NFBE Chapter 343 Making a Game
Chapter 343 Making a Game
Yu Wan was taken away by the Imperial Guards, and her figure disappeared from everyone's sight.
The joyous birthday banquet was instantly turned into a deathly silence due to the appearance of the "Blood Fiend" calamity star.
Emperor Wenjing had no intention of staying any longer, so he hastily ended the banquet and took Huo Xuanqing to the Empress Dowager's palace.
The female relatives of the officials were also still shaken and took their leave one after another.
This banquet, which should have been joyous and celebratory, was now filled with a sense of unease and oppression.
When Yun Shang arrived, Yu Wan had already been taken away by the Imperial Guards.
When Madam Shen saw him, she rushed over as if she had seen her pillar of support, crying out, "Shang-ge'er! Please save Yu-niang!"
Yun Shang already knew what had happened at the birthday banquet.
He looked at Madam Shen, his voice steady and strong: "Mother, don't worry, she will be fine."
After speaking, he turned to look at the Duke of Anguo and saw deep worry in the other's eyes.
An Guo opened his mouth, his voice slightly hoarse: "My dear son-in-law, this matter is thorny. The Taoist priest spoke with such certainty, and the Empress Dowager fainted, which is why the Emperor believed him so easily."
Lady Anguo said in a trembling voice, "Shang'er, you must find a way to save Wan'er. You have been married to her for many years, and you should know her true nature. Wan'er is definitely not the kind of person who would bring disaster to the country and the people."
Yun Shang nodded slightly.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, please don't worry too much. I won't let anything happen to her."
Duke Anguo gave him a deep look, then patted his shoulder. “Be careful in everything. If you encounter any difficulties, send someone to Duke Anguo’s residence to find me. We can then discuss it further.”
Yun Shang agreed.
The Department of Cautious Punishment.
After Yu Wan was taken away by the Imperial Guards, he was imprisoned in the Shenxing Division.
She was, after all, the daughter of the Duke of Anguo and the wife of the Vice Minister of Rites, so her status was not low.
Before her identity was revealed, Emperor Wenjing did not treat her too harshly.
He instructed the palace servants to prepare a cleaner room so that Huo Xuanqing could use magic to temporarily suppress the evil aura of the calamity star.
Huo Xuanqing performed a series of rituals, gesturing wildly as talismans flew everywhere.
He was chanting incantations that no one else could understand, which made the room filled with smoke and fumes.
Finally, his face turned ashen, and he pretended to wipe non-existent beads of sweat from his forehead.
He turned to the guards standing outside the door and said, "This woman's evil aura is too strong. I have used all my cultivation to set up a restriction, and it has been suppressed for the time being."
"But this is only a temporary measure. We still need to report to the Emperor and deal with her as soon as possible. If we don't deal with her quickly, there may be great chaos."
Yu Wan sat on the edge of the bed, watching his comical performance, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Huo Xuanqing was annoyed by her sarcastic laugh and frowned at her, "What are you laughing at, you vixen?!"
Yu Wan sat on the bed and swung her legs, smiling broadly. "I think, Master Huo, it's a real shame that you're not out there performing on the streets with all your mystique."
"If you used this routine to busk on the street, you could definitely earn a lot of money."
Upon hearing this, Huo Xuanqing frowned, and his composure seemed to crumble.
Huo Xuanqing's face twitched uncontrollably a few times. He pointed at Yu Wan and said angrily, "Witch, don't be so stubborn!"
"This bloody calamity is a warning sent down by Heaven. You are the culprit who clashes with this disaster. If you act so arrogantly today, you will regret it when disaster strikes in the future!"
Yu Wan wasn't in a hurry at all. "Really?"
"Will I bring bad luck to that Taoist priest if he stays with me?"
Huo Xuanqing was speechless at Yu Wan's words, his face turning pale and then red.
His finger trembled as he pointed at her, unable to speak for a long time.
Finally, he flung his sleeves and roared, "Stubborn fool! You'll just wait here to die!"
After he finished speaking, he turned to leave, but Yu Wan suddenly called out to him.
