On the third day of April in the nineteenth year of Jingming, the sky was clear.
Hold a grand ceremony, offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and report to the Taimiao...
After going through nearly a hundred procedures and not making any mistakes, Liu Zhao was already exhausted.
The officials from the Ministry of Rites who were with him and reminded him of etiquette regulations were also pale and sweating from exhaustion.
Gu Jiu watched from afar and saw that Liu Zhao's legs were trembling. He relied on two eunuchs to support him before he completed the final procedure.
After the ceremony, she immediately rushed to Liu Zhao, held his hand and took his pulse.
"Bring a sedan chair and quickly carry the emperor back to Chang'an Palace."
The abdication ceremony almost cost Liu Zhao half his life.
He fell asleep that night and remained unconscious.
The imperial doctors took turns to watch over the patient, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
Someone suggested using tiger and wolf medicine, but Gu Jiu glared back.
Don’t you see how dilapidated Liu Zhao’s body is? Using such strong and dangerous drugs at this time is almost like a death warrant.
How great must the hatred be to suggest using such a cruel medicine at this time?
Ruyang volunteered, "Mother, I will be watching over Father tonight. You can go and get some rest. There are imperial physicians on duty. Don't worry, Mother."
Gu Jiu rubbed his eyebrows. After all, he was not twenty years old and could not stay up late.
She said to Ruyang, "Guard your father closely. If anything happens, remember to wake me up."
"My daughter understands!"
Gu Jiu went to the next room to rest and had nightmares all night.
When I woke up, I forgot what I had dreamed.
I just remember that the situation in the dream was very scary.
She got up and asked the palace servant, "What's the situation with the Emperor?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor's condition is stable. He woke up once, took a dose of medicine, and fell asleep again. The imperial physician said that now that he has woken up, he will be safe and sound."
When Gu Jiu heard that Liu Zhao had woken up once, he finally felt relieved.
After a few days, Liu Zhao was able to get out of bed and walk around, gradually regaining his energy and spirit.
This time, he was really exhausted.
He almost lost his life in order to abdicate.
"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have let the Ministry of Rites handle the abdication. Those people in the Ministry of Rites are eager to follow the ancient system in everything. The etiquette is so complicated that it can wear down a healthy young man."
Gu Jiu complained in front of Liu Zhao.
Liu Zhao was thankful, "I made it through. When I was offering sacrifices to the heavens, the earth, and our ancestors, I felt like I was dying. If it weren't for the eunuchs supporting me, I would have fainted on the spot. The moment I heard the officials from the Ministry of Rites chant 'Ceremony Completed,' I felt like I was alive again."
Gu Jiu massaged his legs and feet. "You're quite swollen. Eat lighter meals recently. When you're well, go to the Imperial Garden and exercise."
Liu Zhao responded.
…
April 18th, the coronation ceremony.
The reign title was set as Qianming.
Next year will be the first year of the Gan Ming Dynasty.
Liu Yusheng is young and strong, and he can handle the entire complicated etiquette.
He brought his wife, sons and daughters to the Chang'an Palace to pay a visit.
Seeing him in such high spirits, Liu Zhao sighed, "It's good to be young! If it were me, I would have lost my life immediately."
Liu Zhao encouraged Liu Yu.
The general direction has been determined, so just follow it.
After Liu Zhao finished speaking, Gu Jiu said, "Your father and I have decided to travel south to enjoy the mountains and rivers in a few days."
"This... my son is worried about the safety of his father, the emperor, and his mother...
"Don't worry about our safety! The Dragon Riders are not good-for-nothings, and the guardians of the four seas and the universe are not pushovers either."
Gu Jiu interrupted Liu Yu.
The reason why the couple abdicated was not to continue living in the palace.
While there is still time, I should go out and see the beautiful scenery.
The couple has made up their minds and their children cannot persuade them.
Liu Yu had no other choice but to say, "Please, Father and Mother, please take Xuan Ge'er with you and fulfill your filial duty on my behalf."
Liu Xuan, Brother Xuan is the eldest son of Liu Yu and the eldest grandson of Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu. He is still a half-grown child.
Without much hesitation, Gu Jiu nodded and agreed, "Let Xuan Ge'er stay with us."
…
At the end of April, Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu set out south.
They first went to Luozhou and stayed there for two months.
After trying all the local delicacies and enjoying the local scenery, we continued south to Jiangnan.
Travel from city to city.
Whenever I arrive at a place, I stay for at least half a month, and at most half a year or a year.
In the south, the weather is humid.
I thought Liu Zhao's body was not adapted to the climate here.
Unexpectedly, he adapted so well.
Sitting in the pleasure boat, listening to the tunes, the days are so joyful.
Liu Zhao suddenly asked, "Have I gained weight recently?"
