Chapter 78: Exorcism

  PS: These days have been busy all day long, can only get up early in the morning to code words, sigh. There is still a small chapter at 5 pm.

  Mo Nan Sheng slightly moved his hands and feet, his painful face twisted.

  Yang Yunqiu sighed - apparently it was a fracture, and no wonder, the emperor's age is not small, the old man's bones are fragile, let alone being smashed, even if he falls down in his daily life, it's enough to be overwhelmed.

  Even if he is an emperor, he is still a normal person.

  Outside came the sound of commotion, many people were lifting bricks with all their might, but as soon as they touched them, the bricks would tumble down with a crash.

  The imperial palace of the Yin Dynasty was made of golden bricks specially fired in a kiln, large and sturdy, exquisite, but now all these advantages have become a death warrant for the emperor.

  Mu Nan Sheng also felt a few points of fear in his heart, fortunately he was not an emperor with a weak personality. After ascending to the throne that year, he faced not only a stable court but also external and internal threats. He had worn armor into battle and made decisive killings. Even though he was old now, in the impression of the ministers, he was still a strong emperor. At this time when facing danger, the panic in his heart did not show on his face.

  "My leg may be fractured and I am unable to move."

  "...Please forgive me for being rude."

  Yang Yunqiu propped up one hand on the ground, and with a forceful sweep of his other hand, the broken bricks in front of him and to the side were cleared away, revealing an opening about one person wide. Then he decisively grabbed the emperor's collar, gently pulling and pushing several times. Mu Nan Song didn't feel any discomfort, as if only for a very short time, Yang Yunqiu had pushed him onto the empty space beside him.

  Although Mu Nan Song was already resting, because today was the Grand Court Assembly, he was too lazy to change clothes and still wore a thick, straight dragon robe. Yang Yunqiu grabbed the large collar, which was quite handy.

  Yang Yunqiu looked down and saw that the doll had quietly returned to his neck, hanging its head in silence. It used a green light to display the safest route map below, and a red light to indicate the danger zone.

  There's no time to ask for reasons now, nor is there any energy to scold.

  Yang Yunqiu slowly sat up, pushed the crossbeam to one side, and then put Mu Nansheng's arm over her shoulder, dragging him inch by inch outwards.

  Mu Nan Sheng didn't dare say a word, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, afraid that the messy bricks and stones would fall down and hit them, especially those people above who were clearly anxious, digging randomly, making the environment below even more unstable, often just as they moved away, a loud crash would occur as a large stone fell.

  After climbing for almost a minute, I finally saw the light.

  Mu Nan Sheng felt as if he had lived a lifetime, and he never thought that when people got old, they would be so afraid of death. He remembered that in his youth, he was also a brave warrior who disregarded life and death.

  "Your Majesty, it's Your Majesty!"

  The eunuchs' voices rose in wild joy.

  A large group of people hastily moved the stone blocks, lifted Mu Nan Song up, and all the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital arrived. They temporarily set up a soft couch in the Imperial Garden to diagnose and treat Mu Nan Song.

  As for Yang Yunqiu, no one was paying attention to him at this moment.

  After the examination of the emperor's body, it was confirmed that he only had a fractured femur and would need to rest for three months to half a year. Apart from this, there were no other internal injuries. The imperial physicians finally breathed a sigh of relief - they didn't have to worry about losing their heads anymore.

  Those guards, eunuchs, and palace maids, even various concubines, all couldn't help but loudly chant "Amitabha Buddha".

  Mo Nan Sheng waited for the imperial physician to set his fractured leg while ordering the entire palace to be sealed off, and all the eunuchs and palace maids serving in Chongde Garden were locked up.

  Actually, there was no need for him to give orders. As soon as the imperial concubine sensed that something had happened to the emperor, she immediately locked all the servants in Chongde Garden in their rooms, not allowing anyone to enter or leave. Now they are waiting for Mu Nan Song to ask questions.

  However, he did not want to wait for a moment and had the palace maid who screamed before the incident brought in for questioning.

  Over there was a mess, Yang Yunqiu managed to save the situation and also had an imperial physician come over to treat his wounds, bandaging them up, and sat safely on one side waiting.

  These eunuchs are all clever, who doesn't know that today Yang Yunqiu saved the emperor, he was originally a top scholar, born into the imperial family, and now with this heroic act of saving the throne, the emperor will surely value him even more. If there's no reward for saving the throne, wouldn't it be a blow to those loyal ministers' hearts? The emperor would give him rewards just for show.

  Yang Yunqiu took a deep breath, put the doll on her knees and stared at it.

