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Chapter 54
The Great Qi Dynasty was also celebrating the festival, though they called it by a different name.
Swaying lanterns cast their reflections in the river water, stretching all the way beyond the palace walls.
The banquet had ended, yet the incredibly luxurious palace still carried a hint of eerie coldness.
Cold winds lifted the cloud-mist gauze curtains while candlelight flickered.
Atop the high platform, a figure sat lazily in the royal throne, holding an ornate wooden box in his hands. He merely glanced down at the priceless pills inside before casually tossing the box onto the table.
Footsteps approached from directly ahead, but this didn’t prompt any movement from him. He appeared completely unconcerned about being discovered.
“Who dares to sit on the—”
The shrill voice hadn’t finished speaking when the person on the throne slowly turned his gaze sideways. Dark patterns on his sleeve robes moved with the wind, and his exquisite face bore an eerie smile. The person below immediately changed expression dramatically.
The old emperor, dressed in dragon robes with fierce and sinister eyes, actually showed some panic on his face.
“National… National Preceptor.” The head eunuch’s face turned pale.
“Am I not allowed to sit here?”
Wen Zhi chuckled softly, his pitch-black eyes looking straight at the old emperor. His casual voice sounded like a death knell.
“Don’t forget how your Great Qi has survived until now, and you as well.”
The old emperor struggled to exhale a breath of stale air while the head eunuch had already received the command to retreat to one side, not daring to make another sound.
Years ago, foreign tribes had already reached the outskirts of the Great Qi capital. Generals were either dead or wounded, and no one remained who could fight.
Just as the country was about to fall, the newly enthroned old emperor had made a deal with his own life as collateral to preserve the Great Qi’s territory.
From that day forward, the Great Qi gained a National Preceptor.
He was the one who led troops to drive back the foreign tribes.
That year, the young man who held overwhelming power over the court wore black clothing. When he rode his horse back to the capital, he amazed countless noble ladies.
However, his victory after victory also made the emperor increasingly fearful and restless.
In the final battle, crossbow bolts crafted by the Great Qi’s finest artisans pierced through the National Preceptor’s chest from behind.
During the deal-making process, the emperor had already discovered that the National Preceptor was no ordinary person, but he still had to follow a set of rules. Therefore, the National Preceptor could also be wounded on the battlefield.
The Great Qi emperor made another deal with the foreign tribes, trading the twenty cities that were about to be reclaimed, to accomplish this deed.
The emperor also had people take away the transaction token—the ancestral sword—so that no one could take his life.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eliminate future troubles completely. He had already ordered that the National Preceptor be sealed in a stone coffin, but still wasn’t able to kill him or contain him.
“I told you back then that this deal required a life. You chose to live yourself, so what gets consumed is the Great Qi’s fortune. Otherwise, why do you think you’ve been able to sit securely on your high throne all these years?”
Wen Zhi walked down the steps unhurriedly, and under the old emperor’s terrified gaze, he smiled.
“After you die, you’ll suffer quite a bit. Do you still think you can achieve immortality with those mercury pills?”
“No… you haven’t found the ancestral sword. You can’t take my life.”
The old emperor muttered, his cloudy eyes gazing at the person before him, fear mixed with a trace of greed.
The National Preceptor still looked the same as he had years ago. Wasn’t this exactly the path to immortality he had been seeking?
“Let’s sign a new contract. You can have as many lives as you want, just grant me eternal life.”
The old emperor had become somewhat frenzied with excitement.
Wen Zhi simply shook his head with a smile, displaying the same unrestrained arrogance as in the past.
“If I didn’t know where the sword was hidden, would I be so bored as to come here and waste time?”
“However, I’m not here to kill you today. I want the fire-proof cloth.”
Cold sweat had already broken out on the old emperor’s forehead. When he heard these words, he remained stunned for a long while.
Seeing Wen Zhi lift his leg to move forward, he hurriedly ordered the head eunuch, “Quick! Go fetch what the National Preceptor wants!”