Gu Jiu glanced at his figure and said, "Yeah, he's gained weight!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao immediately sucked in his stomach and tried hard to make himself look thinner.
"Stop sucking! No matter how much you suck, you won't lose weight."
Liu Zhao was utterly depressed. "We've been eating and drinking all the way, and you and Xuan'er haven't changed at all. However, Xuan'er has grown a bit taller, and you haven't gained any weight at all. But I'm the only one who seems to have gained more than a circle of weight."
"Don't you think about how much you eat? You're almost catching up with Xuan'er's appetite. Xuan'er is a little boy, he eats me to death. He's in the growth stage, so it's natural for him to eat a lot. You're not growing, so if you don't gain weight by eating so much, what else can you gain?"
Liu Zhao touched his abdomen, which was no longer as firm, with a look of melancholy on his face.
No soft ditty could comfort his broken heart.
He complained aggrievedly, "You don't even comfort me."
Gu Jiu immediately rolled his eyes. "I've stopped you countless times and told you to eat less. You promised me, but then turned around and ate like crazy behind my back. Now you're still blaming me. You really have no conscience."
Liu Zhao laughed and said, "You must continue to supervise me and eat less."
"Can you hold it in?"
"certainly!"
He doesn't want to grow a big belly that will make him unworthy of his wife.
The couple joked with each other, and their eldest grandson Liu Xuan stayed quietly by their side.
He was fulfilling his filial duty to his father, and also going out to gain experience and learn skills.
Gu Jiu also did not forget to discipline his eldest grandson, often giving him homework. Before settling down in a place, he would ask Xuan Ge'er to take the servants out to investigate the people's livelihood and conditions, and upon returning, he would have to write a written report.
He couldn't let his servants write for him, so he had to do it himself.
Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao were traveling, while Xuan Ge'er was studying abroad. The workload was heavy and he ate a lot. In just a few months, he had grown quite a bit taller, shedding the delicate look he had in the capital and becoming more mature.
After listening to the little song, Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao were just like an ordinary old couple, walking in the small streets and alleys, observing the human relationships and experiencing the mundane life.
Liu Zhao was a glutton, and when he saw someone selling snacks, he felt a little greedy.
But then I thought, I had already eaten a few cakes while listening to the tune in the pleasure boat.
Moreover, the snacks were coated with frosting sugar, which, according to Gu Jiu, was too high in sugar and not good for the body.
He sighed, "I never thought ordinary people could make snacks out of frosting. They must be really rich."
Gu Jiu said, "If I remember correctly, there's a sugarcane producing area three hundred miles away from here. The local sugar-making and sugar-making industry is booming. Therefore, the sugar here is about half the price of the one in the capital."
"How far is the farm you bought from here?" Liu Zhao asked.
Gu Jiu thought for a moment and said, "The nearest farm is two hundred miles away. It mainly produces tea."
"We've explored every corner of this place, so why not head to a teahouse tomorrow and stay there for a while? I've never stayed in a teahouse before in my life."
"Okay! Then have someone pick the tea leaves and you can make tea yourself."
The couple suddenly decided to go to a teahouse two hundred miles away, and the palace maids and guards immediately started moving.
Some people went to the tea house in advance to make arrangements and ensure safety.
Some people stayed behind to pack their luggage, prepare their journey, and be responsible for their safety on the road.
It was evening, and the west was ablaze with red, incredibly beautiful.
"It will be another sunny day tomorrow."
Passing by a pharmacy.
I saw farmers carrying a bloody man to the pharmacy for medical treatment.
The injured person was also unlucky as he actually dug his own foot with the hoe.
The hoe was sharp, so you can imagine how bad the injury was.
It was uncertain whether one leg could be saved. It was even possible to lose one's life.
The farmers were worried and anxious, but not panicked.
They comforted each other, "With Doctor Sun here, we will definitely be able to save him."
Gu Jiu became curious when he heard this.
Could it be that Doctor Sun has the ability to bring people back to life?
The farmers have such trust in him, it seems that Doctor Sun is well-known here and has superb medical skills.
I thought Doctor Sun was an old scholar, but I never expected that he was actually a middle-aged woman.
"Is she Doctor Sun?" Gu Jiu asked curiously.
"She is none other than Doctor Sun, a skilled doctor. No one else can cure this injury, only she can."
"Why do you say that?"
"Have you ever heard of the Royal College of Physicians?"
Gu Jiu looked strange, and she nodded, "I've heard of it."
"Doctor Sun comes from a family steeped in tradition, with generations of doctors practicing medicine. She was versed in medical classics from a young age, and later studied at the Imperial Medical College in the capital for three years. Upon her return, she became the undisputed leader in treating injuries in our area. Because of her, several of the region's leading medical families have sent their children to study at the medical college."
