How could the Emperor possibly be content to just rest? Although the Imperial Physicians said he must not overexert himself, if he stopped handling state affairs yet still had to keep abreast of political developments, otherwise wouldn’t the Crown Prince end up sidelining him?

However, Gu Chengyu was not naïve enough to think the Emperor relied solely on himself to understand court matters; preparing two copies of the memorial was entirely necessary.

"Mm! You’ve done well with these detailed regulations, listing one by one all the difficulties that might arise in establishing the trade guild. With this set of rules, even if those officials copy it straight, they won’t make any major mistakes."

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction once more, and Gu Chengyu took the opportunity to study the Emperor’s face.

Compared to the radiant vigor he had shown after first taking the Lifespan Extension Pill, the Emperor now looked much worse than before.

His complexion was somewhat dim, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper than before. The pair of eyes that had once been fairly deep and spirited had now turned turbid.

Gu Chengyu’s heart gave an involuntary jolt. Such rapid aging was by no means normal.

"Your Majesty, Director Zhang has come to take your pulse!" De’an softly reported to the Emperor.

Gu Chengyu’s eyes shifted. He himself couldn’t feel the Emperor’s pulse and had no idea what was going on with the Emperor’s body.

This Director Zhang came frequently to take the pulse and should be very familiar with the Emperor’s condition. If he wanted to know the Emperor’s illness, he would have to ask Director Zhang.

"Summon him in!" The Emperor sighed. In just this short while, his face was already covered with worry.

"Day in and day out they come to take my pulse, always telling me to rest more. Isn’t that all just empty talk?"

The Emperor sighed. Lately he felt as if his body was worsening by the day, always somewhat fatigued.

"Your Majesty, Director Zhang is the most skilled physician in our Imperial Hospital. Please set your mind at ease and allow Director Zhang to examine your pulse again."

Gu Chengyu had wanted to bring up whether the Tianji Taoist’s elixirs might have a problem, but with no evidence in hand, saying so outright would be highly inappropriate.

He had heard that when the Crown Prince raised doubts back then, the Emperor not only refused to believe him but had even flown into a rage and chased the Crown Prince out of the hall.

In fact, Gu Chengyu could not understand at all why the Emperor had such blind faith in the Tianji Taoist.

Even if the elixirs Tianji Taoist had refined in the past for the Emperor had some effect, after that last Lifespan Extension Pill, the Emperor had first become radiant, but lately had been bedridden with illness—could the Emperor really feel no suspicion?

No! The Emperor had likely already grown suspicious; otherwise he wouldn’t have sent people to follow the Tianji Taoist.

But letting this Tianji Taoist go was a great hidden danger. Should one say the Emperor was too confident in himself, or that he was too confident in the Tianji Taoist?

"Your humble servant Zhang Hua respectfully wishes Your Majesty ten thousand blessings of peace!" Director Zhang entered the hall with his medicine chest on his back and immediately knelt to the ground.

Seeing that the Emperor did not dismiss him, Gu Chengyu did not ask to withdraw either. Instead, he stood off to the side, waiting for the result of Director Zhang’s pulse-taking.

In the censer, spirals of incense smoke curled upward; the ambergris scent spread into every corner of the great hall. Gu Chengyu quietly covered his mouth, forcing back a huge yawn.

Heavens! Director Zhang, have you fallen asleep?

Director Zhang placed his fingers on the brocade handkerchief laid over the Emperor’s wrist, closed his eyes in contemplation, and remained motionless.

How long had it been? About a quarter of an hour. The hall was utterly silent; De’an stayed bent at the waist without moving a muscle.

The Emperor leaned against the headrest with his eyes tightly shut, the "川" shaped furrow between his brows not loosening in the slightest.

If not for the rise and fall of the Emperor’s chest, Gu Chengyu would have thought time itself had been frozen, with only him alone awake in this hall.

Just as Gu Chengyu’s thoughts were drifting off to the horizon, Director Zhang finally opened his eyes. He withdrew his hand, and his brows instantly knotted.

"Something’s not right!" Director Zhang stroked his beard, his face full of puzzlement and shock.

Gu Chengyu was so stunned by this abrupt remark that he almost rolled his eyes. Director Zhang, could we be a bit clearer?

However, Gu Chengyu did not have to wait long; De’an could not help asking.

"Mr. Zhang, how is His Majesty’s dragon body? Please do explain it clearly!"

De’an had been scared witless by that one "not right" from Director Zhang. His anxious expression couldn’t help but make Gu Chengyu think of a certain saying.

That thing—when the Emperor’s not anxious, the eunuch dies of anxiety!

"Judging from the pulse, Your Majesty’s current physical condition seems much better than before. But this humble servant feels that yesterday’s pulse was much worse than today’s—how could Your Majesty have recovered so quickly? Furthermore, judging by Your Majesty’s complexion, it does not appear to be so."

Director Zhang was confused himself. He had practiced medicine for decades, and the strangest pulse he had ever encountered was the Emperor’s.

Listening to Director Zhang’s words, Gu Chengyu also found it very strange. Clearly, from his complexion, the Emperor did not appear to have recovered.

Yet Director Zhang said that according to the pulse, the Emperor had improved a great deal—what was going on?

Could it be that the body was already recovering, but the complexion had yet to catch up? Was that even possible?

No wonder Director Zhang had taken so long just now to feel the pulse; so he had been stymied by it.

"So, you’re saying my body is rapidly recovering? Then why have I been feeling so weak and listless these past few days?"

The Emperor couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed. He could clearly sense his body declining.

Yet neither Director Zhang nor the other Imperial Physicians of the Imperial Hospital had been able to come up with any diagnosis.

It was always "rest more," or that he was "in the process of recovering." But the feeling of one’s own body could not be deceived; he simply felt weak all over, unable to summon any energy.

Could that also be a symptom of recovery? That was utterly impossible!

"Your Majesty, have you taken any elixirs these past few days?"

Director Zhang suspected the Emperor had once again been privately taking some elixir. Any elixir that had not been inspected by their Imperial Hospital—who knew whether there might be a problem?

The Emperor thought of the Qi Blood Pill the Tianji Taoist had left before he departed. He had already taken it according to the Taoist’s instructions—could the problem lie with this Qi Blood Pill?

"Your Majesty! The Tianji Taoist’s origins are unclear. His elixirs—if you have not handed them over to the Imperial Hospital for inspection and have taken them on your own, it may truly be inappropriate!"

One look at the Emperor’s expression and Director Zhang knew that the Emperor must have taken some elixir again in recent days.

"Hand it over to your Imperial Hospital? What could you possibly find out? With that Lifespan Extension Pill back then, I gave you plenty of chances, didn’t I? And yet you still found nothing. Besides, if you claim the Tianji Taoist harbors ulterior motives, then why did he not act in all these years in the palace?"

Although the Emperor had also grown suspicious of the Tianji Taoist’s elixirs, he recalled that the elixirs the Tianji Taoist had given him in the past had all had marked effects.

Over the years, it wasn’t as if the Tianji Taoist had never left the palace, yet he always returned—and even brought back more effective elixir recipes.

"I have taken the Tianji Taoist’s elixirs before, and their effects were extremely obvious. Stop always targeting him. His elixirs do have some efficacy. In my view, he simply disdains to argue with you. As Hospital Director of the Imperial Hospital, you’d do better to spend more effort improving your medical skills."