It took the two of them two days on the road to reach the Valley of Medicine Masters. Mu Fengqie had informed the people in the valley earlier, and they had made all the preparations well in advance.
"Jin'er, are you really sure you can do it?" The old clan leader looked at Mu Fengqie with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He knew Mu Fengqie was highly capable, but he never expected that she would be able to cure Jing Xunce of his poison.
He remembered that he had once felt Jing Xunce's pulse but found no way to help.
"Father, don't worry. I'm ninety percent sure."
Hearing Mu Fengqie say this, the old clan leader felt relieved. When she said ninety percent, it was practically a hundred percent. She just left a bit of leeway.
Mu Fengqie took Jing Xunce to the pharmacy where she usually stayed. She had someone boil several buckets of hot water in advance. She scattered a lot of herbs into the water, and the water in the bathtub turned pitch - black.
"Come in. Your body needs some conditioning. You'll have to stay in this medicinal bath for three days."
"Okay." Without a word, Jing Xunce took off his clothes and got into the bathtub.
Mu Fengqie picked up a row of silver needles from the side and inserted them one by one into Jing Xunce's back. From a distance, he looked like a hedgehog, with his back covered densely with silver needles.
Suddenly, Jing Xunce felt a sharp pain in his body and couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
"This is the crucial stage of the medicinal bath. You must hold on. Once this hour passes, we'll be more than halfway there."
Jing Xunce didn't answer Mu Fengqie because he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. He had been soaking in the bathtub for two days, and today was the last day.
He never expected the last day to be this painful. Listening to Mu Fengqie's constant encouragement in his ear, he really wanted to tell her that he was okay, but he couldn't utter a single word. He could only grit his teeth to stop himself from crying out.
Slowly, Jing Xunce felt the pain in his body gradually subsiding. He knew they were about to succeed, and he could clearly feel a lot of toxins being expelled from his body.
"Okay, you can get out now." Mu Fengqie pulled out the needles from Jing Xunce's back.
"There's clean water over there. Go and wash up." Mu Fengqie turned around and didn't look at Jing Xunce.
When Jing Xunce turned around, he saw Mu Fengqie with her back to him. "Qie'er, if you want to look, you can turn around. We're husband and wife. There's nothing to be shy about."
"Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and wash. Put on your clothes and come out when you're done. The poison hasn't been completely removed yet." After saying that, Mu Fengqie ran out blushing.
Jing Xunce looked at Mu Fengqie's flushed ears and burst out laughing. Then he quickly got himself cleaned up as she had told him to.
After Mu Fengqie ran out and heard Jing Xunce's laughter, her cheeks turned even redder. Fortunately, there was no one around. Otherwise, they would have seen their valley master looking like a blushing young bride who had been flirted with.
When Jing Xunce came out, Mu Fengqie was boiling medicine.
"After you drink this bowl of medicine, the poison in your body will be completely removed."
"Thank you, Qie'er." Jing Xunce hugged Mu Fengqie from behind. Meeting her in this lifetime was his greatest fortune.
After Jing Xunce drank the medicine, he rested in the Valley of Medicine Masters for two days before leaving with Mu Fengqie.
They joined the team halfway. After the emperor of Huaman Country heard about this, he submitted a surrender letter early on. So they captured Huaman Country without losing a single soldier.
However, when Jing Xunce and the others returned, they didn't expect to be accused of colluding with a foreign country.
Jing Xunce looked at Yuan Yuchuan's smug face in the imperial city and found it extremely ironic. He never thought that Yuan Yuchuan would wait so long to get rid of him.
"Yuan Yuchuan, I didn't expect you to be so patient before making your move."
"Jing Xunce, out of gratitude for your past rescue of me, I can spare your life. As long as you give up resistance, I won't kill you."
Jing Xunce looked at Yuan Yuchuan but said nothing.
There was no news from Yuan Yuhan. They should be fine, or perhaps they were already prepared and just waiting for him.
"Yuan Yuchuan, you frame the loyal and good. You're not fit to be the emperor. Since I could help you sit on the throne securely, I can also make you fall from it!"
After hearing Jing Xunce's words, Yuan Yuchuan's face turned black. He never thought that Jing Xunce would be so audacious.
Not long ago, he had found out that all the court officials were deliberately replaced by Jing Xunce and Yuan Yuhan. He knew they couldn't resist the temptation of power and had now joined hands against him!
"Jing Xunce, you're daydreaming! I'm the Son of Heaven. Are you trying to rebel by saying such words?" Yuan Yuchuan stared at Jing Xunce with a gloomy face.
"There are plenty of people in the Yuan family. Any one of them can take the throne! Moreover, there's the Prince Regent behind you. I'm sure there are many people in the court who support him." Jing Xunce didn't care about Yuan Yuchuan's thoughts at all.
"Jing Xunce, you're being presumptuous!"
Looking at Yuan Yuchuan's reaction, Jing Xunce was sure that Yuan Yuhan was really okay and felt relieved.
"Guards, arrest the treacherous official Jing Xunce and shoot him. I don't care if he's dead or alive!" Yuan Yuchuan said imposingly, but the people around him just stood there without moving.
"What are you standing there for? Move! I order you to move!" Yuan Yuchuan noticed something was wrong when he saw the imperial guards standing still.
"What are you doing? Do you want to rebel too? Do you believe I'll kill you all?"
"Your Majesty, they won't listen to you because they're all the Prince's men. How could they listen to you?"
Yuan Yuchuan looked at Yuan Yuhan walking up from below, his eyes full of disbelief.
"You... How could you be here? Weren't you..."
"Weren't I sent to the outskirts? Brother, your excuse for getting me out of the way was too flimsy. How could I not have noticed?"
Yuan Yuchuan's sword fell to the ground. He knew it was all over for him.
"Guards, take the emperor back. Then open the city gate to welcome Marquis Zhongning back to the capital."
"Yes."
Yuan Yuhan looked at Jing Xunce below the city wall and smiled at him, his face full of helplessness.
………
"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor's edict says: I'm well aware that I'm unworthy of the throne. The Prince Regent, Yuan Yuhan, is more suitable for this position. I hope the Prince Regent will be diligent in government and love the people, leading the Qin Dynasty to prosperity and peace. So be it!"
"We pay our respects to Your Majesty. Long live our Emperor!"
This imperial edict of self - reproach was written by Yuan Yuchuan under the coercion of Jing Xunce and Yuan Yuhan. However, this edict also complied with the wishes of many people.
"All officials, rise."
"Marquis Zhongning, Jing Xunce."
"I'm here, Your Majesty."
"Marquis Zhongning has made great contributions to protecting the country and is loyal to the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, I confer on Jing Xunce the title of Prince Regent and exempt him from all court ceremonies. I specially bestow a marriage on him and Mu Fengqie. I hope the two of you will get married soon." This was all he could do for his brother. He hoped Jing Xunce would thank him later.