Chapter 648:1 Am Back
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After losing two parts of the iron-smelting technique, a sense of panic spread from the bottom of Emperor Zhao Heng’s heart.
He looked at Xie Jun’s tearful face and did not even open his mouth to ask any more questions. He suddenly turned around and walked quickly towards the mansion’s entrance.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what’s wrong? Your Majesty…”
The palace servants were stunned and ran after him.
“Return to the palace, return to the palace! Return at once!”
No one dared to ask further questions and the subordinates could only drive the carriage and rush back to the Imperial Palace.
Emperor Zhao Heng rushed back to his sleeping chamber, dismissed everyone, and closed the door of the inner hall himself.
After making sure that no one was peeping outside, he came to the dragon bed and pressed on a groove at the head of the bed. A secret compartment was revealed.
Emperor Zhao Heng took out the cloth pouch hidden in the secret compartment. It was the third part of the iron-smelting technique that Prime Minister Zhou had handed to him.
When he saw that the iron-smelting technique was safe and sound, Emperor
Zhao Heng let out a huge sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. This thing was still there.
He carefully put the item back, but even so, he was still worried.
He walked out of the inner hall and said to the servants outside the door, “From today onward, without my order, no one is allowed to enter my sleeping chamber.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Xie Jun had seen with his own eyes how Emperor Zhao Heng rushed in and left in a hurry with an anxious look.
After confirming that the Emperor had left, his trusted aide dismissed all the irrelevant people, leaving only his people in the courtyard.
“Your Highness, His Majesty is…” He came all the way here, but why did he leave without even saying a word?
Xie Jun slowly stood up next to the pit as an irrepressible icy smile crept across his face.
“It seems that my guess is correct.”
“Please enlighten me, Your Highness.”
Xie Jun explained, “I couldn’t figure out how that old fart from the Zhou Clan managed to escape unscathed. The Prime Minister’s family didn’t seem to have been affected at this moment. Now, it seems that the Zhou Clan has indeed handed over the part of the iron-smelting technique in their hands.”
This was exactly what he wanted!
“Send a message to the people at the border. Tell them that they can move
soon.”
“Your Highness, are you saying that you want to bring the First Prince back?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Isn’t… isn’t this too risky?” If the Zhou Clan found out…
“Tell them to be careful and they must bring him back.
When he saw that Xie Jun had made up his mind, the trusted aide could only acknowledge the order.
Emperor Zhao Heng fell ill suddenly. As the onset of the illness was too sudden, everyone was somewhat caught off guard.
After the Imperial Physicians in the palace checked him, they only said that Emperor Zhao Heng suffered from rapid anger which injured the heart, rendering his body vulnerable to catching a cold.
However, after a few days of treatment, Emperor Zhao Heng’s mental state became worse and worse, and he even started talking gibberish.
The Empress waited on Emperor Zhao Heng all night. She even fed him medicine personally without the help of servants.
However, even so, Emperor Zhao Heng showed no signs of getting better.
“What should we do? Imperial Physician, what is happening to the Emperor?
Do you know how to treat him at all?
Faced with the Empress’s interrogation, the Imperial Physicians were also very terrified. From the pulse signs and symptoms, Emperor Zhao Heng was suffering from internal anger that affected his heart. As long as the liver energy could circulate freely and his Yang energy was replenished, there should not be any major problems. How was it that he had remained unconscious until now?
The Imperial Physicians could only stay up all night pondering over Emperor Zhao Heng’s illness and treatment plan.
Finally, after nearly half a month, Emperor Zhao Heng regained consciousness!
When Emperor Zhao Heng opened his eyes, he saw the Empress whose hair had turned white almost by half due to the ordeal.
When she saw that Emperor Zhao Heng had woken up, the Empress was so excited that she wept.
Xie Rui’s whereabouts were still unknown now. If something happened to Emperor Zhao Heng at this time, would those princes who had been coveting ravenously let go of such a good opportunity?
Before Xie Rui returned safely, the Empress hoped that Emperor Zhao Heng would stay alive.
As he looked at the Empress’s sincere expression, Emperor Zhao Heng was somewhat moved.
“L.What happened to me?”
The Empress used her handkerchief to dab at the tears in the corners of her eyes. She choked back her tears as she said, “Your Majesty, you don’t know this. That day, you had a fever in the latter half of the night after you went to bed. It scared me to death.”
Emperor Zhao Heng frowned and shook his head. He really didn’t have any impression of this matter.
When the Imperial Physician heard the noise, he immediately entered the inner hall to check Emperor Zhao Heng’s pulse again. After confirming that his life was not in danger, he heaved a sigh of relief.
“Your Majesty, you have been sick over the past few days and your body is still very weak. You need to recuperate for a period of time.”
The Imperial Physician then gave some other instructions before leaving.
When Emperor Zhao Heng saw that the phoenix robe on the Empress’s body had become wrinkled, his expression became considerably gentler.
“My Empress, you have not been able to rest well during this period. Go back and rest first. I am fine. You need not worry.”
The Empress was indeed tired. Ever since Emperor Zhao Heng fell ill, she had not had a good sleep.
“Your Consort is relieved to see that Your Majesty has woken up. I will not disrupt Your Majesty’s rest then. I will come again tomorrow.” After a bout of illness, Emperor Zhao Heng could clearly feel that his body was much weaker. After everyone left, he gestured for the head eunuch to help him up from the bed.
“I’m a little hungry. Go and personally bring me a bowl of vegetable porridge.” The head eunuch did not ask any further and excused himself dutifully. As soon as the hall door was closed, Emperor Zhao Heng propped himself up from the bed and opened the secret compartment at the head of the bed.
The moment he opened the secret compartment, Emperor Zhao Heng’s heart plunged into an ice cellar!
It was gone. The last part of the iron-smelting technique in his hand was gone!
“Somebody, anybody! Come at once!”
On a deserted path outside the palace, a figure lay on the ground. It was not known whether he was dead or alive.
After an unknown length of time, that figure slowly got up from the ground. He looked around in a daze. After making sure that there was no one around, he quickly walked out of the alley. Very soon, he saw the Imperial Palace that was not far away.
This period of imprisonment had almost worn away all of his willpower. Xie Rui looked at the familiar Imperial Palace in front of him and only had one thought in his mind, and that was to return to the palace. It seemed that as long as he stepped into the palace, he would no longer be in any danger!
With this most primitive thought in his mind, Xie Rui ran all the way to the palace gate as if he had seen a ghost.
When the guards outside the palace saw a person charging toward them aggressively, they immediately adopted a defensive stance and stepped forward to stop him.
After the other party got closer, the guards finally recognized Xie Rui.
“Your Highness the First Prince?”
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
All the guards came forward to pay their respects.
Once he saw the rows of guards, the fear in Xie Rui’s heart dissipated a little.
“Move aside. I have something to report to His Majesty.”
Not surprisingly, the guards did not dare to stop him. However, no matter who it was, they were not allowed to enter and exit the palace gate without permission. They requested Xie Rui to wait for a moment as they needed to enter the palace to report to the Emperor.
Upon reaching the gates of the palace, Xie Rui wasn’t as scared anymore. He didn’t mind waiting for a while.
When the guard arrived outside the sleeping chamber, he was just in time to hear Emperor Zhao Heng’s furious yelling that was almost losing control.
“Somebody, anybody! Come at once!”
The people standing guard outside the hall did not dare to delay and pushed open the door and rushed in.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, did something happen?”
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