Chapter 135 Rescue 3 You still haven't given me the antidote you owe me
After Xie Wuhen received the message from Su He, he sat at his desk for a long time without saying a word.
Wu Sheng asked, "Is the boss worried about the princess?"
He sighed softly: "Not only the princess, but also the emperor."
Wu Sheng asked again, "What does the boss plan to do?"
He thought for a moment and ordered in a deep voice, "Prepare the car and go to Zhou's house."
Wu Sheng clasped his fists and replied "Yes", then turned and left.
When Xie Wuhen arrived at the Zhou family, Shangshu Ling Zhou Ping was still ill in bed, with his grandson Zhou Yuanzhang waiting by his side. There were also several colleagues in the next room who came to visit him.
The Zhou family first lost favor in the imperial court, then lost their son, and then lost their queen. These successive blows were very sad.
After greeting the civil servants one by one, Xie Wuhen came to Zhou Ping's bed.
Zhou Ping leaned against the head of the bed, his face haggard: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Lord Xie, but now the Zhou family... is a mess." He said with a long sigh.
Xie Wuhen replied, "Master Zhou is still the Minister of Chancellery, so why should you be so self-deprecating?"
Zhou Ping shook his head helplessly. After a moment, he changed the subject: "Master Xie, you wouldn't come to my temple unless you have something important to do, right?"
Xie Wuhen's expression lightened slightly, and he got straight to the point: "What are your thoughts, Lord Zhou, regarding the Queen's sudden passing?"
Zhou Ping was stunned: "What do you mean by this, Mr. Xie?"
Xie Wuhen's expression remained unchanged. "The palace claims that the Empress passed away from an old illness. May I ask, Lord Zhou, what was the Empress's old illness?"
Zhou Ping pretended to be calm: "The Queen has suffered from 'Lijiefeng' since she was a child. Whenever it rains, her joints will ache."
Xie Wuhen asked again: "Why is Lijiefeng so fatal?"
Zhou Ping's expression suddenly turned cold, and he asked, "What exactly does Master Xie want to say?"
Xie Wuhen stopped beating around the bush and spoke frankly in a low voice, "To be honest, I received news today that Concubine Shu poisoned the Queen."
Zhou Ping's eyes suddenly widened, staring at him intently, as if he wanted to bore a hole through him. "May I ask who sent this message to Lord Xie?"
Xie Wuhen met his gaze: "I'm sorry that I can't tell you this."
He added, "Even if I don't reveal it today, I believe Lord Zhou is still suspicious of the Queen's sudden death, right?"
Zhou Ping's eyes were full of meaning. "Master Xie, you are sowing discord like this. Aren't you afraid that I will complain to Concubine Shu?"
Xie Wuhen's face was full of disdain: "As the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, I will not make trouble out of nothing. If Lord Zhou doesn't believe me, you can go to Concubine Shu and complain now."
Then he stood up and said, "Since Lord Zhou doesn't believe me, Xie, I will take my leave first." He cupped his fist, turned around and walked out of the house.
"Wait." Zhou Ping stopped him. "Why did Master Xie come to tell me all this?"
Xie Wuhen stood tall in the room, speaking slowly and calmly, "Once the Empress passes away, Lord Zhou will no longer support the Fifth Prince. This will make the Second Prince's succession more likely. Concubine Shu can then win over Lord Zhou and gain more support from the civil servants when the Second Prince is appointed. I'm making this trip today to advise Lord Zhou not to put the Zhou family in an unjust position."
Zhou Ping looked suspiciously, "Would Lord Xie be so kind?"
Xie Wuhen chuckled and said, "Since Lord Zhou doesn't appreciate it, then just pretend that I have never been here." After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the room without hesitation.
Zhou Ping looked at his departing back and gritted his teeth secretly.
Grandson Zhou Yuanzhang came into the room carrying the medicine: "Grandpa, it's time to take the medicine."
Seeing his unfriendly expression, he asked again, "But did that Xie Wuhen offend Grandfather just now?"
Zhou Ping finally suppressed his emotions and smiled, "Zhang'er, you're worrying too much. Grandfather is fine." He took the medicine and drank it in a few gulps. Then he ordered, "You can leave first. By the way, ask Uncle Shi to come in."
