The words "defeat Beirong and settle the refugees" brought Emperor Wende back to reality.
Emperor Wende looked exhausted, as if he had used up all his strength.
He said to Lord Lu: "Lord Lu is right. In order to defeat Beirong, I can compromise."
Lord Lu was surprised.
Emperor Wende was unwilling to say more. He simply waved his hand and asked Lord Lu to leave.
Chang En walked into the hall and served Emperor Wende.
"Your Majesty doesn't look well. Would you like to ask the imperial physician to take a look?"
Emperor Wende nodded and said, "Summon the Imperial Physician, don't alarm anyone."
"I obey your command."
Chang En arranged for his godson, Eunuch Wu, to secretly summon the imperial physician, so as not to alert other people in the palace.
Eunuch Wu received the order and left with his men.
Chang En helped Emperor Wende sit down and served him tea.
Emperor Wende drank a few sips of tea, took a breath, and seemed to be feeling better. His face was not as pale as at the beginning.
The director of the Imperial Medical Bureau came to the Zhengyang Hall of Xingqing Palace to treat Emperor Wende.
"I've been feeling overwhelmed lately, and I've had occasional heart palpitations. What's wrong with my body?"
Thinking of the fortune teller in Renqiu who said that he had health problems, Emperor Wende felt anxious and short of breath.
"Your Majesty, don't panic. Take a deep breath!" the imperial physician soothed him softly. "Your Majesty is fine, it's just..."
"Just what?" Emperor Wende asked harshly, his eyes filled with panic, fear and anger.
The imperial physician's forehead was covered with sweat, but he didn't dare to wipe it with his hands.
He bowed and said, "Your Majesty has been overworked and needs to abstain from women."
Emperor Wende was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized.
No wonder Renqiu said that women were a hindrance to him. It turns out that women’s beauty was harmful.
The imperial physician buried his head, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
The three words an emperor hates to hear the most are "abstain from women."
This means that the emperor is in poor health.
As a man, and an emperor at that, it is a great shame to be in poor health.
Therefore, after the imperial physician said the three words "abstain from women", he kept his head down, only hating that his presence was too prominent.
However, the storm that the imperial physician imagined did not come.
Emperor Wende calmly accepted the doctor's advice and asked, "Will my health improve if I abstain from women?"
The imperial physician was instantly energized and resurrected on the spot.
"Your Majesty, please balance work and rest and avoid overwork. I will prescribe two more doses of medicine to nourish your body. Your Majesty will be well again soon."
"Can it be restored to the way it was before?" Emperor Wende asked anxiously.
The imperial physician nodded, then shook his head.
How can he explain this? Birth, old age, sickness and death are the laws of nature.
Your Majesty is no longer young, how can you compare with your prime years?
The imperial physician could only say, "I will do my best to take care of your majesty's health. Your majesty should also make sure to rest and avoid overwork."
Emperor Wende nodded. "I will make sure to rest. Can my heart palpitations be cured?"
"Your Majesty's heart palpitations are mainly due to overwork and the harm done by women. Abstain from women and cultivate yourself, and you will recover."
That’s great!
Emperor Wende felt relieved.
The imperial physician wrote out a prescription and left.
Emperor Wende began to cultivate his character, stay away from women, and did not touch the cards for several days.
For concubines in the harem, age doesn’t matter.
The concubines who had entered the palace in recent years, were young, fresh and childless, and were anxious.
Today you deliver health-preserving soup, tomorrow she runs into you in the Imperial Garden, and the day after tomorrow someone else claims to be ill and earns His Majesty's affection...
Thousands of tricks and calculations are played out in the harem.
However, Emperor Wende was as hard as stone and remained unmoved.
Firmly follow the instructions of the imperial physician: abstain from women!
Unfortunately, the concubines in the harem were unaware that His Majesty was ill and needed to abstain from women. They all thought that His Majesty had not been to the harem for several days, perhaps because he had grown tired of them and wanted to bring someone new into the palace.
At one point, the concubines' female relatives all came out in droves, handing over cards to the palace to exchange information.
No movement from the court?
No news about the draft?
It seems that there are no new people entering the palace?
Why did Your Majesty suddenly not enter the harem?
Could it be that Your Majesty, like the late emperor, has started to believe in Taoists and seek enlightenment?
The worries of the concubines in the harem were spread to the court through their natal families.
This made the court officials worried.
"Your Majesty, you must not trust those Taoist priests!"
"The lessons of the past are not far away. Your Majesty must learn from them!"
When the court officials cried out in grief at the morning court session, Emperor Wende was stunned.
What bullshit are you talking about?
"When did I ever trust a Taoist priest? Why didn't I learn my lesson? I'll make my statement clear today. If I don't, anyone who dares to speculate on the emperor's intentions will be severely punished."
The court officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
What?
Did they misunderstand?
Your Majesty does not believe in Taoist priests, so why haven't you entered the harem for a long time?
The fathers and brothers of the concubines in the harem were standing in the court.
If the emperor does not enter the harem, what hope do their daughters and sisters have?
Someone dared to ask, "I heard that Your Majesty hasn't entered the harem for several days? Could it be that a Taoist priest has bewitched him?"
The spearhead was directed at Renqiu, the director of the Imperial Observatory.
There was a morning court session today, and even if Renqiu didn't want to, he had to show up. He was one of the Nine Ministers after all, so how could he not attend the morning court session?
Hearing someone making indirect accusations, Renqiu forced himself to hold back a yawn that was about to start.
Is he a Taoist priest?
Renqiu looked down at his official uniform. How could he tell that he was a Taoist priest?
They must be crazy.
