The Sickly Emperor Is Only Immune to Me

Chapter 83: Chapter 083 Taoist

“Silence! What audacity! To spout nonsense in front of Us!”

He Ying felt his imperial dignity being violated and harshly ordered severe punishment, “This person intends to shift the blame to one of the court officials, his heart is vicious, and he persists in his delusions. Take him away and execute him by lingchi!”

The guards sprang into action, dragging Liu Tang away.

Liu Tang wailed, looking to the skies, “Emperor, I speak the truth. It truly was Mr. Sang who made me kill Wan Zhang. Your Majesty, please see the truth. Emperor—”

His tragic screams echoed continuously.

The ministers kneeling outside the Imperial Study heard everything distinctly.

“Please, Emperor, order harsh punishment for the murderer! Execute the demoness!”

“Emperor, you mustn’t persist in your delusions!”

“Emperor, Wan Zhang was a close friend of the late Emperor and had contributed to the elimination of the Pei Faction. To die at the hands of such villains, it is truly pitiful! You must seek justice for him!”

“Minister Jiang Chongyu, along with three thousand students from the Imperial College, kneels and begs the Emperor to remove the treacherous officials! Execute the demoness!”

…

Their clamor grew even more massive.

He Ying, inside, listened with an increasingly cold expression and murderous intent swirling in his eyes.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴονǤᴑ.ƈο

Ah, so this was what Sang Yan had always feared, wasn’t it?

Indeed… it was interesting.

Qingning Palace, Side Hall

Sang Yan also learned of the palace unrest and found herself the target of everyone’s arrows.

She had always feared this kind of situation, but now that it had come, she felt unexpectedly calm.

Qiuzhi was different.

She paced around Sang Yan, shaking in her hands and voice, “What, what do we do? Miss, will the Emperor, will the Emperor compromise, kill us, to appease, appease the public anger?”

Sang Yan believed He Ying would not do so.

Strange, this belief seemed entirely without basis.

“Alright, stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy.”

She stopped Qiuzhi’s pacing.

Qiuzhi stopped pacing around her, but now wanted to go out to gather information.

However, they were surrounded by two layers of guards.

She couldn’t even get out.

“I need to go to the Imperial Kitchen to ask for a bowl of lotus seed soup; my master is hungry.”

She deliberately sought an excuse.

The head of the guards said, “Go back first, we will send someone.”

Saying so, he signaled another guard to go to the kitchen with the message.

Qiuzhi failed to get out, thought for a while, then took out some money to bribe the guard, “Brother, I want to ask about something, about the killing of Mr. Wan, has anything been found out? How does the Emperor plan to deal with the kneeling officials?”

“I’m sorry. I have nothing to tell you.”

The lead guard was iron-faced and unyielding, showing no favoritism.

Qiuzhi could do nothing but sit at the gates of the hall, waiting for fate’s arrangement.

Until Sang Ruoshui arrived.

The guards actually weren’t prepared to let her through.

But Sang Ruoshui slapped one across the face, and that chief guard shut up.

The Emperor had only ordered that Sang Yan be protected, not allowing her out of the side hall.

As for someone entering the side hall?

It probably didn’t count as dereliction on their part.

Sang Ruoshui entered the side hall and brought news, “It’s still a deadlock. Someone took the chance to slander, saying it was our father who killed Wan Zhang, how absurd! Luckily, the Emperor is wise and wasn’t deceived!”

Sang Yan was unaware of this turn of events, feeling in an instant that even the Sang Family was caught in someone else’s schemes.

“Big sister, you needn’t worry, the Emperor will surely protect you.”

“We can’t rely entirely on the Emperor.”

Sang Yan massaged her temples, recalling her few encounters with Wan Zhang—a man so intelligent, so world-weary, he must have considered his arrangements for after his death, right? Could he have left a will or something?

Thinking this, she told Sang Ruoshui, “Make a trip to the Observatory. Wan Zhang might have left some things.”

Sang Ruoshui, seeing her serious expression, didn’t inquire further and turned to leave.

