Chapter 107: Tyrant x Replacement Bride x Little Mud Dog (9)

Chapter 107: Tyrant x Replacement Bride x Little Mud Dog (9)

There was chaos in the Hall of Mental Tranquility, with the sounds of shattered porcelain and the emperor's roaring echoing from time to time.

Eunuch Dong was busy attending to the emperor, helping him take his medicine and wiping the blood, all while repeatedly joining the imperial physicians in their prayers and greetings. It was not until the second watch of the night that he finally found a moment to whisper into the ear of his most trusted disciple.

The young eunuch, hidden in the night, ran all the way to the side room of the Imperial Kitchen and frantically shook awake Chief Steward Yu.

“What is it? What is it?” Chief Steward Yu said half-asleep. “Is the emperor holding a banquet in the middle of the night and wants me to prepare the dishes?”

“I’m here to pass on a message from Eunuch Dong,” the young eunuch said hurriedly. “Eunuch Dong and you are old acquaintances; you’ve helped him a lot. He specifically asked me to inform you: get rid of all the cabbages!”

“We have hundreds of cabbages stored in the kitchen,” Chief Steward Yu said, bewildered. “You mean all of them?”

“You can give them to the palace servants or use them to feed the pigs; no one will stop you,” the young eunuch said. “My master said that you absolutely must not let His Majesty see any cabbages, or you’ll lose your head!”

“Moreover, since the festival isn’t over, the dumplings can have any filling except cabbage. For this year, and possibly the next three years, there must be no cabbages in the palace!”

Chief Steward Yu thought he was dreaming, rubbing his face in confusion. “Why does the emperor have a grudge against cabbages? He holds grudges against everyone.”

“Today alone, two of the jade cabbages displayed in the palace have already been smashed!” The young eunuch, having delivered his message, prepared to leave. “Take care, I need to go back and assist my master.”

“Alright, I'll take care of it tonight. Please tell my master I’m grateful and will repay him another day!”

On the other side, the imperial physicians knelt in a row, not daring to breathe heavily.

The nosebleed had long stopped, but the emperor’s anger was still uncontrollable.

He ordered the imperial physicians to prepare a cooling pear soup to clear the heat and dispatched secret agents to capture that strange old woman.

But logically, she had probably already vanished without a trace and couldn’t be caught.

Imperial Physician Jiang, who had been resting at his residence outside the palace, was urgently summoned to the Hall of Mental Tranquility to check the emperor’s pulse again.

As they approached, Xiao Shizheng’s fierce aura unfolded, as if sharp thorns surrounded him.

“Jiang Yi,” he said hatefully. “I am cursed.”

“These imperial physicians say I’m just overheated and inflamed. Tell me the truth!”

Imperial Physician Jiang retracted his right hand and smiled faintly. “Your Majesty, I do not understand the art of curses.”

“What did you notice?”

“Your Majesty has been experiencing unexplained headaches, emotional anxiety, and a suppressed energy flow,” Imperial Physician Jiang said. “It’s the accumulation of burdens over time.”

Xiao Shizheng’s eyes were bloodshot. “How can I be cured?”

“Ultimately, it’s a matter of the heart,” Imperial Physician Jiang said calmly. “Drinking more iced pear soup won’t help as much as resolving a grudge.”

The emperor stared blankly for a long time before sneering coldly.

“You may leave.”

The next day, the emperor summoned the newly appointed Treasurer Gu Xin Qing to the Hall of Mental Tranquility.

Gu Xin Qing dressed elegantly, his long hair tied with a bamboo branch, his eyes and brows as deep as ink.

As for the blood-splattered cabbage incident from the previous night, the palace people in the Frost Bamboo Pavilion were completely unaware, and he, of course, slept soundly until morning.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Rise, no need for formalities," Xiao Shizheng said. "Gu Xin Qing, lift your head and look, do you recognize who this is?"

Gu Xin Qing lifted his head and only then saw his father kneeling beside him, visibly shivering.

"Your Majesty, why has this humble servant's father been summoned?" Gu Xin Qing looked puzzled and somewhat shy. "I have been granted favor by Your Majesty, but we have not been intimate yet, unworthy of such favor."

Xiao Shizheng smiled. "Earlier, I said I would cut off his head, but upon careful thought, that would be too merciful."

"How about lingchi instead."

Old Man Gu rolled his eyes but didn’t faint; instead, he collapsed on the ground, likely because his legs had gone completely numb from kneeling too long.

Gu Xin Qing looked confused. "What crime has this humble servant's father committed?"

"He has committed no wrong," Xiao Shizheng said. "It is you, who has disregarded propriety and intentionally defied authority. Your father is suffering in your stead!"

"Gu Xin Qing, if you confess now, your father might still be spared the worst."

Before Gu Xin Qing could respond, the old man was already trembling and pleading, "Qing'er, Qing'er..."

Lingchi!! It meant being sliced piece by piece!!

Gu Xin Qing shook his head.

"Since entering the palace, I have been ill and confined to my quarters, only meeting the Emperor for the second time. I truly do not know what mistake has been made."

With a nod, Xiao Shizheng signaled, and immediately, guards entered with swords drawn, placing the silver blade under Gu Father's chin.

"This is your final chance."

Xiao Shizheng glared at the old man, who was nearly wetting himself from fear, and at Gu Xin Qing, who was still pretending to be ignorant, and began to count slowly.

"Three."

Gu Xin Qing showed no reaction.

"Two."

Old Man Gu was on the brink of losing his mind.

"One!"

The guard swung his blade, slicing off a large chunk of Old Man Gu's hair.

"Ahhhh—" The old man was so frightened he wished to jump up, tearfully asking, "What’s happening? What’s going on?!"

