Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 316: Chapter 196: The Most Tragic Emperor in History Chapter 316: Chapter 196: The Most Tragic Emperor in History That night, within the heavily guarded Great Zhou Imperial Palace, two persons in black, carrying a sack between them, swaggered down the palace path, their footsteps in unison, striking the ground with force.

By some coincidence, the Imperial Inner Guards on duty that day were the very same ones who had encountered Thirteenth Lady Du and her party.

“Boss, are these men from His Highness Prince Mu again?” A Rookie Guard knelt by the side of the road, waiting until the figures had walked off into the distance before timidly glancing up at his superior.

The guard leader, keeping his head held high while watching the retreating figures, patted his chest with a lingering fear, “Who else would be so bold if not the Secret Guards from His Highness Prince Mu’s retinue? To break into the palace at dead of night, moving as if on level ground and looking down on the world as if there’s nothing to fear?”

The Rookie Guard, upon hearing this, nodded enthusiastically, like a pecking chick, “Uh-huh, uh-huh, I’ve served as an Imperial Inner Guard for more than half a year, and I’ve never seen any officials more formidable or imposing than them. Boss, the last time the Secret Guard Lord visited, didn’t the Emperor almost flip the tables in Qiankun Hall? This time…”

The guard leader, with a hint of worry, glanced toward Qiankun Hall, muttering to himself, “Lately, His Highness Prince Mu’s visits to the Emperor have been quite frequent. If this keeps up, Qiankun Hall might really…”

He dared not finish the sentence that would suggest the Emperor truly might flip out…

…

Within the resplendent Qiankun Hall, Emperor Zhoulin abruptly put down the memorial he was holding and turned to the uninvited guests.

Only after confirming through the face-covering cloth that the two were neither Thirteenth Lady Du nor the old man from the Mo Family did Emperor Zhoulin manage to feign composure and take a secret breath of relief.

He was genuinely afraid of his wife’s elder sister. His guilt was one part of it, and fear constituted another part.

There were eight Secret Guards before Zhou Mu’s seat, each of them a terrifying figure whose fame made enemies tremble, and Emperor Zhoulin knew three among them: one was his wife’s sister, Thirteenth Lady Du, the second was the old man from the Mo Family, and the third was the tall figure among the two persons in black, standing nine chi tall.

A descendant of the Beidi clan, known as the “Imperial Family on Horseback” a millennium ago, Kun Nu had been rescued by Zhou Mu during his travels when he was young. With strength to pull up mountains and spirit to overshadow the world, his internal martial arts appeared naturally perfected. He had once, using his lone strength, held off an army of a thousand!

Kun Nu and his companion exchanged a glance, not even deigning Emperor Zhoulin with a proper look, then effortlessly flicked the sack from his shoulder with a finger, tossing it right in front of Emperor Zhoulin on the Dragon Case in the blink of an eye.

“Wuu wuu…”

A faint moan came from the sack.

At this, Emperor Zhoulin’s temples throbbed painfully, and he waved to his trusted eunuch, Han Shan.

Han Shan immediately understood and with a sweep of his dusting cloth, hurried forward to untie the sack. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the face inside and promptly removed the ball of cloth stuffed into the mouth, “Xiao Xuanzi?”

“Your Majesty!” The boy named Xiao Xuanzi, once freed from the ropes, immediately knelt upright, his voice plaintive as he cried tears of joy.

He had finally returned to Capital City alive and seen the Emperor…

Emperor Zhoulin, puzzled, looked toward Han Shan, clearly not remembering which eunuch this was.

Having stayed by Emperor Zhoulin’s side for decades, Han Shan could understand the Emperor’s unspoken thoughts just from a furrowed brow and hastened to ask Xiao Xuanzi, “Weren’t you with Eunuch Gui on your way to deliver the decree to Liuzhou? Why have you returned alone? Where is Eunuch Gui?”

There was no point in asking the two grim-faced Secret Guards radiating a killer aura; asking Xiao Xuanzi was the most reliable option. Han Shan knew that if the Secret Guards had brought back only Xiao Xuanzi alone, then it likely didn’t bode well for the others…

The mention of the others drained Xiao Xuanzi’s already pale face of color, as he trembled with fright.

“I commanded you to convey my decree, why didn’t Gu Changsheng heed my summon? Speak to me in detail!” Emperor Zhoulin, evidently sensing something amiss, slapped the Dragon Case fiercely and demanded an answer.

Startled by the Emperor’s command, Xiao Xuanzi’s entire body shook, his face nearly touching the ground as he recounted every detail of the decree delivery with trepidation.

With two Secret Guards watching over him, he feared that a single misstep in his words might lead to his immediate death. The intimidation from His Highness Prince Mu was still fresh in his mind.

“She… she said, ‘If you’ve got the guts, come at me. If she so much as frowns, she’s no true man. She’s waiting for you in Liuzhou City…’”

“Smack!” The Dragon Case was hit with such force that it resonated loudly, and a memorial on its edge jumped a few times before ultimately falling to the floor. Emperor Zhoulin’s face turned red, his chest heaving, “Insolence! The audacity of Gu Changsheng! How dare she defy my decree, beat my Imperial Edict Eunuch, and batter my Imperial Forest Army! Where on earth does she get her gall?”

Kun Nu, standing below, lifted his head upon hearing this. His voice was so hoarse and gritty that it seemed as though his throat had been scraped, and he spoke with chilling intent, “It’s the gall my Family Head borrowed from heaven!”

Emperor Zhoulin was left speechless, falling back into the Dragon Throne in frustration, which scared Han Shan into hurrying forward, both adjusting his breath and providing him water. It took quite some time before the Emperor recovered.

Emperor Zhoulin glared furiously at Kun Nu below, his eyes flashing with a cold and bloodthirsty light. He truly wanted to slay this man right then and there!

