Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

Even after ascending the throne, Xi Heng couldn't understand how to save the Great Zhao, which was steadily marching towards national ruin and destruction.

"Perhaps we should just let it fend for itself..." Her Majesty the Empress thought.

As an emperor in name only, she did not have the power to replace all her court officials.

The Great Zhao Kingdom today is like a withered tree riddled with holes by countless termites. Rather than healing this tree, it is more feasible to nurture a new one.

"If you don't have overwhelming power to restore order in the next few lifetimes, then don't be this damned emperor..."

After taking stock of the confiscated property, Xi Heng sent people to transport it to the Ministry of Revenue for use in maintaining the livelihood of the people of the Great Zhao.

Having finished all that, and just as I returned to the Taixiao Palace to process a few memorials, before I could even get into work mode, I heard shouts from the palace guards outside:

"Report——"

Xi Heng then summoned the imperial guard who was delivering the order. The guard knelt down, cupped his hands, and hurriedly shouted:

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Preceptor suddenly collapsed during lunch today, vomiting black blood and convulsing uncontrollably!"

Xi Heng put down his brush and, after a few seconds, said calmly, "Have you called the imperial physician?"

"The imperial physicians have diagnosed it, but said they are powerless to help!"

"Prepare the carriage; I'll go take a look later," Xi Heng said.

"Yes!" The guard left immediately.

Xi Heng put down his brush and quietly looked at the memorial in front of him, which was filled with densely packed, tiny characters. He clicked his tongue in amazement.

"I wasn't the one who was poisoned in the first place...?"

"That's true, after all, it was the Imperial Advisor who instructed me to do it."

She got up and left the long table, went to the gate of Taixiao Palace, boarded the carriage, and then went to the Ministry of Rites' residence where the national teacher was worshipped.

Upon arrival, the elderly imperial advisor, with his white hair, had already been moved to the bed, his eyes tightly closed.

There was a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, his face was ashen, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his chest and abdomen were still rising and falling slightly. His breathing was obviously getting weaker and weaker. If you didn't look closely, you would probably think he was already dead.

But that's about right.

A petite maidservant stood to the side, her eyes brimming with tears, her fingers trembling slightly, as she hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from the Imperial Preceptor's forehead.

As Xi Heng approached, the maids and the head of the courtyard curtsied and stepped aside.

Ignoring the maids and guards beside her, she leaned against the bedside and casually called out, "Imperial Preceptor, are you still alive?"

Who do you think poisoned him?

Before the other party died, Xi Heng wanted to get out some more trivial information.

The Imperial Advisor, his breathing disordered, opened his mouth, but only managed to exhale a very faint, hoarse sound.

Then, he raised his trembling left hand slightly and pointed precariously toward the foot of the bed.

Xi Heng frowned slightly, and as he turned his gaze, he saw a cold glint flash in the corner of his eye—

The obedient maid who had been anxiously applying a wet towel to the old national advisor's forehead had suddenly pulled a sharp knife from her chest and was attacking her.

After drawing his sword, the man's demeanor suddenly turned fierce, completely transforming from the pitiful, panicked maidservant of moments before into a highly skilled, well-trained assassin.

This person's movements were skillful and practiced, and the way he held the knife in reverse, along with the direction the blade was pointing, was perfectly coordinated, aiming directly at Xi Heng's vital heart.

The sound of rushing wind as clothes folded rapidly advanced, and the gleam of a sharp knife flashed.

Xi Heng fixed his gaze, raised his right arm joint, and struck the enemy's wrist with force, causing the hand holding the knife to lift up.

Just as she was about to draw her sword to fight back, she saw the enemy kick up, the tip of his foot also gleaming with the cold light of a blade.

Xi Heng reacted quickly, advancing instead of retreating, his left arm slamming to the side, his elbow striking the opponent's shinbone with a cracking sound.

The assassin groaned in pain and spat out another blade, slashing at her neck.

The girl dodged the hidden weapon, then spun around and struck the enemy in the chest with a palm strike.

With a series of cracking sounds as ribs broke, the force in his palm sent the assassin flying several meters backward.

Her slender figure slammed against the wall with a dull thud, then went limp and slowly fell to the ground.

