Chapter 46 Chapter 46 The Wise King
The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is the Kitchen God Festival, also known as the New Year's Eve.
The Kitchen God Hall in the palace had already been set out with various offerings—tailao (a type of Chinese food), grains, glutinous rice cakes, and candied fruits—for the Kitchen God. Due to a relapse of an old illness, the Emperor, while previously he had personally performed the worship service, this year he had delegated full authority to the Crown Prince.
The crown prince arranged for the Taichang Temple and Guanglu Temple to preside over the music and worship. All officials fasted for three days beforehand, bathed, and burned incense to show respect to the Kitchen God.
At the Chenpai hour, smoke and fire filled the Kitchen God Temple, and ritual officials sang loudly words of praise and recited sacrificial texts.
The prince was dressed in a ochre-yellow four-clawed python robe and a twelve-beamed crown on his head. He stood in front of the ministers and officials, taking the lead in the procession. His posture was as straight as a pine tree. In his hand, he held a nearly ten-foot-long tribute incense stick, which he inserted into the bronze incense burner with dragon patterns and animal eyes carved on the image of Suanni in front of the Kitchen God Temple, and knelt down respectfully and devoutly.
The sacrificial texts read by the ritual officials mostly request the Kitchen God to "speak good things to the gods" and bless the royal family with health, peace and prosperity, and the people to live and work in peace and contentment.
After the rhythmic recitation of the sacrificial hymn concluded, the crown prince, on behalf of the royal family, cremated the divine horse, conveying the people's prayers to the gods in heaven. A final ritual preceded the ascension of the deity: the crown prince, holding a glass cup filled with sweet wine, knelt before heaven and earth, and sprinkled the wine on the ashes of the incinerated divine horse.
At this point, the ritual of offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God was officially complete. After the worship of the Kitchen God, the remaining step was to distribute the sacrificial offerings. This meant distributing the sacrificial offerings among the court's most influential ministers and favored eunuchs, a practice known as "distributing blessings."
The royal gifts symbolized the emperor's favor and courtesy, and officials could boast about them all day long. By noon, the grand Kitchen God worship ceremony was finally over.
When Li Cheng returned to the Xuanguang Hall in front, he was already feeling a little tired. Li Fu, who was serving him, naturally knew the specific reason.
It was simply because the Empress was pregnant and kept waking up at night, disturbing His Highness's sleep. Both he and His Highness had repeatedly urged His Highness to return to Tingfeng Pavilion and rest, but the Crown Prince refused to comply and continued to endure the rest.
With a beautiful girl in his arms, and the prince having just been crowned a few years ago, he was full of vigor and vitality. Li Fu had seen the prince get up in the middle of the night to take a cold shower countless times.
Why bother? The old steward really didn't understand. It was just a woman. He couldn't sleep without her, or something. Since the queen was pregnant and couldn't attend to her, His Highness could just take in some decent girls and use them when needed.
After all, the daughters of the wealthy and powerful families outside are all trying their best to be favored by the prince so that they can get a position in the Eastern Palace.
It seems that the Crown Prince is truly deeply in love with His Majesty. Just look at the fact that His Majesty has only had the Empress in his harem for many years. I'm afraid that His Highness is also like His Majesty, who only wants one scoop from the vast ocean.
It was still unknown whether the position of Empress Dowager would fall to Liang Yuan in the future. An idea suddenly struck Li Fu. Even though he knew the possibility was extremely small, it was certainly possible.
In short, now I am serving and respecting Empress Liangyuan well.
Li Cheng sat on the armchair, his fingertips pinching his brow, his whole body brimming with fatigue. He had been busy with today's Kitchen God sacrifice since the 11th hour of the 11th, and it had been three full hours now. He was truly exhausted.
Li Fu was fine. Although he also got up at this time, he didn't have to go in during the Kitchen God Temple during the sacrifice. He could take a nap outside.
In addition, the prince almost did not sleep last night, so he felt dizzy and very uncomfortable.
"Your Highness, why don't you ask the imperial physician to come and take a look?" Li Fu asked carefully from the side.
