Chapter 3 Chapter 3 I am about to cry
"Your Highness," Doctor Wang carefully pulled back Li Yan's sleeves, stood up and replied, "Your Highness was poisoned by love. This poison enters the lungs and destroys the mind. You must find a woman to have sex with in order to solve the problem. Your Highness, after a good night together, you are now fine."
Doctor Wang is the chief imperial physician of the Imperial Hospital in the Imperial City. Although he is over 70 years old, he is still energetic. There are only a few fine wrinkles on his face. He has a well-maintained body and his beautiful beard is neatly groomed and trembles slightly as he speaks.
"Will this poison have any effect on Your Highness's health?" Li Fu asked.
Doctor Wang shook his head and said, "There is no other impact. But to be on the safe side, I will prescribe another prescription for Your Highness to eliminate the remaining poison in your body."
Li Cheng nodded slightly as he sat in his armchair. Li Fu was told to follow Doctor Wang down.
Xia Changzai bowed her head, clasped her fists, and said in a voice as loud as a bell, "Your Highness."
"How's the investigation going?" Li Cheng dozed off at the top seat, his knuckles tapping the armrest from time to time.
"The owner of Fenglelou is Liang Yi. The restaurant opened a year ago. It was originally an ordinary restaurant with no customers. Later, somehow, with the promotion of Marquis Zhongyong, the restaurant's business became more and more prosperous. Many people came here to try the Shidongchun here."
"I sent someone to thoroughly investigate the restaurant and discovered their correspondence with the Liang Dynasty rebels," Xia Chang said as he pulled something out of his pocket and presented it to him.
Li Cheng flipped through the book casually. Most of the information was insignificant or they had already found out. It was obvious that the other party seemed to have expected that he would go to Fengle Tower and had set up a trap to wait for him to take the bait.
Thinking of this, he threw the stack of letters to the ground fiercely, his body covered in ice. "What a loyal and brave marquis! How dare he collude with the rebels of the previous dynasty? I think he is neither loyal nor brave! He has tarnished this title in vain!"
Seeing that His Highness was angry, Xia Chang lowered his head even more.
"What are you going to do next, Your Highness?"
Li Cheng snorted coldly, leaning forward, his cold eyes half-narrowed. "I'll report to my father tomorrow and then make a decision." This loyal and brave marquis couldn't be kept alive. The evidence was now irrefutable; no one could save the Yu family.
There's a story behind this. During the reign of Emperor Li of the Liang Dynasty, Yu Shi, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, was building his own forces in the southeast to oppose the imperial court. Emperor Li, with many capable ministers at his disposal, and Crown Prince Yan Guang, renowned for his virtue within the court and the public, personally led his troops to the southeast to destroy Yu Shi's forces.
Seeing repeated defeats, Yu Shi finally had no choice but to surrender. The Emperor, mindful of his ability to correct his mistakes, did not punish him severely, only stripping him of his military power. The Yu family still retained its honor and favor.
Later, Emperor Li became more and more arrogant and extravagant, and continued to increase taxes and labor service, which caused dissatisfaction among the people.
It so happened that a severe drought struck Guanzhong, and instead of providing disaster relief, Emperor Li exacerbated his exploitation of the people. Where there is oppression, there is resistance. The first uprising was launched by the Li clan in Taiyuan. As soon as the spearhead emerged, it was quickly followed by a chorus of support from across the country.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Even though Prince Yan Guang was virtuous and capable, he could not stop the Liang State from going to destruction.
In the ninth year of the Yanqing reign, Emperor Li was killed by a barrage of arrows from rebel forces that stormed the imperial city. Crown Prince Yanguang escaped during the chaos and his whereabouts remain unknown. The Li family became the dominant force in the entire Central Plains.
The Li family's victory was unstoppable, and Yu Shi, after carefully assessing the situation and weighing the pros and cons, led his army to join the Li family. The current emperor, considering his sincerity commendable, specially conferred him the title of Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, with a fief of 1,000 households.
Now, after a few years of living a carefree life, he couldn't help but collude with the Liang Dynasty rebels. Xia Chang couldn't understand what this loyal and brave marquis was up to. He rebelled against the Liang Dynasty when Emperor Li was in power, and now that the dynasty had changed and the Jin Dynasty was in power, he was entangled with the Liang Dynasty rebels again.
Even fence-sitters are not as swayed as he is.
Fang Boheng, who had been stroking his beard, finally spoke: "Your Highness, I heard that you intend to confer the title of Fengyi on that woman."
Li Cheng seemed to dislike people talking about this matter. His finger that was tapping the armrest of the armchair paused slightly and he nodded coldly.
