Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the scent of sandalwood wafts through the air.

The King of Chu's fingers unconsciously stroked the gilded dragon head on the armrest of the dragon throne, and his eyes fell on his eldest son kneeling on the jade steps.

The morning light slanted in through the carved window lattices, casting tiny spots of light on Chu Ning's pale profile.

This scene reminded him of twenty years ago when he was still the crown prince and knelt before the late emperor with his back straight, but he would never look so sick.

"Chu Ning, your body..."

When the King of Chu spoke, his voice was filled with concern and tentativeness. He noticed that Chu Ning's hands were trembling slightly as he held onto the ground, and the purple blood vessels were clearly visible under his almost transparent skin.

When Chu Ning looked up, a strand of black hair fell on his forehead: "Father, don't worry."

The corners of his mouth were covered with a perfect smile, neither humble nor respectful: "Wait for Divine Doctor Sun to take a look first, I have something more important to report."

Sparks suddenly flew from the bronze beast censer on the dragon table, startling the eunuchs standing on both sides so much that they hurried forward to add incense.

The King of Chu took this opportunity to take a closer look at his son - he was only in his twenties, but he already had all the civil and military officials in the court obeying his orders.

A few years ago, when Chu Ning married the eldest daughter of the Shen family, he was still able to reject Chu Ning's proposal to rectify the salt administration at the court meeting.

Nowadays, even the commander of the imperial guards and others have begun to use "Eastern Palace Order" instead of "Imperial Edict".

“Go ahead.” Emperor Chu picked up the teacup and used the hot steam to hide the gloom in his eyes.

"I have persuaded the Queen of Great Zhou to join forces."

Chu Ning's voice was like crushed ice, cold but sharp: "The two countries will jointly fight against Qin, but we need to send people to negotiate peace with the Han Dynasty, so that they can take advantage of the chaos to attack Sima Yi of Wei, so that the two dynasties will not interfere in our war with Qin."

The crisp sound of the teacup and its holder colliding was particularly clear in the hall.

The King of Chu suddenly recalled the scene ten years ago when he was fourteen years old and shot an arrow through the eyes of a tiger during the autumn hunt.

The arrow at that time pierced the beast's skull and nailed to the maple tree, and the arrow feathers were still trembling, just like the aftershocks caused by these words now.

"How could the Han Dynasty obey our orders?"

The King of Chu deliberately emphasized his tone: "What's more, the Tang Dynasty has deployed troops in the northern border, and the Jin navy..."

"The Tang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty have never had any grudges."

Chu Ning suddenly started coughing, dark red blood seeping out from between his fingers, but he still insisted on finishing his words: "As for the Jin navy... cough cough... it will take at least a month to cross the river from Cangzhou to Yanzhou."

He took out a silk handkerchief to wipe away the blood. The red plum blossoms blooming on the white silk made the Emperor Chu's pupils shrink slightly.

The King of Chu frowned and asked, "If there are not enough conditions, the Han Dynasty would rather watch from the sidelines than send troops."

"so……"

Chu Ning's mouth showed a cruel look: "I plan to give Wei's Yanzhou to the Han Dynasty as a condition for them to send troops!"

The King of Chu suddenly stood up, his bright yellow dragon robe sweeping down the memorial on the table: "You want to use Yanzhou as bait?"

"You know Yanzhou is Sima Yi's retreat. If we hand this place over to the Han, we will definitely offend Sima Yi."

"Moreover, this is also very disadvantageous to our army, as it is equivalent to allowing the Han army to directly engage with our army."

"Give up small gains for the sake of the greater good."

Chu Ning slowly stood up with the help of the jade steps, and the hem of his black python robe swept across the memorials on the ground: "Sima Yi has recently conquered three cities of the Han Dynasty. If we promise to give up Yanzhou after the success..."

He pointed his pale fingertips at the spread-out sheepskin map: "The Han will pounce on its prey like a hungry tiger."

The King of Chu slammed his palm heavily on the dragon table, causing the cinnabar in the inkstone to splash out scarlet dots.

He suddenly realized that this posture was very similar to the way the late emperor scolded him back then, and Chu Ning's calm and upward look coincided with the young man kneeling in the hall in his memory.

