frightfiction Chapter 142 The Divine Physician and the Regent's Wife (4)
Chapter 142 The Divine Physician and the Regent's Wife (4)
Lin Jingyi knew Nalan Zhimeng's thoughts, and thinking that it was free money, he smiled and stood up to thank Nalan Zhimeng.
"In that case, I will accept it."
He then took the tray carried by the palace maid and placed it on the table next to his chair.
The concubine sitting next to Nalan Zhimeng pursed her lips, seemingly dissatisfied with Lin Jingyi accepting the money, but she only showed it on the surface and did not say it aloud.
"Yes, I'll have to trouble Miss Xie to help me detoxify in the future."
Lin Jingyi nodded upon hearing this, but did not respond.
Lin Jingyi sat for a while, and just as he was about to take his leave, he heard Nalan Zhimeng ask:
"How did Miss Xie come to know the Regent?" Nalan Zhimeng was still bothered by Xie Yuan's existence and subtly inquired about the situation.
Upon hearing this, Lin Jingyi pretended to think, a sweet smile appearing on his face.
"It's quite a coincidence that I met Yaoyu. The first time I left the valley alone, I encountered him when he was seriously injured. After spending a lot of time together, I developed feelings for him."
As Lin Jingyi spoke, he observed Nalan Zhimeng's expression.
The explanation wasn't very detailed, so Nalan Zhimeng didn't show any change in expression, but her left hand clenched into a fist.
"Thank you for taking care of the Regent during that time."
Nevertheless, Nalan Zhimeng still wanted Lin Jingyi to know that she was the outsider.
"Yaoyu and I were very much in love, and those days were very sweet."
"Then I wish Miss Xie and the Regent a lifetime of happiness together," Nalan Zhimeng said with a smile, but her heart was heavy.
Even though Huangfu Yaoyu said it was just a lie, Nalan Zhimeng was still a little jealous, and there was a hint of spite in her words.
"Hmm." Lin Jingyi was too lazy to stay any longer, so he said goodbye.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager needs to rest and recuperate, so I will not disturb you any further."
"Very well, I hope Miss Xie's trip goes smoothly."
Nalan Zhimeng got up to see him off. If Xie Yuan could return safely, then she would be saved.
"I will certainly live up to Her Majesty the Empress's expectations." Lin Jingyi smiled confidently and turned to leave.
Lin Jingyi did not ask the palace maids to see him off, and walked back by himself. When he passed a corner, he heard a low conversation coming from the other side.
"Have you heard? Yesterday, a palace maid offended the Regent."
"I think I've heard of this before. Is the matter not over yet?" another palace maid asked curiously.
"Indeed, I heard from insiders that the Regent did not do anything to the palace maid because Miss Xie was present yesterday, but later, the palace maid was ordered to commit suicide."
"But what did that palace maid do wrong?" The palace maid who was listening sighed and asked curiously.
"I heard that after the palace maid returned, Consort Liang somehow found out about the palace maid's feelings for the Regent, so she found a pretext to have the palace maid beaten to death."
The palace maid, suppressing her fear, shrank back as she spoke.
"I heard that Consort Liang was planted by the Regent to be by the Emperor's side..."
"Shh...be careful, the walls have ears." The maid's mouth seemed to be covered, and the two fell silent.
Lin Jingyi deliberately hid around the corner, and when there was no sound, he continued walking forward, his expression ambiguous.
After Lin Jingyi had walked away, two palace maids came out from around the corner, exchanged a glance, and then left.
Lin Jingyi saw all of this clearly with his divine sense.
Although I've never actually spent time in the palace, I've read several palace intrigue novels.
It's unclear which of Huangfu Yaoyu's enemies was behind this divisive tactic.
Xie Yuan had also encountered this situation. At the time, she still harbored resentment towards Huangfu Yaoyu because of this matter, but she couldn't wait until the day when she could directly talk to Huangfu Yaoyu about it.
She was so busy preparing the antidote for Nalan Zhimeng that she had no time to think about personal matters.
Lin Jingyi knew Huangfu Yaoyu's true character, so even hearing these things wouldn't cause him much of a stir.
Continue doing what you need to do as usual.
Just as Lin Jingyi was about to sit down cross-legged, a palace maid came to report.
"Miss Xie, His Majesty requests your presence."
Lin Jingyi raised an eyebrow and followed a eunuch without making a sound.
She didn't understand why the emperor wanted to see her, since Xie Yuan had never met this emperor before.
“Miss Xie, I know you are a person from the martial arts world, but when you meet the Emperor, I hope you will abide by the rules of the court.” The eunuch who had been walking in front without saying a word suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Thank you for your guidance, Father-in-law." Lin Jingyi nodded.
Following the eunuch to the door of the imperial study, the eunuch stopped and said, "Miss Xie, please wait a moment while I inform him."
"Okay." As soon as Lin Jingyi finished speaking, the eunuch went inside. A moment later, the eunuch came out and led Lin Jingyi inside.
This imperial study was very large, with many bamboo slips arranged around it. There was also a small partition inside, and a large desk was placed next to the bookshelves, where a man dressed in bright yellow sat.
"Your Majesty, Miss Xie has arrived," the eunuch who led Lin Jingyi in suddenly announced.
Upon hearing this, the emperor put down his brush, looked up at Lin Jingyi, waved his hand, and the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs all left.
"Why do you not kneel before me?" A young man of about eighteen, with a slightly immature face, asked Lin Jingyi with an air of authority.
"This humble woman, Xie Yuan, greets Your Majesty." Lin Jingyi did not reply, but instead performed a traditional Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) salute to the emperor.
