Lu Zhaoling had only just recovered a bit of her energy after sleeping for most of the day, but now it was all used up, and she was even in the red.
At this moment, she felt her hands trembling.
Prince Jin, however, felt much better.
He motioned for Qing Feng to step back, then reached out and took Lu Zhaoling's hand. Looking down, he realized his collar had been pulled open again.
"We've only met twice in total, and you've already unbuttoned this prince's clothes twice," he said.
Lu Zhaoling scoffed, "Do you think I wanted to? Aren't you going to help me up?"
Qing Feng stepped back two paces and stood with his head bowed.
But Miss Lu really isn't polite when talking to the Prince.
Prince Jin helped her stand up. Just as he was about to let go, Lu Zhaoling's legs went soft, and she almost fell again. He immediately reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Holding her like this, he could feel her body trembling.
This was a sign of exhaustion.
He pursed his lips, understanding that she must have expended a lot of effort to save him.
But—
Prince Jin immediately looked at the Emperor Emeritus on the bed.
Since he didn't die, was it possible the Emperor Emeritus could also be saved?
"Can you also save the Emperor Emeritus?"
"No."
Lu Zhaoling immediately cut him off, shattering his fantasy. "He's already dead."
She spoke without any reverence.
That was the Emperor Emeritus!
Qing Feng's mouth opened slightly. Was it because she was raised in the countryside?
Prince Jin's eyes darkened slightly. He was also shocked, but what shocked him was that, in that case, she had broken that Secret Technique?
"However, he can't be completely dead," Lu Zhaoling added. "You and he used a Life-Sharing Secret Technique; it can't be completely severed."
Prince Jin was bewildered. He's dead, but can't be completely dead?
"Help me to the bed."
Prince Jin helped her to the Emperor Emeritus's bedside. "Qing Feng, stand guard outside. No one is allowed in."
"Yes!"
Qing Feng, still dazed with shock, hurried out.
Currently, everyone in Ningshou Palace was immersed in grief, arranging the palace. The Emperor had allowed Prince Jin to stay in the bedchamber alone to accompany the Emperor Emeritus, so no one came in to disturb them.
Lu Zhaoling reached the bed and looked at the Emperor Emeritus's complexion, then glanced around.
Her gaze swept over Prince Jin's face.
These father and son, were they each other's salvation?
The Emperor Emeritus voluntarily gave Prince Jin ten years of his lifespan, and Prince Jin shared his lifespan with him.
One was the former Emperor, the other had an Emperor Star Fate with dense Purple Qi. Although both were Emperor Stars, there was still a difference; Prince Jin's Emperor Star Fate surpassed other emperors.
Because of the suppression from his Purple Qi, the Emperor Emeritus's life force hadn't completely dissipated. The remaining half had been timely condensed by her just now.
"What do you mean by he can't be completely dead?" Prince Jin asked.
"Do you have a wooden plaque?"
Lu Zhaoling didn't answer his question, but instead looked at him.
"What kind of wooden plaque?" Prince Jin frowned.
"Just like a spirit tablet. If possible, it should be made of golden silk nanmu wood."
Prince Jin had no idea what she wanted a wooden plaque for, but looking at the Emperor Emeritus lying on the bed, he agreed nonetheless.
"Yes."
He sent a telepathic message for Qing Feng to retrieve it.
In Ningshou Palace, golden silk nanmu wood was plentiful, such as in screens.
Just cut a piece off.
Soon, a piece of golden silk nanmu wood plaque was delivered into Lu Zhaoling's hand.
Lu Zhaoling placed the plaque on the Emperor Emeritus's chest, extended her finger, drew a line with her hairpin, and a bead of blood seeped from her fingertip.
She pressed her finger to the Emperor Emeritus's forehead.
"Lu Zhaoling!"
Prince Jin was startled and grabbed her arm.
His imperial father was dead; how could she defile his esteemed corpse so casually?
Lu Zhaoling glanced at him. "Let go. Do you want to live or not?"
"What are you doing?" Prince Jin asked in a low voice.
Lu Zhaoling looked at the dense Purple Qi emanating from him, then suddenly scooped and grabbed at the air in front of him with her other hand.
She needed to grab some of his Purple Qi, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to hold on.
After she made this movement, Prince Jin watched as she pressed the air she had seemingly scooped to her own glabella.
"What are you doing now?"
But after Lu Zhaoling performed this action, he saw her complexion noticeably improve.
It was as if she had swallowed some panacea.
Lu Zhaoling let out a soft breath. As expected of a peerless Emperor Star, this Purple Qi was truly invigorating for her.
"I just preserved half of the Emperor Emeritus's life force. I can settle this life force onto this wooden plaque to bear your Life-Sharing Secret Technique. It can deceive the Way of Heaven, making it seem like he's not dead, and you won't have to die either."
Seeing as she had taken a handful of his Purple Qi, Lu Zhaoling kindly explained to him.
Prince Jin's expression shifted, greatly astonished.
"It can be done like that?"
"It wouldn't work for anyone else. Your and the Emperor Emeritus's fates, and my ability, are all indispensable."
Lu Zhaoling spoke with considerable pride.
Prince Jin had never heard of such a thing.
"Can you let go now?"
"With the life force settled on this wooden plaque, what will happen to it?"
What would happen? Lu Zhaoling thought for a moment. "It'll be like a genuine spirit tablet dedicated to an ancestor, I suppose? You can send it to the place where your royal family offers incense. Perhaps, when a junior kowtows to it, it might manifest some spiritual power?"
For some reason, Prince Jin detected a hint of mockery in her last sentence.
He didn't believe it.
How could such a thing exist?
But he still released her hand.
Lu Zhaoling's finger, which had been pressed to the Emperor Emeritus's forehead, slowly lifted and moved towards the wooden plaque, as if pulling a wisp of something.
Reaching the wooden plaque, she used her finger to write on it.
"What is the Emperor Emeritus's name?"
"Zhou Changxi."
Lu Zhaoling asked him which two characters they were. Prince Jin thought for a moment, then took her hand, held her finger, and wrote a few characters on the wooden plaque.
Zhou Changxi's spirit tablet.
It was written with her fingertip blood.
For some reason, as the last stroke was completed, Prince Jin seemed to see the characters flash, as if covered with a layer of silver light.
"It's done."
Lu Zhaoling's voice brought him back to reality.
"The place where your royal family offers incense—"
"Send it to the Ancestral Temple."
Prince Jin released her hand and picked up the spirit tablet.
Lu Zhaoling's body swayed precariously. After writing those five characters, her face became very pale again.
"Later, find me some old ginseng and stew some chicken soup for me—"
After Lu Zhaoling finished speaking, her vision went black, and her body fell towards the bed.
If she fell, she would surely land on the Emperor Emeritus.
Prince Jin immediately reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back two steps.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that his knees, which had been excruciatingly painful before and prevented him from standing, were now not hurting at all. He could even stand and walk?
What exactly had Lu Zhaoling done?
"Your Highness, the Emperor has arrived!" Qing Feng's voice came from outside.
But the Emperor didn't wait for Qing Feng. As he spoke, he quickly entered the room and immediately saw Prince Jin holding a young woman.
"What are you doing?!"
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