"Don't tell me another poor bastard died in Feiye's place?"
"The disguise looks pretty convincing this time. I wonder how much silver it cost?"
The commoners buzzed with speculation. They did not believe a word Qi Yanzhen said, convinced that everything was just a performance he had deliberately staged for them!
The government troops spent ages explaining. Although the commoners appeared to believe them, inwardly they rolled their eyes. Do I look like an idiot? Am I that easy to fool?
They had already been taken in once. They would never believe Qi Yanzhen again!
Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Palace, an imperial physician brought Qi Yanzhen his medicine. Just as he was about to sit up and drink it, a eunuch reported that an Eight-Hundred-Li Express dispatch had arrived.
Qi Yanzhen immediately ordered the messenger brought in.
After reading the letter, Qi Yanzhen spat out a mouthful of blood and lost consciousness.
By the time Qi Yanzhen woke again, two hours had passed.
Quite a few people surrounded his bed. The Empress Dowager, the imperial consorts... they were all there.
The consorts, in particular, kept weeping and sniffling, irritating Qi Yanzhen to no end.
He roared at them:
"I'm not dead yet! What are you crying for?
Do you think I'm not dying fast enough?
All of you, get out!"
Terrified, the consorts immediately rose and left.
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager guessed that something serious must have happened!
The inner palace was forbidden from interfering in affairs of state!
It was not appropriate for the Empress Dowager to ask too much, either. After offering a few words of advice, she left as well.
At once, Qi Yanzhen was the only person left in the room!
He calmed himself and tried to think of a solution...
But even after