But that was all he could do, think. After all, this was the person his Imperial Grandson valued the most. Even he did not dare to deal with him rashly, and might not have been able to do so…

Xiao Xuanzi, seeing that there were no further disturbances, continued to relay the message with his trembling figure kneeling on the ground.

Emperor Zhoulin’s eyes flickered with fiery light. Hearing that Zhou Mu had appeared without his mask, his heart skipped a beat. Was his Imperial Grandson finally willing to show his true face to the world?

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

Before Emperor Zhoulin could finish pondering, Xiao Xuanzi had already spoken the words that His Highness Prince Mu instructed him to convey.

After listening, Emperor Zhoulin almost burst with rage. His eyes blood-shot, he gritted his teeth and repeated, “My wife is slightly ill and cannot enter the Capital City? Which one is his wife? She falls sick right after beating up my people? What kind of illness is this! Excuses! These are clearly excuses!”

Han Shan, cautiously bending over to wait by the side, heard the full story and was sweating profusely. This was indeed an excuse, and there couldn’t be a more blatant one at that, ah…

Seeing Xiao Xuanzi finish explaining the sequence of events, Kun Nu and his companion left without saying another word, their figures swiftly disappearing as they flew away.

Emperor Zhoulin, pointing at their disappearing backs, was so angry he wanted to curse out loud, “It enrages me to death! What kind of bewitching drug has Gu Changsheng given to Buddy Mu? He’s become even more unreasonable, a calamity! He’s a calamity! I must eliminate him!”

Enraged, Emperor Zhoulin swept all the items from the Dragon Case onto the floor and started pacing back and forth around it, his face livid with fury, still cursing under his breath.

“I refuse to believe that I cannot outwit a woman, summon someone…”

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!”

Before Emperor Zhoulin could finish his sentence, a Little Eunuch staggered into the Qiankun Hall, his face the very picture of panic and confusion.

“How dare you! Such disrespect in the presence of the throne is a capital offense. Kneel and beg for the Emperor’s forgiveness immediately!” Han Shan stepped forward and fiercely reprimanded the Little Eunuch while giving Xiao Xizi a meaningful glance.

Xiao Xizi looked up and, in a rush of panic, crawled a few steps forward, “Eunuch Gui, Sir, now is not the time to beg for mercy. Your Majesty! It’s a disaster!”

Already displeased for being interrupted, Emperor Zhoulin’s expression grew even darker. Taking into account that Xiao Xizi was the foster son of his confidant, he barely suppressed the urge to kill and spoke with the mighty wrath of a dragon, “Things are already terrible for me. How could they get any worse?”

He felt like he was about to be driven to death by that unfilial descendant and wild woman! How could things possibly be alright!

Xiao Xizi wiped the sweat from his brow and pointed anxiously towards the doors of Qiankun Hall, “Your Majesty, it has gotten worse! His Highness Prince Bao has entered the palace!”

Emperor Zhoulin was momentarily delighted at the news, “Prince Bao is back? Then accompany me to welcome him!”

Buddy Mu had always been close with Prince Bao. Now there was someone who could keep him in check! Emperor Zhoulin thought, and a relieved smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

The return of Prince Bao to court, all was well…

Xiao Xizi shook his head vehemently, halting Emperor Zhoulin’s steps, “Your Majesty! Prince Bao has stormed into the palace. Along the way, his horsewhip has already wounded scores of the Imperial Inner Guards. His expression looks like he’s out to fight to the death. Your Majesty, perhaps you should quickly find somewhere to hide…”

Emperor Zhoulin started in alarm and immediately thought of the Han Family’s affairs. Panic swept over his face, and he dashed towards the back hall, “Quick! Close the palace doors!”

“It’s too late!”

As a roar sounded with the palace doors being kicked open, Zhou Zongbao stormed in with an intimidating presence, one hand holding his shimmering treasure blade and the other gripping a long horsewhip. He strode angrily towards a stony-faced Emperor Zhoulin yelling, “Now you decide to hide? Zhoulin, whose courage did you borrow to dare to attack the Han Family while I visited another country?”

Emperor Zhoulin, trembling and taking refuge behind the Dragon Throne, saw Zhou Zongbao approaching with an overwhelming aura. His stiff face twisted into a smile uglier than crying, “Ha ha… When did you return, brother Bao? Why didn’t you send a message ahead…so I could have personally welcomed you at the Ten Miles Long Pavilion…”

“Stop feigning ignorance with me, I’m not buying your act! Zhoulin, for the sake of balancing court power and ensuring the stability of the Imperial Clan, you didn’t allow me to marry Xiao Qiu and I agreed. I’m twenty-four and unmarried, hoping that Little Wood would ascend to the throne one day, so I could marry Xiao Qiu without any worries about the future.

“But you! You actually massacred the entire Han Family while I was away from the Zhou Dynasty! Zhoulin, you have some nerve. You’ve made me unwittingly become Xiao Qiu’s enemy, the one responsible for exterminating her family. How do you plan to explain this to me?”

Zhou Zongbao’s roar was deafening, almost lifting the roof of the Qiankun Hall.

With Zhou Zongbao’s relentless advance, Emperor Zhoulin backed away in panic, shaking his hands in explanation, “Listen to me, brother Bao. It is true that Han Jingye failed to defend the city, and there is plenty of evidence pointing to his betrayal and treachery. I spared Han Qiu and Han Mo’s lives out of consideration for you…”

Emperor Zhoulin stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Nonsense!” Zhou Zongbao shouted angrily, interrupting Emperor Zhoulin’s explanation. His face twisted fiercely, he tossed aside his treasured sword and whip and leaped towards Emperor Zhoulin, who was now on the ground…