BLPSG Chapter 20: Must get out of this place

The gaze of the young man was as cold as ice, sharp as a blade.

With just one glance, Wen Qingci was reminded of his fate in the original work… being torn apart by five horses.

Wen Qingci subconsciously clenched his fists.

…The one who issued that order was none other than Xie Bufeng.

The overly peaceful days had dulled his nerves imperceptibly.

Wen Qingci almost forgot for a moment that Xie Bufeng was the ultimate boss in this book.

He was a ruthless character who climbed out of the sea of corpses and mountains of bodies by his own strength.

In the next moment, a chill ran down his spine involuntarily.

Wen Qingci suddenly felt afraid.

…When did he provoke Xie Bufeng again?

He agonized over it for a while but couldn’t come to a conclusion.

Forget it, forget it. If you can’t afford to offend, just avoid it.

Wen Qingci paused for a moment and slowly shifted his gaze away.

…

Apart from the ceremony of worshiping the heavens, the ritual also required the construction of a square altar at the foot of the mountain to worship the earth god.

As noon approached, the weather became hotter.

Wen Qingci stood behind the crowd, unable to see what was happening in front.

The sounds of ritual music were deafening, interspersed with the chanting of the Minister of Rites.

At first, Wen Qingci found it intriguing, but after a while, drowsiness crept over him again, making him feel sleepy.

Not only him, even Yu Guanlin, who had been excited all morning, lost his vigor.

It wasn’t until a while later that he suddenly looked up and exclaimed.

In a nearby mountain stream, a group of creatures resembling both deer and cattle appeared at some point, wandering and drinking by the stream.

The crowd praised and worshiped them, saying that Baizehad come to the world.

…What are these?

It took Wen Qingci a moment to recognize that the animals in the mountain stream should be albino antelopes.

He had only seen these animals in documentaries in his previous life.

They lived in the high-altitude and sparsely populated areas above 2,500 meters, making them extremely rare, let alone those with albinism.

Even modern people would find it difficult to recognize them.

It seemed that the emperor had indeed prepared for the ritual for a long time.

Wen Qingci didn’t realize that his current demeanor was overly calm and out of place with the crowd at the foot of the mountain.

And all of this fell into Xie Bufeng’s eyes.

After drinking from the stream, the antelopes slowly returned to the mountains.

The crowd finally quieted down.

At this time, the ceremony has ended, the music has stopped, and there is silence all around.

It was at this moment that someone suddenly knelt down in the crowd and loudly proclaimed, “The Emperor’s virtuous reign shines upon the heavens and the earth! For more than twenty years, Your Majesty has ascended to the throne, achieving unparalleled accomplishments, truly embodying the true dragon’s descent, bringing blessings to the people!”

The person’s voice was loud, echoing in the mountains.

The tone was more sincere than Yu Guanlin’s just now.

“Ah!” Not only him, even Yu Guanlin was startled by this sudden exclamation, whispering in a low voice, “Minister Yi almost scared me to death just now.”

It turned out to be him.

The well-known “Minister Yi” with a name and surname in “Supporting the Ming Hall” was none other than Yi Guanxuan, the father of the Consort Hui.

Since the Consort Hui became favored, Yi Guanxuan, who was originally just a sixth-rank county magistrate, has risen all the way to become a third-rank magistrate of Jingzhao, overseeing twenty-three counties, enjoying unparalleled honor and glory.

Before the crowd, Yi Guanxuan was still fervently singing praises.

He spoke for several minutes without any pause, obviously well-prepared.

Wen Qingci’s nerves tightened.

If he guessed correctly, the emperor would finally take action today…

Sure enough, as soon as Yi Guanxuan finished speaking, the emperor casually said, “I know that I still have room for improvement and am not wise enough. Your flattery is unwarranted.”

Yi Guanxuan retorted, then flattered a bit more.

Only then did the emperor finally get to the point: “…If I had done well enough, how could there still be courtiers who never forget the former officials of the previous dynasty?”

Wen Qingci’s heart sank heavily.

The day had finally come.

Upon hearing the emperor’s words, the courtiers immediately knelt down to plead guilty, claiming that they had never had any ulterior motives.

Some were sincere, some had darkened faces, and some looked panicked.

The dandies led by the Marquis of Zhuang’an had already been taken to the Ministry of Justice.

Although the final investigation results were not yet out, and the emperor had not publicly expressed any opinions.

But rumors had it that those dandies, who were pampered and spoiled, couldn’t withstand the investigation at all.

After entering the Ministry of Justice, before they could do anything, they revealed who their family members usually associated with, who they received gifts from, and even who they had received bribes from.

The cheers of “Long live the Emperor” echoed in the valley, and amidst the uneasy and tense atmosphere, everyone boarded the carriages back.

The imperial canopy covered the sky, and the emperor rode in the central six-horse sedan chair, driving through the official road.

