Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 352: Death

Li Qiang and Lin Daiyu led Qin Keqing to Changchun Palace. Changchun Palace was decorated very solemnly because the queen and the new concubine were coming today.

"Greetings, Grandpa Emperor!" Li Qiang stepped forward and saluted with a smile, and Lin Daiyu and Qin Keqing followed suit.

Especially for Qin Keqing, this was her first time meeting the retired emperor as an imperial concubine, and she performed with great respect.

The retired emperor saw Qin Keqing's appearance clearly. He knew some things but he pretended not to know.

"Oh, what a poor child. He should live a good life with Li Qiang in the future!" said the retired emperor with a sigh.

He waved to Dai Quan, and Dai Quan brought a tray to Qin Keqing.

"This is a little thing for you, keep it as a souvenir!" he said, pointing to the things on the tray.

Although they were just gadgets, in Li Qiang's opinion, the things on the tray were many times better than those given as rewards to the concubines in the past.

The head ornaments in the tray are all inherited from the royal family, not new works. These head ornaments are the most precious.

"You must treat her well!" the emperor said to Li Qiang again.

"Yes, Grandpa Emperor!" Li Qiang replied.

"Let's go to the Cining Palace early!" said the emperor, waving his hand.

Li Qiang, Lin Daiyu and Qin Keqing said goodbye and left together.

"This child looks so much like Concubine Qing!" The retired emperor muttered as he looked at Qin Keqing's background.

Dai Quan lowered his head, not daring to reveal any other expression.

Back then, Concubine Qing was disliked by the retired emperor and the empress dowager. Dai Quan had no idea what the retired emperor meant by saying this.

However, looking at the reward given by the retired emperor, perhaps the retired emperor blamed Qin Keqing for his guilt towards Concubine Qing, which is why he gave her a gift that exceeded Qin Keqing's apparent status.

When they arrived at the Cining Palace, the empress dowager's expression was calm. Although she also gave rewards, they were no different from those given to other concubines.

The Queen Mother seemed to treat Qin Keqing as an ordinary concubine. She did not like her too much, nor did she express any particular dislike for her.

After leaving the Cining Palace, Li Qiang prepared to take Qin Keqing to the Nanxun Palace, but Lin Daiyu suggested returning to the Daming Palace.

When Li Qiang and Qin Keqing walked into Nanxun Palace, they saw eunuchs rushing in and out of the door.

The two looked at each other and knew that something had happened.

"What happened?" Li Qiang stopped a eunuch and asked.

When the eunuch saw Li Qiang, he was so scared that he immediately knelt down to pay his respects, and the other eunuchs also knelt down.

"The master is in trouble, the imperial physician is inside!" The eunuch still remembered Li Qiang's question, and he replied.

Li Qiang took Qin Keqing to Emperor Jingwen's bedroom.

The imperial physician was performing acupuncture, but seeing that he was sweating profusely and was hesitant while performing the acupuncture, Emperor Jingwen's condition was not optimistic.

"Your Majesty!" When the imperial physician saw Li Qiang, he was about to stand up, but Li Qiang held down his shoulders.

"Just treat him well, no need to be polite!" said Li Qiang.

"Your Majesty, I am not skilled enough to save the patient!" said the imperial physician helplessly.

"Do your best!" Li Qiang would not blame the imperial physician. He had long seen that Emperor Jingwen was determined to die. If Qin Keqing had not appeared, he might have died long ago.

When the imperial physician heard what Li Qiang said, he gritted his teeth and inserted several needles in his hand.

"Daddy!" Qin Keqing burst into tears. She felt like she was going to lose another loved one this time.

Li Qiang gently hugged Qin Keqing, comforting her in this way.

Qin Keqing's crying made Emperor Jingwen react. His eyes opened slightly and he saw Qin Keqing.

"Concubine Qing, are you here to take me away with you?" Emperor Jingwen asked with a gleam in his eyes.

His eyes moved from Qin Keqing to a painting on the wall. The woman in the painting and Qin Keqing seemed to have become one person.

Li Qiang had never seen such deep emotion in a person's eyes, it was an unforgettable longing and love.

Emperor Jingwen may have had various problems, but his love was only for Concubine Qing in the painting.

He had other concubines, but to him, those concubines were just reproductive machines for political marriages.

Emperor Jingwen looked at the woman in the painting, his breath disappeared, and his face maintained a final affectionate gaze, fixed there forever.

Li Qiang sighed inwardly. He could feel the passing of a life, but he had no intention of intervening.

His ability can indeed ensure the survival of Emperor Jingwen, but he also needs to consider other issues.

First of all, Emperor Jingwen didn’t want to live anymore. Perhaps death was a kind of happiness for him, at least this could be seen from his expression when he died.

