Upon hearing this, Lu Chimo's eyes trembled slightly. He then cupped his hands and bowed deeply to the Emperor at a ninety-degree angle.
The Emperor paused slightly, as if sensing something, and couldn't help but turn his gaze back to Feng Muting.
Feng Muting nodded to the Emperor and said, "Father, Physician Lu has something very important to tell you. After you hear it, you will understand why we have all felt that the Imperial Preceptor is not the same as we knew him all these years."
The Emperor frowned and turned his gaze back to Lu Chimo: "Speak."
“Your Majesty, the one in the palace now is not the real Grand Preceptor Mo, but Ye Wanxiu, the attendant of the Grand Preceptor Mo, in disguise. I am the real son of the Grand Preceptor Mo, Mo Chilu. When my father returned to his hometown, it was Ye Wanxiu who orchestrated it. He led my father back, and my father and all twenty-seven members of the Mo family died at his hands.”
The emperor's pupils dilated.
Then Lu Chimo said, "At that time, I was playing with a servant boy of similar age. I was hiding and thus escaped the calamity. The servant boy was mistaken for me and killed by Ye Wanxiu's men. After that, he and his son impersonated my father and me, taking over everything my father had done for Feng Kingdom and enjoying the glory that should have been my father's."
"At that time, I was a young man and had no power to resist. By chance, I joined Guichen's sect, where I studied medicine and looked for an opportunity to take revenge. But a few years ago, Ye Wanxiu suddenly took leave and disappeared with his son. If I'm not mistaken, he must have learned that I was not dead at that time and was afraid that I would take revenge, so he ran away."
"He has returned now because he feels that I have not been able to find him to take revenge in the past few years, and that I do not have the ability to take revenge. So he is no longer afraid. Also, he knows that the situation in the court has changed drastically, which is a good time for him to return. After all, the title of Grand Preceptor is well-established. No matter how the situation in the court ends, he will be the one who is relied upon. So he has returned."
After listening to what Lu Chimo said, the emperor's brows furrowed even more deeply.
Feng Muting said, "Father, to know whether this is true or not, bring that fake National Preceptor Mo here, and we'll know for sure."
The Emperor nodded slightly: "Bring the Imperial Preceptor Mo here."
But after waiting for a while, the palace servant replied, "Your Majesty, we did not see Imperial Preceptor Mo. We searched and found out that Imperial Preceptor Mo has already left the palace."
"What?!" The Emperor's eyes darkened.
Before he could speak, Feng Muting asked, "Did he go out alone or with his good-for-nothing son?"
The palace attendant replied, "The guard said that the Imperial Preceptor Mo went out alone."
The Emperor then said, "The son of the Imperial Preceptor Mo left a few days ago, saying that he was going out to gain some experience."
"What? He left a few days ago?!" Feng Muting was immediately displeased. He had come to settle accounts with that fake Mo Chilu, but now it turned out the man had left several days ago.
He probably knew he would come to settle scores with him, so he ran away early.
Now, only by catching that imposter imperial advisor can we find out where the fake Mo Chilu is.
"Find him for me immediately!" The Emperor was heartbroken at the thought that this Imperial Preceptor Mo was a fake, and that the real Imperial Preceptor Mo had already been murdered.
Lu Chimo clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please have someone prepare pen and ink for me. I want to draw Ye Wanxiu's appearance. Now that he has left the palace without permission, he obviously wants to escape. In order to avoid being captured, he should restore his original appearance."
Chapter 446 The student surpasses the master
"Very well." The Emperor agreed and quickly ordered that brushes and ink be prepared for Lu Chimo to paint.
He looked at Lu Chimo, who was standing by the table, wielding his brush with such skill, and suddenly felt as if he were seeing the Imperial Preceptor Mo from back then.
That man, whose talent was unparalleled, was as refined as a tranquil landscape painting.
Generally, when a painter does a portrait, an average painter needs to spend half a day drawing the person, while a highly skilled painter can draw the appearance of the person described in the painting just by listening to other people's descriptions. But no one can draw a person's appearance completely and vividly in such a short time as Lu Chimo.
Lu Chimo put down his brush, cupped his hands to the Emperor, and said, "This humble subject has finished the painting. Please have someone take it to the Emperor."
The Emperor looked at him and sighed softly: "Stop calling yourself a commoner. Become my subject. Since you are the son of the Grand Preceptor Mo, and now that the Grand Preceptor Mo is gone, you will inherit your father's position. Once the villains are brought to justice, you will be the new Grand Preceptor of Feng Kingdom."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for believing in me." Lu Chimo lowered his head, his eyes slightly red.