The emperor frowned, seemingly displeased that Lin Jingyi had used the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) methods against him.
But remembering that Lin Jingyi was Huangfu Yaoyu's man, he could only suppress his irritation and did not reply. He wanted Lin Jingyi to keep bowing, so he continued to deal with the memorials.
However, these memorials were mostly trivial greetings and minor matters; the more important memorials were with Huangfu Yaoyu.
Upon seeing these memorials, the emperor became even more furious.
Because of the regent's presence, the emperor was not respected by the people in the palace, and now he was being ignored by a woman from the martial arts world. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he wanted to suppress the woman's arrogance.
Lin Jingyi raised her arm for a moment, but seeing that the emperor ignored her, she lowered her arm without a second thought, since the emperor had no real power anyway.
"Xie Yuan, did I give you permission to move?" The emperor's voice was filled with anger.
"My arms are tired from holding them up," Lin Jingyi said casually, rubbing his arms with his hands crossed.
"Your Majesty, people of the martial world have their own rules. They only kneel to heaven, earth, and their parents. That is why I have not knelt before you. I hope you will understand."
Lin Jingyi continued to explain to the emperor.
The emperor had perhaps grown accustomed to it, and eventually reconciled with himself.
"I've heard that Miss Xie is skilled in medicine?" The emperor asked solemnly from his seat at the head of the table. This was the real reason he had summoned Lin Jingyi.
"I know a little," Lin Jingyi said modestly with a smile.
"Miss Xie, you came to the palace this time to detoxify the Empress Dowager, right? I suppose you don't know, do you? My brother and the Empress Dowager Nalan Zhimeng are childhood sweethearts."
The emperor didn't believe it. He told Xie Yuan the news, and she still remained so calm.
"They were destined to be apart in the end." Lin Jingyi remained calm, feigning regret as he spoke.
"Don't you like him?" The emperor was puzzled by this.
Lin Jingyi raised his eyes: "I wonder where Your Majesty heard that I am fond of the Regent?"
This emperor has no real power. For now, she is still nominally Huangfu Yaoyu's person. I don't know how this emperor dared to summon her.
"You don't like it?" the emperor asked in return.
Lin Jingyi smiled and said, "Of course I like him."
Before he could finish speaking, Huangfu Yaoyu pushed the door open and came in.
The emperor was startled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. He then heard Huangfu Yaoyu say in a cold voice, "I wonder if Your Majesty has summoned Yuan Yuan for some reason?"
Huangfu Yaoyu stood in front of Lin Jingyi as soon as he entered. He had been standing outside the door until he heard Xie Yuan say that he liked him, at which point he came in.
In this way, his plan can proceed more smoothly.
The emperor curled his lip and, in a fit of desperation, said:
"Does Your Majesty care so much about this woman?"
He has nothing now, but he is certain that Huangfu Yaoyu wouldn't dare to touch him, because he is the next emperor chosen by the late emperor.
If Huangfu Yaoyu dares to lay a hand on him, it would be treason.
Huangfu Yaoyu did not reply, his face was gloomy: "If Your Majesty has nothing else to say, I will take Yuan Yuan and leave first."
Xie Yuan is now Huangfu Yaoyu's second most important person to protect. If something happens to Xie Yuan, his Zhimeng will not be able to cure the poison.
"Huangfu Yaoyu, are you going to rebel?" The emperor also stood up directly. He was very dissatisfied with Huangfu Yaoyu's attitude towards him, even though he was the emperor.
“Brother, this position of yours is one I once looked down upon. If I wanted to sit on it, I could take it away at any time.”
Huangfu Yaoyu moved Lin Jingyi a little further away, walked to the emperor's side, and whispered something in his ear.
Huangfu Yaoyu was originally the late emperor's favorite prince, but because of Nalan Zhimeng, the late emperor insisted on making Nalan Zhimeng empress.
No matter how many days and nights Huangfu Yaoyu knelt, the emperor refused to let go, and the father and son became estranged.
Later, when the emperor was on his deathbed, he saw Huangfu Yaoyu's indifferent expression and lost all tenderness, directly passing the throne to the current emperor.
However, because of Huangfu Yaoyu's outstanding abilities, he was appointed as regent.
Huangfu Yaoyu was unwilling, but the late emperor said that if he was unwilling, Nalan Zhimeng would be buried with him, so Huangfu Yaoyu agreed.
Over the course of the year, Huangfu Yaoyu's power gradually grew.
Some people wanted to control Nalan Zhimeng in order to control Huangfu Yaoyu.
But after a year, although the emperor had become emperor as he wished, he had no power and hated Huangfu Yaoyu to the core.
Knowing Huangfu Yaoyu's weakness, he directly ordered the emperor's personal guards to poison Nalan Zhimeng.
He wants Huangfu Yaoyu to regret this!!
Before he could achieve his goal of summoning Xie Yuan, he was threatened by Huangfu Yaoyu. The emperor was very unwilling, but having tasted the feeling of being second only to the emperor, he did not want to give up.
After Huangfu Yaoyu finished speaking to the emperor, the emperor went berserk and pushed away the memorials on the table.
These memorials were only given to him because Huangfu Yaoyu didn't think much of them!
Several palace maids tried to intervene, but the emperor produced a soft whip from somewhere and lashed it directly at them.
A palace maid was knocked to the ground and cried out in pain, but no one dared to help her up, leaving the emperor to vent his anger.
A short while later, a corpse was carried out of the Imperial Study.
After Huangfu Yaoyu led Lin Jingyi away from the imperial study, he gently brushed the hair behind Lin Jingyi's ear.
"Yuan Yuan, what does my imperial brother want with you?"