The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter Fifty: History Needs Legends

The back room.

Zhang Bangli knelt on the ground with a bitter expression. He had been coming and going in this palace for decades, but this time, he came as a criminal awaiting punishment.

The complex emotions in my heart are beyond words.

Emperor Dingwu above looked at him with a relatively gentle expression and said softly, "Get up!"

"This humble subject dares not!" Zhang Bangli said, his head bowed and his voice low.

Seeing his dejected expression, Emperor Dingwu slowly rose from his seat and personally went to help him up, saying, "Do I not know you? And do you know me?"

Zhang Bangli's eyes welled up with tears in an instant. He looked up at His Majesty's unblameless gaze, finally rose, but then bowed again: "Your Majesty, this sinful subject almost committed a grave error, for which even a hundred deaths could not atone. This sinful subject... this sinful subject has no face to see Your Majesty again!"

"Alas!" Emperor Dingwu sighed softly, slowly turning to look at the darkness outside the window: "Zhang Danshi has been captured!"

Zhang Bangli's trembling body suddenly paused, but quickly calmed down, leaving him even more dejected and somber: "This sinful subject has been thinking all the way here. Your Highness dislikes this sinful subject, this sinful subject understands in your heart, but it's not just this sinful subject, even mentioning Master Zhang... This sinful subject understands then, perhaps this sinful subject was being presumptuous, Your Highness has long understood everything, but Your Majesty, this sinful subject still cannot understand, why Your Highness would do this?"

He truly couldn't understand why, if the Ming King possessed such abilities, he would feign illness, leading to such a escalation of the situation.

Was it all just to kill him?

He asked himself, "I have been loyal to the royal family to the utmost, and I will do my best until my dying breath. Why would the Ming King do this?"

Dingwu remained silent, also puzzled, but slowly spoke up: "The Empress told me before that the Prince might not like being in the palace, and therefore he is hiding his talents..."

Hiding one's talents?

Zhang Bangli's mind was in a daze. He couldn't accept these two words, yet he couldn't deny them.

He simply couldn't understand how someone could conceal their abilities to such an extent. Zhang Bangli lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, if that's truly the case, then why did he do what he did with the Princess Consort before?"

The matter of the princess.

Emperor Dingwu's heart skipped a beat again. Yes, he had arranged that incident as well. To be honest, at this moment, his doubts were deepening. He had never noticed anything unusual about Prince Ming. But now, he felt his face burning. His son had watched his father make moves on him as if he were watching a play...

As an emperor, Dingwu found this humiliation unbearable, and even felt anger, but he had no choice but to suppress his thoughts and turn to Zhang Bangli: "I do not know how my son is doing, but when he left, did you observe anything?"

Zhang Bangli looked up and saw Dingwu's deep gaze. He understood that Dingwu was asking whether the Prince of Ming had expressed any opinion about his father, the Emperor, before he left.

Zhang Bangli pondered the whole affair, but finally had to say in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I fear that Prince Ming's mind was already made up. When he left, he must have known that as long as he was not destined to die, I would not cause any trouble, and he would even be able to gain Your Majesty's favor upon returning to the country. But he left resolutely, without letting a single guard follow him, which is enough to show..."

"Alas!" Emperor Dingwu fell silent. How could he not know that the Ming King had probably been watching him all along? When he refused the request to change the alchemist, the Ming King had probably already made up his mind...

Emperor Dingwu, however, did not blame himself; in fact, he was furious. As a son, how dare he not speak frankly to his father, and even deceive the emperor, to the point that things had come to this.

If he had known everything beforehand, wouldn't he have made proper arrangements? Perhaps the situation would be much better now.

However, he didn't show it. He slowly stepped forward and approached Zhang Bangli, saying sincerely, "My dear minister, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer!"

Seeing his continued trust and unwavering confidence, Zhang Bang immediately knelt down: "This sinful subject deserves his punishment and is willing to bear all the consequences. Please, Your Majesty, do not protect him; prioritize the greater good!"

"Rest assured, my dear minister, I will protect you. The revival of the dynasty still depends on your assistance. Do not lose your resolve!" Dingwu promised.

Clearly, this matter is not over yet. With just one sentence from the Ming King, Zhang Bangli was completely condemned. In any case, he cannot escape responsibility.

Needless to say, there will be people in the country who will attack him mercilessly, after all, there are never many political enemies.

"Sigh!" Dingwu stepped out the door and headed towards the Golden Palace.

Zhang Bangli knelt down and kowtowed three times, then tearfully was captured by the guards and thrown into prison!

……

The Golden Palace.

"Bang!"

A sharp crack caused the atmosphere in the otherwise silent hall to freeze instantly.

All eyes were drawn to Emperor Dingwu, who sat high on the dragon throne, his face revealing an undisguised chill.

Then, his gaze shifted to the memorial he had hurled at Lin Huayao's feet, and everyone's hearts pounded wildly.