Secondly, Li Qiang cannot interfere in matters of life and death many times. He can protect the women around him, he can protect the emperor and the empress dowager. These people alone have had a huge impact on this world.

He didn't know whether there was hell or heaven in this world, but there were immortals in this world, and perhaps there was something above the immortals. His excessive interference in the life and death of mortals would bring unknown risks.

In the end, he did not owe Emperor Jingwen anything. In fact, in this world, except for Emperor Jingwen who was able to live for so many years, the rest of his enemies had long been killed by him.

"Daddy!" Qin Keqing screamed, her body went limp and she fainted in Li Qiang's arms.

Upon seeing this, the imperial physician wanted to step forward to check, but was rejected by Li Qiang by waving his hand.

Li Qiang himself is a powerful being. Just by sensing Qin Keqing's situation, he knew that it was caused by anger.

He waved his hand lightly, and a 'Healing Spell [Advanced]' fell on Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing did not wake up, but went from coma to sleep.

"Jin Dong, go to Changchun Palace to inform the retired emperor that Emperor Jingwen has passed away. Tell him my wish and bury him according to the emperor's rites!" Li Qiang turned and instructed Jin Dong.

This was the limit of what he could do. Emperor Jingwen wanted to be an emperor all his life. Even when he was dying, he referred to himself as "I".

Li Qiang decided to satisfy Emperor Jingwen and bury him with the ceremony of an emperor, which also fulfilled his friendship with Emperor Jingwen.

Jin Dong took the order and went to Changchun Palace, while Li Qiang picked up Qin Keqing and returned to Daming Palace.

Qin Keqing woke up on the way back in the carriage.

"I don't have a daddy anymore!" she murmured to herself.

"You still have me and all the sisters to accompany you, so you won't be lonely!" Li Qiang comforted softly.

"I might be a disaster star and will bring trouble to you!" Qin Keqing raised her head and said to Li Qiang.

She was so scared at this time that her body was shaking involuntarily.

Emperor Jingwen was her last relative. Watching her loved one die made her extremely frightened.

"You are not a disaster star!" Li Qiang said to Qin Keqing seriously. Qin Keqing's experience in this life was much better than the arrangement of Fairy Jinghuan. If Li Qiang had not appeared, Qin Keqing would not only be humiliated but also die early.

Li Qiang was almost certain that the deaths of Qin Keqing's adoptive father Qin Bangye and his son Qin Zhong were definitely arranged by Fairy Jinghuan.

Since Li Qiang was not deeply involved in the affairs of Qin Bangye and Qin Zhong, she was unable to change their fate.

When Emperor Jingwen died, the retired emperor issued an imperial decree to bury him with the rites of an emperor.

On that day, officials from the capital entered the palace with imperial edicts. Two princes of Emperor Jingwen kept vigil, and officials from the Ministry of Rites participated.

Although everything was carried out according to the emperor's etiquette, since Emperor Li Qiang was still in power, all affairs were conducted in the Nanxun Palace.

In terms of form, it is quite different, but we can't ask Li Qiang to give up the Daming Palace, or hold it in other important palaces.

Although the local standards were not met, there was no slack in other aspects.

All officials and imperial edicts mourned for three days, all crowns were removed from their tassels, and officials in mourning clothes stopped attending weddings and banquets.

At the same time, a mourning decree was issued to envoys from various countries, and envoys from various countries in the capital also entered the palace to pay their respects.

All officials in the court wore white robes, and the princes and officials fasted for twenty-seven days. After that, they cried once a day and then took off their mourning clothes.

Officials were prohibited from music and marriage for 100 days; soldiers and civilians were prohibited from marriage for one month, and music was prohibited for 100 days. Within 100 days, documents were to be transferred with blue seals and instructions were to be written with blue pens. Slaughter was prohibited for 49 days. Starting from the day of the great funeral, the bells of temples and monasteries in the capital were to be struck 30,000 times.

It can be said that Emperor Jingwen’s death enjoyed the ultimate honor.

That is to say, Emperor Li Qiang and the retired emperor supported him. Otherwise, all the officials in the court would not accept such a grand ceremony for the deposed emperor.

As Li Qiang was the emperor of the time, funeral matters had nothing to do with him.

"Jin Dong, I'll be away for two hours. If you have anything to say, wait until I come back!" Li Qiang ordered.

Jin Dong nodded in agreement and watched Li Qiang seem to walk into the void.

Jin Dong was not surprised. He thought that Li Qiang had used the "Divine Foot Ability" to leave just like before.

He didn't know that Li Qiang had left this world and entered the illusory world of Taixu.

