Side Story Chapter 35 - Explosion! (1/2)

Time flew past, and one month went by in the blink of an eye. At this moment, the vast Imperial Palace was still, the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army quiet. The mood was much more oppressive and suffocating than before.

When a eunuch or maid would pass through a palace avenue, their heads would be lowered and their steps hurried. At times, they would raise their heads and quickly look around with wary expressions.

The Imperial Palace had completely changed, so much so that even the eunuchs and maids could tell that the struggle between the three Princes was getting worse and worse. Even past officials had been swept up in the conflict, with many of them being killed, and there wasn’t even a need to consider eunuchs and maids like them, whose lives were as cheap as an ant’s.

The frequency of assassinations in the palace had increased, and the Imperial Army was being mustered far more than usual.

A minor eunuch seemed to notice something and pointed at a distant figure in surprise. “Look there. So many unfamiliar faces in the palace now…”

Another minor eunuch paled and harshly rebuked, “Shut your mouth! Is that something you should be worrying about? Hurry up!” He dragged his companion away like he was fleeing the plague.

The two of them left very quickly, but the air remained saturated with tension.

The gate of Jade Dragon Palace was shut, and a domain covered the palace, blocking all sound.

At this time, Li Taiyi, Wang Jiuling, Zhou Chaoxian, and his other subordinates had gathered here.

Li Taiyi had been vigorously counterattacking over the last month, and he had finally moved out from his extremely passive position and succeeded in rescuing Wang Haibin and the court officials. However, Zhang Shougui and Zhangchou Jianqiong were still stationed on the border.

The two of them were both under the command of the Bureau of Military Personnel, and everything concerning them needed to go through a court debate. Even if Li Taiyi wanted to get them back, he would first have to go through the Bureau of Military Personnel. However, the Bureau of Military Personnel was still under the First Prince’s control, so this task was still impossible.

In the somber air, Li Taiyi turned to the nearby Wang Haibin and asked, “What is the situation?”

“Your Highness, we have already dispatched the spirit pills from the martial arts sects to the Imperial Palace, and Eunuch Li has already dissolved them in water and fed them to His Majesty, but…”

Wang Haibin dropped his head, his expression gloomy.

“It was no use. His Majesty is still unconscious.”

Everyone’s hearts sank at these words.

Li Taiyi had devoted all his efforts into curing the Tang Emperor, attempting all methods, even trying to find the most miraculous of medicines from the martial arts world. For the sake of safety, all the medicines had been inspected, and only after they were confirmed safe had they been sent into the palace.

Alas, it currently seemed that all their efforts had failed.

Is there really no preventing this?

Li Taiyi internally sighed. He had not been in this world for too long, and though the Tang Emperor had always been very harsh on him, with familial love being a difficult thing to experience in a place like the Imperial Palace, deep down, Li Taiyi still considered the Tang Emperor his true father.

Li Taiyi could also sense that the Tang Emperor deeply favored him. It was just that affection within the Imperial Palace was bound to be different from what ordinary people hoped for.

“Lord Zhou, what do the stars say?”

Li Taiyi turned to another figure in the hall.

Zhou Chaoxian was an official serving under the previous government, but at the start, he had been an astrologer who was rather skilled in the art of divination. Zhou Chaoxian had said that Li Taiyi had the aura of the true dragon on him, and the heavens had resonated with him, the Ziwei emerging. This was an important reason for Zhou Chaoxian’s choosing to follow Li Taiyi.

“This… His Majesty has been unconscious for several months. If not for Your Highness constantly sending him pills, the situation might have been even worse. Moreover, in the heavens, the Ziwei is dim and like a guttering candle, on the verge of going out at any moment. Besides that, the stars are in disarray. It appears that His Majesty is reaching the limits of his life.”

Zhou Chaoxian’s words made Li Taiyi shudder as if he had been struck by lightning, and the others were also shaken, feeling a suffocating pressure descending.

Although they had already had some inkling of this, to hear it from Zhou Chaoxian’s mouth had an entirely different meaning.

The Tang Emperor was a wise sovereign who commanded great respect both inside and outside the court. His death would be an enormous blow to the Great Tang and affect the entire empire. This was the reason for the turmoil amongst the stars.

More importantly, if Zhou Chaoxian’s predictions were correct, they didn’t have much time.

“Your Highness, the Eastern Palace is becoming more active,” Wang Jiuling suddenly said. “It’s obvious that the Crown Prince also knows about this. The day His Majesty ascends to the heavens is the moment the Crown Prince will make trouble. We must be ready.”

He knew what the Third Prince was worried about: fatherly affection, brotherly love… But now was not the time to be concerned about such things, as the Eastern Palace would not.

“Mm, has everything been taken care of?” Li Taiyi said, swiftly suppressing all other thoughts. There was no taking back a loosed arrow. Since he had made up his mind, he would not show any hesitation.

“Everything is awaiting Your Highness’s order,” Wang Jiuling immediately said as he bowed.

Li Taiyi nodded and said no more. Turning around, he looked out of the hall and began to think.

The Imperial Palace was still, but everyone could sense that a storm was imminent.

Time slowly passed, and the mood in the Imperial Palace grew even more tense. Everyone was so quiet out of fear that even somewhat loud whispers were easily audible. Such a mood had left everyone uneasy.

Several days went by. At this moment, in Taiji Palace, the center of the storm…

A tall and slender figure with an ashen complexion lay atop a golden bed, his eyes and mouth shut.

Long illness had worn away at this majestic body, leaving behind a bony and emaciated figure with deeply sunken eyes. Even so, one could still sense that imperial aura that stood above all things radiating from his body.

This man was the supreme Tang Emperor.