Chapter 257 How can I possibly present this to the emperor?
As Lord Wang spoke, seeing Emperor Jing frowning and remaining silent, he immediately added, "Your Majesty, Physician Jiang is merely a wandering physician, whose background is unknown to all. He also acts without regard for etiquette and is eccentric and unscrupulous. How could he possibly be worthy of such a high position? If Your Majesty insists on this, it will not only damage the royal family's reputation but may also cause turmoil in the court!"
After saying that, he slammed his head heavily to the ground again.
"Insolence!" Emperor Jing frowned deeply. "Does my bestowing a title upon a concubine cause turmoil in the court? Do you think my court is made of paper? Wang Yong, stop talking nonsense."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please reconsider! If Your Majesty insists on this course of action, I will gladly kill myself here to remonstrate with you!"
"You really think I wouldn't dare kill you!"
Emperor Jing was so angry that his face turned red, but Wang Yong looked like he was ready to die, showing no sign of backing down.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please calm down."
Seeing this, the divine physician immediately stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, but you really need to think this over carefully."
Emperor Jing squinted at the divine physician, Que: "What? You also think it's inappropriate? Could it be that you yourself look down on those who practice medicine?"
The divine physician, Que, quickly waved his hand: "No, no, Your Majesty, what are you saying? I think that old scoundrel Wang Yong is truly inhuman. He fell ill on the way here earlier, and if I hadn't prescribed him medicine, how could he be standing here making sarcastic remarks? He has no conscience at all!"
Hearing him say this, Emperor Jing snorted coldly, vaguely feeling that he had breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked at Physician Que, waiting for him to continue.
The divine physician Que stepped forward with a smile: "However, Your Majesty, there is indeed something slightly inappropriate about your decision to confer the title of Physician Jiang upon her."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes.
The divine physician quickly added, "Please don't worry, let me finish. Physician Jiang... she's already married! Her husband..."
He was speaking when Li Rong's face suddenly appeared in his mind. He subconsciously omitted her name and just cleared his throat, saying, "Although her husband is disabled, they have a very good relationship. They have two sons and a daughter, and the children are all very beautiful and cute. Sanqi and I have both seen them."
Emperor Jing was stunned for a moment: "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely true!" Doctor Magpie nodded firmly.
Sanqi chimed in, "Your Majesty, that's right. Physician Jiang's eldest son is about the same age as the Sixth Prince, and I heard he'll be taking a minor exam next year."
Emperor Jing murmured in shock, "She doesn't look very old, how could she have such a big son?"
The Divine Physician's eyes flickered: "The husband she married was a widower."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing's deep-set eyes showed a hint of melancholy: "How could this be? How could a woman like Physician Jiang marry such a man..."
As he spoke, Emperor Jing noticed that Wang Yong was still staring at him nervously. He scoffed, "Why are you still kneeling? Do you think I'm so absurd as to bestow the title of concubine upon a married woman? Or do you think I have some kind of fetish for taking other men's wives?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yong immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Your Majesty, I dare not. I only thought that Your Majesty is grateful and magnanimous, a wise ruler of our time."
Emperor Jing glared at him, then turned his head away, unwilling to look at him, and looked only at Physician Que, saying, "From what you've said, Physician Jiang is living a very impoverished life?"
The physician, recalling the dilapidated courtyard and the small, dark room in Jiang Nuan's home, couldn't bring himself to say she was living a good life. However, the food in her home was indeed more delicious and abundant than imperial cuisine. He could only nod with a strange expression, "Your Majesty, it is indeed not affluent."
Emperor Jing pondered for a moment, then said directly, "Sanqi, find an opportunity to send Physician Jiang more silver. Send her fifty thousand taels, so that she can live a better life. As for other rewards, I will bestow them upon her when I return to the palace."
After these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent once again.
Sanqi reluctantly took out the last of his silver: "Your Majesty, all my silver is here, only 1,100 taels."
Emperor Jing frowned slightly, then looked at Eunuch Li beside him: "Give him the silver."
Eunuch Li wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Your Majesty, I did not bring much money with me on this trip. Even my money bag was lost when I was being chased."
Emperor Jing's gaze then shifted to Minister Wang.
Lord Wang reached into his robe with trembling hands and took out his purse: "Your Majesty, I have eight hundred taels of silver left on me."
Commander Liu hurriedly replied, "This servant only has two hundred taels on me. The money in the house is all managed by the madam..."
Emperor Jing: "..."
He didn't bother to check the money on the men's bodies, placing his hopes solely on the legendary Physician Que. He knew that the Physician Que could concoct medicines worth thousands of taels of silver with a mere flick of his wrist. Among his subjects, few were wealthier than him.
The divine physician immediately shook his head: "This humble subject never carries any silver on him. He always pays three-seven when he goes out."
Emperor Jing looked at the silver coins, his brows furrowed deeply: "How can I possibly present such a small amount of silver coins?"
He considered taking off the jade pendant, but after doing so for a while, he felt it was inappropriate. He frowned and thought for a long time before taking off the thumb ring from his wrist and giving it to Sanqi.
"I will write a letter and send it to Physician Jiang along with this ring. Find an opportunity to go and return quickly, and do not delay the appointed time."
"yes."
Sanqi accepted the order and quickly went out the door.
Emperor Jing then turned his attention to Commander Liu: "Have you made contact with the Empress Dowager? Did she say where Xiao Liu is?"
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has given us a direction, but we do not yet have anyone suitable to use. Your humble servant has not yet conducted a full search."
Emperor Jing hesitated for a moment, then took the token from his pocket and gave it to him: "Quickly contact Wei Lin, the garrison commander of Gu Kui City, and Wan Yu, the garrison general of Cang Lin, and order them to stand by in place."
"yes!"
Emperor Jing subconsciously touched his chest, feeling his heart beating strongly, and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth: "Xiao Yuanshan was planning to trap me to death in the Great Wilderness, but now it seems he won't get his wish."
“Your Majesty, Xiao Yuanshan is a traitorous official. Even with troops stationed in the area, it is unlikely that Your Majesty’s safety can be completely guaranteed. In my humble opinion, it would be best for Your Majesty to return to the capital as soon as possible. Every day you delay increases the risk,” Wang Yong said.
"It's alright, a couple more days won't make a difference. As long as we find Xiao Liu, we'll return to the capital immediately."
As Emperor Jing spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly: "Coincidentally, I'm also curious about what kind of mischief Xiao Yuanshan has been up to in the Great Wilderness all these years!"
"Your Majesty, I have something else to report." Doctor Que hesitated and said, "When Sanqi returned from Doctor Jiang's house earlier, he mentioned that he had seen the Grand Preceptor at Doctor Jiang's house."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing's hand trembled, and the medicine bowl beside him fell to the ground. He had no time to care about it for the moment, and only frowned as he looked at Physician Que: "Is what you said true?"
I've seen so many votes these past few days, thank you so much, my darlings! Goodnight~
(End of this chapter)
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