Since the Emperor had asked them to go back, and they had waited for a long time, and they had expressed their loyalty and filial piety, they could only go back. Who asked the Emperor to refuse to see them?
As for why the Emperor refused to see the princes and ministers, perhaps only the Emperor himself knew. Perhaps he was deliberately putting on a show to test the princes and ministers, so that he could see things that he usually could not see clearly.
The Crown Prince waved his hand and asked his brothers and nephews behind him to leave. Several high-ranking ministers also waved their hands and asked their colleagues to leave, and each went back to their own duties.
Li An took a look and saw that the Crown Prince and a few other princes were frowning. It seemed to reflect the uneasiness in their hearts. The officials were the same. Their expressions were somewhat worried, and some of them were even whispering softly.
The more powerful the person was, the more nervous and uneasy he would be at this time. Although the Emperor said he was fine, and so did the Crown Prince. Since there was nothing serious, why did he refuse to see outsiders? Even the Crown Prince and his closest ministers were not willing to see him. This was a little abnormal, and it was inevitable that people would speculate about the Emperor's illness.
If the Emperor was seriously ill and could not be cured, the Crown Prince would benefit the most. Of course, the premise was that there were no accidents. As long as everything went according to plan, the Crown Prince would inherit the throne and naturally benefit the most. However, if someone played tricks and tampered with the edict at the critical moment, the Crown Prince would be deposed. In that case, the Crown Prince would not be able to inherit the throne, but he might not even be able to keep his life.
The struggles of the imperial family had always been bloody, and this was especially true in the era of the Great Tang. Ever since the founding of the country, every change in power had involved bloodshed, and it was extremely common for brothers to kill each other. With all the bloody examples before their eyes, it was impossible for them not to be nervous.
Even if the Emperor was really fine this time, the Emperor's age was right in front of them. It was only a matter of time before he was seriously ill. Once this day came, were they really prepared?
Over the years, the Emperor's health had always been good. He had never had such a serious illness. This was a warning to many people. They thought that they would be fine if they clung to the Emperor's thigh, but they didn't know that once the Emperor was gone, their good days would come to an end. Especially those ministers who had bad relations with the Crown Prince. After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, it was inevitable that they would be punished.
"Assistant Minister Li, since His Majesty is fine, why do you think he won't see anyone?"
Ang Lee was the fastest to leave. There were still many things waiting for him in the R&D Center. However, Li Xiu caught up and asked for guidance.
Although he could make some guesses, Ang Lee did not have much confidence, so he naturally could not answer easily. Thus, he said, "How can the Emperor's will be so easily guessed? Go back and rest!"
After saying that, he strode away. He really had something to do and couldn't delay too much.
However, Ang Lee's behavior was not the case in the eyes of outsiders. They thought that Ang Lee deliberately avoided suspicion because Li Linfu was dying. Now that the Emperor was ill, once the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Li Xiu would have a good time. It was not wrong to stay away from Li Linfu's family.
Ang Lee had no way to interfere with other people's thoughts. Let them think what they wanted! The R&D Center's matter could not be delayed. It must be dealt with as soon as possible.
However, as talents in R&D, after seeing Ang Lee, they did not immediately ask how the problems encountered in R&D were solved. Instead, they were very concerned about the Emperor's condition. They even wanted to ask a lot of questions about the details. They even dared to put forward their own hypotheses and chatted with Ang Lee. Ang Lee was so angry that he scolded them and warned them to work hard. These national affairs were not something they should care about. No matter how the political situation changed, they would always be the best scientific and technological talents in the Tang Empire. No one in power would treat them badly, and they just needed to do their own things well.
In fact, Ang Lee's requirements for these R&D talents were too high. They were also human beings, not thinking machines that only knew how to research and develop technology. They also had a gossipy heart. Discussing things unrelated to work during work could also be regarded as a kind of rest and pastime. However, some things could not be casually discussed. For example, the major affairs of the imperial court could not be discussed easily. If they accidentally said something wrong and were heard by irrelevant people, it would cause trouble for the R&D Center. It was safest to do their own work seriously. If they wanted to rest, they could talk about other things. Gossiping was not a problem, but they could not talk about national affairs.
