Qiu Jie and Yang Yaozu arrived in front of Emperor Kangping's room. Qiu Jie said to Yang Yaozu, "Eunuch Yang, it's time for His Majesty to take his medicine. Go to the pharmacy to get it."
Yang Yaozu didn't want to go inside and hear Emperor Kangping vent his anger, so he quickly nodded and turned to leave.
Qiu Jie entered the room and saw Emperor Kangping lying half-reclined on the bed, furiously beating the prime minister who was standing by the bed.
"This unfilial son is utterly lawless. He has no respect for me whatsoever."
The Prime Minister said, "Your Majesty, should we issue an edict to recall the Fifth Prince?"
"Recall him! Of course, recall him!" Emperor Kangping waved his arms angrily. "Bring him back to the capital. I want to interrogate him myself. Consort Li wanted to kill me, and he wanted to kill me too. Mother and son are in cahoots, wishing I would die quickly so he can ascend the throne!"
The Prime Minister bowed and said, "Then this old minister will draft the decree for Your Majesty."
Qiu Jie said, "Prime Minister, please wait a moment. It is time for His Majesty to take his medicine. As you know, His Majesty's health is of utmost importance. We can postpone recalling the Fifth Prince until after His Majesty has finished his medicine. Moreover, Prime Minister, you have state affairs to attend to and cannot linger here for too long."
The prime minister did not leave immediately, but instead looked at Emperor Kangping.
Emperor Kangping waved his hand and said, "My dear minister, you should go back now. During my illness, I am very grateful to you for helping me handle the affairs of the court."
The Prime Minister bowed and said, "It is my duty to share Your Majesty's burdens. Please rest first, Your Majesty. I will come back to consult Your Majesty in an hour."
Once only Emperor Kangping and Qiu Jie remained in the room, Qiu Jie, in front of Emperor Kangping, took out a medicine packet from her medicine box, dissolved it in hot tea, and served it to Emperor Kangping.
"Your Majesty, your health has largely recovered, and you can resume your medication."
Emperor Kangping took the teacup and asked, "These past few days, Yaozu has been bringing me medicine. What is this medicine?"
Qiu Jie said, "Your Majesty was originally too weak to take strong medicine. I added an extra dose, which Your Majesty can take now. After taking it for three consecutive days, Your Majesty will be able to get out of bed and walk around."
Emperor Kangping did not doubt Qiu Jie, but to be on the safe side, he returned the teacup to Qiu Jie: "The medicine I drink must be tested by Yaozu first. Summon Yaozu."
Qiu Jie took the teacup and said, "Eunuch Yang is preparing medicine for His Majesty. It's the same for me to taste the medicine. Please take a look, Your Majesty."
She turned her back to Emperor Kangping, lifted her mask, and took a sip of tea from the teacup.
Emperor Kangping, seeing that she had indeed taken a sip and swallowed, finally accepted the teacup with relief. He had been berating the Fifth Prince for quite some time and was quite thirsty, so he drank the entire cup of tea in one gulp.
Qiu Jie took the empty teacup and placed it on the table. She stood back by the bed and said, "Your Majesty, you said that the Fifth Prince destroyed your imperial edict?"
Emperor Kangping was already angry about this matter, and he became even angrier. He raised his upper body, pointed to the west, and cursed: "I issued two imperial edicts to this rebellious son before the New Year, but he didn't respond at all. I sent people to investigate and found out that he had destroyed my imperial edicts."
"Then you're not going to attack Wei Jingzhuo?"
"Zhuo'er... Zhuo'er," Emperor Kangping paused, sighed, and fell back onto the bed, "I only now realize that he was the only one who truly cared for me. Even after being deposed, he held no grudge. He not only shielded me from the Western Rong army but also signed a peace treaty with the Western Rong king..."
Thinking about Consort Li's poisoning and Wei Shao's destruction of the imperial edict, compared to this mother and son, Wei Jingzhuo was practically a gift from heaven.
And what he did was not only depose Wei Jingzhuo, but also repeatedly sent people to hunt him down, and later even dispatched a large army to attack him, all because he hated that Wei Jingzhuo was Lu Xiuyuan's son. Even when Consort Li poisoned Wei Jingzhuo, it was with his tacit approval.
The more he thought about it, the more regretful he became, and two tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to slap himself twice. But his arm had become weak and powerless, and he could only lift it halfway before it fell back down.
“I shouldn’t have deposed Zhuo’er,” he sobbed. “Fortunately, it’s not too late to remedy the situation. This afternoon, I issued an edict to recall that rebellious son and reinstate Zhuo’er as…”
As he spoke, he felt a discomfort in his throat, as if phlegm was rising up and blocking his throat, or as if his throat had narrowed.
He tried to cough up the phlegm, opened his mouth and coughed twice, but no phlegm came out, and his throat felt even tighter.
Qiu Jie said, "Your Majesty, you cannot recall the Fifth Prince. I need him to attack Xiping Pass."
Emperor Kangping was greatly surprised. He glared at Qiu Jie and said with difficulty, "You...you dare to order me around? I gave you the Chengjun Sword, not so you could make decisions for me!"
Qiu Jie slowly shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, the reason I want the Chengjun Sword is for this matter. The Fifth Prince must conquer Xiping Pass and kill Wei Jingzhuo."
After she finished speaking, she also started coughing lightly.
Emperor Kangping was filled with rage and tried to raise his hand to grab Qiu Jie, but found that he could not lift his arm at all, and the strength in his body began to disappear rapidly.
This strange feeling filled him with fear; it wasn't like this before. When he was talking to the Prime Minister, he could clearly still wave his arms.
Qiu Jie said, "Your Majesty, cough... are you feeling very unwell? You couldn't speak or move at first?"
Emperor Kangping was greatly alarmed upon hearing this.
There was something wrong with the tea I just drank.
Qiu Jie swayed slightly, gripping the edge of the table with both hands, and said, "The medicine in the tea won't kill you. It will only render you unable to speak or move. I originally intended to keep you alive, but since you're going to pardon Wei Jingzhuo, you're now my enemy."
Emperor Kangping felt incredibly heavy, and with great effort opened his mouth to ask, "Who...who are you?"
Qiu Jie placed her hands on her neck and rubbed them, saying, "You...you don't need to know. I'm just a woman who deeply hates Wei Jingzhuo."
After saying that, she lifted the quilt with both hands and covered Emperor Kangping with it, making sure to tuck the corners of the quilt in: "Don't worry. Once you drink Eunuch Yang's medicine, you will be able to speak."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
