PDLP Chapter 635 Return to the Imperial City
Chapter 635 Return to the Imperial City
Above the sky, an eagle's cry resounded through the clouds, interrupting Emperor Shenwu's temporary homesickness. He looked up and saw white clouds circling and rushing down, flying straight to Emperor Shenwu's side. Emperor Shenwu felt the same anxiety and fear as the eagle. He did not stop and immediately mounted his new horse and galloped towards the imperial city again.
The prince arranged water and dry food and followed closely behind.
Bai Yun spread a pair of huge wings and flew in front of Emperor Shenwu to lead the way for him. The horse galloped at full speed, and the scenery on both sides kept sweeping away in the eyes of Emperor Shenwu. The stars and the moon were visible all the way, making Emperor Shenwu wish he could grow wings like Bai Yun.
He kept praying in his heart, "Ruo Ruo, wait for me! You must wait for me!"
The war eagles gradually caught up with the Emperor Shenwu's entourage. Above the vast blue sky and white clouds, there was a group of flying and spinning war eagles leading the way. On the vast land, there was a team of galloping horses passing by, with horses neighing, horses' hooves shaking, and dust flying.
The Shenwu Emperor galloped day and night for seven days and seven nights. When he was nearing the imperial city, he shouted from his horse: "Baiyun, return to the imperial city first!"
Baiyun cried out, flying even faster, disappearing from the sight of the Divine Martial Emperor in an instant. The remaining warhawks followed Baiyun one after another, not stopping.
An official who had been guarding the imperial city walls finally caught a glimpse of the eagles flying towards him. He shouted, "Quick! Open the city gates!"
"The Seventh Prince has ordered: Open the city gates!"
The seventh prince, who ran to the palace wall every day to look out, finally saw the ink spots in the sky. He looked ecstatic and turned around and ran down the wall.
When Emperor Shenwu and his entourage galloped to the gate of the imperial city, the gate was already wide open. Once they entered the city gate, they had a smooth journey as if they were fish in water. At this moment, the sky was almost dark. Because the owner of the imperial city was about to return, the entire city wall and the entire palace were hung with lanterns. The layers of lights were lit from bottom to top, as if it was daytime, as if to welcome the return of the real owner of the palace.
The main gate of the palace was wide open, illuminating the palace as bright as day. Emperor Shenwu rode his horse and rushed into the palace in the twilight like a gust of wind.
In a flash, everyone rushed into the palace.
The Seventh Prince kept pacing back and forth at the entrance of Fengqi Palace, his hands folded, extremely nervous. The red line of poison from his mother had been slowly growing and was almost spreading to her shoulders. Imperial Physician Nie used the only two remaining disinfectant pills and a bottle of Ice Crystal Spirit Dew every day to suppress the poison again and again, but the poison was almost reaching its limit.
The ten days that Nie Wushuang mentioned are almost up, how can the Seventh Prince not be extremely anxious!
Finally, he could hear the sound of horse hooves. Although he could only hear the sound but not see the person, the Seventh Prince could no longer suppress the fear, grievance, and anger in his heart, as well as the hope rising in his heart: "Father! Father!"
In just a few moments, the Shenwu Emperor had already galloped to Fengqi Palace. The Seventh Prince excitedly said, "Father!"
Emperor Shenwu had been sleeping in the open air on horseback all the way and was covered in dust. At this time, his black clothes were stained with dust, his hair tied up in a crown was slightly disheveled, and he had a green beard on his face. Although he was unkempt, his eyes were sharper, more vicissitudes and more resolute.
Emperor Shenwu leaped off his horse without saying a single word. He rushed into the bedroom of Fengqi Palace as fast as lightning, followed closely by the Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince.
In the dormitory, Nie Wushuang was staring at the fatal red line, his expression solemn and full of worry.
When Emperor Shenwu rushed into the bedroom and threw himself beside Lan Qingwu, Nie Wushuang's mind went blank for a moment, and he even forgot to stand up and salute. Your Majesty... finally rushed back before the situation got any worse!
Not only Nie Wushuang, but also the group of people guarding the outer hall were stunned for a moment. When they reacted, Concubine Jiang, Prince Ding, Princess Kang, the Second Prince, the Fifth Prince and others knelt on the ground one after another.
Emperor Shenwu didn't care about anything at this moment. He rushed to Lan Qingwu, took out the jade bottle from his arms, opened the bottle cap, and before the cold air could fill the whole room, Emperor Shenwu had already fed the Ice and Snow Pill into the unconscious Lan Qingwu's mouth. The Ice and Snow Pill melted in his mouth, like a stream of fresh snow water flowing into Lan Qingwu's body that was frozen by the ice crystal dew.
Emperor Shenwu's movements were as smooth as flowing water. From entering to feeding the medicine, he completed it in just a few breaths. Then he stared at Lan Qingwu closely, observing her reaction.
The Seventh Princess, who had not left her bed for days and nights, came to her senses and looked at the Emperor Shenwu with tears in her eyes: "Father..."
Nie Wushuang also reacted: "Your Majesty..."
The Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince both entered the bedroom.
The Divine Martial Emperor's eyes remained motionless as he instructed, "Nie Wushuang, come and see if the poison has been resolved."
