Tuesday 10 September 2024

LPMM 36




 Chapter 36 Rising Internal Strife


Jiang Ge paused and abruptly looked up at the emperor, "You watch your son suffer and even reach the verge of death. Do you not feel a little bit of distress? You can obviously help him, but instead you watch coldly. Don't you feel guilty?"

The emperor shook his head lightly, "Children of the imperial family, this is their fate."

He lowered his head, "Raising children for the emperor is like raising gu insects, mutually biting each other. The winner is the king. Only in this way can the strongest successor be raised. "

"People like Second Younger Brother and Fifth Younger Brother who aren't born qualified to be emperors, you also want to put them into the Gu pool and let them be bitten to death?" Jiang Ge's eyes flashed, "Second Younger Brother was murdered early, while Fifth Younger Brother...if he hadn't been smart and had formed an alliance with me privately, he would have died if I hadn’t protected him."

"You, as a father, don't remember what happened that winter, but I remember it clearly. Speaking of which, although I am not a good person, compared to you...I am a kind person."

Jiang Ge clearly remembered two years ago, it was still a winter night. He saw Fifth Younger Brother being taken to the execution ground with his own eyes. Two executioners pressed him on the rack. Another took a wooden nail as thick as a child's arm and nailed it into his shoulder and palm.

Blood splattered everywhere. Although Jiang Ge was used to seeing blood, he couldn't bear to watch any more.

"What happened?" Jiang Ge asked his subordinates.

"I heard that Fifth Prince raped, killed, and dismembered a palace maid... The whole palace is furious. His Majesty has to punish him in this way."

Jiang Ge took in the blood all over the ground on the execution platform, frowned slightly, "Try to save his life, don't let anyone find out."

The subordinate hesitated, "He killed and dismembered a woman. This angered the public. Many palace people gathered around to watch him being punished. Under the watchful eyes of the public, it is difficult for the executioner to show mercy."

"I have a bottle of unique medicine, which has a miraculous effect on wounds when dissolved in water." Jiang Ge said, "Give it to the executioner, let him dissolve it in water and pour it on the Fifth Younger Brother."

"Your Highness, the medicine is expensive and there is only one bottle..."

"Go get it!"

"Yes..."

A basin of water was poured down. The boy who had already fallen unconscious due to pain slowly opened his eyes and looked at the executioner in front of him with bloodshot eyes.

The temperature of the water was just right, neither freezing cold nor steaming.

He felt the pain in his body gradually disappearing.

The onlookers cheered loudly.

"Yes, that's right. Splash it on him to wake him up!"

"This demon should suffer more before dying!"

The executioner whispered, "Your Highness, Crown Prince said... let you live."

...

"That bottle of medicine wasn't wasted after all. If it weren't for Fifth Younger Brother's help, I wouldn't have been able to take down the Armored Guards so easily. And if you hadn't forced him, he wouldn't have come to this point," Jiang Ge stared at his father, "Now the entire Xiyuan is under my control. I won."

However, the emperor grinned, "I thought you were stupid and incompetent, but now it seems... you are indeed the strongest one. I am not wrong! Everything I did was to raise the most powerful prince. Even if it meant sacrificing some insignificant people, it is worth it. Only with a strong heir can Xiyuan become stronger, so I am right! You can't deny that if I hadn't let you fight for your lives, you wouldn't have grown into what you are now. "

Jiang Ge stood up, "Maybe, but I won't do the same as you. I will treat my princess well and let her grow up without worries. I won't let her see anything bad in the world."

The emperor was slightly startled, "Princess? How do you know it's a daughter?"

"The people of Dongyuan said that it seems likely to be a daughter." Jiang Ge's eyes became gentle, "I want her to enjoy the world I have built for her and her mother. If she is capable in the future, I will let her be the emperor. If she isn't capable, I will still protect her. I will definitely not let her suffer a single bit of the bitterness I experienced.”

 The emperor's voice trembled, "You...you plotted to usurp the throne not for your own ambition? Being addicted to women, isn't it your disguise?" 

"Ah? Royal Father thought of me like this?" Jiang Ge laughed, "Then Royal Father was overthinking. I truly love Qin Huaying. I usurped the throne to bring her back from Dongyuan as soon as possible. My Father-in-law sent someone to tell me that only if I become the emperor can I have the power to negotiate with Dongyuan and she can come only if the two countries negotiate. I think it makes sense. So I decided to besiege the palace." 

"You...you...how can you do this for a woman..." The emperor trembled all over, "Where is your ambition? You should destroy Dongyuan! Unify the Jiuyuan Continent! That's the heir I want!"

"Unify the Jiuyuan Continent? Our Xiyuan Kingdom has many mountains and few fields. It's poor from the start. After years of war, the treasury has been empty. What can we fight with?" Jiang Ge shook his head. "In the next period of time, I will stop fighting, recuperate, and never provoke a war again. Besides, with the emperor of Jiyuan Kingdom present, who would dare to boast of unifying the Jiuyuan Continent?"