Only then did the guards outside hear the noise and rush into the room. Seeing His Majesty standing safely in place, and the maid who had been clutching a knife in her other hand lying on the ground, they first breathed a sigh of relief, then knelt down respectfully, even more tensely saying:

"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue! I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

"Stop talking nonsense and cuff this man," Xi Heng said coldly.

"Yes!" The guards immediately sprang into action.

Xi Heng turned to look at the Imperial Preceptor on the bed, only to find that the other had stopped breathing.

"Is he dead already?"

The girl turned back to look at the assassin she had knocked unconscious; a trickle of black blood flowed from his lips.

When the captain of the guards was putting shackles on the other person, his movements slowed down.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, this man's heart has stopped beating; he has committed suicide by poisoning himself."

Xi Heng pressed his temples; so much had happened in those few short minutes.

"Drag it down and bury it," she said, waving her hand.

"Yes."

Watching the assassin's body being dragged away by the guards, Xi Heng sighed softly, "Are all these people so decisive...? Revenge comes so quickly."

She stopped looking at the dead Imperial Preceptor beside her, walked directly out of the courtyard, returned to the carriage guarded by the palace guards, and had them drive her back to the Taixiao Palace.

Settling comfortably on the soft cushions in the carriage, Xi Heng yawned, feeling drowsy.

"I didn't rest yesterday, so I'll just go straight to my room and sleep after I finish dealing with the memorials today..."

"If I'm assassinated while I'm sleeping, I'd better just make it quick and easy." Her head was getting increasingly dizzy, so heavy that it felt like it was pulling her whole body down to the ground.

"No... I'm in such good health right now, how could I suddenly be unable to suppress my sleepiness?" Xi Heng shook his head, his gaze sweeping around, and he saw a corner of the carriage slowly emitting blue smoke.

"...Sedative incense?" She opened her eyes and quickly shouted forward, "Stop the car!"

The coachman outside suddenly pulled on the reins, and the carriage came to a sudden stop. The inertia of the carriage caused her to lean forward.

"Your Majesty! What are your orders?" asked the guard outside.

Xi Heng pinched his arm, using the pain to forcefully suppress his drowsiness. He held his breath, picked up the sleeping incense from the ground, pushed aside the purple curtain, and threw it out, saying:

"A sleeping potion was thrown into the carriage. Who approached the carriage when I got out? There are assassins among the Imperial Guards!"

The captain of the Imperial Guard immediately became serious and shouted angrily towards the outside:

"Who approached the carriage just now? How dare any of you forget the kindness of Commander Ma?!"

The other red-armored guards outside looked at each other, and no one answered for a moment.

Just as he hesitated, the driver suddenly shouted "Giddy up!" and immediately yanked the reins.

The three horses, in pain, neighed in succession and galloped forward at full speed.

The clattering of hooves sounded like a series of firecrackers, but Xi Heng, drowsy and unable to react, was too slow to react in the carriage behind.

"Stop!" She turned her head and saw the Imperial Guards rapidly approaching from behind the window using their light-footed skills.

But the three horses were moving faster than a person could move with lightness of foot, and the coachman in front was still constantly cracking his whip to urge the horses on.

A series of sharp cracking sounds rang out as Xi Heng pinched his own soft flesh until it bled, before he could barely muster a little more energy.

Just as she struggled to her feet and attempted to leap out of the carriage, the three large horses in front suddenly veered at the alleyway, and the unabated momentum propelled the purple-gold carriage behind it violently toward the dark red walls of the palace.

With a loud crash, the side of the wooden carriage was smashed into countless fragments, and various precious decorations were scattered all over the ground like a shower of flowers.

Xi Heng was thrown off balance by inertia. He tried to raise his arm to block the impact, but was bounced to the other side of the carriage. In the carriage, where the direction was already chaotic, he tried to steady himself several times but could not.

The horses outside began to neigh again, then turned and continued to gallop wildly, pulling the half-damaged carriage.

A cold wind blew in through the holes punched in the side of the carriage, causing her neatly tied gray-black hair to come undone.

After swaying for a while, the carriage finally regained some stability. Xi Heng quickly struck the hole on the side of the carriage with his palm again, and countless fragments sprayed out once more.

Seeing that the hole was already the size of a person, Xi Heng rammed himself into it and jumped off the galloping carriage.

The ground seemed to be dragging her backward, and she could only try her best to put her feet on the ground, but the next moment, due to inertia, she had to take another step forward.

