The Emperor watched the Empress for a while. Sensing something, the Empress woke up.
She quickly tidied herself up and stood up, exclaiming in surprise, "Your Majesty, you’re finally awake."
The Emperor smiled, looked at the dark circles under the Empress’s eyes, nodded, and struggingly sat up, "How long have I been asleep?"
The Empress extended her hand to support him, "Your Majesty, you’ve been in a coma for two days and nights."
"You’ve been taking care of me the whole time?"
The Empress replied, "I don’t trust others to attend to you. After all, we used to have Eunuch Yu, he was reliable, I didn’t worry about him not taking good care of you. But now that he’s gone, I just had to do it myself."
The Emperor held her hand, "You’ve worked hard."
The Empress smiled, "As long as Your Majesty is alright."
She asked, "Would Your Majesty like a sip of water? The Imperial Kitchen has been preparing medicinal meals, I’ll have someone bring them over right away."
The Emperor nodded.
The Empress personally poured water for the Emperor, fed him, and then promptly summoned the Imperial Doctor while also sending servants to the Imperial Kitchen.
The Imperial Doctor, who had been waiting in the side hall, came quickly. After checking the Emperor’s pulse, he sighed with relief and advised the Emperor, "Your Majesty, you were very angry this time, it hurt your spirit. Although you are out of danger now, you must take good care of yourself."
The Emperor asked upon hearing this, "How long do I need to recover?"
The Imperial Doctor hesitated, "I am not sure about this. As long as Your Majesty does not get angry again, the recovery should be faster." After a pause, he advised, "Anyway, Your Majesty must take good care of your dragon body, keep calm and tranquil, otherwise it will harm your dragon body."
The Emperor nodded, waved his hand, and let the Imperial Doctor leave.
The folks from the Imperial Kitchen soon brought a medicinal meal. The Empress helped the Emperor eat it.
The Emperor seemed to have no appetite. After eating less than half a bowl of porridge, he shook his head and stopped eating. He asked the Empress, "Where is the Crown Prince?"
The Empress sighed, "The Crown Prince has been very busy with court affairs these two days. Since Your Majesty fell into a coma, the Crown Prince hasn’t slept for two days either. He came by this morning, but seeing that you weren’t awake, he left to attend to his duties."
The Emperor recalled the evidence Yan Huisheng showed him regarding what Imperial Concubine Zhen had confessed. His face darkened, and he said to the Empress, "Summon the Crown Prince to see me."
The Empress nodded and sent someone to the Eastern Palace with the message.
Yan Huisheng arrived quickly. Not only he came, but also the second prince, Yan Lin, heard that the Emperor had woken up, and without being summoned, he also hurriedly entered the palace. In addition, other princes and princesses, upon receiving the news, also came to the Hall of Nurturing Hearts.
Yan Lin and Yan Huisheng almost arrived at the same time. He glanced at Yan Huisheng and greeted him, "Crown Prince."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Second Brother."
Hearing the commotion outside, a eunuch greeted them out. He looked at the crowd that had rushed over and greeted Yan Huisheng, "Crown Prince, you’re here? The Emperor is expecting you."
Yan Huisheng nodded and entered the Hall of Nurturing Hearts.
Yan Lin was jealous and immediately grabbed the eunuch, "What about us? Can our Father Emperor see us?"
It was not strange that he was anxious; he hadn’t seen the Emperor for many days.
The eunuch shook his head, "The Emperor didn’t say that he wanted to see you. He only summoned the Crown Prince."
Yan Lin was extremely uneasy, "Can you relay our wishes? Just tell him that we all miss our Father Emperor."
The eunuch nodded.
Once Yan Huisheng entered the inner hall, the Emperor had private words to speak with him and said to the Empress, "Empress, you’re tired. Go and rest. You don’t need to keep vigil here. I’ll just talk with the Crown Prince."
The Empress was indeed tired. Now that the Emperor was awake, and he wanted to see her son first, she naturally didn’t need to keep watch over the Emperor. So she nodded and left.