Zhou Yuanzhang responded with "yes" and stepped back.
But a moment later, the housekeeper Shi Kai entered the room and asked, "Master, what can I do for you?"
Zhou Ping ordered in a cold voice: "Send a letter to the border, and ask Cheng'er to leave for Beijing."
Isn’t “Cheng’er” the frontier guard Zhou Cheng, who is also his nephew?
Shi Kai lowered his head and replied "yes".
Zhou Ping then ordered: "Go to the city and spread another nursery rhyme."
Shi Kai asked, "What nursery rhyme?"
Zhou Ping thought for a moment and replied, "In the wealthy imperial court, there was a struggle for the crown prince, the concubine killed the queen, and in the Changle Palace there was a great deal of joy."
Shi Kai's face changed drastically when he heard this, but he didn't dare to ask more questions. He just said "yes" and turned to leave the house.
At this time, next to the carriage outside the Zhou family's gate.
Wu Sheng asked, "Boss, does Zhou Ping buy into this?"
Xie Wuhen turned his head to look at the towering vermilion lacquer gate of the Zhou family and replied in a deep voice: "Zhou Ping is a treacherous old minister, so he will naturally not surrender to Concubine Shu."
Wu Sheng asked again: "What should we do now?"
Xie Wuhen's eyelashes fluttered as he replied, "We must find a way to rescue the emperor right now."
After a pause, he added, "But before that, I have to find a way to meet the princess."
Wu Sheng's face lit up with joy: "Then tomorrow morning, the boss can send a pigeon to the princess to arrange a meeting."
Xie Wuhen glanced coldly at his inexplicable joy, turned around and got on the carriage.
At this time in the palace, Su He started to feel morning sickness again.
She vomited until tears welled up in her eyes and she felt like she was about to vomit out bitter bile.
Zhang Xiuhua patted her back and muttered, "I threw up everything I ate today. How can I bear this?"
Su He slowed down and replied, "Don't worry, auntie, you'll be fine after you finish vomiting."
"After vomiting, the nutrition is gone."
"I'll just eat more then."
Zhang Xiuhua immediately called Chunlan over and said, "Go to the kitchen and have the maids make some lean meat porridge for the princess, along with a bowl of egg custard. Oh, and some pickled radish."
Chunlan nodded "yes" and hurried to the kitchen.
Zhang Xiuhua poured Su He a cup of tea to rinse her mouth, and at the end she was still worried: "Right now, the princess is not only pregnant, but also has the... Heart-Eating Flower poison that hasn't been removed. What if something goes wrong, you'll..." She couldn't go on.
Su He leaned back in the armchair and breathed a sigh of relief: "Don't worry, aunt. I will go to Weiyang Palace to see Bai Jinan later."
Zhang Xiuhua paused after hearing this, glanced warily outside the palace, and lowered her voice: "Princess, why did you meet him for no reason?"
She replied, "Of course I'm going to ask him for the antidote to the Heart-Eating Flower poison."
"He didn't give me the antidote back when we were at Fuzi Mountain. Now that he's become the emperor, why would he give me the antidote?"
Su He's expression was slightly restrained: "How can you know if you don't try?"
After two cups of tea, Chunlan brought the meal from the kitchen.
Su He forced herself to eat some egg custard and a few pieces of pickled radish, and finally recovered some strength. She took a nap in the afternoon. After waking up, she asked Chunlan to change her clothes and comb her hair, preparing to go to the Weiyang Palace for an audience.
The snow has stopped today, the wind is not strong, and there is some hazy sunlight in the sky.
Su He walked within the deep palace walls, thinking about the time when her mother lived in the palace, and the time when Xie Wuhen brought her into the palace. For a moment, she felt as if she was in another world.
Things are unpredictable and people and things change.
In just over a quarter of an hour, she arrived at the gate of Weiyang Palace.
Guards and eunuch Wang Xinger were guarding the door.
Wang Xinger bowed to her solemnly.
She nodded slightly: "Please help pass on the message, father-in-law."
Wang Xing'er looked troubled: "The Emperor is ill, so I'm afraid it's inconvenient for him to summon the princess."