He only wanted the fire-proof cloth—not his life, not his kingdom. He should be burning incense in gratitude.
The eunuch didn’t dare delay. He hurried out of the palace, personally retrieved the item, and when presenting it, both his hands were trembling.
Only after watching the person leave did the old emperor dare to summon people inside to thoroughly inspect all entrances to the palace and summon trusted practitioners overnight.
The palace’s sudden major activity quickly reached the ears of those outside.
The spy who came to report had just left when Li Heng sent people to investigate what matter could have prompted his father emperor to mobilize all the imperial guards.
Those who had just returned from attending the palace banquet probably wouldn’t get much sleep tonight.
Strangely, though, until dawn broke, the palace’s alert status showed no signs of relaxing, yet nothing had happened.
The glass lamp on Li Heng’s desk was still lit when news from the palace arrived.
Having maintained his position as crown prince despite the old emperor’s wariness, his abilities were naturally considerable.
Li Heng had already learned from Eunuch Wang’s godson information that others hadn’t yet discovered.
“The imperial guards seemed to be searching for someone. Eunuch Wang took the fire-proof cloth, but later no one knew where that piece of cloth went.
The palace has been keeping information tightly sealed. They only heard Eunuch Wang mention the words ‘National Preceptor’ in his sleep.”
A flash of doubt crossed Li Heng’s eyes.
The Great Qi indeed once had a National Preceptor, personally appointed by his father emperor. He had died many years ago and was said to possess unparalleled beauty and stunning talent, having once saved the Great Qi from crisis.
All these years, even though his father emperor had built an alchemy room in the palace and granted titles and ranks to practitioners, the position of National Preceptor had remained vacant.
Based on his understanding of his father emperor, this was because in his father’s heart, these people simply couldn’t compare to the National Preceptor of the past.
But why would his father emperor be afraid?
Had he developed hallucinations from taking too many pills? Or was there some other hidden story?
*
On the third morning after the festival, Shen You packed her things and prepared to drive back to Jiang City.
She was just contacting Mr. Zhang to confirm the delivery time for the phoenix crown of the imperial consort when her parents had already loaded the things they’d prepared onto the car.
Everything was food. Although these items could also be bought in Jiang City, they still felt they were bringing too little.
If Shen You hadn’t stopped them, they would have filled the entire trunk before stopping.
“Call Dad and Mom when you arrive.” Shen’s mother instructed, standing outside the car window.
“I know.”
Shen You waved goodbye to her family, started the car, and followed the GPS directions toward Jiang City.
During this return home, she had openly listened to relatives’ conversations while also searching for news about her second uncle who had fled.
Publicly, that family claimed they also couldn’t find him and hadn’t been in contact.
But Shen You didn’t believe it. Her second uncle couldn’t really have no contact with his son. Even if he could bear to abandon his son, he couldn’t bear to abandon his grandson.
She had to wait for an opportunity when he contacted home.
She wanted to let her second uncle know that she could fill that financial hole, wondering if he would come back.
Shen You shook her head. Someone who had been able to thrive in the county town for the first half of his life wasn’t just clever—he was extremely shrewd.
If he discovered that she was trying to lure him back, it would be difficult to plan anything in the future.
She took a deep breath. This matter couldn’t be rushed.
After returning to the shop, Shen You first checked the system’s protective functions. And finding no anomalies, she felt relieved.
She didn’t wait long before Mr. Zhang personally arrived, bringing Professor Li and an appraiser from the Collectors’ Association.
This item was not only valuable but held extraordinary significance for their family, so they naturally had to treat it seriously.
Professor Li and the appraiser came to serve as intermediaries, confirming there were no problems with the item and facilitating the handover.
“You can rest assured. Sometimes I even call Shen You to help with the restoration group. She’s been restoring Tang Dynasty excavated artifact hairpins, so how could she not handle yours?” Professor Li spoke up.