Chapter 117: Quite an Idea
"Ha Qiu!"
Chu Liuzheng opened his mouth and sneezed, then sniffed his blocked nose hard, his almond-shaped eyes filled with tears.
Maybe it was because she hadn't been out in the fresh air for too long. She caught a cold when she went to the Imperial Garden yesterday. She had a high fever in the middle of the night and was so dizzy that she was unconscious. If Moxiang hadn't gotten up at night and heard that her breathing was not right, she would have had a fever all night.
Moxiang was so anxious that she ran to the Imperial Hospital to ask for the imperial physician.
Upon hearing that Chu Liuzheng had a high fever, the court judge, Imperial Physician Zhuang, immediately followed him to Nong Yunyuan, took Chu Liuzheng's pulse, examined him, and prescribed medicine.
Moxiang boiled medicine and used cold water to wipe Chu Liuzheng's body to reduce his fever. Yuzhui heard the noise and got up to help. Moxiang was worried that she would not get enough rest and would affect her duty the next day, so she only let her look at the medicine for a while and sent her back to sleep.
She herself hardly slept a wink in the second half of the night, and only took a nap on the edge of the bed when Chu Liuzheng's fever subsided at dawn.
"Thank you for taking care of me, sister." Chu Liuzheng was like an eggplant hit by frost, his whole body drooping in the quilt.
[Alas! I've been sick for a few days and my body has become pampered. When I was working at the pharmacy, I was punished to be exposed to the autumn rain for two hours without catching a cold.]
"If your throat is hurting, just keep quiet. Why are you being so polite to me?"
Seeing that her face was a little red, Moxiang was worried that she had a fever again, so she quickly reached out and touched her forehead, then touched her own forehead. When she found that it was almost done, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She smiled faintly and said, "Doctor Zhuang said that as long as the fever subsides, I can take two doses of medicine and sweat a little, and the cold will be cured."
Chu Liuzheng nodded, his voice thick with nasal tone: "Where is the jade pendant?"
"Yuzhui has gone to Wenhua Hall to take up duty." Moxiang turned to the table, poured a cup of hot water, and fed her a little at a time. "You two were really brave yesterday, but fortunately the result was not bad. She came to see you before she left. At that time, your fever had just subsided, and you were still unconscious."
Chu Liuzheng licked the water droplets from his lips and listened to Moxiang continue, "I see that she is in good spirits today. She must have figured it out."
"Just think it through." Chu Liuzheng had advised Yuzhui a lot yesterday, but seeing Yuzhui's condition, he was afraid that she would get stuck in a dead end. After hearing what Moxiang said, she felt relieved.
As long as I figure it out, I can still live in this palace.
As the two were talking, there was a knock on the closed door.
Moxiang got up to open the door and found that the person coming was Xia Qiaoru.
Xia Qiaoru peered inside anxiously. "I heard Liu Zheng had a high fever last night. I came to see her while I was delivering medicine. Has her fever gone down?"
Moxiang stepped aside to let her in and said, "The fever has subsided, but I still don't have much energy."
Xia Qiaoru walked to the bedside and looked over.
Seeing that it was her, Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but curl his eyes, "Why are you here?"
"I stopped by to check on you." Xia Qiaoru felt her forehead with a worried look on her face. Finding that her fever had indeed subsided, just as Moxiang had said, she couldn't help but complain to Chu Liuzheng, "Your hand is still injured. Why are you running around in this freezing weather? Now you're injured and sick, and you've lost a lot of weight. How can I be at ease?"
"I'm fine." Chu Liuzheng felt an itch rising in his throat and turned his head to cough twice, "It's just that my throat is very dry."
Hearing this, Xia Qiaoru dug into her sleeve pocket and pulled out a green porcelain bottle. She waved it in front of Chu Liuzheng and said, "Here, this is the hundred-flower honey I brought especially for you. Ask Miss Moxiang to mix it with warm water and feed it to you later. It's good for your throat."
Chu Liuzheng was a little surprised: "Where did you get this thing?"
"I got this as a reward from Empress Zhaoyi the other day." Xia Qiaoru placed the porcelain bottle next to her pillow and reached out to pinch Chu Liuzheng's face. "I have to go back and report. I'll come see you when I'm free. If you run out and catch a cold again, I won't forgive you if I find out."
