Elder He could only have one emperor.
The young emperor knew this very well. He said with endless resentment, "I'm an untamed wolf cub. What about you?"
He Zhan tucked in the quilt for him without saying anything.
The young emperor panted and said, "I've respected you for many years, just like a real uncle. But … I still can't soften your heart. You never thought about letting me live to adulthood … Yes … Just like those people outside the palace said, you'll kill me and get a new emperor. When he grows up, he'll die for some inexplicable … wonderful reason. Then you'll pick another young emperor. After all … after all … there are many children in the royal family."
He Zhan said, "It's troublesome to pick a child to be the emperor. It's not my wish."
The young Emperor seemed to have found strength from somewhere and shouted angrily, "But then you can be the Emperor forever!"
He Zhan was silent for a while and said, "You're wrong. I want to kill you not because I want to be the emperor, but because you don't want to recognize your father."
The young emperor lowered his voice and murmured, "But I'm not the former emperor's son … I haven't even seen him a few times."
"You're not wrong. But he's my friend. If you don't want to be his son, he won't have any descendants."
He Zhan said, "I have to pick another emperor who's willing to be his son for him."
The young emperor suddenly chuckled, looking a bit crazy. He said, "Is it because you can't have children that you care so much about this?"
He Zhan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Have a good rest."
…
…
The young emperor died. He passed away peacefully in his sleep, not suffering any pain.
There was no turmoil in the Imperial court, and there wasn't even much discussion among the people. The Hejian Prefecture showed signs of instability, but it was quickly suppressed.
It wasn't until then that the officials in the Imperial court and some people in the palace truly understood how powerful Elder He's control over the country was.
Many people then remembered the rumors about Elder He.
Elder He didn't drink wine, didn't ask for good food, didn't care about luxury, didn't play chess, didn't indulge in the beauty of the mountains, didn't covet the lake, and didn't have any hobbies.
He woke up in the wee hours of the morning and went to bed very late. It was said that he only slept for four hours at most. So where did he spend his time?
Only the trusted subordinates of the Intelligence Bureau knew how diligent Elder He was in practicing martial arts, how diligent he was in handling the state affairs, and how tirelessly he studied every day.
The purpose of reading and learning was to improve one's realm and strength as soon as possible, and to strengthen one's ability to handle state affairs.
As for those conspiracies and schemes, they were all in the category of figuring out and dealing with people. To the experienced Elder He, it didn't take much effort.
After getting rid of the old, they had to welcome the new. It was impossible for the throne to be left empty. Appointing a new monarch was an urgent matter.
Only two people were qualified to discuss this matter.
In the quiet Yuan Palace.
Looking at He Zhan, the Empress Dowager said with a pale face, "What exactly do you want to do? Become an emperor? Do you really want to seize the empire left behind by the late emperor? "
She didn't have any children after marrying the late emperor. She had brought the young emperor to study in the palace and listened to state affairs in the imperial court, so it was inevitable that she had developed feelings for him.
He Zhan didn't answer her question, saying, "Pick a younger one, preferably one who hasn't yet remembered anything."
The Empress Dowager snapped, "No matter who I pick, it's none of your business! Don't even think about moving a finger in this matter! "
He Zhan asked calmly, "Why are you so vigilant against me?"
The Empress Dowager stared into his eyes with strong hatred and said through gritted teeth, "You've already killed two emperors. Do you want to kill a third one?"
Hearing this, He Zhan was silent for a long time, then said, "So, in your heart, I've been the one who killed him all along."
"Isn't it true?" the Empress Dowager asked.
He Zhan said, "When the men in black tried to kill me, I was seriously injured and couldn't wake up, so I could only lie in your bedchamber. Why didn't you do anything at that time?"
The Empress Dowager turned her head and looked out of the window, saying nothing.
He Zhan suddenly stepped forward and turned her face. He stared into her eyes and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"
The Empress Dowager shouted angrily, "What are you going to do?"
He Zhan said expressionlessly, "Answer my question."
The Empress Dowager sneered, "You're a eunuch. You killed the emperor, seized power, and interfered with the politics of the palace. Living in this palace, I'm in constant danger. How can I not be afraid of you?"
He Zhan shook his head and said, "No, the reason you're afraid of me is because you want to kill me."
The Empress Dowager's body stiffened slightly.
He Zhan loosened his fingers and looked at the dark palace outside the window, saying, "You know that you've secretly subdued a few generals. I know that you've been in contact with Xianyang. I know that you've been arranging an escape route in the Qi Kingdom. I also know that when I was being treated in your palace, you personally boiled the medicine and put slow poison in it."
The Empress Dowager's face grew even paler.
"Dripping water can pierce stone, and dripping poison can kill people, but that's too slow and too tiring."
He Zhan looked at the clouds illuminated by the starlight in the night sky and sighed, "Living like this is really tiring."
A hopeless expression showed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, as she said, "So you want me to die."
"You've thought too much. I promised the Emperor that I would protect you for the rest of your life. But it looks like it's unnecessary now."
He Zhan continued, "But I still want to tell you that the medicine I boiled for the Emperor back then … wasn't poisoned."
Having said that, he walked toward the outside of the grand hall.
Looking at his back, the Empress Dowager suddenly had a complicated emotion, yelling, "What on earth do you want to do?"
He Zhan halted his steps, but he didn't turn around. "I don't know," he said. "I just feel a bit tired, as if I haven't had a good sleep for many years."
