Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Beautiful and Strong Miserable Dad 29
It was like a dream; immersing oneself in it could conceal the truth, but once the dream was broken and one woke up, one would face the worst. Ever since Feng Pansheng realized something was wrong with Zhuozhuo's body, her condition had been deteriorating.
Feng Pansheng couldn't sleep at all. He sat by the window, gazing at Zhuozhuo's chamber, his mind frantically recalling her recent behavior, trying to pinpoint the source of her illness. He meticulously researched every detail, finally pinpointing the cause of his suspicions to the day of Emperor Zhengping's death.
When Zhuozhuo came back from the palace that day, he was not in a very good mood. He played with toys on the couch for the whole afternoon and only ate two-thirds of the pastries and snacks he usually ate.
Feng Pansheng was preoccupied with the war against the Xiongnu and maintaining stability at court, so he didn't dwell on Zhuozhuo's unusual behavior, simply assuming she was disturbed by the funeral in the palace. During dinner, Feng Pansheng even held her in his arms for a moment to soothe her.
Now that I think about it, could it be that Zhuozhuo was frightened by something?
Many people firmly believe in the underworld and reincarnation of the soul, but Feng Pansheng doesn't believe in it at all.
However, Feng Pansheng knew that people could mistake things or hallucinate when they were nervous and afraid. If Zhuozhuo was frightened by the atmosphere of the funeral, or mistook the spirit pennants, paper money, and other funeral supplies for something scary, and thus experienced hallucinations, that was perfectly normal.
It's said that children can see things adults can't, but it's actually because children are easily frightened. Given the circumstances at the time, was Zhuozhuo hallucinating and seeing the ghost of Emperor Zhengping? That day in Chengqian Palace, Zhuozhuo even volunteered to go home. Could that be when he was hallucinating?
Feng Pansheng unconsciously exerted force on the armrest, snapping it. He paid no attention to the bleeding hand pierced by the wood, only to feel a surge of regret. What had he done then? Not only had he not immediately taken Zhuozhuo home, but he had also, in order to legitimately ascend the throne, had Eunuch Wang read the imperial edict.
It was he who harmed Zhuozhuo.
Feng Pansheng didn't bother to blame himself and got up to find Bai Zhu.
Bai Zhu was dug out of his bed in the middle of the night. He wanted to poison the guy who disturbed his sleep, but after seeing who it was, he restrained his expression and faced his parents with the best attitude at the moment, "Master, what's the matter?"
Feng Pansheng shared his latest conjecture, frowning and saying, "It's been so long, will there be any sequelae?"
Bai Zhu was speechless and said cautiously, "The young princess is not frightened and has lost her mind."
"Zhuozhuo is very brave and more courageous than ordinary children. Is it because she is frightened to a mild degree that is difficult to diagnose?" The more Feng Pansheng spoke, the more he believed that he was right. Zhuozhuo didn't understand why she was scared and couldn't tell adults, so she could only endure it silently every day.
Seeing Feng Pansheng's mind racing, his grief and remorse growing, as if he were about to die to atone for his sins, Bai Zhu carefully said, "When daybreak arrives, I'll go and take a closer look at the young princess. She's sound asleep now, and waking her up rashly might frighten her."
Seeing that Feng Pansheng's mood had stabilized a bit, Bai Zhu said, "Master, please go back and rest. You have many government affairs to attend to. If you are not in good spirits, how can you have the time and energy to take care of the little princess?"
These words touched Feng Pansheng's heart, and he said, "You also have to take good care of yourself. Zhuozhuo still needs your care." As long as Zhuozhu could be cured, he would not pursue the matter of Baizhu's misdiagnosis.
"Thank you for your concern, Master."
Feng Pansheng returned to the yard, still fully alert and full of energy. He felt like he had reached a dead end, and thought Zhuozhuo was frightened. As long as Baizhu came to re-examine and prescribe medicine in the morning, Zhuozhuo would get better immediately.
