Chapter 889: A new crown prince? (Long chapter)
The Queen Mother started coughing violently again as she spoke. Wen Jiu stepped forward worriedly and said, "Queen Mother, your health..."
The Queen Mother waved her hand. "I'm fine. The reason I asked you to come to the palace this time is actually because of the Emperor. Originally, after this incident, the Emperor wanted to hide it from me, but now he is ill. He had a high fever yesterday and was completely confused. He refused to listen to advice and insisted on going to court, so he fell ill."
He heard the fourth brother come to report the death, but he was very sad.
He has always been a filial son. When I advised him to eat more, he would eat in front of me, but he would turn around and spit it out.
Just now, someone from Rong Fei's side came out to report that he was still reading memorials without eating or drinking. How could he hold on if this continued?
"The Imperial Hospital has its talents, but they're not very resourceful. That's why I wanted to invite you to the palace so we can work together to figure out a solution and help the Emperor resolve this issue."
After speaking for a while, the empress dowager began to gasp for breath and coughed for a long time.
Wen Jiao pretended to rummage in her bosom, but in fact she took out a small calfskin water bag from the space: "Queen Mother, Jiuer understands what you mean. You are not feeling well right now, so drink this cough medicine for now."
He poured the water from the cowhide water bag into a cup and brought it to the Queen Mother.
Nanny Fang, who was standing beside the Empress Dowager, opened her mouth, but the next second she picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp. She immediately swallowed the words about asking the imperial physician to test for poison.
The Empress Dowagers on both sides had to eat all kinds of food sent by Concubine Wen every day, so they were not short of these drinks.
After the Queen Mother drank the anti-asthmatic medicine, she immediately felt better. She smiled and said, "Is this the Autumn Pear Paste? Haven't you finished drinking the one you cooked?"
Wen Jiu smiled and shook his head: "Your Majesty, this is not what we made together last time. I figured your autumn pear paste would be almost finished, so I asked someone to prepare some pears and make a lot of it when I came back. I'll have someone send it to you later."
"Very good!" The Queen Mother smiled. "I am old now, and my body is very delicate. I can't use ordinary medicine. Your autumn pear paste is excellent. It tastes good and is also very effective in relieving coughs. In this winter, although the room is warm, it is very dry and stuffy. It's not good for your throat. You should open some windows."
"Don't bother." The Queen Mother waved her hand: "Don't bother, I'm leaving now."
"Empress Dowager..."
"Don't worry about me. Just work with the Fourth Brother to find a way to comfort the Emperor. Make him feel better and don't let him be sad anymore."
"Empress Dowager, you are leaving now. Aren't you going to go into the Qianqing Palace with me?" Wen Jiu asked.
"I won't go. With me by his side, even if he's unhappy, he'll be reassured by me and force himself to do it. I'll be back soon. You two go in and take a look."
After saying this, Wenjiu was pushed by the Queen Mother. Then he turned around and took two steps inside.
From a distance, he could see the imperial doctors and cooks kneeling scattered around. Looking at the servants waiting at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, Wenjiu knew that there must be no shortage of empresses.
He glanced again and saw that his second uncle was also among the people kneeling.
Apparently, the chefs from the imperial kitchen had also been called in. Before them lay various dishes, still intact, and the aroma of their food wafted over.
Wen Jiu followed the Fourth Master and just as he opened the curtain he heard a noise from inside.
"What are you doing? The smell of powder is giving me a headache. Go get some work done."
The concubines who were standing in a circle around looked at each other, responded one after another, and retreated in twos and threes.
Wenjiu and the Fourth Master simply followed the crowd out of the bedroom.
Before leaving, Wen Jiu couldn't help but glance at Emperor Kangxi, who was sitting on the table. He looked even paler than before, with two large blisters on his mouth. It was clear he was extremely angry.
"Master, how about I go to the kitchen and prepare some light and refreshing meals, and then we can go in and try to persuade the Emperor?"
The Fourth Master nodded: "Okay."
"Oh, Miss Wen, can you treat illnesses now? You'd better be careful about what the emperor eats. The emperor's health is not the same as before. If something goes wrong, it will be inappropriate." Concubine Hui glanced at Wen Jiu and said in a sarcastic tone.
Wenzhou frowned but before he could say anything, he heard a scolding from behind him.
"What's inappropriate? If you have the ability, you can cook some food to feed the emperor. You are so sarcastic, I don't know where you learned this behavior from." The empress dowager came in holding Nanny Fang's hand and gave Concubine Hui a displeased look.
