Chapter 114.2 – An Episode of Illness
King Wei hoped that the Emperor would recover as soon as possible, and Qi Yang also hoped that the Emperor would recover as soon as possible. The Crown Prince and the royal family members included, no one wished that the Emperor’s situation would worsen. Everyone was hoping for him to get better, but what happened was completely the opposite.
When the Emperor fainted and woke up, it seemed that the problem wasn’t that serious, and the royal physicians assured him that he only had a cold and fever. Everyone also let go of their worries. Unexpectedly, the Emperor missed the morning court meeting on the second day, and did not meet the officials to government affairs for several days afterwards.
All the government affairs were entrusted to the Eastern Palace. It was said to be a recuperation after illness, but everyone knew that for a person as powerful as the Emperor, even if he was recuperating, it was impossible to be so utterly quiet.
Gradually, there were talks within the court saying that the Emperor was seriously ill.
King Wei and several princesses received the news and went to the palace one after another to seek audience, but none of them were able to see the Emperor, making the rumors even more rampant. Fortunately, there was still the Crown Prince presiding in the palace, so there hadn’t been any big disturbances!
However, compared to King Wei and the other princesses, the advantage of Qi Yang being close to the Crown Prince and being favored by the Emperor was evident – she was probably the only princess who knows the Emperor’s true condition.
As far as Qi Yang knew, the Emperor indeed only had a cold and slight fever at the beginning. The royal physician gave him medicine and he woke up, and everyone’s minds were calmed. But that night, the Emperor’s condition relapsed, and the slight fever turned into a high fever.
No matter how much medicine he took, it was useless. The Crown Prince watched over him in front of his sickbed all night, and when the Emperor woke up the next day, the Crown Prince almost fell ill.
If only it was just a one-time occurrence. Alas, it stayed the same for several consecutive days. The Emperor developed a fever shortly after nightfall, and almost all the royal physicians in the Royal Hospital were stationed in Xuanshi Hall. But even with all their means, the Emperor’s condition could not be improved.
The palace was full of worries, and the Crown Prince also became haggard, causing his already thin body to become even thinner.
Qi Yang knew about all these, but she knew that there was nothing she could do. Other than doing her best to help the Crown Prince stabilize the situation, she couldn’t do anything about the Emperor’s illness. Seeing the helpless look of the royal physicians, her heart gradually sank to the bottom.
The turning point came half a month later. One day, the Emperor woke up from a deep sleep and heard a young attendant muttering in a low voice, “His Majesty has been ill for a long time, and the Royal Hospital has not come up with any solutions. Why do I feel that His Majesty’s condition is just getting worse after drinking those bowls of bitter medicine? Maybe it’s better to stop drinking it for a few days.”
The Emperor was already very ill. When he heard those words in a daze, he suddenly felt that they’re very reasonable. He was not someone who shied away from medical treatments, but he himself felt that he was becoming increasingly weak after drinking those medicine for the past half month. Even his mouth now had a bitter aftertaste – he really couldn’t see any hope!
Sick people could be a bit extreme, and the royal physicians had been unsuccessful for a long time, so the Emperor also questioned their medical skills. He didn’t drink the medicinal soup that Zhang Jian sent that day, and also sent out a notice to look for other famous doctors.
No one could stop the Emperor when his temper flared up, and Zhang Jian was no exception. In the end, the Emperor did not drink the bowl of soup.
The Crown Prince found out about it the next day and was about to persuade him, but unexpectedly, a miracle happened. The night the Emperor refused to drink the medicine, the nighttime fever he had been plagued with for more than half a month stopped! It didn’t stop completely and his temperature was still high, but it was obviously better than before.
The people living in the palace were very sensitive. Although it was just an overnight improvement, such a connection was enough for them to draw some conclusion. After Zhang Jian reported the matter to the Crown Prince, the usually gentle and benevolent Crown Prince’s face turned cold, and without another word, he had the royal guards surround the Royal Hospital.
After the medicine was stopped for another day, the Emperor’s improvement became even more apparent. The Crown Prince was both shocked and pleased, and he summoned the Head Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate the matter.
Rumors that the Royal Hospital tried to assassinate the Emperor did not spread, but Qi Yang soon found out. She especially made a trip to the palace, and no one knew what she discussed with the Crown Prince. But after she returned to the mansion, she was obviously much more relieved.
After another half a month of recuperation, the Emperor, who had been absent from the court for more than a month, finally appeared in front of everyone.
This time, everyone could see that he had aged. His beard and hair that were still black six months ago were now already half white. It could be seen that although this “illness” did not kill the Emperor, it still damaged his body’s foundation, and it would be very difficult to make up for it again.
Qi Yang was deeply saddened to see the rapidly aging Emperor, while King Wei’s reaction was even more exaggerated than her. When he met the Emperor, he threw himself directly onto his knees and wept bitterly. It wasn’t clear whether he was crying about the Emperor’s condition or about his own future.
In this year’s cold winter, the atmosphere of the Liang State’s court hall was gloomy and depressing.
A thousand miles away from there, in the Prime Minister’s mansion in Rong, Xie Yuan had just sent a carrier pigeon back flying. He was still holding onto a small roll of paper in his hand – after unrolling it and reading it again, the smile on the corners of his mouth became more and more apparent.
After a while, maybe because he had seen enough and was satisfied, he threw the note to the fireplace and burned it.
There was a small stove made of red clay, boiling water from snow to brew a clear tea. The hot air floating upwards carried the aroma of tea, giving the place an artistic sense. Xie Yuan was brewing tea casually, showing an elegant posture and refined bearing. When people look at him, they would think of someone with an elegant style and strong character, as if he was someone from a noble family from Jiangnan. It was difficult to imagine that this was Rong, and Xie Yuan was not an elegant and laid-back person.
This artistic conception was finally interrupted by a burst of very light footsteps. The person who cam was Meng Fei. He had just been ordered to release the carrier pigeon, but now he came back with a message, “Milord, the Princess is here.”
Xie Yuan stopped raising his cup of tea, his brows furrowing slightly, and his expression was no longer as happy as before.
Meng Fei saw that he didn’t get up, so he stepped aside and didn’t say much. He was like a shadow, constantly following and protecting Xie Yuan, but never interfering with his decisions.
Right now, Xie Yuan clearly didn’t want to pay attention to his barbarian wife, and he had also gained the upper hand between them over the years. But right now, the situation was different. The Rong Emperor and his officials were now estranged from him, making him understand the difficulties of being a foreigner in another country.
The hand that was holding his teacup tightened slightly, but in the end, he put the teacup down and got up. He walked out accompanied with a flick of his sleeves – being unable to bear small things would cause big troubles down the line. Wait until he had eliminated the hidden dangers, and he would clean up the situation in front of him!
RECENTLY UPDATES
