In the end, the news of Emperor Yunqing's serious illness did not spread outside the palace. The Empress ordered the palace gates to be closed and no one was allowed to leave the palace to spread the news. Even the residence of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince was heavily guarded. The Empress dared to trust her two sons, but she did not dare to trust the people around them.
The Empress, who usually did not care much, showed her courage at this time. When she married the Emperor, the Crown Prince's position was precarious. However, she had been with the Emperor for many years. At this age, she was still the Emperor's most trusted woman. This showed her means and breadth of mind.
Since the imperial physician entered the Great Moon Palace, he had no chance to come out. If there was any medicine needed, the Empress's people would personally escort the imperial physician. The entire Imperial Hospital was also sealed off.
Two hours later, the Emperor Yunqing woke up. He saw the Empress sitting by the bed and crying. He wanted to sit up, but he could not muster any strength: "Empress, what's wrong with you?"
"Your Majesty, are you okay?" When the Empress saw that the Emperor Yunqing woke up, her face lit up. She quickly waved her hand to ask the imperial physician to come over and take the Emperor's pulse.
Only then did the Emperor Yunqing notice that something was wrong. But at this moment, his mind was in a mess. He even stuttered: "Empress, why are there so many people around me?"
"Your Majesty, this humble subject will take your pulse."
"You can leave. I am fine. There is no need to take my pulse." The Emperor Yunqing did not like people saying that there was something wrong with his body. He was angry and wanted to scold people, but his words were intermittent: "I, really do not need to take your pulse. You people, all of you can leave!"
The Empress saw that the Emperor Yunqing's expression was distorted and even his voice was a little unclear. She faintly felt that something was wrong. She gently held the Emperor's hand: "Your Majesty, let the imperial physician take a look at you. Just take it as letting me feel at ease, okay?"
The Emperor Yunqing looked at the Empress' tearful appearance and gradually suppressed the anger in his heart. He looked at the imperial physician standing next to the Empress, who was a person that both he and the Empress trusted, so he did not speak again. The Empress saw that his attitude softened and turned to give the imperial physician a look.
The imperial physician carefully stepped forward and bowed to the Emperor before placing his hand on Emperor Yunqing's wrist. He even carefully pinched his arm and observed his eyes. After that, the imperial physician looked at the Empress and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, you need to rest."
"Recuperate, recuperate. All you know is how to tell me to recuperate," Emperor Yunqing scolded. "I am the Emperor. How can I recuperate?"
The Empress did not expect the Emperor Yunqing to lose his temper for no reason. She softly soothed his emotions. After he fell asleep, the Empress covered the Emperor with a blanket and walked out of the room. Only then did the Imperial Physician, who was checking the Emperor's pulse, ask: "How is His Majesty's health?"
"Replying to the Empress, this subject is incompetent," the imperial physician knelt in front of the Empress, "His Majesty has overworked himself, his body may have suffered a stroke."
"What did you say?" The Empress could not withstand such a blow. Her body swayed, "Can it be cured?"
"This subject can only do my best to use acupuncture to unblock His Majesty's acupuncture points. If His Majesty cooperates, it is possible to sit up and walk a few steps," the imperial physician said very tactfully, "I'm just afraid that His Majesty will not cooperate with this subject's treatment."
The room became quiet. The Empress looked at the swaying palace lanterns outside the window and slowly nodded: "Ben gong understands."
"Someone come! Someone come! "
Right at this time, the Empress suddenly heard the Emperor Yunqing's roar. She turned and hurriedly ran into the room. She saw the Emperor's face was pale and his eyes were red. She grabbed his hand, "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
"Someone is spying on me from outside. Quickly go kill them!" Emperor Yunqing pointed at the shadow of the tree outside, "Empress, quickly send someone to take a look."
The Empress wanted to say that it was just the shadow of the tree, but seeing his crazy appearance, she could only nod and say: "This concubine will go now."
The guards couldn't do anything. In the end, they could only cut down the tree to make the Emperor believe that the culprit had been captured. But Emperor Yunqing didn't sleep well that night. He woke up from time to time, muttering things like Emperor's son-in-law and Cheng Anbo. His face was full of fear.
The Empress's palms were cold. She knew who the Emperor's son-in-law and Cheng Anbo were. But because she knew, she felt a chill in her heart.