Chu Liuzheng curled his lips: "Look how powerful you are. I know, I know. I cough... cough cough..."
She tilted her head and coughed a few more times, and when the coughing stopped, she continued, "Go quickly, I won't keep you here."
Xia Qiaoru pulled the quilt up for her, stood up and said to Moxiang beside her, "Thank you for taking care of Liu Zheng. If Liu Zheng needs help, please come to the pharmacy to find me."
She took out a green purse from her sleeve and stuffed it into Moxiang's hand, then walked away quickly without waiting for Moxiang's reaction.
Moxiang chased for two steps but failed to catch up, and shook her head helplessly.
She weighed the green purse in her hand, curved her lips into a faint smile, and returned to her room and said to Chu Liuzheng, "You are so lucky to have found such a sister in the palace who truly cares about you."
"Qiaoru is fine." Chu Liuzheng's eyes curved into crescents. Moxiang came over and placed the purse next to her pillow. "Next time Miss Qiaoru comes, remember to help me return it."
Chu Liuzheng was stunned and said hurriedly: "Sister, take it..."
Moxiang didn't let her finish. She picked up the small porcelain bottle next to the pillow and said, "I'll mix some honey water for you to moisten your throat."
*
At the same time, at the grand court meeting, as Chu Liuzheng expected, someone mentioned the discovery of an auspicious sign on Taojun Mountain in the suburbs of Beijing.
Censor Zeng said, "When the stone tablet was raised, hundreds of birds hailed in greeting, and a rich, exotic fragrance emanated. This is undoubtedly an auspicious omen. This is a sign of Heaven's blessing upon our great prosperity. Congratulations to our Emperor, Long Live Him."
When he raised his head like this, everyone knelt down and shouted, "Long live the emperor."
"Everyone, please stand up."
Although he knew that this auspicious sign was most likely man-made, Xiao Jingfan still inevitably became interested and ordered people to transport the stone tablet to the main hall so that he could appreciate it with his ministers.
After a while, four Yulin guards carried the stone tablet in.
The stone tablet was about one person tall. As soon as it was carried into the hall, many people smelled the fragrance emanating from the stone tablet. It was like the fragrance of flowers and medicine, and it smelled quite pleasant.
All the officials looked at each other, wondering who was so clever as to come up with this stone tablet to please the emperor.
Xiao Jingfan stood up and walked down the imperial steps, standing in front of the stone tablet, his nose filled with the fragrance.
He looked at the stone tablet carefully and could tell at a glance that it was deliberately made to look old. The fragrance was probably from the spices hidden inside the stone tablet.
He waved his hand and said, "Come closer and take a look."
The civil and military officials then gathered around, discussing the fragrance emanating from the stone tablet while reading the inscriptions on it.
"Phoenix girl!" Grand Secretary Zhang took a breath of cold air, feeling that his colleague was quite creative. In order to send a girl into the palace, he even arranged auspicious signs.
Other ministers also talked about it, saying that not everyone could bear the title of Phoenix Girl.
Xiao Jingfan hadn't expected this time to bring forth a Phoenix Girl. He glanced meaningfully at his beloved ministers and instructed Xie Hui, "According to the stele, invite this Phoenix Girl into the palace. I want to see if there is really such a thing as a girl destined by heaven."
Xie Hui clasped his fists and said, "Yes."
The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment. Did His Majesty take the inscription on the stone tablet seriously? Wouldn't the Empress have to abdicate if this Phoenix girl were allowed into the palace?
Duke Zhong's face darkened. He told him whoever had made the stone tablet would have to pay the price!
Xiao Jingfan ordered the Imperial Guards to carry the stone tablet away, strode back to the platform and sat down, saying to the ministers, "Let's continue the discussion."
The Minister of War stepped forward, holding a tablet in his hand. "The firearms battalion is ready. Your Majesty, please advise on the date for the drill."
"The day after tomorrow," Xiao Jingfan said, "after the morning court session, all the ministers will go together."
"Yes!" The Minister of War returned, and the Minister of Rites followed closely behind, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Ancestral Temple sacrifice..."
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