"What?"
The Emperor, who was just feeling smug, was so startled by the words that he jumped up: "Are there really so many people deluded?"
Long Rui nodded and said, "Indeed, there are dozens of people in Pan Family Bay afflicted. The villagers are miserable, feeling that the heavens are about to destroy their village. Your Majesty, please send soone to save them!"
The Emperor thought for a mont, then slowly sat back on the Dragon Throne, looking at Long Rui, and asked doubtfully, "Is Beloved Minister Long suggesting that the County Magistrate is also deluded?"
Long Rui: "Yes, Your Majesty, all the people in the Capital are crying out for him, saying the county magistrate works wholeheartedly for the people, is a good official, and for the sake of the people, he did not hesitate to beco deluded. It would be one thing for Your Majesty not to treat him well, but he should not be thrown into the death cell."
Long Rui had once pleaded for the county magistrate, and the Emperor suspected he was lying to save him, so he asked again: "Beloved Minister Long, with all you’ve said, do you have any evidence?"
The Emperor’s tone was clearly skeptical, but Long Rui was not angry. He calmly replied, "The empire belongs to Your Majesty. Since you are not concerned, I have nothing to say."
Without waiting for the Emperor to speak, Long Rui stood up to take his leave: "Your Majesty is busy with state affairs. I’m sorry to have disturbed you. Goodbye."
Finishing his words, he strode out with long steps.
The Emperor, furious to the point of turning red in the face, pointed with a trembling hand at the door: "He... he’s too arrogant."
Eunuch Li hurried to console him: "Your Majesty, don’t get angry. Be careful of harming your health."
The Emperor: "That damn Long Rui, every ti he cos, he infuriates to death. He is the bane of my existence."
Eunuch Li worriedly said, "Your Majesty, if the Prince’s words are true, the consequences could be severe. Just in case, Your Majesty should send soone to investigate!"
"Investigate what? He said it deliberately to save the county magistrate. What delusion? I’ve never heard of such a disease. This nonsense about those afflicted biting others and spreading it—it’s utter rubbish, alarmist talk. If anything threatens the nation’s foundation, it is him. As long as Long Rui is gone, Moli Country will be peaceful."
The Emperor, at this point in his talk, suddenly seed to recall sothing and asked Eunuch Li: "Eunuch Li, I rember, didn’t the County Magistrate injure your face too? And you’re fine now, aren’t you? Long Rui is just trying to fool , and I won’t be deceived."
The Emperor asserted that his intelligence was intact and he wouldn’t be easily duped.
Eunuch Li touched his face, where the wound had nearly healed, leaving only a few red marks.
"Right, the Prince must be fooling Your Majesty. How could this servant have delusion?" Eunuch Li, who had been skeptical monts ago, changed his stance imdiately upon being spoken of.
What a joke, he had endured for decades to beco the Emperor’s personal eunuch, a favored courtier. He couldn’t ruin it for sothing that might not even exist.
The Emperor laughed smugly: "Of course, I won’t fall for Long Rui’s tricks."
In recent days, Eunuch Li often felt distracted, monts when his mind went blank but quickly returned to normal. He hadn’t thought much of it, attributing it to sleep deprivation.
This feeling returned now, but soon passed. Eunuch Li knocked his head forcefully and said to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, it’s getting late. I’ll go to the Imperial Kitchen to check if the Bird’s Nest has been stewed."
The Emperor, aging more and more, was increasingly focused on health preservation, requiring a bowl of Bird’s Nest Porridge every day.
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