He stepped on the thick hem of his imperial robe, which was unsuitable for movement, and his clothes were suddenly ripped, causing his entire upper body to fall to the side with a whoosh.

"Ugh..." Xi Heng fell straight to the ground.

She wanted to catch up with the purple-gold carriage that was still fleeing rapidly ahead, but the imperial robe she was wearing was too restrictive, and even standing up was quite difficult.

"Your Majesty!" The imperial guards finally arrived and quickly helped her to her feet.

"Never mind me, chase after them!" Xi Heng immediately ordered.

Half of the guards continued to follow, but the distance between them continued to widen.

"Your lightness skills can't even outrun a horse..." Xi Heng sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Just as she was about to untie the heavy imperial robe that restricted her movements and chase after him, a heavy thud suddenly sounded ahead, and the galloping horse stopped with a neigh.

The sound of whips still echoed, but the steed, though beaten, refused to move forward even a few more steps.

Upon hearing the sound, Xi Heng lifted the hem of his wide coat and walked over, only to find a familiar old eunuch blocking his way.

The man maintained his slapping posture, directly smashing the neck of a tall white horse into a bloody mess, with blood gushing out from the wound.

The white horse collapsed to the ground, spitting blood from its mouth and nose. Its throat was blocked by the blood, and it could only let out muffled cries of pain.

Two or three seconds later, even the white horse stopped trembling, rolled its eyes, and collapsed to the ground dead.

Seeing Xi Heng approach, the old eunuch first bowed and said, "This servant is late in coming to Your Majesty's aid, please forgive me."

"All he ever says is that one sentence. Hurry up and tie up this coachman, lest he also commit suicide by poisoning himself," Xi Heng urged.

"Yes!"

The imperial guards who had followed him rushed forward and immediately subdued the stunned coachman.

"Take this person away and interrogate him thoroughly. Find out who is trying to assassinate me!" Xi Heng gave the order and turned to walk back to his Fuqing Palace, no longer wanting to deal with the memorials.

A small squad of red-armored guards took the man away, while more imperial guards remained by Xi Heng's side, constantly on guard of the surroundings, fearing that other assassins might suddenly attack.

The old eunuch stood beside Xi Heng and whispered:

"Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but Your Majesty has made too many enemies in the palace. You should find a way to extricate yourself, otherwise such behavior will continue one after another in the future."

"Why do you think I've made so many enemies?" Xi Heng glanced at the other person.

"I know, but I won't get away with it."

She had already prepared herself for death before she even arrived at the palace.

Furthermore, because she had used the Life-Taking Technique again yesterday, her lifespan was getting shorter and shorter, and her cultivation speed was gradually slowing down due to her deteriorating health. Even if she left the palace, she wouldn't live much longer—it would be better to kill the enemy who wanted to harm her before dying herself.

"Your Majesty, this servant has a way to make you appear as if you are dead," the eunuch tried to persuade him.

"Regardless of the reason, whoever wanted to kill me must die." Xi Heng said coldly, "Don't mention escaping again. Now help me find out who arranged this assassination!"

The eunuch remained silent for a while, then finally stopped and nodded in agreement.

With a flick of his imperial robes, Xi Heng strode back to his Fuqing Palace.

However, the old eunuch behind him was silently watching Xi Heng's back, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

………………

Chapter 44, On the Verification of Spirits

The damaged area of ​​the carriage was not far from Fuqing Palace. Two or three minutes later, Xi Heng returned to his bedroom.

Having witnessed the death of the Imperial Advisor and experienced the assassination attempt, a murderous intent remained firmly entrenched in her heart throughout the journey.

All I want is to find the mastermind behind this immediately, draw my sword, and cut off their head.

However, for now, all we can do is wait for our subordinates to find clues.

"Hopefully the Imperial Guards can find out something from the interrogation."

She slowly returned to the bedside, took off the loose dragon robe that had caused her to stumble, and casually threw it on the ground.

As his mind relaxed, the intense drowsiness he had previously tried to suppress surged back into his heart. Xi Heng lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after getting up, Xi Heng quickly tidied his appearance with the help of the palace maids in charge of the ceremony. He went to court to handle some simple government affairs and then went to the back of the hall to check on the few remaining memorials from yesterday. At that time, a soldier from the Imperial Guard came to deliver a message.