Her tone was slightly cold: "My father and I have been separated for many years, and now we are finally reunited. Is your father-in-law deliberately preventing us from meeting?"
Wang Xing'er choked and immediately knelt down: "Even if I had the courage of a leopard, I wouldn't dare to do this."
He added, "The princess has been in the palace for many days and must be aware of the emperor's health condition. This slave... has no other choice."
Naturally, he didn't dare to stop the princess from meeting the emperor, but Concubine Shu dared.
Concubine Shu gave him a death order, not allowing anyone to approach the emperor.
Now that Su He is here, there is no reason for him to go back easily.
She simply knelt on both knees and shouted outside the palace gate: "I am worried about your father's health and have come to visit you. I hope you will allow me to enter the palace to see you."
Wang Xing'er was anxious: "Princess, why do you have to embarrass me...The Emperor is really not feeling well, Princess, please go back."
Su He ignored him completely and continued to shout: "Your son has come to visit you specially. I hope your father will allow your son to see you."
Finally, the emperor's voice was heard from within the palace. It sounded deep and deep, and faintly exhausted: "Since the princess insists on seeing me, then please come in."
Wang Xinger was stunned and answered "yes" obediently.
He lifted his clothes and stood up, leading Su He, who had also stood up, into the hall.
The emperor sat behind a screen.
Through the thin screen, one could vaguely see his general outline, but it was impossible to tell whether he was missing an arm, let alone his face.
Su He bowed before the screen and said, "May the emperor recover soon."
Bai Jinan said, "Thank you very much, Princess. It's freezing cold, and I hope you take good care of yourself."
Then he ordered Wang Xinger to "give him a seat."
Wang Xinger followed the order and brought a brocade stool and placed it next to Su He.
Su He bent down and sat down, looking around.
The hall was empty and silent. Apart from Wang Xinger, there was not even a single palace servant.
She spoke loudly, "It is not easy for me to meet with my father. I wonder if you could remove this screen so that we can communicate smoothly."
Before Bai Jinan could respond, Wang Xinger said urgently, "No."
Su He deliberately scolded: "How dare you, the emperor hasn't spoken yet, and you, a eunuch, dare to overstep your bounds?"
Wang Xinger paused, then immediately slapped himself twice in the face. "This slave deserves death. I hope the emperor will forgive me, and I hope the princess will forgive me."
Su He shouted: "Get out."
Wang Xinger stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.
He stayed in the Weiyang Palace to monitor the emperor's every move according to Concubine Shu's order, and then report to her truthfully.
If he left the palace, how would he know what the emperor and the princess talked about? And how would he report it to Concubine Shu?
Su He shouted again: "Don't you have ears? Get out!"
Wang Xinger murmured "Your Majesty", as if he wanted to ask Bai Jinan for help.
Bai Jinan sighed: "I need to have a good talk with the princess. You should go out first and don't stay here." Wang Xinger had no choice but to lower his head and replied "yes", then went out angrily.
Only Su He and Bai Jinan were left in the hall.
After a moment, Su He stood up, walked straight around the screen and came to Bai Jinan.
Bai Jin sat on the dragon throne. Although he was old, he was wearing a dragon robe and a golden crown, and he looked exactly like the noble and kind emperor in her impression.
But upon closer inspection, there are differences, such as the expression, the eyes, and the stiff arm in the left sleeve.
When they suddenly looked at each other, Bai Jinan was also stunned, but he quickly relaxed, and even a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Su He also smiled meaningfully.
The two of them stared at each other solemnly from a distance of half a meter.
After a moment, Su He said, "There should be a prosthetic arm in the left sleeve of the emperor, right?"
Bai Jinan showed no fear: "Princess, you have a keen eye."
Su He added, "I didn't expect that after not seeing you for a few days, Senior Bai has become the supreme ruler of Daliang."
Bai Jinan replied, "I never thought that after not seeing you for a few days, you would become the daughter of this supreme master."
"It seems that Senior Bai and I have a deep connection."
"What the girl said is true."
Su He took a step closer to him: "Senior Bai, don't forget that you still haven't given me the antidote you owe me."
Bai Jinan replied coldly, "To be honest, I never intended to give it to you."
Su He took another step closer and said, "Senior Bai, you'd better think carefully before answering."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
