His headaches became more and more serious, and he often suffered from pain and could not function for several days.
At this time, Concubine Pei would stay with him and take care of him day and night.
Memorials sent from outside were often dictated by the emperor and the concubine wrote annotations on them.
If you can't even listen, you can only ask Wan Dabao to send it to the previous court and ask the political affairs hall to handle it on its own.
The crown prince and King Xin visited him every day to pay his respects, inquire about his pulse, and taste the medicinal soup. They were all filial.
At noon, the sun was scorching hot outside, and even the wind was carrying heat.
The emperor was startled by his dream and reached out to fumble around the bed: "Ah Rong!"
Concubine Pei heard his call and quickly entered the inner room: "Your Majesty!"
When the emperor saw her coming in, he breathed a sigh of relief: "You're here, it's good that you're here..."
Concubine Pei helped him up and touched his back: "I'm wet with sweat. I have to change my clothes quickly."
She called the palace attendants, helped the emperor change his underwear with her own hands, gave him water, and asked him to lie down again.
"Your Majesty, are you dreaming?" Concubine Pei leaned on the bedside, fanning herself now and then.
In fact, it wasn't hot in the room, and the ice basin placed in the corner gave off a slight coolness.
But the emperor felt that this was very comfortable, maybe because the breeze made him feel less bored, or maybe the person fanning was Concubine Pei.
He held Concubine Pei's hand and said, "Yes, I had a dream. In the dream, I was still a little prince, running behind my eldest brother. My eldest brother said that he had to do something and couldn't take me with him, so he asked me to go with him.
We played with Jing. At that time, A Jing was still very young and could only hold my sleeve and call me brother. The wet nurse corrected him with a smile and told him to call me uncle... In the blink of an eye, A Jing was older and was about to get married.
Watching him put on his wedding clothes..."
The emperor's voice sounded like sleepwalking. At first, he still remembered calling himself "I", but then he became me, as if he was in a dream.
Concubine Pei's hand trembled.
The A Jing in the emperor's mouth is Jiang Jing, the emperor's eldest grandson, the eldest son of Prince Sihuai, and her...husband.
When King Yongxi got married, he married her.
The emperor's eyes cleared up and he gave her a weak smile: "This dream is so real, I almost thought it was reality. I have not ascended the throne at all, and you are not with me..."
"You have slept too much and are suffering from nightmares." Concubine Pei's voice was gentle. "The imperial doctor said that if you take this medicine for two days, you should be fine. By then, everything will be fine."
"No, Ah Rong." The emperor leaned on the bedside, feeling weak, "I feel that I may not be able to survive anymore, so I dream about big brother and the others more and more..."
"Your Majesty!" the imperial concubine stopped him, "you are all delusional. When you get sick like a mountain, you feel that everything is not well. When you recover from the illness, you will be a hundred times more energetic. How about I read you a passage from my book?
?Just think of it as entertainment to relieve your fatigue."
The emperor didn't want to go against her wishes, so he agreed: "Okay."
The imperial concubine asked the palace attendants to take out some new stories from the market, picked one that looked festive, and slowly read it to him.
The emperor listened to the soft voice of the imperial concubine and read the passage in the book where the girl said her name to flowers, and his thoughts flew away.
What should he do if he really can't hold on any longer? The prince and King Xin...if they were gone, they wouldn't make it easier for the imperial concubine. It would be more reassuring to have them by their side...
And that kid... Every time I see him, he always thinks of his father and ancestors, which makes him uneasy even in his dreams. If he were allowed to live...
The emperor fell asleep.
Concubine Pei gently closed the book, stood up, went to the incense burner, put out the soothing incense, carefully crushed the ashes, and cleaned them up.
In the official office of Zhengshitang, Guo Xu opened his chest, flipping through documents and blowing a cattail leaf fan while sweating profusely.
"Eat melons, come and eat melons." A voice came from outside, but it was the clerk who was sent to buy melons who came back.
The officials outside were "coaxed" to run very fast and went to get the melons.
"Uncle Liu, your melon." His nephew took the melon for him with a wink.
The skin is thin, the flesh is red, and it looks ice cold. It looks like it was just lifted out of the well.
Guo Xu took a bite, and the red juice flowed down his hand. A cool air slid down his throat, and the heat was gone.
The uncle and nephew sat and ate melon for a while, when a clerk came in with a large stack of documents and put them on his desk.
"Master Xiang, this is yours."
Guo Xu nodded, waved for him to step back, then wiped the juice from his hand, picked it up and turned it over.
"It was sent from the palace, but the Holy Father has not approved it." He threw the memorial back on the table.
The nephew asked: "Uncle Six, is this bad, Your Majesty?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Xu's cattail leaf fan knocked him on the forehead: "How is the Holy Father? Can you tell me? Be careful that trouble comes from your mouth."
"oh……"
After a while, it was Guo Xu himself who said: "Your Majesty, your health is getting worse and worse! I have only been back for more than three months, and I have fallen ill twice."
The nephew nodded: "This time it will take four or five days."
"This is not a good sign!" Guo Xu leaned back in his chair and stared upward, "If this continues, there may be trouble."
The nephew was puzzled: "What's the trouble? Isn't everything peaceful now?"
Guo Xu didn't bother to explain to him, so he slapped him again: "Go and eat your melon!"
"Oh." The nephew took the remaining melon and went outside to eat it.
Guo Xu shook his cattail leaf fan, but he was thinking.
If the emperor behaves like this, the prince and King Xin will definitely be unable to sit still.
But now is not a good time to change the day!
Unless the Crown Prince and King Xin are eliminated, that person will have no chance...
"Uncle Six, Uncle Six!" The nephew ran in from outside again.
"What's all the fuss about?" Guo Xu was very unhappy when his train of thought was interrupted.
The nephew said: "There is news from the palace. The Holy Sage said that he dreamed of the late emperor and wanted to perform a ritual ceremony!"
Guo Xu was stunned for a moment: "What kind of ritual does this old man do?"
Don't think that the emperor can be willful. Throughout the year, he only has a few opportunities to go out. If there are more, he will be impeached.
Going out costs money! Spending money costs the national treasury! Spending money requires the approval of the political hall!
There are regulations for things like ancestor worship. What the hell is that? Are you looking for a chance to go out?
Guo Xu threw down his cattail leaf fan, folded his clothes, and planned to go find Prime Minister Lu Qian.
The nephew was smart and said: "Sixth Uncle, Prime Minister Lu has already entered the palace."
Guo Xu was stunned again, touched his chin and said, "Why do you think this is not right?"
If the emperor wants to do something, they should give it to them in the political hall before replying. Why did he enter the palace without saying a word?
"Where are the other prime ministers?"
"Wait a moment, I'm going to inquire."
The nephew left quickly.
After a while, he ran back panting: "Sixth Uncle! I met other officials in front of Prime Minister Lu's door, and they were all asking about the old Prime Minister."
In other words, the other prime ministers don’t know that Prime Minister Lu suddenly entered the palace?
Guo Xu breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s not just that you’re being squeezed out.
He took a few sips of tea and said, "It seems that there is something going on with Prime Minister Lu that we don't know about!"
He entered the palace without communicating with them. He probably knew the inside story and planned to persuade the emperor first.
Guo Xu thought about it and decided to ask his nephew to invite someone from Prime Minister Lu's side to have tea. (To be continued)