Chapter 9: Drunk Beauty
After hearing this, Li Yueyao felt that Concubine Xian and Nanny Qin were exactly the same, except that Concubine Xian was strong-willed. If the emperor ignored her, she would also ignore the emperor.
This is what a normal person does.
Li Yueyao took a deep breath, calmed herself down and asked again.
"What about Concubine Shu?"
"Shufei, hasn't Shufei always been in poor health?"
The emperor answered bluntly.
Li Yueyao was so upset after hearing this that she wanted to cry but had no tears. "Royal brother, why did you give the kingdom to this fool?"
Li Yueyao prepared herself mentally for a long time, took a few deep breaths, and then spoke:
"Your Majesty, when you were selecting your concubine, why was Consort Shu chosen?"
"She has a good family background, the daughter of a general who protects the country."
"You also know that she is the daughter of the general who protects the country. Although she has never been on the battlefield, she is good at wielding swords and guns, right?"
The emperor nodded and said, "Yes, I heard that she was skilled in spear and club even when she was still in the boudoir."
"Then why do you think her health suddenly deteriorated after entering the palace, and why has it been getting worse over the past few years?"
The emperor was shocked when he heard this. He turned around and asked, "Could it be that she was also poisoned?"
"I don't know. Summon her to see me and I'll take a look."
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Sun Fu, summon Concubine Shu to the throne."
Sun Fu heard this from outside the door and immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
So he waved to his apprentice Li Qi, and Li Qi turned around to invite Concubine Shu.
Li Yueyao looked at the emperor again and said, "How about having Qian Lou and Sun Fu come in and help Your Majesty with the medicinal bath?"
The emperor nodded after hearing this.
Li Yueyao said in the hall: "Sun Fu, Qian Lou, wait for His Majesty to take a medicinal bath."
The two men responded and went in. They walked over quickly and silently, and helped the emperor to the next room. They did not close the door, but instead used a screen to separate the two rooms.
Sun Fu helped the emperor undress, and Qian Lou helped His Majesty test the water temperature.
Then the two men helped the emperor into the bathtub.
Li Yueyao continued to explain: "You need to soak for half an hour, and pay attention to the water temperature."
Sun Fu and Qian Lou responded in a low voice.
Li Yueyao saw a pile of memorials on the emperor's desk and asked, "Your Majesty, you have so many memorials. How long have they been piling up?"
"It's been three days. I haven't had much energy lately and haven't watched it."
Li Yueyao sneered: "Why didn't you ask Zhaoqing to help you read the memorial?"
The emperor naturally heard Li Yueyao's sneer and slowly explained: "After the quarrel with Concubine Xian, Zhaoqing was not allowed to read the memorial again."
"Then who will help you review your daily memorials?"
"I read it myself, and occasionally ask the Imperial Concubine to help read it. If I'm really too busy, I'll ask the Left and Right Prime Ministers to read it together."
Li Yueyao didn't say anything after hearing this. She walked over, picked up the memorial on the table and started reading it.
After a while, he said, "Your Majesty, the memorial about the flood in Lingnan was submitted five days ago. Why hasn't your imperial approval been issued yet?"
"The Lingnan floods are caused by, firstly, the lack of relief funds in the treasury, and secondly, the court is arguing over who should provide relief, so no approval has been given."
Li Yueyao sighed again and put the memorial aside.
The emperor did not show any dissatisfaction with Li Yueyao reading the memorials.
Because Li Yueyao often helped the late emperor read memorials, and even some memorials from the Eastern Palace at that time were decisions made after the two of them discussed them together.
Zhaoqing just wanted to emulate Li Yueyao at the beginning, but it was a pity that the virtuous concubine interfered.
Li Yueyao continued to read the remaining memorials.
After a while, he asked again: "Your Majesty, the total amount of mineral tax reported by the Left Treasury Office is incorrect, right?
I remember that when my brother was the emperor, the annual salary was around 900,000 strings of cash. How come it has now dropped to 500,000 strings of cash, which is almost half less."
The emperor thought carefully and said, "Is it so much less? Before, it was tens of thousands of strings of cash per year."
Li Yueyao said angrily, "Tens of thousands of strings missing every year for seven consecutive years. What do you think?"
The emperor said nothing after hearing this.
"Sun Fu, have someone bring me the total amount reported by the Zuozang Office every year since His Majesty ascended the throne, as well as the relevant account books."
