139 Chapter 139

◎The emperor keeps his promise.◎

"You..." Liu Ju looked at his father in surprise and doubt, "You are...you are not..."

"You..." Liu Ju looked at the Emperor's eyes, which were red from the high fever, "Who are you?"

Liu Che opened his hand and glanced at the mole on his palm. "Hmm...it's still me, so it's not so strange. Er, haven't you always admired Emperor Taizu's attitude towards life and death?"

Liu Ju shook his head. That was not what he meant. Rather,... this attitude of seeing through life and death was very much like that of someone who had already lived through life.

Thinking of what the emperor had said when he was unconscious, Liu Ju had an incredible guess.

Can……

He didn't seem to be the emperor of his previous life, because in his previous life, he shouldn't have seen through life and death, unless...

Liu Che continued, "However, I cannot take medicine yet." He rubbed his forehead, a look of pain on his face. "Do you have any more medicine brewed by the attendant physician? Give me another bowl."

"Grandfather, you should rest for a while." Liu Ju didn't have time to think about anything else and hurriedly advised, "Whatever it is, wait until Grandfather is better."

Liu Che continued, "Let the Marquis of Changping return to Chang'an, and the Marquis of Guanjun remain in Shanglin Garden. You have done well. I will issue another decree, and you will have no worries."

This was obviously talking at cross purposes. Seeing that the Emperor was still planning to talk about these matters after his death, Liu Ju became angry again.

You'll live to be seventy, worry about your death!

Liu Ju held back his anger and said, "Aunt, take a rest first..."

But before he could finish his words, Liu Che continued, "Prince, announce the title of Marquis of Guanjun and the Prime Minister..."

He named a few people, and Liu Ju gritted his teeth and agreed one by one.

Is there no one in this world to take care of His Majesty the Emperor and let him recover from his illness? Liu Ju thought viciously.

"Aung." Liu Ju held his hand. "Promise me one thing, Aung. If you promise me, I will let you see them."

This sounded like a threat, but the prince actually had no control over who the emperor wanted to see. Even if the emperor was too ill to get up, he still held power. All the rights the prince had now were granted by the emperor.

However, His Majesty the Emperor did not mind the Crown Prince's arrogance. He laughed, closed his sore eyes, and said slowly, "What are you talking about?"

Liu Ju spoke slowly, "Aunt, you will get better. You will definitely get better. Promise me, you will get better."

Liu Che raised his hand with great effort, groped and rubbed Liu Ju's head, and sighed: "Silly child."

This trick didn't work, but it didn't matter, he had other options, he hadn't been a ghost for so many years in vain.

Liu Ju continued, "Aunt, I'm still very young. Without Aunt to protect me, they will bully me. You know, just like when you first ascended the throne, they bullied you. Now these people will bully me in the same way."

His Majesty the Emperor lost his composure. He frowned and asked, "Who did you learn to say such things?"

Maybe she was a concubine in some palace fighting drama. These hypocritical words should be very useful to deal with the sick and sentimental emperor... Liu Ju thought, it couldn't be that his father preferred Li Ji's method.

"I don't need to learn from anyone, Aung. You know these things have happened before." Liu Ju stared at him with his eyes, which were clearly black and white. He was clearly just trying to act, but he couldn't help sobbing. "It will happen again in the future."

Liu Che suddenly opened his eyes and saw that the prince's eyes had turned red at some point.

Liu Ju was already able to handle many things very well on his own. It was true that there would be many hardships for a young man to ascend the throne, but Liu Che knew his son's abilities. He could overcome the thorns and he would support the Han Dynasty.

This is how Liu Che got to where he is today. There is no reason why his son can’t do the same.

However, if possible, Liu Che certainly hoped that his life would be smooth and stable.

This is what he expected both as an emperor and as a father.

"Okay." Liu Che said solemnly, "The emperor has a promise, my son, I will be fine."

…

The news of the emperor's serious illness could no longer be concealed as he summoned the three dukes and nine ministers, and it spread quickly throughout Chang'an City like wings.

No matter if they were princes or nobles or common people, everyone was discussing whether the Emperor was in danger this time. Since he had entrusted his son to someone else, it must be...

The rest of the conversation was tacitly understood, and then they began to discuss the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was younger than His Majesty had been when he ascended the throne. Even with his uncle and cousin assisting him in governing the country, it was probably still...

Haven’t you seen what happened to the Emperor’s uncle back then?

Now the prince is still young, and the Grand Marshal and the General hold great power in the court. Who knows how he will monopolize power in the future. The little emperor... Alas!

In Dinghu Palace in Shanglinyuan, His Majesty the Emperor has already learned about these gossips.

However, we still have to turn back the time to the moment when His Majesty the Emperor issued an edict to the three dukes and nine ministers and was preparing to take the medicine.

In order to prevent any accidents as much as possible, Liu Ju, after obtaining the emperor's consent, cut a small amount of the medicine and let the emperor take it first. After observing whether there were any adverse reactions, he would decide whether to continue taking it.

Liu Ju also prepared something to induce vomiting, and if the emperor showed any sign of abnormality, he would immediately force him to drink it.