The servants attentively withdrew to the outside, only leaving the Emperor and Yan Huisheng in the hall.
The Emperor asked Yan Huisheng, "Has everything been calm in the court these two days?"
Yan Huisheng nodded, "The courtiers are all very concerned about your illness, Your Majesty, but everything has been relatively peaceful."
The Emperor knew that his son was competent. With Yan Huisheng there, the court wouldn’t be in chaos. He said, "Your mother told me that you also haven’t slept for two days. Is it because of the matter regarding Jibei?"
Yan Huisheng’s face visibly showed fatigue. Thanks to his youth, however, the bags under his eyes were not as bad as the Empress’s. Nevertheless, this was enough for the Emperor to see that the Empress wasn’t lying - his son was indeed exhausted from the last two days.
Yan Huisheng nodded, "The matter that Imperial Concubine Zhen confessed is serious. I really can’t rest easy, so I’ve been thinking of solutions."
"Have you come up with anything?" The Emperor asked.
Yan Huisheng shook his head, "Not yet. I was awaiting your return, Your Majesty. We need to discuss this thoroughly. After all, I also don’t know how many troops and horses General Pingxi actually controls. I wouldn’t dare make any hasty decisions. I still need your judgement, Your Majesty."
The Emperor looked somewhat displeased, "I don’t know either. All these years, I underestimated that dog Zhang Ping, and I’ve been deceived by him."
Yan Huisheng didn’t respond to that.
The Emperor knew he was at fault. It wouldn’t have come to this point if he hadn’t trusted and favored Zhang Ping and Imperial Concubine Zhen so much. If this inner trouble isn’t resolved, and outside trouble arises, he might become a historic sinner.
His thoughts were churning, and he couldn’t calm down. He suddenly started coughing violently.
Yan Huisheng stepped forward and lightly patted the Emperor’s back. His facial expression was calm, but he gently said, "Father Emperor, do take good care of your dragon body. Getting angry at this point only harms yourself. You should calm down and think of a solution instead."
Feeling a little moved by Yan Huisheng’s concern, the Emperor nodded. He gradually steadied his emotions, stopped coughing, and asked him, "Who’s outside?"
Yan Huisheng replied, "It’s Second Brother, Fourth Brother, and all our siblings."
The Emperor nodded, he didn’t say he wanted to see them. He said to Huisheng, "As for Jibei, you should have a plan in mind. Tell me what you’re thinking."
Yan Huisheng said, "I’ve already sent secret guards to Jibei to scout General Pingxi’s residence. In addition, I’ve sealed off the news of Imperial Concubine Zhen being thrown into the sky prison. However, there are too many people in the Capital City, and I’m afraid there are people from Zhang Ping in the court as well. I also can’t guarantee how long the news of Imperial Concubine Zhen can be kept secret. Therefore, concerning General Pingxi’s residence, we can’t just take our time. We have to act fast. In addition to sending the secret guards to gather information, I plan to send another group of people to the officialdom in Jibei. Then, I will send troops from the Duke Residence to sneak into Jibei as a precaution against Zhang Ping’s rebellion and his swift capture of the unprepared Capital City. It’d be best to eliminate Zhang Ping without causing a war. If it is not possible, we can only resort to military action."
The Emperor said, "Since Zhang Ping had ambitions as early as ten years ago, he should already have control over the officialdom in Jibei. If we send someone there, I’m afraid it’ll be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s mouth."
"We still have to go," Yan Huisheng said, "The imperial examination is due this year, and the list is out already. After the palace examination conducted by you, Your Majesty, a new batch of officials will naturally be assigned to various places. It would be normal for officials from the Capital City to be sent to Jibei."
"Who to send? Have you chosen anyone?" The Emperor didn’t know who to choose from among the current officials. None of them could shoulder the responsibility of Jibei. As for the new batch of candidates, the top few, who were not yet experienced, he could only think of one person, Zhou Gu, who had been studying with the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace. Could Zhou Gu be sent?
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