With a nod, Xiao Shizheng had the confused old man escorted out. The doors of the Hall of Mental Tranquility were firmly shut, leaving them alone.

Gu Xin Qing remained bewildered and bowed once more.

"Your Majesty, this humble servant is not well-read and cannot understand today's events."

"Speak plainly. What do you want from me, exactly? A promise never to kill again? Or wealth and glory?"

Gu Xin Qing, torn between laughter and tears, said, "Your Majesty’s words are beyond this humble servant’s understanding. I humbly beg for Your Majesty’s forgiveness."

Xiao Shizheng narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is pretending to be ignorant amusing?"

Gu Xinqing shook his head. "If Your Majesty wishes this servant to come and attend to you, a simple command would suffice."

Xiao Shizheng was about to entertain some thoughts upon seeing his handsome face but regained his composure at the thought of that damned barking dog. He asked, "What about the nosebleed last night?"

"What nosebleed?"

"How did you become a cabbage?"

"Cabbage?"

"Turn into a dog for me to see, right now."

"Ah?"

Xiao Shizheng fell silent, feeling as if he were losing his mind.

If these words were spoken to others, they would certainly sound like the ravings of a madman.

To ask three questions and get no responses—this is outrageous!

"Forget it, you may withdraw."

"Yes."

The young man retreated along the same path, and once outside the palace, his expression changed.

"How much to buy a sprained ankle?"

"Four hundred."

"Buy."

That day, rumors spread through the palace that when the emperor got down from his imperial throne, he lost his balance and sprained his ankle!

Good grief—who sprains their ankle just getting down from a chair!

Even more mysteriously, as if being targeted by something, the emperor suffered misfortune for an entire month.

First, the nosebleed, then the sprained ankle, and then he suddenly developed a high fever. It was unclear whether it was a cold or some internal heat.

Likely due to several medicines clashing, he began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea, visibly losing a significant amount of weight.

Imperial physicians came and went, attending to him constantly, and even sorcerers and Taoist priests were summoned to burn incense and perform rituals, leaving no stone unturned.

Meanwhile, rumors from the Gu family reached the palace, saying that after returning to his mansion, Old Master Gu had fallen ill, screaming in terror every night and having already called for exorcists several times.

In this eerie atmosphere, everyone grew wary, avoiding contact with each other, hoping the bad luck wouldn’t spread to their own homes.

The instigator was hiding in the Frost Bamboo Pavilion, contentedly cracking walnuts by himself.

He really wanted to turn into a dog and bark all over the place… but he couldn’t let that tyrant emperor off the hook so easily; he’d have to wait a bit longer.

Keding pondered and asked the system again, "How many points would it cost to check this emperor’s allergens?"

The system replied, "...? You really have a unique way of thinking."

After disappearing for a moment and consulting the AI, she returned. "It’ll cost you a twenty processing fee. This information is encoded in the source code of each world. You can find it by querying."

The system checked and found that Xiao Shizheng had over a dozen allergens, with the most severe being sparrows, buckwheat, and clams.

Keding: "What a great deal!"

On the sixteenth day of the second month, the emperor was mostly recovered and went out to enjoy the spring.

A group of sparrows chirped as they landed on the railing and received some millet personally from the emperor.

By evening, the emperor had mysteriously developed large red rashes on his body and endured another ordeal of washing in medicinal baths until midnight.

Gu Xin Qing was summoned again to the emperor's presence, still neatly dressed, as if always ready to serve.

Xiao Shizheng’s eyes were swollen, and he angrily said, "Happy now?"

Gu Xin Qing: "……?"

Seeing him shrink back, cautious and completely baffled, Xiao Shizheng felt an urge to tear him apart on the spot. He threw the gourd ladle into the medicinal soup and shouted, "It's my fault! It's my fault for repeatedly arguing with you! It's my fault for being suspicious and mistrustful! But you didn’t have to go this far to get back at me!"

"What's next? Are you going to make me fall from a horse and die?! Or make me cough up blood and perish?!"

Gu Xin Qing felt a bit wronged and said softly, "Your Majesty, why do you always say things I don’t understand whenever I see you..."

"Would you like me to help you bathe..."

"No, don’t touch me! You’re my nemesis!!" Xiao Shizheng shouted, "These rashes are so itchy I could die. I really thank you!!"

Gu Xin Qing, frightened, bowed deeply and said, "How dare I, Your Majesty, don’t scare me..."

After staring at him for a long moment, as if steeling himself, Xiao Shizheng finally said, "Go be a dog."

Gu Xin Qing: "Ah?"

"Didn’t you say you would protect me?" Xiao Shizheng gritted his teeth and said, "I didn’t realize your goodwill before, it's my fault. Quickly, go be a dog."

"If turning into a dog can ensure my peace, I will thank you profusely!"

Gu Xin Qing stepped back, hesitated, and said, "...Woof woof?"

The emperor wanted to drown them both in the medicinal bath, taking them both down with him.

"Turn into a dog!! You could do it before!!" Xiao Shizheng even gestured with both hands on his head, "A yellow-and-white spotted dog, a round-eared dog, a barking dog!!"

Gu Xin Qing’s nose crinkled as if he was about to cry, rubbed his eyes, and rushed to open the door.

"Eunuch Dong! Eunuch Dong, quickly go call the imperial physician!!"

Eunuch Dong, who had been dozing, snapped awake and said, "Has the emperor started bleeding from the nose again?!"

Gu Xin Qing poked his head and hinted desperately, "The emperor insists that I turn into a dog, but how can I do that?!"

Eunuch Dong was also taken aback and said instinctively, "You can’t?"

Gu Xin Qing was bewildered, "Can you?"