Capítulo 639: Chapter 638: Not Yin Yang Disorder, but Cause and Effect Mistake
“Father…” The Seventh Prince uttered softly, shaking his head, “Father’s focus is on the stability of the kingdom. Precisely because the Crown Prince brother is the only one he can rely on, he trusts him all the more. He could never become the Crown Prince’s opponent; he would only be the Crown Prince’s strongest support.”
Song Lifu also nodded slowly, “What Your Highness says is very true! An emperor of a generation, his first consideration is always the stability of the nation. Although there has been some discontent among the people during the three years the Crown Prince has served as regent, the borders remain stable, and the imperial authority is highly secured. His Majesty absolutely would not dare risk replacing the Crown Prince.”
Lin Xiaosu gently placed the teacup down, “Your Highness, Master Song, you need to clarify one thing.”
“Speak!”
“You need to clarify whether the Crown Prince became the Regent Crown Prince because of his outstanding abilities, or because His Majesty has been unable to govern, thus necessitating a regent to be nurtured.”
“Father’s health has been poor since ten years ago, turning day into night, and he is truly unable to govern, which is why the Crown Prince was made regent.”
“But what if His Majesty’s health recovers? If he can govern, would he still need to tolerate the Crown Prince’s monopolization of power?”
“Does Lord Li… have a way to restore Father’s health?” The Seventh Prince’s eyes lit up brightly.
“If Your Highness is willing to take me close to His Majesty, I have the confidence to quickly restore His Majesty’s health!”
The Seventh Prince and Song Lifu exchanged glances.
Standing from the perspective of the Seventh Prince.
This is absolutely news with all gains and no losses.
Benefit one, after all, is the father; a father’s poor health always concerns his children.
Benefit two, currently, the father cannot manage affairs of state, and the nation’s major matters are all handled by the Regent Crown Prince, the Crown Prince’s power is equivalent to the emperor’s power, under such circumstances, oppression against him is unbearable. If the father can govern, it would directly strip off the Crown Prince’s power.
Benefit three, if he can solve this biggest constraint for the father, the father will surely value him more, and his situation would improve a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
With so many benefits, the focal point is only one: can the Lord before us, Li Chengnian, truly achieve this?
Song Lifu said, “Lord Li needs to know that His Majesty’s illness has been seen by all the world’s miraculous doctors and national experts over the past ten years, including the court’s imperial physicians and top cultivators in the cultivation path.”
Lin Xiaosu said, “Master Song also needs to understand one thing; an illness not being cured sometimes is a matter of medical skill, and sometimes it’s beyond medical skill. Some cannot be treated, and some dare not be treated!”
Everyone understood thoroughly at this statement.
The court is under the control of the Crown Prince.
What about those imperial physicians? Isn’t the Crown Prince controlling them?
Can the Crown Prince not control the top cultivators outside the court?
Even if the Crown Prince really cannot, isn’t there still an unorthodox method?
Who among cultivators would carelessly oppose unorthodox methods?
To let you cure, perhaps there’s some difficulty, but to let you not cure, what difficulty is there?
Could it be, His Majesty’s illness is solely controlled by the Heart Pavilion?
If it were someone else pointing this out, it would not be highly credible, but this young master Li Chengnian before us is a steward of the Heart Pavilion; he might know some secret information…
“Lord Li, this prince can request an audience with Father, but you must also know, this matter cannot be joked about.” The Seventh Prince said solemnly.
Lin Xiaosu smiled, “If Your Highness makes this joke, at worst you’d be stripped of your prince status; as for me, if I make this joke, my entire clan would be executed. Do you think I would make such a joke?”
The Seventh Prince took a deep breath, “Shall we enter the palace now?”
“Please, Your Highness!”
On this day, at midnight.
His Majesty sat in Wenling Hall.
Wenling Hall and Wuying Hall, one of the two key halls in the palace.
There is a distinction between these halls.
Wuying Hall is the hall for handling government affairs, whereas Wenling Hall is the hall for self-cultivation and tranquility.
Wuying is heavily guarded, showcasing the solemnity of the high pavilion and magnificent building.
Wenling is even more heavily guarded, yet it is a hall where only one person resides alone.
Today, there are two people in the hall, His Majesty seated on the dragon throne, beside him is the Commander of the Forbidden Army, Huo Gang.
This person practices Divine Magic.
He is also the true confidant of His Majesty.
The hall doors slowly opened.
Two individuals entered the hall.
The lighting wasn’t bright, and the starlight outside the window seemed exceptionally distant, casting two long shadows.
Two youthful faces clearly emerged in His Majesty’s view on the dragon throne, coming closer and closer.
The one in front, was the Seventh Prince, Hong Yun.
The one behind, was Li Chengnian of the Heart Pavilion.
“Your son greets Father!” Hong Yun knelt.
“Commoner Li Chengnian greets Your Majesty!” Lin Xiaosu only gave a deep bow. Being a scholar with a qualification of a candidate, but having no official position, he was thus exempt from kneeling.
“Rise!” Two words were softly spoken, extremely clear.
The two stood upright.
“Yun’er said, Mr. Li can cure my illness?” His Majesty said.
Would the ruler of a country easily see a mere commoner?
However, his illness has put the imperial physicians at a loss, and over ten years, how many heads have rolled because of his condition? To the extent that in recent years, no one dared to mention His Majesty’s illness proactively. Once you mention it, you must have a suggestion, and any suggestion could essentially mean someone’s life because you cannot cure it! Without the skill of a master, if you must take on this porcelain work, raising His Majesty’s hope only to have it dashed, how could His Majesty allow you to toy with him?
Who would want to do something foolish and lose their life just for a moment of bravado?
Thus, those who volunteered to treat His Majesty’s illness had not appeared for more than a year.