The prince waved his hand to refuse: "Today is the Kitchen God Festival, and there are many people in the palace. If I invite the imperial physician to the Xuanguang Palace now, maybe some ominous rumors will be spread tomorrow."
The Crown Prince offered sacrifices to the Heaven and Earth Kitchen Gods on behalf of the Emperor. Immediately after the ceremony, he fell ill and needed the Imperial Physician's attention. It didn't sound auspicious at all. Tomorrow, he would be completely sealed off from the imperial seal and allowed to rest, awaiting the upcoming New Year's Day. Better less trouble than more.
"How about Your Highness go into the inner room and rest for a while?" It seemed that he was not in the mood to handle state affairs. The prince nodded and asked Li Fu to pay attention to the movements outside and wake him up immediately if anything happened.
Li Fu nodded and bowed before leaving. He was thinking, "If it's nothing important, try not to disturb His Highness. If it's insignificant, refuse it if you can." His Highness has worked hard, and he deserves a good night's sleep.
Just after half an hour, the old eunuch came in helplessly and shouted to the fallen heavy curtains: "Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Virtuous King has returned to the capital."
Li Cheng's voice was still a little hoarse, and he uttered a helpless "hmm". After a while, he opened the curtain, his eyes still a little blurry, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where are we?"
"We have arrived at Changchun Palace now. The Empress has prepared the banquet early in the morning, and even Princess Changping has entered the palace. Yuanbao, who was beside the Empress, came over to announce the Empress's decree, asking Your Highness to come to Changchun Palace immediately so that the family can have a harmonious family dinner."
After Li Fu finished speaking, he couldn't help but curse in his heart. His Royal Highness the Wise King didn't come back earlier or later, but at this time. Their Royal Highness still needed to rest, so how could he have time to attend any banquet?
The Queen is really something. Didn’t she see that the Crown Prince has been busy since early morning and almost lost his soul?
As expected, once His Royal Highness the Virtuous Prince returned, both the Crown Prince and the Princess had to step aside. However, despite his scolding, he only dared to complain in his heart.
Li Cheng's eyes were still a little difficult to open. He lay on the couch for a while before saying, "Please change my clothes. My mother must be waiting anxiously."
Li Fu nodded, and deftly brought the four-clawed dragon robe hanging from the truss over and carefully put it on the prince. After fastening the white jade belt around his waist, the prince walked out from the inner room, his stern face returning to its usual calm. He walked towards the harem.
Li Fu was holding a whisk in his hand, his fat face flushed by the cold wind. He followed behind and said happily, "Your Highness's body is precious. It is not a good idea to not sleep well like this. Otherwise, Your Highness's body will not be able to hold on before the Empress gives birth. Your Highness, please listen to this old servant's advice and move back to the Tingfeng Pavilion in front to sleep. The Empress is served by Yuhu and several maids, so there will be no problem."
Last time, because the two maids failed to take good care of Liang Yuan, they were caned by the prince. After their injuries healed, they returned to serve Liang Yuan. However, after this incident, the maids have always been respectful and cautious, and dare not use their seniority to make trouble again.
Now, the two maids who were most favored by Liang Yuan were probably Yu Hu and Ming Yue. As for the previous Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, the Crown Prince disliked them for their impetuousness and disloyalty to their master, so he had them do housework in the courtyard of Zhi Lan Residence.
The Liuhe boots made a harsh squeaking sound as they stepped on the snow. Li Cheng suddenly stopped while walking in a square step, turned around and asked, "Have the people who rode horses to commit crimes before been found?" At that time, Empress Liangyuan insisted on leaving the house and was almost trampled into a pulp by a frightened horse.
The prince refused to believe this was a coincidence. Li Fu shook his head, "The Azure Dragon Guards haven't figured out who's behind this, but the Liang Dynasty rebels can be ruled out." The prince recalled Liang Hanzhang telling him that Yan Guang had told her from the beginning that she wanted to keep the baby, intending to make a big deal out of it.
Since it wasn't Yan Guang and the others, it must be that one. This was also what Li Cheng least wanted to face. When he lay in bed at night, he sometimes couldn't help but wonder what the throne of the crown prince had brought him.
