Yuan Qingling dragged her numb body to the bed where Yuwen Hao had lain earlier, collapsed onto it, and soon felt her whole body trembling. The things that had happened over the past few days were so unbelievable that even if she had racked her brains previously, she could not have imagined them.
The brain development project had failed, yet it had gone off in a sinister direction instead.
Some said that science and theology ultimately converge.
When the brain is developed to a certain degree, one can move objects with their mind, come and go freely, and the brain automatically accesses all kinds of information, rendering one like the gods worshipped by people today.
Yuan Qingling shakily raised her hand, wanting to touch the medicine box in her sleeve to gain some sense of security, but her sleeve slipped down, revealing her fair wrist. On her wrist was a red gash—a new wound.
She was startled. When did she get hurt? During her scuffle with Yuwen Hao earlier?
No, the blood along the wound's edges had already congealed, and there was blood staining her sleeve too. This injury was at least half an hour old.
Half an hour ago?
Yuan Qingling narrowed her eyes, recalling that when she was waiting outside the hall earlier, Yuwen Hao had flung her aside, and Chu Mingcui had come over to support her.
Could it be that she hadn't simply been helping her?
She remembered that when Chu Mingcui had returned to the Qi Prince's side, her eyes seemed to flash with a trace of astonishment.
Everything suddenly became clear to Yuan Qingling.
Chu Mingcui had deliberately hurt her, not knowing that she had lost her sense of pain after drinking the Zijin Decoction. If it had been the Yuan Qingling of the past, she would have erupted in anger and hurled abuse at the scene. In such a solemn setting, even if she wasn't sentenced to death, she would still end up imprisoned and then discarded.
Yuan Qingling felt chilled to the bone. She could hardly imagine that someone's heart could harbor such malice.
She had previously thought Chu Mingcui wasn't too bad—everyone else looked at her that way, yet she alone had cursed her.
But beneath that beautiful, gentle façade was actually such viciousness.
She tried to find a reasonable explanation for Chu Mingcui's actions, like Yuan Qingling having ruined her prospects with the Chu Prince, forcing her to turn to the Qi Prince instead.
But she could not accept such an explanation.
If Chu Mingcui held a grudge, she could have confronted Yuan Qingling to settle scores, or even slapped her in front of many people. Such underhanded injury was truly ruthless.
Yuan Qingling lowered her hand. She could set aside thoughts of Chu Mingcui for now, but had everything gone smoothly on the Retired Emperor's end? Was the Retired Emperor willing to believe her?
She had read many history books, both official records and unofficial accounts, yet none mentioned a country called Northern Tang. So the history she had learned was of no help in understanding the Retired Emperor's personality.
With life and death uncertain and the future unclear, Yuan Qingling felt suffocated.
Exhausted, she glanced at Yuwen Hao lying unconscious on the ground—a sleeping lion. When he awoke, things would be dire for her, unless the Retired Emperor summoned her.
She gave a wry smile. She did have selfish motives in saving the Retired Emperor.
Without anyone's protection, she could not survive in the prince's manor.
Inside the Retired Emperor's bedchamber...
All the imperial princes had already paid their respects inside the tent and were now kneeling outside, awaiting the Retired Emperor's passing.
The atmosphere in the hall was extremely heavy and sorrowful, with grief saturating the very air. The Empress Dowager and the Noble Consort had been helped out after being overcome with anguish.
Emperor Ming Yuan also sat outside, ready to kneel down and pay his last respects as soon as the eunuch attending the Retired Emperor inside announced that the time had come.
Everyone was preparing for that moment.
Finally, the azure tent curtain was lifted. Ming Yuan's expression darkened, pain flooding his eyes. His body went limp, yet before he could kneel, the eunuch happily proclaimed, "The Retired Emperor says he wants millet porridge."
The emperor froze in surprise, then hurried over. To his astonishment, he saw that the Retired Emperor had opened his eyes and was stroking Fu Bao's fur, looking much better than before.
"Quick, tell the imperial kitchen to prepare millet porridge!" Ming Yuan was overjoyed, his voice going shrill.