The Emperor's son-in-law of the Princess Royal had taken good care of the Emperor. The Emperor wasn't good at riding and shooting, so the son-in-law secretly gave him his prey. When the Emperor was pushed aside in court, the son-in-law also supported the Emperor. As for Rong Xia's father, Cheng Anbo, he was the Emperor's study companion when he was young. During the Emperor's most difficult time, he accompanied him.
Later, Cheng Anbo died young, and his eldest son was gone. In the large Cheng Anbo manor, only Rong Xia was left. She had always thought that the Emperor cared for Rong Xia because of old friendship.
But if the truth was like this, why was the Emperor's face full of fear when he mentioned these two people? The Emperor … what did he do to these two people?
The Empress sat by the dragon bed for the entire night. When the sky was about to brighten, she finally stood up. Her body was a bit stiff. She looked at the bits of morning light coming in through the window, "Someone, go invite the Crown Prince here."
"Yes."
After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, Emperor Yunqing woke up. He looked at the hazy light outside and thought that he should go to court. There was a court meeting today. But he still couldn't move. He didn't even have any feeling in his body.
"Empress, what's wrong with me?"
The Empress lifted the curtain, walked to the side of the bed and sat down. She gently put her hand on the back of his hand, "Your Majesty, you're not feeling well. Is it okay if you don't go to court today?"
"What's wrong with me? Where's Wang De?" The Emperor's expression was not very good. He didn't even seem to believe the Empress.
"Your Majesty, this servant is here." Wang De walked in from outside. He looked haggard. It seemed that he hadn't slept all night.
"Come and tell me, what's wrong with me?"
Wang De knelt in front of the Empress. His forehead touched the cold ground, but he didn't dare to say a word.
"Bastard, you don't even listen to me. What use do I have for you?" Emperor Yunqing saw him like this and immediately became furious, "Someone, come!"
"Your Majesty," the Empress interrupted him. She gently stroked his chest, "The imperial physician said that you can't get angry."
Emperor Yunqing stared at the Empress, "Then tell me, why can't I move?"
The Empress looked at the high and mighty man who suddenly became so embarrassed. Her eyes were sore. She turned her back, not daring to let the Emperor see her tears.
"I …" Emperor Yunqing gradually recovered. He looked at the Empress, whose shoulders were trembling. She didn't dare to look at him, "Did I have a stroke?"
"Your Majesty …" The Empress wiped the tears from her eyes, "The imperial physician said that as long as you rest well, you will be fine."
Emperor Yunqing closed his eyes. After a while, he tried to calm himself down, "Send someone to summon Rong Xia, Zhou Bingan, Zhang Qihuai, and Zhao Weishen."
Rong Xia was the Minister of Appointments. Zhou Bingan was the Minister of Secretaries. Zhang Qihuai was the Minister of Works. Zhao Weishen was the Minister of War. These people were the most trustworthy people in Emperor Yunqing's heart.
The Empress quickly agreed.
As soon as the eunuch who went to summon these officials left, the Crown Prince came in. He didn't know what happened in the palace. After the Eastern Palace was heavily surrounded, he felt uneasy. When he saw the Emperor and Empress, he reluctantly let out a sigh of relief.
"Crown Prince, His Majesty is not feeling well today. You will temporarily help His Majesty supervise the country," The Empress didn't mention how serious Emperor Yunqing's illness was, "If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask His Majesty."
"Fuhuang, what's wrong?" When the Crown Prince heard that he was supervising the country, he didn't look excited. Instead, he looked at the Emperor Yunqing with concern, "This son is unfilial. I didn't know Fuhuang was not feeling well." His eyes reddened. He looked at the Emperor lying on the bed and felt extremely guilty.
"Zhen is fine, it's just that the grand physician said that I need to rest," The Emperor spoke very slowly. He wanted to make his tone as clear as possible, "Zhen has summoned several important officials of court. After you are regent, you have to discuss state matters with these officials. Do not be rash."
"Fuhuang, this son is not half as good as you. How can I supervise the country?" The Crown Prince shook his head and said, "Quickly get better."
If the Crown Prince spoke like this normally, the Emperor would only feel that he was weak and incompetent. But at this time, he found this son very pleasing to the eye because this son trusted him wholeheartedly and didn't even care about supervising the country. Feeling happy, he gave a few more orders.
