Cai Ma Becomes Involved

Li Shaojun has indeed entered the state of Daoist School master.

Without Zhang Xuezhou's reminder, he dared not act recklessly, and instead maintained his identity Daoist School successor, never letting up on his Aging Technique for a moment.

He'd done so many fake things that even Li Shaojun himself started to believe them.

He moved into the Zhang residence temporarily, looking every bit the Daoist School master. Even when Li Shaojun brought him a bowl of food Lady Yourong, Li Shaojun only took a couple of sips of the meaty flavor.

"Meat is too fishy and has a strong odor, which is a big no-no for self-cultivation. Eating too much meat can easily make you grow up with a fierce face. You should eat less of it in the future," Li Shaojun advised gently.

"If you're not going to eat it, then I'll give it to Zhouzi," said Lady Yourong.

"Go ahead, by the way, I'm not feeling well, could you please ask my young friend Dongfang Shuo to come to my place?"

Li Shaojun waved his hand, signaling Lady Yourong to leave.

He took a deep breath and then practiced his breathing exercises, appearing to be detached from worldly desires.

When the footsteps outside the door drew closer, Li Shaojun quickly stood up.

"Young friend, it seems you've regained your senses!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou push open the door and enter, Li Shaojun couldn't help but stroke his mustache, and then asked Zhang Xuezhou with a kind expression as he entered the room.

"Rumors are circulating that you and the old lady are having an affair. Looks like you're doing quite well at Palace of Peace and Happiness," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile as he pushed open the door.

"Oh my god, I'm so suffocating!"

Zhang Xuezhou dared to say such treasonous things, so Li Shaojun felt that the Empress Dowager should stay away from her.

He didn't notice the Empress Dowager following him the first time, but when she followed him a second time, Li Shaojun vaguely felt that he was being watched. However, if Li Shaojun were asked to point out where the Empress Dowager was, he couldn't find her. Even after the Empress Dowager had left, Li Shaojun was still suspicious and dared not make any overstepping moves.

Li Shaojun only breathed a sigh of relief after Zhang Xuezhou spoke.

"Is that bowl of pork rice still there? I've been eating nothing but bland soup and water for over ten days in the palace, it's making me sick!"

Knowing that the surroundings were safe, Li Shaojun even ran out to retrieve the meal that Lady Yourong had brought earlier.

He chewed repeatedly, wishing he could make up for all the oil and fat he had gained in the past ten days.

"This is unbearable for me, when will it ever end?" Li Shaojun asked.

"Don't you have any idea when this will end?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

I really have no idea!

As Li Shaojun continued to interact with the Empress Dowager, he felt somewhat uneasy.

No one wants to face an elderly person nearing the end of their life. The Empress Dowager was indeed unable to endure it any longer, but she placed her hopes on him, Li Shaojun felt that he could not bear such a heavy responsibility.

He couldn't defeat the Empress Dowager, nor could he match her power, and he had no effective medicine to treat her.

If the Empress Dowager were to discover even the slightest clue, Li Shaojun felt he would be hacked to pieces.

Then Li Shaojun couldn't do anything, and he still wanted to take advantage of others.

"So, how's that gourd case you were involved in at the palace doing?"

Zhang Xuezhou originally intended to leave Li Shaojun out of the picture, but he was still concerned about the matter of Yi Shuo Zhang Xuezhou.

Of course, the medicine gourd was still with him. Getting the facts straight would help Zhang Xuezhou make arrangements and avoid inadvertently getting himself involved.

"The Palace of Peace and Happiness has conducted a thorough investigation involving the perpetrators from that year, their Lineage, and even the officials who presided over the case. Nearly a hundred people are now imprisoned, and their residences have been thoroughly searched, but so far no effective leads have been found," Li Shaojun said dejectedly.

"Is there anyone here with the surname Cui?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Your surname is Cui? Do you know something about me?" Li Shaojun asked, his eyes lighting up.

"If I want to get the gourd, I have to do something, like gather information!"