"Empress Dowager, you haven't gone back?" Wenjiu took two steps forward and supported the old lady.
"I pressed the button and took a few steps. I heard some noise and became worried, so I finally came back." The Queen Mother patted her hands warming the wine and glanced coldly at Concubine Hui: "If you can't speak, just say less. No one will think you are dumb."
Concubine Hui immediately shrank her neck, but finally smiled and said, "Empress Dowager, I have no bad intentions at all. I just saw that they were young and worried that they might not be able to handle things properly, so I wanted to give them a few words of advice..."
"Yes, Queen Mother, Sister Huifei has always been outspoken, but we all know her well. She definitely has no bad intentions. Everything she does is for the emperor." Rongfei said with a smile.
For a moment, the concubines around her nodded in agreement. They all tried to persuade the Queen Mother not to be angry, and their words were all to help Concubine Hui excuse herself.
Wen Jiu was also stunned at this moment. Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong used to maintain superficial harmony. If they could step on each other secretly, they would be happy for several days.
Now, the prince is in trouble, but no one expected that Concubine Rong would make a decision so quickly.
Upon closer observation, it is not difficult to see that most of the concubines are secretly looking at Concubine Hui's expression.
"I don't need your advice about my wine. This kid knows much more than you do."
The Empress Dowager really didn't give Concubine Hui any face at all. She rolled her eyes at her and then patted the hand that was warming the wine.
"Just go ahead and make it. The Emperor loves your meals and will definitely use some of them."
"Yes," Wen Jiu looked at each other appropriately, and then glanced at his second uncle who was kneeling in front of him.
"Empress Dowager, could you please allow a few of the imperial chefs to accompany me to the back to help out?"
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Okay, let your Nanny Fang go with them. Anyone who disobeys will be dragged out and beaten to death." After saying that, she glanced at Concubine Hui beside her inadvertently as a warning.
Concubine Hui lowered her head and gritted her teeth secretly. In the past two years, the empress dowager had always targeted her intentionally or unintentionally, which was really annoying.
Now that the crown prince is in trouble, his own son is the most capable prince.
Why was the Queen Mother still so confused about the situation? Did she really want him to have a better life in the future?
After thinking about it, Feifei was no longer angry. After all, her good days were still ahead. One day, the empress dowager would speak to her in a gentle voice to coax her.
Wen Jiu saw the tug-of-war. He simply nodded and saluted, then named his second uncle and asked him to choose someone he was used to. He then took Doctor Liu with him and they all left.
The Fourth Master seemed to go out with her.
Wen Jiu inadvertently glanced at the ministers guarding the palace gate in front of him, and couldn't help but approach the Fourth Master and asked softly, "Master, what are those ministers doing? Why are they still guarding here at this time?"
The Fourth Master sneered coldly, "The Southern Suburbs Grand Sacrifice is imminent, and they are anxious. They are forcing the Emperor to appoint a new Crown Prince."
As they were talking, they saw Prince Zhi and the Eighth Master coming over from afar.
The ministers all ran over, and soon, Prince Zhi and the Eighth Master were surrounded by the ministers and walked slowly towards this side.
"Great Thousand Years, what do you think of the Southern Suburbs Grand Sacrifice in a few days? I have a few things I'd like to ask you. I wonder if you have time to take a look?"
"Yes, Great Thousand Years Old, I am also undecided about something, and I wanted to ask you a few questions."
"Great Thousand Years, I have something to ask..."
"Alright, alright, everyone. My elder brother and I still have to go check on the emperor's health, so we won't chat with you any more."
The Eighth Master stopped the people and led the Prince of Zhi out of the crowd.
After coming out, the Prince of Zhi frowned and looked back at the ministers: "The matters you have mentioned need to be decided by the Emperor. I cannot say anything now, so please wait for a moment."
"Thank you for your guidance, Great Thousand Years Old."
Prince Zhi nodded slightly, walked past them and headed towards the Fourth Master.
Seven or eight steps away from the Fourth Master, the Prince of Zhi finally stopped and looked at him intently: "Fourth brother, you've recovered really quickly. Why... didn't you tell me, Big Brother?"
The Fourth Master pursed his lips but didn't say a word in the end.
Prince Zhi clenched his fists until they crackled. He pushed at the Fourth Master, his face showing a hint of stubbornness: "Speak now! Tell me, when did you get better?"