"Alas, your father and I were close friends, yet he suffered such a calamity. I was kept in the dark for over a decade. Please do not blame me," the Emperor said.
"It was Ye Wanxiu who harbored wolfish ambitions and deceived the emperor. No one would have thought that the Mo family would suffer such a calamity. Now that the truth has come to light, Your Majesty chose to believe me even before you met Ye Wanxiu. I am grateful beyond words and would never harbor any resentment."
The Emperor looked at Lu Chimo, then stood up and walked over to him, patting him on the shoulder: "I should have thought of this earlier. I clearly felt something was wrong back then, but it's too late to say anything now. Don't worry, I will not let that Ye Wanxiu, the Imperial Preceptor Mo, and the twenty-seven members of the Mo family go. After I capture Ye Wanxiu and his cowardly son, I will let you personally kill your enemies."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Chimo said these three words heavily before preparing to kneel down.
But the Emperor stopped him: "There's no need for such a grand ceremony. I know you're heartbroken. I also feel very heavy-hearted after learning the truth. Fortunately, Grand Tutor Mo has such an outstanding son as you alive. I believe you will surpass him. I also see that you and Ting'er have a good relationship, just like I did with Grand Tutor Mo back then. It must be fate. With you assisting Ting'er in the future, I will be more at ease."
"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will do my utmost!" Lu Chimo said firmly.
"Alright!" The Emperor nodded, then turned and sat back down by the bed.
At this moment, Xu Jiaolong regained consciousness, and the Emperor quickly took her hand and asked, "Jiao'er, how are you feeling? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Xu Jiaolong shook her head: "I'm fine, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore. By the way, Your Majesty, did you teach that bastard Imperial Advisor a lesson for me?"
"He escaped, and I have already ordered his arrest. What exactly happened? How dare he treat you so disrespectfully?" the Emperor asked.
Xu Jiaolong then told the Emperor what had happened. After listening, the Emperor was furious: "This Ye Wanxiu, if I catch him, I will make sure he is executed by slow slicing!"
How dare they touch his woman? They must have a death wish.
"Ye Wanxiu? Isn't the Imperial Preceptor Mo surnamed Mo?" Xu Jiaolong asked, puzzled.
The Emperor then told her the gist of the matter. After listening, she looked at Lu Chimo beside her and said, "I was wondering why that Imperial Preceptor Mo was so frivolous. It turns out he was an imposter. I never thought that Physician Lu was the real member of the Mo family. Back then, Physician Lu even saved my life."
Chapter 447 My younger brother is here!
"Really? Xiao Mo actually saved your life. I must thank him properly." The Emperor said immediately upon hearing this.
Lu Chimo shook his head: "I just got lucky. In fact, it was Young Master Su who saved Madam's life."
Feng Muting nodded and said, "Yes, it was A-Liu who saved Aunt Xu."
"So it's Xiao Su? Then I'll thank him properly later."
Feng Muting added, "Of course, Doctor Lu also helped out."
"Xiao Mo also deserves credit; if it weren't for him, Jiao'er would have been in danger," the Emperor replied.
At this moment, a palace maid brought over the prepared medicine to prevent miscarriage. The emperor quickly reached out and took the medicine, saying, "Jiao'er, come, drink this bowl of medicine."
Xu Jiaolong glanced at the dark medicine and said, "My stomach doesn't hurt anymore, I don't need to take the medicine."
"This won't do. This is a medicine to prevent miscarriage; she must drink it." With that, the Emperor reached out to help Xu Jiaolong up.
Xu Jiaolong looked completely bewildered after hearing this: "What medicine?"
The Emperor laughed and said, "A medicine to prevent miscarriage? You're carrying our child in your belly."
Xu Jiaolong blushed immediately and glared at the Emperor reproachfully: "Ting'er and Doctor Lu are still here, don't smile so foolishly."
Feng Muting smiled and said, "I knew Father Emperor was still as virile as ever, and Aunt Xu was as youthful as ever. Look, here comes my younger brother."
The Emperor glanced at him and said, "Now that your Aunt Xu is pregnant, I'm afraid I'll have even less time to deal with state affairs. I see you still have the mind to joke around here, so you shouldn't go back. Just stay in the palace and handle all the affairs of state for me."
Feng Muting choked: "No, no, no, Father, at worst I'll come early and leave late every day, but I still have to go back to the Prince's Mansion."
