From cute to empress

Chapter 154: Conspiracies

The sharp wind whistled in my ears, and I didn't have time to think about anything else. I just kept repeating the word "talented" in my mind, as if that would dispel the uneasiness in my heart. We traveled day and night, finally arriving at the nearest town to the border at dusk on the third day.

I dismounted, and before I could breathe a sigh of relief, a soldier covered in blood stumbled towards me and fell in front of me, his voice trembling, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Something terrible has happened..."

"What's wrong? Speak slowly!" My heart tightened and a bad premonition came to my mind.

The soldier said intermittently: "General Zhen... General Zhen he... he..."

"What's wrong with him?" I grabbed his collar and asked anxiously.

"He... was defeated... his entire army was wiped out..." the soldier said, and then fainted.

"What?!" I felt like I was struck by lightning. My vision went dark and I almost lost my balance.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" The guards hurried forward to support me.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "Pass the order down. Keep the news secret. No one is allowed to discuss this matter casually!"

"Yes!"

My heart was in a turmoil, and the soldier's words "annihilated" kept echoing in my ears. No, this is impossible! He was so smart and brave just now, he couldn't possibly...

However, reality would not allow me to escape. After returning to the posthouse, I received a secret letter from the capital. The letter said that news of Zhen Youcai's defeat had suddenly spread throughout the capital, causing panic among the people, and some even began to question my rule.

I clutched the letter tightly, my knuckles turning white. Who was it? Who was spreading rumors? Who was trying to take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble?

At this time, County Magistrate Li came to see me. He seemed to be very concerned about me, but my intuition told me that he was not as simple as he seemed.

"Your Majesty, don't worry too much. General Zhen is a lucky man and will be safe." County Magistrate Li "comforted" him, but his tone revealed a hint of imperceptible gloating.

I suppressed my anger and said calmly, "Thanks for your kind words, Lord Li."

After seeing off County Magistrate Li, I paced around the room alone, with a thousand thoughts in my mind.

It was late at night, but I had no desire to sleep. Just then, I heard a burst of whispers coming from outside the window.

"Tell me, can we really succeed by doing this?" a voice asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, as long as we do it cleanly and efficiently, no one will suspect us." Another voice said sinisterly, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as the empress falls, the world..."

I held my breath and quietly walked to the window. Through the crack in the window, I saw two familiar figures...it was County Magistrate Li and Taoist Zhou from the Taoist temple outside the city!

They...they actually...

A bitter chill shot up from my feet to my heart; I could practically hear my teeth chattering. Magistrate Li and Taoist Zhou—one a local official, the other a seemingly indifferent monk—had secretly colluded in an attempt to overthrow the government! As my rage burned, I also became more aware that I couldn't lose my composure at this moment.

I took a deep breath, forced myself to calm down, returned to my desk, and wrote down several orders. The first ordered a thorough investigation of the source of the rumors and brought those who spread them to justice. The second ordered the capital's defenses to be strengthened, with elite troops stationed at the fortresses to prevent outside forces from taking advantage of the situation. The third ordered a secret meeting of my trusted ministers to discuss countermeasures.

After doing all this, I rubbed my swollen and aching temples, but my heart still couldn't calm down.

"Your Majesty, Divine Doctor Sun requests to see you." The voice of the personal maid sounded outside the door.

"Come on!" I immediately stood up to greet him. Doctor Sun was the head of the Imperial Hospital. He was a skilled doctor, and even more so, a man of integrity. He was someone I could trust.

"Your humble servant greets His Majesty," Divine Doctor Sun said with a salute. "I wonder what instructions Your Majesty has summoned you to this place so late at night?"

"Doctor Sun, please stand up quickly," I gestured for him to sit down and briefly recounted what had happened recently. Finally, I asked, "I want to know, is General Zhen...really...?"

Divine Doctor Sun pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, although I haven't personally been on the battlefield, I do have some knowledge of battlefield first aid. As far as I know, the poison General Zhen contracted is extremely rare. Without an antidote, there's no way he'll survive more than three days."

"Antidote?" My heart tightened. "Doctor Sun, what do you mean...?"

"While inspecting the palace recently, I discovered that the Imperial Hospital's pharmacy was missing several key herbs for treating this poison," said Divine Doctor Sun, his face solemn. "Furthermore, I also found some suspicious medicinal residue... It seems someone deliberately left this there, trying to..."

He hesitated, but I understood what he meant. Someone had poisoned the palace, targeting important officials, even... me!

"Does anyone else know about this?" I asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I dare not make it public without authorization. I will only report this to Your Majesty." Doctor Sun replied.

"Okay, you did a great job," I nodded. "I'll leave this matter to you to investigate secretly. Don't alert the enemy."

"I obey your command." Doctor Sun took the order and left.

My heart is even heavier. There's a traitor in the palace. It seems this time the enemy is even more cunning and powerful than I imagined...

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and then a guard ran in in a panic, knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty... It's not good... Wu... Wu..."

"Wu what? Speak slowly!" I was startled and an ominous premonition came to my mind.

"Your Majesty... this is bad... Wu... Wu the medicine merchant..." The guard knelt on the ground, speaking incoherently, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, "They... they..."