When Wang De came in and said that the officials had arrived, the Emperor had the Empress and Crown Prince help him sit up. He fixed his hair and barely maintained the dignity of an Emperor. Then, he let Wang De go to summon these people.
The morning of the fourth or fifth month wasn't too cold, but they hurriedly got out of bed and put on their clothes in a hurry. The officials couldn't be considered very comfortable. Also, seeing that there were sentries every three steps and guards every five steps, with their hands on the hilts of their swords, they guessed that something had happened in the Palace.
The youngest of the four, Rong Xia, walked at the back. The other three wanted to ask him a few questions, but under the surveillance of countless eyes, they couldn't turn around and ask. They could only brace themselves and walk to the outside of the Great Moon Palace.
The security of the Great Moon Palace was even stricter. The four stood side by side. Zhou Bingan turned to look at Rong Xia. Unexpectedly, Rong Xia didn't even lift his eyelids. This calmness made these old officials feel ashamed.
"Lord Zhou, Lord Rong, Lord Zhao, Lord Zhang, His Majesty invites you in." Wang De walked out and bowed to the four of them, making a gesture of invitation.
"Thank you." Zhou Bingan saw that Wang De's expression was serious and that the corners of his mouth were tightly pursed. He secretly complained in his heart that something big must have happened.
Jingting Gongfu.
Ban Han woke up from her sleep. She turned her head and saw that it was still dark outside, so she fell back into bed. But for some reason, she tossed and turned in bed but couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't until dawn that she fell asleep in a daze.
"Huahua."
"Huahua."
Ban Han opened her eyes and looked at the old woman sitting by the bed. She immediately threw herself into her arms. "Grandmother, why are you here?"
"I'm here to see you." The Princess Royal lovingly stroked her head and smiled. "Grandmother is happy today."
Ban Han snuggled in the Princess Royal's arms and asked curiously, "What are you happy about?"
The Princess Royal smiled but didn't say anything. She just gently patted her on the back as if she was coaxing a baby. Ban Han felt that her grandmother's arms were soft and fragrant. She was so dizzy that she almost fell asleep.
"I'm going back with your grandfather."
In a daze, she heard her grandmother say this.
Strange. Didn't grandfather go to the west long ago? Why did grandmother go back with grandfather?
To the west?
Ban Han suddenly opened her eyes. It was already bright outside. She sat up from the bed and rubbed her eyebrows with a bitter smile. It was true that she dreamed of what she thought of during the day. Yesterday, when she heard the old Duke mention her grandmother at Duke Cheng's fu, she dreamed of her grandmother.
"Your Highness, are you awake?"
Ban Han heard the servant girl's voice and clapped her hands.
The servant girls came in with tools for washing. When Ban Han rinsed her mouth, Ru Yi whispered, "Your Highness, someone came from the palace just now and asked the Duke to go to court."
Ban Han spat out the water in her mouth and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. "Isn't father still in mourning?"
"I don't know." Ru Yi shook her head. "But madam said that when you wake up, you should go to the main courtyard."
"I know." Ban Han nodded. After changing her clothes and combing her hair, she went to the main courtyard with the servant girl. She woke up late. The Yin Clan and Ban Heng were already sitting at the table. When they saw her come in, the Yin Clan didn't let her bow and had her sit down.
"Something big must have happened in the palace." The Yin Clan took a sip of tea and said to his two children, "For the next two days, you two should stay at home and observe the situation."
"What happened?" Ban Han looked around. "I just heard from Ru Yi that someone came from the palace to ask father to go to court?"
"Yes." The Yin Clan nodded and then said, "Just now, the Minister of War sent someone to tell us that the situation in the palace is not good and that we should be careful."
The Minister of War was indebted to the old man of the Ban Family in his early years. These years, although the two families didn't have much contact on the surface, when something big happened in private, he would send someone to secretly pass on the message. This was to prevent the Ban Family from being unaware of the situation and causing a disaster.
However, although they were both surnamed Zhao, Minister Zhao wasn't related to the Zhao Jia who had been assassinated. They weren't from the same sect or clan. They just happened to have the same surname.
