End of Chapter)