The man was obedient and sensible, which won the emperor's heart but also made the emperor feel more guilty.

He put down the memorial in his hand and sighed. It was useless to talk about the past. This child was very well-behaved. He just hoped that he really didn't hate him in his heart and was truly obedient.

The emperor summarized the southern tour, praised the two, and then mentioned the matter he was concerned about:

"Have you found the ghost doctor Yu Juezi?"

Zong Zhengchen said: "Dead."

He didn't say much, just a few concise sentences.

After saying this, he walked to the emperor and whispered a few words...

The emperor's eyes darkened, and without saying anything more, he waved his hand, and the two of them left.

After he finished dealing with the southern tour, he just sat back in his chair and relaxed when he started to cough softly:

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Your Majesty." The eunuch in front of the emperor hurriedly brought a cup of hot tea, placed it next to the emperor's hand, and walked behind him, patting his back gently to calm him down.

The emperor coughed several times before he managed to steady his breath, and his face looked pale and sick.

The eunuch calmed down and said:

"Your Majesty, you were reviewing memorials until three o'clock last night, and you got up so early today. How can your body bear it?"

"Why don't you take a rest first?"

The emperor was unhappy when he heard this, "Why? Do you think I'll be fine if I cough a few times?"

The eunuch immediately knelt on the ground in fear, not daring to say another word.

The emperor picked up the teacup and took two sips.

"When I was young, I went to the battlefield and rode and shot arrows. Even if I fought for a whole day, I would still be full of energy when I woke up the next day. Now... cough cough!"

Clearly feeling overwhelmed.

People can’t refuse to accept aging!

The eunuch was terrified: "Your Majesty, you are like the sun in the sky, in your prime, full of vigor and vitality, and you are at the peak of your courage and might."

These are all flattering nonsense and should not be trusted.

The emperor threw the lid off the cup and casually placed it on the table. He slowly stood up, supported by the table, and looked at the pile of memorials on the table. He sighed heavily:

"I can't get old!"

"The Japanese pirates in the northern frontier are constantly harassing the border, the barbarians in the western region are disobedient and may have other intentions at any time, the tributes from those vassal states have been decreasing year by year, and their wings have gradually become stronger; in Dongling, there are natural disasters and man-made disasters at any time, and there are constant problems. How dare I grow old..."

well!

Speaking of this, I thought of the child who had been neglected by him since childhood.

"Defu, tell me, am I too cold to Old Five? Have I not fulfilled my fatherly responsibilities over the years?"

The eunuch named Defu knelt in fear and trepidation and spoke carefully:

"Your Majesty, you are doing this for the good of His Royal Highness Prince Li."

"Your Highness Prince Li's mother was a palace maid. Back then, that palace maid was so bold that she climbed onto your dragon bed without permission... If you didn't punish her and put Prince Li aside, how many palace maids would follow suit? How would the people talk about you? How would they view Your Highness Prince Li?"

"Everything you did was to protect him."

In this deep palace where every step is taken cautiously, once one has ambition, he will become a thorn in the eyes and a thorn in the flesh of others. For someone like Prince Li, whose mother has no power and no one to rely on, it is safest to keep him in another palace and ignore him.

These words did comfort the emperor and made his brows relax a little.

At this time, a young eunuch came in and reported:

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requests an audience."

The emperor put his hands on his waist and stroked his eyebrows, "Let him in."