Chapter 495 I Want to See the Imperial Teacher
"Your Majesty—" Eunuch Liu exclaimed, "Someone, quickly call the imperial physician."
The secret guards and the imperial guards changed their expressions and hurriedly carried the Northern Qi emperor to the dragon bed in the inner hall.
The eunuch waiting in the hall hurriedly went to invite Doctor Fang over.
Doctor Fang took the pulse of the Northern Qi Emperor and frowned slightly.
Eunuch Liu hurriedly asked, "How is His Majesty?"
"Your Majesty's pulse is rapid and irregular, a result of a strong stimulus that has disrupted the flow of Qi and blood." Doctor Fang said solemnly, "Eunuch Liu, your Majesty's health has deteriorated over the past few months. You must avoid extreme joy or sorrow, and avoid any further stimulation. Otherwise, I will be powerless to save you."
Eunuch Liu was filled with worry. The Northern Qi Emperor needed rest due to his illness, but Northern Qi was currently facing a turbulent time. Not only did they have to deal with disasters in various places, but the virtuous king and court ministers were also embroiled in corruption cases.
Before these cases were properly dealt with, the remnants of the previous dynasty took the opportunity to incite the people to revolt.
How could the Emperor of Northern Qi have the time to recuperate?
Unless he appoints a crown prince and orders cabinet ministers to assist the crown prince in governing the country.
But the Emperor of Northern Qi would not give up power.
"Your Majesty has been suffering from headaches and can't sleep every night. The slightest thing will make you irritable and restless." Eunuch Liu sighed and said helplessly, "Master Fang, you know that Your Majesty is busy with affairs of state and works day and night. He has no time to rest."
Today, the Emperor of Northern Qi heard the sad news of the virtuous king's tragic death, and he couldn't bear the blow and fell ill.
"I'll write a prescription and send it to the Imperial Pharmacy. I'll boil a bowl of medicine for Your Majesty first." Doctor Fang wrote the prescription and handed it to Eunuch Liu. He then took out a small porcelain bottle from the medicine box and said, "This is a pill I specially prepared for Your Majesty. It will relieve your headache and soothe your temper."
Eunuch Liu agreed.
Three quarters of an hour later, the Imperial Pharmacy delivered the medicine.
Eunuch Liu personally fed the drink to the Emperor of Northern Qi.
After drinking the medicine, the Emperor of Northern Qi not only did not get better, but his face turned even paler, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he started talking nonsense.
Eunuch Liu called out anxiously, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
The Northern Qi Emperor, trapped in a nightmare, could not hear Eunuch Liu calling out, but only heard the virtuous prince calling out in his ear, "Father, Father..."
He looked in the direction of the voice and saw the wise king standing by the bed.
"Heng'er, you're back. You're not dead?"
The Emperor of Northern Qi excitedly tried to get up, but his body seemed to be imprisoned and he could not move.
"Father, are you hoping for your son's death?" The virtuous prince's expression turned extremely disappointed and sad. "Yes, you should be hoping for your son's death."
The Northern Qi Emperor flatly denied it: "Heng'er, the Northern Qi throne needs you to inherit it. How could your father wish for your death? In this world, no one wishes for you to live well more than your father."
The virtuous king asked, "If that is the case, then why does your Majesty favor the King of Qi over your son? And why did you ask the great Confucian scholars to teach the King of Qi how to be a king and how to govern a country? But I am only learning how to be a minister. How can I be loyal to the king and love the people?"
The Northern Qi Emperor said confidently: "In all previous dynasties, the legitimate son has always been appointed as the crown prince. The Prince of Qi is the Queen's son. What is wrong with me handing the country over to him?"
The virtuous king asked again, "Since that is the case, the King of Qi's position in the court is rising, and you should be happy and have appointed him Crown Prince. Why have you started to favor me, give me power, promote me, and even let me surpass the King of Qi?"
The Northern Qi Emperor was unable to offer an explanation. Faced with the aggressive Xian Wang, he grew somewhat angry and humiliated. "I am the Emperor of Northern Qi, your father. I will do whatever I please. When is it your turn to question me?"
