vrcanaries Chapter 585 Worry-free Dream
Chapter 585 Worry-free Dream
Emperor Shenwu's face was sullen. "Absolutely not! Lan Qingwu, forget it! Just stay here!"
"Then you can kill me! I just won't stay here!"
Emperor Shenwu held Lan Qingwu in his arms and found that she was like a lifeless doll, her mind was in a trance. Sometimes she said she wanted to stay here and not go out, and sometimes she was stubborn and refused to stay here even if she died.
Emperor Shenwu was also exhausted from the torment. He could not guard Lan Qingwu all the time, so he could only send two more palace maids to guard her all the time.
But Lan Qingwu couldn't eat anything anymore. It was as if all her negative reactions had come back overnight. This made Lan Qingwu even more unable to accept it, and she fell into self-doubt. Clearly... clearly she had done nothing wrong, so why did God treat her like this! Was she really pregnant with someone else's child? But she clearly didn't feel anything! Self-doubt, denial again! Lan Qingwu was trapped in this cycle.
Emperor Shenwu watched helplessly, knowing that if this continued, there would be no time to wait until the baby was delivered. Lan Qingwu would probably not be able to hold on for a few days.
Emperor Shenwu was worried all day long and summoned Zhao Wubing and Nie Wushuang to his presence. "How is the Queen's health? I want you to protect her at all costs!"
Zhao Wubing and Nie Wushuang looked at each other, both lowered their heads, and looked unhappy.
Emperor Shenwu said: "If you can keep the Queen safe, I will ensure your safety after this matter is over!"
Zhao Wubing and Nie Wushuang hurriedly bowed their heads and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Shenwu looked at Nie Wushuang, his eyes filled with deep emotion. "Doctor Zhao, please step aside!"
When Nie Wushuang was left alone, he couldn't help but feel worried, wondering what the Emperor Shenwu wanted to do with him.
Emperor Shenwu was silent for a long time, so long that drops of cold sweat kept oozing out of Nie Wushuang's forehead.
Nie Wushuang heard the almighty emperor finally speak: "Doctor Nie is proficient in both medicine and poison. Do you know of a drug that can temporarily cause amnesia?"
Nie Wushuang was almost on the verge of collapse. Countless thoughts raced through his mind in an instant. "Your Majesty, all the drugs I know of can cause brain damage. In severe cases, they can even lead to dementia! It's like losing one's soul! And they're all banned drugs! I've only heard of them, I've never seen them!"
Emperor Shenwu was somewhat disappointed, feeling that Nie Wushuang was useless. However, at this moment, Nie Wushuang was still indispensable to save Lan Qingwu's life. "I want you to ensure that the Queen gives birth safely! From today on, you and Imperial Physician Zhao no longer need to be imprisoned separately. You can discuss together how to protect the Queen! If anything happens to the Queen, you all know the outcome without me telling you!"
Nie Wushuang knew this, and he bowed his head and said, "I dare not fail to do my best!"
Emperor Shenwu was worried all day about Lan Qingwu's situation. After letting Nie Wushuang leave, he gently rubbed his brow. No court affairs had ever given him such a headache. At this time, Li Xiang whispered, "Your Majesty, Li Zhong requests an audience!"
Emperor Shenwu was a little impatient: "What's wrong with him?"
Li Xiang gently raised his eyes and looked at the frowning Emperor Shenwu: "He said he would present a treasure to Your Majesty to relieve your worries at this time!"
Emperor Shenwu touched the Hetian jade rings on his hand and said, "Oh? Let him in!"
Li Xiang was also very curious about what treasure Li Zhong had used to make the emperor laugh.
Li Zhong personally held a large, bowl-sized carved huanghuali wood box. He knelt on the ground and replied with a smile, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! This is a treasure I have found for you. Your Majesty will surely be delighted to see it."
Emperor Shenwu waved his hand and asked Li Zhong to come forward. Li Zhong quickly opened the carved round box himself. Inside the box were pills, emitting a faint and mysterious medicinal aroma.
Emperor Shenwu reached out and picked up a pill: "What is this?"
Li Zhong replied, "Your Majesty, this item has a beautiful name—'Worry-Free Dream'! It was discovered by me, after tremendous effort, by a retired imperial physician. This is one of his treasured possessions! It's made from a long-lost ancient recipe. Its effect is to lull a person into a dream that feels as if it were real, and it will surely be the most beautiful and happiest dream of their life. Hence the name—'Worry-Free Dream'! Just this tiny pill can make a person sleep for a month!"
"In this dream, the person's most cherished and beautiful wish in life will be fulfilled, and they will continue to lead a normal life, without any adverse effects on their health! Your Majesty, here are the effects and usage instructions of this pill recipe!"
Li Zhong presented Emperor Shenwu with a piece of worn rice paper. The emperor had already piqued his interest. He looked at the pill for a while, then reached out to take the rice paper. "Are there any side effects? Have you asked anyone to test it?"
