Ling Yao's heart tightened. Xiao Shan patted her and called out, "Your Majesty, your subject Xiao Qishan has repelled the Turks!"
"Xiao Qishan, I order you to cease hostilities and retreat!"
By this point, everyone could sense something was amiss. Minister Cao cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, the floods in Jiangdong are severe. Should we dispatch people to manage them?"
The Emperor paused briefly, then became agitated again.
"Bold! Bold! Bold!"
The Grand Shaman choked out, "Your Majesty, his mind has indeed been damaged by the Soul Devouring Gu. He is now merely a puppet controlled by others."
Prince Runan exclaimed, "Is my imperial brother truly poisoned by the Gu? How is this possible? He sometimes appears quite lucid."
"When he appears lucid, it's when he's attending court! Prince Runan, stop acting. Although it has been confirmed that Lu Jiangtian is the true culprit behind harming Your Majesty, you are likely not entirely innocent either!"
"Grand Shaman, what do you mean? Do not smear this prince's name. I truly know nothing. Since my imperial brother fell ill, I have been searching for renowned physicians everywhere..."
The First Prince sneered, "Then Uncle is truly useless. Why is it that I can uncover unusual things, but you cannot? I still remember coming to your residence and being reprimanded by you. You simply didn't want Father Emperor to recover, did you?"
"How dare you speak such nonsense!" Prince Runan, unable to defend himself, appeared genuinely wronged, his face turning ashen with anger.
The Empress stood stunned, silent.
"Enough! I will not let anyone who harmed Father go!" Ling Yao looked at the emaciated Emperor with grief. This was her most beloved father, the most noble Son of Heaven, yet he had been harmed to this extent.
She would have preferred him to be mistreated or beaten, rather than become like this. This was the greatest insult to an emperor of a nation.
"Grand Shaman, is there truly no other way? If the Soul Devouring Gu were removed..."
The Grand Shaman shook his head and looked at Xiao Shan.
"Bring the person forward."
Xiao Shan called out to those behind him. Two soldiers brought in a person bound in strange attire.
The man's hair was disheveled, his body reeked, and his eyes were peculiar, with almost no whites, appearing truly terrifying.
"This is the Miao Jiang Gu master that Lu Jiangtian kept in his residence. He is the one manipulating things from behind the scenes."
"Prince Runan doesn't believe it? Then let him demonstrate how he controls the Emperor!" Xiao Shan kicked the man. The man feared him greatly and began to mumble incoherently.
Following his words, the agitated Emperor calmed down, his gaze fixed forward, regaining his imperial majesty.
"My loyal subjects, rise—"
The Emperor turned to look at the people in the room, his expression blank, his eyes like dark, deep pools. "What is all this commotion in my imperial bedchamber? Was it not ordered that I not be disturbed? If you have matters, seek Grand Tutor Lu."
The Gu master stopped speaking and fell silent. The Emperor's shoulders slumped, and his gaze became vacant and hollow.
Everyone was stunned into silence.
"I want you to remove the Gu poison!" Ling Yao could not accept this. Her father had suffered such an insult. She glared fiercely at the Gu master, her demeanor sharp, wishing she could flay him, grind his bones to dust, and scatter his ashes.
"The Soul Devouring Gu cannot be removed. It has become a part of the Emperor's body. To remove it would be like excavating the brain marrow; the Emperor would die." The Gu master stated dully.
"I'll kill you!" The Second Prince, his eyes bloodshot, drew a soldier's saber from behind him and lunged forward.
He was kicked aside by Xiao Shan, landing on the ground. The Second Prince looked at Xiao Shan, who had stopped him, with hatred, as if he were an enemy.
Xiao Shan frowned, "His blood is highly toxic. It can only be incinerated."
The soldiers who brought the Gu master dragged him out for disposal. The Second Prince collapsed, weeping, "Father Emperor... Father Emperor... Your son did not know. Your son was wrong..."
"I will kill the one named Lu. I will exterminate his entire clan!" Ling Yao's emotions spiraled out of control, and she cried out in despair.
The Empress clutched her stomach, her expression pained, and crouched down.
Prince Runan hurried forward, "How are you? Someone, the Empress..." He stopped himself just in time. "Quickly, escort her back to Fengluan Palace."
"No! I want her here to serve Father Emperor! If Father Emperor dies, she will be buried with him!" Ling Yao shouted hoarsely at the Empress, her bloodthirsty gaze seeming to want to tear her apart.
Everyone was shocked, looking at Ling Yao in bewilderment.
Startled, the Empress hid her face in Prince Runan's embrace.
Xiao Shan picked up Ling Yao. "Xue Niang, look at me. Be careful of the child in your belly. Calm down... calm down."
Ling Yao's face was streaked with tears. She panted, trembling, her hand on her belly, forcing herself to calm down.
Xiao Shan looked at the First Prince. "You handle the rest."
He carried Ling Yao and strode out of Taiyi Hall.
The court officials waiting outside saw him carrying Princess Ling Yao out, their expressions fierce. None dared to step forward to inquire.
Ling Yao forced herself to calm down, but a knot of frustration still blocked her chest. She bit Xiao Shan's chest in a fit of pent-up emotion.
Xiao Shan seemed oblivious. He returned to Fengque Tower and steadily placed her on the bed. Yu Shan quickly stepped forward to examine her.
However, she saw her own mistress lying down with her master, the mistress's face pressed tightly against the master's chest, as if they were one.
How was she supposed to examine her?
"Hurry!" Xiao Shan glared at her impatiently.
Yu Shan hurriedly took her pulse. "It has affected the fetal qi somewhat, but it's not serious. This servant will go and brew some fetal-calming soup."
Xiao Shan lowered the bed curtains and sighed. "I told you not to get so worked up. See, you can't control yourself."
Ling Yao released her bite and began to weep again, sobbing, "That's not your biological father, so you naturally aren't sad. You can be indifferent, but I can't."
What was that supposed to mean?
It was indeed indifferent. He had no feelings for the Emperor. In the past, there was some sense of ruler and subject; now, they were in-laws, perhaps. His dedication to Jingguo was for his woman, not the Emperor.
"Father Emperor is the most important person in my heart..."
What? Not him?
"When I was young... he used to be very strong too, his back straight. Later, it was due to his toil for the nation that..." She began to ramble about the Emperor, about her childhood.
Xiao Shan heard nothing else but her loneliness, her longing, her lack of love.
This Emperor was still in her heart after all these years of confinement, causing her unhappiness as a child and suffering as an adult. In his opinion, he deserved to die!
It infuriated him.
But he dared not say it; he had to agree, letting her vent the pent-up emotions in her heart.
After speaking her heart out for a long time, Ling Yao felt much better. Xiao Shan's chest was already soaked with her tears.
"Did it hurt when you bit me just now?"
"No, it was like a mosquito bite."
Ling Yao didn't believe him and leaned closer to him, her affection evident.
"Xiao Shan, thank you for saving me from the abyss. If not for you, I wouldn't have returned and known all this truth."
"Don't say that again. I don't like hearing it."
"Whether you like it or not, you must hear it. You willingly do these things, yet I cannot take them for granted. When Father abandoned me, I was in pain, despair, and full of hatred, but I never thought of dying. However, if you were to abandon me, I probably wouldn't be able to live."
Xiao Shan was greatly shaken and held her even tighter. So, he was more important than anyone else.
"I will never abandon you. Without you, I wouldn't live another day."
Ling Yao kissed him. "I can give you nothing, except to live and die with you."