"There are nine people surnamed Cui involved in the case. The leader is Cui Zhifu, the Imperial Physician of the Imperial Medical Hall. His entire family has been imprisoned. He was tortured several times during interrogation and was even sent to Palace of Peace and Happiness, but he has been claiming that he knew nothing about it!"

"Cui Zhifu?"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, indicating that he understood.

If things aren't too far-fetched, there's a 70-80% chance this is the same physician who fought with Yili over the medicine gourd back then.

Of course, even if Cui Zhifu was not the one who did it, at least eight other people with the surname Cui were involved, and they would inevitably run into Yi Shuo's enemies.

If Zhang Xuezhou's guess is correct, Yi Shuo is also very likely to be imprisoned.

Palace of Peace and Happiness thoroughly investigated the matter, Yi Shuo, as a descendant of Yili, was not spared either. However, as a female physician serving the Empress Dowager, Yi Shuo should not have lost her head so easily at the very beginning.

This was also a gamble, with Zhang Xuezhou betting that the Empress Dowager wouldn't go insane and execute everyone involved.

If we cannot drive the Empress Dowager to madness, then we need to give her a glimmer of hope.

Looking at Li Shaojun, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Li Shaojun was the one who maintained the Empress Dowager's emotional stability.

"What's wrong with you? Why did you stop asking after just one question?" Li Shaojun asked after finishing his food.

"I remember you said before that eating too much pork is bad," Zhang Xuezhou changed the subject.

"That was just something I made up," Li Shaojun said.

"Then you should spout more nonsense in the future," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If you want to wrap things up perfectly at Palace of Peace and Happiness, you must spout nonsense to appease the Empress Dowager. It would be best if you could ask Cai Ma to give you some advice!"

"Is Cai Ma in charge?"

Li Shaojun's heart skipped a beat; he already knew what Zhang Xuezhou meant.

This requires Cai Ma to calculate the Empress Dowager's lifespan.

If the Empress Dowager can live a long time, Li Shaojun will have to find a reason to temporarily avoid her. If her lifespan is short, Li Shaojun will just drift along and get through it.

No one can talk nonsense for long without running into trouble. If Li Shaojun is caught by the Empress Dowager even once, he'll be finished.

He felt that this month had been dragging on endlessly, and Li Shaojun could no longer endure the prolonged torment.

The Empress Dowager is indeed a formidable opponent. Whether it's her seemingly close yet distant and prudent treatment of Li Shaojun, her repeated investigations of Li Shaojun, or her swift and decisive investigation of the gourd case from years ago, all of this proves that she still wields considerable power in Chang'an City.

Heeding Zhang Xuezhou's advice, he quickly went out to seek Cai Ma's help.

"Li Shaojun wants Cai Ma's help, and Cai Ma will definitely take the opportunity to gain something. I gave Cai Ma this fortuitous opportunity to obtain a great cultivation medicine, so she should have no problem drawing me a map to Western Kunlun!"

Zhang Xuezhou followed behind at a leisurely pace.

Before long, Zhang Xuezhou overheard Cai Ma and Li Shaojun haggling over the price.

"Dongfang Shuo, you be the judge! She's usually so eloquent when calculating people's lifespans, but she got upset when I asked her to calculate the old lady's solar lifespan at the palace, and now she wants a lot of expensive medicine!"

When Zhang Xuezhou entered Cai Ma's room, Li Shaojun couldn't help but cry and beg for help.

"You two should discuss this further," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile to Cai Ma.

"How can the lifespan of an ordinary person compare to that of a great cultivator like this? The Empress Dowager is a True Self Realm cultivator. If I handle things improperly, it could backfire and shorten my lifespan. Taking these great medicines from you is just the basic reward!"

Cai Ma nodded slightly to Zhang Xuezhou.

Li Shaojun clearly asked the wrong person for help. As fellow disciples, Cai Ma felt that her relationship with Zhang Xuezhou was more reliable, and that Zhang Xuezhou would most likely side with her.

Her idea wasn't entirely wrong.

After Cai Ma and Li Shaojun talked for a while, Zhang Xuezhou indeed advised Li Shaojun to resolve the issue as soon as possible so that it would be convenient for everyone.