After leaving the Emperor's palace, everyone went home to find their mothers. Li Xiu did not go to find his mother. He went to find his father because Li Linfu was waiting for him.
"Father, I'm back."
Li Xiu looked at Li Linfu, who was closing his eyes, and said.
Li Linfu opened his eyes slightly, looked at Li Xiu, and said weakly, "Dalang! How's the situation today? Is His Majesty still unwilling to see you? "
"Father, you guessed right. His Majesty won't see anyone. However, the imperial physician said that His Majesty is fine. He just needs to rest. I don't know if it's true."
Li Xiu said truthfully.
Li Linfu thought for a long time, then frowned and said, "The current Emperor, when he was young, was already very accomplished. He is not a simple Emperor. Even I can't completely guess what he is thinking in his heart. That's right, I told you to observe more. How is everyone's performance?"
"Father, the Crown Prince and the princes all looked worried. The ministers were similar, but on the surface, I couldn't see anything."
Li Xiu answered.
"You are too young. You can't even see this. Sigh!"
Li Linfu was best at guessing the thoughts of others. He was especially good at guessing the thoughts of others from their casual expressions. Moreover, his accuracy was quite high. His son, on the other hand, was far inferior in this aspect. This made him rather disappointed.
"Oh, by the way, Father, I can see that Yang Guozhong's performance is the most abnormal. There were several times when the ministers wanted to talk to him, but he was rather absent-minded, as if he didn't hear them. He looked like he had lost his soul."
Li Xiu said.
Li Linfu nodded and said, "That's right. Yang Guozhong's level is far inferior to mine. He can only reach such a high position because of the Imperial Concubine. If something happens to His Majesty, the Yang family will be completely finished. If he isn't the most nervous, who else can it be? Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he will suffer."
Although his body was seriously unwell, Li Linfu didn't forget to gloat. His spirit seemed to have improved a little.
"But Father, our family has a deep conflict with the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince really ascends the throne, it will have a great impact on us."
Li Xiu said.
Li Linfu said unhappily, "I naturally know this, so for so many years, I have always wanted His Majesty to depose the Crown Prince and choose another prince as the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, His Majesty has never agreed. It is truly difficult to fathom the Emperor's will!"
"Father, then what should we do now? Continue to oppose the Crown Prince, or support him?"
Li Xiu frowned and asked.
Li Linfu frowned and hesitated for a long time before weakly saying, "You can leave first! Let me think about it, let me think about it. "
Seeing that his father was tired, Li Xiu could only withdraw. His father's spirit was getting worse and worse, and he probably wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. His father was the backbone of their family. If the backbone fell, then more than half of the family would fall.
Li Linfu's family was only a little worried, but the most nervous was Yang Guozhong. He had been on a meteoric rise in the past few years. He had gone from a minor official to one of the most important officials in the court. Even he didn't dare to believe that he had been promoted so quickly.
Of course, he knew very well that the reason he had been able to rise so quickly was because of the Imperial Consort. It was because the Imperial Consort was favored that he had received such great favor from the Emperor. It was because he was part of the Imperial Consort's family. The second reason was that the Emperor wanted to balance Li Linfu's power. After all, after many years of accumulation and management, Li Linfu's power was too strong. This had caused the Emperor's dissatisfaction, and he wanted to suppress him to a certain extent. Borrowing Yang Guozhong's power was the most appropriate.
At this moment, because of Li Linfu's serious illness and his personal growth, the second reason no longer existed. Only the first reason was left. However, this reason had to be that the Imperial Consort was always favored for it to be effective.
However, if the Emperor was no longer around, the Imperial Consort's favor would no longer exist. It would be good enough if the Crown Prince didn't kill the Imperial Consort. How could he continue to favor her? Once the Imperial Consort was unreliable, and he had a deep conflict with the current Crown Prince, then his good days would come to an end.
Usually, when the Emperor was healthy, Yang Guozhong didn't worry about this. However, after the Emperor fell ill, he suddenly felt a deep sense of danger. This sense of danger made him very afraid.
