Immediately afterward, a fierce thunderbolt struck, reducing White-Browed Priest to ashes, leaving no remains. Mu’er felt sorrowful, silently clenching her fists. Just as White-Browed Priest had said, Royal Heir Qi soon regained consciousness. He was still groggy, considering he had been stabbed in the chest and poisoned; how could he still be alive? Mu’er was thrilled and excited, floating over. "Your Highness, you’re awake!"
Royal Heir Qi’s movements were unhindered; his wounds had healed remarkably well, almost completely closed. He sat up, and the attendants quickly prepared a cushion for him to lean on comfortably. "How many days have I been unconscious? And how did my injuries heal so quickly?" Royal Heir Qi asked.
"Your Highness, you were only unconscious for a day," one attendant replied softly. "White-Browed Priest used a forbidden life-extending formation, sacrificing the lives of twelve people to ensure your safety."
Royal Heir Qi didn’t lament the sacrifice of those twelve lives; to him, their willingness to die for him was the highest honor. However, he was immensely grateful to White-Browed Priest for using the forbidden formation to save his life.
"Where is the Priest? I must personally thank him," Royal Heir Qi said, noticing the hesitation in the attendant’s expression.
The attendant hesitated, then glanced at Mu’er. Sensing something amiss, Royal Heir Qi’s face darkened as he asked, "What happened?"
"The Priest used a forbidden formation to forcibly extend Your Highness’s life, but he incurred heavenly punishment and... he’s no longer with us," Mu’er answered softly.
Royal Heir Qi’s heart trembled, and the wound that had just eased seemed to ache again. He spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to contain the turmoil within.
Mu’er became alarmed and quickly advised, "Your Highness, you just woke up; please don’t get too agitated."
"Yes, Your Highness, otherwise, the Priest’s efforts will be in vain," another attendant added.
Royal Heir Qi gradually calmed down as he understood the situation. His forehead veins bulged, his voice becoming stern as he said, "Ye Siheng’s tactics are indeed ruthless. I must admit my admiration for him."
Mu’er offered, "Your Highness, just give the word, and I’ll go to Mu Nation immediately and take Ye Siheng’s life!"
"Even if you go now, with him married to Chu Nanli, can you lay a finger on Ye Siheng?" Royal Heir Qi’s emotions gradually stabilized, and his complexion softened.
As Mu’er had clashed with Chu Nanli before, she dared not make any big promises. Royal Heir Qi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snorted softly, "No need to rush. When my cultivation reaches its peak, even if there are ten Chu Nanlis, they won’t be able to stop me."
"Understood!" the attendant assured. "Your Highness can rest assured; we won’t let external matters disturb you again!"
During Royal Heir Qi’s absence from court, all political matters were handled by the Prime Minister, who was naturally loyal to him. Royal Heir Qi narrowed his eyes. "It seems that Ye Siheng has planted quite a few people in court, which is how he uncovered my private affairs. Inform the Prime Minister to root out the spies from Mu Nation."
"Yes! I’ll do it immediately," the attendant replied.
Mu’er felt somewhat resentful. "Ye Siheng is too sinister and despicable. We shouldn’t let him have any peace."
"It’s just a contest; there’s nothing particularly sinister about it," Royal Heir Qi raised his gaze. "The Priest previously mentioned that Mu Nation is currently in turmoil. Even though I won’t act against them, Ye Siheng won’t have an easy time for the time being."
Mu’er finally smiled upon hearing this. Royal Heir Qi closed his eyes, feeling somewhat fatigued.
With the Priest gone, he had lost a great ally. Therefore, he must quickly cultivate his techniques to overturn his fate and dominate the world. But where is his brother Ah’Yuan...?
The news of the failed plan quickly spread back to the Mu Nation Capital. Ye Siheng remained unfazed upon hearing it. Qing Feng said, "We’ve spent a lot of resources on this, and it’s disappointing to see it end in failure." Finding a young man who resembled Royal Heir Qi was no easy task. It took them six months to uncover Royal Heir Qi’s private affairs. Ye Siheng placed the confidential report on the table, propped his head with one hand, and said slowly, "But the death of the White-Browed Priest from the Tai Xu Sect is not without its gains."
Qing Feng considered his words and agreed with the prince’s assessment. The White-Browed Priest and his disciples had caused considerable trouble in Mu Nation, almost destabilizing its foundation. Now that the master was dead, Royal Heir Qi had lost a significant source of support. However, Emperor Muwu remained bedridden, and even though Nanli had visited him and provided some medicine, his condition only improved slightly. Royal Heir Qi had some influence in the cabinet, but he still needed Ye Siheng’s support behind the scenes to contend with the seasoned politicians.
Ye Siheng glanced through several documents and then asked, "According to the schedule, has Xie Beihan arrived in Shouling County?"
"It should be by now," Qing Feng nodded.
Ye Siheng lowered his gaze. "I hope he handles his task well and doesn’t cause any trouble."
Meanwhile, Xie Beihan in Shouling County couldn’t help but sneeze. A treasury official accompanying him asked, "My lord, are you catching a cold?" He was about to send someone to fetch a cloak.
Xie Beihan’s mouth twitched. "I’m perfectly fine; how could I catch a cold, especially in this hot weather?"
The treasury official felt embarrassed but thought to himself, "These aristocrats are often frail."
Xie Beihan wasted no time and went to inquire about the situation from the local officials. Shouling County was only two days’ journey from the capital, and travelers often rested there, making it strategically important. Hence, Ye Siheng had sent people to ensure that the disaster in Shouling County was dealt with promptly. The displaced people had already been resettled, and now the focus was on rebuilding houses and digging water channels to prevent future flooding.
The officials from the Ministry of Works, handpicked by Ye Siheng, were skilled at organizing tasks, while Xie Beihan was mainly responsible for managing expenses. Although he disliked studying, having been brothers with Chu Shuo for many years, handling finances wasn’t too difficult for him.
The construction progressed as scheduled, with some commoners also volunteering to help. However, trouble arose within two days. Early one morning, the foreman found two commoners dead inside an unfinished house, their bodies mutilated with blood everywhere.
The local magistrate hurried over, fearing to offend the nobles from the capital, and ordered the officials to quickly dispose of the bodies. They initially thought it was a vendetta, but the next day, another person died in the same gruesome manner, this time in the middle of the street, making it impossible to conceal.
Xie Beihan inspected the scene with his entourage, his face turning pale, and he almost vomited out his breakfast. It was too disgusting!