465: Chapter 465 Xuan Aiqing

Lin Xiao couldn't help but frown as he looked at the serious divine physician before him, who was glaring at him with her chest puffed out in anger; for a brief moment, a wicked thought crossed his mind.

But soon, reason reclaimed the high ground.

"Gu Zhiyao, are you truly investigating the Corpse Refining Water solely out of your duty as the successor of Medicine King Valley?"

Lin Xiao said playfully, "I feel that you aren't telling the whole truth."

Gu Zhiyao bit her red lips; she really had no way to deal with this young man.

"You're right. Actually, Medicine King Valley has lost an extremely important item."

"There is a high probability that the treasure is in the hands of the Khitan people, which is why they were able to successfully produce such a large amount of Corpse Refining Water."

"If I can retrieve the treasure, I will tell the Prince the whole truth."

"If I cannot find it, I will fulfill any one of your conditions, even if it means breaking my 'Three Taboos of Healing' rule."

Lin Xiao pondered. A treasure? For making Corpse Refining Water? Could it be some kind of sophisticated pharmaceutical equipment?

What exactly did the Heavenly Palace leave for Medicine King Valley...

"Fine then, you shall come with me."

Lin Xiao had a faint feeling that Gu Zhiyao could be helpful. Moreover, he lacked medical talent, so it would be for the best if he could take her into his service.

Without further delay, Lin Xiao took Gu Zhiyao and leaped high over Daxing Pass, soaring northward with the wind.

On the city wall, Shu Yelan, who had already changed her clothes, watched their receding figures with a complicated expression.

Although Mu Wanying, Princess Li Xinglan, and the others were envious that Gu Zhiyao could follow Lin Xiao, they also knew that their duty was to guard the border.

While Lin Xiao could certainly hold back many of the Khitan Army, this war was far from over as long as the Yelü Family had not fallen.

The crisis of the Three Prefectures of Yan had already spread throughout the Great Gan.

In the capital, everyone from top to bottom was discussing whether the Yan Region would fall this time.

After all, the Zhenbei Army had been gone for some days now, but there had been no good news.

The Imperial Palace.

Inside the Imperial Study, Crown Prince Li Chenghao was discussing matters with several ministers.

This was already the third consecutive day they were discussing the same thing—the ascension of the new Emperor!

Because Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong had not yet returned to the capital while escorting Emperor Hong's remains, the matter of the Crown Prince's succession had been put on hold.

Firstly, no one knew if Chancellor Yang had an imperial decree in his hands.

Secondly, among the high-ranking officials of the current court, except for those like Minister of Revenue Wang Qirui who were profit-driven and profited alongside the Crown Prince, few thought highly of Li Chenghao.

In the past, it might have been fine, but given the current situation of the world, it was clearly in favor of the Prince of Zhenbei.

Even if the Prince of Zhenbei was temporarily too busy with the Yan Region crisis to care about who succeeded the throne, who would dare to openly support the Crown Prince's early ascension?

If the Zhenbei Army marched south in the future and the Prince of Zhenbei decided to settle scores, wouldn't that be a disaster falling from the sky?

Therefore, it was better to avoid trouble. Since Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong was absent and Emperor Hong's funeral had not been held, everyone had an excuse to delay.

"My lords, look at the frontline battle report I received early this morning!"

"The Yan Army and the Zhenbei Army have already lost over twenty thousand men!"

"And this is even before the Khitan Army has launched their general offensive!"

Li Chenghao said with an air of righteous indignation, "At such a critical time for the Great Gan's borders, are we just going to sit here and wait for death!?"

"The Crown Prince is mistaken. Although the Khitan are aggressive, they are far from being able to completely crush the Yan Region's defenders."

Wei Mingzhuang said matter-of-factly, "Furthermore, the Prince of Zhenbei has already gone to provide support. I believe the Khitan's retreat is only a matter of days."

"The Prince of Zhenbei?" Li Chenghao sneered. "Can our grand Great Gan only rely on the Prince of Zhenbei to guard the borders!?"