Ban Heng and Ban Han nodded obediently. The Yin Clan smiled and said, "I'm not telling you to be cautious all of a sudden. It's not too much to be careful. If Minister Zhao was the only one who sent the message, the situation wouldn't be so serious. Before Minister Zhao, someone else sent a message. "
"Who?" Ban Han thought that the only people who had a good relationship with their family, other than those who didn't know the news, were those whose ancestors were military generals. However, most of these people didn't have high status. Even if some of them sent messages, there wasn't much to pass on.
"Your fiancé, Rong Junpo." The Yin Clan took out a piece of paper and put it in front of Ban Han.
The words on the paper were very messy. There were only six words in total. It seemed to have been written in a hurry.
Something happened in the palace. Be careful.
Ban Han took the paper and glanced at it. Then, she put the paper on a candle that was still burning. When there wasn't a single piece of paper left, she said, "Mother, right now, we don't know anything."
The Yin Clan smiled. "You're right. We don't know anything."
Ban Heng looked at the Yin Clan, then at Ban Han. She was confused.
One moment they knew, the next moment they didn't know, and the next moment they had to be careful. What did this mean?
Yes, what did this mean?
Ban Huai, who had been dug out from his bed, stood in the hall in a daze. The people standing next to him were still the same people he was familiar with. However, even if they attended court on a normal day, not all of them would be present. Why were they all here today?
The other people were even more shocked than Ban Huai. Normally, Ban Huai didn't like to go to court. Now that he was in mourning, he had even more reason not to come to court. Why was he here today? However, they were in court. It wasn't appropriate for them to ask. Ban Huai gestured with his hand and didn't say anything.
The other people suddenly realized that it was His Majesty's idea.
After an hour, His Majesty still hadn't appeared. The court officials were puzzled. It was an hour later than the usual court meeting time. Why hadn't His Majesty come out yet?
Just as everyone was guessing, Rong Xia and the other three people appeared. The four of them had serious expressions. After entering the hall, they didn't say a word. This made the other court officials suspicious, but they couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
Everyone saw the Crown Prince, who was wearing a crown embroidered with dragons and a crown with five dragons coiled around it, walk in with a eunuch. The court officials recognized this eunuch. He was Wang De, His Majesty's Chief Eunuch.
"Father Emperor has ordered that I will be the regent." The Crown Prince walked to the front of the hall. He didn't sit on the dragon throne. Instead, he sat on the second seat below the dragon throne. "Father Emperor is not feeling well. He needs to rest for a few days. Therefore, I will have to trouble you all for the next few days. "
His Majesty was not feeling well to the point that he wanted the Crown Prince to be the regent?!
"We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince. May the Crown Prince live thousands of years."
Well, they were court officials anyway. There was no difference between helping the Emperor and helping the Crown Prince. As long as the Crown Prince was normal and didn't go crazy for no reason, they could tolerate it.
The only thing that made them feel strange was that the four people summoned by His Majesty were not related to the Yan Party or the Shi Party. It could be seen that Yan Hui and Shi Chonghai had lost their status in His Majesty's heart. Otherwise, why would His Majesty only summon Cheng Anbo and the others for such an important matter?
The Crown Prince had a gentle personality. Coupled with his unstable foundation, his words and actions in court were inevitably less effective. Fortunately, the Yan Party and the Shi Party were not as influential in the court as before due to their previous setbacks. With the help of Rong Xia and the other three, the court meeting ended successfully. The Crown Prince even won the praise of many officials.
As soon as the court session ended, the Crown Prince hurried back to the Great Moon Palace. He told Emperor Yun Qing everything that had happened in court and the major events that the officials had reported. He even read many of the memorials to the Emperor.
Emperor Yunqing enjoyed his respectful attitude very much. The dissatisfaction he had with the Crown Prince gradually disappeared like smoke in thin air.
However, this good mood disappeared without a trace after hearing from the servants that the Second Prince had a conflict with the guards who were guarding him. Emperor Yunqing said coldly, "Don't worry about him. He will cause trouble."
"Father," the Crown Prince hesitated. "Second Brother is just reckless. As long as someone explains it to him, he will understand."
"Explain?" Emperor Yunqing was dissatisfied. "He is already 20 years old. He is still so brainless. Do you want to anger me to death?"
