Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 3 Do you think I dare?

Qianqing Palace

Just like when he left, Zhu Changluo was carried back to the Qianqing Palace on the imperial sedan chair. When he reached the door, he saw a little old man squatting on the ground. A circle of medicine boxes surrounded the old man, and next to each box stood a person in medical uniform. Zhu Changluo was relieved. How could so many imperial doctors not cure kidney deficiency?
But before long, he had to doubt his own judgment. Why did the imperial physician also prescribe laxatives?
After drinking the medicine prepared by Liu Yuanshi himself, Zhu Changluo suffered from diarrhea. In the end, he could not even stand steadily and had to be supported by someone.

"Liu Yuanshi, did you get the medicine using Cui Wensheng's prescription?" Zhu Changluo's face was pale, and his puffy face was full of haggardness. If this continues, I'm afraid I won't live much longer without the "Red Pill".

"Call Liu Yuanshi over." Zhu Changluo ordered.

Hearing the emperor summon him, Liu Heqing hurriedly thrust the small palm-leaf fan into the judge's hand. "Don't let your guard down."

Liu Heqing approached the bed, kowtowed five times, and then knelt on the ground, awaiting the emperor's orders. The old man was not very flexible, so this whole process took about two minutes.

This is too much trouble. Zhu Changluo complained in his heart, but he was neither in the mood nor in the energy to deal with these trivial matters. "Liu Yuanshi, can you get me some antidiarrheal medicine?"

"Your Majesty, we checked the elixir Cui Bingbi presented last night. It can be said to be as powerful as a dragon. If it is not cleaned properly and used directly as a supplement, it will at best lead to disrespect in front of others, and at worst, it will cause blood reflux." Liu Yuanshi replied.

"I just can't." Still want to pull? Zhu Changluo didn't get angry at Liu Yuanshi. He just asked: "How long will it last? If you keep pulling like this, I will see the late emperor."

"Your Majesty, be careful with your words!" Liu Heqing said hurriedly, "In another half hour, the dragon's belly will stop churning."

"Okay. I remember you have some connection with Liu Yirong?" Zhu Changluo changed the subject.

"Lord Liu is my cousin." Liu Heqing's heart sank.

His Majesty was trying to criticize me. But the problem was, all the doctors from the Imperial Hospital, from the seventh rank up, were here, and even if I didn't say anything, I couldn't shut them up.

"After you finish the work in the palace, go visit Liu Yirong and tell him about my situation." Zhu Changluo's throat moved slightly, and Liu Yuanshi had to prick up his ears to hear clearly.

"I dare not." The old man knelt on the ground, shaking like a sieve. Although he had never been caned in court, his buttocks were already beginning to ache. He was a medical officer, not a censor, and he did not want to endure such torture.

"You must dare. Come, stand up and come closer." Zhu Changluo spoke in a low voice not because he was playing any imperial tricks, but because he was too weak to speak loudly.

"Yesterday, Concubine Zheng presented me with eight beauties. Then, Concubine Zheng's personal eunuch, Cui Wensheng, gave me a potent drug. After taking it, I was so horny that I had sex with several of them, let alone seven, leaving one untouched. As a result, my appearance paled and I fell ill." Zhu Changluo finished his words and asked, "Did you hear that?"

"I heard it clearly, but I didn't understand it." Liu Heqing nodded and shook his head.

"You don't need to understand. As long as you take the initiative to tell him what I said, and insist that everything was voluntary and no one instructed you to do it, then you will be fine. Yuanshi Liu, look around." Zhu Changluo's stomach began to cramp again.

"Your Highness understands." Only the three of them knew about today's conversation. Even if he claimed it was the Emperor's orders, there was no evidence.

As for what the emperor was going to do, he didn't know, nor did he want to know. He just did what he was told.

"Wang An, I need to go to the bathroom."

"Come, help His Majesty to go to the toilet!" One eunuch cannot help the emperor.

