In mid-November, the first snow of the year fell in Beijing.
Heavy snow fell all night long, and when I woke up the next day, the whole world turned silver-white.
"Hiss..." Little Xingxing stood at the door. The cold wind blew a few snowflakes into her neck. She was so cold that she stood under the eaves, rubbing her hands and stamping her feet. "It's so cold."
"Master, there is charcoal burning in the house. If you are afraid of the cold, just stay in the house."
"If you stay indoors for a long time, it will feel even colder when you come out."
Little Xingxing asked Lu'er, "Do you have any letters today?"
"Yes, it was sent by the prince."
"..." The only one Lu'er can call a prince is Chu Mohan. She usually calls Chu Li your highness.
Little Star sighed.
Chu Mohan's letters came very regularly, one every three days, no matter it was windy or rainy, they were never dropped.
Chu Li is just the opposite.
He has been away for more than half a month, and so far there has been no news from him.
Little Xingxing shook her head, took Chu Mohan's letter from Lu'er, opened it and took a look, her expression changed slightly.
"Master, what's wrong?"
"fine."
Little Xingxing held her breath, read the letter at a glance, then turned around and went back to the house, threw the letter into the stove, and only after seeing the letter turn into ashes did Little Xingxing call Lu'er.
"Lu'er, prepare the carriage and prepare to enter the palace."
"Enter the palace?"
Lu'er was a little silly, "It's snowing outside."
"I know, go prepare the car."
"..." Seeing the serious look on Little Xingxing's face, Lu'er didn't dare to ask any more questions, and immediately asked someone to go to the stable to take the horse out and put it in the carriage.
Little Xingxing has a token given by the Queen Mother, so she does not need to hand over the token when entering the palace.
The carriage drove from Xingchen Mansion along Zhengyang Street towards the Imperial Palace. On the way, Little Xingxing opened the curtain. Because of the snow, the people on the street were in a hurry.
The carriage traveled for less than five minutes.
Little Xingxing saw three beggars in a sheltered corner of the street.
Little Star pursed her lips.
Natural disasters such as drought in summer and heavy rains in autumn left many people without a harvest. In this winter, the consequences of natural disasters finally became apparent.
Chu Mohan told her in the letter just now.
In the severely affected areas of Huizhou, some refugees had already revolted. In just one month, he had wiped out several groups of such refugees.
Little Star felt heavy.
This is a signal.
She worries that some people will take advantage of the troubled waters.
After entering the palace.
Little Xingxing did not go to Cining Palace, but went to the East Palace first.
I went to the East Palace but didn't see the prince.
The Crown Princess smiled bitterly and said, "His Royal Highness has been busy these days. Not to mention you, even I haven't seen him for several days... He should be discussing things with his staff in the front hall at the moment. He has basically been in the front hall these days.
I slept directly in the front hall."
Shu Wanyi rubbed her belly and sighed, "It's snowing and the road is slippery, so I don't dare to go to the front hall to see him.
He is not in good health, especially in winter. He will keep coughing after drinking cold wind. He is busy with official duties day and night. I am really worried about whether he can hold on."
"..." Little Xingxing's heart sank.
She has always told the prince to take good care of himself. In the past few months, every time she came to the East Palace to ask for a safe pulse for the prince and the princess, the prince stayed idle, which meant that he was following the doctor's orders.
Being so busy now only means that things are a bit tricky.
Little Xingxing quietly asked the princess, "Did something happen in the palace?"
"..." The Crown Princess didn't expect Little Xingxing to be so smart.
She swept around the people waiting in the main hall and dismissed all the palace people. Then she told Little Xingxing, "Father is sick."
Little Xingxing was shocked.
"Very serious?"
The Crown Princess nodded, "I haven't been to the morning court for several days. A few days ago, Your Highness went to Qianqing Palace to see my father. My father intended to summon Mo Han back to the capital."
Little Xingxing took a breath, "What did the imperial doctor say?"
"The imperial doctor was helpless, so my father asked Master Zhuowu from Huguo Temple. Master Zhuowu has superb medical skills. Now he is treating my father in Qianqing Palace."
The Crown Princess added, "In recent days, King Jiang has been running to the palace when he has time. Concubine Wan Gui also runs to Qianqing Palace with food all day long, but my father refuses to see anyone. Qianqing Palace is now protected by the Imperial Guards." , it’s like an iron barrel, no one knows what’s going on inside.”
"..." Little Xingxing thought for a moment, "Can't the queen mother get in either?"
"Can't get in."
"..." Little Xingxing fell silent.
Her news was still too late. She still found something wrong from Chu Mohan's letter, so she hurried to the palace to see the prince. She didn't expect that things were already so serious.
"I received a letter from Chu Mohan today, and he didn't mention coming back in the letter."
"It's true that he won't be able to come back for the time being. Things on his side are already in the final stages... The officials in Fucheng don't know if they have heard some rumors, and they have been stumbling upon Mo Han.
And at such a sensitive time, King Jiang will not just watch Mo Han return to the capital."
"..." So those refugees revolted.
Not necessarily all of them are refugees.
"Brothers and sisters."
"Um?"
"You should be more careful these days."
The Crown Princess held her hand and said solemnly, "The capital...may be going to change."
"I see."
...Little Xingxing entered the palace just to find the prince and inquire about the situation.
After learning about the current situation from the Crown Princess, she went to Cining Palace without waiting for the Crown Princess.
The Queen Mother has assisted two emperors, and her political sense is much sharper than that of Little Star.
After seeing Little Xingxing and being intimate for a while, she pulled Little Xingxing into the inner room.
Entered the inner room.
The smile on the Queen Mother's face disappeared.
"Grandma..." "Yeah."
The Queen Mother patted her hand lovingly and said, "Coming from the East Palace, do you have an idea of what's going on in the palace?"
Little Star nodded.
"My father was in good health in the past few months, why did he suddenly become ill?"
"It's not because of this year's disaster."
The Queen Mother sighed, "There has been famine in many places. It costs money to treat the victims, money to build dams, and money to buy food. Now that the treasury is empty, where can he get money?"
The emperor is also several decades old. If he cannot eat well and cannot sleep, his body will naturally collapse."
"..." Little Xingxing hesitated for a moment, "Grandma, can you think of a way to let me enter the Qianqing Palace to see my father?"
The Queen Mother shook her head.
"Grandma knew you had this reaction."
The Queen Mother held her hand and said seriously, "You must not interfere in this matter."
"Why?"
"At this sensitive time, countless pairs of eyes are staring at Qianqing Palace.
The Ai family knows that you entered the Qianqing Palace to see the emperor's condition, but if the emperor is really seriously ill, it would be a sin for you not to be able to save him.
If he's not sick... you won't get better even if you go in and expose him."
"..." Little Xingxing suddenly raised her head, "Grandma, do you suspect that the Emperor... is just faking it?"
The Queen Mother thought for a while, shook her head and said, "The Ai family can't tell. The Ai family has been assisting Chu Yi for decades, but they still haven't been able to understand him clearly.
No matter what kind of medicine he sells in his gourd, grandma doesn't want you to get into this muddy water."