Chapter 68: Analysis

Geshu Ming sat in her study.

She was in no hurry to go and detoxify the Emperor.

Although the poison she had administered had reached its acute phase, as a toxin designed to be sufficiently untraceable, its lethal speed was not that fast.

Under modern medical conditions, even the most acute illnesses rarely cause death in a very short time. If the Emperor fell ill today and died tomorrow, it would be difficult to prevent people from suspecting foul play.

The reason the medical team and the Imperial Family were so desperate to obtain the medicine from the distant Tuanyang Star was not because the Emperor would die if he received it a day late. Rather, it was because they hoped to cure his illness with as few lingering side effects as possible.

They mistakenly believed the Emperor was suffering from Alma Disease. As a rare and difficult condition throughout the universe, Alma Disease was characterized by irreversible damage to the nerves and heart that even Mental Power could not repair.

In existing medical records, only a very few cases had received rapid treatment and avoided serious complications. The vast majority only received effective treatment a week after the onset of symptoms, resulting in more or less impaired functions after recovery. Usually, this affected speech, vision, and mobility.

For the Imperial Family, this was difficult to accept. That was why they were so desperate for the medicine.

Unfortunately, they had failed.

However, since the Emperor did not actually have Alma Disease, the medicine would have been useless even if they had obtained it.

As for Geshu Ming, knowing that the Emperor did not have Alma Disease meant she was under no pressure to detoxify him within the week.

Her more important task now was to figure out exactly who had leaked the news of the Emperor’s critical condition on StarNet, and what their purpose was.

Because Geshu Qing had not yet revealed the part about the Emperor’s illness being connected to the Geshu Family, Geshu Ming could not immediately determine if the person who leaked the news wanted her to save the Emperor’s life.

This left two possibilities.

The first was that the person who leaked the news wanted the Emperor dead.

For example, if the Imperial Family had already planned for the Emperor to actually die. In that case, they would leak the news to give the citizens of the Empire a bit of information beforehand.

But if that were the case, they should have spoken through official channels and provided sufficiently complete information. They would have specified the illness and the treatments being performed, rather than allowing rumors to surface. Rumors gave the impression that the government was trying to hide something and that the information had accidentally leaked.

In particular, after the news on StarNet claimed that the medicine the Emperor needed had been hijacked by Star Pirates, the public’s emotions became even more heated.

The Emperor had always enjoyed high approval ratings among the masses, so many people were genuinely worried about his illness. This led them to naturally think that if the news hadn’t been hidden, and the military had been officially sent to escort the shipment, the medicine couldn’t possibly have been stolen.

So, why hide it?

In the absence of understanding, a flood of conspiracy theories began to brew. Some were even speculating about internal Imperial power struggles.

These conspiracy theories did no good for the Imperial Family and were especially detrimental to the next heir in line.

Even now, there had been no official statement. Clearly, the internal factions of the Imperial Family were still bickering. This was expected; the Imperial Family’s efficiency had always been low.

Therefore, Geshu Ming did not believe the news was leaked by any of the high-ranking heirs. They weren’t that stupid. There was no need for them to do such a thing.

It was more likely that someone who believed the Emperor would die was attempting to create a public opinion environment hostile to the Imperial Family. This possibility seemed much higher.

However, except for her, everyone else believed the Emperor had Alma Disease. Geshu Ming believed that no one should have been able to confirm that the Emperor would definitely die.

As long as the Emperor lived, this news was a futile effort. On the contrary, it would cause public opinion to flip, making people think someone was trying to smear the Imperial Family. This was a gamble.

Thinking of it this way, the goal of the person who leaked the news was more likely that they wanted the Emperor to survive.

And…

It was very likely an attempt to coerce her into letting the Emperor live.

Assuming the other party didn’t know if the Emperor’s illness could be cured, then this action was a total gamble. They were betting on whether the Emperor would die or live. The former was detrimental to the Imperial Family, while the latter was beneficial.

But if the other party knew that the Emperor’s “illness” could be cured, or rather, could be cured by her, the situation changed entirely.

If she didn’t react, the other party’s next step would likely be to lead public opinion toward the belief that the Geshu Family had done something to cause the Emperor’s severe illness.

In that case, she would be forced to save the Emperor’s life. Otherwise, the Emperor’s death would drag the Geshu Family’s reputation down with him.