Just as the carriage left the foot of Yishan Mountain, the wise eunuch hurriedly called Wen Qingci to the emperor’s side.

As soon as he got out of the carriage, Wen Qingci realized that something was wrong.

—The nobles, generals, and even the princes were all riding on horseback on the official road.

As soon as he appeared, thousands of eyes fell on him.

Wen Qingci’s ears buzzed.

He instantly felt like a light was shining on his back, his mind went blank, and he walked into the emperor’s sedan chair as if sleepwalking.

Inside the carriage, besides the emperor, there were several slightly unfamiliar eunuchs.

Wen Qingci’s heart sank.

He remembered that the novel mentioned that there were several eunuchs and palace maids around the emperor who had connections with the noble families outside the palace.

The emperor knew but never exposed them.

After all, he still needed these people to spread the messages he wanted outside the palace.

Xie Zhaolin put his fingers to his forehead, looking like he had a headache.

However, this time, now that he had obtained the Fuxuan Flower Pill, he did not take the medicine as usual.

Seeing this, Wen Qingci’s last bit of luck disappeared.

He didn’t think Xie Zhaolin would abandon the effective medicine and choose acupuncture, which had a slower effect.

If he called himself over, he must have had other intentions… such as using his mouth to say what he wanted.

After all, this kind of thing was not the first time.

Calm down, calm down!

Wen Qingci slowly adjusted his breathing, smiling and bowing slightly with the medicine box in his hand.

When Wen Qingci was about to pulse the other party, the emperor suddenly waved his hand and murmured, “Do you think, maybe I’ve really wronged them?”

His voice was not loud, and his tone was quite natural, as if he were just casually asking when he was troubled.

But Wen Qingci knew clearly that this question was a thousand times more important than what the emperor showed.

The wide sleeves covered Wen Qingci’s fingers.

He tightly held the medicine box in his right hand, and his knuckles had turned white from exertion.

An imperial physician clad in moon-white lowered his eyes and smiled slightly, pretending to casually reply, “I only understand medicine and know nothing about court affairs.”

Wen Qingci attempted to evade.

But the emperor persisted, “Oh? Then perhaps you can use your medical experience to tell me what I should do.”

Today’s calamity was probably unavoidable.

Wen Qingci felt somewhat hopeless in his heart.

“In medicine, you must thoroughly investigate the symptoms before you can determine whether something is true or not. Without thorough examination, nothing can be asserted.”

Wen Qingci had never felt that his voice could be so unfamiliar.

The smile on his face, which had appeared who knows when, seemed to have become a mask.

Wen Qingci’s smile lacked any human touch, truly embodying the compassion for all beings in the shrine, yet without any worldly warmth or understanding.

As a wise and benevolent ruler, Xie Zhaolin would never play the role of a superficial villain himself.

He understood the people around him very well and knew that Wen Qingci, who was always rigorous and rational, indifferent to worldly matters, and came from the Jianghu, not understanding the rules, was the only one who could say what he wanted to hear.

As expected.

The emperor smiled slowly.

“You make some sense,” he said with a semblance of depth, “Under the witness of the heavens and the earth at the foot of Yishan Mountain, words and deeds should be taken seriously. Since the courtiers all claim to have no ulterior motives, then I should investigate carefully, ensuring that no one suffers unjustly.”

“Your Majesty is wise.”

After saying these words, the emperor finally closed his eyes and let Wen Qingci perform acupuncture to relieve his headache.

Behind the emperor, a eunuch kept his head bowed.

Only the rapid rise and fall of his chest revealed his nervousness.

After the acupuncture, the emperor seemed to be much better.

“Alright, you may all leave…”

“Yes.”

After everyone left, the emperor, who had been drowsy just now, finally opened his eyes.

His gaze was clear, showing no signs of a headache at all.

When Wen Qingci got off the carriage, he was drenched in cold sweat.

He couldn’t help but think of Xie Bufeng’s cold glance just now.

Before today, Wen Qingci still harbored some hope, thinking that he had somewhat redeemed his negative image through relentless efforts.

Then the attitude of the young man just now undoubtedly reminded him that Xie Bufeng’s heart… might be even colder than he thought.

In “Supporting the Ming Hall,” the original owner personally pushed Xie Bufeng onto the battlefield, and after the new enmity was added to the old, when the young man returned to the capital, the first thing he did was to chop him into pieces and feed them to the vultures.

For Wen Qingci, it didn’t matter how the original owner made such a decision.

What mattered was that he suddenly realized that if that day really came, perhaps he wouldn’t even have the chance to say “no.”

The emperor had figured out the “character” of the “Imperial Physician Wen Qingci.”

The slightest out-of-character behavior would only lead to endless suspicion and doubt, even a dead end.

He had to consider early on how he could leave this place without anyone noticing, if that day came…