Dugong

Chapter 66 Illness Leads to Collapse

The 47th year of the Wude era.

The first month.

The north wind howled, and the leaden clouds hung low.

A heavy snowfall lasted for three days and three nights, with snowflakes fluttering and dancing in the sky.

On the first day, the snow was ankle-deep, and on the second day it was half a foot deep. On the third day, the snow stopped, and the entire city of Kyoto was covered with a foot of snow. When the sun shone, it was so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

The Qixia Palace was warm and inviting.

Zhao Zhe sat upright on the edge of the bed, gently stirring the medicine with a jade spoon in his hand. After the heat dissipated slightly, he carefully fed it to Consort Shu.

“Zhe’er, there’s no need for that. Your mother isn’t too old to take medicine.”

Consort Shu leaned against the soft couch, covered with a black fox fur quilt sent by the Tribute Office. Her face was slightly pale, but she still did not forget to give instructions.

"The Ministry of War concerns the safety of the nation. You must listen, observe, and learn more, and you must respect the veteran generals in the army. Do not take advantage of your status as a prince to be disrespectful..."

"Mother, rest assured, I get along very well with all the generals."

While feeding him the medicine, Zhao Zhe said, "These past few days, there has been heavy snow in the capital. I suggested that the Beijing garrison be deployed to the city for disaster relief. This suggestion was approved by the Ministry of War and has been submitted to His Majesty in a memorial."

Upon hearing this, Consort Shu looked alarmed: "The Capital Garrison is His Majesty's personal army, guarding the capital. How can it be mobilized at will? This memorial will likely arouse His Majesty's suspicion!"

As Emperor Wude grew older, his suspicions increased day by day. No matter how wise he had been before, he could not avoid the fear brought about by his declining health.

Not long ago, the case of the Crown Prince enraged Emperor Wude. Ignoring the pleas of his ministers, he demoted dozens of officials in succession, and even local prefectures were affected.

Nowadays, all officials are trembling with fear when they attend court, and they speak vaguely about everything, rarely daring to express their opinions.

Zhao Zhe gently comforted him, "It's alright, Father has already given his permission."

During the day, he wrote memorials to the emperor at the Ministry of War, and in the evening, he went to the Wendiao Hall to review them. Perhaps the emperor knew the contents of the memorials, and since he did not reject them, it meant that he approved them.

This relentless work day and night left Zhao Zhe physically and mentally exhausted.

Fortunately, he had taken many miraculous medicines and supplements to assist in cultivating the royal family's secret techniques. He could even manage to take a nap in his spare time.

Consort Shu reminded him, "His Majesty has demoted quite a few officials and nobles in the past two years, so please remember to be cautious in everything you do."

"My child understands."

Zhao Zhe initially advised his father to be lenient with his officials, but now he understands that the emperor's good intentions were all paving the way for his own future ascension to the throne.

Even if officials understand the subtleties behind the demotion and promotion, they will still be grateful to the new emperor.

As the mother and son were talking, the eunuch on duty at the door came in to report.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Chu has sent someone to urge you to go to the Ministry of Revenue to observe the administration of the government, discuss the disaster relief matters of the three prefectures in the capital, and jointly draft a memorial on disaster relief."

Consort Shu asked in surprise, "When did Zhe'er become so close to the Prince of Chu?"

“The Ministry of Revenue has many complex affairs, and my fourth brother often discusses them with me.”

Zhao Zhe stood up and said, "Mother, please rest well. I have instructed the Imperial Hospital to visit and examine you every day."

Consort Shu said, "Zhe'er, go ahead and do your work. I'm in good health; a mere cold is nothing to me."

Zhao Zhe summoned the eunuchs and palace maids on duty and carefully instructed them on how to take care of his mother, unusually speaking a few harsh words.

"Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will take good care of Her Highness."

More than twenty eunuchs and palace maids prostrated themselves on the ground, their attitudes respectful and their manners impeccable, for fear of making a mistake and being expelled from Qixia Palace.

Rumors have been circulating in the palace recently that Prince Chen has the appearance of a "benevolent ruler".

The status of the eunuchs in Qixia Palace has risen accordingly. If His Highness were to ascend the throne and become emperor in the future, there might very well be an "ancestor" among them.

Zhao Zhe arrived at the door; a biting wind was blowing outside the hall.

The attendant eunuch, Xiao Zhouzi, was about to drape the sable cloak over His Highness when he caught sight of Eunuch Hai's cold gaze and quickly took two steps back.