Li Zhong replied respectfully, "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it in the short term, but the recipe states: If you use 'Worry-Free Dreamland' for years, you'll probably become trapped in a dream, unable to extricate yourself, and never return to reality! I once heard a retired imperial physician say that a man used this pill for seven or eight years to win back his wife. Later, even if his wife stopped using 'Worry-Free Dreamland', she wouldn't wake up easily! The first person a person sees while trapped in a dream is the person who controls their dream. As long as the person who controls their dream doesn't wake them up, they'll never wake up!"
Li Xiang was already stunned by what he heard. He stared at Li Zhong, but Li Zhong seemed to be unaware of it.
Li Zhong looked at the emperor's inscrutable expression and continued, "Your Majesty, I found three people to test the medicine on: a beggar, a poor scholar, and myself!"
Emperor Shenwu raised his eyebrows.
Li Zhong laughed and said, "I only scraped a layer of powder off the pill and put it inside the incense. The beggar dreamed for three days, eating and drinking non-stop every day, imagining that he would never go hungry again! The poor scholar also dreamed for three days, in which he dreamed that he had won the top spot in the imperial examination and returned home in glory!"
Emperor Shenwu asked with great interest, "What about you, Li Zhong? What is your 'worry-free dream'?"
Li Zhong lowered his head in embarrassment. "To be honest, Your Majesty, I may have possessed martial arts skills, but I only dreamed for two days after taking the same dose. In my dream, I didn't enter the palace to purify myself, but instead had a beautiful wife, concubines, children, and grandchildren! Today, I woke up and immediately entered the palace!"
Emperor Shenwu laughed heartily. "Li Zhong, your dream is a good one! If this pill can relieve my troubles, I will make your 'worry-free dream' come true for you! If you have a descendant of a close relative or a distant relative you admire, I will personally decree that he be registered as your son! While you are alive, he will carry on your family line, provide for your old age, and see you to the end of your life. When you are a hundred years old, I will have them build an ancestral hall for you, so that you can offer sacrifices and enjoy the fragrance of incense throughout the four seasons!"
Li Zhong's face flushed with excitement. What else did they want after reaching their status? Wasn't it just the worry that after a hundred years, these rootless people would be gradually forgotten by people, and even their distant descendants would forget to burn paper money for them?
Li Zhong knelt on the ground with a thud, "I will serve Your Majesty with all my heart and soul, and I will do my best until my death!"
Li Zhong was extremely excited. His 'worry-free dream' could be realized by the emperor in reality! How could he not be loyal to the emperor!
The Shenwu Emperor held up the pill and said, "If it's only used for a few months, I think it will be harmless to the user!"
Li Zhong understood the situation and said, "Your Majesty, you can ask the imperial physician to come and check and verify. In my humble opinion, if the Empress only needs a few months, she will be fine!"
The Emperor Shenwu's phoenix eyes shot coldly at Li Zhong, and Li Zhong quickly expressed his sincerity: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I did something wrong earlier, and I have been feeling uneasy ever since. Seeing Your Majesty worrying about the Empress, I have been secretly trying to relieve Your Majesty's worries! As long as Your Majesty is no longer worried and is in a good mood, I will do anything!"
"This pill will definitely allow the Empress to spend the next few months in peace! After a few months, Your Majesty can let the Empress out of the secret room, or you can keep her and continue using this pill! The Empress will absolutely be willing to guard Your Majesty! In short, Your Majesty can only be at ease if the Empress is safe and sound. This is also my apology for the Empress!"
Emperor Shenwu withdrew his gaze, still looking at the pill: "Li Xiang, do you have your 'worry-free dream'? What is it?"
Li Xiang saw that the emperor had been persuaded by Li Zhong, and following the Emperor Shenwu's question, he said, "Your Majesty, my 'worry-free dream' might be longing for my parents to hold my childhood self in their arms, and for my mother to feed me a full meal! Unfortunately, my biased parents have long since passed away!"
Emperor Shenwu nodded casually, "Do you want to know about my 'worry-free dream'?"
The two men knelt hurriedly, not daring to look up: "Slaves dare not pry into the emperor's will!"
Emperor Shenwu stared at the pill and said calmly, "Wake up and hold the power of the world, drunkenly sleep in the lap of a beauty! My dream does not need this little pill to come true! But I can use it to keep my 'beauty'! In fact, whether it is the queen standing shoulder to shoulder with me, or the beauty hidden in the golden house, I don't care about the form, I just want her to accompany me forever!"
The two did not dare to answer, but just lowered their heads even more deeply.
Emperor Shenwu ordered someone to bring Nie Wushuang, gave him half a pill, and asked him to study it!
Nie Wushuang didn't know where the emperor got this thing. After he reported to Emperor Shenwu, his back was wet with sweat because he had a vague premonition of the queen's final fate!
"So, if you use this thing too much, it won't do any harm to people, right?"
Nie Wushuang pondered over it again and again before replying, "That's the theory, but Your Majesty is afraid that there could be unexpected consequences. Should we have someone conduct a test first..."
Emperor Shenwu waved his hand and said, "It's okay. When I asked you to research it, I had already found more than ten people to experiment with it. Everyone just thought it was a dream. There's nothing serious at all!"
Nie Wushuang hesitated and said, "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Shenwu had already gotten the answer he wanted, and impatiently told Nie Wushuang to leave: "Now all you have to do is protect the Queen! Leave!"