Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 32 Fainting
The crown prince's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up and strode out.

The Crown Princess was also stunned by the sudden bad news. She was a step slower to react and, disregarding her appearance, ran after him.

Emperor Xiaowen was over fifty years old, an age when he should have been focusing on health, but instead he indulged in sensual pleasures. His harem contained hundreds, if not three thousand, beauties. The imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital frequently presented him with meticulously prepared tonics.

In the past two years, Emperor Xiaowen has frequently been "slightly unwell" and unable to attend court. This was due to excessive indulgence and depletion of his vital energy.

This is an unspoken secret within the imperial court.

There was also a righteous and upright censor who submitted a memorial earnestly advising the emperor to abstain from wine and women and to cherish his health for the sake of the people. As a result, the enraged Emperor Xiaowen directly demoted him from the capital to serve in Lingnan. He fell ill and died halfway there.

From then on, there were no more memorials offering direct advice in the court. While the emperor's health was important, one's own official position was even more crucial. To act impulsively and ruin one's future would be too much of a loss.

Emperor Xiaowen was not only infatuated with beautiful women, but also obsessed with Taoist alchemy. A refining room was set up in the palace, containing seven alchemical furnaces of various sizes. Dozens of Taoist priests were busy at work every day. Longevity pills, pills to enhance male virility, and all sorts of other elixirs were produced in the Fulin Palace.

Among the dozens of Taoist priests, the one most favored by the emperor was Master Tianji.

Master Tianji was over seventy years old, with white hair and beard, but his complexion was as delicate and rosy as a child's, and he was as energetic as a young man in his prime. The Dragon-Tiger Pill was made by Master Tianji.

Emperor Xiaowen greatly favored and trusted the Taoist priest Tianji, appointing him as the national advisor, rewarding him with ten thousand taels of gold, and following Tianji's advice, he conscripted laborers to build Taoist temples in various counties.

The people conscripted for labor suffered terribly, and their complaints were widespread. Large tracts of fertile land were left uncultivated and quickly abandoned. Starving people had no choice but to flee with their wives and children, becoming refugees. Some of these numb, bewildered, and desperate refugees starved or died from exhaustion, while others resorted to killing and looting to survive, becoming bandits.

Emperor Xiaowen ignored all of this, focusing only on his own pleasures in the palace, including alchemy, medicine, fine wine, and beautiful women.

If the emperor is incompetent, how much better can the court officials be?
To curry favor with the emperor, many officials secretly employed Taoist priests to concoct elixirs. Some were promoted three ranks for presenting elixirs, while others used the pretext of selecting beauties for the emperor to forcibly seize women from the common people. The saying "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the streets, frozen corpses lie" was never an exaggeration.

The Great Jing Dynasty, established over eighty years ago, appears as a towering tree from afar, but upon closer inspection, one is shocked to find that its trunk has long been hollowed out, and its branches and leaves are crawling with wood-boring insects that relentlessly gnaw at them. It's anyone's guess when it will suddenly collapse.

The Crown Prince walked briskly to the Fulin Palace.

Chaos reigned in the palace. Palace servants and eunuchs were all filled with fear, and the Taoist priests who practiced alchemy were kneeling in disarray. Empress Liu wept bitterly by the imperial bedchamber. Prince Wei, who had arrived even before the Crown Prince, now had bloodshot eyes flashing with rage. He berated the imperial physicians, "...Quickly revive Father Emperor! If anything happens to him, I will have you all torn to pieces!"

The imperial physicians turned ashen-faced and dared not argue, only agreeing verbally.

The Crown Prince frowned and asked Empress Liu in a deep voice, "Mother, why did Father suddenly faint?"

The King of Wei had only arrived a moment earlier and hadn't had a chance to ask any questions before they both turned to look at Empress Liu.

The beautiful Empress Liu looked to be in her early twenties, with an almond-shaped face, charming eyes, and a slender waist.

Empress Liu was a skilled dancer, her movements graceful and light; in her youth, she could dance on a palm. Emperor Xiaowen had many beauties in his harem, and many favored concubines. Yet, none could challenge Empress Liu's position. This demonstrates the extent of Emperor Xiaowen's affection for her.