The ministers looked at each other, their eyes exchanging a single thought: "Otherwise?"

In fact, as soon as the news of Emperor Hong's passing in the Northern Border reached the capital, most people had already accepted that the Li Family's empire was about to change hands.

Therefore, everyone had been perfunctory when facing Li Chenghao these past few days.

Seeing that his words were useless, Li Chenghao had no choice but to dismiss the court session.

Once almost everyone had left, Li Chenghao angrily swept the memorials on the table onto the floor, his face extremely grim.

"A bunch of treacherous subjects! Do I have to kneel and beg them before I can succeed the throne!?"

"As long as I succeed the throne, I will be the rightful Emperor of Great Gan! Would that Lin Xiao dare to openly rebel then!?"

Wang Qirui stepped forward and whispered, "Calm your anger, Crown Prince. Those cabinet ministers either have major clans behind them or have unusual relationships with Chancellor Yang."

"These people naturally prioritize their families. They don't dare to offend the Prince of Zhenbei, or they must wait for Chancellor Yang to return before they can act."

"However, there are some officials in the court who do not actually fall into these two categories..."

Li Chenghao was taken aback and frowned. "Minister Wang, who are you talking about?"

Wang Qirui whispered, "Just last night, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Liu Zongfu asked me to pass a message to the Crown Prince."

"A group of officials from humble backgrounds are willing to support the Crown Prince as the new monarch and restore the state."

Li Chenghao said in surprise, "Liu Zongfu? That quiet fellow has never had much of a voice in court. Why this time..."

"Has the Crown Prince forgotten? Previously, Liu Zongfu was singled out by Chancellor Yang and sent to E Prefecture as an imperial envoy."

"On that single trip, he almost lost his life. How could he not hold a grudge against Chancellor Yang?" Wang Qirui smiled.

Li Chenghao suddenly realized. "Right, I remember now. There was such an incident!"

"Crown Prince, it just so happens that the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is responsible for the new monarch's sacrificial rites. Liu Zongfu can arrange the entire process of your ascension."

"Now that the Late Emperor is gone, but the Empress is still here, as long as the protocols are followed, who would dare to openly oppose the Crown Prince's succession?"

Li Chenghao was overjoyed. "Quick... quickly summon Minister Liu!"

At the same time.

Nanling.

Yun Prefecture, the Prince of Nanling's Manor.

In a garden pavilion, Li Sixun, dressed in plain clothes, held a letter and stared blankly at the distant rosy clouds.

"What's the matter, Prince? I was in the middle of making soup when you called me again."

Zhou Guangfu was dressed in coarse cloth, looking exactly like a cook. He sat down carelessly on a stone stool and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Are those people from the Moon Worship Cult still distributing ledgers everywhere?"

Li Sixun asked casually.

"There are fewer of them here. The old geezers who needed to be arrested have been caught. However, in Baiyue, it seems to be intensifying," Zhou Guangfu shook his head.

"I've even heard that the common people are starting to look forward to the Prince of Zhenbei entering the Central Plains and killing the Prince of Wu."

"I reckon that Prince of Wu is overwhelmed with worry, unable to sleep every day, fearing a popular uprising."

Li Sixun chuckled. "The Prince of Zhenbei won't be that foolish. If he becomes Emperor now, everyone will think he killed the Emperor."

"He is still young. He only needs to accumulate prestige; there's no need to rush to clean up that mess."

"Killing can win an empire, but governing an empire requires sustaining lives."

Zhou Guangfu teased, "Since you know so much about being Emperor, why did you run away back then? You made our Great General Mu wasted their efforts..."

Li Sixun sighed and handed the letter to Zhou Guangfu.

"Take a look. It's a secret letter from Yang Gengzhong."

Zhou Guangfu frowned. After taking and reading it, his expression changed drastically.

"Prince, have you accumulated ten lifetimes of merit? Why do they want you to be Emperor again?"

"Others fight to be Emperor, but for you, it's like a new bride nursing a baby—they're rushing to shove it into your mouth!?"