"Accurate."

When Emperor Chu squeezed out these two words from between his teeth, he saw an expected smile flash across Chu Ning's eyes.

The suffocating feeling of having a spider web wrapped around his throat came up again - ever since Chu Ning defeated the Yan army in the Battle of Hecheng several years ago, he had never seen any real emotional fluctuations in these phoenix eyes that looked like his mother's.

Chu Ning noticed the look in the Emperor Chu's eyes and could not help but bow and salute: "Father, you are wise. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

Emperor Chu took a deep look at Chu Ning, then nodded slightly: "Whether Divine Doctor Sun can cure the poison in your body or not, you need to pay attention to recuperating.

The Crown Princess is already seven months pregnant, and needs to be comforted. Don't neglect her because you are busy with court affairs."

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows and said, "Don't worry, Father. I will stay in the East Palace to recuperate after I have arranged the peace talks with the Han Dynasty."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and left.

Emperor Chu stared at Chu Ning's departing back for a long time without saying a word.

Three quarters of an hour later, in the bedroom of the East Palace, the aroma of medicine and ambergris was entangled.

When Sun Simiao opened the rosewood medicine box, the bronze crane-shaped lamp burst into flames. He took out seven jade needles that glowed with a cold blue light, turned his head and looked at Chu Ning who was leaning on the couch and asked:

"Your Highness, do you know that the Thousand Golden Prescriptions states that those whose blood spider poison enters their heart veins will not survive more than three years?"

"Doctor Shen said so."

Chu Ning unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the spider-web-like black lines on his chest: "But I want more than three years."

The old doctor pressed his withered fingers on the throbbing poison pattern: "The Zhou Dynasty's golden needle locked the poison for half a year, and I will use the Ice Soul Needle to seal it for another half a year."

He suddenly increased his strength, looked at Chu Ning's instantly pale face, and said in a deep voice: "Every time you use the power from now on, the poison will penetrate one inch deeper."

Chu Ning grabbed the dragon-carved armrest beside the couch, veins popping out on the back of his pale hand: "It's enough for me to flatten Xianyang."

Sun Simiao sighed and picked up the first Ice Soul Needle.

The moment the needle tip pierced the Jiuwei point, Chu Ning felt as if struck by lightning.

The old doctor's fingers flew, and six jade needles pierced into the Tiantu, Tanzhong, and Juque acupoints one after another, and fine frost flowers condensed on the tails of the needles.

"This is made of Tianshan cold jade."

Sun Simiao placed his hands on Chu Ning's back and said, "Your Highness, please bear with it."

The powerful internal force poured in like a glacier surge, and Chu Ning let out a low roar like a trapped beast, his nails digging into the rosewood.

Suddenly, a jackdaw was startled outside the window.

When the last jade needle pierced into the Baihui acupoint, Chu Ning suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black blood, which was mixed with ice chips.

Sun Simiao quickly withdrew the needle and looked at the curled-up figure on the couch: "The poison is temporarily sealed in the liver meridian, but if you use your internal strength..."

"I understand."

Chu Ning propped himself up and sat up, a cold smile appeared on the corners of his bloodstained lips. He looked at the pile of military newspapers on his desk, and suddenly seemed to remember something and asked:

"I heard that the miracle doctor traveled to Qin when he was young?"

Sun Simiao was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "At that time, I was young and energetic, and I went to Qin State to gain experience with my medical skills."

Chu Ning nodded slightly and said calmly: "If that's the case, then Qin must have invited Dr. Sun, right?"

"I once continued the life of the Queen Mother of Qin!" Sun Simiao told the truth with pride.

Chu Ning's smile widened: "That's great!"

He waved his hand to signal Sun Simiao to leave: "Thank you, Dr. Sun, for suppressing the poison in my body today. This matter needs to be kept secret and no one else should know about it."

"I understand." Sun Simiao bowed and left.

Then, Chu Ning shouted outside: "Zhao Yu, go and invite Lord Deng Hongwen!"

Next, it was time to discuss how to persuade the Han Dynasty to send troops to deal with Sima Yi.