It’s not easy to encounter one, His Majesty also has a desperate mindset and directly meets him.
Lin Xiaosu slowly raises his head: “Your Majesty’s illness is actually not an illness, but a scheme!”
Not an illness, but a scheme!
Your Majesty’s brow suddenly contracts…
Huo Gang’s fierce eyes also suddenly fall on Lin Xiaosu’s face.
The Seventh Prince Hong Yun’s heart jumps wildly.
Entering the Imperial Palace, facing Father Emperor, is extraordinary. He had previously asked Lin Xiaosu many questions to probe his thoughts, but Lin Xiaosu avoided answering directly about sensitive topics.
Now, facing Father Emperor, his first sentence is earth-shattering.
Father Emperor’s illness is not an illness, but a scheme.
“Lord Li, what do you mean by this?” the Seventh Prince asks.
Lin Xiaosu replies: “Your Majesty’s illness has been identified by the palace’s imperial physician as ‘Yin Yang Disorder,’ which is a misjudgment. In fact, Your Majesty has fallen into a treacherous scheme, poisoned by ill intentions.”
“Speak on!” His Majesty says, his voice deep.
“Yes!” Lin Xiaosu replies: “The scheme Your Majesty has fallen into is called ‘Cause and Effect Mistake,’ a variation of the Tao of Cause and Effect. This harmful method is extremely peculiar, inherited from ancient times, not spread in this era. For years, countless people have tried to treat Your Majesty, but none recognized the Cause and Effect Mistake, likely due to this very reason.”
“But how did you come to know?”
Lin Xiaosu responds: “It was a mere coincidence, for a commoner like me, to have read a book titled ‘Ten Thousand Laws Book,’ which happened to record this harmful magic of cause and effect.”
His Majesty takes a deep breath: “Tell me what you know about… the Cause and Effect Mistake.”
“Yes!” Lin Xiaosu answers: “The essence of the Cause and Effect Mistake is to bind two people by cause and effect, achieving a reciprocal increase and decrease. In other words, the person bound to Your Majesty grows stronger in Yang energy, while Your Majesty weakens in Yang energy; the greater this person’s power, the less Your Majesty’s power.”
The Seventh Prince’s heart pounds heavily.
This reciprocal cause and effect mistake?
The bound pair, one thrives, the other declines.
Who exactly is being spoken of?
The answer seems imminent, but he dares not utter a word because the matter is unparalleled in its gravity.
He also seems to understand why Lin Xiaosu was reserved at the start, no matter how he pried earlier, Lin Xiaosu never divulged any useful information, for this matter is immense, almost the greatest matter in the Great Wilderness Dynasty…
Your Majesty’s face is completely hidden in darkness. He exhales softly: “Could you explain further, how is this magic executed?”
Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince’s heartbeat seems to freeze.
For this is a difficult question to answer.
His Majesty, supreme and thoroughly guarded, who can perform magic on him?
If this question is answered poorly, all previous questions become a deadly noose, branding you with the grievous crime of “speaking recklessly before the Emperor” and “sowing discord within the Imperial Family.”
Lin Xiaosu addresses: “This method often starts with the magic of blessing! Your Majesty might recall, ten years ago, was there a prayer for blessing for a certain person? That moment of prayer marked the beginning of the cause and effect binding!”
The Seventh Prince suddenly raises his head: “Father Emperor, could it be the Tunyun prayer from ten years ago?”
Your Majesty’s body suddenly stiffens…
No need for the Seventh Prince’s reminder; he remembers it clearly himself.
Ten years ago, the current Crown Prince, then the Third Prince Hong Ding, fell ill with a strange, life-threatening condition. The State Preceptor suggested the Tunyun prayer.
This ruler ventured at night to the Tunyun Temple, meeting Zen Master Xuan Kong of Tunyun Temple.
Master Xuan Kong, relying on Buddhist law, engaged his own century-long cultivation, performing Buddhist secret magic. The current Majesty knelt before the Buddha for nine two-hour periods, lifting the azure lantern, resulting in a miracle recovery for Hong Ding the next day.
This act was praised throughout the court and beyond, deeming him a merciful ruler.
Zen Master Xuan Kong of Tunyun Temple was hailed as a Buddhist Divine Monk for, after the Buddhist ceremony, his cultivation was nearly exhausted, initiating a lengthy period of retreat.
Selfless rescue of others, Xuan Kong indeed!
Now, this young man in front claims the conspiracy’s inception lay in the Tunyun prayer.
That grand Buddhist event was not a testament to his compassionate reputation, nor to Xuan Kong’s benevolence, but the starting point of a profound conspiracy!
For ten years, his health has been deteriorating.
He has suspected many things, excavating the palace’s underground countless times, altering feng shui perpetually, changing the staff at the imperial kitchen repetitively, executing generations of imperial physicians.
However, he never suspected the Tunyun prayer.
Because the prayer was a source of great pride to him.
He’s not inherently merciful, with few compassionate actions in his life; this was his hallmark display of benevolence.
At this moment, this ruler’s mind is a tangled web…
If this was all a malicious plot.
Then many people must be reconsidered.
That State Preceptor!
That high monk!
Also… his Crown Prince!
The Crown Prince’s illness came oddly, left oddly; was it true or false?
How many people joined in back then, merely aiming to eliminate him, to have the Crown Prince ascend?
Your Majesty’s eyes close for a long time, then slowly open: “Sir, your words today are indeed earth-shattering. Dare I ask… is there a method for verification?”
Lin Xiaosu replies: “Your Majesty, this commoner believes, verifying the matter is as good as resolving it; if the matter is resolved, it inversely verifies the matter.”
Your Majesty’s eyes suddenly shine brightly: “Is there a solution?”