Even though Li Qiang was in the palace, he could sense the existence of the Great Illusion Realm and issue orders to it.

He did not bring Lin Daiyu into the Land of Illusion. At least, he would not let Lin Daiyu take the risk before testing all the functions of the Land of Illusion.

He entered the illusory world of Taixu and found himself in the palace he had left.

"Master, you're back!" said a woman in maid's clothes respectfully.

Li Qiang recognized this as a flower owner at a glance. Seeing the flower owner like this, he was a little surprised.

He remembered that when he left, he told the flower owners to keep everything as usual.

"Why are you here?" Li Qiang asked the woman.

"My name is Shaoyao, and I'm a maid here. Originally there were thirty-six maids here, but now there are only me and Jasmine!" Shaoyao answered with some fear.

Li Qiang shook his head. He told the flower owners to keep everything as usual. The flower owners really did everything exactly as Fairy Jinghuan had instructed and did not even replace the dead flower owners.

"Peony, from now on you will be the manager of this place. Select thirty-six maids from the flower owners to manage this place!" Li Qiang thought about it and gave the order.

"I obey your command and will do it for my master!" Shaoyao trembled slightly and quickly bent down to respond.

"Just do your job well and take good care of Taixu Illusion Land. I'm not a bad person and I won't make things difficult for you!" Li Qiang shook her head when she saw that she was scared.

After saying this, Li Qiang no longer paid attention to Shaoyao. He once again merged his mind with the illusory world of Taixu.

In his perception, everything in the illusory world was normal. Except for the peony and the jasmine that was busy in another place, the other flower masters turned into plants.

Li Qiang wanted to see what Shaoyao was capable of, so he came up with the idea of ​​letting Shaoyao manage the flower master and take care of the Taixu Illusion Realm. He didn't have time to focus on this for the time being.

Perhaps in the future, he would bring Lin Daiyu and the other concubines into the Realm of Illusion and let them manage it.

As he was thinking, the figure disappeared from where he was and appeared on the top of a mountain.

This time he did not use the 'divine power', but achieved it entirely through the connection between himself and the Great Illusionary Realm.

In his feeling, the illusory world of Taixu was like a part of him. He could go wherever he wanted with just a thought.

This is much more flexible than the 'Shenzutong'. The 'Shenzutong' consumes mana, while the space movement in the Taixu Illusion Realm consumes very little mana. It may take more than a hundred consecutive space movements to consume a little mana.

And with the speed at which his magic power recovers, he can perform spatial movement continuously while in the illusory world of Taixu.

"It's a pity that this ability only exists in the Taixu Illusion Realm and I can't take it out!" Li Qiang said greedily.

He came to the top of the mountain not to see the scenery. If he wanted to see the scenery, he could see all kinds of scenery by merging his spirit with the illusory world of Taixu.

He came here to test his attack power. With his strong physique, he wanted to see what kind of attack he could perform.

At that time, Fairy Jinghuan killed the divine beast with one strike.

His physique is much stronger than Fairy Jinghuan, and his attack power should be far beyond that of Fairy Jinghuan.

Li Qiang's mind was connected to the Taixu Illusion Realm. He did not dare to mobilize too much of the Taixu Illusion Realm's mass at one time. He stopped increasing it when he felt a slight burden on his body.

He threw a punch forward, and this punch sent the mass of the Taixu Illusion Realm he mobilized forward.

With a loud 'boom', a black light seemed to flash in the void in front of him, and then quickly disappeared.

Li Qiang stopped quickly. He had a feeling that with that punch just now, he almost broke the space.

"In the future, I must not use more power than the last attack, otherwise I will accidentally break the Taixu Illusion!" Li Qiang warned himself in his heart.

He didn't know if a full-strength attack would break the void, and he didn't dare to try.

He also believed that any life that entered the Taixu Illusionary Realm, no matter how strong it was, would not be able to withstand the attack he had just suffered.

The attack he just launched was many times more powerful than Fairy Jinghuan's full-strength attack.

His physique is so strong that it is incomparable to Fairy Jinghuan. No Fairy Daqian has a strong physique.

But such a powerful attack may never be faced by an enemy.

Because it is impossible for him to lure the enemy into the illusory world unless he has no other choice.

Look at Fairy Jinghuan, this is the result of actively bringing the enemy into your home.

Besides, with the existence of divine beasts, Li Qiang didn’t believe that there was anyone in the world who could defeat them.

The divine beast is so powerful that even Fairy Jinghuan in her prime can defeat it. Li Qiang really can't imagine who can defeat the divine beast.

The divine beast has super strong defense, super strong spell attack power, and super strong mobility. It is a comprehensive fighting machine with almost no flaws.

(End of this chapter)