"Oh, by the way, Royal Father, where is the golden Buddha that Yeyuan gave us? I have to ask Mister Shi to help bring it back to Dongyuan as a gift for peace talks. Our Xiyuan is too poor to come up with a decent gift."

"Also, Yue Qinghai came to help today. I promised him that he can take Noble Concubine Jin and Sixth Younger Brother away after the matter is accomplished. Didn't Royal Father always suspect that Sixth Younger Brother isn't your biological son? Guess what? He's not!"

"Hey, Royal Father, why did you faint? "

... 

Just like when she came, Luo Jin had a bumpy ride in the carriage on the way back. The horses and drivers changed one after another. They kept on traveling day and night.

It was Chai Qi who sent her back. Others weren’t in a hurry to return. After all, she was sufficient.

"Your Highness, thank you for taking me to see Jiang Mo," Luo Jin said in the carriage, "I thought you would blame me for wasting time and scold me..."

"I dare not." Chai Qi said.

"..."

Chai Qi looked at Luo Jin and suddenly said, "That day in the tomb, why did you suddenly..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Luo Jin slowly stretched out a finger and put it on his lips, "Shhh".

She raised her eyes and looked at Chai Qi, her eyes full of chaos and arrogance.

"The princess didn't mention it. Even Yue Qinghai knew not to mention it," Luo Jin crossed her arms and drawled out, "So... you are the only one who has a mouth, right? En?"

"I..." Chai Qi's heartbeat quickened, "The you now...and from just now..."

Luo Jin stretched out her arms, "She doesn't know my existence and she must not know. If you don't want to be silenced by me, pretend that you know nothing. Otherwise, even if it makes Elder Sister sad, I will kill you."

"I...I won't say..." Chai Qi looked at Luo Jin, "You...are indeed different from before. What is this? Soul separation syndrome?"

"Scientifically speaking, this is called split personality. If you were hypnotized thousands of times, you will also have a split personality." Luo Jin sighed, "My dear mother can't tolerate me and must put me in the dark. But she doesn't know that I am the 'evil' and the 'good' she wants is just a light that lights up accidentally in the dark!"

"The Elder Sister you are talking about...is it Ah Jing?"

"Yes, it was she who woke me up," Luo Jin sighed, "It's a pity that the Gu insect came out so suddenly that day and I couldn't protect her. I only had time to kill the Gu insects around me. Fortunately, I got the Red Emperor Gu, otherwise..." 

Her eyes sank slightly, "I wonder how she is now."

Chai Qi suddenly smiled lightly, "I think your so-called 'evil' isn't that evil."

Luo Jin raised her eyes and glanced at him. She said leisurely: "Someone told me to love this world, so even if the world isn't perfect, I still love it and will always protect it."

She closed her eyes gently. When she opened them, her eyes became clear again.

"Why is your highness...staring at me?" Luo Jin touched her face, "Did I get cake on my face just now?"

Chai Qi lowered his head, "Nothing...nothing."

Four days later, they finally returned to the palace in Wei City.

As soon as Luo Jin got off the carriage, she ran to see Chai Jing, who had completely lost consciousness. Although she was awake, her eyes were empty and she stared blankly ahead, as if she was in a vegetative state.

Luo Jin whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you."

She sent the newly assigned maid out of the room, closed the door, undressed Chai Jing, and looked for the scars left by the gu insect. She wanted to make a wound where the gu insect entered and guide the gu insect to crawl out. This way, the path was the shortest and the harm to the person was the least.

There was an obvious purple scar on Chai Jing's back. Luo Jin gently made a cut on the scar to lead the gu insect in her body out.

Chai Jing turned around and said softly, "You're back?"

"I'm back!" Luo Jin hugged her from behind, "You finally woke up. I was so scared..."

"I'm fine, aren't I?  Why are you crying?"

"No... I'm not crying..."

...

There were still dozens of people in the palace who were poisoned with the Gu. Luo Jin got them to enter the room one by one to remove the Gu for them.

It was fine with the women. As for the few men who were guarding that day, after Luo Jin woke them up, they were embarrassed to see that their clothes were undressed. Fortunately, most of the scars were on the upper body, while some were on the legs. So it wasn't particularly embarrassing.

After treating more than a dozen people in a row, Luo Jin felt a little dizzy. Another person was carried in from outside.

"This is the son of the Prime Minister. Please take care of him, Vice Minister." The guard who sent the person said.

"Prime Minister's son? How come he was bitten too?"

"Prime Minister's son is the head of the Palace Guards. It’s his duty to protect His Majesty. He was the one who led people to chase the assassin that day." The guard answered, "He had been kept in the Prime Minister's Manor these days. Hearing that the palace has found a way to cure the Gu, the Prime Minister got him sent here."

"Put him on the bed, close the door, and go out."

"The Prime Minister said that he want to watch from the side..."

"No!" Luo Jin refused immediately.

The reason why she didn't let anyone else by the side was also Chai Qi's intention. He was afraid that the matter of the Red Emperor Gu would be leaked. Others have not read the 'Gu Experience' and don't know that the Red Emperor Gu was the only solution. But if others know her treatment method, it will be easy for them to guess what special abilities she has.

"But Prime Minister..."


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