"I know what you're thinking. If you dare to mock me again, believe me, I'll lock you in the palace for half a month and forbid you from returning home," the Emperor threatened.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!" Feng Muting hurriedly apologized. Let alone half a month, even just one day without being allowed to return to the mansion to see his beloved child would make him feel terrible.
"Hmph." The Emperor snorted, then added, "I'm afraid we won't find Ye Wanxiu so quickly. You should all go back first. I'll call you over once he's been caught."
"Yes, Father, then I shall take my leave." Feng Muting had been thinking about his precious baby since he left the room. Now he wished he could sprout wings and fly back to see his precious baby. He wondered if his precious baby had put on his clothes properly.
Lu Chimo also cupped his hands and said, "Your subject takes his leave."
Meanwhile, Su Fuliu was asking Bai Yulang how to untie the knot. Why couldn't he untie it, while Bai Yulang untied it so easily, as if it weren't a knot at all, but a slipknot.
Bai Yulang laughed and said, "Brother, this kind of thing takes practice to master. You definitely won't be able to understand it in a short time."
"How do you know I can't understand if you don't teach me?" Su Fuliu thought his learning ability was quite strong.
"Alright, I'll teach you. I'll teach you just once. If you learn it, you're smart. If you don't, I won't call you stupid."
Su Fuliu nodded: "Okay!"
“Then brother, bring me a belt and tie my hands together. Watch me untie the knot with just my mouth, without using my hands,” Bai Yulang said smugly.
Su Fuliu was stunned for a moment, then asked, "No, I just asked you to teach me how to untie the knot. Why did you ask me to bring my belt and tie your hands together? You could have just tied the belt around my waist into a knot and then taught me how to untie it, right?"
Chapter 448 Nosebleed
"Uh..." Bai Yulang choked for a moment, then replied, "I just wanted to teach you something more advanced. Think about it, if you learn this, you can save yourself if you get kidnapped in the future!"
“That makes sense.” Su Fuliu thought Bai Yulang’s words made a lot of sense.
Then he got up, found a belt, and tied Bai Yulang's hands together in a tight knot.
"Brother, watch carefully, don't blink!" Bai Yulang said.
Su Fuliu nodded earnestly: "Okay."
Immediately, he opened his eyes wide and looked at Bai Yulang. He saw Bai Yulang raise his hands, then bite the left and the right side with his mouth, and the knot was actually untied.
"Wow, Yulang, you're really amazing!" Su Fuliu exclaimed.
"Hmph, that's right, I learned this through practice." Bai Yulang proudly raised his chin.
"But why would you think of practicing this if you had nothing to do? Is it so that you can save yourself if you encounter danger in the future?" Su Fuliu asked.
Bai Yulang choked, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face. He was wondering whether to tell Su Fuliu the truth. He wouldn't feel embarrassed himself, but he was afraid that Su Fuliu would feel awkward after hearing it.
Forget it, I'd better not say anything more.
Before Bai Yulang could answer, Su Fuliu asked again, "But what if the bad guys tie our hands behind our backs? Then your mouth won't be of any use."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yulang blurted out, "It depends on the situation. If you're lying down, you should tie it in the front. If you're face down, you can tie it in the back."
"Huh?" Su Fuliu looked at Bai Yulang with a blank expression. "What do you mean?"
Bai Yulang was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had answered incorrectly. Just as he was about to explain, he saw that Su Fuliu looked like she understood.
"Oh, I see. Yulang means that if we get caught, we'll definitely be in a sorry state. The bad guys will just throw us into the place like objects. If we're lucky, we'll be lying flat on our backs; if we're unlucky, we'll be face down. But that's not what I'm asking about. I'm asking how to untie our hands when they're tied behind our backs?"
"Um... well, I think, bro, you should learn how to untie the front first, and then we can figure out how to untie the back, okay?"
"Alright." Su Fuliu agreed. He hadn't even figured out how to untie the front of his clothes, let alone think about anything else. "Then, Yulang, tie it up for me, and I'll try it out?"
Are you sure?
"Yeah, let's tie it up. You can only gain experience by doing it yourself. You can't figure it out just by thinking about it."
"Alright, I'll tie them up for you." With that, Bai Yulang used his belt to tie Su Fuliu's hands together.
Su Fuliu began to study it very seriously, but no matter how hard she tried, the knot wouldn't budge.
Bai Yulang laughed and said, "Brother, I advise you to give up!"
"No way, I refuse to believe it." Su Fuliu was unwilling to give up so easily; he refused to believe he couldn't learn it.