Chapter 390
**Chapter 388: Seeking the One Who Can Be Revived**
...
On the other side, King Wu rode away from the beach, three guards trailing closely behind him.
Gripping the reins, King Wu found himself recalling the words of the fisher girl, Xi'er—“I’ve heard that the Empress Dowager Shen of the Qing Kingdom possesses a celestial beauty.”
“Celestial beauty? Is she really that stunning?” King Wu felt a flicker of interest.
He was somewhat familiar with Empress Dowager Shen of the Qing Kingdom. After his sister married into Qing, she had received the protection and care of Empress Dowager Shen. In her letters to him, she often praised Shen’s “unparalleled wisdom and courage, rivaling that of any man.”
She sang Shen’s praises to the heavens.
King Wu muttered to himself, “My sister only praises the Empress Dowager’s intelligence, but it seems she never mentions her looks.”
However, a woman who had enjoyed the Emperor’s exclusive favor for half her life must surely not be lacking in beauty.
Curiosity piqued, King Wu couldn’t help but wonder what Empress Dowager Shen truly looked like.
One of the guards, intrigued, asked, “Your Highness, are you thinking of marrying the Empress Dowager of Qing?”
King Wu shot him a glare, snapping his whip in irritation. “Even if I wanted to marry her, do you think I could? The Empress Dowager’s husband is the Emperor of Qing, her son is the new Emperor, her brother is the Grand General, and her younger brother is that damned Shen Xiuming, who is also my sister’s close friend. Do you think I’d dare? Is that thing around your neck just for show?”
“Shut your mouth! If this gets back to the Eastern Lin royal family and then to the Emperor of Qing, he might use it as an excuse to wage war and wipe out our little Eastern Lin. I’d become a historical villain!”
The guard shrank back, silently closing his mouth.
After scolding the guard, King Wu’s mind began to churn with ideas. Tomorrow, he would write a letter to his sister in Qing, subtly inquiring about the Empress Dowager’s appearance. Just to satisfy his curiosity.
As night fell, King Wu’s plans to seek out a beauty had once again failed, and he gloomily led his guards back to the palace. On the way, the guard kindly reminded him, “Your Highness, there’s a letter from the capital requesting all local lords to search for someone who has experienced a ‘strange death and miraculous revival.’ You haven’t taken care of that yet.”
King Wu’s handsome face darkened.
A few days ago, the Emperor of Eastern Lin had written to the dozens of princes in the various territories, asking them to find a “resurrected person.”
Naturally, King Wu had received the letter.
But he had no intention of complying.
The Eastern Lin Kingdom was a tiny nation, nestled near the vast sea. Unfortunately, it was sandwiched between the powerful Qing Kingdom to the east and the formidable Southern Chu to the south, like a pitiful punching bag.
This search for a “resurrected person” was a command issued by the Emperor of Southern Chu. Eastern Lin dared not offend him and had no choice but to comply.
King Wu rode on, muttering, “In my opinion, the Emperor of Southern Chu is a madman! What kind of nonsense is this about finding someone who’s dead and then alive? Once someone is dead, they can’t come back! My father is useless, having been oppressed by Qing and Southern Chu his whole life. If I were the Emperor of Eastern Lin—”
The guard cautiously asked, “What if you became the Emperor of Eastern Lin?”
A hint of arrogance flickered across King Wu’s youthful, handsome face as he raised his chin. “If I were the Emperor, I’d bring my sister back from Qing and make her the Empress of Eastern Lin. I’m too timid to kill, especially not my own kin. My sister is bold; she dared to kill our father, so she deserves to be Empress.”
The guard: ...
The prince had some ambition, but not much.
Upon arriving at the palace, King Wu dismounted and instructed the guard, “You take some people to look for that so-called resurrected person. Don’t be too thorough—just wander around, have some tea, and take it easy. And send a message to my father saying I’ve turned over every stone in Wu County and still found no one.”
The guard cupped his hands in acknowledgment. “Yes, Your Highness.”
...
In the Qing Kingdom, at the Moonset Lake Imperial Villa in Yanjing City.
In the guise of Shen Wei, Lu Yun sat arrogantly in a chair, leisurely holding a cup of lotus tea.
In stark contrast to Lu Yun’s calm demeanor, the expressions of Li Yuanjing, Li Chengtai, the Empress Dowager, and Le You were all dark and brooding.
Lu Yun took a sip of the fragrant lotus tea, closing her eyes to savor it. “What a fine tea! I haven’t had such good tea in many years. Shen Wei is truly fortunate; she killed my sister and ended up with such a good life.”
With Shen Wei’s face, her demeanor and tone were entirely different.
Lu Yun hadn’t expected that upon entering Shen Wei’s body, just one sentence would alert Li Yuanjing to something amiss.
Li Yuanjing was indeed the Emperor of Da Qing.
He saw through Lu Yun’s disguise and uncovered her identity by exploiting her verbal slip.
But Lu Yun had her own confidence.
She occupied Shen Wei’s body, and Li Yuanjing didn’t dare to act too harshly against her. The more she asserted herself, the more brazen she became.
Le You’s eyes reddened with anger. “You better change my mother back! Lift this curse!”
Le You hadn’t anticipated such a bizarre occurrence would happen to her mother.
After her mother fainted, another woman’s soul had taken over her body.
This was something straight out of a storybook.
Lu Yun toyed with the delicate teacup, her gaze dismissive. “Fulfill my demands—issue an edict to restore the honor of the Lu family in Yunzhou, bring the Lu bloodline back to Yunzhou, and grant them titles and lands. Then kill Shen’s elder brother and younger brother, posthumously elevating my sister to Empress and giving her a grand burial.”
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Lu Yun was still making outrageous demands for her deceased sister, Lu Xuan.
Not particularly clever or beautiful, Lu Yun had never achieved much in life, but the thought of avenging her sister had sustained her through years of hardship. In her heart, her sister Lu Xuan was her guiding light.
Li Yuanjing and Li Chengtai exchanged glances, subtly communicating their thoughts.
The Empress Dowager, meanwhile, took Le You by the hand and left the room with a stern expression.
Lu Yun was completely oblivious to the shift in the father-son duo’s emotions. Feeling confident, she turned to Li Chengtai and said, “My sister’s son has grown up too. You should abdicate and let him be Emperor—”
Suddenly—
The white jade cup in Lu Yun’s hand fell to the ground with a crash. The cup shattered, and the fragrant lotus tea spilled everywhere.
Lu Yun felt her body go weak, all strength leaving her. She stared in shock, her eyes wide. “You tampered with the tea!”
Li Chengtai’s face darkened. “It’s just a drug to sap your strength—now tell me, what kind of dark magic did you use on my mother?”
Lu Yun hesitated for a moment, then replied smugly, “I won’t tell you! If you have the guts, torture me! But be careful; this is Shen Wei’s body.”
The room fell silent once more.
Li Yuanjing’s voice turned cold as he commanded the Tiger Guards, “Someone, go to the royal tomb and dig up Lu Xuan’s corpse, then go to Dongpo and retrieve the remains of the Duke of Lu and his wife.”
Lu Yun gasped.
Li Yuanjing wore a sinister smile. “Right in front of you, I’ll turn them to dust.”
The wind rattled the window panes.
In that instant, Lu Yun felt as if Li Yuanjing had transformed into a demon, radiating a chilling malice that sent shivers down her spine.
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