He was raised outside since he was a child and was almost a stranger to his biological parents. Later, when Emperor Hui'an rebelled, he, the eldest son, had the blood of Li Gu and was naturally unacceptable to the Liang Dynasty. Emperor Li wanted to poke a few bloody holes in his body to avenge the destruction of his country.
However, the most chilling thing was the arrow shot by his father, which almost brought his life, which had been wandering for many years, to an abrupt end. At that time, everyone thought he could not be saved, and even his father and mother had no hope for him.
Perhaps in their eyes, he was just a son who had been raised away from home since childhood, and his death was nothing to worry about. After all, if they could seize the throne in the future, they would have another son to inherit it.
If he had not been the eldest son and his father, the emperor and his mother, the empress, had not felt guilty towards him, the position of crown prince might not have been his.
His second younger brother was raised by his parents since he was a child. He had no worries about food and clothing and was extremely intelligent. No matter what trouble he got into, his parents would always help him.
Li Cheng still remembered that it was not long after his father ascended the throne, when he was named Crown Prince and he and his second brother were in the upper study listening to a lecture by a great scholar. The great scholar was an old man over 70 years old, living in seclusion on Shouyang Mountain. His father had sent people to visit him three times before he was invited.
The great scholar's beard hung down to his chest, and he frowned at everyone, regardless of whether they were commoners or royals. He was a man of unyielding integrity and a man of his word.
The second brother was mischievous. When the great scholar was writing with his back turned, he slingshotted the old man on the forehead. With a dull thud, the old man cried out in pain, clutching the back of his head, blood oozing from between his fingers.
During the banquet, the guards and eunuchs were all waiting outside. To be frank, there were only three of them in the entire study. The incident happened suddenly, and apart from him, there was probably no one else who knew the truth.
Before Li Cheng could react, Li Xuan had already stuffed the slingshot stones and tools into his desk without anyone noticing.
Later, when his father found out, Li Xuan tried hard to explain that it was not his doing. However, in the eyes of the emperor and empress, Li Xuan had always been a well-behaved person and would never do such a thing.
There are two irrefutable points. First, why were the stone and slingshot in his desk? Second, people who enjoy slingshots typically develop calluses on their right index finger and thumb, and he had those calluses. More importantly, the emperor's eunuchs once witnessed the prince using a slingshot to shoot ripe persimmons from a tree.
Each of these reasons left Li Cheng with no room for rebuttal. Could he say he shot the fruit from the tree simply because he wanted to eat it? Could he say his second brother always wore a jade bracelet when he played with a slingshot?
No. No one will believe it, and it would be futile to tell it.
He didn't know what kind of feelings Li Xuan had when he slandered and framed his brother, but when he saw the coldness in his father's eyes, he suddenly didn't want to speak.
What good would it do? In the eyes of the Emperor and Empress, their second son was good no matter what. On the other hand, he, the eldest son, had been raised outside and didn't know how cunning his temper was. Furthermore, because of the arrow Emperor Hui'an had shot that year, he might have harbored resentment.
Finally, to appease the wounded scholar, the emperor ordered him to be confined to the ancestral hall for a month to copy the Four Books and Five Classics. After that month of reflection, Li Cheng finally knew what he wanted.
The love of his parents and the care of his family were too far away from him. Since he had the title of the eldest son, he had to hold the position of the crown prince firmly in his hands.
During the month in the ancestral hall, Li Luohua secretly came in to bring him delicious food, and explained that she was standing at the door and witnessed the second prince committing the crime, and the emperor and empress knew that they had wronged him.
But for the sake of showing it to others, he had to carry out this punishment to the end. It was also to give an explanation to the great scholar of Shouyang Mountain.
Whether it was because of the criticism or something else, Li Xuan stopped teasing him, and the relationship between the two gradually eased. On the surface, they seemed to be very friendly and respectful to each other.
Later, for some unknown reason, Li Xuan suddenly said that he wanted to go to the border to guard the country and prevent foreign invasion. Perhaps the emperor had his own considerations, thinking that putting his two sons together might cause one of them to have undue desires, so he readily agreed.
