Chapter 1 An Ominous Feeling

"Consort Shu?"

"What happened to Yun'er?!"

Jiang Chen's heart jolted, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

Feng Jin was now terrified, barely managing to control himself as he lowered his voice and said, "The dark guards just reported that Consort Shu has fainted, her breath as thin as a thread, like a living corpse. It seems...it seems she's not going to make it."

Not going to make it?

What does that mean?

Yun'er, is she dying?

Jiang Chen's mind went blank, a dull ache in his chest making it hard to breathe, his vision darkening.

Vaguely, he gripped the dragon throne's armrest tightly, barely managing to maintain his composure.

The sudden change bewildered the ministers below, who exchanged confused glances.

What was going on?

"Your Majesty!" Feng Jin, who had been watching Jiang Chen, immediately stepped forward to steady him.

"I'm fine."

Jiang Chen's face was pale. With his last shred of reason, he controlled himself, stopping himself from rushing out of the Golden Luan Hall to Consort Shu.

"Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, you are in charge of the law. You will oversee this matter and handle it with the utmost severity. Do you understand?"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review immediately stepped forward and knelt on the ground. "Yes, Your Majesty, I will investigate thoroughly!"

After dealing with this matter, Jiang Chen couldn't hold back any longer and prepared to announce the end of the court session.

Although the suffocating feeling in his chest was getting worse, his concern for Consort Shu made him subconsciously ignore these abnormalities.

"Esteemed ministers, today's court session ends here. I have urgent matters to attend to. Dismissed!"

With that, Jiang Chen waved his sleeve and stood up, ready to leave.

But Mei Wenshi suddenly spoke up, shouting, "Your Majesty, this old minister sees that your face is pale. Are you unwell? Should we summon a physician to examine you?"

Jiang Chen frowned, the suffocating feeling growing stronger.

He forced himself to say, "I am fine."

Seeing this, Mei Wenshi's eyes flickered, a suspicion forming in his mind. He feigned concern and said, "Your Majesty, although state affairs are important, you must also take care of your health and balance work and rest."

Jiang Chen turned his head coldly, looking at Mei Wenshi, who was pretending and blocking his path. Anger flared up.

But now was not the time to lose his temper. Yun'er was still waiting for him!

His hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched silently. Jiang Chen took a deep breath and was about to say a few perfunctory words.

But at that moment, the blood in his meridians surged!

The words he was about to say turned into a streak of scarlet blood, bursting from his mouth and staining a large area of the imperial desk.

This scene terrified the ministers below, their expressions changing drastically.

Some, whose composure was not strong enough, even collapsed to the ground!

His Majesty, His Majesty is...is he about to die? But he has not left behind any heirs!

Feng Jin, who was beside him, was also frightened, his legs going weak.

But after all, he was the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Court, experienced in weathering storms. He quickly calmed down and ordered the guards to carry Jiang Chen back to the harem, and ordered the news to be blocked.

A moment later, at the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Two imperial physicians stood around Jiang Chen's bed, their expressions solemn.

They were the Director and Vice Director of the Imperial Hospital, the most skilled doctors in the entire palace.

But now, facing Jiang Chen's fainting, they were helpless.

This made the other close officials in the hall anxious and scratching their heads!

Even Jing Yue, who had been hidden in the shadows, appeared in front of everyone, guarding Jiang Chen's bed, her pretty face stern, not leaving for a moment.

After a long while.

The Director of the Imperial Hospital, who had been stared at by Feng Jin with murderous eyes, stroked his beard and hesitated:

"Commander Jing, I observe that His Majesty's symptoms are very similar to those of Consort Shu...I dare to guess that both of them may have been poisoned with the same kind of poison."

"I have never seen this poison, so I cannot prescribe a medicine, but there is a detoxification method that I have seen in ancient books, which can be used without prescribing medicine."

Jing Yue's eyes lit up slightly, and for the first time, she moved her gaze away from Jiang Chen.

She stared at the old Director, her voice as cold as frost, but with unwavering determination: "Speak!"

Being looked at like this.

The Director of the Imperial Hospital felt a chill down his back.

He subconsciously retracted his hand that was stroking his beard and honestly said, "This method is to find a person with superb martial arts skills and use internal energy to force the toxins out of the patient's body."

As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Jin next to him showed a look of ecstasy and urged, "There's a way, let's do it quickly! Don't let His Majesty suffer any more!"

Jing Yue narrowed her eyes slightly, not believing it immediately, and asked, "Since there is this method, why didn't you say so when Consort Shu was poisoned for so long?"

The Director heard this and showed a wry smile: "Commander Jing, it's not that this old man is unwilling, but Consort Shu can't use this method!"

"To force out the poison with internal energy, the poisoned person needs to be strong and sturdy, with tough meridians. Only when both are present can they withstand the ravages of internal energy. His Majesty practices martial arts, and his meridians have been tempered, fully meeting the conditions."

"But Consort Shu is delicate and weak, and she blocked a dagger for His Majesty, greatly injuring her vitality. Using this method to detoxify her is to send her to the Yellow Springs early."

Jing Yue was silent.

Then she took a deep look at the Director and said, "That's reasonable enough."

"What you said had better be the truth, otherwise I will kill your entire clan."

After saying that, without waiting for the Director to respond, she said calmly, "What needs to be done?"

The Director was suspected and threatened for no reason, and he was also upset.

But when he met Jing Yue's cold and beautiful eyes, he didn't dare to explode and honestly said, "I'll first use needles to protect His Majesty's main meridians, and then you can inject internal energy."

"Okay." Jing Yue nodded.

Evening.

The imperial city was tightly closed.

All roads leading to the outside world were heavily guarded, and there were three times as many patrols in the palace as usual.

The tense atmosphere made all the residents of the imperial capital feel the crisis of an impending storm.

And those nobles who had more access to information learned about the changes in the court through various channels.

For a time, people's hearts were restless.

Those ambitions that had been extinguished by Jiang Chen's strong transformation revived again.

Inside the palace.

Under Jing Yue's unreserved infusion of internal energy, Jiang Chen, who had been in a coma for nearly four hours, finally woke up.

After spitting out three mouthfuls of black blood in succession, he was finally able to control his body and move freely.

The suffocating feeling in his chest also disappeared without a trace. Apart from being a little sticky, Jiang Chen even felt that his condition was better than usual, much like when he first practiced martial arts and Jing Yue helped him expand his meridians.

"Your Majesty!"

The shouts of the people around him brought Jiang Chen back to his senses.

Thinking of the scene when he dismissed the court, his expression was solemn: "Feng Jin, take my edict, go to the imperial prison, and release Shi Ping."

"Restore his position as Minister of Rites and let him stabilize the civil officials in the court."

"Yes!" Feng Jin bowed and accepted the order, not even having time to wipe away his tears of joy, and ran straight out.

"Commander of the Imperial Guards, you go and notify the Five City Battalions, put the entire city under martial law, seal off the inner city gates, and prohibit anyone from entering or leaving."

A middle-aged general accepted the order and then retreated, leading a team of people out of the palace.

"Director, Yun'er, no, Consort Shu, how is she?"

The Director of the Imperial Hospital, who had just settled his heart, was instantly on edge again!

He could see clearly that Consort Shu was the apple of His Majesty's eye.

If he told the truth, I'm afraid...