northernbook Chapter 288 Demonic Invasion
Chapter 288 Demonic Invasion
Seeing Prince Ming shaking his head, Concubine An's first reaction was to turn around and look at the imperial physician.
The imperial doctors looked at each other, and no one stood up to say a word.
Long Mohan couldn't wait any longer and asked Prince Ming directly, "Ming'er, what's wrong? Why don't you eat?"
Prince Ming said softly: "I...I don't want to eat..."
Don't want to eat? What's the reason? Long Mohan asked again: "Then what do you want to eat?"
I have never heard that Prince Ming is picky about food, so why is he acting out of character now? Besides, he has been hungry for a whole day. Even a picky eater would be starving and stuff anything he can eat into his stomach. Why did Concubine An feed the lotus seed porridge to Prince Ming's mouth, but he not only refused to open his mouth, but also said he didn't want to eat?
"Yes, Prince, what do you want to eat?" Concubine An put down the porridge and looked at Prince Ming's listless face worriedly.
Prince Ming looked extremely weak, his voice was thin and soft, and his eyes were only open to two narrow slits. It was obvious that he was hungry. If he was hungry, why didn't he eat?
Prince Ming shook his head and said softly, "I... I don't want to eat anything..."
If it were any other child, he would have said this out of spite, forcing the adults to spoil him. But Prince Ming was docile and sensible, and would never say such a willful thing. He said he didn't want to eat anything, and that meant he really didn't want to eat anything.
"Ming'er, aren't you hungry?" Ji Anni, who was standing behind Concubine An, leaned her head out and asked.
When Prince Ming saw Ji Anni, his expression became even sadder, and he replied weakly, "Hungry..."
This unexpected answer caused the room to fall into silence for a moment.
Weird, it's really weird...
Long Mohan bit her lip, and Concubine An began to sob softly. Prince Ming's answer made them even more worried.
Ji Anni then asked, "Since you are hungry, why don't you eat?"
Prince Ming saw that Ji Anni's expression was a bit stern, as if she had done something wrong, and said with red eyes: "I can't eat..."
Can't eat? What kind of answer is that? Ji Anni was also stunned and couldn't ask any other questions.
"Imperial Physician, what is going on?" Long Mohan said sternly, turning his head to glare at the five useless imperial physicians behind him.
"This...this...this..." The five imperial doctors still looked at each other, and no one knew what to do.
This was also the first time they had encountered such a situation. How could someone be hungry but not want to eat?
Is it really anorexia? Why did I suddenly develop anorexia overnight?
Compared to the bewildered imperial physician, Ji Annie had some clues. At first, everyone thought that Prince Ming didn't want to eat because he was worried about Ji Annie's safety. If that was true, Prince Ming should have recovered long ago after seeing Ji Annie was safe and sound. But Prince Ming still refused to eat, which showed that there was no necessary connection between Prince Ming's anorexia and Ji Annie.
After excluding Ji Annie's factor, judging from the time when Prince Ming became anorexic, Prince Ming started to have anorexia yesterday morning. If we move the time forward a few hours, it would be exactly when Yun Zhen unlocked the seal of the Demon-Suppressing Temple.
In other words, Prince Ming has not eaten since the seal of the Demon-Suppressing Temple was lifted.
It seems that the reason why Prince Ming has anorexia is all due to the fox bead in the Demon-Suppressing Temple...
If this is true, Prince Ming's anorexia cannot be cured by the five imperial doctors present.
Ji Anni asked Long Mohan, "Your Majesty, can you please ask the Imperial Master to come over?"
"National Master?" Long Mohan was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Ji Anni said that.
Ji Anni said, "If Zhao Ji is not mistaken, Ming'er's illness is likely related to the seal of the Demon Suppression Temple. I remember that the Imperial Master once said that humans with weaker constitutions are more susceptible to the influence of demonic energy. When the seal of the Demon Suppression Temple was opened the night before, demonic energy was everywhere and demonic winds were blowing. Ming'er might have been affected by that powerful demonic energy, so he couldn't eat."
"Really? It turns out that it's the demon that's causing trouble again..." After hearing Ji Anni's words, Long Mohan murmured in a deep voice. From his thoughtful expression, it can be seen that he also agreed with Ji Anni's idea. Prince Ming's current appearance really looks like he is possessed by a demon.
"Your Majesty, what should we do? Should we invite the Imperial Master? Or ask Taoist Yuan Rong? Taoist Yuan Rong is more reliable..." Concubine An asked anxiously. In fact, compared to Yun Zhen, she trusted Taoist Yuan Rong, who had rich experience in subduing demons, more.
"No! No!" Ji Anni shouted anxiously when she heard the name of Taoist Yuan Rong. If Taoist Yuan Rong found out that Prince Ming was also a fox demon, wouldn't that be a disaster?
"Why not?" Concubine An asked immediately. Ji Anni's panicked expression clearly showed that she had something to hide.
Ji Anni's heart was burning with anxiety. Just when she was too anxious to know how to explain, she saw Long Mohan gently raise his hand.
He used this gesture to signal Ji Anni and Concubine An to stop arguing and listen to him.
"Your Majesty..." Ji Anni and Concubine An leaned towards Long Mohan at the same time, both of them with anxious expressions on their faces.