Pursing his lips, Prince Zhi continued, "Or perhaps you haven't been hurt at all from the beginning..."
The air gradually became colder, and even Wenjiu couldn't help but look at the Fourth Master.
The Fourth Master still didn't say anything. He just grabbed Wen Jiu's hand and walked straight past Prince Chi.
The Prince of Zhi clenched his fists and suddenly rushed forward to block the Fourth Master, saying, "As long as you tell me a reasonable explanation, I will believe you. Go ahead and tell me! Tell me now!"
The Fourth Master still kept his eyes downcast and said nothing.
Wen Jiu was extremely anxious and bowed slightly: "Prince Zhi, whether you believe it or not, up to now, my body has not recovered. He..."
"Wine!" The Fourth Master held the warm wine in his mouth, shook his head gently, and then looked at the Prince of Zhi: "Brother, I have nothing to explain. I did lie to you."
After saying that, he took the warm wine and left.
"Master!" Wen Jiu's eyes widened: "Why don't you explain it clearly?"
Fourth Master: "There is nothing to explain. Those who believe in you don't need explanations, and those who don't believe in you will find it useless to explain."
Wen Jiu looked at the stubborn face of the Fourth Master in front of him, and felt a little angry.
"Master, people need to communicate with each other. If you don't say anything, won't this only deepen the misunderstanding? I think the Prince of Zhi is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty, and he was sincere in his care for you before. Now that he knows you lied to him, it must be hard for him to accept it. I'm really worried that such a misunderstanding between you brothers will be easily exploited by those with ulterior motives."
The Fourth Master frowned slightly: "Jiu'er, you don't understand. It's useless to say anything now."
"How do you know it's useless if I don't tell you? Didn't the Prince of Zhi just say it? As long as I say it, he will believe it."
The Fourth Master pursed his lips slightly and said, "You believe this?"
Wen Jiu glanced at the Fourth Master and immediately saw the hesitation in his heart. He smiled and said, "Believe it or not, you'll know after I tell you. If we really explain everything to him and you brothers still can't go back to the way things were before, then at least we won't regret it, don't you think?"
The Fourth Master pursed his lips and said nothing this time.
Wen Jiu: "Master, when we see the Prince of Zhi later, let's sit down and have a good chat, okay? No matter what the outcome, let's resolve the previous misunderstanding first."
The fourth master looked at the warm wine, frowned for a while, and finally nodded: "I'll listen to you."
Wenjiu breathed a sigh of relief and then took everyone into the imperial kitchen.
As usual, he quickly replaced the things around him with those in the space. Wen Jiu then told everyone to get busy.
He asked his second uncle to supervise the work and learn how to sit on a chair, so that Doctor Liu could take a break. The reason he was brought along was simply because he was old and he was afraid he would freeze to death kneeling outside.
Soon, four full food boxes were packed.
"Master, give it to Nanny Fang now. Ask her to take it to the Queen Mother later.
Su Peisheng, this is for the Empress Defei's palace.
This one belonged to the emperor when he was in college, and the other one is with me. When I have some free time later, I can go to the Shangshufang with the Prince of Zhi to have a good chat. I also specially prepared some wine.
The Fourth Master pursed his lips but said nothing.
However, when they returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, they found that Prince Zhi was no longer there.
"Master, do you want to ask where the Prince of Zhi has gone?"
"No need. Let's talk about it after we meet the person." The Fourth Master said, and then he took the food box and handed it to Su Peisheng: "Send it to mother together."
Wen Jiu sighed: "Master, then shall we go in and see the emperor?"
The Fourth Master nodded: "Let's go."
Wenjiu pulled the Fourth Master aside and whispered something in his ear.
The Fourth Master's face was filled with surprise: "Is this... possible?"
Wen Jiu nodded: "Okay. Special times call for special methods." The Fourth Master nodded: "Okay, as you say."
"If you have something to say, say it quickly, and then hurry up and do what you need to do."
When Wenjiu and the Fourth Master entered the house, they heard Emperor Kangxi say this.
Looking up, they saw the old man sitting upright, reviewing memorials, without even glancing at them.
"Yes." Wenjiu responded with a smile, immediately opened the food box, and quickly placed the food on the table.
"Your Majesty, I, your servant, have followed the Empress Dowager's orders. The meal is ready. Would you like some?"
Emperor Kangxi didn't even look at it: "Take it away, I have no appetite."
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