The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

The distance from the capital to Mount Hua is nearly four thousand li (approximately 2,000 kilometers) round trip. The fact that Luo Ding was able to travel such a short distance demonstrates his loyalty.

Zhu Houzhao made a note of this person.

Jiang Ning didn't say anything more and walked outside.

……

The senior eunuchs waiting outside grew increasingly impatient as there was still no movement from inside.

"An hour has passed, why is there still no news?"

One of the chief eunuchs, growing impatient, turned to look at Liu Jin.

"Eunuch Liu, why is there not a sound coming from inside?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin turned around and said, "How would I know? Eunuch Zhang, please wait patiently."

"Wait, wait, wait! We've been waiting for an hour already. It's just His Majesty and that so-called hero inside. We have no idea what's going on inside. What if something happens to His Majesty?"

Then someone else spoke up; it was the same eunuch who had been cursing loudly inside earlier.

"Eunuch Liu, is this person trustworthy or not?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin turned to look at him.

"Eunuch Gu, please calm down. Master Jiang is someone His Majesty trusts. Since His Majesty asked Master Jiang to come to the palace to treat him before he fell into a coma, we must trust Master Jiang. You and I must remain calm. If we rush in rashly and it affects Master Jiang and delays His Majesty's treatment, we will truly deserve to die."

Hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone quieted down, but they still looked anxiously towards the door from time to time.

After waiting a while, the gate finally opened, and Jiang Ning walked out, which invigorated the eunuchs who had been waiting for a long time, and they all rushed over.

"Master Jiang, how is His Majesty? Has he woken up?"

Liu Jin was the first to speak, and he looked nervous. The others also looked at Jiang Ning nervously, waiting for his answer.

Jiang Ning shook his head.

Everyone was extremely disappointed.

"Although he hasn't woken up yet, most of the poison in his body has been neutralized, and he's in good health. However, he'll need some recuperation. I'll give you a few prescriptions later, and you can get the medicine according to these prescriptions and give it to him on time every day."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, a senior eunuch asked, "When will His Majesty wake up?"

Jiang Ning shook his head.

"I don't know about that."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

At that moment, a figure in the distance glanced in this direction and then hurriedly left.

Chapter 651: Waiting for you guys has been so long!

After hearing Jiang Ning's words, everyone rushed into the room to check on Zhu Houzhao's condition.

Zhu Houzhao was lying motionless on the bed. The crowd did not rush over, but watched from a distance. They noticed that although Zhu Houzhao was not awake, his complexion was much rosier and his breathing was more stable, which was much better than before. Only then did the crowd feel relieved.

At this moment, the eunuch who had been cursing earlier came out and cupped his hands in greeting to Jiang Ning.

"My esteemed hero, this is Gu Dayong. I remember you mentioned earlier that His Majesty was also under the influence of a curse. Could you elaborate?"

Jiang Ning glanced at him.

"I don't know. I only know that he was poisoned by a curse, but I don't understand the specifics or know how to cure it."

Gu Dayong frowned upon hearing Jiang Ning's words and muttered to himself.

"I wonder who dared to cast a spell on His Majesty. I'll definitely skin them alive."

Jiang Ning ignored his mutterings and glanced at the people in the inner room, quickly locking onto a person dressed in a light green brocade robe.

At this moment, Gu Dayong looked at Jiang Ning.

"Great hero, thank you for saving His Majesty. We will send someone to escort you out of the palace later."

"No need to trouble yourself."

Jiang Ning refused and pointed to the person from before.

"Come out."

The person who was pointed at was taken aback, but still came out.

"You can escort me out of the palace. He needs to take medicine to recuperate, and I'll tell you which medicine he needs to get."

The man was somewhat taken aback, but still nodded.

Seeing this, Gu Dayong didn't say much, assuming that Jiang Ning didn't want to have too much contact with the eunuchs. He didn't care and went into the inner room to focus his attention on Zhu Houzhao.

"This way, please."

This person led Jiang Ning out of the palace.

"Your name is Yang Yu?"

Jiang Ning suddenly spoke up on the way.

The man was taken aback and turned to look at Jiang Ning.

"how do you know?"

"Zhu Houzhao told me."