  The doll dodged left and right, finally lowering its head and muttering: "It's not my fault... It's just that your cultivation has increased greatly recently, and as your 'instrument spirit', my power has also become stronger, but it's still a bit unstable. Just now, I wasn't careful for a moment, and let that little palace maid see the horror movie I was playing..."

  Yang Yunqiu was speechless: "Didn't you say we were going to take pictures of the delicious food in the imperial kitchen?"

  "Eating delicious food while watching horror movies, and it's in a palace, how cool is that?" WaWa didn't think so. "Forget it, it's not a big deal, this is great, and it gave Autumn brother a chance to be heroic, if you ask me, the more times the better."

  If he comes a few more times, it will be the death of the emperor. The identity he has worked so hard to build for so long may be completely ruined. By then, he will have no choice but to get rid of this foolish little thing.

  Yang Yunqiu sighed, closed her eyes, and vaguely heard the emperor's voice with hidden anger coming from not far away.

  Mu Nan Song was indeed furious: "You're saying you saw a female ghost? With your own eyes? Absurd! I am the Son of Heaven, what kind of evil spirit can approach me? And when did a female ghost have the power to shake the earth and cause an earthquake?"

  A large crowd of people knelt on the ground, each face filled with terror.

  The little palace maid apparently knew she had made a big mistake, and she knelt on the ground trembling with fear, her voice was also vague and unclear, sobbing and gasping softly as she said: "Your Majesty, spare my life, I really saw a ghost, it...it passed through my body twice, I'm definitely going to die, waaahhh..."

  A large crowd was silent as cicadas in winter, no one dared to utter a word.

  Let's not mention the female ghost for now, but this earthquake is also shocking. If it were the entire capital city that was shaking, although it would be a big deal, it's not uncommon in previous years. However, today only the Chongde Palace where the Emperor resides shook, and the movement outside was very small, which can't help but make people with ulterior motives think of all sorts of possibilities.

  Mo Nan Song suspected that there was a trick, which made perfect sense. As long as he refused to believe that he had done wrong, this was heaven's punishment for him, and there must be a trick in it.

  He had just gotten a pregnant concubine, and he thought about plotting to make the child crown prince if it was a boy, but then received a warning from heaven. If such rumors were true, what would be the point?

  Mo Nan Sheng sat silently for a moment to regain his composure, then suddenly remembered that he had a 'lifesaver': "Is Sun Xiuzhen all right?"

  The imperial physician hastily said: "Mr. Sun's body is not seriously injured, just his back suffered some impact, may have strained muscles, and some abrasions, after applying medicine, resting for a while will be fine."

  Mu Nan Song nodded: "Then let people carry Sun Xiuzhuan over, I have something to say."

  Yang Yunqiu was just about to grab the doll and give it a good scolding, when a small eunuch came over carrying one of those sedan chairs that two people lift, and made a bow saying: "Lord Sun, the Emperor has summoned you."

  The doll hid back into Yang Yinqu's collar with a giggle and refused to show its face again.

  Yang Yunqiu walked past, and Mu Nan Song personally poured him a cup of tea.

  He didn't feel surprised or flattered, let alone when Mu Nan Song just poured him a cup of tea, even if he personally handed it to him and put it in his hand, he wouldn't think it was too much.

  At this time, the emperor naturally had his own dignity, but the relationship between him and his senior officials was not as tense as that of the Qing dynasty. It belonged to the true sense of the Son of Heaven and the scholars governing the world together. The power of the aristocratic families was also very great, and some things were beyond the control of even the emperor himself.

  "Sun Zhaoming, I heard you haven't taken a courtesy name yet?"

  Yang Yunqiu nodded and smiled: "To reply to Your Majesty, I have not yet come of age, and my father has not had time to give me a courtesy name."

  It is said that after passing the imperial examination and becoming a Hanlin Academy compiler, one is already considered an adult. If not, how can they hold office? Yang Yunqiu should give himself a courtesy name; otherwise, it would be inconvenient for colleagues to address him.

  He wasn't very familiar with this kind of custom and was also quite busy. Sun Zhifu said that after all, he didn't care enough about his illegitimate son, and thus delayed it.

  "I'll give you one." Mu Nan Song smiled and looked at him carefully, feeling that Yang Yunqiu was calm in the face of danger, with a strong general's demeanor, and had a jade-like face, which made people feel happy even when they were appreciating it. He nodded, "Sun Zhao Ming, Zi Yun Qing."