Illuminated by the starlight, the clouds had a silvery border, and so did the surface of his black cloak.
Guarded by dozens of highly achieved eunuchs, He Zhan walked toward the outside of the royal palace. His boots stepped on the icy stone slabs, giving off a deep thudding sound.
It was exactly like his current mood.
To see the reality in the illusory realm was the Cultivation goal of every participant in the Dao Competition.
Yet, He Zhan saw a different scene.
What he saw was that even in the real world, there was still no reality.
Everything was meaningless.
He finally understood why Jing Jiu didn't hand over the Chu Kingdom to him, and why the Empress Dowager asked him to go to the Guocheng Temple.
It was because he would see all of this one day.
…
…
"It turns out that I'm a natural monk."
In a quiet restaurant, He Zhan was listening to the wind while holding a wine jar and mumbling to himself.
A dozen wine jars were piled up under the table.
The highly achieved eunuchs and the red-armored cavalrymen were everywhere inside and outside the restaurant, as well as in the nearby streets and alleys.
Everybody sensed that the eunuch was in a bad mood that day; otherwise, how could he drink so much when he was such a self-disciplined person?
If Elder He was in a bad mood, Zhao would be in trouble, and the whole world would be in trouble.
The royal army, the city gate department, and even the military headquarters had already made preparations.
They could either seize the royal palace or send troops to the Qin Kingdom.
"Go and bring that person here," He Zhan suddenly said.
A few subordinates eyed each other with a strange expression on their faces, wondering if that was it.
Was the eunuch finally going to meet that person?
What was so important about that person?
There were many secrets in the Intelligence Bureau, as well as many strange things.
What confused the officials the most was a cultivator named Jiang Rui.
The Intelligence Bureau had a special department responsible for monitoring and controlling this person for many years, and it was said that the department had existed since the Intelligence Bureau was established. But the officials of the Intelligence Bureau thought that this person was extremely ordinary, and there was nothing to be wary of. It was better to just kill him than to spend so much money and effort on him.
The cultivator named Jiang Rui was now a Guest Elder of a sect in Deer Mountain Commandery, which was not far from the capital city. With the ability of the Intelligence Bureau and decades of surveillance and preparation, they easily subdued him and brought him back to the capital city that very night.
When Jiang Rui was brought to the restaurant and knelt on the ground, He Zhan was still drinking. But the wine jars under the table had increased to more than 30, piling up like a mountain.
"You're here?" He Zhan said to Jiang Rui.
His tone was very indifferent, as if he were a friend who often met him.
Jiang Rui had been quite successful in the past few years. Relying on his talent in cultivation and his ability to curry favor, he successfully became a Guest Elder of a sect. He was thinking about how he could go to the capital to look for opportunities when the Sect Leader suddenly turned hostile tonight. The disciples of the sect swarmed him and handed him over to a group of black-clothed men, who escorted him to the capital.
On the way there, he was shocked and uneasy. He thought of countless possibilities, but he couldn't find any clue as to what kind of powerful figure wanted to deal with him.
Hearing the greeting, he mustered up the courage to raise his head and saw a completely unfamiliar face. After being stunned for a while, he asked humbly, "May I know your name, Your Excellency? Why are you looking for me, a man from the mountains? "
He thought that this feminine middle-aged man in embroidered robes must be a big shot in the capital since he could make the sect so obedient. But the man didn't kill him right away, so he must have some use for him, such as using him to assassinate his opponents in the imperial court.
"It turns out that you've forgotten everything."
He Zhan let out a wry smile, "Well, let me tell you a story."
The story started many years ago in the real world. Two talented free-traveling practitioners met outside a valley and ate a barbecued fish …
Many years later, they entered the Green Sky Mirror together and started asking questions.
…
…
Jiang Rui had forgotten about the past a long time ago. He was shocked speechless after hearing the story. "Did you mean that we are not from this world?" he murmured.
He Zhan said, "Yes. As far as the people in this world are concerned, we are the fairy men who have been banished to the mortal world."
"I'm a fairy man?"
Jiang Rui felt it was unbelievable. Thinking of the hardships and hardships he had to go through in this world, he felt sentimental, but he also felt ecstatic.
He calmed down after taking a few deep breaths. "Who are you now?" he asked.
He Zhan said, "I'm working in the Royal Palace. My family name is He. You might have heard of me."
Jiang Rui was shocked again, even more so than before. It was because the reputation of Elder He was simply too famous!
"You're Eunuch He! How is it possible? "
"Right, right, right. You said we are the fairy men, so we should be so powerful."
"It's not right. Since we are partners, why didn't you come to me before?"
The more Jiang Rui thought about it, the more confused he became.
"Don't worry. You will remember everything slowly."
He Zhan tossed away the alcohol jar in his hand and wiped his hands with a white towel, saying, "But I'm not sure if you are willing to remember those things."
…
…
His foster mother was killed.
She was sold by the human traffickers and beaten many times.
She was castrated and brought to the Royal Palace. It was difficult for her to survive in the Royal Palace, and she had suffered a great deal.
He Zhan had never forgotten those things, so Jiang Rui had to remember them as well.
It didn't take long for Jiang Rui to recall those things, his face turning pale instantly.
The most painful moment for those who were lost in the mortal world was not when they died in confusion, but when they woke up and faced the reality.
"It turns out … you are still alive … and you have entered the Royal Palace … It turns out that you are Elder He."
Jiang Rui intended to explain what had happened back then. He moved his lips, but couldn't utter a word.
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