Li Ying frowned slightly.
Perhaps the Princess Yongning had noticed that Li Ying had something to say but was hesitant due to her lowly status. That was why the princess had mentioned her in front of the emperor on purpose.
Li Ying couldn't tell whether the princess was deliberately trying to embarrass her in public or actually offering help.
However, seeing the emperor's sharp gaze fixed on her, she stepped forward gracefully and bowed.
"Your Majesty, I believe Lord Lu is right," she said.
"The divine turtle is indeed a spiritual creature. But once its carapace is separated from its body, it becomes a lifeless object. How could it tremble on its own?"
"Moreover, since this is only recorded in ancient books and no one has witnessed it with their own eyes, if this is just a baseless rumor, Your Majesty would be risking the life of the divine turtle and inviting the wrath of the gods for nothing. It would be a great loss."
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Your Majesty, I grew up by the sea and have seen the hawksbill turtle. In the fishing village, there is no such folk remedy that 'the hawksbill turtle's carapace can ward off poison'."
"I once saw with my own eyes that the hawksbill turtle feeds on sea sponges, many of which contain highly toxic substances. Over time, the hawksbill turtle accumulates toxins in its body. There is no cure for this poison. Once, a villager from a neighboring village accidentally found a stranded hawksbill turtle, took it home and cooked it. As a result, the whole family died of poisoning."
She spoke with such conviction that it seemed as if it had really happened. In fact, there was no such a terrifying incident in the fishing village.
She had read about this case in a popular science book in her previous life. Now she exaggerated the details and described the tragic death from poisoning vividly.
Hearing this, Empress Pei and the Empress Dowager looked ugly. They carefully covered their mouths and noses with silk handkerchiefs, fearing that they might accidentally be contaminated by some deadly toxins.
The Princess Yongning also said, "Grandmother is a devout Buddhist and hates killing the most. Mother has just given birth to a prince. For the sake of the little prince's good deeds, we should spare the life of the divine turtle!"
This was exactly what Empress Pei had in mind. She exchanged a look with the Empress Dowager and then advised in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty, we really can't harm this divine turtle..."
Everyone was talking at once. The emperor had lost his interest long ago. He looked coldly at Li Ying and asked, "Then, according to you, how should we deal with this divine turtle?"
Li Ying looked at the hawksbill turtle and already had an idea in mind.
She stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness. If I'm not mistaken, the stranding of this hawksbill turtle on the mudflat of the port is by no means accidental."
This hawksbill turtle had been roaming freely in the sea for many years and had grown to a large size. However, its striped carapace was not smooth but uneven, covered with small and large pebble-like objects.
Others might not know, but Li Ying was well aware.
Those were not pebbles at all. They were countless barnacles that had attached themselves to the turtle's carapace!
At first, a few barnacles didn't seem to make much difference. But over time, as more and more barnacles accumulated, the hawksbill turtle became burdened and its hard carapace was also eroded.
If this continued, the hawksbill turtle would surely die of exhaustion before long!
Presumably, it was because of this that it could no longer swim and could only drift with the waves. It was finally washed onto the beach by the waves and was picked up by a minister who was eager to gain credit and rewards.
The Empress Dowager was kind-hearted. She saw that there were actually tears in the hawksbill turtle's eyes.
She didn't know that this was just the turtle excreting excess salt through its tears after coming ashore. She thought that the hawksbill turtle was crying because it had suffered so much from the "barnacles".
After hearing the Princess Yongning's flattery about her "kindness and compassion", the Empress Dowager was very pleased. She immediately looked at Li Ying eagerly and said softly, "Since you know the reason why the hawksbill turtle came ashore, please think of a way to remove all those 'barnacles' and set the divine turtle free!"
The emperor was filial. Since the Empress Dowager had given the order, he naturally didn't interfere. He watched suspiciously as Li Ying stepped forward and squatted in front of the hawksbill turtle, examining it carefully.
She said softly, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you."
Li Ying took out the dagger that Lu Xunguang had given her. Fearing that the sharp blade might damage the turtle's carapace, she turned the blade around and used the blunt side to insert it into the gap between the carapace and the barnacles. Then she carefully scraped off the stubbornly attached barnacles.
Several imperial physicians were ordered to come and help her. Before long, they had cleaned all the barnacles off the turtle's carapace and body.
The emperor had been watching coldly and silently. But as he watched those ugly, pebble-like "barnacles" being removed one by one and the smooth carapace being revealed again, he unexpectedly felt a strange sense of relief.
Li Ying noticed the barely perceptible sparkle in his eyes from the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile to herself.
In her previous life, videos of trimming cows' hooves, cleaning carpets, and removing barnacles from turtles and whales were extremely popular as stress-relieving videos. They were the spiritual food for many people to relieve their fatigue and cure their obsessive-compulsive disorder after a long day's work.
It seemed that even the emperor was no exception.
She focused on cleaning the carapace without showing any emotion. The hawksbill turtle was very intelligent. It seemed to know that these people around it didn't mean to harm it, so it didn't struggle at all and just obediently let them do what they wanted.
When the carapace was finally cleaned, Li Ying let out a long breath.
The Empress Dowager was amazed to see that the hawksbill turtle no longer shed tears.
"Your Majesty, I think this hawksbill turtle is very spiritual. Why don't we release it back into the sea and let it swim freely?"
Since the Empress Dowager had spoken, the emperor naturally agreed. Several little eunuchs struggled to lift the heavy hawksbill turtle and pushed it back into the sea.
The hawksbill turtle's four flippers paddled through the water, creating white foam. It swam a few steps into the sea and then turned around. Its parrot-like beak opened and closed as if it were thanking the people on the dragon boat.
The Empress Dowager and Empress Pei couldn't help but sigh. The emperor was also touched.
The turtle turned to look at them one last time and then slowly dived into the sea, disappearing without a trace.
Seeing that the emperor seemed to be still somewhat interested, Li Ying quickly took advantage of the situation and reported softly.
"Your Majesty may not know that because of its hard carapace and beautiful patterns, the hawksbill turtle is very popular among the nobles in the capital for making various small ornaments and hand-held items."
"In jewelry shops, the turtle's carapace is also divided into 'living blood' and 'dead blood'. It is said that the carapace obtained by live peeling has bright and vivid colors and is called 'living blood'. Its price is extremely high. The carapace taken from a dead turtle has a dull color and is called 'dead blood'. Although its price is slightly lower, it is still beyond the reach of ordinary people..."
The emperor didn't like the luxury of his officials. And seeing that the Empress Dowager didn't like the cruel act of live peeling the turtle's carapace, he immediately waved his hand after hearing Li Ying's words.
"Pass on my order. From now on, anyone who wears hawksbill ornaments will be arrested according to the law and all their possessions will be confiscated. Those who sell hawksbill carapaces will be punished with death!"