Divided Loyalties

"Since we are to be treated with courtesy, I will accompany the Princess tomorrow to see for myself!"

It's not hard to guess Princess Dou's intentions in coming to Changxin Palace.

He wanted to determine the nature of the great cultivators, but was worried about the difficulty of controlling the situation, so he came to Changxin Palace to recruit people.

After a brief discussion, the Empress Dowager had granted Princess Dou's wish.

"Where did that great cultivator go?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"An official named Dongfang Shuo, he is the Grand Master of the Palace, the young official recommended by His Majesty three months ago," Princess Dou said repeatedly.

"His Majesty has mentioned him to me several times, saying that Dongfang Shuo is a rare talent," the Empress Dowager said after thinking for a moment. "I have never met Dongfang Shuo before, so it would be good to go and see him this time!"

"Then you might be disappointed, sister," Princess Dou laughed. "Dongfang Shuo was cursed, and Chunyu Tiying from the Imperial Physician's Office opened his head to remove the curse, but he was left with a chronic drowsy condition. If my calculations are correct, he will likely fall into a deep sleep tonight!"

"Chunyu Tiying dares to do something as simple as opening someone's head?" the Empress Dowager asked in surprise.

"If they open the brain and remove the lesion, there's a chance of survival; if they don't, it's like a curse that won't end well. The choice isn't difficult!"

What are the chances of survival after undergoing treatment by opening the brain?

"I think it's alright?"

"Is Dongfang Shuo's drowsiness very serious?"

"It seems he'll be in a coma for about twelve days, and then regain consciousness for about twelve days afterward!"

"That's too difficult for Dongfang Shuo. Such a long period of unconsciousness could very well kill him."

"Dongfang Shuo came from a poor family in his early years and had to practice the Grain Avoidance Technique to save food. He could survive for twelve days and still have breath in his mouth, and he had been doing this for several years!"

"So pitiful!"

The Empress Dowager sighed.

Her eyes held subtle shifts in their gaze, and her right hand unconsciously touched her chest, then the hairpin behind her head.

"When will Chunyu Tiying be able to return to the court?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"We haven't found her yet," said Princess Dou. "I punished Chunyu Tiying by making her cure three thousand patients among the common people so that she could return to the court. Her healing would surely earn her widespread praise, and it wouldn't be difficult to track her down. However, she disappeared after practicing medicine in Chang'an City for several months, and I haven't heard of her reputation anywhere. I'm quite puzzled about Chunyu Tiying's whereabouts."

"Although Chunyu Tiying is highly skilled in medicine, her cultivation level is only average, and being a woman, it might be inconvenient for her to travel. You should send two people to accompany her!"

"I didn't think things through at the time!"

Some decisions may be flawed when made alone, but mistakes can be made up for through discussion between both parties.

Looking back in hindsight, Princess Dou couldn't help but admit that she hadn't considered things thoroughly at the time, which led to her current passive situation, where she couldn't even find a female doctor to replace Yi Shuo.

A female physician may seem to have little importance in the court, far less than many civil and military officials, but she is irreplaceable when needed.

The court is full of talented people, and new talents are constantly emerging. However, Princess Dou did not expect that after several years, she could not even find a physician to replace Chunyu Tiying. Now, she is even lacking a female physician to replace Yishuo.

"Medical skills are not like cultivation. Cultivation can be mastered quickly, but medical skills require accumulation. It is very difficult to produce replacements in a short time, especially for physicians who treat cultivators," the Empress Dowager said. "These people are national treasures, and I hope the Princess will cherish them!"

During their back-and-forth discussions, Princess Dou repeatedly changed the subject, but the Empress Dowager would always bring her back.

This caused Lady Dou to be criticized quite a bit, and since she was in the wrong, she had no choice but to accept it.

After the Empress Dowager repeated the matter three times, Princess Dou finally found an excuse to leave Changxin Palace.

"The powerful cultivators who could make the Empress Dowager so wary could only originate from the Immortal Court. They descended to the mortal realm too quickly, giving us no chance whatsoever!"

The Empress Dowager's expression darkened slightly.

She dismissed the eunuchs and palace maids, and paced back and forth in the main hall, clearly extremely agitated.

"You may have wronged the late emperor in the past, but now my own son is ruling the Great Han Dynasty. My son is the ruler of this vast territory, not a dog of the Immortal Court!"

The Empress Dowager's gaze fell upon a gold thread hanging from her chest, which in turn tethered to a small silver bell at her waist.

She gently tugged at the gold thread, but the silver bell did not make a sound.

This made her gaze at the silver bell for a long time.

After touching the hairpin at the back of her head again and pressing her head down, the slight stinging sensation finally stopped the Empress Dowager from harboring resentment.

"If Yi Shuo can stop my pain with acupuncture, and Chunyu Tiying can break the curse by opening my skull, then they will no longer be able to control me!"

The Empress Dowager looked at the many bamboo slips in the main hall, and a slight dizziness crept into her head.

It was difficult to painstakingly create a cultivation manual tailored to the new emperor, but it was not enough to weaken her body's Qi and Blood, nor would it cause dizziness.

Her symptoms were more likely due to the curse.

The options are either to kill the caster, destroy the medium of the Incantation Technique, or forcibly break the curse within her; there are few other choices.

Everyone cherishes their life, especially those in high positions. No one thinks about dying, and the Empress Dowager was no exception.

But compared to her own life, the Empress Dowager was even more unwilling to accept the loss of her son.

She hoped her son would be the king of this land, rather than becoming one of those 'sons of heaven' who obeyed the Immortal Court hundreds of years ago, or forced to 'abdicate' the throne according to arrangement.

If she doesn't want to repeat this fate, the Empress Dowager needs to break the deadlock for herself, and she also needs a new emperor to do the same.

This requires removing the hidden curse from her body, and it also requires the new emperor to truly establish himself and possess the genuine ability to counter various undercurrents.

"Liu Qi, you've finally won against me!"

The Empress Dowager turned her gaze toward Yangling.

Emperor Jing may not know, or he may know everything about her.

But none of that mattered anymore. When the Empress Dowager's son ascended the throne, her mindset had completely changed.

She needs to protect herself, and even more so, her son, instead of handing over all decision-making power to the Immortal Court.

This inevitably led to a deviation from the Empress Dowager's original goal of getting close to Emperor Jing.

She gritted her teeth, wishing Chunyu Tiying and Yishuo would appear before her eyes, so that she could take a gamble.

However, since the two of them could not appear at the same time, she had no choice but to accompany Dou Taizhu to Zhang Xuezhou's residence to see what this great cultivator's intentions were and what instructions he would give.

If things are acceptable, then so be it; if they are unacceptable, then she may have to start risking her life, and from then on, her fate will be uncertain.

The invitation from Princess Dou stirred up a myriad of emotions in the Empress Dowager. In addition to a throbbing headache, her hands and feet even felt cold and trembled.

This stemmed from the awakening of the witchcraft Incantation Technique within her body, and also from the fear in the Empress Dowager's heart.

That was the Immortal Court, a colossal power that had controlled the Great Zhou Dynasty for eight hundred years. It was a peak she couldn't see the top of, and an abyss she would have to face after harboring rebellious thoughts.