"Your Highness, absolutely not!" he advised. "Fengle Tower is where the rebels meet, and Fengyi's identity is questionable. Furthermore, in my opinion, your encounter with Fengyi, while you were poisoned by love, is clearly part of the enemy's plan. Perhaps Fengyi is a spy the rebels are trying to place beside Your Highness. In that case, you absolutely must not keep him!"
Fang Boheng's words of persuasion were passionate.
Li Cheng's heart was shaken. When he was sober, he had thought about killing her. From the time he was poisoned by love to the time he met her and was beaten, these things were linked together. It was obvious that this was a conspiracy carefully designed by the traitor. In this case, how could that woman be so clean?
However, Li Cheng knew that even though he was poisoned by love, he was capable of escaping the situation at that time. But for some reason, the sight of those familiar eyes made him unable to move, and he allowed himself to unleash his desire and take her by force.
How did the traitor know about his childhood? And where did he find this woman?
Seeing that the prince remained silent, Fang Boheng continued to persuade him, "Your Highness and the Emperor have finally taken over the throne. Now the rebels have not been eliminated and their foundation is unstable. We cannot let such a small matter hinder the cause of the Jin Dynasty! This girl must not be kept!" The old minister shouted at the top of his lungs, revealing his sincere loyalty.
Li Cheng felt that what he said made sense. He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. Just as he was about to nod, his mind suddenly flashed with the pitiful look of the woman lying on the bed, hugging the quilt, looking at him. It was delicate and timid, like a feather gently brushing against his heartstrings.
She had only come to help out of kindness, even preparing to seek medical help. As he pinned her down, the woman seemed extremely reluctant, gritting her teeth and crying as she tried to push him away. The disparity in strength between the man and the woman ultimately prevented her from succeeding.
So, what had she done wrong? She was working a menial job in the restaurant, often getting beaten and scolded, but he had taken advantage of her out of kindness. She must have been extremely reluctant, right?
Li Cheng subconsciously fiddled with the exquisite jade pendant on his waist. When the pair of eyes appeared in his mind again, he said firmly: "She is just a woman, nothing to be afraid of. Just let her fend for herself in the backyard. If a woman can steal the country, then I don't need to be the crown prince."
As soon as he finished speaking, he put down the jade pendant in his hand and stood up.
Fang Boheng sighed as he watched the tall figure gradually recede into the distance. Xia Chang advised, "Don't worry, Lord Fang. Your Highness has always been upright and honest. How could he be coerced by a woman? Besides, Your Highness is not interested in women and doesn't have any concubines or maids."
"Didn't you suspect His Highness of having a health problem before? Now that he has finally been able to visit a woman, Your Excellency should be happy for the Crown Prince. Your subordinates see that the woman is honest and innocent. There is nothing to worry about with such a well-behaved woman by His Highness's side."
"Your Highness has always been extremely intelligent. As your subjects, we should trust your decisions."
"That's right, that's right," Fang Boheng thought it through, and paced back and forth, stroking his beard with a smile, "I was worried before whether there was something wrong with His Highness's health, but now it seems that those worries were completely unnecessary."
-
It was already late when Liang Hanzhang was welcomed back to the East Palace. Li Fu was waiting outside the carriage with a hunched back. When he saw someone coming out, he said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I am the chief steward of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I have been ordered by the Crown Prince to come and pick you up personally."
Liang Hanzhang recalled the man's cold eyes and shuddered in her heart. It sounded impossible that he would send someone to pick her up personally.
What caught her eye was a plump eunuch in his early forties, dressed in a purple and gold robe with silver patterns and four claws. He held a whisk at his waist. His belly, swathed beneath the robe, swayed with his movements. Almost instantly, she thought of the herbal jelly from South Vietnam that she had eaten as a child.
The grass jelly paste is all black, with a cooling effect that can relieve summer heat. A gentle touch of the hand makes it sway like Li Fu's belly, soft and elastic.
When Liang Hanzhang looked into the fat, round face with wrinkles all over it due to his smile, he immediately felt a liking for this kind-hearted general manager.
She had heard before that the Crown Prince was handsome and was the dream lover of almost all the young women in Kyoto, but after a quick look today, she found that he looked just like that.
He has one nose, one pair of eyes, one mouth, and one pair of ears. He looks pale and weak. Although he is not particularly ugly, he is definitely not handsome.
It seems that outsiders have exaggerated too much, she sighed inwardly. She had thought that in the backyard of the East Palace, she would occasionally see the prince's handsome face, so this deal was not too bad. Now that she found out that the prince looked like this, it was really disgusting.
The thought of having to deal with this obsessive and moody man in the future makes me feel suffocated.
Li Fu saw people standing there in a daze, and continued to remind them: "My Lady"
Liang Hanzhang finally reacted, embarrassedly lowered his head to look at the tip of his shoes, and said softly: "I... I was stunned for a moment by how big this place is. Please don't blame me, Lord."