Last time, when the Yang sisters didn't share the benefits with him, he was at most angry. However, this time, the Emperor suddenly felt unwell and refused to see anyone. This caused him to involuntarily let his thoughts run wild, causing him to be extremely afraid.
Because of the previous unhappiness, Yang Guozhong hadn't contacted the three Yang sisters for a long time. Moreover, he couldn't easily go and see the Imperial Consort. At this moment, the Emperor was sick and the Imperial Consort was always by his side. It was really inconvenient for him. Therefore, he couldn't find out the Emperor's true situation, nor did he know what the Emperor was thinking. The anxiety in his heart was indescribable.
However, if the three sisters were to go to the palace to investigate the situation, it would be much more convenient. After all, they were all women. It was extremely convenient for them to enter the palace to find the Imperial Consort, and it wouldn't arouse the slightest suspicion.
However, after so many days, he had already put on a very high profile. If he suddenly lowered his voice and begged for help, he would lose face. This made her very vexed.
"Alang, what has made you so worried? This is the first time this little one has seen you so worried."
Yang Guozhong sighed and frowned, "His Majesty has been sick for many days. Moreover, he won't see anyone. Although the Imperial Physician said that there's no big problem, my heart still feels very uneasy! I don't know how His Majesty is. In the past, even if he was unwell, His Majesty wouldn't refuse to see his ministers. This time, even the Crown Prince and the other princes went to pay their respects, but they were all stopped by His Majesty's servants. The situation is very strange. "
"Alang, then His Majesty won't even see the Imperial Consort?"
Yang Guozhong was stunned for a moment and softly said, "Other than the Imperial Consort and the Imperial Physician, as well as His Majesty's personal servants, he won't see anyone else. Even the Imperial Physician seemed to have received His Majesty's orders. Other than saying that there's no big problem, he didn't say anything else. Even the Crown Prince couldn't get a single word out of the Imperial Physician."
"Aiyo, this is really strange. Could it be that His Majesty has contracted some hidden illness? He's afraid of letting outsiders know, so … "
Yang Guozhong was stunned and hurriedly asked, "Hidden illness, what hidden illness?"
"Alang, it's the matter between men and women. His Majesty is old, and being with the Imperial Consort all day long, it's inevitable that he'll be overworked and have some hidden illness."
The steward had shifty eyes and directly thought in this direction. Moreover, it seemed to be very reasonable.
"How dare you!"
Yang Guozhong shouted loudly, scaring the steward to kneel on the ground.
However, after calming down for a moment, Yang Guozhong felt that his steward's words were somewhat reasonable. The Emperor suddenly refused to see anyone. Perhaps he really did have some hidden illness. Otherwise, why would he be afraid of letting people know?
If his steward's guess was true, then it meant that the Emperor was really fine. However, he couldn't ask about this kind of thing. He definitely couldn't ask. However, he could let the Yang sisters ask the Imperial Consort. It would be more convenient for women to gather together to discuss. As long as they could confirm the Emperor's illness, he could rest assured.
"Alang, please forgive me. I've said too much."
"Well, you can't mention this in front of anyone. Otherwise, even ten heads won't be enough for you to chop off."
Yang Guozhong stared sternly at his steward and said in a very serious tone.
If the Emperor really had this kind of hidden illness and his steward spread it, he would be in big trouble. This kind of thing couldn't be known by outsiders. It was related to a man's dignity. Even ordinary people were like this, let alone the Emperor.
Although Yang Guozhong had reprimanded the housekeeper, he felt that what the housekeeper said was very reasonable. So, he decided to verify it. And the premise of verifying it was to find the Yang sisters. Moreover, it was Yang Yurou, who was the closest to him. Their relationship was so close that there was no distance between them.
In order to figure out the Emperor's real situation, he decided to put aside his pride and go to the Madam of Guo's residence. He also wanted to see what they had been busy with recently. They hadn't been to the palace for several days.
"Go and prepare the carriage. We're going to the Madam of Guo's residence."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