On the day that the virtuous king passed away, the emperor, to show his love and respect, made the second prince a king before he even reached the age of coming of age, and specially gave him the character "Xian" to indicate his assistance.
The empress resented her son's long journey and the emperor's abrupt departure. Mother and son embraced each other and wept bitterly at the city gate. Li Cheng watched the scene unfold with a cold gaze, his heart completely still, not even a ripple.
During these years of guarding the border, Li Xuan rarely returned to the capital, and the Empress gradually grew accustomed to this. Her focus gradually shifted to her eldest son and daughter. From time to time, Li Xuan would send Yizhou specialties back home, and surprisingly, each time he did, he would receive a letter from his brother.
The emperor and empress were also surprised. They didn't know when the relationship between the two brothers became so good, but Emperor Hui'an also wanted to see brothers being friendly and respectful to each other.
They are all his blood, and he loves them all. He doesn't want the two of them to fight to the death over false power.
This is the best.
Now that the wise king has returned, the life they have lived for many years is about to be disrupted, and the prince has to adapt to life with his younger brother again.
Li Fu had accompanied the prince through thick and thin, so he naturally knew what was bothering him. Therefore, on the way to Changchun Palace, he secretly prayed that nothing would go wrong with the banquet.
Before entering the palace, he could hear bursts of laughter, the Queen and the Wise Prince laughing the loudest. Li Cheng took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold. Nanny Song, standing near the palace door, saw the ochre-yellow dragon robe and hurriedly called out, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
Li Fu opened the brocade curtain to let the Crown Prince in. Stepping across a screen depicting a thousand-mile landscape, he found himself surrounded by a joyful family. Emperor Hui'an, always unassuming in front of the Empress and his children, was now dressed in casual attire, draped in a pale blue robe made by the Empress, as he sat in a grand chair, sipping tea.
Zhao Yu leaned on his grandfather's lap, wanting to hear him tell stories from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Seeing the person coming, Zhao Yu hurriedly stood up from Emperor Hui'an's knees and jumped over, arms outstretched, shouting, "Uncle!" As he spoke, he glanced behind him and couldn't help asking, "Hey? Where's my aunt?"
Li Cheng chuckled, picked up the child and let him sit on his shoulders, and replied softly, "Auntie is pregnant with a baby, so it's not easy for her to go out. Does Brother Yu miss her?"
Zhao Yu nodded vigorously: "Auntie's body is soft and fragrant, and her voice is so pleasant. Ayu likes her the most!"
Li Luohua came over and slapped his son's butt hard, saying angrily, "Is it because Mommy's words aren't as pleasant as Auntie's, and her body isn't as fragrant and soft as Auntie's, that's why Yu'er doesn't like her?"
Zhao Yu knew her mother's temper very well. She struggled to get off the ground, hugged Princess Changping's legs, and smiled awkwardly, "I like both of them, I like both of them. I like mother more than my aunt!"
When the child got off the ground, Li Cheng stepped forward and saluted the Emperor and Empress. Emperor Hui'an smiled and told them not to be so polite. The Empress, whose attention was not on the Crown Prince, waved her hand to let them stand after being reminded.
She turned around and took the wise king's hand and said, "You have been away for many years, and now you are twenty-one. Look, your royal brother will have a child soon, and you should also work harder. Now there are three children, and the one I am most worried about is you."
"While I'm returning to Beijing, I should choose a noble lady from a prominent family to be the prince's consort. It would be best if the marriage could be completed after the New Year. She can also accompany you to the border areas to take care of things."
The virtuous prince nodded nonchalantly, touched the sandalwood beads in his hand, and suddenly sneered: "Are you worried, mother, that your son, without arms and legs, won't be able to take care of himself?"
As he said that, he stood up and turned around, shaking his head and said, "Look, mother, I'm fine, right? I don't have anyone I like now, so I'd better wait a few more years."
"Still waiting?!" the Queen was furious. "If you wait any longer, Yu'er will be grown up. Luo Hua is a few years younger than you, and now the child is three years old and running around!"
