Chapter Ten: Imprisoned, A Turning Point on the Road to the Summit

  Liang Xian remembered very clearly that when Chen Yuding was feeling the pulse of Qiao Gui Fei, he had said a sentence: "Congratulations, Your Highness, this is..." At that time, Liang Xian's heart had a sudden thump, thinking that Qiao Gui Fei should be pregnant.

  Later, Jin Yu, the maid of Imperial Consort Qiao, said another sentence: "The official family has not come to the Jade Qiao Palace for a long time...". It is clear that Jin Yu was hinting that the child in Imperial Consort Qiao's belly was not the emperor's but Chen Yuding's.

  Although everything is just a guess, Liang Xin is willing to take a gamble at this moment.

  Since crossing over to the Northern Song, Chen Yuding was the first person who truly treated Liang Xin well. Perhaps he was sometimes a bit stubborn and sometimes nagged, but he genuinely had no ulterior motives in treating Liang Xin kindly. Even at his dying moment, Chen Yuding still wanted to pass on his unique skill "Yuding Thirteen Needles" to Liang Xin.

  Zhao Ji's face was gloomy as he led a group of people towards the Yuqiao Palace. The personal maid of Empress Dowager Qie, Jin Yu, who was standing outside the palace gate, took a big fright when she saw Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji walked down from the dragon chair and headed towards the palace gate. The two small eunuchs guarding the door immediately knelt down to pay their respects, while Jin Yu stood frozen in place with a pale face.

  "You canine slave, you don't even kneel when you see me?" Zhao Ji's eyes gleamed like swords as he stared at Jin Yu and bellowed in a low voice.

  Jin Yu was startled and fell to her knees, blocking the palace gate: "Your humble servant greets you, long live Your Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, forever!"

  "Scram!" Zhao Ji shouted, scaring Jin Yu so much that she trembled all over. However, despite her fear, Jin Yu stood firm at the door, her voice shaking as she said: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Consort has caught a slight chill and it's not suitable for her to see anyone right now. If she were to pass on the cold to Your Majesty, it would be detrimental to your dragon body."

  "We ordered you to scram, how dare you disobey?" Zhao Ji frowned, hardly believing that Qiao Guifei had suddenly caught a chill.

  Seeing Zhao Jie get angry, Yang Jian hurriedly stepped forward and kicked the golden jade away: "You lowly maid! Dare to block the emperor's path, I think you're looking for death!"

  Zhao Ji kicked open the palace gate and walked directly into the bedroom. On the high bed inside, Empress Qiao had just taken the abortion medicine and its effects were just beginning to take hold. An imperial physician was standing by her side, assisting with the abortion, when he saw the emperor enter. The physician let out a terrified cry of "Your Majesty?!" before fainting onto the floor.

  Zhao Ji glanced over and immediately understood what was going on. Qiao Guifei, who was lying in bed in agony, still didn't know the emperor had arrived. Zhao Ji cursed in a low voice: "You worthless woman!" Then he turned around and walked out of Yuqiao Palace.

  Outside the palace gate, Liang Xin and those dozen imperial guards, as well as Zhao Ji's ceremonial guard, were all standing at attention. The raging Eight Trigrams fire made everyone want to see how Zhao Ji would react when he came out of the Jade Sparrow Palace, and also prove whether Empress Qiao was really pregnant with a pearl fetus.

  What made everyone a bit disappointed was that Zhao Jie came out of the Jade Qiao Palace with a calm face and no extra changes, he beckoned Yang Jia to come over and whispered a few words in his ear.

  Yang Jian stood up straight and pointed at Liang Xiao, shouting loudly: "Guards, take this scoundrel who dared to frame the noble princess and throw him into the heavenly dungeon!"

  "Yes!" Two imperial guards immediately twisted Liang Xin's hands back, folding his joints. Liang Xin felt a chill in his heart and silently lamented that he had lost the bet.

  Inside the Yanfu Palace. In the entire imperial study, there were only Zhao Ji and Yang Jie, two people. Zhao Ji, who had been hiding his anger all along, suddenly burst into rage and shouted loudly: "Cheap woman! Cheap woman! After I find that adulterer, I will definitely have him tortured to death! Tortured...!"

  The book was thrown to the ground by Zhao Jie, and Yang Jian stood aside without speaking to persuade him, because he knew that Zhao Jie would be fine after venting for a while.

  Indeed, after venting his anger, Zhao Ji sat down on the chair weakly, and then looked forward with piercing eyes and said: "Yang Jia, secretly execute that imperial physician and maid. Also, issue an order to warn those who know about today's events not to discuss it privately, and kill anyone who disobeys without pardon. Secretly imprison that woman and interrogate her to find out who the adulterer is. All matters must be handled cleanly, and no wind of this must leak out.

  "Yes!" Yang Jiaolong bowed his head and accepted the order, then asked: "Your Majesty, what about that little eunuch? How should he be dealt with?"

  Zhao Ji slightly furrowed his brow, he wasn't a bloodthirsty emperor so he didn't want to wrongfully kill Liang Xin. After thinking for a while, Zhao Ji said: "Lock him up first, wait for one or two months until the storm passes before killing him."

  Liang Xin was taken to the Heavenly Prison, where he was locked in a cell. He was calm and accepted his fate. Two guards led him into the prison and locked him in a relatively inner cell. There was another old man in his 40s or 50s in the cell. When Liang Xin entered, he greeted the old man, but the old man ignored him.