Long Mohan thought for a while and said, "Let's ask the Imperial Master to come and take a look..." At the last moment, he chose to stand on Ji Anni's side.
After hearing this, Ji Anni breathed a sigh of relief and almost broke out in a cold sweat.
Since Long Mohan had spoken, Concubine An did not say much. She turned her head and glared at the five imperial doctors behind her, and ordered them to quickly inform the imperial master with a stern look. The imperial doctors seemed to be stabbed by her eyes and ran away.
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About a quarter of an hour later, the palace maid led Yun Zhen in.
Yun Zhen recovered very quickly. The skin wounds from the falling rocks in the cave the night before did not leave a single wound. He was dressed exactly the same as before, without a single bandage on his body and no smell of medicine. If it weren't for the tired look in his eyes, you really wouldn't have known that he had just experienced such a disaster the day before.
Shui Furong said that when Ji Anni was unconscious yesterday, Yun Zhen went out of the palace and went to the woods again. He must have been busy in the woods and caves in the past two days and did not sleep well, so he looked tired.
After a simple greeting, Yun Zhen came to the bedside of Prince Ming.
Prince Ming and Yun Zhen rarely met, so they seemed a little unfamiliar. When he saw Yun Zhen coming, he subconsciously stepped back.
Neither the Emperor nor Concubine An noticed this slight evasive movement. Only Ji Anni and Yun Zhen noticed it.
Prince Ming's instinctive reaction was probably due to the monster's subconscious fear of the Taoist priest...
"Ming'er..." Ji Anni called softly.
Although there was no further words after the gentle call, Prince Ming, who had a close rapport with Ji Annie, felt that Ji Annie's gentle call was meant to comfort him not to be afraid.
Prince Ming nodded, opened his eyes a little wider, and looked quietly at Yun Zhen who had come to his side.
"Prince Ming, please forgive Yun Zhen for being rude." Yun Zhen opened the five fingers of his right hand and gently stroked Prince Ming's forehead.
A faint coolness emanated from Yun Zhen's palm, like a stream of clear spring slowly flowing across Prince Ming's forehead.
Prince Ming felt very comfortable and closed his eyes naturally.
Seeing Prince Ming suddenly close his eyes, Concubine An became nervous and suddenly looked up and stared at Long Mohan.
Long Mohan shook his head at her, signaling her not to be nervous.
Ji Anni believed in Yun Zhen, and Long Mohan believed in Ji Anni, so they remained calm. Only Concubine An was a little wary of Yun Zhen, fearing that he would hurt Prince Ming.
Seeing Concubine An's nervous expression, Ji Anni suddenly remembered that Shui Furong had said before that Yun Zhen had a sinister aura. It seemed that Concubine An, like Shui Furong, had long felt the mysterious aura of Yun Zhen that was different from other Taoists.
"Yunzhen, how is Ming'er?" Seeing that Yunzhen and Prince Ming had not moved for a long time, Ji Anni couldn't help but feel worried.
Prince Ming's consciousness seemed to be frozen by the cold air in Yun Zhen's palm. He was unable to think or speak. He just closed his eyes quietly, thinking of nothing and knowing nothing.
"National Master..." Long Mohan could no longer hold his temper and leaned forward.
At this time, Yun Zhen slowly put his hand down and said to Long Mohan: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Prince Ming is in good health."
As soon as Yun Zhen's hand left, the chill on Prince Ming's forehead disappeared. Prince Ming opened his eyes again, and his eyes were much clearer than before, as if he had recovered. Seeing that Prince Ming's condition had improved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Long Mohan asked, "Master, is Ming'er possessed by evil spirits?"
Yun Zhen said: "Reporting to the emperor, Prince Ming was indeed attacked by evil spirits and started to lose his appetite. But fortunately, the attack was not serious, and he should be able to recover after a few days of rest."
As she spoke, she took off a necklace from her neck. This necklace was made of many small black stones. The surface of these small stones was smooth and bright, like glass balls.
Yun Zhen hung the necklace around Prince Ming's neck and said, "There have been many demons and ghosts rampant in the palace recently, and Prince Ming is weak... This string of black beads is used to ward off evil spirits. To prevent Prince Ming from being attacked by demonic spirits again, use this string of black beads to protect him."
"Thank you, Imperial Master." Long Mohan expressed his gratitude and held Yun Zhen's hand tightly.
Concubine An picked up the bowl of lotus seed porridge again and fed the spoon to Prince Ming's mouth.
This time, Prince Ming did not push Concubine An away, but slowly opened his mouth.
Seeing Prince Ming open his mouth, Ji Anni's heart finally settled down and she said softly, "That's great..."
Prince Ming put the porridge into his mouth and finally swallowed it with great effort.
He ate every bite very slowly, as if he was trying hard to endure it in order to swallow it. Perhaps the sensible Prince Ming didn't want to see everyone worrying about him, so he forced himself to open his mouth.
Prince Ming ate slowly, and Concubine An also fed him slowly. It took a long time before she finally emptied the bowl.
Everyone saw it and was worried. But they were all optimistic. Maybe, as Yun Zhen said, Prince Ming needed to rest for a few more days to recover. We shouldn't be too anxious about anything. As long as Prince Ming was willing to eat, that was the best start.