Chapter 165 Sleeping

"This...how is this possible?" Han Song was so surprised that his chopsticks dropped.

Xu Bing waved his hand and said, "This is just my guess. The exact situation is still unknown."

After being surprised, Han Song didn't have too many thoughts. After all, he was just a seventh-rank official, and it didn't matter to him who became the emperor.

But looking at Xu Bing's appearance, he must have been worried for a long time, and his beard has turned white.

"Don't think too much. If it rains, it will rain and my mother will get married. If the emperor really likes the princess, you can't stop him. It's better to let nature take its course and be more open-minded."

Xu Bing drank the wine in his glass and said, "I am confused. I am not as clear as you."

"You are the one who is in the middle of it, unlike me who only needs to take care of this little piece of land. Okay, don't worry about it. I'll take you to the hot springs to soak and relieve your stress."

The two of them went downstairs together and got on a carriage to the nearby hot spring resort.

*

There are more than a dozen hot spring resorts of all sizes in Pingnan County, with different charging standards. The cheap ones charge only a dozen coins for a bath, while the more expensive ones charge hundreds or thousands of coins.

It is a good season for hot spring bathing now. Locals occasionally come here to take a bath. There are many horse-drawn carriages parked outside the hot spring center, and it seems that business is really good.

Han Song took him to the largest local hot spring resort called Machishuikaku, which had more than 30 independent hot spring pools and could accommodate hundreds of people at the same time.

As soon as the two entered, the shopkeeper recognized County Magistrate Han. This was a rare guest! It was the first time he had seen him come to the hot springs in such a long time. He personally received the two and opened the most luxurious bath.

You need to change clothes after entering. The bathhouse will provide free cotton pants for hot spring bathing, as well as cotton towels and soap boxes for washing.

It was Xu Bing's first time to take a hot spring bath. He was a little curious about the place, so he walked barefoot through a narrow cobblestone road to the hot spring pool. The mist here was like a fairyland, and he could vaguely hear the sound of gurgling water and the unique sulfur smell in the hot spring pool.

"The hot spring pool is in front. It's slippery inside, so please go slowly," the shopkeeper introduced.

Han Song said, "Go ahead and do your work. I'll ask the waiter to serve us two plates of fruits later."

"Okay, okay."

After the shopkeeper left, there were only two people left in the room. Xu Bing squatted down and splashed some water. The temperature was just right, neither cold nor hot.

As soon as you enter the pool, you can feel the goodness of this hot spring. The warm water wraps around your body, making you sigh comfortably.

Han Song sat down on the other side and sighed, "Thanks to you, I can enjoy myself today."

"You live here, so you can come whenever you want."

"Oh? That won't do. It's too comfortable here. If you indulge in pleasure, you'll be close to corruption and abuse of power."

Xu Bing couldn't help but laugh and said, "Yes, you see this clearly."

People who can become close friends probably have similar personalities. If Han Song was the kind of person who was addicted to pleasure, he probably wouldn't be able to be friends with Xu Bing.

The hot steam from the hot spring rose, and the alcohol from the people steaming also surged up. The two men leaned against the stone with red faces.

"Jinghuai, next year's assessment here will definitely give you a top grade. How about I help you use your connections to get promoted to Shangjing?"

Han Song was stunned. "Going to Beijing?"

"Although it is difficult to enter the Six Ministries, with your qualifications, it should be no problem for you to be transferred to the Five Temples and Six Departments as a principal."

If he had been asked to go to Beijing ten years ago, Han Song would have agreed without blinking an eye, because Beijing officials have much more room for advancement than local officials!

Moreover, there are many opportunities to go to the capital, and even a lateral transfer to the capital is considered a promotion.

Han Song thought for a while and said, "Forget it. I am already 42 years old. I have been the county magistrate of Pingnan County for half my life and I have deep feelings for this place. Besides, my children have also taken root here. I can't bear to leave them."

Han Song and his wife raised five children. The oldest is 25 years old and the youngest is 17 years old. Their children have all started their own families, and it is time for them to enjoy the happiness of family life with many children and grandchildren.

Xu Bing said: "Indeed, it is difficult to leave the children." He also has three sons at home. The oldest is ten years old and the youngest is just learning to speak. He has been away for more than a month and misses them very much.

"But I don't know when we will meet again."

*

Xu Bing stayed in Pingnan County for two days and then set off back to Shangjing, arriving at Shangjing Station on the fourth day of December.

As soon as I got off the car, I received bad news that the emperor was unwell and had not attended court for four consecutive days.

"Has the imperial physician gone to see him?" Xu Bing walked hurriedly towards the palace.

"I've checked it out. They just said that he was suffering from a slight cold and was not feeling well. Lord Qin and his companions went to the palace a few days ago. I heard that they didn't even see the emperor..." Liu Lin, who was traveling with them, whispered.

Xu Bing paused. Song Yuzhu was well-known for his diligence. If he was just unwell, it would be impossible for him to miss the morning court for four days. He had a bad feeling in his heart.

The two came to the harem, and Xu Bing handed over a sign and was quickly let in.

The door to the bedroom was closed tightly and the guards outside were tight.

In the bedroom, Song Yuzhu was lying on the bed, as if she was asleep, and there was nothing unusual about her.

But he had slept for four whole days.

Four days ago, Song Yuzhu hurried back to the palace after court and ordered Li Dehai to quickly summon Zhao Xiao to the palace.

When Zhao Xiao came back, he saw Song Yuzhu already asleep on the bed, so he didn't disturb her.

It was almost noon, and Zhao Xiao called him a few more times, but found that he still did not respond. Then he realized that something was wrong and quickly called the imperial physician.

