Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Looking back at the mangled corpses on the open ground, Lu Chen felt a pang of sorrow.

In the original history, these eighteen women would have been executed by slow slicing the following day.

Because of their existence, they were hastily executed by Empress Fang before dawn.

But it was precisely because of this that they escaped the agony of being torn to pieces.

They're all dead now; we can never find out their secrets again!

Empress Fang really went to any lengths to frame Consort Cao!

Come to think of it, I haven't met Empress Fang since I arrived in the capital.

It seems this imperial sister-in-law is not someone to be trifled with.

Forget it, I'll go see my royal brother first!

After such a long delay, I wonder if Xu Kun still has the ability to revive the Jiajing Emperor.

. . .

Renshou Palace, rear hall.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty, sister-in-law."

Lu Chen bowed slightly to Empress Fang.

From the moment he entered the West Garden, Lu Chen began to show signs of being injured again.

After all, he had just been stabbed in the abdomen by a long sword a few hours ago. Even if it didn't hit any vital organs, he wouldn't be acting like nothing happened.

"Uncle, there's no need for such formalities."

Empress Fang bowed slightly, a hint of surprise clearly showing on her face.

Although I had heard that the Prince of Ying looked very much like the Emperor when he was young, this resemblance is just too much!

Twelve years ago, in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign, I entered the palace through the imperial concubine selection. The face I saw when I first met the emperor was exactly the same as the face before me.

They're just half-brothers, how can they look so alike?!

"Academician Xu, how is the Emperor's condition?"

After exchanging greetings with Empress Fang, Lu Chen went straight to Emperor Jiajing's bedside and asked Xu Kun.

The palace maid's assassination of the emperor occurred in the dead of night, just as dawn was breaking. Most of the officials outside the palace were unaware of the dramatic events that had taken place.

Of course, some people may have heard rumors, but given the unclear situation, they pretended not to know for the time being.

Even after Lu Chen entered Renshou Palace, he still hadn't seen any important officials arrive.

Apart from Empress Fang, the highest-ranking people present were several senior eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Imperial Horse Administration.

Although these eunuchs held high positions and wielded great power, they were, after all, servants of the imperial family. As the emperor's own brother, Lu Chen naturally didn't need to pay them any attention at this moment.

In terms of status, only Empress Fang was his equal.

"Reporting to Your Highness, Prince Ying."

Xu Kun quickly replied,

"Your Majesty suffered from 'exhaustion of breath' due to being strangled for a long time. When I arrived, Your Majesty's breath was barely perceptible, and his pulse was so weak that it was almost imperceptible. His life was nearly cut off."

Only a strong dose of "restoring yang and consolidating the body" can reignite the "extinguished flame".

Just a quarter of an hour ago, I gave Your Majesty a dose of medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

Your Majesty, I have been at your bedside taking your pulse.

After the medication was administered, His Majesty's pulse did not weaken further; in fact, it strengthened slightly, and the condition did not deteriorate further.

"It will take about two or three hours for this potent medicine to truly take effect. If His Majesty can vomit several liters of purple blood by then, his life can be saved."

"If my brother can survive this ordeal, he will surely bestow a generous reward upon Imperial Physician Xu."

Lu Chen nodded.

"How confident is Governor Xu?"

This person is indeed very responsible!

As soon as Lu Chen entered Renshou Palace, he saw several people dressed as imperial physicians.

It was obvious that these people had arrived much earlier than Xu Kun, but they were all indifferent to the critically ill emperor and did not offer any help!

Lu Chen couldn't believe that they didn't know how to save the emperor.

What use is such a physician?!

Because he went to the Marquis of Wuding's residence to heal his injuries, Xu Kun had actually missed the golden window of opportunity to save the Jiajing Emperor.

Although Lu Chen didn't understand traditional Chinese medicine, he could guess that the chances of saving the person with medicine at this time were actually very low.

However, despite his own safety, this Imperial Physician Xu administered a strong medicine to the Jiajing Emperor.

This is risking your life!

The Jiajing Emperor's appreciation and promotion of him, granting him the highest honor of a physician in the Ming Dynasty, proved that he had not misjudged him!

Lu Chen also deeply admired this dedicated and ethical imperial physician.

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. Your Majesty's 'exhaustion of vital energy' has lasted too long, and you have been stabbed in more than ten places on your chest and abdomen by hairpins. Although none of them are fatal, you have lost a lot of blood and your body is even weaker."

Xu Kun was silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"A strong medicine is a strong medicine because it puts a heavy burden on the body. The weaker the body is, the more likely it is to be unable to withstand it."

Given Your Majesty's health condition, I have at most a 10% chance of success!

Upon hearing this, everyone around gasped in shock.

Lu Chen did not turn around, but instead used his mental power to scan everyone within five meters.

Most people present had their hearts racing due to nervousness, but there were a few exceptions!

All the other imperial physicians besides Xu Kun were among them.

This is easy to understand. Although they dared not risk treating the emperor, they were, after all, imperial physicians and were actually very clear about the emperor's condition.

Since they already knew the outcome, they weren't surprised by Xu Kun's words!

To Lu Chen's surprise, there were three other people!

One was a nanny who was about forty or fifty years old, and the other was a palace maid who was around thirty years old. Both of them stood behind Empress Fang.

What surprised Lu Chen the most was the third person, Empress Fang!

They tensed up for a moment after hearing Xu Kun's words, but quickly relaxed, even more so than before.

What does this mean?

Hearing Xu Kun say that the emperor had at most a 10% chance of being saved, the three of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief!

In other words, they would rather the emperor be dead than have him brought back to life!

Those two older palace maids were clearly Empress Fang's people, and her confidantes, people who knew the truth!

Empress Fang actually hoped the emperor wouldn't be able to save him!

Could it be that she was afraid the emperor would take his anger out on her if he found out that his most beloved Consort Cao had been wrongfully killed?

That's quite possible!

Even emperors are still human beings with flesh and blood.

It's hard to say what crazy things someone might do after their loved one has been murdered.

Consort Cao is dead, and even if Empress Fang regrets it, it's too late.

For her, the emperor's death was indeed the best outcome!

After the Crown Prince ascends the throne, she will be promoted to Empress Dowager, and no one will be able to settle accounts with her for the wrongful killing of Consort Cao.

Lu Chen sighed inwardly.

Regardless of what Empress Fang was really thinking, she herself was an imposter.

However, he only became a prince of the Ming Dynasty by chance because he looked like the Jiajing Emperor and found a travel permit related to the Lu family in the shady shop he encountered when he first traveled through time.

The body that he had possessed woken up in a meteorite crater deep in the mountains of Yunyang Prefecture, and it was almost impossible for it to have any connection with the Ming Dynasty royal family.

Lu Chen looked at the Jiajing Emperor on the imperial bed, whose face was pale and whose pulse and breath were very weak.

For Empress Fang, it was better for the emperor to be dead than to come back to life.

So how does it apply to me personally?