Chapter 112 Baocheng Hall

The rain kept falling heavily and there were flashes of lightning.

In the main hall of Zixia Temple, a young woman in her thirties sat in the middle, her face was stern and her eyes were deep.

From the charm in her eyebrows to her temperament in her gestures, she is very similar to Wu Zetian, and she is none other than Princess Taiping.

Wang Zhiyuan hurried over, straightening his robes and holding a whisk in his hand. He bowed to Princess Taiping and asked, "It's raining heavily outside. Why did your valuable body come here in the middle of the night?"

Princess Taiping frowned slightly and said with a hint of anger: "You are still asking me? Sun Dianchen will be returning to the capital in a day or two. Do you know that?"

Wang Zhiyuan's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he immediately replied, "I will make arrangements right away. Make sure to get rid of this person."

Princess Taiping waved her hand and said calmly, "No need. I have sent someone to inform He Yun and have him handle it. There will be a result in the next two days."

Wang Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief and bowed slightly: "Princess, you are wise."

Princess Taiping pondered for a moment and sighed, "My unlucky third brother got into trouble in Huzhou, and His Majesty suddenly sent Sun Dianchen to investigate the inner guards. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to act so hastily. How are your preparations going?"

Wang Zhiyuan reported the good news: "I have been preparing hallucinogenic drugs these days. I also took advantage of the thunderstorm season to test the Heavenly Thunder Technique. It has just been verified to be successful, and the plan can be implemented now."

Princess Taiping did not comment and asked, "Will this hallucinogen be discovered?"

Wang Zhiyuan waved his whisk and said confidently, "No, I have ordered people to carefully control the dosage and add it to different foods, step by step, so that even the imperial physician will find it difficult to detect."

"Moreover, this drug is not harmful to the body itself. It just causes hallucinations and even nightmares. Of course, after a long time, the damage to the mind will gradually be reflected in the body..."

Princess Taiping nodded and warned, "Chunxiang can be trusted, but the other palace maids must not make any mistakes, otherwise you and I will die without a burial place."

Wang Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Princess. I can guarantee that nothing will go wrong. Their families are in my hands. Now that these things have been done, we can only go on like this until the end."

"Besides, everything was directed by Chunxiang. Even if the news was leaked, as long as she doesn't speak up, I won't be implicated, let alone the princess."

Princess Taiping then revealed a satisfied smile: "That's great. Now that everything is ready, we can start the plan."
-
July 15th, a rainy night.

The thunderstorms continued day after day without any sign of stopping.

Shangyang Palace was shrouded in continuous rain, which added a strange chill to the palace in the midsummer.

In order to prevent any accidents, Zhao Ji took great pains to lead a patrol in the palace every night in the rain, hoping to meet the so-called "ghost".

However, in the past two days, apart from the rumors circulating everywhere, he did not notice anything unusual, and it seemed that everything had returned to normal.

"Another peaceful night." Zhao Ji thought to himself.

But when the team got near the Baocheng Hall, something strange happened.

"General, look, there is light over there!" Xiao Bao pointed at the bright lights in the Baocheng Hall with some excitement.

Zhao Ji's eyesight was better than Xiao Bao's, and of course he noticed the light earlier. He was frowning and thinking.

"General, that's the Baocheng Hall. No one has ever lived there. It's almost half a forbidden area. How come there are lights there?" Shen Tao asked in surprise.

"Let's go and take a look." Xiao Bao said eagerly.

Zhao Ji did not answer, but looked at the bright lights in the rain, thoughtfully.

If Chunxiang and her people were playing tricks, they should have secretly lit a small lamp to provide a little light. How could the lights be on all the time?
It seemed that only Wu Zetian would dare to hold such a lavish ceremony in the palace in the dead of night.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ji ordered: "Shen Tao leads the team to continue along the normal route, Xiao Bao brings a few people to follow me."

Xiao Bao looked excited, and the two teams separated immediately.