He gnashed his teeth and pointed at Li Xuan and Li Cheng helplessly, "You two are here to collect debts, and neither of you wants to get married. Do you think having more women around you is a bother to you?"
Li Cheng smiled: "Mother, please don't bring me along. I am about to become a father now, and I have someone in the backyard who understands me. You have to tell this to my second brother."
Li Xuan covered his ears and didn't want to listen anymore. He was obviously spoiled by his family. He acted coquettishly and foolishly, "Okay, okay, your royal brother is going to be a father, but I am still alone. You can choose which family your mother likes for me. I will just do whatever you say."
"That's better," Queen Wang replied with a smile, "but we have agreed that once mother has chosen a family, you must start the fortune-telling process and don't refuse anymore."
"Son knows." Li Xuan tossed the peanuts beside him into his mouth, walked over to where the prince was standing and said, "It's been years since we last met. Your Majesty has become even more handsome and elegant." As he spoke, he put his arm around his, acting like a good brother.
Li Yan's body stiffened, but he quickly suppressed it and said with a smile: "Second brother has grown a lot taller after so many years away from home. With a face like this, I'm afraid I don't know how many girls will dream of you."
In fact, Li Cheng and his younger brother looked very similar, with slightly upturned eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin, pale lips. If they were dressed identically, from a distance, it would be impossible to tell which one was the crown prince.
Li Xuan patted his back, scratched his head and said, "Brother, please don't laugh at me. I am dark and strong. I am afraid that I will scare those timid women to death when I go out."
He sighed and said, "The women here are all quails. They are as timid as feathers. It's really boring."
The Queen laughed and scolded, "You bastard! You dare to look down on others? Do you have eyes growing on your forehead?"
Emperor Hui'an praised: "My son has inherited my legacy. Not bad, worthy of praise!" Back then, Queen Wang was as brave as a man, a skilled spearman on horseback, and had the temperament of a stubborn donkey. Emperor Hui'an had to work hard to subdue her.
Li Xuan did not continue the topic. He pulled the prince to sit on a chair next to him and asked, "I heard that the concubine in the royal family is about to give birth?"
Li Cheng shook his head: "Who told you that? It's only been more than six months, and there are still several months to go. I'm afraid she won't be able to give birth until Qingming Festival next year."
"Then I, your humble servant, would like to congratulate you, my royal brother, on the birth of your son!"
Li Yan took the tea handed over by the steward, took a sip and said: "I don't care whether it is a child or not, as long as the child and the mother are safe."
When the topic turned to Liang Yuan, Queen Wang asked, "I heard she vomited a lot the other day. How is she now?"
Li Cheng answered respectfully: "She is much better now. She has a good appetite now. If no one stopped her, she would have eaten several meals a day. By the way, she loves the chili peppers that my second brother sent back from Shu. Sometimes even I can't stand the smell."
The chili peppers were sent over by the Queen. She laughed when she heard it and said, "As the saying goes, sour boys make spicy girls. Look at her belly, it looks like a girl. A girl is fine too. First girl and then son makes a nice word."
"Mother, you are absolutely right."
Seeing that it was getting late, the Empress ordered the banquet to begin. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince sat next to each other. Sure enough, there were spicy rabbit heads and roasted rabbit meat on the table. These were wild rabbits, which were extremely difficult to find in the cold weather near the end of the year.
The Empress knew their son had returned, and she must have put a lot of thought into today's meal. Li Cheng stared at the rabbit meat for a moment, then turned his silver chopsticks to the Dinghu Shangsu dish next to him.
However, Li Xuan used the serving chopsticks to fill the prince's bowl with roasted rabbit meat and said with a smile: "Doesn't my royal brother like this? He should eat more. Look at my royal brother, he has been busy with government affairs and has become thinner due to hunger."
The Queen then looked at her eldest son seriously. Today was Kitchen God's Day, and he had been busy since early morning and hadn't rested well. There was a faint dark blue under his eyes. Because of his fair skin, the dark blue was even more obvious.
