Harem Daily Life

After planting the seeds, the emperor was about to return to the palace. He Jin'an would stay with the Imperial College teachers and classmates to farm for a few days and would not return to the palace for the time being. However, He Xiaobao clung to Jin'an and refused to leave. Tao Yanyan had to coax him for a long time before he successfully carried him away.

He Xiaobao had been playing for half a day and was already exhausted. As soon as he got on the carriage, he fell asleep in Tao Yanyan's arms. Shuang'er naturally took He Xiaobao over. After all, this little fat boy's weight was no joke.

As the convoy passed through a forest, suddenly, a cry of surprise came from the crowd. A group of men in black appeared from nowhere and attacked the emperor's carriage.

The guards reacted quickly, engaging the assassins in a fierce fight. He Linzhang also drew his sword from his waist, told Tao Yanyan not to disembark from the carriage, and rushed out. His sword strikes were so sharp that for a moment the men in black could barely get close.

He Linzhang ordered the secret guards to guard the queen, and then rushed to the carriage behind. The twins, He Xuan, and He Yue were in that carriage. Fortunately, Prince Yong was the first to guard the carriage, and He Linzhang joined Prince Yong to fight the enemy together.

Tao Yanyan carried He Xiaobao over, freeing Shuang'er's hands to intercept the men in black outside the carriage.

Suddenly, a man in black seized the opportunity and slashed at the shaft of the carriage. The sound was so loud that He Xiaobao woke up. Tao Yanyan quickly hugged him and covered his ears.

Shuang'er accidentally cut her arm, and blood stained her sleeves red. Two guards came forward to help her and blocked the sword of the man in black from stabbing her again.

"Leave me alone, protect the Queen!" Shuang'er shouted to the guards, while she engaged the men in black. He Xiaobao was terrified and cried in Tao Yanyan's arms. Tao Yanyan was extremely anxious, his eyes full of worry, worried about whether something might happen to the four children in the other carriage.

Suddenly, a flash of cold light flashed, and an arrow shot towards the carriage where Tao Yanyan was sitting. In the critical moment, He Linzhang flew in front of the carriage, but was unable to dodge and the arrow hit his arm. He Linzhang groaned, but still gritted his teeth and persevered, protecting Tao Yanyan and Xiaobao behind him.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how are you?" Prince Yong ran to He Linzhang and asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, just capture him alive." He Linzhang had to investigate the matter thoroughly because no one knew who was trying to assassinate him today.

The men in black were very skilled in martial arts, but the guards brought by He Linzhang today were numerous, and King Yong led his men to fight hard. In the end, the men in black were defeated, several of them died, and the rest fled with injuries. One of them was captured by Ying Er, whose arm was removed and his tendons were severed.

"Your Majesty, we should not stay here any longer. Let's go back to the palace quickly. I will go and track them." Prince Yong helped He Linzhang get on the carriage and asked the guards to escort the emperor and his entourage back to the palace.

The long procession was moving very fast. The emperor was injured and had to rush back to the palace for treatment.

The accompanying Imperial Physician Li had already boarded the Emperor's carriage. After an inspection, his expression was solemn: "This arrow is poisonous. I can't find out what the poison is yet. If Imperial Physicians Xu or Liu were here, it would be much better!"

When Tao Yanyan heard that it was a poison arrow, his face turned pale. Doctor Xu and Doctor Liu had both followed the Queen Mother to Penglai Island. The situation was urgent and they could definitely not be relied on.

"Drive the carriage faster and let the court officials go back. Let's go back to the palace quickly and have all the people from the Imperial Hospital come to the Qinzheng Hall!" The poison was deadly and there was no time to lose. Tao Yanyan was almost crying in anxiety.

He Linzhang soothed him, "Don't worry, I'm still conscious and will be fine for a while. If...if the situation takes a turn for the worse, remember, the edict to establish the crown prince is in the secret compartment. Let Prince Yong help you support the crown prince as the new emperor."

Tao Yanyan cried and shook her head: "No, Your Majesty cannot leave me. I am only twenty-five years old, so young. I want to grow old with Your Majesty."

He Linzhang gradually felt a little tired, probably because the poison had taken effect. He sighed and said, "I also want to grow old with Yan Yan and watch our children grow up."

But some things cannot be fulfilled just because you want them.

He Linzhang didn't say this out loud. He took one last look at the queen who was crying like a little cat, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't sleep. Hurry up and talk to Yan Yan. Talk!"

Doctor Li hurriedly took the emperor's pulse and said, "Your Majesty, the emperor has probably fainted temporarily from excessive blood loss. The poison won't take effect that quickly. I just gave your Majesty a pill that can cure all poisons. It can delay the disease for a few more hours, but we still need to find out the cause of the poison as soon as possible so that we can prescribe the right medicine."

In the Qinzheng Hall, the imperial doctors had already received the news and were waiting there. As soon as He Linzhang was carried in by the guards, the imperial doctors did not bother to perform any formalities and swarmed over him.

Prince Yong and his men tracked down several men in black and took them all to the Ministry of Justice for detention. He hurried to the Qinzheng Hall and saw Tao Yanyan trembling all over with no trace of blood on his face.

"Empress, His Majesty..."

Tao Yanyan was speechless, so Mingyue hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty is still in there receiving treatment. The doctors said the arrow was smeared with poison. They've only sealed a few acupuncture points with silver needles to slow the spread of the poison. They're still trying to determine what kind of poison it is."

When King Yong heard this, he was frightened and took a step back.

"How could this happen?" The change came so suddenly that no one was prepared.

Prince Yong entered the inner hall and saw that He Linzhang's face was no longer normal. His heart sank instantly.

Prince Yong came out, thought for a moment, then walked up to Tao Yanyan, leaned down, and looked her in the eye: "Your Majesty, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day, so we must make preparations early."

Tao Yanyan looked at him and trembled as she spoke, "Your Majesty has given a verbal order that if he encounters any misfortune, a new ruler should be immediately enthroned. But..." Tao Yanyan looked toward the inner hall, tears streaming down her face. "But, I don't believe he won't make it. He clearly... clearly said he wanted to grow old with me."

Prince Yong raised his hand to support the trembling Tao Yanyan and asked, "What did your Majesty say? To whom will the throne be passed?"

Tao Yanyan was about to answer when Doctor Wang came out in a hurry: "Your Majesty, we know what the poison is!"

Tao Yanyan was delighted and immediately stood up and ran to the inner hall. Prince Yong had no choice but to end the topic and followed him into the inner hall.

"Your Majesty, this poison is very similar to the legendary Sui Yi Shi poison."

Seeing the crowd's confusion, Doctor Wang explained, "Legend has it that combining Gelsemium elegans with Aconitum and Corydalis odoratum can create the poison "Years of Demise." This poison won't kill you immediately, but it will slowly decay your internal organs, causing your appearance to age slowly. In just a few days, you'll age ten years, until you're completely decrepit and frail, reaching the end of your life. Those poisoned will suffer daily, their will broken, leaving them helplessly waiting for old age and death."

"Is there an antidote?" Tao Yanyan asked anxiously.