"Yes." Sun Fu replied.
Then he looked up at the emperor's face and saw that the emperor had his eyes closed and seemed to be about to fall asleep.
Sun Fu couldn't help but have a new understanding of the relationship between Princess Jinyang and His Majesty.
On the contrary, Qian Lousi looked accustomed to it, which was not much different from when Your Majesty was in the Eastern Palace.
When Concubine Shu came, she saw Princess Jinyang reading a memorial. She turned her head and looked next door, where Sun Fu was standing.
Then he lowered his head, looked at his nose, and then looked at his heart, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings to the Grand Princess of Jinyang."
"No need to be polite."
Li Yueyao looked up at Concubine Shu. Her face was haggard and she looked frail. It was very difficult for her to stand, with half of her body resting on the maid beside her.
Shufei is two years older than Li Yueyao. Now, with her sunken cheeks, prominent cheekbones, and dark circles under her eyes, she looks like she is in her forties.
"Come sit down, I'll take your pulse."
After hearing this, Concubine Shu leaned on her maid and walked to Li Yueyao with difficulty.
Li Yueyao looked at Concubine Shu's arms, which were white and transparent, and the blue veins were clearly visible under the skin.
The whole pulse-taking process took a long time, and the more the pulse was taken, the deeper Li Yueyao's brows furrowed.
Seeing this, Concubine Shu didn't dare to say anything. After a while, Li Yueyao said, "Cuiwei, go get the Poison Sutra."
Seeing this, Cuiwei went to the side hall and quickly took the book.
Li Yueyao flipped through the book for a long time and finally stopped at a page.
When Concubine Shu saw this, she stretched her head to take a look and saw three words written on it: "Red Beauty Drunk".
"Your Highness..."
"Why call me Your Highness? Call me Aunt." Li Yueyao said without raising her head.
"Aunt, this beauty is drunk..."
"It's a poison. You're not sick, you're poisoned."
After Li Yueyao finished speaking, she closed the book, took out a silver needle, signaled the maid to roll up the concubine's sleeves, and gave her an injection at the Pianlixue point on her arm.
Shufei instantly felt that her tinnitus had improved a little, but she saw that the silver needle that had just pierced her was gradually turning gray.
Seeing this, Concubine Shu gasped and struggled to ask, "Aunt, what kind of poison is this Red Beauty Drunk?"
"It's the same path as the 'old age' in The Emperor: one weakens the man, the other weakens the woman.
It seems there is a master of poison hiding in this palace."
As soon as Li Yueyao finished speaking, Concubine Shu exclaimed, "What? Your Majesty has also been poisoned?"
The emperor was surprised and asked, "Is there a poison expert in the palace?"
Li Yueyao nodded and continued, "The emperor has been poisoned for two or three months, the toxicity is still mild and easy to cure.
Concubine Shu, you have been poisoned for some time and it is not easy to cure.
But there is a way. Take this bottle of detoxification pill first.
Let me study it further and I will definitely cure you, but you will need to take good care of your body from now on."
Li Yueyao reached out and patted Concubine Shu's hand soothingly.
The emperor asked, "Aunt, the person who poisoned me..."
Li Yueyao didn't answer, but turned to look at the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, is this how the Queen has managed the harem all these years?"
The emperor remained silent.
"The Queen is not managing the harem effectively. She should take a break for a while," said Li Yueyao.
The emperor nodded, glanced at Sun Fu and said, "Go and pass on the imperial decree. Tell him that I have been ill for a long time and that the Imperial Observatory has reported that someone in the harem has committed illegal acts.
Since the Empress is not able to effectively control the harem, the power to manage these six palaces will be temporarily handed over to the Imperial Concubine."
After hearing this, Concubine Shu and Li Yueyao looked at each other, and they saw worry in each other's eyes.
So Li Yueyao said, "Your Majesty, this is inappropriate."
"Oh, what's wrong?" asked the emperor.
Li Yueyao said: "The Queen has taken over the palace power, and the Imperial Concubine has taken over. The person who poisoned the palace has not been caught yet.
That vicious person would inevitably target the Imperial Concubine, causing her to suffer this undeserved disaster."
After hearing this, Concubine Shu also agreed, "Yes, Your Majesty, by doing this, aren't you roasting the Imperial Concubine on the fire?"
The emperor thought what they said made sense, so he asked, "Then, according to your opinion, to whom should the management of the six palaces be handed over?"
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