Chapter 114: Xuanye falls ill on the way back to Beijing
Galdan's escape directly made Xuanye sick with anger. On the way back to Beijing, Xuanye could no longer ride a war horse and could only sit in a carriage, with Xiu Yu taking care of him all the way.
"Still has a slight fever." Xiu Yu touched Xuanye's forehead with her palm. "The accompanying military doctor is also incompetent."
"The military doctor has done his best." Xuanye's smile was a little weak. "It's just that I'm really angry this time. Very angry!"
As Xiu Yu fed Xuanye the medicine, he said, "You've been through so many storms, but it was just Galdan. He still fled because he was defeated. But you're much easier to deal with than Wu Sangui back then, aren't you?"
Xuanye sighed and smiled wryly, "Back then, Wu Sangui also submitted a petition, stating his agreement to disband his fiefdoms, and demanded severance pay and even farming tools. I thought he was sincere in his desire, and I granted all his requests. But he demanded them while simultaneously leading Geng Jingzhong, Shang Kexi, and others into rebellion! This time, Galdan is seeking peace while fleeing. Isn't that a bit of a similar approach?"
Xiu Yu said, "Wu Sangui was shrewd and calculating, but it was you who actually drove Galdan away. The two men cannot be compared."
"But I fell into the same trap after all. I fell into the same trap twice. Am I too gullible?" Xuanye's smile was mixed with helplessness.
Xiu Yu shook his head and said, "You are a gentleman. Gentlemen are bound to make mistakes when facing villains. Now that you know how cunning Galdan is, you will naturally not make the same mistake again. Besides, we fought well in the battle of Tuocheng, didn't we?"
"Yes, in the battle of Camel City, my second brother and Chang Ning fought very well." Xuanye closed his eyes, unable to overcome his own difficulties. "I am a little tired. Yu'er, you read a book. I will take a nap."
Xiu Yu waited until Xuanye was truly asleep before leaning back and reading a random book. She was feeling a bit annoyed, and the words she was reading were not registering with her. At first, she couldn't quite wrap her head around it. Defeating Galdan was supposed to be a sign that the Qing army was stronger than the Dzungars, so it should have been a good thing. So why did the emperor become so ill because of Galdan's flight?
Today, she finally had some clarity. Xuanye felt that his decision had been erroneous, which, in turn, showed that his understanding of Galdan was incomplete. Perhaps it was precisely because of his literary and martial talents, his extensive reading, and his cunning and devious nature, that Galdan possessed a wealth of knowledge. Xuanye, after all, was a gentleman...
At night, Xuanye's fever worsened, and Xiuyu had no choice but to order Xuanye to camp on the spot. Inside the tent, the accompanying military doctor examined Xuanye's pulse and said to Xiuyu, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the emperor is not just suffering from anger, I'm afraid he has malaria."
People at that time knew little about malaria. The accompanying military doctor had no medical skills, and there was no other imperial physician to discuss countermeasures with. They were so scared that cold sweats broke out on their backs.
Xiu Yu was originally sitting next to Xuan Ye. Seeing the doctor's expression, he stood up and said, "Malaria, you don't know how to treat it, right?"
"I have no good plan, so please, Master Yi, come up with some advice. But with the Emperor in this state, it will be impossible to continue north."
Xiu Yu frowned, pondering for a moment. Then he ordered Liang Jiugong, "Immediately send the guards to the capital and bring the Imperial Hospital here!" Before Liang Jiugong left the tent, Xiu Yu added, "The military doctor has determined the emperor's symptoms. Have the guard take them with him. Also, bring the foreign anatomy instructor the emperor studied with."
Liang Jiugong immediately understood what Xiu Yu meant and ran to find Fuquan and Changning.
Xuanye's illness came on violently. Not only was his face pale, as if he had no blood at all, but he also had chills during the day and a high fever at night. He was sweating all over his body, and it was unknown how many beds and quilts were soaked with sweat.
Xiu Yu worked tirelessly, taking care of Xuanye day and night, using the most clumsy yet most effective method of physical cooling to relieve Xuanye's pain. She only hoped that the Imperial Hospital staff could come quickly and that the foreign doctors could bring effective medicine.
***
In the Forbidden City, after Crown Prince Yinreng received the news that the emperor was ill on his way back to Beijing, he immediately prepared people and medicine. Just before he ordered the imperial doctors to set off, he was blocked in the warm room by Soetu.
Yinreng frowned and said, "Uncle, my father is sick!"
"Yes, the emperor is seriously ill." Suo Etu stared closely into Yinreng's eyes and said, "Prince, this is an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"You are a traitor!" Yinreng pointed at Soetu's nose and cursed, "How has my father treated you badly? How dare you have such treasonous thoughts again and again!"
"My Lord Crown Prince," Soetu began earnestly, "During the days you've been regent, all the world's affairs have been in your hands. Isn't that a good feeling? Perhaps if you were just a few hours or days later, you wouldn't be regent anymore, but the crown prince! By then, you'd have the final say on all world affairs. With a single stroke of a pen, you could get whatever you want!"
To say I wasn't moved would be a lie. Yinreng slowly sat down, frowning in thought.
About an hour later, Yinzhen and Yinqi knocked on Yinreng's door.
