MM Racing Chapter 433 Sorcery
Chapter 433 Sorcery
Shen Shixi wanted to see his future daughter-in-law, so he asked Cen Fang to come to the palace with him.
When Xihe heard that her younger brothers had returned, she rushed back. Seeing Cen Fang, she immediately pounced on him, howling, "Ahhh, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!"
Cen Fang blushed deeply, so frightened that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet. He didn't push Xi He away, but just stood there like a wooden stake, hoping that the Empress would not punish him because of his honesty.
Xihe gave him a quick hug, then turned and hugged her younger brother, saying, "Dongjun, I missed you so much!"
They had played together since they were little, and the older sister used to play with Cen Fang often. Therefore, Dongjun did not find Xihe's actions inappropriate, and Xihe herself did not notice anything amiss.
It was only because Cen Fang had other thoughts that he felt uncomfortable.
"Sis, you've grown taller."
Xihe patted him on the shoulder. "Nonsense, if I didn't grow taller, wouldn't I become a dwarf? Hey, who's this young lady?"
As soon as Xihe entered, Ling Xinian took a liking to this lively young lady and said with a smile, "This humble woman greets the princess. This humble woman, Ling Xinian, is the daughter of Ling Menghui, the garrison commander of Tianfei Pass."
"You're Nian Nian from Master Ling's family. Nian Nian, hello! My name is Xi He. From now on, just call me Xi He. Don't call me 'Princess,' it's too formal!"
The two girls hit it off immediately. Ling Xinian was poised and generous, with the carefree spirit of a daughter of a military general. She had a baby face, petite frame, and very bright, lively eyes.
Shen Shixi liked her very much and let her live in the palace.
Ling Xinian only learned about Dong Jun's background after she became very close to him. When Dong Jun asked her if she was scared, she stubbornly insisted that she wasn't.
But she was still afraid to go to the capital alone. Her father told her not to be afraid, saying that the Emperor and Empress were not bad people.
When she saw the Empress, she was surprised to find that there were such good people in the world.
Shen Shixi asked Cen Fang a few more questions, which were mostly conversations between elders and juniors. She told him to go home as soon as possible, saying that his family was very worried about him.
Cen Fang took his leave, but as he reached the door, he glanced back and met Xi He's gaze. He said, "Xi He, I'll come find you to play later."
Xihe said, "I've been at Chongxian Hall lately. Come find me there."
Just like before, it seemed as if he had never left in the past three years, and Cen Fang walked as if he were floating.
They all made great contributions during their attack on Xiling, especially the Crown Prince, who led from the front and fought like a madman, killing dozens of enemies and beheading the enemy commander, winning the respect and trust of the frontier soldiers.
The three of them originally said they would cooperate with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince didn't need it, and they ended up saving Wei Shuo's life on the battlefield.
Wei Shuo stayed at Tianfei Pass. Ling Menghui greatly admired him and should focus on cultivating him in the future.
In the twenty-eighth year of Yongxi, several happy events took place in the palace. The third, fourth, sixth, and eighth princes all got married and moved out of the palace, but none of them were granted titles.
Li Yuanke had no such plan; the bestowal of titles upon these sons should be a matter for the Crown Prince after his ascension to the throne.
On the contrary, with the centralization of imperial power, the few remaining fiefdoms of his brothers and uncles were all taken back, and they only received a certain amount of salary from the Imperial Household Department each year according to their titles.
Li Yuanke issued an edict stating that from now on, the princes of the Great Zhou Dynasty would be granted fiefs but not land, given titles but not subject to the people, and receive stipends but not govern affairs. The imperial family would grant fiefs to obtain titles and ranks, but they would not possess actual fiefs or directly manage the people.
There are currently three generations of princes still alive. Li Yuanke's sons dare not say anything, but among the previous two generations, those who have work to do dare not have any objections, and those who don't have any work to do, it's useless for them to have any objections.
The crown prince then asked his father, "Does this mean that even if my younger brothers are granted titles in the future, they won't be granted land? What if I want to grant land to my brothers?"
Li Yuanke really didn't know how to answer this question, so Wang Shu laughed and said, "Brother, I don't want the land of the Great Zhou. When I grow up, you can give me some troops, and I'll go and conquer Australia. I want to occupy that land and dig up lots of silver for you."
The prince was delighted to hear this and, holding his little brother, said, "Okay, I'll help you take that place down."
Fu Guang said, "Fine, I'll reluctantly accept that tiny piece of land in Japan. Mother said they still have a village system there, and they still fight with sickles and sticks. I'll just consider it an act of poverty alleviation!"
