Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 430: Don’t worry about your head

Yuan Xu took a spoonful of mutton marrow soup and felt that the taste was a bit strange. He thought that either his taste had changed after so many years, or his mother had gotten old and her cooking skills had deteriorated.

But was this mutton marrow soup? It was the Empress Dowager's gesture, a signal of reconciliation. So he ate it all up, set down the porcelain bowl with a look of enjoyment, and said, "It tastes just like when I was a child. Thank you for your hard work, Mother."

After the emperor finished eating the mutton marrow soup, he gestured to a palace maid to return the porcelain bowl to the old eunuch so that he could take it back to the Empress Dowager to see, to prove that he had not wasted her good intentions.

Of course, a few indirect remarks were inevitable. The emperor, while wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, said to the old eunuch:

"I am already such a grown man, yet I still cause my mother worry all the time. It is truly wrong of me. From now on, I should take on more responsibilities so that she can enjoy her old age in peace."

"Yes, Your Majesty's words will certainly be relayed to the Empress Dowager." The old eunuch replied, then took his leave with the tray.

After eating his mother's homemade wolfberry and lamb marrow soup, Yuan Xu was in high spirits. That very night, he began planning that after assuming power, he would first quell the rebellions of Ge Rong and Du Luozhou, then recover the prefectures and counties seized by the island barbarians. He would then implement lenient punishments and simplified administration, reduce taxes and corvée labor, allow the people to rest and recuperate, and strive to restore the nation's strength as soon as possible…

Of course, the most important thing is people. First, we must eliminate all the treacherous officials, then select virtuous and capable people and put them in high positions...

The emperor was experiencing a series of intense internal orgasms when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He rubbed it a couple of times, but the pain only worsened. He hurriedly ordered the palace maids to prepare a tiger cub.

Before Tiger could even bring it over, he soiled his pants, vomiting and having diarrhea incessantly, suffering terribly.

Pan Chonghua, who was serving nearby, was terrified and hurriedly called for the imperial physician.

~~
After Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital and implemented reforms, the medical services of the Northern Wei imperial family shifted from the Xianbei system of inner court physicians to the Han-style Imperial Medical Bureau. Specialized imperial physicians were responsible for the health of the royal family, and staff were on duty in the palace at night in case of emergency.

Of course, there was nothing to do most nights. Tonight, the Imperial Physician Wang Xian was on duty. He had been looking at medical records for a while and was about to go to bed when he suddenly saw a handsome young man walk in.

Physician Wang dared not be negligent in the slightest and quickly rose to bow. "General."

"I had nothing to do last night, so I thought I'd chat with you for a bit." The visitor was Zheng Yan, who also held the official position of Grand Secretary and lived in the palace day and night, but this was the first time he had come to visit.

"General, please have a seat." Imperial Physician Wang quickly sat up straight, responding cautiously. Even a fool would know that Zheng Yan must have something on his mind.

But Zheng Yan only asked him about his parents' well-being, how many wives and children he had... these mundane family matters, as if he were genuinely there for a chat.

Physician Wang answered carefully, and Zheng Yan then looked up at the dark ceiling and said, "With both parents alive and children and grandchildren, it's not easy."

"Yes." Physician Wang felt a little relieved and said, "This humble official is well-versed in the arts of traditional Chinese medicine and health preservation, and has some insights into prolonging life. If the General needs anything, this humble official will certainly serve you wholeheartedly."

Just as he was wondering if Zheng Yan was struggling and wanted to ask him for a way to prolong the battle, he heard the other party say in a low voice, "If it were up to you to exchange your life for the lives of everyone in your family, would you be willing?"

"Ah..." He then realized he had misunderstood and was immediately stunned.

"I'm asking you a question." Zheng Yan lowered his head and stared intently at Physician Wang.

"Yes, of course I'm willing." Physician Wang wiped his sweat as he asked, "What does the General mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Zheng Yan then stood up and said, "You'll find out soon enough."

"Remember, trade your life for your family's." He said softly at the end, "Your son is called Wang Ziye, right? I'll guarantee him wealth and honor, so he won't have to be some damn imperial physician anymore."

"Thank you, General..." Physician Wang bowed blankly. Even after Zheng Yan had been gone for a long time, he remained sitting there, as if in a daze.

Just then, shouts rang out from outside the duty room. "Imperial Physician Wang, hurry to Xianyang Palace! His Majesty is unwell!"

Only then did Physician Wang instinctively stand up and head out, forgetting even to take his medicine chest.
By the time he arrived at Xianyang Palace, the emperor was already unconscious.

Upon seeing the emperor's ashen face and bluish tongue, it was clear he had been poisoned by aconite. Wang Xian immediately felt a chill run down his spine, and he fully understood the meaning behind Zheng Yan's words.

Seeing that he had examined the emperor and was now stunned, Consort Pan hurriedly urged, "Tell me quickly, what illness does the emperor have?"

"Yes..." Just as Physician Wang was about to tell the truth, he saw Zheng Yan helping the Empress Dowager rush in.

"What do you mean?" The Empress Dowager didn't look at her son, but first gave Wang the imperial physician a cold glance.

The imperial physician was now in utter despair; it turned out the Empress Dowager had also done it.

"Your Majesty, it was a stroke." The imperial physician, Wang, had no choice but to change his story: "His Majesty suffered from epilepsy, and a sudden attack triggered a stroke that he cannot cure..."

"You haven't even started treatment yet, and you're already saying you're not going to treat it anymore!" Pan Chonghua got angry when she heard this.

"Quiet!" Empress Dowager Hu commanded in a low voice, and Pan Chonghua immediately dared not breathe.

"Is His Majesty truly beyond cure?" Empress Dowager Hu asked Imperial Physician Wang again.

"In my experience, His Majesty is beyond medical help," said Imperial Physician Wang, bowing his head. "Your Majesty must seek divine intervention."

"If the gods cared for us, would Great Wei have fallen to such a state?!" Empress Dowager Hu irritably waved her sleeve, walked to the dragon bedside, looked at her son who was barely breathing but still had a face full of pain, and said with reddened eyes, "Let the Emperor pass away peacefully."

"Huh?" Doctor Wang didn't expect that he would not only have to lie, but also have to do it himself.

Zheng Yan gave Physician Wang a deep look, his expression full of threat.

For the sake of his family, Physician Wang could only sigh and nod, "As you command."

He then opened the needle box, tremblingly took out a gold needle, and slowly inserted it into the Renying acupoint, about an inch away from the emperor's Adam's apple. He quickly twisted and stimulated the acupoint, which soon induced the emperor's heart palpitation.

The emperor's wrist hung limply from the bed.

The poor Emperor of Wei was poisoned by his own mother first, then murdered...

~~
"The Emperor has passed away..."

The Xianyang Palace was immediately filled with weeping, from the Empress Dowager to the palace maids, all of whom wailed loudly.

Zheng Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Yuan Xu who had become a "couch potato," and thought to himself, "Let's see how you'll govern now."

Then he realized a very serious problem and quickly leaned close to the weeping Empress Dowager's ear. "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. The imperial edict has not yet been written."

"Let the Hanlin Academy write it," the Empress Dowager said, wiping away her tears. "Let the Emperor talk more about his own faults, and just write it as an edict of self-reproach, so that the new emperor will be filial to me."

"Yes, but that's not a problem," Zheng Yan said softly. "The only problem is, who is the new emperor?"

"Huh?" The Empress Dowager was also stunned. She had been so focused on how to kill the Emperor that she hadn't considered this issue at all. Now that she thought about it, she realized the problem was quite serious; she had been focusing on one aspect while neglecting the other.

(End of this chapter)