Soon, Steward Yi led his men out and took the Wu family to Kunning Palace.
The Emperor and Empress were waiting, and even the Emperor frowned when he saw the old Marquis's appearance.
The initial unhappiness I felt because I was being forced has faded...
The Empress disregarded all decorum and rushed forward, sobbing loudly, "Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so ill?"
The Crown Prince's wife was angry, and speaking to her daughter, she said rudely, "When the old man suddenly heard that your brother was to join the army, he became anxious and things got a little awkward."
“I have come to the palace several times to request an audience, but you have refused to see me. As a result, your grandfather has become increasingly ill, and in just seven or eight days he has turned into this state.”
"Mother, I am not... I am..." The Empress could not say that she was busy preparing for pregnancy and childbirth, so she could only wipe away her tears.
The Emperor coughed twice and ordered Chief Eunuch Yi to summon the imperial physician immediately.
Soon, three or four old doctors with white beards arrived. After kowtowing and paying their respects, they began to take the old marquis's pulse.
Unfortunately, after all that work, they all looked unwell.
As I get older, I'm afraid of experiencing intense emotional fluctuations like great joy or sorrow.
The old Marquis suffered a stroke caused by a combination of anger and anxiety, and it was very serious from the start. He will be bedridden from now on and will need constant care.
With careful care, one can live a few more years.
If I am neglected, then I will have to endure it for a year or two until the lamp oil runs out, and then I will pass away...
But that's the reality of the matter; it's not how it should be described.
The oldest imperial physician carefully said, "The old Marquis is getting on in years. Perhaps he caught a chill recently, and his mood is not good, which is why he is lying down. We will prescribe some mild and nourishing medicines, and with careful care, he may recover in three to five years."
None of the people in the room were fools; they all understood the implied meaning behind those words.
That means the old Marquis is beyond saving; he can only wait to die.
The Empress cried even harder, and the Crown Prince and his wife also had red eyes.
Just then, the old Marquis suddenly perked up and, seeing the Emperor was also there, reached out and grabbed at him.
The emperor hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
Sure enough, the old marquis grasped his hand, his eyes pleading, "Live... Sha, Wu Yan..."
He truly loved his grandson dearly; the old marquis had a lisp, and could only vaguely pronounce the emperor's name, but he knew his grandson's name perfectly.
The Emperor finally softened and said, "Old Marquis, please rest assured and recover. I hereby grant Wu Yan a special pardon and exempt him from military service."
The old marquis breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his hand, and closed his eyes.
The Crown Prince and his wife were overjoyed; their son was finally spared from going to his death.
Although there was a pardon, they knew that it was something their father had risked his life to obtain. So, the young master quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "Thank you for your compassion, Your Majesty, but all the civil and military officials are supporting the northern expedition, and our Wu family cannot stand aside."
“Wu Yan is indeed a good-for-nothing. Sending him to the army would only be a hindrance. Therefore, I am willing to offer two thousand dan of grain stored in my home to share the burden for Your Majesty and Tianwu.”
The Emperor nodded, raised his hand, and said, "Get up. Go back and take good care of the old Marquis."
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty." Only then did the prince dare to stand up, completely relieved.
After exchanging a few more casual words, the imperial physician wrote out a prescription, which the emperor examined personally before leaving.
Although the old Marquis and the heir were the Empress's elders, they were still outsiders and could not stay long, so they made arrangements to leave the palace.
The Crown Prince's wife, however, stayed behind.
After everyone in the room had left, the Crown Prince's wife could no longer hold back and launched into a long tirade of complaints.
"Your Majesty, although you have now entered the palace and become the mother of the nation, you are still a daughter of our Wu family. Your family has always treated you well. How can you be so heartless as to abandon us at a time like this?"
"Yan Ge'er is your own brother. How can you watch him go to the army camp to die? Your second aunt insisted on marrying Lian Yatou to the Marquis of Xinting, which has already made the Marquis of Xinting disgusted. If your brother goes to the Marquis of Xinting's command, he will probably be the first one to be sent to be fed to the knife!"
"I've come to see you time and time again, and I've spent hundreds of taels of silver on bribes, yet you won't even show your face?!"
The Empress felt guilty but also aggrieved.
Last time, she pleaded with the Emperor several times for her cousin's sake, and the Emperor got angry.
Aside from remembering to give her some face in public, he completely ignored her the rest of the time.
Her family not only couldn't help her win favor, but also hindered her in every way.
Just like this conscription, she originally thought that since the sons and grandsons of all the officials and nobles in the court were included in the conscription, someone would surely come up with a solution.
Whether it's donating money or writing a petition together, the family should just follow suit.
I never expected that the court officials would be so reluctant to make sacrifices, dragging things out for so long, which has only made my family more anxious; my grandfather is on the verge of death...
If she had known it would turn out this way, she would have pleaded for mercy even if it meant the Emperor would completely despise her!
She held her mother's hand and whispered, "Mother, I also have my reasons. My relationship with the Emperor is getting worse and worse, and the Emperor is becoming more and more perfunctory towards our family. Ultimately, it's because I haven't given birth to a legitimate son."
"If I give birth to a legitimate son, no one in the harem will be able to surpass me. Even the Emperor will have to come more often and bestow gifts upon our family for the sake of a legitimate son."
"So I've been resting and recuperating lately, taking medicine to regulate my body, and I haven't been paying much attention to my family."
The Crown Prince's wife's eyes lit up as she recalled that almost all of the Emperor's legitimate sons would be made Crown Princes, and her daughter would become Empress Dowager. That would be the most glorious time for the Wu family!
All her anger vanished instantly. She gripped her daughter's hand tightly and asked, "You're right, that's exactly how it should be, but... is it effective?"
The Empress smiled wryly, "No, perhaps she needs to recuperate for a while longer."
"Oh dear, we can't wait any longer. You're not young anymore. If we wait any longer, it will be even harder to give birth." The Crown Prince's wife was anxious. She secretly glanced at the door and said in a low voice, "Wait here, I'll look outside for a good remedy."
"Will it work?" the Empress asked hesitantly.
"It must work. Let me find out."
The Crown Prince's wife took on the responsibility wholeheartedly, for her daughter, for her family, and even more so for her son who needed her daughter's care!
Leaving aside the noisy plots in Kunning Palace, let's just talk about Suijin Beach. In the morning, Jiayin was tested to the point of near death by Doctor Zhang. After finally being released, she found a group of women sitting under the eaves of her house.
Old Mrs. Li was the leader, and Tao Hongying, Madam Wen, Wen Juan, and even Hui Niang and Sister Liu sat together.
They were gathered around a large pile of bean pods, chatting and shelling beans.
Needless to say, she was talking about parenting again, because Wenjuan's face was already very red.
Jiayin ran up to her grandmother, hugged her, said hello, and then ran to the Ye family's courtyard to find Ye Shan.
She had planned to stockpile food for a while, but there were always trivial matters at home, so she hadn't had time to make the arrangements. Today, taking advantage of a little free time, she quickly gave the order.
The Marquis went into the city, and Ye Shan, having nothing to do, was sharpening the Marquis's knife.
This sword is the Japanese sword that Jia Yin took out from her spatial dimension, and it has always been used by the Marquis.
No martial artist dislikes a good weapon, and Ye Shan, having finally found an opportunity, has been happily tinkering with it since morning...
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