The door was opened and a cool autumn breeze blew in. Liu Heqing shivered. He subconsciously reached out to touch his back and found that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, I'm here." Cui Wensheng hopped into the bedroom like a rabbit. That morning, when the emperor went to court, he simply asked Wang An to come along, not to leave outright. This gave him hope.

As long as he didn't go to Nanjing to guard Taizu's body, he would do anything, even if it meant carrying the urn or cleaning the dragon's remains. So what if he was the eunuch holding the pen? The emperor could depose and enthrone him at his own whim. As long as he could please the emperor, he might even get to keep the position.

Liu Heqing was worthy of being the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau for over twenty years. Half an hour later, although Zhu Changluo felt even weaker, his stomach had indeed stopped churning.

"Your Majesty, eat it while it's hot." Wang An brought a bowl of porridge and scooped a spoonful to Zhu Changluo's mouth.

Looking at the emperor's thin appearance and pale face, he couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken.

Zhu Changluo took a mouthful. This was the best porridge he had ever tasted. Since last night, the only thing this body had consumed was the "miracle medicine" Cui Wensheng had presented him with. Since then, Zhu Changluo had been losing weight and not gaining anything.

"Why are you crying?" Zhu Changluo looked at Wang An, who was silently wiping away tears, and asked, "Didn't you eat anything either?"

Wang An was amused by Zhu Changluo, but after a brief grin, he immediately said seriously, "I feel very sorry for your Majesty seeing how thin he is."

In the 22nd year of the Wanli reign, Wang An was appointed tutor to the eldest son, Zhu Changluo. At the time, Concubine Zheng was plotting to establish her own son as crown prince, and she frequently sent people to gather evidence of Zhu Changluo's misdeeds. However, thanks to Wang An's careful guidance and protection, Concubine Zheng was unable to uncover any of Zhu Changluo's faults.

From the 22nd year of the Wanli reign to the 48th year of the Wanli reign, from the "Struggle for the National Foundation" to the "Strike with the Plough", this loyal old eunuch always tried his best. He stood loyally in his place and provided the timid eldest son with the wings that the emperor had never given him.

"You're a good slave."

"Hehe, thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty." Wang An scooped up another spoonful of porridge and brought it to Zhu Changluo's mouth.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Li requests an audience." Cui Wensheng delivered the message.

"Empress Consort Li? Oh, that's her." Empress Consort Li, Zhu Changluo's favorite concubine, was at the heart of the palace relocation case. During Emperor Taichang's illness and after his death, he held his eldest son, Zhu Youxiao, in his power, threatening to make him empress and, later, empress dowager.

On August 26, Zhu Changluo fell seriously ill. She suddenly barged into a cabinet meeting convened by the emperor and, in front of the emperor, the cabinet, and the six ministers, openly dragged the eldest son away and publicly scolded him. No one present reacted.

If it weren't for the eunuch Wang An, the chief scribe, Yang Lian, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel Zhou Jiamo, the Duke of England Zhang Weixian, the cabinet minister Liu Yirong and others who planned the palace move and successfully brought Zhu Youxiao from the Qianqing Palace to the Wenhua Hall to receive the court's worship, the coronation ceremony would have been ruined by this woman.

"Let her in." Zhu Changluo said.

After a while, Concubine Li came in.

Wow! This is really a beautiful woman.

If the eight beauties sent by Concubine Zheng to Zhu Changluo gave him a feeling of young lotus buds about to bloom, then Concubine Li was a fiery and enchanting flower.

"Your Majesty. I heard that you were ill, so I came to visit you." Concubine Li did not bow, but walked directly to the dragon couch and sat down.

"I am really weak and unable to meet you." Zhu Changluo half-seriously and half-falsely put on a look of being on the verge of death.

"Hmph! How can you not be weak? Seven in one night. When did you become so capable?" Lady Li did not hide the disdain in her eyes and even poked his face with her hand.

