The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 139 Jing Ren

"Otomo, please go and check on my behalf."

Zhu Zaizhen heard about the mother and son both fainting as soon as he arrived at Jingren Palace. He sounded somewhat helpless, which was why it was so difficult to regard Prince Yu as an opponent; he had too many weaknesses.

This time it's even clearer that Prince Yu's health is worse than expected, and Consort Kang's temperament is more fiery than anticipated. This mother and son together are simply dragging each other down.

The more anxious Consort Kang became, the more she pressured her son. The more Prince Yu was pressured, the more timid he became. His timidity made him even less favored by his father, and this disfavor only fueled Consort Kang's anxiety.

Ma Dezhao agreed and left. Zhu Zaizhen entered the West Warm Pavilion, where the furnishings were elegant and simple, and three cats were sleeping together. This was a testament to his cautious words and deeds, plus Xiaoshuang.

Shenxing is a light sleeper. After opening its eyes and seeing who it was, it buried its head back in its paws, but its tail twitched slightly twice uncontrollably.

Not far from them, a lazy big cat was squatting, all white with long fur that dragged on the ground and heterochromatic eyes.

He went out of the palace every day to provide disaster relief, but there weren't enough people, so he took Zhou Zheng, who raised cats, with him. He could write and draw, so he was a good helper.

But the cat couldn't be left unattended, so it was sent to my mother's place for care. The lion cat was my mother's beloved pet, which Jiajing had specially chosen and bestowed upon it three or four years ago.

However, the mother happily raised the child but forgot to express her gratitude. The emperor was so angry that he didn't reward her with anything for several years.

"Lychee, come here."

The name was given by the mother, who said that the cat's fur was as white as peeled lychee flesh.

Lychee was very proud and didn't like to talk to people. Upon hearing this, she just licked her paws and then lazily lay down.

If the enemy doesn't come, I will go myself!

Zhu Zaizhen slowly walked over and roughly rubbed the cat's head. Lychee's eyes squinted as he rubbed it. Then he went to pet each of his kittens one by one.

Gently scratching Xiaoshuang's chin with my fingers, listening to the three kittens purring one after another, I suddenly felt all the fatigue of the past few days surge up at this moment.

Meeting anyone takes effort; everyone is observing him. Even if he doesn't need to be a perfect person, everyone has their own expectations and needs him to show corresponding qualities.

Only here, surrounded by these kittens, does he not need to show anything special; this feeling of being able to relax is wonderful.

But he still stood up. He thought that if he felt comfortable for too long, he would lose his spirit and might as well stay standing.

The lady-in-waiting beside Consort Jing watched quietly for a while, and only spoke gently when Zhu Zaizhen stood up: "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine requests your presence."

"Alright," Zhu Zaizhen said with a smile, "but let's wait until after the formal investiture in a few days before calling her Imperial Concubine."

"Yes, I will give the order in a moment."

Jingren Palace is very large. This small warm pavilion is basically the cats' house. There is a main hall in front and a sleeping quarters in the back, which is where Consort Jing lives.

Led by the female official, they stepped into the main hall, where a warm feeling greeted them. Consort Jing was sitting upright on a soft couch by the window, dressed in a plain blue and white robe with dark embroidered patterns. Her hair was neatly styled and elegant, adorned only with a simple jade hairpin.

She held a half-open ancient book in her hand, but her gaze was fixed on the window, her eyes lingering with a hint of melancholy.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Madam Lu slowly withdrew her gaze and looked at Zhu Zaizhen who entered the hall. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she raised her hand to gesture for him to come closer: "My son has arrived. Please sit down."

Naturally, he felt more at ease in front of his mother than in front of his father. After a simple bow, Zhu Zaizhen sat down, and a palace maid brought him fresh tea, which was very fragrant.

The others consciously went to the door, leaving the mother and son a quiet space to talk.

"He looks so much taller and stronger now." Mrs. Lu looked at her son, her eyes crinkling with joy, clearly happy.

"My appetite has increased recently; I'm eating a lot and growing fast." Zhu Zaizhen picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "I'm a little hungry again. Mother, is there anything to eat here?"

Madam Lu personally got up and brought over jujube paste cake, milk skin pastry, and some candied fruits.

It didn't look very appetizing, but it was sweet and juicy. Zhu Zaizhen ate several pieces anyway. A moment later, the head eunuch of Jingren Palace brought over a food box full of meat and vegetables. It was steaming hot and smelled delicious. His stomach immediately growled.

Madam Lu covered her mouth and chuckled, "Eat up, eat up, I had it prepared for you a long time ago."

"Thank you, Mother." Zhu Zaizhen didn't stand on ceremony and picked up his bamboo chopsticks to eat.

Mrs. Lu had little appetite for so many meat dishes; she simply rested her chin on her hand and watched her son eat heartily.

"When you were little, you didn't like to eat anything. Your wet nurse and I had to chase after you and coax you before you would eat a couple of bites—"

Zhu Zaizhen controlled himself and didn't overeat. He stopped when he was about 70% full and had his plate taken away. A palace servant then served him a silver pot to rinse his mouth.

Then a copper basin was filled with warm soup that smelled of flowers. After washing their hands and drying them with a plain silk towel, the palace maids offered them warm towels to gently wipe their lips and cheeks.

At this moment, Ma Dezhao also returned, and Madam Lu specially had a stool brought over for him to sit on.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"How's it going at Zhongcui Palace?"

"Five imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital have arrived, along with four exorcism Taoist priests sent by His Majesty. The imperial physicians have already taken the pulses of the patients in turn, and the high-ranking Taoist priests are still performing exorcisms."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zaizhen raised an eyebrow and said, "It seems that Father is really angry. Exorcising evil spirits—I'm afraid even if Consort Kang wakes up, she will faint again upon seeing this."