Outside the door, Yinzhen said, "Brother Crown Prince, have the imperial physicians left yet? My fifth brother and I beg Your Highness to allow us to go north with them."
Hearing Yinzhen's voice, Yinreng woke up. He glared at Soetu, stood up and opened the door for Yinzhen and Yinqi himself.
***
The old doctors in the Imperial Hospital were all too old to ride horses, so they had to take carriages. However, Yinzhen specifically ordered the carriages to be pulled by fine horses, so the speed was not slow.
The old doctors rode in carriages, while the two young men, Yinzhen and Yinqi, rode horses. When they were halfway through the journey and taking a break, the two brothers naturally got together to chat.
"Fourth brother, do you think the imperial doctors would have been able to set off smoothly if we hadn't gone that day?" Yinqi was smart. When he saw Soetu and Yinreng in the same room that day, he already had some doubts. He thought about it carefully before asking such a question.
Yinzhen fiddled with the beads in his hand and said, "Fifth brother, we are subjects. His Royal Highness is still His Royal Highness. We should neither say nor think about what we shouldn't say or think."
"Fourth brother, you really are..." Yinqi understood Yinzhen, "You really don't say anything you shouldn't say."
"There's no point in saying more." Yinzhen smiled. "The imperial doctors are all out now. They'll be meeting up with Concubine Yi and her family soon. Our goal has been achieved."
Yinqi nodded: "Fourth brother is right. Speaking of which, we have been on the road for so long, I don't know how my father and mother are doing."
"Don't worry." Yinzhen patted Yinqi's shoulder, but his brows were still slightly furrowed. "Father is the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven is blessed by God, and nothing will go wrong."
After all, the emperor was waiting to see a doctor, so the old doctors didn't dare to rest for too long and got on the carriage and set off again.
After riding day and night, by the time they arrived at the camp, even the best horses had lost their energy.
However, the imperial doctors did not dare to rest. They immediately knelt in front of Xuanye's bed and took his pulse.
Xiu Yu didn't expect the imperial physician to have any good prescription to save Xuanye immediately. She walked up to the foreign doctor and said, "You are a student of Thomas Fa. The emperor is suffering from..."
"The emperor is suffering from malaria." The foreign doctor took out a small medicine bottle and said, "This is called quinine cream. It can cure the emperor's illness."
Xiu Yu seemed to have taken a reassurance pill. With quinine, the emperor might really be able to overcome this difficulty this time.
It was Yinzhen and Yinqi who stopped Xiu Yu first.
Yinzhen said, "Mother Yifei, this is a foreign medicine after all. It should not be given to Father unless absolutely necessary."
Yinqi also said, "Fourth brother is right. Mother, why don't we wait a little longer? If the old doctors are really helpless, we can use this."
Xiu Yu was very anxious: "Your father has been ill for some time. Now there is a good medicine to cure him, but you are stopping him from using it?"
Yinzhen firmly grasped Xiuyu's wrist and said, "I know Concubine Yi is worried and hopes that Father can get better soon. But if anything goes wrong, what will Concubine Yi ask my fourth sister and fourth brother to do?"
"But your father really can't wait any longer."
Seeing the old doctors gathered together to discuss something, Yinqi went up to them and asked, "Can you cure my father's illness?"
The leader, Sun Zhiding, said, "There is no cure for the Emperor's illness at the moment. Fifth Prince, we can only use our medical skills..."
"Father, do you still have time to wait for you to look through the medical books?" Yinqi waved the small bottle in front of the doctors and said, "See if it can be used. Is this possible?"
In Xiu Yude's eyes, Yinqi was still a child, but now it seems that the child has grown up, although he is a little arrogant. But if he is not arrogant when he is young, when will he be arrogant again?
Fortunately, the imperial physicians were quite good at testing the efficacy of medicines. Finally, with the guarantee from Sun Zhiding, the medicine was proven to be effective against malaria, and Xiu Yu then gave the quinine to Xuanye.
The wait was still torturous. Xuanye fell asleep in bed, and Xiuyu and the two brothers Yinzhen and Yinqi sat together waiting for Xuanye to wake up.
Xiu Yu knew that as long as he had this medicine, Xuanye would be fine, and he felt much more relieved. So he smiled and said, "I thought only the imperial doctors would come, but I didn't expect you two to come too."
Yinqi said: "Mother, you don't know..."
"Fifth brother!" Yinzhen knew that Yinqi wanted to talk to Concubine Yi about the Crown Prince and Soetu, but it was better to keep this matter to himself. "Fifth brother is also concerned about the health of Father and Concubine Yi. After all, we are both young and energetic."
Xiu Yu always knew that Yinzhen was calm and steady, so she didn't ask any more questions: "You two should take a good rest after such a long journey."
Yinqi held Xiuyu's hand and said, "Mother should take a good rest. We will take care of Father. You must have been staying up all these days. You don't look well at all."
Xiu Yu touched the back of Yinqi's head and said, "Isn't my son not good at speaking? How did he improve? Did the master teach him?"
Yinqi smiled and said, "I see that Fourth Brother is not as steady as he is now in front of Concubine Tong. I want to learn from him."
Yinzhen was drinking tea. When he heard Yinqi say this, he spit out his tea without finishing it.
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