"But …"
"You don't have to speak for him anymore." Emperor Yunqing was so angry that half of his face froze. "In my opinion, half of my problems are caused by him!"
The Crown Prince opened his mouth. Looking at Emperor Yunqing's twisted face, he did not dare to provoke him anymore. He could only continue to read memorials to divert Emperor Yunqing's attention.
"Lord Rong," Lord Zhou walked out of the palace with Rong Xia and whispered to him, "His Majesty's health is not very good."
Rong Xia sighed. "His Majesty is the son of the heavens. With the heavens' protection, he will be fine."
Lord Zhou knew that he was just saying these words. He smiled. "I also hope so."
Rong Xia turned to look at Lord Zhou. He said seriously, "His Majesty's health will be fine."
Lord Zhou paused and then looked away. "Lord Rong is right."
"Lord Zhou, Junpo." Ban Huai saw the two and patted the horse under him, telling it to quickly catch up. Rong Xia turned and saw him. He quickly pulled on the reins and did not let the horse continue forward. When Ban Huai caught up, he was half a horse's length behind Ban Huai. "Uncle."
Ban Huai yawned. He was forced to get up early in the morning. He was not in good spirits. "How is His Majesty?"
Lord Zhou glanced at Rong Xia and did not speak.
Rong Xia whispered, "His Majesty's body is suffering from a stroke. He needs to rest."
Stroke?
Ban Huai was inwardly shocked. This illness was very difficult to treat. If it was light, his hands and feet would not be nimble. If it was severe, he would be paralyzed in bed. No wonder he let the Crown Prince be the regent. How could an Emperor who suffered from a stroke sit high in the court?
Zhou Bingan was even more surprised that Rong Xia told Ban Huai about this. Was he not afraid that Ban Huai would not be able to keep it a secret and bring him trouble?
When they parted ways, Zhou Bingan saw that Rong Xia followed Ban Huai in a direction. He suddenly understood. It seemed that Rong Xia really treated Ban Huai as his father-in-law. Did that Princess Fule really have such great charm that she could make Rong Xia act like this?
He looked up at the sun hanging in the sky and shook his head secretly. Last night, there was still thunder in spring. Today, the sun was shining brightly. The weather was really unpredictable.
Ban Huai rarely took the initiative to invite Rong Xia to visit. This was a rare treatment that Rong Xia rarely received after he and Ban Han were engaged. So today, when Ban Huai invited him to visit, he did not hesitate to agree.
His future father-in-law had said before that when a man pursues the woman he likes, he must be thick-skinned. So he was learning from his father-in-law.
"This humble one greets master, greets Duke Cheng." When the Ban Family's gatekeepers saw the two of them, they bowed and led their horses. Their attitudes were enthusiastic and attentive. A few servants surrounded the two of them. After sending them in, they bowed and left.
This was one of the characteristics of the Ban Family's servants. They were especially enthusiastic towards their masters and guests. This kind of enthusiasm gave people the feeling that all the servants were looking forward to meeting them.
Rong Xia had been to many people's houses as guests, but there were not many who were as polite and attentive as the Ban Family's gatekeepers.
"Come, let's talk inside." Ban Huai patted Rong Xia's shoulder and led Rong Xia directly into the second gate. But before the two of them entered, a servant had already reported to the Yin Clan so that the Yin Clan could be prepared.
"Who?" Ban Huai was listening to a storytelling in the Yin Clan's courtyard when he heard the servant's report. "Who did you say also came?"
"Duke Rong."
"Him?" Rong Xia softly sat back down and said to the female storyteller, "Since it's Duke Rong, there's no problem. You can continue."
Hearing this, the Yin Clan glanced at her. "You're becoming more and more unruly. When Duke Rong comes in, you'll still be listening to a storyteller. What will that look like?"
"He's different from others." Ban Han used a silver pick to pick up a piece of fruit and eat it. After wiping his mouth clean, he said, "In this world, some scholars are pedantic scholars. Some scholars are magnanimous and don't adhere to customs. As for him …" Ban Han blinked, "He's probably someone who doesn't care about trifles."
"He doesn't care about trifles because he's magnanimous." The Yin Clan waved his hand and dismissed the storyteller. "But that doesn't mean that he can't be polite."
After all, the Yin Clan didn't understand Rong Xia's nature well enough, so they were more careful than Ban Han.
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