The premise of exorcising evil is that there is evil. For Consort Kang, who always cared about her reputation, this was no less harmful than that to her own mother, Consort Jin.

"This is such a mess." There was no joy in Lu Shi's tone about being conferred the title of Imperial Concubine, because there was no difference between Imperial Concubine and Consort Jing in this palace, and only Consort Kang cared the most.

Moreover, because of the promotion, I have to go to the West Garden to express my gratitude. Just thinking about meeting the Emperor makes me feel irritable. There are so many rules, and he talks in a mysterious way, making people guess. If they guess wrong, he will give me a hard time.

"Your son will accompany you then; you just need to sit back and respond."

Zhu Zaizhen couldn't possibly say no to going; it was worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Moreover, since the mother and son were in the imperial family, it was like rowing against the current—if they didn't advance, they would fall behind. The Yu Prince and his mother were a perfect example.

Even a leisurely life requires a certain level of status to sustain it; otherwise, a talented and virtuous woman, let alone raising cats, enjoying tea, reading, and appreciating the snow, should first think about how she'll get through the winter.

Being neither starving nor freezing to death doesn't mean living comfortably. There was no fire or floor heating; they lived in small rooms in the corner of the side hall, and their heating relied on small copper charcoal braziers burning black charcoal that produced a lot of smoke and a strong smell. Their food was only slightly better than that of the palace maids, with meat, hot tea, and a few people serving them.

The master and his servants, all wretched and frugal, scrimped and saved to buy some good charcoal, and had to give tips to others to avoid having their allowances deducted. They also needed to save money for medical treatment.

My mother is indeed a blessed person, so it's hard for someone who has never suffered to understand these things. Besides, he wasn't prepared to let her understand. My mother should just enjoy her blessings; he'll take care of everything else.

Lady Lu nodded and asked, "How is Prince Yu?"

In her eyes, Consort Kang was undoubtedly a great man, but Prince Yu was still her son's only brother in the world.

"The head of the Imperial Medical Academy personally went to see him and said that Prince Yu suffered from a cold and fever, which was dangerous, but since he has woken up, he is fine."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further, "But the Imperial Physician said that Prince Yu's illness is three parts physical and seven parts mental."

Madam Lu nodded: "It's good that he's alright. Prince Yu has always been like this since he was a child. It's nothing to worry about. It's all Madam Du's fault for always forcing the child to do things."

Ma Dezhao stood up and dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs guarding the door, ordering them to stand guard outside.

"The Imperial Physician didn't say it clearly, but I've lived in the palace for a long time and have heard similar things several times. Prince Yu is too heavy-hearted and takes everything to heart. No matter how healthy a person is, he can't withstand years of depression, especially since he's not exactly healthy to begin with."

Although we've weathered this storm, if we face similar circumstances again in the future, there will likely be unspeakable things to come.

Ma Dezhao's tone was calm. In his view, there was nothing wrong with the death of Prince Yu, and his own prince could inherit the throne more easily.

Lady Lu frowned upon hearing this. Zhu Zaizhen didn't continue the conversation, but instead asked, "What about Consort Kang?"

He wasn't too harsh on Prince Yu, Ma Dezhao, but his tone was inevitably a bit harsh towards Consort Kang, his long-time enemy from Jingren Palace.

"According to the imperial physician, he has always been depressed and worried for many years, which has made his qi and blood deficient and unstable. Today, he suddenly encountered a major change, and his anger filled his chest, his liver fire surged, and his emotions were in great chaos, causing his qi to be reversed and his blood to not return to its proper channels, which suddenly blocked his heart meridians."

Normal fainting spells due to shortness of breath are usually quickly resolved with rest and recuperation. However, this time the pent-up anger has accumulated too deeply, the heart qi has been severely depleted, and the heart meridians are severely obstructed. His life is currently in danger. Even if he miraculously recovers, he will be highly susceptible to developing palpitations, dizziness, and emotional instability in the future, and will be unable to withstand even the slightest anger or worry.

To prevent Consort Kang from becoming enraged and worried, the Emperor must make her Empress and Prince Yu Crown Prince tonight, and then hastily abdicate tomorrow, with Prince Yu ascending the throne and honoring her as Empress Dowager. But is that even possible?

Nothing in the palace can be kept secret, especially something this big. Rumors spread like wildfire throughout the capital, with even the claim that Prince Yu would follow in the footsteps of the former Crown Prince becoming widely circulated.

Xu Jie almost fainted, but thankfully more accurate news arrived, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was Consort Kang who was critically ill.

But then, everyone's expression turned sour. This time it was alright, but what about next time?

Even Yan Song was nervous, not because he cared about Prince Yu, but because he was worried about Prince Jing.

The world is vast, and there are hundreds of millions of people. It is a blessing for the country to have a wise and capable ruler.

This "long" signifies both the elder's rich experience and ability to shoulder the responsibilities of the nation, and their ability to live to adulthood, indicating that they are in good health and will not die easily like children.

The two princes are still minors; what if something were to happen—

Since Your Majesty has no brothers, you naturally have no nephews either. The bloodline can only be traced further back, which is quite far away. This will inevitably lead to disputes among the various clans and vassals, causing unrest.

The existing order could be disrupted, which is not in anyone's interest.

Some things were difficult to report to the emperor, but the ministers quickly reached a consensus, including the Qingliu faction and the Yan faction, that they must select consorts for the two princes as soon as possible and have them give birth to imperial grandsons so that the country would not be in turmoil.