Inner court.
The sage sat on a couch with disheveled hair, reading a new book just published by the Imperial College. Two palace maids were fanning him, and the wind from the icebergs in the basin cooled his whole body.
"Your Majesty, you read all night yesterday and haven't put the book down since you got up this morning. Be careful not to hurt yourself. Rest for a while."
The eunuch persuaded him while bringing warm tea.
The sage touched them with his finger and said, "Who can drink something so hot in this hot weather? Bring me something cool."
"You have just recovered from a cold. Using too much cold food is not good for your body." Normally, ice should not be used, but the saint was greedy for coolness, so he recited it several times and asked the imperial physician before giving it to him.
Seeing that he did not change, the sage remained silent until he finished reading the book, then he picked it up and drank it.
Isn't this cool too?
The eunuch sighed secretly. Their saint looked easy to talk to, but was actually very stubborn.
After finishing a cup of tea, someone came to report that Prince Ying wanted to see him.
Ever since the saint fell into the water and became seriously ill, his younger brother has been visiting the palace from time to time, showing great concern for him.
The saint asked the eunuch to put away the book, and asked the two people who were fanning the iceberg to remove it. Then he tore off his clothes and lay down on the couch with a listless expression.
"Take your powder and apply it on me."
Most palace eunuchs were in the habit of applying powder. The eunuch took out a powder box, dipped some mirabilis powder on a silk handkerchief, and rubbed it on the saint's cheeks and lips.
The person who was fine just now suddenly looked like he was terminally ill.
The saint took a mirror beside him to look at himself, nodded with satisfaction, and then leaned back on the couch.
"Send him in."
"yes."
When Prince Ying entered the hall, he felt the surroundings were gloomy and dark. He frowned slightly, a worried look on his face, and asked the eunuch, "Why don't you light two lamps?"
"Ever since falling into the water, Your Majesty has disliked bright light, so the palace ladies dared not light any lamps."
"How has your Royal Brother been these past two days?"
The eunuch sighed but said nothing.
Prince Ying suppressed his joy and quickened his pace towards the inner hall.
Arriving at the inner hall, the chill grew even stronger. Prince Ying approached the person lying on the couch, knelt, and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, brother."
The saint raised his hand and said breathlessly, "You...are here again?"
Prince Ying took the sage's hand and saw that his eyes were dark blue, his face was pale, and his hands were icy cold. He said sadly, "Royal brother, how did you become like this? How did these people take care of you? What do these imperial doctors eat?"
"I feel much better than yesterday," the sage said stubbornly, "I can attend court tomorrow."
"My royal brother's health is more important, why bother attending court?"
"A country cannot... be without a king for a day." The sage raised his body, but could not hold on for a breath and lay down again.
Prince Ying quickly helped him up and said, "The ministers will handle the affairs of the court. You can rest assured and recuperate."
The eunuch brought a cup of hot tea. Seeing this, Prince Ying reached out to take it and wanted to serve the saint personally.
The sage had no choice but to glare at the eunuch secretly and drink two sips from Prince Ying's hand.
When Prince Ying saw that he was still drinking hot tea in the hot summer, he became more convinced of his illness and wanted to feed him more, but was stopped by the saint.
"You don't know..." The sage took the eunuch's powdered handkerchief and wiped his mouth, sighing, "These court officials are all restless. If I fall, these people will revolt."
Prince Ying lowered his eyes and pretended to be helpless.
"Yesterday, the Grand Tutor came to visit me and said that several court officials had submitted a memorial requesting that the cases of the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue be concluded. The memorial is currently in the hands of Minister Kou, who was about to approve it, but was stopped by the Minister of the Chancellery and the Minister of the Central Secretariat."
The sage hammered his forehead and said worriedly, "We've argued about this countless times. It was fine before, as long as I was able to suppress it. But if I don't attend court for a long time and don't demonstrate my authority, I'm afraid those two treacherous ministers will be brought out one day."
Prince Ying said cautiously, "I never ask about matters of the court. I am only concerned about your health."
Then he thought for a moment and introduced someone to the saint.
"I have a Taoist doctor who is very skilled in both Taoism and medicine. Why not invite him to see my brother? If he can identify the symptoms and cure my brother's illness, he can return to the court soon and reassure the people."
The Saint looked at him for a moment, smiled, patted his hand, and said with satisfaction: "Well, it is hard for you to remember the Emperor. It is not in vain that I have loved you."
Prince Ying said respectfully, "Your Majesty is the closest person to me in this capital. If I don't care about you, who else should I care about?"
After Prince Ying left, the sage lay straight for a while, went over Prince Ying's words in his mind, and then sneered.
"It's so hot, bring me the ice."
The palace maids quickly carried the iceberg back and continued to fan it.
When the cool breeze started blowing again, the saint's irritability dissipated and he picked up the book again to read.
Not long after, the eunuch who had sent Prince Ying away came back with a message, "Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor and the Minister of Chancellery are here."
The sage hurriedly got up from the couch and asked the eunuchs and palace servants to change his clothes, wipe his face, and tie his hair. Only after he had straightened himself out did he summon people into the hall.
After the two men paid their respects, the Grand Tutor asked, "Your Majesty, I just ran into Prince Ying. I wonder what he's doing here?"
The sage smiled, "He came to ask about my condition and recommended a Taoist doctor to me, saying that he has great medical skills and can cure my illness."
"Your Majesty agrees?"
"It's not good to let him down."
The Grand Tutor warned: "I think the Prince of Ying is trying to test you. If Your Majesty wants to see him, you should first find out his background to avoid being exposed."
The sage looked at the Shangshu Ling and said with a smile, "Let the Shangshu Ling handle the investigation."
"I obey your command." The Minister of the Chancellery accepted the order and continued, "Your Majesty, the two boatmen detained after the Qujiang accident have been interrogated, and all those responsible for arranging the itinerary have also been questioned. There is nothing wrong."
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