"What happened to the Wu Pharmacy Merchants?" My heart tightened. The Wu Pharmacy Merchants were a commercial power left over from the previous dynasty, with a vast network of shops across the country. After I ascended the throne, I tried to appease them in various ways, attempting to bring them under the imperial court, but to no avail. Could it be...

"They... are hoarding goods... driving up prices..." The guard finally calmed down a little and spoke intermittently, "In the capital... many pharmacies... can't buy... can't buy medicine..."

"What?!" I stood up suddenly, seething with rage. These damn guys were actually taking advantage of the situation to rob us! "Immediately pass down the order to seal off all Wu family pharmacies and confiscate all the stockpiled medicinal materials to stabilize prices!"

"As you wish!" The guard took the order and left.

My heart trembled for a long time. The Wu medicine merchants' actions were no accident. They had been lying dormant for years, so why would they suddenly strike out at this moment? Could it be... that they were involved? A terrifying thought flashed through my mind.

Doctor Sun's investigation soon yielded results. He discovered that the herbs lost from the Imperial Hospital were the key ingredients for treating the poison that Zhen Youcai was poisoned with. These herbs eventually ended up on the black market, and the buyer of the largest transaction was none other than drug dealer Wu!

The clues gradually became clear. County Magistrate Li and Taoist Zhou spread rumors to disturb people's hearts, while medicine merchant Wu secretly hoarded goods and created chaos. They colluded with internal and external forces in an attempt to rebel!

But I also have a hunch that there seems to be a bigger conspiracy behind all this...

I summoned the head of the secret guards overnight and ordered him to secretly investigate the background of County Magistrate Li and Taoist Zhou. I want to know who they are and who is behind them!

A few days later, the leader of the secret guards brought shocking news. County Magistrate Li and Taoist Zhou were not local officials or monks at all. They were spies sent by neighboring countries. They had been lurking in Dayan for many years with the sole purpose of overthrowing the Great Yan Empire!

And the evidence of their collusion with neighboring countries is hidden in the secret room of County Magistrate Li’s study!

I took a deep breath, a cold light flashed in my eyes, it's time to close the net!

I was about to give the order when suddenly, there was a commotion outside the palace. Then, a palace maid ran in in a panic, "Your Majesty...something bad...Zhou...Zhou Taoist..."

"What happened to Taoist Zhou?" My heart sank. Could it be...

"Master Zhou...he...he set himself on fire at the palace gate..."

"Self-immolation?!" I exclaimed, standing up suddenly. How dare this old man play such a trick right under my nose! "Did he leave any message?"

"Master Zhou said... said Your Majesty... you..." The palace maid trembled with fear and did not dare to continue.

"Speak!" I slammed the table, furious.

"He said that Your Majesty...you are cruel and incompetent...He said General Zhen...General Zhen..." The palace maid fell to her knees in fear, her voice as thin as a mosquito.

"He's so outrageous!" I was shaking with anger. This was clearly the thief crying "stop thief" and confusing right and wrong! Did he think this could shake my resolve? It was sheer wishful thinking! "Pass the order down, block the news, and no one is allowed to discuss this!"

"But Your Majesty... There are rumors about General Zhen everywhere in the city now, and the people... are in a panic..." the palace maid said timidly.

My heart sank. Yes, truth will eventually come to light, especially in a matter as serious as this, concerning the safety of the nation. Taoist Zhou's move was incredibly vicious. He was using his own life to inflict a crisis of trust in me among the people!

"Come on, let me take a look!" I took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in my heart. The most urgent thing was to stabilize the situation first.

The palace gate was packed with people, a sea of ​​black smoke, and the air was filled with the smell of burning. Taoist Zhou's body had been carried away, leaving only ashes, but the people's emotions did not subside at all, but instead became even more excited.

"Your Majesty! Has General Zhen really been defeated?"

"Your Majesty! They all say that General Zhen has... has..."

"Your Majesty! You must decide for us!"

In the crowd, cries, questions, and condemnations came one after another. My heart became heavier and heavier, as if it had fallen into an icy abyss.

"Everyone, be quiet!" I raised my hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. "I know you're all concerned about General Zhen's safety, and so am I! But please trust me, trust General Zhen. He's a man of good fortune, and he'll definitely return safely!"

"But Your Majesty, there are news about General Zhen's defeat everywhere now. We..." A middle-aged man stood up from the crowd, his face full of worry.

"Those are just rumors! Someone is deliberately spreading them to confuse people. Don't believe them!" I said sternly, scanning the crowd. "I've already sent people to investigate the truth. I'm sure there will be results soon. Please be patient!"

As soon as I finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd, and then a sharp voice resounded through the sky: "Your Majesty, how can we believe your words? Are you trying to protect General Zhen, so..."

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young Taoist priest in a Taoist robe standing in the middle of the crowd, pointing at me and shouting loudly.

"How dare you!" I shouted angrily, "Who are you? How dare you spread rumors and mislead people here!"

"I am a disciple of Qingyun Temple. I have come here today to plead for the people!" The young Taoist priest was not afraid at all, but became even more arrogant. "Your Majesty, if you wish to prove your innocence, please..."

He suddenly raised his head, staring at me intently, and said word by word, "Please...order...a thorough investigation...of General Zhen..."