Nie Wushuang approached the bed, and the Emperor Shenwu gently lifted the quilt, revealing Lan Qingwu's entire snow-white left shoulder. A shocking red line on it slowly spread inward from the shoulder. Nie Wushuang frowned tightly, and Ruping couldn't help but ask, "Why hasn't this red line stopped yet?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the slowly spreading red line finally stopped moving. But Nie Wushuang's expression was serious, his eyes fixed on the red line. "This poison has been in the Empress's body for too long, and I have repeatedly suppressed it with Ice Crystal Spirit Dew and Disinfection Pills. Now, the Ice and Snow Pill and the Red Beauty are like two equally matched generals, facing each other head-on, fighting fiercely within the Empress' body and suppressing each other! Just like the stalemate at this moment!"
"Let's see who comes out on top!"
The bedroom was momentarily silent, a pin drop audible. No one spoke, no one moved, their gaze fixed on the suddenly frozen red line. Time ticked by, the stillness of the red line nearly driving the Shenwu Emperor to tears, his eyes brimming with red. His fists clenched unconsciously, his breathing stagnating. Why wasn't it moving? Why wasn't the red line moving? Why hadn't the poison been suppressed?
Cold sweat had already appeared on the palms of Emperor Shenwu. In the blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour had passed. Nie Wushuang also held his breath. He even thought about using another bottle of Ice Crystal Spirit Dew.
Finally—under the scorching gazes of the crowd, the red line that had been stagnant retreated rapidly like melting ice and snow! Shoulder, upper arm, forearm... ...until the middle finger where the poison first spread.
Nie Wushuang moved immediately. He quickly pulled out the silver needle and stabbed the small needle hole that had healed again. He was careful and quick, and stabbed the silver needle hard at the original place. Purple-red blood flowed out from the tip of Lan Qingwu's middle finger and dripped into the glass bowl held in Ruhan's hands.
The Ice and Snow Pill circulated rapidly in Lan Qingwu's body, and the poison that had caused the untimely death of the beautiful woman was slowly expelled from the body along with the blood. Nie Wushuang carefully observed the color of the blood. Most of the blood in the glass bowl had been collected before the color slowly faded. Nie Wushuang did not dare to be careless. When the blood color finally returned to normal, Nie Wushuang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly put away the silver needle and examined Lan Qingwu's pulse. "Your Majesty, the Queen's poison has been expelled, and she is now safe and sound. However..."
Emperor Shenwu felt a buzzing in his ears. He only heard the words "safe and sound" from Nie Wushuang, and Emperor Shenwu could no longer restrain his anxiety, fear and tears. He suddenly leaned over and hugged Lan Qingwu, who was unconscious on the bed. At this moment, he could finally release all his emotions.
Nie Wushuang immediately shut up and lowered his head. He packed up and quickly left the bedroom with the crown prince, the seventh prince, the seventh princess and others.
In the bedroom, Emperor Shenwu could finally hug Lan Qingwu without restraint. His tears fell on Lan Qingwu's snow-white neck and black hair. The treasure that was lost and found again made Emperor Shenwu unwilling to let go of his hands for a long time.
After leaving the bedroom, Nie Wushuang specifically instructed Ruhan and Ruping on how to take care of the Empress. He also instructed them, "The Empress's body is as if she had just fought a battle. She won't be fully awake until at least tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, you must stay by her side and pay close attention to her reactions at all times. If she shows any signs of lucidity, be sure to talk to her!"
The Crown Prince looked slightly haggard, but in good spirits. He clasped his fists and bowed, "Imperial Physician Nie, Uncle Ding, Uncle Kang, Concubine Mother Jiang, Concubine Mother Liang, Concubine Mother Wan, Second Brother, Fifth Brother… The Queen Mother was able to escape this danger thanks to all of you. I thank you all here!"
Everyone stepped aside, not daring to accept the prince's greetings.
Imperial Concubine Jiang choked up and said, "Mother Jiang dare not accept your gift. If the Empress had not used her own Ice and Snow Pill to save your second brother first, the Empress would not have had to endure this disaster!"
The Crown Prince said, "This proves that Second Brother and my mother are not destined to die! Concubine Jiang, you and Second Brother don't have to worry too much!"
Concubine Wan looked at the Crown Prince and the First Prince's faces, her face showing heartache as she said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince has traveled thousands of miles back to the Imperial City. He must be exhausted. Rest well tonight! When the Empress wakes up tomorrow, she will see that Your Highness is in good spirits."
Concubine Liang nodded and said, "Not bad!"
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince's face instantly turned murderous. He had just returned from the battlefield, his aura of slashing through thorns and wielding a bloody storm was fully radiated. The several palace ladies across from him immediately turned pale as they heard the Crown Prince say word by word, "No! My mother was lucky to survive, but some people's lives should be cut short!"
The prince was like a handsome and cold god of death, with a sharp and deep gaze that made everyone in the hall dare not look directly at him.
The Crown Princess was so frightened that she took a half step back involuntarily. She had never seen the Crown Prince look so murderous and ferocious. At that moment, a trace of fear quickly flashed through the Crown Princess' heart.
In a blink of an eye, the prince turned around and prepared to stride out the door.
Unexpectedly, the Shenwu Emperor had already walked out of the bedroom with a sullen face. His expression was like a dark and calm abyss. The calmer it was, the more chilling the danger was. The Shenwu Emperor said, "Xiao Qi, lead the way!"