It happened that Song Yumin was on duty at the Imperial Medical Garden that day. After entering the palace, he carefully examined his cousin and said solemnly, "There is nothing wrong with your Majesty's health."

"No problem, why don't you wake up?"

"This... I don't know, but judging from your pulse, your Majesty is indeed in a state of sleep, not fainting."

Zhao Xiao was silent for a moment and said, "Announce to the public that the emperor has caught a cold, and don't say anything else."

Song Yumin nodded: "I understand."

In the following days, Zhao Xiao stayed by Song Yuzhu's side day and night without sleep, fearing that if he went out, Song Yuzhu would never wake up again.

"Knock knock knock." There was a knock on the door.

Li Dehai whispered outside the door: "Prime Minister Xu and Minister Liu are here."

Zhao Xiao let down the bed curtains, stood up and opened the door.

Xu Bing and Liu Lin walked in. As soon as they came in, Zhao Xiao closed the door to prevent others from peeping.

"Your humble servant greets the emperor!" Xu Bing and Liu Lin knelt on the ground and kowtowed, but Yingda did not show up after waiting for a long time.

Zhao Xiao said in a hoarse voice: "Get up, the emperor is still sleeping."

Xu Bing stood up in surprise. He saw that Zhao Xiao had dark circles under his eyes, chapped lips, and stubble on his face. It seemed that he had not had any rest in the past few days.

"How is the emperor's illness?"

If someone else asked, Zhao Xiao would definitely not tell the truth, but Xu Bing was different from others, and there was no way to hide this from him.

"Not very well. I have been in a coma for the past few days and have never woken up."

"Slept for four days?!" Xu Bing was horrified. He walked forward and lifted a corner of the bed curtain. He saw that Song Yuzhu's eyes were closed and she had no intention of waking up.

Zhao Xiao told him what happened a few days ago. After listening, Xu Bing said, "At this moment, we must stabilize the court first to avoid unrest."

Zhao Xiao: "I'll trouble Prime Minister Xu with the affairs of the court these days."

"It should be. I hope the emperor can wake up soon, but we have to make preparations for both scenarios."

Liu Lin's heart skipped a beat when he heard what Xu Bing said. Could it be that he was preparing for both situations...

Zhao Xiao nodded with a gloomy expression: "Send the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to find the Sleeping Dragon Cave."

No one wants this situation to happen, but if you really can't wake up, you have to be fully prepared.

There is also the issue of the crown prince, which is a serious matter and cannot be resolved in a short time. Seeing that Zhao Xiao looked listless and listless, Xu Bing took Liu Lin and retreated first.

Zhao Xiao returned to the bed, took Song Yuzhu's hand and rubbed it on his cheek, "Azhu, wake up quickly."

*

At this time, Song Yuzhu was trapped in a large empty house. A faint blue light flickered in the dark room.

Four days ago, when I was in court, the system in my mind suddenly sounded a prompt, and a message popped up that maintenance would be carried out in ten minutes.

Song Yuzhu felt strange and hurried back to her bedroom to wait after the court session.

He didn't know what system maintenance meant, because this was the first time this happened since he came into contact with this system.

As the countdown got shorter, he felt more and more uneasy. The previous moment he asked Li Dehai to call Zhao Xiao back to the palace, and the next second his eyes went dark and he fell into complete darkness, and then he came here.

It was not completely dark, as you could vaguely see many faint blue lights flickering around.

Song Yuzhu walked forward and took a closer look at the lights. They were made up of many different digital symbols, like strings of codes, which were dazzling.

"Is anyone there?" Song Yuzhu asked in a low voice.

It was quiet all around and no one answered.

He couldn't help but yell, "Where is this? Is there anyone there?"

Still no one answered, so he had no choice but to sit on the ground and wait.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but just when he was about to go crazy, a warning suddenly came from above his head.

"Ding, system maintenance is over."

Song Yuzhu stood up quickly, but before he had time to check, he suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness and fell from a high altitude.

He waved his arms in fear, and after a scream, he suddenly woke up from the bed!

"Yuzhu, Yuzhu! Wake up!" Zhao Xiao pulled his arm and shook it.

"Axiao?" Song Yuzhu opened her eyes and looked at him. She noticed that his eyes were red and his face looked extremely haggard. She tried to get up quickly but found that she was too weak to do anything.

"I...what's wrong with me?"

"You slept for seven days."

During these seven days, Zhao Xiao had hardly any rest. He stayed by Song Yuzhu's side day and night, taking care of his daily life.

Song Yuzhu didn't expect that she would be trapped there for so long. Besides being surprised, she was more afraid.

He held Zhao Xiao's hand and said, "I'm sorry to have frightened you these past few days."

Zhao Xiao held him tightly in his arms, "I thought... I thought you..." He was choked with sobs and couldn't say anything. He even made the worst plan. If Song Yuzhu died, he didn't want to live alone, so he built a mausoleum and buried them both in it.

"I'm sorry..." Song Yuzhu hugged him back and gently stroked his trembling spine.

After a while, Zhao Xiao calmed down and asked, "What on earth is going on?"

"I don't know."

"Will it happen again?"

Song Yuzhu shook her head helplessly: "I don't know either."

In fact, Song Yuzhu had a vague guess in his heart, but he had no way to verify whether this guess was true, so he didn't say it out loud.

"Are all these people I fell asleep in okay?"

Song Yuzhu coughed a few times and continued to ask, "Is Xu Bing back? How is the review of the military expenditures in Beiguan going? Rubber adhesive..."

Zhao Xiao suddenly interrupted him, "Yuzhu, can you stop being the emperor?"

(End of this chapter)