The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were mostly dressed in embroidered blue-green robes. At that time, apart from Yang Yu, the others were dressed as eunuchs, and Jiang Ning recognized him at a glance.

"what?"

Yang Yu was taken aback. Before he could react to Jiang Ning addressing the Emperor by his name, Jiang Ning told him about Zhu Houzhao's instructions.

Yang Yu was initially a little confused, but after hearing what followed, her expression turned serious.

"Thank you for informing me, hero. I will swear to protect His Majesty with my life."

Jiang Ning didn't say anything more, and then mentioned the names of several medicinal herbs that were needed to regulate Zhu Houzhao's body.

Yang Yu carefully memorized all the medicinal herbs, and Jiang Ning didn't speak again until after they left the palace gates. Just as Jiang Ning was about to leave, Yang Yu spoke up.

"Great hero, you just mentioned that you will be entering the palace again. When is that? I'd like to arrange for my men to pick you up."

"Need not."

Jiang Ning didn't look back and walked straight away.

“I have other ways to enter the palace.”

Yang Yu was taken aback, but Jiang Ning disappeared in the blink of an eye. Yang Yu did not linger and turned back to the palace.

……

"How is the situation?"

Inside a large mansion, a middle-aged man who had been waiting for a long time asked impatiently upon seeing the newcomer.

The messenger replied, "Brother, news has come from the palace that His Majesty is still unconscious. It seems that a doctor was brought in from outside the palace today, but it doesn't seem to be of any use. His Majesty remains unconscious."

The middle-aged man frowned and remained silent.

The man said, "Brother, it seems that woman is really capable, managing to keep the emperor unconscious for so long. We might as well cooperate with their proposal."

The middle-aged man remained silent upon hearing this, but after a moment he suddenly asked, "Is the Grand Secretary at home?"

The visitor nodded and said, "The Grand Secretary is off duty today. Would you like to see him, elder brother?"

The middle-aged man remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He instructed his younger brother to maintain good contact with the people in the palace, while he paced back and forth in the room, his brow furrowed as if he were pondering some important matter.

Just a short while later, the middle-aged man suddenly changed his clothes and went out, heading straight for the residence of the Grand Secretary he had mentioned earlier.

……

Seven days later.

late at night.

The palace was shrouded in night, silent and dark, with soldiers guarding the palace occasionally passing by.

After an unknown amount of time, two people, a man and a woman, suddenly appeared in the southeast corner of the palace.

The two were dressed in black and their faces were covered with masks, so their appearances could not be seen.

The two men moved swiftly across the rooftops, dodging the patrolling guards, clearly martial arts masters.

The two headed in a certain direction, clearly with a purpose, and finally stopped after half an hour. By then, they had arrived near the Qianqing Palace, where Zhu Houzhao lived.

"The emperor's residence is so hard to find. If Caiyi and the others hadn't given us directions beforehand, it would have been really difficult to find this place."

At this moment, the man among the two spoke up.

"However, the palace guards are not very good; you and I can come and go as we please."

The man spoke with an air of superiority.

The woman accompanying him frowned as she looked at the heavily guarded Qianqing Palace not far away.

"This dog emperor lives with so many guards around him, it's not easy to get in."

The man glanced at it upon hearing this, then laughed.

“What’s so difficult about this? It’s a piece of cake for you and me.”

"Alright, let's go in. As long as we complete the leader's task today, our status in the sect will be greatly enhanced."

"That's what the man said."

The woman nodded, and the two immediately prepared to sneak into the Qianqing Palace.

The guards at Qianqing Palace were much tighter than those in other parts of the palace, almost watertight. It was impossible for an ordinary person to sneak into Qianqing Palace without being able to bypass these guards. However, the two people dressed in black were different. They were martial arts masters from the Jianghu, especially skilled in lightness skills, which is why they were assigned to complete the mission.

Just then, a group of guards patrolled by. The man hiding in the shadows was about to kill them on the spot when the woman stopped him.

"Don't alert them. If we kill them, we might be exposed."

Upon hearing this, the man stopped. The two waited for the patrol to finish before the next patrol arrived and quickly sneaked into the Qianqing Palace. They avoided the guards and finally arrived at Zhu Houzhao's room.

The room was completely silent at this moment, with no one else present except Zhu Houzhao lying on the bed.