It turns out he is a doctor trained in medical school, not bad.
Gu Jiu asked again: "Do you mind that Doctor Sun is a woman?"
"Why do you mind that Doctor Sun is a woman? She's a doctor. As long as she can save the patient, it doesn't matter whether she's a woman or not. Besides, Doctor Sun is a seventh-rank medical officer. The county magistrate has to be polite when he sees Doctor Sun."
Gu Jiu laughed when he heard that.
Afterwards, she said to Liu Zhao, "People are not as opposed to female doctors as I thought."
Liu Zhao told him, "Jiangnan is an open-minded place that leads the world's trends. They are more willing to accept female doctors than other places. If it were in the inland mountainous areas, the situation would definitely be different."
"You're right. The medical school has a long and arduous journey ahead of it. Tomorrow I'll write to Renqiu, telling him not to slack off."
"You are exploiting Renqiu alone."
"Those who are capable should work harder! Renqiu has a lot of talent, and it's time for him to shine."
After Gu Jiu finished speaking, he started laughing.
She added, "Don't accuse me of exploiting Renqiu. He enjoys it, and works so hard all day long. If I gave him a stick, he could poke a hole in the sky."
Gu Jiu wanted to know how good Dr. Sun was at treating injuries, so he stayed for two more days.
The injured farmer survived the critical period and was rescued. His leg was saved, but he would definitely be disabled.
Gu Jiu secretly went to see it and found that Doctor Sun handled the situation very efficiently. No wonder she was recognized by the locals as a woman.
With joy in their hearts, Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao left this place and headed for the teahouse.
A few days later, Dr. Sun received a special gift.
A set of improved surgical instruments, plus two carts of medicinal materials.
She was confused and asked about the identity of the person who gave the gift.
Of course, the guard couldn't tell her that the gift was from the Queen Mother. Without uttering a single word, he placed the gift down and left.
This left Dr. Sun confused.
After much guessing, she estimated that it was sent by some dignitary she had seen in the past.
…
The couple moved into the teahouse with Xuan Ge'er.
The climate in the mountains is humid and the environment is quiet.
Liu Zhao felt comfortable living here.
Thinking about the spring tea of the following year, he wanted to try roasting tea himself, so he decided to stay until the following year.
In the first year of the Qianming period, during the Qingming and Guyu periods, Liu Zhao followed his master to learn how to fry tea, and also asked Xuan Ge'er to learn as well.
Gu Jiu was happy to have some free time.
She ate the roasted chicken in lotus leaves and watched Liu Zhao frying tea leaves with a look of great satisfaction on her face.
Tea frying is hard work and requires great skills.
Liu Zhao's poor skills wasted several pots of tea and he was not able to fry even a pound of tea leaves that could be used to make tea.
Brother Xuan, on the other hand, had a good understanding. After learning from his master for a few days, he learned quite well.
Later, under the guidance of the master chef, he fried a pot of Mingqian tea as a tribute to Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao.
"I didn't get to taste the tea given by my son, but I got to taste the tea given by my grandson." Liu Zhao complained.
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Brother Xuan, don't listen to your grandfather's nonsense."
Xuan Ge'er lowered his head and smiled, then boiled water to brew tea himself.
"Please have some tea, Grandpa and Grandma!"
"Xuan'er has learned the tea ceremony very well. He is better than your father in this respect." Liu Zhao praised.
Gu Jiu picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"Um!"
She nodded approvingly.
Although his tea-roasting skills are not as good as those of a master chef, they are still slightly better than those of an average tea-roasting chef.
After only one month of study, he was able to roast high-quality tea. Xuan Ge'er is indeed very intelligent.
No wonder the master chef taught him everything he knew without keeping anything back.
Gu Jiu whispered to Liu Zhao, "Brother Xuan's comprehension is better than the boss's."
"Even smarter than his father?"
Emperor Qian Ming Liu Yu was already a rare intelligent person. He showed extraordinary talent since his enlightenment.
I didn’t expect that the eldest grandson Xuan Ge’er could surpass his father.
Gu Jiu said: "The Queen's family has a long history of learning, and their knowledge and insights are all extraordinary. Xuan'er is her child, and he has such a good understanding, so I can understand."
"You mean, the Queen is three times more powerful than you?"
"In terms of knowledge, I am indeed not as good as the Queen. The Sun family has a long history of learning, and that's not an empty statement."
Gu Jiu frankly admitted that she was not as knowledgeable as her daughter-in-law Sun Qinnan.
But in other aspects, she is far better than Sun Qinniang.
Xuan Ge'er inherited the advantageous genes from his parents, so it's not surprising that he is better than them.
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