Emperor Xiaowen suddenly fainted and became unconscious, and Empress Liu's heart also collapsed. At this moment, she was filled with grief and cried out in sorrow, unable to speak.

The Crown Prince could not and would not press Empress Liu for answers, so he could only summon a eunuch: "Eunuch Xu, what exactly happened?"

Eunuch Xu was Emperor Xiaowen's personal attendant. Even when the emperor favored a beautiful woman, Eunuch Xu had to stay in a corner. Others might not know, but Eunuch Xu certainly did.

Eunuch Xu knelt down with a thud, stammering and looking troubled.

The crown prince knew what was going on and ordered all the bystanders to leave.

Then Eunuch Xu whispered, "His Majesty was in high spirits today, so he took three Dragon Tiger Pills and summoned five beauties to keep him company."

"As a result, he fainted halfway through." The Crown Prince: "..."

Sure enough.

The Dragon Tiger Pill is incredibly potent; taking three pills will summon five beauties… This guy really wants to ascend to heaven.

In other words, within the palace, skilled imperial physicians were always available to provide emergency care. Otherwise, one would likely suffer a stroke while on horseback.

The crown prince silently grumbled in his heart.

The King of Wei's face darkened: "You dog servant! You serve the Emperor all day long, yet you don't even know how to offer a word of advice."

Still not satisfied with his angry curses, he suddenly kicked out. Xu Gonggong took the kick to the heart, fell backward to the ground with a muffled groan.

The Crown Prince frowned and stopped the furious King Wei: "Saving Father Emperor is the priority. We can deal with the matter after Father Emperor wakes up."

Xu Gonggong was one thing, but the real culprit was Master Tianji and his group of Taoist priests.

Thinking of Master Tianji, the Crown Prince suddenly recalled the burned letter, and the elegant and powerful handwriting on it came to mind.

Master Tianji had already been bribed by the Prince of Wei with a large sum of money and was secretly plotting a witchcraft case against the Crown Prince... There were people in the Crown Prince's palace who had also been bribed and were secretly providing support...

The letter listed five names: a palace attendant, a palace maid, a guard, and an official from the Eastern Palace.

Whether someone is loyal or not can be easily verified.

How could the daughter of a disgraced official, exiled thousands of miles away, know such palace secrets?

Was it a lie fabricated to protect the Eastern Palace? Impossible. Such a thing is not difficult to verify. Once the lie is exposed, what awaits the Pei family is the raging wrath of the Crown Prince.

If it's true... this conspiracy is truly terrifying, sending chills down his spine.

There was a witchcraft case in the previous dynasty, which resulted in the execution of the empress, the dethronement of the crown prince, and the establishment of a new heir apparent.

Colluding with the Taoist priest Tianji to plot the witchcraft case and bring down the Crown Prince—such audacious things are indeed within the capabilities of the King of Wei.

If what Pei Qinghe said in the letter is true... then how did she know?

Could it be that Pei Boren and Pei Zhongde had discovered something beforehand and secretly told Pei Qinghe?

Was the King of Wei's ruthless attack on the Pei family also an attempt to silence them?

Regardless of the circumstances, the Pei family must be protected first. Next, a discreet and thorough investigation must be conducted to defuse the crisis quietly.

This is a golden opportunity to deal with Master Tianji. It's also a great chance to deal with King Wei.

The crown prince remained calm and composed, his gaze cool.

The King of Wei was filled with rage, baring his teeth and brandishing his claws.

The two brothers stared at each other for a moment. King Wei's eyes flickered, and as if he had thought of something, he suddenly sneered and stepped back: "It's all up to the elder brother."

Two updates every day before 7 PM sharp! ^_^
As regular readers know, I'm a part-time author, writing 4,000 words a day in addition to my regular job, which is quite demanding. To ensure both the quantity and quality of updates, I have to dedicate all my time to writing. I will read your comments, but I may not have time to reply—please understand!


(End of this chapter)