  Yang Yunqiu hastily thanked: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  The more Mu Nan Song looked at Yang Yun Qiu, the more he felt that this child was not ordinary. Just now, the shocking scene had frightened everyone outside into a daze, and they didn't know what to do. Even he himself was shocked and his heart racing, but this child remained calm and composed, turning danger into safety. From just this point alone, he was more useful than most of the officials who were decades older than him.

  "You saved me, I must show my gratitude. Speak, what reward do you desire?"

  Yang Yunqiu raised his head and smiled: "Isn't the emperor already giving me a word? How many people under the sky can get such an honor, I think this is already the best reward."

  Mu Nan Song burst out laughing: "Yun Qing, you really know how to talk. However, I'm giving you a reward because I'm happy, not as a gift. Don't decline it either. Whatever you want, as long as I can give it to you, I'll definitely satisfy you."

  Yang Yunqiu was taken aback, and deliberately supported her chin with a serious thinking expression. After some thought, she spoke frankly: "Your Majesty, I really have something to ask of you, and I hope you will grant it."

  Mu Nan Sheng looked at him with interest.

  Yang Yunqiu also ignored the strange expressions of the eunuchs and palace maids around her, smiled and said: "I have been reading books since I was a child, and I have always dreamed of being a county magistrate, being a parent official for a region. Now that I have passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy, my wish has not yet come true. Please let Your Majesty arrange for me to take up a post in a county, so that I can put what I have learned into practice."

  Mo Nan Song was stunned, and it wasn't until after a long while that he shook his head with a wry smile: "Indeed still just a child, really doesn't know how to seize an opportunity."

  He even guessed that Sun Zuo Ming might want to seek a noble title for his own mother, after all, there are always illegitimate sons, especially filial sons who want to elevate their mother's status and indirectly elevate their own status. Unexpectedly, this number one scholar, had other ideas, seemingly not thinking of those things at all.

  Mo Nan Song nodded: "Alright, I'll agree to your request. However, you don't need to be the county magistrate, first go and serve as the acting governor of Qingzhou. If you do well, I'll remove the 'acting' title, if not, you can honestly return to the Hanlin Academy for further training."

  Just as the atmosphere had eased, someone came rushing in: "It's not good, it's not good... Your Majesty, Concubine Zhen just got a fright and her labor has started!"

  Mu Nan Song's face was filled with anger, and he stood up in indignation.

  What he values most now is his own children. He didn't expect such a thing to happen. As the saying goes, "seven live and eight not live", now that the pregnant woman is eight months pregnant, it's extremely dangerous.

  Fortunately, the emperor issued a death order. If something happened to the child, everyone would be buried with him. In the end, Zhen Niangniang managed to give birth to the prince at the cost of her own life.

  Of course, at this moment everyone's attention is focused on the prince, rather than a palace maid who doesn't know whether to consider herself lucky or unlucky.

  Mu Nan Sheng was overjoyed.

  Yang Yunqiu smiled and said: "No wonder you're a young prince, born with great blessings, shocking heaven and earth."

  Mo Nan Song was taken aback, then burst out laughing. "Very well, issue the edict: The Crown Prince is born, red clouds illuminate the sky, and the earth shakes - a sign of good fortune! I wish for all under heaven to celebrate together, and grant amnesty to all under heaven."

  At this time, there was absolutely no one who dared to disturb his interest.

  Yang Yunqiu came out of the palace, and he was so tired that he didn't even want to move. The wound on his back wasn't serious, but it still hurt a lot. His colleagues in the Hanlin Academy were quite considerate and cautious, only asking about his well-being without prying into the situation in the palace. Mu Nan Song also sent someone to deliver medicine to him several times, which inadvertently raised Yang Yunqiu's status in the Hanlin Academy by a lot.

  Within two days, it was said that the Emperor had summoned forty-nine virtuous monks from the capital to go to the palace to chant scriptures and pray for blessings for the young prince. Yang Yinqu couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in her heart, knowing that Mu Nansong didn't believe in evil spirits, but still felt a bit uncomfortable, so she asked the high monk to perform rituals, regardless of whether they were effective or not, as long as they could calm people's minds.

  Fortunately, Yang Yunqiu knew that no matter what Mu Nan Sheng did, the female ghost would never appear again.

  The doll also suggested with interest, saying let Yang Yunqiu go in and play a game of catching ghosts with the law master, catch all kinds of ghosts to show everyone, rub them into a ball, and stuff them back into the collar.

  He didn't want to pretend to be mysterious.

  Unfortunately, something unexpected happened in the end, as they say, man proposes but God disposes.