The queen suddenly felt that she had neglected her eldest son, and asked the nanny to put rabbit meat into his bowl and instructed: "The vegetarian dishes on Dinghu Lake are all made with vegetables, which are not very nutritious. You should eat some meat dishes to replenish your body. Looking at your face, if I didn't tell you, I would think you were the god of death who came out of the underworld."
Then he questioned Li Fu, who was serving food next to him: "As the chief steward of the Eastern Palace, how did you take care of the prince? He made him so thin, and you dare not take good care of him? I will never forgive you."
Li Fu secretly groaned in his heart. He had tried to persuade the prince countless times, but the prince didn't know what kind of magic Liang Yuan had put on him and refused to move out of Zhilanju. He had no choice.
He knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed for mercy: "I obey your command. From now on, I will do my best to take care of Your Highness and will not let Your Highness suffer like this again."
It would be inappropriate to keep someone kneeling on this happy occasion, especially since the Queen only wanted to give him a warning. She said coldly, "Stand up, and remember what you said today."
Li Cheng looked at the rabbit meat in front of him, eating it expressionlessly, and spoke very little during the meal. However, Li Luohua saw his reluctance and reminded him:
"If my royal brother can't eat the rabbit meat, please have it removed. The spicy rabbit head is also very spicy. My mother has a bad stomach, so there is no need to serve this dish."
Queen Wang laughed, "Mother doesn't like spicy food, but your two brothers love it very much, just look at it." Pointing at Li Xuan's wolfing down of food, she said, "Look how happily he eats."
Li Cheng spoke at the right time: "I also like this dish. Mother has put so much thought into it, I shouldn't let her down."
After hearing this, Princess Changping could no longer persuade him.
The emperor and empress's loving gazes were on the second prince throughout the whole process. Li Xuan looked up from his bowl and said helplessly: "Father and mother, don't you want to eat? Why are you looking at me like that? You make me look like a fat pig. It's so hard to see the pig resume eating and the owner's relieved eyes."
Emperor Hui'an raised his eyebrows and said deliberately, "How dare you call me a pig? What has become of my father?"
"Since I am a pig, my father is the pig and my mother is the pig, so we are pigs of the same family."
Zhao Yu clapped his hands nearby, "Yeah, Yu is a pig too, a little pig!" He then tugged at Li Cheng with his greasy hands and said, "Uncle is a beautiful pig!"
"And my grandfather is a pig with a beard!" The child said without restraint, and everyone present laughed. Li Cheng asked with a smile: "Why is my uncle a beautiful pig?"
Zhao Yu didn't understand why he even asked this question, and explained in a baby voice: "Because my uncle is very handsome."
"How beautiful is it?" Li Luohua also became interested.
The child didn't know how to describe it, so he could only open his hands wide and said, "So beautiful!"
"What about my second uncle?" Li Xuan asked with a smile, holding the child on his lap.
Zhao Yu wiped the grease from his hands onto his dark brocade robe and frowned, saying, "Second uncle is a black pig!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present burst into laughter. Li Xuan sent the man away, looking embarrassed: "It's black pig, so what? Second uncle has been at the border for many years and he is indeed tanned. He can't compare to the fair complexion of the emperor's brother."
Li Cheng didn't seem to care much, brushed the corner of his robe and said: "My royal brother, I hope you can be like your second brother, with a strong body able to fight in the battlefield, instead of being like a weak scholar who is powerless."
"My royal brother, please don't underestimate yourself," Li Xuan glanced at him with a smile, and continued, "I heard that my royal brother has been practicing martial arts for many years, training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer. Many generals cannot match my royal brother's physical strength."
"Thank you for your kind words, second brother," Li Cheng raised the wine glass in his hand towards him, and the two of them clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
-
It wasn't until the evening of the twentieth hour that Li Cheng, aided by a eunuch, returned to the Eastern Palace in a carriage. Standing on the snow, the cold wind blew, and he was almost sober. Standing at the gate of his mansion, hands behind his back, he suddenly looked up at the sky, his mind lost.
Because it was winter, it got dark early. Although it was no longer snowing, it was still very cold. Li Fu saw that the prince's eyelids were beginning to swell and hurriedly reminded him, "Your Highness, let's go in quickly and call the imperial physician to see you."