Just like that, as Feng Pansheng waited anxiously, the morning sun leaped out from the horizon, illuminating the entire land. Feng Pansheng couldn't sit still any longer. Just as he was about to go and quietly check on Zhuozhuo, he ran into the flustered Qiu Feng. His heart sank, "What happened to Zhuozhuo?"
Qiu Feng said, "The little princess has a high fever! I'll ask someone to call Doctor Bai."
"Gansong, go!" Before he finished speaking, Feng Pansheng had already entered the side room. He came to Zhuozhuo's bed and saw that her little face was burning with a sickly red, her dry mouth was slightly open, and she was crying indistinctly in her throat.
Feng Pansheng touched Zhuozhuo's face with the back of his hand. The temperature was so hot that his hand trembled. He dipped a spoon in warm water to moisten Zhuozhuo's lips. He asked Qiuyu, who was busy cooling Zhuozhuo, in a deep voice, "When did the fever start?"
Qiuyu said quickly, "Shortly after she fell asleep last night, the little princess's temperature dropped. When I came to see her a quarter of an hour ago, she didn't have a fever. Just now, when I heard noises in the inner room and came to check, she had already had this fever."
How could it catch fire in such a short time?
Soon, Bai Zhu rushed over, nodded hurriedly to Feng Pansheng and began to examine Zhuo Zhuo. In the end, he found no other problems and could only prescribe a prescription and boil some medicine.
Zhuozhuo felt so uncomfortable that she wanted to cry, but she had a lot of experience with illness and a strong tolerance for pain. When she heard Feng Pansheng's voice, she tried hard to open her eyes, "Daddy..."
Feng Pansheng immediately sat down beside the bed and leaned over, "Daddy is here, what does Zhuozhuo want to say?"
"Daddy, don't be unhappy." Zhuozhuo's voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. She wanted to touch Feng Pansheng's face, but her arms were wrapped in the quilt and she didn't have the strength to break free.
Feng Pansheng discovered Zhuozhuo's intention. He grabbed Zhuozhuo's arm through the quilt and said softly, "Daddy is not unhappy. Daddy is just a little distressed when he thinks Zhuozhuo has to take medicine again."
"I don't feel bad," Zhuozhuo blinked slowly, "Drink the medicine and you'll be fine."
Feng Pansheng clenched his hands while supporting himself on the bed, paused, and then smiled and said, "Yes, it will be fine after taking the medicine."
9972 looked at the miserable state of the father and daughter and couldn't help but say, "Baby, if you tell Daddy to stop fighting, your illness will heal."
Zhuozhuo was drowsy, and after a while, she thought to herself, "Shouldn't we fight the Xiongnu?" She was hanging around in the study, and she had a vague idea of what Feng Pansheng was doing. Sometimes, 9972 thought, if Feng Huajun could get information from Zhuozhuo, maybe they could easily defeat Feng Pansheng.
[The Xiongnu can be attacked, but not Qi or any other country.] According to the original book, the Xiongnu took the initiative to invade, and it was natural for the Zhou Dynasty to retaliate. However, Feng Pansheng later took the initiative to attack Qi, which was a personal grudge.
Furthermore, during the attack on Qi, Feng Pansheng ordered the massacre of the city and the killing of prisoners, which was extremely cruel. The surrounding small states were insecure, and under Qi's persuasion, the small states wanted to unite and divide the Great Zhou. In this way, the entire world was dragged into the flames of war.
Therefore, fighting the Huns and fighting the State of Qi are two different plot stages. Zhuozhuo suddenly had a high fever today because the State of Qi, which had received the news of Qi Zhang's death, officially finalized the plan to unite with other small countries to besiege the Great Zhou at the morning court.
However, at this time Feng Pansheng might still be able to destroy their alliance and prevent the plot from happening, so Zhuozhuo was not forced to leave immediately.
Zhuozhuo said, "We want to fight Qi. Qi is a bad country that bullies my father."