Although she desperately wanted the Emperor dead, as the head of the Geshu Family, she had her own responsibilities. She didn’t want the Geshu Family to be destroyed in her hands.

The only problem was, who exactly could know that the Emperor’s illness was related to her?

She couldn’t rule out the possibility that the other party merely suspected the Emperor’s illness wasn’t simple. Even without evidence or knowing who did it, they might just be trying to bait the person who had moved against the Emperor.

However, the gambling nature of such a move was too heavy. It didn’t seem like something any of those members of the Imperial Family would do.

As for those who knew she was involved in this matter…

Was it Nan Yingzhe?

That was a possibility. She had revealed her identity to the Star Pirates, and the person behind the Star Pirates was almost certainly Nan Yingzhe. Furthermore, she had already sent people to investigate, and the source of this news was in the Grey Triangle. That was Star Pirate territory.

However, Nan Yingzhe shouldn’t have the ability to be certain that she had the power to save the Emperor.

She had indeed hijacked the ship, but there were other explanations for that. It was entirely possible that after receiving news of the Emperor’s critical condition, she had decided to ensure the Emperor couldn’t get his hands on that shipment of medicine.

…Though that truly wasn’t her style. But would Nan Yingzhe, who had only been back for a year, understand her that well?

Besides, Nan Yingzhe had no reason to do this.

She had made her friendly intentions very clear. Nan Yingzhe should understand that she only wanted the Emperor dead and didn’t care about the aftermath. If they cooperated, she was more than willing to give Nan Yingzhe a hand.

Under these circumstances, Nan Yingzhe wanting the Emperor to live… was hard to understand. It couldn’t be because he truly loved that grandfather of his, could it?

Surely not. He had only been back for a little over a year; where would such deep feelings for the Emperor come from?

But she had only made two moves in this entire affair. One was the poisoning, and the other was the ship hijacking.

Regarding the former, she was certain she had left no traces, and she had only ever told Chen Feiyun about it… but Chen Feiyun should want the Emperor dead even more than she did.

As for the latter, she had only exposed her identity to the Star Pirates and Nan Yingzhe behind them.

Those Star Pirates had all followed Lu Yuan; they certainly wouldn’t want the Emperor to live either.

Was there someone else involved?

It was too strange.

Geshu Ming never felt there was anything in this world she couldn’t understand. If there was, it meant she was missing vital information – the most important information.

None of the people she knew should be doing this. As for those she didn’t know… anyone who hadn’t appeared in this incident wouldn’t have first-hand information, let alone the ability to deduce that she was directly linked to the Emperor’s illness.

Unless that person was Lu Yuan.

…And Lu Yuan might actually have a reason not to want the Emperor to die.

But Lu Yuan himself was already dead!

Geshu Ming gave a cold laugh, but then her entire body suddenly froze.

Once you eliminate all other possibilities, the most improbable one might just be the truth.

Although this line of reasoning was still rough, there shouldn’t be any major issues with it. So, was it possible that the person who guessed she had poisoned the Emperor…

Was actually Lu Yuan?

Lu Yuan was believed to have died when his Command Ship went out of control.

But he was, after all… the only successful subject of that experiment. Would the Emperor really be willing to let him die?

A year and a half ago, she hadn’t poisoned the Emperor yet. The Emperor still had the power to keep Lu Yuan under his thumb and hide everything so well that no one could find a flaw. She hadn’t even received any advance word about the Command Ship losing control, and afterward, she couldn’t find out who had been responsible.

It was as if everything truly had been an accident.

So, did the Emperor have the ability to create the illusion of the Command Ship losing control, and then quietly transfer Lu Yuan back to his side?

…Impossible.

Geshu Ming pressed a hand to her forehead. What kind of delusions was she entertaining lately? Over a year had passed, and despite everything that had happened in the Empire, not a single event bore the slightest trace of Lu Yuan’s handiwork.

Even if the Emperor truly hadn’t killed Lu Yuan, he must have had some objective. It was impossible that he would simply let Lu Yuan sit idle. Wouldn’t that be a complete waste?

Furthermore, it wasn’t as if she lacked eyes and ears within the palace. Yet, not a single soul had ever suggested that the Emperor might be hiding Lu Yuan away in the inner sanctum.

In any case…

She would let the Emperor live for a few more days.

After that, she would likely have to meet with Nan Yingzhe.

She needed to see exactly what this man—the only person in this entire affair she wasn’t familiar with—was actually trying to achieve.