The capital city, the imperial palace.
Emperor Kangping drew his bow and shot an arrow, which struck the red bullseye.
The surrounding ministers applauded and cheered. The general in charge of keeping watch on the target pounded the drum, creating a lively atmosphere.
A few days ago, the first heavy snow of the winter fell, and now there are still some remnants of snow on the ground. It's very cold. Many civil officials have been standing for too long, and their feet have gone numb from the cold. They dare not move around on their own and can only carefully move their toes inside their boots.
Accompanying Emperor Kangping was tiring work, especially when he came to the training ground to practice archery in the dead of winter. The military officers were alright, at least they could keep the emperor company. But what was the point of having the civil officials there too?
Everyone was in great distress and longed for news that would allow Emperor Kangping to lay down his bow and arrow.
Emperor Kangping fired two more volleys of arrows, his forehead beaded with sweat, yet he remained in high spirits.
The Prime Minister, being old and frail, was the first to succumb and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister is too old to stand for long. I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission to sit down and rest."
Emperor Kangping had just put down his bow and was chatting with a military officer when he heard the Prime Minister say this. He replied, "I'm still standing, and you're going to sit down?"
The prime minister was startled and quickly knelt down, saying, "This old minister misspoke, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Emperor Kangping said, "Get up. My dear minister, you are getting old and sometimes talk nonsense, but I don't take it to heart."
The prime minister hurriedly got up, breaking out in a cold sweat despite the freezing winter weather, and stood there obediently, not daring to utter another word.
Seeing that even the prime minister had failed to gain favor, the other civil officials dared not speak. They all stood there with gloomy faces, watching Emperor Kangping shoot arrows.
After three more rounds of shooting, many civil officials' faces turned blue from the cold.
Just as everyone was enduring the ordeal, the eunuch Yang Yaozu hurriedly ran in and said to Emperor Kangping, "Your Majesty, General Xie Maoliang of the Northwest Camp requests an audience."
Emperor Kangping was raising his bow to aim when he heard Yang Yaozu speak. He stopped drawing his bow and said, "Tell him to wait a moment."
The line of civil officials standing nearby were all full of anticipation, thinking that if news came from the northwest, Emperor Kangping would surely deal with it immediately. Unexpectedly, Emperor Kangping was so engrossed in shooting that he didn't seem to care.
The Prime Minister stepped forward shakily and said, "Your Majesty has been paying close attention to the affairs of the Northwest. The Fifth Prince has already led an army of 100,000. Now, a general from the Northwest has come to report, and in my humble opinion..."
Emperor Kangping said, "I didn't ask for your opinion."
The Prime Minister was really going all out this time. If Emperor Kangping continued shooting, his old bones would surely give out here. He gave a wink to the civil officials behind him.
Everyone shared the same thought as the Prime Minister, and together they stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, please prioritize the affairs of the state."
Emperor Kangping impatiently threw down the bow and said, "Don't I know what's important? You all keep urging me. Fine, summon Xie Maoliang to see me. You may all leave."
He ignored the assembled officials and walked toward the main hall on his own.
Emperor Kangping was sweating profusely from shooting arrows when he felt uncomfortable from the cold wind, as if it were blowing through his clothes. He even felt a little dizzy.
He didn't take it seriously and returned to the hall. Xie Maoliang was already waiting there.
"Your Majesty, the plan failed," Xie Maoliang knelt and kowtowed. "We failed to kill the General, but instead killed the head of the Lin family and his wife."
Emperor Kangping felt a heavy head, rubbed his forehead and waved his hand, saying, "I didn't expect you to do it anyway. If the Grand General can be killed by the bomb, then what use is the Fifth Prince to me?"
Xie Maoliang felt deeply ashamed and said, "Your Majesty, the plan was actually going very smoothly, but it was ruined by Su Wan, the wife of General Jade Face."
Emperor Kangping was somewhat annoyed, feeling his head sink even deeper, and said angrily, "Who is Su Wan? How dare you discuss such a person with me?"
Xie Maoliang was about to say something when he saw that Emperor Kangping looked unwell, so he quickly said, "Your Majesty, you don't look well, is it...?"
Emperor Kangping waved his hand and said, "Go and join the Fifth Prince's army. If you can wipe out the Northwest Army, you will have made amends for your past mistakes."
Xie Maoliang dared not say anything more and got up to leave.
After Emperor Kangping dismissed Xie Maoliang, he felt a chill all over his body. He returned to his bedroom and said to Yang Yaozu, "Give me two more charcoal braziers."
Yang Yaozu instructed his servants to bring two charcoal braziers into the room. He saw that Emperor Kangping was already lying on the bed, his face pale, and he hadn't even changed his clothes.
"Your Majesty?" Yang Yaozu asked, "If Your Majesty wishes to rest, this servant will help you change your clothes?"
Emperor Kangping remained silent, trembling all over, seemingly very cold.
Yang Yaozu boldly stepped forward, reached out and touched Emperor Kangping's forehead, finding it burning hot. He quickly turned to his attendants and said, "His Majesty has a fever. Quickly summon the imperial physician to treat His Majesty."
His subordinates quickly summoned the imperial physicians to treat Emperor Kangping.
Yang Yaozu waited outside. After a while, the imperial physician came out and ordered someone to prescribe medicine. Yang Yaozu stopped the imperial physician and asked, "Imperial Physician, how is His Majesty's condition?"
The imperial physician glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then quickly whispered in his ear, "His Majesty's condition is not good. Eunuch Yang, you can go see Consort Li."
The imperial physician had been bribed by Consort Li and knew that Yang Yaozu was also on Consort Li's side.
Just as Yang Yaozu was about to go look for her, Consort Li arrived after hearing the news.
She started crying as soon as she entered the room. First, she asked the imperial physician, looking very distressed, "What's wrong with His Majesty? What's wrong with His Majesty?"
Yang Yaozu stepped forward and advised, "Your Highness, His Majesty caught a cold while shooting arrows. The imperial physician has already prescribed medicine."
Consort Li entered Emperor Kangping's room, looked at him trembling on the bed, and wiped away another tear. After putting on a good show in front of everyone, she got up and called Yang Yaozu out, then found a room for him.
Upon entering the room, Consort Li immediately changed her expression to one completely different from before, and said, "The imperial physician has already told me that His Majesty's health has been depleted for a long time. This time, he may not recover for at least one or two months."
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