The concubines competed for favor and even entered the court. They were really promising.
Looking at the faces of the court officials, Renqiu felt very disgusted.
If it weren't for the early morning court session today, he would never have stood in the hall and listened to the court officials cursing him indirectly.
"Who said I have to go to the harem every day? You guys are interfering in my private affairs. What's your intention?"
Emperor Wende was furious. He was not without a son, nor was he a young man in his twenties. For the court officials to interfere with his entry into the harem was simply courting death.
Emperor Wende directly ordered that those who questioned him be severely beaten with a stick in the court.
Then he turned away!
"Withdraw from the court!"
Chang En sang and shouted loudly, caught up with Emperor Wende, and returned to Xingqing Palace.
Emperor Wende was extremely angry.
"This is outrageous! It's completely absurd. You even want to ask whether I favor the concubines in the harem. Do you really think I'm weak and can be bullied? Summon Wei Zhong, the Jinwu Guard, to the palace."
When Wei Zhong, the left guard of the Jinwu Guard, entered the palace, none of the palace maids dared to breathe.
Emperor Wende said to Wei Zhong, "We've been preparing for war since last year. At the beginning of the year, the Northeast was breached by the Northern Rong forces. Several major battles have taken place, involving countless amounts of money, grain, and military equipment. There must have been corruption during this period. Investigate, investigate thoroughly. No matter their identity, background, or influence, I will execute them first and report to you later. In short, we must expose the corrupt officials in the court."
Wei Zhong obeyed the order, his blood boiling.
Big case!
This is another big case!
What does the Jinwu Guard do?
Specializing in investigating major and important cases.
The existence of the Jinwu Guard is to bring down high-ranking officials of the court and put them in prison.
If the Jinwu Guards cannot handle major cases and arrest high-ranking officials and nobles, they will be meaningless.
Wei Zhong's face flushed red, his heart was pounding, and he bowed and retreated.
Walking out of the hall, Wei Zhong suddenly calmed down when the wind blew.
There must be a reason why Your Majesty suddenly launched a major case.
He found Eunuch Xiao Wu, offered him some silver, and inquired for information.
Eunuch Wu weighed his purse and said with a smile, "At the court this morning, His Majesty was furious."
Don't talk too much, just get to the point.
The rest depends on the Jinwu Guards to investigate on their own.
"Thank you, Eunuch Wu."
"Master Wei, you're too polite!"
Wei Zhong received the tip and sent people to investigate corruption while also sending people to investigate the situation in the morning court.
Following the clues, they found the palace.
…
As soon as Wei Zhong left, Emperor Wende summoned the Ministry of Punishment to meet him.
"Some people stretch their hands too far, while others are traitors. Since when has news from the palace been allowed to leak out freely? Investigate this matter thoroughly! Whose hands are too long, and who can't control their mouths?"
Emperor Wende was furious. The Ministry of Punishment did not hesitate at all and began to investigate the harem after receiving the order.
From the Weiyang Palace to the remote palaces, no one can stay out of it.
Empress Pei was furious.
"The Ministry of Punishment is so bold that they even dare to investigate the Weiyang Palace."
"Your Majesty, please calm down! His Majesty is furious and has ordered a thorough investigation. A conflict with the Ministry of Punishment at this time may be detrimental to Your Majesty." Eunuch Wen advised.
Queen Pei kicked over the stool.
She asked quietly, "Your Majesty, what's going on? Why did you suddenly launch a major case when everything was fine?"
Eunuch Wen lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that there is something wrong with His Majesty's health."
Queen Pei raised her eyebrows.
Eunuch Wen nodded heavily, "The Imperial Hospital is quietly recuperating for Your Majesty."
Empress Pei uttered an "oh" and asked quietly, "Is it serious?"
"I don't know. This matter has been kept secret by Xingqing Palace. All matters are handled by Chang En, and no one else can interfere at all."
"The court officials don't know about this?" Queen Pei was surprised.
"None of the court officials knew about this before, but I guess someone has gotten the news by now."
Queen Pei frowned in deep thought.
She played with the jade bracelet on her wrist and said, "Your Majesty is ill at this time. I can't just wait and see. I have to do something."
Eunuch Wen reminded, "Your Majesty, please do not rush. Your Majesty attends court every morning and handles memorials as usual. It seems that his health condition is not serious."
Empress Pei nodded. "You are right. Unless Your Majesty cannot get out of bed..."
Eunuch Wen was already sweating coldly.
He was really afraid that Empress Pei would act too hastily.
"Try to find out what's wrong with His Majesty's health and how serious it is."
"promise!"
…
The two fires in the harem and the court made the court officials and palace servants extremely anxious.
No one cared about the carriage except the common people.
Even Emperor Wende himself left his carriage aside without giving the Shaofu any clear answer.
What should we do when we don’t even have a definite answer as to whether it is possible to mass-produce four-wheeled carriages?
Huang Qubing had no way to report to Gu Jiu because he didn't dare to go to the eldest prince's mansion to meet Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu didn't urge him either.
These are turbulent times, so take it slow.
Your Majesty is bringing up a major case at this time. This is not a simple matter.
The Jinwu Guards are always efficient.
In order to relieve His Majesty's worries, the case was quickly traced back to the families of the concubines in the harem.
These relatives by marriage occupy important positions and can intercept large amounts of silver and money with just a little effort.
One, two, three...
The Jinwu Guards were dispatched to arrest people in large numbers.
It involves high-ranking officials, royal family relatives, and yamen clerks.
For a time, the imperial prison was crowded with people and was full of people.
The court was shocked!
Harem shakes!
People came to Xingqing Palace one after another to plead for mercy.
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