The meaning couldn't be clearer; no one believed that Emperor Dingwu's smashing was unintentional.

Lin Huayao stood at the front of the procession, head bowed, staring at the memorial at his feet. His expression remained unchanged. Instead, he stepped forward, bowed deeply to Dingwu, and said in a sorrowful tone, "Your Majesty, the attack on Prince Ming has deeply troubled this old minister, who feared for His Highness's safety. Fortunately, His Highness was protected by Heaven and escaped unharmed. However, this assassination attempt is truly a horrifying and shocking event. Someone must be plotting something disrespectful. This old minister implores Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly, bring those who disrupt the nation to justice, uphold the law of the dynasty, clear His Highness's name, and redress the grievances of Prince Ming's consort..."

Everyone present listened silently as the old man righteously and forcefully brought up the princess.

He couldn't help but despise her: "You old codger, why have I never heard you call the title of Princess Ming so loudly before? You're a cunning and shameless old fox..."

Actually, the meaning is quite clear: I am also a victim!

Emperor Dingwu's gaze swept over him, his expression unwavering. However, it was clear that as the father-in-law of the Prince of Ming, he couldn't openly display his anger. His voice, however, remained chillingly cold: "Minister Lin is quite right. I am also extremely shocked and enraged by this case. I will not rest until the truth is fully revealed. I hereby order the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice to each select their best personnel, under the command of Minister Lin, to find the murderer within one month. If you fail to provide me with an explanation, I will punish you severely!"

Lin Huayao, who had been bowing his head, suddenly froze, and without saying a word, he immediately cupped his hands again, his tone even more mournful: "Your Majesty, I have been so frightened this time that I am completely at a loss..."

"No need for further words. Minister Lin is the father-in-law of the Ming King and a veteran of two dynasties. Entrusting this matter to you is the most reassuring thing for me. I believe you will take this case seriously and will not disappoint me." Emperor Dingwu stood up, flicked his sleeves, and said loudly.

Lin Huayao gritted his teeth. He knew that Emperor Dingwu would never let him go. He hardened his heart and simply raised his head: "Your Majesty, since that is the case, this old minister will certainly do his utmost. However, His Highness Prince Ming once said that it was Chief Zhang Bangli who secretly killed him. This old minister has also heard something about it. His Highness Prince Ming did indeed have a grudge against Chief Zhang..."

There was no sound in the hall. Everyone was shocked. Did this old man really have a death wish? Everyone knew that Zhang Bangli was a minister of His Majesty. Now His Majesty had ordered him to be imprisoned, which was a deliberate attempt to calm things down.

And now Lin Huayao is actually going to give an answer on the spot and convict Zhang Bangli!

Emperor Dingwu paused slightly, but did not stop, and instead left the court.

Lin Huayao stood there, staring at that back figure, silent.

The many ministers around him glanced at him, turned away, and no one greeted him again.

His gaze swept over the figure and he walked toward the Daoist Chongxuan who had stood up, saying loudly, "Daoist Chongxuan, His Majesty has ordered me to investigate the case of Prince Ming. I fear I will need you to linger a little longer..."

Upon hearing this, almost everyone who was out paused in shock: "Is this old man really tired of living? He's disliked by His Majesty, yet he still dares to cause trouble for Shangqing Mountain. Is he trying to cut himself off from the world? Has he suffered too much of a shock?"

But no one stopped; instead, they walked away even faster.

Chong Xuan, however, maintained a gentle expression, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Lin Huayao's smiling face, trying to discern the truth. But he couldn't glean anything from Lin Huayao's expression: "Lord Lin, this old Daoist doesn't understand. What connection does the attack on the Ming King have with this old Daoist?"

"That's hard to say. Even I, the father-in-law of the Ming King, could be a possibility. Who else could be a possibility?" Lin Huayao said with a smile.

Chong Xuan's expression suddenly tightened: "Lord Lin, you can't say such things carelessly. Shang Qingshan has always been law-abiding and upright; how could I possibly do such a treasonous thing?"

"Master, please don't be impatient. If there is any doubt, then we must investigate it. What do you say, Master?" Lin Huayao said with a smile.

Suspect!

But his eyes gleamed, a clear light flashing within them. He glanced in the direction Ding Wu had left, took a deep breath, and nodded to Lin Huayao, saying, "Very well, I, Shangqingshan, am upright and honorable, and will accompany Lord Lin on this journey!"

The royal family, the Lin family, Shangqing Mountain, Zhang Bangli...

A series of controversies finally began to ripple with this case.

Historically, it is said that the chaos in the dynasty began with the attack on the Ming emperor!

However, at this moment, the Ming King was completely unaware of this and was hovering on the brink of death, unaware of whether he would live or die.

History always needs a few more ups and downs to be truly exciting.

Great figures always need to endure more hardships to become legendary!