In an attempt to appease Sun Yun, Sun Gan used the Sun family's accumulated wealth as bait. Sun Yun accepted the bait but did not lower his guard.
Now, Emperor Mingde has invited me to serve as an Imperial Noble Consort, which shows how important a skill is, as it can be considered the foundation for one's livelihood.
However, the mere title of Imperial Noble Consort was beneath her. As the granddaughter of the Ma family of Taizhou and the legitimate daughter of the Sun family, such a status meant that if she were to enter the palace, no one but the Empress would be worthy of her.
Moreover, Sun Yun also brought improved iron smelting technology, which reduced costs and increased durability and rigidity, thus benefiting the nation, at the very least.
On a larger scale, it is beneficial to all mankind. Emperor Mingde wanted to unify and centralize power, so he had to forge a large number of weapons. Even if there were gold mines that could be secretly mined to support the army, the gold mines would eventually run out. However, by improving the technology and saving costs, not only could more soldiers be supported, but also miscellaneous taxes could be reduced or even eliminated, which would greatly benefit the country and the people.
When Emperor Mingde first asked to marry a woman, he did so in a questioning tone. He knew that Sun Yun was Zhao Shu's close friend and that Sun Yun's fourth sister was his daughter-in-law. But as the emperor, the supreme ruler, he was not afraid to marry his aunt and niece, the empress, since he could marry his daughter-in-law's cousin.
Sun Yun was stunned. A fierce glint flashed in her cold eyes, and she lowered her head. She was extremely opposed to marriage. In the past few years, her grandmother disliked her and her mother and once wanted to marry her off to a mentally challenged man. Now her father was forcing her to marry into an unknown family and had even driven her mother to her death. In addition, her grandmother wanted to ruin her reputation.
All of this filled her with extreme disgust and loathing. After organizing her thoughts, she said in a cold but firm tone, "Your Majesty, I will not become a concubine!"
Emperor Mingde genuinely wanted to bring her into his harem. Her beauty goes without saying, but the fact that she brought about the improved iron smelting technology was enough to make an emperor who had not yet consolidated his power not easily let her go.
He said without anger or displeasure, "I promised you the most favored concubine in the harem, yet you still refuse?"
Sun Yun raised his head and looked directly into Emperor Mingde's eyes. Those clear, cold eyes stared at him stubbornly. Just as he was about to refuse again, he heard: "Emergency dispatch from 800 li away!"
Emperor Mingde's expression turned cold. An urgent message, delivered over 800 li! What could have happened now? Ignoring Sun Yun's matter, he raised his voice, "Summon them!"
After saying that, he said to Sun Yun, "Go to the side hall and think it over carefully. Now only I can protect you."
Sun Yun stood up and curtsied, "Your mind is made up, there is no need to consider it further."
At this moment, Yang Zhong and others arrived with an urgent report. Emperor Mingde did not hear Sun Yun's words clearly and ordered Liang Yunsi, "Take her to the side hall."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a soldier, exhausted to the point of collapse, knelt down before Emperor Mingde and loudly reported, "Your Majesty, floods have ravaged Jiangnan and eastern Sichuan, causing countless deaths and injuries!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingde felt a headache coming on and fell backward. His ministers rushed over to catch him, and Qiu Cheng shouted, "Summon the imperial physician!"
Just as Liang Yunsi escorted Sun Yun to the side hall, he heard Qiu Tangshi's voice. Startled, he turned tail and ran back. When he reached the hall entrance, he almost bumped into Xiao Duzi, who was rushing to summon the imperial physician.
"Master, there's a flood." Xiao Duzi took the opportunity to briefly explain the situation to Liang Yunsi.
Upon hearing this, Liang Yunsi's eyes widened, and his face turned deathly pale. He recalled the flood many years ago that claimed the lives of the Jiang family. The Jiang family's talented son, known as a genius, caused the deaths of more than 6,000 people due to his improper flood control. To appease public anger, Grand Tutor Wang sacrificed himself and personally sent his in-laws to the execution ground.
Huo Baichuan pinched Emperor Mingde's philtrum, and he slowly woke up. In an instant, he seemed to have aged ten years. With the help of his ministers, he slowly stood up and sat on the dragon throne. "Summon all officials to court for a meeting."
"Yes." The ministers exchanged glances, having already reached a decision in their hearts.
News of the floods in Jiangnan and Sichuan spread like wildfire throughout the palace. After the Empress Dowager had bathed and changed, Zhao Shu paid her respects and hurried to the Taihe Hall.
At the same time, Zhao Bi also entered the palace. As soon as he entered the palace gate, he saw a palace maid from Chuxiu Palace running towards him, saying, "Your Highness, the Empress has fallen into the water and fainted."
He recognized the palace maid before him; she was indeed from Chuxiu Palace. He had just appeased Sun Si at the Sun family and rushed over without stopping. He hadn't expected someone in the palace to play the "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" trick on him. He sneered, "This prince has not seen you today!"
The young palace maid didn't understand why the Fourth Prince would say such a thing. Usually, the Fourth Prince was gentle and filial, and many of the sisters in Chuxiu Palace secretly admired him.
Xiao Ruanzi, who was following Zhao Bi, had been beaten black and blue on the face and was feeling very aggrieved. Upon hearing Zhao Bi's words, he reached out and dragged the little palace maid aside, saying softly, "His Highness has important business to attend to. Wait for me at the usual place later. His Highness has something to tell you."
The young palace maid was eager to serve Consort Ning and Zhao Bi of Chuxiu Palace, as she had done so many times before. Upon hearing this, she nodded happily and went back.
However, she didn't see the murderous intent in Xiao Ruanzi's eyes as she looked at her back.
In Chuxiu Palace, Consort Ning was in so much pain that she was sweating profusely. The imperial physician took her pulse and prescribed medicine, then said bluntly, "Your Majesty, you have a deficiency of internal heat. You must not be impatient. You have accumulated cold in your body. This pregnancy is not safe and it is not in Your Majesty's best interest."
"You incompetent quack!" Consort Ning took a sip of the dark, murky medicine. Hearing the imperial physician's words, she became even angrier and felt even more pain. She swept her hand across the bowl, spilling the medicine all over the physician. "Get out! Get out of here!"
The prescription was ready, and the old imperial physician, having received his release order, hurriedly grabbed his medicine box and ran out. Little Liu chased after him, slipped a silver ingot into the physician's hand, and said softly, "Thank you for your trouble, Imperial Physician. Our Empress is heartbroken at the loss of her prince and is understandably impatient. Please bear with her."
Consort Ning was always good at interpersonal relationships. It was a fact that she could get a lot of money by coming to Chuxiu Palace to take pulses. Everyone was not short of such rewards, but it would be inappropriate to refuse. The imperial physician accepted the money very sensibly. "Thank you for your reward, Your Highness. Eunuch Liu, I speak frankly, please don't take it to heart. Your Highness is approaching forty and is currently pregnant, which is not good for her health. Please pay more attention to her. I have written down all the matters. Farewell, I will come to take pulses again tomorrow."
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