Eunuch Hai took the sable fur quilt and personally draped it over Zhao Zhe.

"Your Highness, it's freezing cold, please take care of yourself."

Zhao Zhe tightened his collar, glanced around, and ordered, "Order the Imperial Wardrobe to send over a few sets of cotton-padded coats, so you won't get cold."

"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness!" The many accompanying eunuchs were moved to tears, kneeling in the snow and kowtowing repeatedly. If Zhao Zhe had asked them to rebel, they would not have hesitated in the slightest.

Consort Shu stood by the window, watching her son's departing figure. Her cheerful personality and upright posture were a stark contrast to her timid and cowardly appearance in the past.

"My father once taught me that power is both poison and a cure."

Consort Shu recalled the words His Majesty had spoken when she served him a few days earlier, and she clenched the handkerchief in her hand, resolutely making a certain decision.

……

early morning.

Li Ping'an got out of bed and looked out the window. The heavy snow had stopped for only two days, and now it was snowing again.

Fortunately, it wasn't goose feathers, but rather scattered snowflakes.

After washing up, I made two basins of water as usual, and used the Nine Yang Finger technique to warm them with my hands. Since the death of the Crown Prince, the Imperial Household Department had cut off the supply of hot water.

"These snobs, once I'm out of the cold palace, I'll send them all to empty the chamber pots!"

After realizing that "Consort Yuan has no children," Li Ping'an was no longer as anxious as before. He waited for the Qin Zheng Hall to decide the outcome before choosing a wise ruler to serve.

Whoever sits on the dragon throne, Li Ping'an will be loyal to them!
First, she helped the Empress cleanse her face, then brought hot water to Eunuch Chu's bedside, only to find his face as red as a date, his lips parched and teeth black, and his body convulsing uncontrollably.

"Grandpa, grandpa..."

Li Ping'an called out several times but received no response. He immediately circulated his true energy into Eunuch Chu's body to protect his heart and internal organs.

"Grandpa, hold on! Your grandson will go find the imperial physician!"

Li Ping'an flashed out of the Cold Palace, then remembered that the Imperial Hospital was outside the capital. After a moment's thought, he returned to the main hall and knelt down in front of the Empress.

"Your Majesty, my godfather has fallen seriously ill. I beg you to find a way to inform Physician Li."

The Empress's chanting suddenly stopped. Eunuch Chu was her right-hand man, and she would rely on him a lot after leaving the Cold Palace. She might not be able to defeat Zhaoyang Palace on her own.

"Go to Kunning Palace to find Lingxuan; she has her own way of notifying the Imperial Hospital."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Ping'an used his lightness skill to pass through corridors and halls, and arrived at Kunning Palace in no time. He quickly found the palace maid Lingxuan.

The name sounded like a young girl, but upon meeting her, I realized she was an old woman.

"Please go back and wait, Eunuch An. I will leave the palace now and go to the Imperial Hospital."

Li Ping'an didn't have time to say more. He hurriedly returned to the Cold Palace and continuously channeled true energy into Eunuch Chu, not daring to relax for a moment.

About a quarter of an hour later.

Physician Li arrived carrying his medicine chest, accompanied by two elderly imperial physicians. The three of them took turns taking his pulse and examining him, their expressions growing increasingly grave.

"The pulse is rapid, weak, and hesitant..."

"Chilled lips, blackened teeth, curled tongue, and shrunken scrotum..."

"His pupils were as white as wax, his blood as thick and greasy as fat..."

A royal physician shook his head and sighed, "This is a severe case of diabetes; I'm afraid ordinary medicines will be ineffective..."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Physician Li interrupted his colleague and, after a moment's thought, said, "This is an incurable disease for ordinary people, but Lord Chu has abundant internal energy. Taking the medicine to enhance his power might alleviate the symptoms."

Another imperial physician nodded and said, "Lord Li is right. If we supplement the treatment with ginseng and rice soup, it may be effective."

After discussing the matter, the three imperial physicians prescribed a total of nine medicines, all of which were rare and precious medicinal materials, as if they were taking tonics as a staple food.

Li Ping'an didn't understand medical theory, but he knew how to treat patients. He took out the silver notes he had prepared beforehand and presented a stack to each of the imperial physicians.

"I'm entrusting this to you three gentlemen!"

Physician Li skillfully tucked the silver note into his sleeve and patted his chest to assure him.

"Rest assured, Eunuch An, I have come on His Majesty's orders and will do my utmost to treat Duke Chu."

(End of this chapter)