Wang Shu said, "Brother, you're so hypocritical. Do you think I don't know you heard from Mother that Japan has many silver mines?"
The prince then laughed.
As winter approached, Shen Shixi caught a cold for some reason and was sick on and off for a long time. She was so sick that she couldn't even get out of bed. She didn't look particularly haggard or thin, but she had a high fever and would cough when she woke up. The diagnosis was not a lung problem.
Only she knew that it was time for her to go back.
As long as she closes her eyes, she floats above the city like a lost ghost. She often lands on her own roof, and if she's lucky, she can even see her car drive out of the gate.
Through the car window, she could see a blurry glimpse of her family.
Li Yuanke often held her in his arms, lost in thought, his hands trembling. He yelled at the imperial physicians and said harsh words, but nothing worked. The Empress's fever wouldn't go down, her cough would keep recurring, and sometimes she would fall into a coma for two or three days without waking up.
The medicine prescribed by the imperial physician was ineffective, and acupuncture was also useless. Bai Kui entered the palace to serve her, and she instructed Bai Kui not to tell Bai Ping.
Li Yuange had no interest in governing the country, so he entrusted the reins of government to the Crown Prince. He spent his days and nights with Shen Shixi, holding her and pleading with her, "Xi'er, don't leave me, don't leave me!"
His forehead was pressed against Shen Shixi's forehead, and tears dripped from the corner of his eye onto Shen Shixi's face.
Shen Shixi was woken up by the scalding heat. She cupped his face in her hands and said, "Li Yuanke, don't be afraid!"
This year's New Year was rather dull. At the New Year's Eve banquet, Li Yuanke made a brief appearance and was about to leave when a palace maid burst in and stopped him. "Your Majesty, someone is using witchcraft on Her Majesty the Empress!"
This palace maid was from Jingfu Palace, which is Xu Murong's palace. Her personal maid, Shoutao, accused her of using voodoo dolls to curse the Empress.
Everyone was shocked; the Empress's serious illness could no longer be kept secret, and the whole court and the public knew about it.
Li Yuanke was furious. "Investigate! Investigate for me!"
Cen Yin and his men discovered the villain. Xu Murong was brought before Li Yuanke. His hair was gray, his face was full of wrinkles, and his expression was blank. More than ten years of confinement had turned him into a madman.
Li Yuanke didn't even bother to ask any questions, just waved his hand and ordered him to be taken away, sentenced to death, stripped of his title from the Marquis of Changning's residence, and exiled his entire family.
The sixth prince was stunned. He didn't believe his mother had really done such a thing and pleaded for mercy, but his wife stopped him. After thinking about it, he gave up.
Shen Shixi was not sick from the curse. Once she was more lucid, she asked Chaoyu what was going on. Chaoyu said that Shoutao had to kneel with her every day for the whole day, and she couldn't stand it anymore.
Occasionally, if she moved even slightly, Xu Meiren would hit her. The more she did this, the less lucid Xu Meiren became, and the more violently she hit her, leaving Shoutao covered in bruises.
Shou Tao felt like he was living a life worse than death and wanted to die, but he didn't want to let Xu Murong go. He wanted to drag Xu Murong down with him even in death.
Shoutao then tricked her, saying that she could kill the Empress by sticking voodoo dolls in her mouth. He claimed that if it weren't for the Empress, the Emperor's brother-in-law, Marquis Changning Xu Wanyi, wouldn't still be without a position and in seclusion reflecting on his mistakes. He also said that if the Empress died, the Crown Prince would surely be deposed, and the Sixth Prince would have a chance.
Xu Murong also worshipped Buddha every day, turning himself into a lunatic. He actually took it seriously and dreamed at night that he killed Shen Shixi by sticking voodoo dolls in his mouth.
Shoutao naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity pass, adding fuel to the fire by saying that the beauty had been worshipping Buddha for so many years, and finally her sincerity had been granted. The Bodhisattva had appeared to the beauty in a dream, asking her to use her to get rid of Shen, this wicked empress who brought disaster to the country.
With the help of Longevity Peach to sew the little figures, Xu Murong focused intently on sewing, making a few stitches in front of the Bodhisattva every morning and evening and offering a prayer.
Longevity Peach made the right bet. Before her death, Consort Xu was demoted to a commoner, and after her death, the Sixth Prince collected her body and buried her. She was not much better off than Li Sihe before her.
Because it was a plot to murder the Empress, even though the Sixth Prince had money, he didn't dare to buy her a decent coffin.
In the second month of spring, Shen Shixi's cough improved, but he was still listless. The Shen family was very worried and requested permission to enter the palace to visit the Empress, which Li Yuanke naturally granted.