The call of "honest and upright master" almost made Li Fu laugh out loud. He was a eunuch, but because of the highness's power, so many people outside secretly called him a worthless bastard, a dead dog who ate dog shit, and a peasant. He didn't expect to be honored by the empress. Although the title was a bit ridiculous.
The old eunuch was so moved that he burst into tears. What a wonderful girl! She deserves to be chosen by their Highness!
Xiao Qing sneered beside him, "What a lowly creature, so ignorant! He's just a eunuch, yet he calls himself a great judge! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at when you tell others about it?"
"Shut up!" the purple-robed woman warned her. Xiaoqing saw Li Fu's livid face and realized that she had said the wrong thing.
Li Fu's expression remained unchanged, he only sneered, "Your Highness has been living in the front yard for many years, not caring about the affairs of the backyard. This has made you even more confused about your own status."
He turned and ordered, "This slut has insulted the Empress in public. Drag her away and give her thirty lashes of the cane. If she dies, fine. But if she doesn't, sell her out!"
The guards received the order and immediately dragged the person away. In the darkness, only Xiaoqing's screams and pleas for mercy remained: "Eunuch, I didn't mean to do it! Please forgive me!" The voice spread further and further away until it disappeared into the layers of deep palace walls.
After this incident, no one dared to neglect Liang Hanzhang. Li Fu saw him standing blankly in the snow, his face red from the cold, clearly frightened by what had just happened.
He hurriedly bent over and pretended to slap his mouth: "Oh, look at me, I actually bypassed Your Majesty and punished someone. Your Majesty, I have behaved inappropriately. If Your Majesty wants to punish me, I dare not say a word..."
Liang Hanzhang couldn't help laughing as he watched him raise his chubby white hands to hit himself, his bloated body almost tripping in the snow.
She still pretended to be frightened and tried to stop him, "Father-in-law, what are you saying? I was rude and offended you just now. I hope you are not angry with me."
It was freezing cold, so it wasn't a good place for a chat. Li Fu hurriedly greeted her and walked towards the backyard, introducing the East Palace to her as he walked. Finally, when they reached a courtyard, he pointed at the plaque with his whisk and said,
"Your Majesty, this place is called Zhilanju, and it will be the palace where Your Majesty will live in the future."
Liang Hanzhang looked at the majestic and tall building, not hiding his shock, "This yard is so big, it's just for me to live in."
Li Fu replied with a smile, "As a concubine, it is in accordance with etiquette for your Majesty to live in a separate courtyard." He waved to the side, and soon four women in uniform blue and white palace robes came up. "These four maids will serve your Majesty from now on. Quickly, pay your respects to her."
The four maids were named Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice respectively. Their names were easy to remember and their appearances were different. Liang Hanzhang remembered them after just a quick glance.
Li Fu flicked his whisk and wanted to continue introducing her, but Liang Hanzhang pulled his sleeve and said cautiously, "Eunuch, four maids... aren't they too many?"
Before she met His Highness, she was also a maid, her status was many times lower than that of the Eastern Palace. She was not used to being served by so many maids.
Li Fu saw the panic in her eyes and comforted her, "Your Majesty is now the most powerful mistress in the East Palace's backyard, and having four maids is in accordance with etiquette. If Your Majesty refuses, the people below will suspect that you have fallen out of favor."
The queen looked delicate and petite, with a soft personality. He didn't know if she would be bullied by the maids. Li Fu sighed in his heart, thinking that he had to pay more attention to the queen.
Liang Hanzhang followed him in with trepidation, still struggling to adjust to this change of status. She pulled Li Fu aside, away from the crowd, and said, "Father-in-law, you are very knowledgeable. Zhang Niang is a lowly servant from a small family. I will need your guidance in the future."
Li Fule laughed: "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? You are my master. Your Majesty is willing to trust and rely on me. This is the blessing of my three lifetimes!"
Liang Hanzhang had found his bloated, obese figure endearing from the moment he first laid eyes on him. Now, seeing his friendly attitude, not even a scornful glance at him because he was the Eastern Palace's chief steward, he was immediately overjoyed and pulled on his sleeve, saying,
"In that case, Madam Zhang, please acknowledge me as your godfather. I lost my parents when I was young, and you, my father-in-law, have been guiding me in this deep palace, like my adopted parents..."
Li Fuhuo jumped up as if he had been stung by a bee, almost dropping the whisk in his hand. He waved his hands repeatedly, "My Queen, this is absolutely not allowed!"
Fengyi is the prince's man, and the emperor in the palace is the empress's real father. How dare a eunuch like him be the empress's godfather?
Isn't this a sign of rebellion?
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