  At noon, the old man only ate a little food, then he took out a short bamboo flute and blew out a sharp and short whistle. Before long, more than a dozen birds flew in from the window of the cell, the old man smiled and imitated various bird calls, those more than a dozen birds surrounded the old man and kept flying around, after finishing the food in the old man's bowl, the old man waved his hand and said: "Go away, go away..."

  A dozen or so birds lined up in a row and chirped at the old man for half a day before flying away smoothly.

  Witnessing this incredible scene, Liang Xin was stunned. He clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Oh my, oh my, the old man is indeed a divine being!"

  The old man gave Liang Xin a white eye and didn't care about him, shrinking to the corner of the wall by himself. Liang Xin also lost interest and didn't continue talking to the old man anymore.

  Who would have thought that after a while, the old man suddenly started convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Liang Xin was slightly stunned and observed from close distance before confirming that the old man had indeed contracted rabies. Liang Xin flipped the old man over onto his back and then ran to the prison bars, shouting loudly: "Someone come quick! Someone come quick! There's someone here with rabies!"

  After calling out for a while without getting any response, Liang Xin suddenly remembered that it was lunchtime and the prison guards in Tianlao should all be eating.

  Liáng Xīn turned back to look at the old man, who was actually not going to die from rabies, but he looked like he was about to spit out his tongue, causing him to keep biting his own tongue and unable to breathe.

  Liang Xin wanted to find something for the old man to bite on to prevent him from biting his tongue, while also ensuring that his breathing was smooth. After searching for half a day, Liang Xin couldn't find anything suitable for the old man to bite on, so in desperation, he inserted his own hand into the old man's mouth.

  The old man bit down on Liang Xin's hand, and Liang Xin let out a loud cry of pain...

  In the imperial study of Yanfu Palace, Yang Jia carefully placed several calligraphy works submitted by the princes in front of Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji's face was gloomy, obviously still not out of the affair with Qiao Guifei. He glanced at the calligraphy in front of him, and his first glance flashed away lightly, but soon Zhao Ji looked again for a second time.

  "This is... " Zhao Ji picked up the first piece of Crown Prince Zhao Huan's calligraphy and muttered, "How could the crown prince have such profound attainments in calligraphy?"

  "Bang!" Zhao Ji slapped the Xuan paper in his hand on the table mountain, and roared in a low voice: "Still deceiving me! My Guifei deceived me, now even my son is deceiving me. Do you really think I'm a fool?"

  "Yang Jian! Immediately summon the Crown Prince into the palace!"

  In the Crown Prince's mansion, Zhao Huan received an imperial edict from a eunuch to enter the palace for an audience. He was overjoyed. Although his own calligraphy skills were not high, he still had some discerning eyes. The piece of calligraphy that Wang An brought back could be said to be even better than those written by Liu Gongquan himself. After all, on the basis of Liu's book, Liang Xin also absorbed the essence and characteristics of many other famous masters' calligraphy.

  Entering the Yanfu Palace imperial study, Zhao Huan bowed his head and chest to Zhao Ji, saying: "Your son pays respects to Your Majesty, wishing you ten thousand years of life, ten thousand years of life, and ten million years of life."

  Zhao Huan finished the ceremony and about three seconds passed. Seeing that Zhao Ji had not said anything, Zhao Huan felt something was wrong. He raised his head to look back, and the hairs on the back of his neck immediately stood up, and sweat instantly seeped out from his forehead.

  All that could be seen was Zhao Ji's gloomy face, with a chilling glint shooting out from his eyes.

  Zhao Huan's heart suddenly suspected that his ghostwriting had been exposed, and he was so frightened that he couldn't help but tremble all over. Zhao Ji finally got angry, he grabbed the calligraphy on the table and threw it in front of Zhao Huan, coldly shouting: "You ungrateful son, how dare you deceive me?"

  Zhao Huan did not have the slightest intention of making excuses, and immediately knocked his head on the ground like a garlic press, repeatedly saying: "Father Emperor forgive me! Father Emperor forgive me! The son was momentarily possessed by an evil spirit. Father Emperor forgive me..."

  "Scoundrel!" Zhao Jie turned his head and glanced at Yang Jian, saying: "Yang Jian, give him thirty heavy blows again, I'll supervise the punishment myself!"

  Yang Jian took the wooden stick that had been prepared in advance from the bookshelf of the imperial study and walked to Zhao Huan's face. Yang Jian did not dare to be presumptuous, first saluted and said: "Your Highness, please forgive the old slave for being rude."

  Yang Jian suddenly stood up and struck Zhao Huan to the ground with a stick. Zhao Huan did not dare to cry out in pain or beg for mercy, but could only forcibly endure the thirty heavy blows.

  After beating him up, Zhao Jie didn't want to see Zhao Huan anymore and waved his hand impatiently: "Get out! Go home and reflect on your mistakes for a month."

  "Yes! Your Majesty, I bid farewell."

  Zhao Huan stood up and retreated, just as he was about to step out of the door, Zhao Ji suddenly called out: "Wait a minute."

  Zhao Huan turned back, and Zhao Ji asked: "Who wrote this calligraphy for you?"

  Zhao Huan was slightly stunned, then knelt down on the ground and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, it is a small eunuch named Liang Xin from the Imperial Hospital in the palace who wrote it. It is said that this little eunuch seems to be an apprentice of Chen Yu Ding, the imperial physician."

  "Chen Yuding's apprentice?" Zhao Jie was also slightly stunned, Yang Jian leaned forward and whispered a few words in Zhao Jie's ear, then Zhao Jie suddenly said: "Is it him?"