"Master Xuanqing."
Huo Xuanqing paused in his steps.
Yu Wan slowly rose to her feet, her expression calm, yet her eyes revealed a sharpness that could not be underestimated:
"You are so certain that I am a jinx, and so eager for the Emperor to deal with me. Is it for the sake of the Great Zhao's national destiny, or to satisfy the selfish desires of certain people?"
She emphasized the phrase "the selfish desires of certain people".
A flicker of panic crossed Huo Xuanqing's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
"You witch, stop your nonsense! I am doing this for the sake of all living beings! For the sake of the people of the Great Zhao! I have no selfish motives whatsoever, and I am not acting under anyone's orders!"
Yu Wan's lips curled into a mocking smile.
He slowly walked forward, circled around Huo Xuanqing, and looked at him with a half-smile.
"For the sake of all living beings?"
"Does the Taoist priest believe what he himself says?"
A few barely visible beads of sweat appeared on Huo Xuanqing's forehead.
He forced himself to remain calm and said, "You jinx, no amount of silver tongue can change your sins."
Yu Wan smiled even more brightly, "I noticed it at the birthday banquet just now."
“You’re not looking for a jinx, you’re looking for me.”
"I have never had any interaction with the Taoist priest, so why does he seem to recognize me?"
Huo Xuanqing, enraged by the relentless pressure, snapped, "Enough!"
"You vixen, if you dare to slander me again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
After saying that, he placed his hand on the peach wood sword at his waist.
Yu Wan wasn't afraid at all.
Huo Xuanqing isn't in a hurry, that's why she's afraid.
Huo Xuanqing's anxiety shows that she was right.
"What, did I hit the nail on the head? Now you want to kill me to silence me?"
"Master, if you make a move, it would be an indication that you have a guilty conscience."
Huo Xuanqing's hand froze in mid-air, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
Yu Wan chuckled.
Huo Xuanqing's face turned pale and then flushed.
He raised his eyes, glared fiercely at Yu Wan, and turned to leave the Censorate as if fleeing.
Yu Wan watched his retreating figure, and the smile on her face slowly faded.
It seems that today's events were indeed a setup.
The scheme was designed to target her.
Yongshou Palace.
The wick of the cloud-patterned palace lantern swayed occasionally in the cold wind that blew in, and the Empress Dowager's bedside was filled with kneeling imperial physicians.
Emperor Wenjing, the Empress, and several concubines all wore anxious expressions.
Yu, the chief physician, handed the medical record to Liu Haifu with a solemn expression.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's pulse is deep and weak, like a withered vine clinging to a rock, constantly changing. I am incompetent and cannot diagnose the exact cause of her illness..."
Yu Yuanzheng was the most skilled physician in the Imperial Medical Academy, and Emperor Wenjing trusted and valued him greatly.
Emperor Wenjing would not doubt what he said.
Emperor Wenjing's face darkened considerably. "You mean, the Empress Dowager was truly struck by the ominous aura of a jinx?"
Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. This is especially true for physicians, who should not attribute undiagnosed illnesses to supernatural beings.
Emperor Wenjing's imposing presence was awe-inspiring, and Yu Yuanzheng broke out in a few beads of cold sweat on his forehead, which he wiped away with his sleeve.
He was pondering this in his mind.
This matter is of great importance; a slight misstep could lead to disaster.
He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Your Majesty, although physicians do not believe in supernatural phenomena, the Empress Dowager's pulse is too strange. In all my years of medical practice, I have never seen such a pulse before, and it is truly difficult to make a judgment."
"While the theory of a harbinger of disaster is absurd, given the current situation, I dare not assert that it is entirely unrelated to the Empress Dowager's illness."
Emperor Wenjing's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
He couldn't help pacing back and forth in front of the Empress Dowager's bed.
Looking at the Empress Dowager, who was pale and unresponsive, he was filled with conflicting emotions.
He was initially skeptical of Huo Xuanqing's claim of a "jinx," but now that the Empress Dowager was unconscious and the imperial physicians couldn't diagnose the cause of her illness...
Is it really because a jinx has appeared in the world?