In the Baocheng Hall, the tablets of Wu Zetian's parents and relatives were placed neatly on the central table, and the long tables on both sides were piled with ritual vessels and sacrifices for sacrifice, surrounded by bright eternal lamps. Wu Zetian knelt on a cushion, clasped her hands together, and muttered something, as if she was paying tribute to her family.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed by. Wu Zetian turned back suddenly and was surprised: "What a heavy rain!"

Wu Zetian blinked her eyes, and the figure of Queen Wang appeared in front of her inexplicably.

She was covered in blood, her arms were gone, and bright red blood kept flowing from her eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

"It's raining so heavily!" Wu Zetian heard auditory hallucinations.

Wu Zetian was frightened by the scene and let out a terrible scream. Her body went limp and she fainted on the ground.

Chunxiang and other palace maids who were waiting outside the door heard Wu Zetian's screams and rushed in immediately.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Your Majesty, wake up!" The eunuchs knelt on the ground, not daring to touch Wu Zetian's body, and were in a panic for a moment.

Zhao Ji, Xiao Bao and the Qianniu Guards had already hurried to the Baocheng Palace, and they also heard the shrill scream.

"It sounds like His Majesty's voice. Hurry, protect the emperor!" Zhao Ji rushed towards the Baocheng Hall.

As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Wu Zetian fainted on the ground, and the palace maids and eunuchs were in a panic.

"What are you panicking about! Calm down." Zhao Ji shouted.

Chunxiang was about to take some action, but when Zhao Ji arrived, she immediately panicked. She felt guilty and didn't dare to go up to him to talk, so she knelt on the ground and pretended to cry.

But Zhao Ji didn't have time to deal with her for the time being. Seeing that Wu Zetian's breathing was still steady, he gave orders: "Quickly call His Majesty's imperial sedan chair and take His Majesty back to the palace to rest."

"You, go and invite Shangguan Cairen. You, go and ask the imperial physician to come to His Majesty's bedroom. Hurry, go immediately."

Zhao Ji was a General of the Guards, but he acted like a prime minister.

The eunuchs who received the order did not dare to delay. They quickly got up and went to pass on the order.

Wu Zetian's imperial sedan stopped next to the Baocheng Hall. Chunxiang and others carefully carried Wu Zetian onto the sedan and returned to the bedroom.

Zhao Ji looked at the layout of Baocheng Hall, closed the door, and told Xiao Bao outside the door: "Xiao Bao, you take people to guard Baocheng Hall. No one is allowed to approach. Wait until His Majesty wakes up before taking any action."
-
After returning to the bedroom, Wu Zetian gradually woke up. She was a little surprised to see Shangguan Wan'er and Zhao Ji by her side.

She looked pale and said weakly, "What's wrong with me? Why are you here?"

Shangguan Wan'er replied with red eyes: "Your Majesty, you were feeling unwell just now. General Zhao heard your voice while on night patrol and rushed to save you. He called for the imperial chariot and the imperial physician to bring you back."

Zhao Ji stepped out and pleaded guilty: "I have overstepped my authority. Your Majesty, please punish me."

Wu Zetian coughed for a while and waved her hands: "Don't blame Chengyuan, you have done a great service in saving the emperor, what crime have you committed? Didn't this matter alarm others?"

Zhao Ji replied: "I have only informed the imperial physician and Shangguan Cairen."

"That's good. Let the imperial physician go back. The news of this matter must be kept secret and cannot be known to the whole world." Wu Zetian struggled to sit up.

Shangguan Wan'er was anxious when she heard this, tears welled up in her eyes: "Your Majesty, your health is very important, how can you not see the imperial physician?"

Wu Zetian sighed and soothed: "Well, let's ask the imperial physician to come... Wan'er, don't cry, I'm fine."

At this time, the eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician Feng Chun is here."

Wu Zetian nodded: "Let him in."

(End of this chapter)