She was not stupid. After meeting Qi Zhang at the banquet, she had been observing Feng Pansheng's reactions. Later, she guessed some of Feng Pansheng's experiences in Qi from the unintentional words of people around him. She also heard the quarreling generals in the study say that he had let something slip.
Therefore, Zhuozhuo had no good feelings towards Qi. She would not stop Feng Pansheng from attacking Qi. She wanted to attack Qi herself. "I don't want Daddy to endure being bullied. I don't want Daddy to suffer any injustice."
9972 thought that if Feng Pansheng heard this, he would be so moved that he would die. However, [Baby, if the fighting continues, many people will...] 9972 did not continue. It realized that it was too cruel to let a child who knew nothing make the choice.
But Zhuozhuo guessed what 9972 was going to say next, and she said softly, "I want Daddy to be happy."
Zhuozhuo, gradually losing consciousness due to a high fever, actually said this. Feng Pansheng's pupils shrank upon hearing this, and he almost couldn't hold back his smile. His Adam's apple rolled back, suppressing the tears, and he slowly said, "As long as Zhuozhuo gets better, Daddy will always be happy."
"Hmm." Zhuozhuo wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he fell asleep.
Feng Pansheng's heart seemed to shatter as Zhuozhuo closed his eyes. With trembling hands, he placed his fingers under Zhuozhuo's nose, feeling his delicate breaths. He collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. Feng Pansheng looked at Zhuozhuo's profile and smiled wryly, "Little guy, don't scare Daddy. Daddy can't handle it."
Seeing this scene, 9972 felt a mixture of emotions. He hadn't expected that Zhuozhuo's casual words would be taken as Feng Pansheng's last words, nearly frightening him to death. However, if this continued, Zhuozhuo probably wouldn't wake up again. This sentence could be considered a last word, but he didn't know whether it was salvation or torture for Feng Pansheng.
Zhuozhuo's condition deteriorated rapidly. His high fever wouldn't go away, his body functions declined, his internal organs aged, and he couldn't even take medicine.
Feng Pansheng, completely disillusioned with Bai Zhu, summoned the entire Imperial Hospital to the palace to seek treatment for Zhuo Zhuo, but none of them could help. Feng Pansheng then began to recruit doctors and eccentric individuals from the public. When a con man tried to force Zhuo Zhuo to soak in ice water and drink talismanic water, he killed a group of them.
If seeking medical help doesn’t work, then seek spiritual advice.
Feng Pansheng recalled that Zhuozhuo's abnormal behavior had begun after Emperor Zhengping's death. He was convinced that Zhuozhuo had seen the Emperor's ghost in the palace that day. Since Zhuozhuo was possessed by a ghost, ordinary medicine would be useless. He needed to find a Taoist priest with profound Taoist skills to exorcise the ghost.
Feng Pansheng went to invite the most prestigious Taoist priest Qingfeng, but the Taoist priest with an immortal aura said that Zhuozhuo was not haunted by a ghost. "The time has come. Don't force it."
At that moment, Feng Pansheng wanted to kill him, but he was a firm believer in karma and worried about the consequences for Zhuozhuo. Ultimately, Feng Pansheng simply said, "Master, if you haven't mastered your skills well, don't show off."
Taoist Qingfeng did not feel offended and said calmly: "If your Highness has any questions in the future, you can continue to come to me."
After that, Feng Pansheng invited several more Taoist priests, some of whom had the same rhetoric as Taoist Qingfeng, while others were liars. Feng Pansheng killed the liar and left the real Taoist priest in the palace to perform rituals and pray for Zhuozhuo, but Zhuozhuo showed no signs of improvement.
Looking at the tiny Zhuozhuo lying on the bed, becoming thinner and thinner, and now looking like just a skeleton, Feng Pansheng seemed to see that there was only one way for Zhuozhuo to go, and all his struggles were futile.
Unable to rely on others, Feng Pansheng began to rely on himself.
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