“Are you trying to humiliate me, sir?”
After glaring fiercely at Han Xiao, Huang Qianshan said through gritted teeth.
“Lord Huang, you overestimate yourself. As I said, I am merely here to deliver a message from my lord. Whether you choose to listen or not is your own affair!”
Facing Huang Qianshan’s man-eating glare, Han Xiao sneered.
“Guards, escort him out!”
After taking several deep breaths, Huang Qianshan finally managed to restrain himself.
“Lord Huang, my Han family is not a dough to be kneaded at will. Lord Huang, do not miscalculate!”
As he was about to leave, Han Xiao suddenly stopped and coldly threw down these words.
“Preposterous!”
Only after Han Xiao had gone a considerable distance did Huang Qianshan erupt.
The furious Huang Qianshan, like a ferocious beast, overturned everything in his room.
“Guards, drag that Han Rui out and have him tortured! Give him the full treatment!”
After smashing everything breakable in the room, Huang Qianshan, with red eyes, rushed out again.
“My lord, you absolutely must not! Putting aside the fact that he is a member of the Han family, he is, after all, an official of the court. If you were to subject him to torture directly, where would the dignity of the court be?”
As soon as Huang Qianshan spoke, several subordinates standing nearby quickly interjected to dissuade him.
“Didn’t you all see it just now? Am I to allow the Han family to insult me like this?”
In his fit of rage, Huang Qianshan had no rationality left.
“My lord, if you do that, won’t you be handing them an excuse?”
Seeing that he was about to fail in his dissuasion, a confidant whispered.
“Hoo—”
After his words, Huang Qianshan finally calmed down. After taking several deep breaths, he managed to control his emotions.
“This matter cannot be let go just like this. I am not finished with the Han family!”
Although he had managed to control his emotions, Huang Qianshan still felt a heavy blockage in his heart.
If it had been one of the elder statesmen of the Han family who came, he might have felt better. But the person Han Mo chose was a young man in his early twenties.
Moreover, that fellow had not spoken a single word of appeasement from beginning to end.
Rather than saying he was delivering a message, it was more like he was issuing a threat.
Let alone being an official of the court, even a brute would not be able to endure such humiliation!
“My lord, don’t you find this matter strange? Aren’t they clearly trying to enrage you by doing this?”
“Enrage me?”
Hearing this, Huang Qianshan couldn’t help but frown. Thinking about it carefully, it did seem to be the case…
“But what good does it do them to enrage me? Are they really trying to provoke me into killing Han Rui?”
As Huang Qianshan spoke, his face showed a look of bewilderment.
It made no sense!
***
“You say Master Yuanmiao is gravely ill?”
While Huang Qianshan was full of doubts, Zhao Ji, the current emperor of the Great Song dynasty, sat high on his throne, looking at Zhang Ruhui, who was kneeling beside him, with a puzzled expression.
“Replying to Your Majesty, my master could not bear to see the suffering of all living beings. Last night, under the great brilliance of the Ziwei Star illuminating the heavens, he used fifteen years of his lifespan to forcefully glimpse the heavenly secrets, and thus suffered a severe backlash. He is now on the verge of death. I implore Your Majesty, out of consideration for my master’s years of loyal service, to save my master this once!”
As Zhang Ruhui spoke, tears streamed down his face. Even Liang Shicheng felt a pang of pity.
“You say Master Yuanmiao sacrificed fifteen years of his life last night to glimpse the heavenly secrets?”
Although Zhao Ji had become increasingly dissatisfied with Lin Ling’su in the past few months, upon hearing these words, he couldn’t help but stand up.
“Seeing Your Majesty labor day and night for state affairs and witnessing the suffering of the people from war, my master felt he had no choice but to take this risk last night. I implore Your Majesty to show mercy!”
Zhang Ruhui, while speaking, began to prostrate himself on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing.
“Guards, issue an imperial edict. Prepare the imperial carriage to Shenxiao Palace and have all the imperial physicians from the Tai Hospital accompany me!”
Although he didn’t know if this matter was true or false, the mere spectacle of it made the Taoist-believing, foolish emperor Zhao Ji unable to contain his emotions.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Liang Shicheng, though unaware of what had happened, had been by the emperor’s side for so many years that he could guess it was another trick played by Lin Ling’su.
Although they didn’t have much deep interaction, seeing the Crown Prince’s relationship with the monks growing stronger, he thought that if Lin Ling’su could truly be resurrected, it might be a good option.
“Master, what is wrong with you?”
It was not easy for the emperor to leave the palace. Even though the Zhao family’s emperors were not particularly meticulous about such matters, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.
When Zhao Ji arrived at the backyard of Shenxiao Palace, he was startled by Lin Ling’su lying on the bed as soon as he entered.
In just a few days, Lin Ling’su looked like a completely different person.
His originally ruddy face was now devoid of any color, and even his once black hair had become dull and lifeless like dried grass.
“This old Taoist is incompetent and has caused Your Majesty worry…”
Not only did his complexion look very unwell, but even Lin Ling’su’s voice had become hoarse when he spoke.
At this point, Zhao Ji, who had initially harbored some doubts, immediately believed eighty percent of what Zhang Ruhui had said.
“Master, what happened to you? I haven’t seen you in just a few days, and now your health…”
Seeing him in this state, Zhao Ji’s eyes were even starting to redden.
“Your Majesty, this old Taoist has been observing the celestial phenomena recently, but there has always been a layer of mist covering it. Seeing Your Majesty labor day and night for the people of this land, I truly felt unbearable compassion. Therefore, last night, during the great brilliance of the Ziwei Star, I used more than ten years of my lifespan to glimpse the heavenly secrets for Your Majesty!”
In just a few sentences, Lin Ling’su paused three times.
Seeing how difficult it was for him even to speak, tears began to stream down Zhao Ji’s cheeks.
“Master, why did you put yourself through this! Is there anything that cannot be done slowly? If anything were to happen to you, how could I possibly carry on?”
Regardless of whether what Lin Ling’su said was true or false, this sentiment alone had moved Zhao Ji deeply.