At the same time

He Ying also thought of this.

The last time he saw Wan Zhang, thinking deeply about his words now, it seemed like he was settling his affairs.

So, had he anticipated his own death?

“Good, good, be gone, be gone. This is the last thing I can do for the He Family.”

This sentence echoed in his mind incessantly.

“Someone, search the Observatory immediately to see if there’s any kind of suicide note or such.”

He had been so worried before that he had forgotten how clever Wan Zhang was.

Pei Muyang personally went to the Observatory.

*

Sang Yan was still waiting for Sang Ruoshui to return.

But instead of her, the Empress Dowager arrived.

“How dare you! Who dares to obstruct when the Empress Dowager wishes to see someone?”

With a stern shout, Puzhu charged into the side hall with her entourage.

Holding the Empress Dowager’s imperial decree, the guards looked at each other, unable to obstruct, and could only go to inform the Emperor.

“Quickly let the Emperor know, the Empress Dowager has taken Lord Sang away.”

After sending someone to deliver the message, the head guard also followed with his men.

They must ensure Sang Yan’s safety!

*

Sang Yan hadn’t expected the Empress Dowager to make a move at this time.

Indeed, she had previously defied her order and naturally had to pay the price.

Yongshou Palace was still filled with the fragrance of Buddha incense.

But the scent was too strong, suffocating.

Today, there was no sunlight.

The palace also felt ominously chilly, sending shivers down one’s spine.

The Empress Dowager, sitting at the head, saw her enter and eerily said, “This is the Sang Family’s daughter. I request the Fairy to read her face.”

Hearing the voice, Sang Yan only then saw a middle-aged woman dressed like a Taoist emerging from within.

Dressed in light grey Taoist robes, plain yet solemn, her expression was serious and her gaze icy cold.

Unnervingly inducing fear.

Sang Yan thought of Wan Zhang, whose emotions were always plain on his face, and preferred him more.

Wan Zhang… what a pity.

“What a pity.”

The words of the Taoist echoed by her ear.

Sang Yan’s heart shuddered and she hurriedly asked, “Fairy, why do you say this?”

The Taoist didn’t answer her but gestured for the Empress Dowager to have her taken away.

They needed to talk privately.

Understanding this, Sang Yan said angrily, “What is it that you can’t say in front of me? Aren’t you supposed to read my face? Why the secrecy? It’s all an act!”

Though she was furious and unwilling to leave, she was still carried out by several palace maids and locked in a side hall.

She kicked the door in anger.

The noise faintly traveled to the main hall.

The Empress Dowager, listening, didn’t take it to heart but asked the Taoist, “Is there anything unusual about her face?”

The Taoist first pressed her palms together and bowed three times towards a certain direction, then said, “This woman is not from this realm.”

The Empress Dowager was shocked and lost color, “Not from this realm? What do you mean? Reincarnated through another’s corpse?”

The Taoist nodded, “She is also one of fortune’s thin, an amalgamation of coincidental fate. It’s beneficial and harmful for the country and the Emperor, dependent on fate.”

The Empress Dowager did not understand, “What do you mean beneficial and harmful for the country and the Emperor?”

The Taoist bowed her head, “Empress Dowager, the secrets of heaven must not be revealed.”

The Empress Dowager was too shocked.

She quickly fingered her Buddha beads to calm herself, asking, “Before Wan Zhang died, I summoned him. He asked me to treat her kindly and said that the entire Da He Royal Heir lineage rests solely with her. Do you think so too?”

The Taoist remained silent.

Silence meant consent.

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager sighed deeply, “But I cannot accept her.”

Her niece, the Empress, was still at Qifeng Palace, waiting for the Emperor’s favor.

She had planned it already, to use the Emperor’s dragon essence on the Empress first, so that she would have a chance at life when she died.

Yet, they all said, the entire Da He Royal Heir lineage rested with this woman.

Ridiculous!

A widow cursed with a husband-killing fate was supposed to continue the Royal Heir?

“If I insist on killing her, what will happen?”