Huh? Is this the pattern of conversation between these two people?

By the way, how did she know me? How did she know that the emperor had sex with seven women at night?
Zhu Changluo always acted weak in front of Li Xianshi, giving her whatever she wanted. Before Zhu Changluo's death, Li Xianshi forced him to make her the queen, and Zhu Changluo's decision was to extract the word "for" from "oppose" and give it to her.

She was actually the "Noble Concubine Zheng" of the Taichang Dynasty.

But in reality, Li Xianshi was much easier to deal with than Zheng Guifei. This was because Zheng Guifei was the favorite concubine of the previous emperor, while Li Xianshi was only Zhu Changluo's own favorite concubine. Dealing with Zheng Guifei required the help of outsiders, while dealing with Li Xianshi only required a word.

"Wang An, kick her out. I don't want to see her."

"Huh?" Wang An looked incredulous. Hadn't he always liked Consort Li the most?

"Huh?" Consort Li was even more stunned. The effect of your medicine hasn't worn off yet?

"Wang An, get out! Cough cough cough!" Zhu Changluo yelled. Then he started coughing violently. Damn, he pulled his lungs.

"Your Majesty, calm down. Your Majesty, calm down." Wang An rushed forward. "Master Li, please come in."

"Zhu Changluo! I came to see you, but you don't even appreciate it!" Li Xianshi was used to being spoiled, and she actually called the emperor's name in public.

"Wang An. What crime should I commit for calling the emperor's name directly?" Zhu Changluo said in a hoarse voice.

"Ten evil deeds, gross disrespect, hanged." Wang An swallowed his saliva. Consort Li was usually like this, why did she suddenly take it too far? It shouldn't be that serious, right?
What's wrong with this man today? He doesn't seem to be joking. "Emperor Zhu?"

"Twenty strokes of the cane, right at the door." Zhu Changluo's tone was cold.

Wang An breathed a sigh of relief. If His Majesty really ordered Consort Li to be executed, he would surely regret it later. He didn't want to watch the Emperor sighing and lamenting over this matter all day long.

"How dare you! You can't do this to me." Li Xianshi was carried out by two eunuchs and pressed on the bench.

"Master Li, the Emperor sent me to supervise the execution because he feels sorry for you. The Emperor must be in a bad mood after a serious illness, but he will be better soon. Just bear with it." Wang An said to the eunuch holding a stick behind him, "Beat him."

The severity of the caning in the court was divided into three levels: "beating", "beating firmly" and "beating with heart". The so-called "beating" was to let the executioner fool around.

Moreover, the caning in the inner court was different from that in the outer court. The outer court used a large stick as thick as a bowl, while the inner court's cane was more like a carrying pole. It was painful but generally did not break bones.

But Concubine Li, with her delicate skin and tender flesh, had never suffered such an injustice. She started crying the moment the stick hit her. While she was crying, she kept muttering, "Zhu Changluo, did you take the wrong medicine? You are a piece of shit." But compared to her crying, her mumbling was much quieter.

Wang An heard what she said, but he could only pretend not to hear. Anyway, this woman was like this when the emperor was still in the palace.

"You said that the emperor beat Consort Li with a stick at the door of the bedroom?" A middle-aged woman who was old but not very old listened to the eunuch's report with a puzzled look on her face.

"Yes. My Lady."

"Humph! The Emperor is attacking me with all sorts of indirect criticism. Let's see what he can do. Can he even drag me out?"

Normally, upon the death of Emperor Wanli, his concubines should have moved from the Qianqing Palace to the Cining Palace. But Concubine Zheng refused to leave.

How can I leave when the Empress Dowager’s iron rice bowl hasn’t been secured yet?
"Zhu Changluo really doesn't know what it means to return a favor? Can't so many carefully selected beauties make you give in? It's just the execution of an imperial edict and the appointment of a queen dowager." She said this, but with each passing day, Concubine Zheng became more anxious.

(End of this chapter)