Li Cheng shook his head and went straight to Zhilanju, asking as he walked, "How is Liangyuan at home?" His steps were deep and shallow, and he was obviously a little confused.
Li Fu had been following him, so he naturally didn't know what had happened in the mansion today. He called Li Gui to question him. Li Gui answered each question respectfully, even reporting to the prince such trivial matters as how long Liang Yuan slept today and what she had for lunch.
To outsiders, these were boring trivia, but Li Fu knew that the prince listened with gusto. He loved to hear Liang Yuan's daily trivia the most. It was as if, through her words, he was actually experiencing it.
Arriving at Zhilan Residence, there was still light inside, suggesting Liangyuan was still awake. The prince had just opened the brocade curtain and was about to go in when he suddenly stumbled at the threshold, losing his balance and nearly falling headfirst to the ground.
Li Fu was horrified and hurriedly followed the other eunuchs to help the man up. He quickly asked the eunuch who was good at running errands to call the imperial physician.
Liang Hanzhang was embroidering small clothes for the baby in her belly. Yuhu was good at needlework and was teaching her carefully under the lamp.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, and it seemed that there was also the voice of the Crown Prince. Liang Hanzhang was so scared that he stood up from the couch and asked, "What's going on outside? Is His Highness back?"
Yuhu went out first to find out the truth, and Liang Hanzhang walked out with the support of Mingyue.
Outside the palace gates, the prince's eyes were swollen, and he was lying on the ground vomiting non-stop, looking like he was about to die. Liang Hanzhang had never seen him so vulnerable before, and was almost frightened to the point of stumbling. He asked quickly, "What's wrong? Why is he vomiting like this out of the blue? What did he eat that he shouldn't have?"
Leaving someone lying on the ground wasn't an option. The temperature was already low at night, and it was still the coldest time of winter. The woman hurriedly ordered the eunuch to bring the person in and place him on the bed. She then turned to Li Fu and asked, "Have you summoned the imperial physician?"
"Your Majesty, I have already invited him, and he is probably on his way now." The old eunuch was so distressed that tears welled up in his eyes and his voice was a little choked.
"Mingyue, bring some hot water quickly and wipe His Highness's body." He had just vomited on the ground and his neck was also stained with filth.
"Yuhu, please ask the two maids Sun and Liu to change His Highness's clothes while Yuhu is wiping him. Don't let His Highness catch a cold."
The maids agreed one by one.
After everything was arranged, Liang Hanzhang turned his attention to Li Fu again and couldn't help but ask, "What did your highness eat today? Why did you vomit so badly?"
Wasn't it said that the family was having a family dinner at Changchun Palace because His Royal Highness the Virtuous Prince had returned to the capital? Could the food on the table be poisoned?
Li Fu was very sad to see the prince half dead, and did not care about the previous instructions of His Highness. He wanted the Queen to know the details of the matter and to show more love to His Highness.
So he said in a trembling voice: "In Changchun Palace, His Royal Highness the Virtuous Prince and the Queen Mother ordered people to serve the dishes, and they put a lot of rabbit meat for His Royal Highness."
"What's so unusual about this rabbit meat? Can't His Highness eat rabbit meat?" But when they first went to Changchun Palace, there was rabbit meat at the banquet, and the prince also ate it at that time, and it seemed that there was nothing wrong with it.
"Your Highness cannot eat rabbit meat. He will get rashes on his body if he eats it. If he eats less, it's okay. His eyelids will just swell up and he will be fine after a good sleep. But Your Highness ate so much today. He was obviously unable to eat any more, but he still forced himself to eat. When he arrived at Zhilanju, he couldn't help but vomited."
After the old eunuch finished speaking, Liang Hanzhang suddenly understood. No wonder the prince's face would stiffen for a moment every time he saw this dish in Changchun Palace. Before she could take a closer look, the fleeting feeling of discomfort quickly disappeared.
It turns out that there is such a reason.
"Since His Highness can't eat rabbit meat, why does the Queen keep making it for him?" Doesn't she know that her son can't eat this?
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