Chapter 3655 His Body
In a blink of an eye, half a month passed.
However, in the eyes of most people, the surrounding scenery has not changed at all. One reason is that no matter where they go, there is a vast snowfield in front of them. The white snow covers all the visible scenery, making people feel as if they are in a primitive wilderness. On the other hand, it is also because they did not go too far in the past half month.
In a full half month, they only advanced less than 500 miles.
This is incredible for cavalrymen. You know, if they are lightly equipped cavalrymen, they may be able to travel hundreds of miles in a day. When Zhu Feng was young, he also traveled hundreds of miles and galloped across this grassland.
But now, their speed is more than ten times shorter than that of real cavalry.
Of course, this situation is not bad for them.
In the evening of that day, the team found a valley sheltered from the wind. After setting up camp, they lit several bonfires. Soon, the air was filled with the aroma of barbecue oil and a strong smell of medicine.
The smell of medicine was naturally from Aunt Tongyun, the concubine's neighbor, who had lit a small stove not far behind the king's tent and started to boil medicine. Ever since they went deep into the heart of the grassland, this matter was no longer a secret. Everyone knew it, but no one dared to say anything.
After all, there is a royal concubine in the team whose iron fist is no less than that of the emperor. Over the years, the emperor's hand has become much softer, but the royal concubine has become much stronger than before. More than ten days ago, three soldiers who gathered together to discuss the emperor's body were executed by her, and no one in the army dared to discuss it again.
But even so, Aunt Tongyun was still very cautious when she walked back with the boiled medicine, trying not to meet too many people.
As soon as I turned a corner, I ran into Ying Shao head-on.
It didn't bother him. Aunt Tongyun nodded gently at him: "Master Ying."
Ying Shao also bowed politely, then said, "Aunt, has the Queen given any instructions for dinner tonight?"
Aunt Tongyun said, "The Empress didn't give any instructions. After I boiled the medicine, I put a pot of porridge on the stove. The Emperor hasn't eaten much these days, and only porridge can he drink."
Ying Shao's brows furrowed.
But he didn't say much, only whispering, "The army slaughtered an ox, and I specially ordered them to keep the very tender meat. Please ask the Emperor and the Empress. In this weather, it's better to eat some meat."
Aunt Tongyun nodded and said, "I understand."
After saying that, she smiled again: "The food in the army has been getting better and better recently."
Ying Shao also gave a bitter smile and said, "Thank goodness they lost so much."
The lightly armed cavalry could travel hundreds of miles a day because they carried very little supplies. This, however, had a drawback: logistical supply became a major problem. If they ran out of food, the light cavalry might starve to death on the grasslands. Although they carried a good supply of dry food on this expedition, they were deep in the heart of the grasslands, and their horses' buckles could not refill their water sources, so logistical supply remained a major problem.
But now, they have plenty of food, and it is even getting better.
The reason was that the people of the Neng Kingdom who followed Monk to migrate from Kulun City left behind a lot of supplies along the way, most of which were cattle and sheep that were lost in panic. After they were picked up, these cattle and sheep became ready-made meals.
Therefore, the slaughter of cattle and sheep in the army these days has reduced the anxiety of the people. Everyone even feels that such a life is not so bad after all.
The only thing that made them uneasy was that no matter how good the food in the army was, the amount of food that His Majesty the Emperor could eat was getting less and less.
It was also because of this that Ying Shao, the commander of the imperial guards, came to inquire about this in person.
Aunt Tongyun sighed and said, "It's not that the Empress hasn't tried to persuade him, but the Emperor has been drinking medicine these days and has lost his appetite. The Empress couldn't persuade him too much, so she just coaxed him to eat as much as he could. I will tell the Empress about Lord Ying's intentions."
Ying Shao nodded: "Thank you for your help, aunt."
Aunt Tongyun nodded and walked forward with the tray. After a while, she entered the king's tent.
Inside the tent, it was warm like spring.
As soon as Aunt Tongyun walked in, she heard a suppressed cough, which stopped immediately after seeing her enter the tent. But even so, she could still hear a subdued gasp, as if there was a hand stirring in the chest. When she looked up, she could see bursts of bright red on Zhu Feng's pale face. But Aunt Tongyun was well versed in medical knowledge, and she knew at a glance that it was not a good complexion. On the contrary, that kind of sickly bright red only made her mood heavier.
But at this time, she didn't dare to say anything more.
After all, the imperial concubine was sitting right behind the emperor, one hand still slowly rubbing his back to help him breathe. She only raised her head and glanced at him calmly. Aunt Tongyun immediately lowered her head and said softly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the medicine is ready."
Nan Yan said, "Put it down."
Aunt Tongyun put down the medicine bowl, thought for a moment, and then said softly, "The army slaughtered an ox today, and Lord Ying kept the very tender meat to offer to the Emperor and the Empress."
Nan Yan leaned over to glance at Zhu Feng, and seeing that he was still breathing heavily with his handkerchief covering his mouth, she said, "No need."
Aunt Tongyun sighed in her heart, but didn't dare to say much. She bowed and turned to leave.
At this time, His Majesty the Emperor said in a hoarse voice: "Won't you eat something?"
Aunt Tongyun stopped immediately and turned around to see Zhu Feng slightly turning his head to look at Nan Yan. Nan Yan said softly, "If Your Majesty doesn't eat, it would be boring for me to eat alone."
Zhu Feng frowned slightly and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Nan Yan said, "Since there is porridge, I will just drink some hot porridge."
Zhu Feng took two more breaths before he looked up and said to Aunt Tongyun, "Go down and tell Ying Shao that both the Imperial Concubine and I should use some, but don't make the smell too strong."
Aunt Tongyun was overjoyed and immediately said, "I'll go right away."
After saying that, he hurriedly lifted the curtain and went out.
A hint of happy smile flashed across Nan Yan's face, but it quickly disappeared because she noticed a glaring red spot in the middle of the handkerchief in Zhu Feng's hand.
This isn't the first time, or even the first time I've seen it today.
The further north you go, the colder the weather becomes.
And Zhu Feng's health became worse.
At first, he was still trying to hide it, but after the two of them opened up, he stopped hiding it. Instead, it was Nan Yan who had to cover up for him everywhere. Not only did he spend a lot more time resting and sleeping every day than before, he also ate much less than before, and coughed up blood more often than before, and even -
His body could no longer support him to continue riding.
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