Emperor Hui gestured for Gu Shaoyu to be more specific.

"I have heard that the Empress Dowager has always been very caring towards the younger generation. Since her stroke, she has rarely made an appearance. I think Your Majesty should take some time to talk to her about everyday matters, which will be beneficial to your health."

His Majesty understood Gu Shaoyu's suggestion first, and his anxious heart calmed down.

Emperor Daqian was extremely particular about filial piety. As long as the Empress Dowager was alive, even if she was paralyzed, she could still boss the Emperor around. Disobeying her was considered unfilial.

Being unfilial would be criticized by the people, officials, and historians.

With her death, the mountain that once weighed heavily on Emperor Hui's head was gone.

No wonder he likes Jingchen so much; look at the idea he came up with!

To kill someone, destroy their spirit; talk her to death!

It was so satisfying!

Xie Anfeng immediately understood and said in a serious tone, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager suffered a stroke nearly a year ago. I haven't seen you for a long time. I wonder if you are still in good health?"

"Aside from some difficulty moving around and speaking, the Empress Dowager is otherwise fine," Emperor Hui said calmly, with a hint of sarcasm on his face.

Empress Dowager Wei was ten years older than him and was not his biological mother.

He devoted himself to the court, working himself to exhaustion and coughing up blood multiple times. The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, was very fortunate; despite suffering a stroke, she still had a rosy complexion.

In that case, he could live for several more decades without any problem; he might even outlive both the prince and the crown prince.

You old codger!

After discussing the matter all night, at dawn, all the officials went to court. Gu Shaoyu, Xie Anfeng, and others quietly slipped out from the side hall.

After bathing and washing up, one enters through the palace gate and goes on duty with the officials.

The morning court session was cancelled today. Everyone heard about the assassination attempt on Prince Qi and quietly inquired about it. They heard that Prince Qi and Princess Qi were still unconscious and their chances of survival were slim. Everyone dispersed and went about their respective duties.

Emperor Hui dressed himself, accompanied by beggar Zisheng, and went to the rear sleeping quarters, heading towards Cining Palace.

The snow on the palace road had been cleared, and Emperor Hui walked along, thinking about what he wanted to say to the Empress Dowager.

When Zhang Kexin, the head eunuch of Cining Palace, saw His Majesty approaching, he immediately knelt down to pay his respects.

The head maid, Huang Jingui, quickly paid her respects, opened the curtain, and invited Emperor Hui inside.

Emperor Hui had not visited Cining Palace for a long time.

The Empress controls the inner palace; whether he comes or not doesn't prevent the Empress Dowager from being well taken care of.

He walked to a spot not far from the Empress Dowager's bed, where Zhang Kexin had already brought over a cushioned chair for Emperor Hui.

Emperor Hui said to Jin Gui, "You all go out. I need to talk to the Empress Dowager for a while."

Since the Empress Dowager was lying down and unable to move, Granny Jin Gui placed a thick quilt behind her back.

The Empress Dowager hadn't seen Emperor Hui for a long time and tried hard to greet him, but to no avail. She could only squint and utter, "Gua gua (Emperor)..."

Emperor Hui smiled faintly and said, "Is the Empress Dowager thinking about the Crown Prince? I am thinking about him too."

The Empress Dowager's eyes widened. What do you mean? You're worried about him too? Doesn't he attend court every day? Has something happened?

"Alas, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince also wants to visit you, but a year ago, he developed a mental problem. He started shouting and yelling in court, and he became incontinent, as if he were having an epileptic seizure..."

The Empress Dowager's mouth twisted even more grotesquely as she grew anxious: "Crack, crack, crack (him)..."

"Him? He's dying! The Empress Dowager is worried, and so am I! We've consulted the imperial physicians, and even the Duke of Cheng'en has brought in renowned doctors from all over the country, but it's no use."

Emperor Hui, using the most provocative words, said sadly, "Mother, you haven't seen him in a long time, have you? He's so thin he looks like a ghost, he could be blown away by the wind. Do you think he's been punished by heaven? The imperial physician says he won't live much longer. Alas, he's clearly useless now, so we'll have to choose another virtuous and capable heir!"

Establish a new heir? How could that be? The Empress Dowager frantically uttered a string of characters: "Quack quack quack..."

Emperor Hui asked tentatively, "Does Mother mean to choose Prince Qi? Oh, he's good. He's capable and responsible, and he'll surely be able to take good care of my brothers in the future."

"Quack quack," no, no, we can't choose Prince Qi!

The Empress Dowager's mouth twisted grotesquely, her eyes rolled upwards in a frantic attempt to deny it, but she couldn't speak. She was so anxious that she wanted to move, but she couldn't.

It quacked for a while, drooling all over its face, its usually well-maintained face showing signs of anxiety and paleness.

Emperor Hui felt extremely pleased.

He couldn't kill the Empress Dowager, but he could have a "kind" chat with her.

Let's talk about the Crown Prince these past few days. Anyway, his situation is really bad. He didn't lie; he just told the truth.

Mother, it's so satisfying to be a dutiful son who never lies.

Emperor Hui and the Empress Dowager talked for quite a while, a full half hour.

After he left, Granny Jin Gui came in. The Empress Dowager was so excited that she lost control of her bladder and bowels and soiled the bed.

Granny Jin Gui quickly cleaned up the mess. The Empress Dowager was no longer able to struggle and lay on the bed, tears streaming down her face.

That day, the Empress Dowager unusually did not eat. When Jin Gui's nanny tried to feed her, she refused with a "quack."

After thinking for a moment, Granny Jin Gui went to report to the Empress.

The Empress saw that the Empress Dowager's face was ashen and was shocked. She asked, "What has Your Majesty done?"

Huang Jingui shook her head: "Zhang Kexin and I were both outside the bedroom and didn't hear anything."

The Empress Dowager couldn't eat, but His Majesty had a good appetite today. He kept Gu Shaoyu in the palace and dined with him.

While eating, he told him, "Today I went to see the Empress Dowager and told her about the Crown Prince's situation. She seemed particularly excited and didn't even eat lunch."

"I heard from the lady that if you eat too much of the sweet candy that Xiandou brought, you can become plump and fair-skinned even if you don't eat any other food."

"Then we should let the Empress Dowager try it."

The next day, His Majesty ordered a large bucket of molasses to be delivered to the Imperial Kitchen, instructing them to add excessive amounts of molasses to all of the Empress Dowager's meals.

"This is the finest glutinous sugar from Xiandou, for the Empress Dowager to enjoy. We must not treat the Empress Dowager poorly."

The imperial kitchen received an imperial decree to add extra sugar to all of the Empress Dowager's food.

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