"Why don't you dare answer?" The virtuous prince, unafraid of the Northern Qi emperor, exposed his dark thoughts. "Because the court officials began to urge you to appoint a crown prince, you were afraid that if the Qi prince became crown prince, he would covet your throne and force you to abdicate. So, you began to support me to check and balance the Qi prince."
The Northern Qi Emperor's face flushed red, and he flew into a rage: "Shut up, you shut up!"
Instead of shutting up, the virtuous prince grew even more furious. "Hahaha! You used me to check the King of Qi. And because Jiang Jianzheng suspected I would usurp the throne, you seized my power and forced me to return to my fiefdom. You knew the Prince of Guangling was a grave threat to Northern Qi, yet you still gave him power to keep the King of Qi in check."
"The ruler is the leader of his subjects, and the father is the leader of his sons."
"If you had appointed the King of Qi as Crown Prince from the beginning, let me return to my fiefdom, and denied the King of Guangling power, the King of Qi would have remained Crown Prince as long as you had not abdicated."
"It's you who caused us brothers to kill each other."
"It was you who forced the King of Qi to assassinate you."
"It's you who made Prince Guangling so powerful and so unstoppable."
"It's you who killed me."
Every word the wise king said turned into a sharp blade that pierced the heart of the Northern Qi Emperor.
He didn't want to hear another word, nor did he dare to hear another word.
"No, it's not me. I didn't." The Northern Qi Emperor refused to admit it. He glared at the virtuous king and growled at him, "Shut up. I order you not to say anything more."
The more painful the Northern Qi Emperor was, the happier the wise king was, and the more he wanted to talk.
"The Prince of Qi's background is questionable, and the Prince of Guangling's bloodline is impure. Your kingdom has no successor. From now on, the characters "Northern Qi" on the dragon flag will have to be changed to "Great Zhou." The virtuous king's eyes were filled with hatred, and he said with disgust, "It's you. You are the cause of all this."
"It's not me. I'm not wrong." The Northern Qi Emperor wanted to silence the virtuous king, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift his hand. A sudden fear welled up in his heart, and he struggled desperately: "I still have you. My kingdom will not be without a successor, and the dragon flag will not be replaced by the Great Zhou."
"Really?" The wise king laughed out loud as if he had just heard a joke, his face trembling with laughter. "Have you forgotten? I'm already dead. You killed me with your own hands."
At this time, the Emperor of Northern Qi finally raised his hand and tried to cover the mouth of the virtuous king fiercely. Just as he touched the virtuous king's head, he saw that the virtuous king's head fell off his neck and rolled to his side.
His eyes widened, and he suddenly sat up in bed, gasping for breath.
"Your Majesty, you are awake."
Eunuch Liu saw that the Northern Qi Emperor was sweating profusely, and was worried that the evil cold would enter his body and aggravate his condition, so he quickly picked up a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
The Emperor of Northern Qi was still immersed in a terrible dream at this moment and suddenly avoided Eunuch Liu's hand.
Eunuch Liu was an old man who served the Northern Qi Emperor, and he had never seen him lose his composure like this. Now the Northern Qi Emperor was pale and looked extremely frightened, clearly having a nightmare.
He said worriedly, "Shall I call a royal physician for you?"
The Northern Qi Emperor heard Eunuch Liu's voice, which pulled him back to reality from his illusory dream. He slowly took in Eunuch Liu's appearance and said, "Nightmare... Did I just have a nightmare?"
He seemed a little unconvinced. He looked at the bed and then at the inner hall, but did not see the figure of the wise king. Then he realized that he was dreaming.
In fact, the wise king did not interrogate him, nor did he die.
"Where is the virtuous king?" the Northern Qi emperor asked subconsciously, "Where is he?"
The inner hall fell into silence, and you could hear a pin drop.
No one dared to answer.
Just at this moment, the Northern Qi Emperor regained consciousness, and the memories before he fainted came flooding back. Combined with the scenes in his dream, the defenses in his heart completely collapsed.
"Heng'er is dead. I was the one who killed Heng'er... Imperial Master, I want to see you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