Fortunately, after taking the medicine, His Majesty the Emperor slept for an hour and then woke up peacefully. The first thing he did was to ask the prince to take away the emetic Guati San.

After a careful examination, Liu Ju said, "Auntie can indeed take this medicine."

That little bit of medicine could not reduce the emperor's fever. In fact, with only this one pill, Liu Ju could not guarantee that he would be cured after taking it.

But Liu Ju wanted to tell His Majesty the Emperor that this medicine was so magical that you would get better after taking it.

When the drug is too little, psychological effects are also a very important factor.

This time, after the emperor took the medicine, Liu Ju persuaded him to eat some meat porridge, and only then did he fall into a deep sleep again.

It was already afternoon. Since being woken up last night, Liu Ju had been in a state of tension. Not to mention closing his eyes, he hadn't even relaxed for a moment.

At this moment, he was still concerned about the Emperor's reaction after taking the medicine and refused to leave his sickbed.

It was sunset when Huo Qubing arrived. Seeing the Crown Prince still guarding his sickbed, he whispered to a palace attendant, "Has Your Highness not rested yet?"

The palace maid said with a bitter face: "Replying to the Grand Marshal, His Highness has not slept a wink for almost a whole day and night."

Liu Ju was sitting on the footrest, resting his chin on his hand, his eyes fixed on the sleeping Emperor, while he said, "Cousin, I heard it."

Huo Qubing came over and said bluntly, "Your Highness, you should go to sleep."

Liu Ju said: "It's not even a day and a night. Last night I slept for more than six hours."

Although he was woken up before three in the morning, he went to bed at just after eight last night.

Huo Qubing leaned over and patted Liu Ju's shoulder, saying gently, "Ju'er, I'll guard His Majesty for you. Go and rest for a while on the couch over there. I'll call you immediately if anything happens."

Liu Ju raised his hand to test the temperature of the Emperor's forehead, then his own. He checked the redness and swelling of the wound, then nodded and said, "The medicine has begun to take effect, cousin. I have to wait until my father's fever subsides before I go to rest."

"If you keep going like this, your body won't be able to bear it." Huo Qubing advised again.

Liu Ju paused. After all, he wasn't a real teenager, so he couldn't be so willful and disobey advice. He then said, "Don't worry, cousin. Wait another hour. When it's my usual sleeping time, I'll definitely go to sleep."

Huo Qubing was worried, but the prince was obviously very stubborn. He could only say, "I'll take your place in an hour."

"Yes." Liu Ju said, "Thank you, cousin."

Huo Qubing bowed slightly and said, "This is my duty."

Before the hour's deadline was up and Huo Qubing came to take over the duty of guarding the emperor, he woke up again.

This time, His Majesty the Emperor was much more sober, and his eyes were no longer red, but he still had a slight fever, and the redness and swelling of the wound had not completely subsided.

Liu Ju was still worried about a relapse, but he said calmly, "Auntie is almost well. The doctor is brewing some medicine. After taking the medicine and getting some sleep, he'll be fully recovered tomorrow."

Before Liu Che could even feel happy, his face darkened when he heard he had to take medicine: "Why take medicine? I didn't take anything else today, only medicine!"

"There are other options!" Liu Ju said hurriedly, "There's bird's nest porridge, meat porridge, vegetable porridge, and even porridge with shrimp. Which one would you like, Grandpa?"

Liu Che pointed to his strong, snow-white teeth and said, "I am neither a toothless baby nor a toothless old man. Your Highness, can I eat something other than porridge?"

It was a good thing that he wanted to eat, as it meant that his body was recovering. Liu Ju said happily, "Yes, I have prepared something else..." He immediately ordered the palace servants to bring up all the prepared meals.

Because the emperor was recuperating, all the meals were light without exception. Liu Che was not picky at this time. He ate some of the food that suited his appetite and asked Liu Ju to eat as well.

Liu Ju had not left the bedroom today, and naturally it was no different now. He ate two bowls of porridge and some side dishes, and waited for Liu Che to finish eating before letting him leave.

Liu Che finally felt that he had some strength left. He waved his hand for the prince to come closer. Liu Ju didn't understand why, but he still came closer.

"Your eyes are all red from staying up all night." Liu Che pinched Liu Ju's face, "Ju'er, go get some sleep."

"It's okay, old man, I slept for a long time last night..." Liu Ju was about to bring out the same excuse he used to deal with Huo Qubing, but of course the emperor didn't buy it.

"Sleep here." Liu Che said, "Sleep next to Aong."

Liu Ju was stunned for a moment, unable to react: "Ah..."

When Marquis Guanjun arrived at the appointed time, His Majesty the Emperor was leaning against the head of the bed, bored, while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was quietly snuggling beside his father.

"Your Majesty!" Huo Qubing's voice was not loud, but his excitement was evident. "Are you well again?"

Liu Che pointed at the prince, made a gesture to keep quiet, and then nodded.

Huo Qubing's eyes were shining and he stopped talking. He also glanced at the prince, but found that the prince did not sleep well.

Even in his sleep, he frowned.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the Crown Prince and sighed silently.