Imperial study.
When Zhong Zhiheng returned to the imperial study, it was already dark. He felt extremely tired. Meanwhile, someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to report to him about the empress dowager's funeral. He listened to the report patiently and asked Zhao Ruhai to go to the harem to announce the decree, asking Concubine Shu to assist the six palaces. The Imperial Noble Concubine and the empress dowager had passed away one after another, so there had to be someone in charge of the harem. The most suitable candidate in terms of position and qualifications was none other than Concubine Shu.
After explaining these things, Zhong Zhiheng sent someone to summon Jiang Bairen into the palace.
"When Empress Zhenxian was pregnant, the one who took care of her was the previous imperial physician Lu Guinian. Go and check this Lu Guinian for me now." Zhong Zhiheng ordered in a deep voice.
Jiang Bairen hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Imperial Doctor Lu passed away more than 20 years ago."
Jiang Bairen was right. After Empress Zhenxian passed away, Lu Guinian retired and returned home. He died of illness at home a few years later. Zhong Zhiheng gave him a funeral fee at the time, but now that he thought about it, the more he thought about it, the more he found it strange. Why did Lu Guinian choose to be the head of the Imperial Hospital when he was at the peak of his career? Why did Lu Guinian, who had always been in good health, die just a few years after resigning? He had never thought about this before, but now that he thought about it, he was sweating all over.
"Go and investigate it for me. Find out who he was acquainted with and who were his friends during his lifetime. Who was he familiar with in the capital? And who are the suspicious people among his relatives and friends? Find out everything for me!" Zhong Zhiheng said while gritting his teeth.
"Yes, I obey your command." Jiang Bairen bowed and accepted the order, then retreated.
The words spoken by the Queen Mother before her death were like a sharp knife stabbing into Zhong Zhiheng's heart, hitting the place he had been most reluctant to touch for many years. Then he felt dizzy and his whole body was filled with chills.
If what the Queen Mother said is correct, then...
Zhong Zhiheng didn't dare to think further. He hurriedly reached out to pick up the teacup on the dragon table and drank the cold tea in it. He must have drunk it too quickly. Before he could put down the teacup, he kept coughing. The tea he sprayed out wet the front of the bright yellow dragon robe.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Zhao Ruhai heard the noise from outside and hurriedly came in through the curtain. As soon as he saw this situation, he hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe Zhong Zhiheng's body, and said hurriedly, "It's all my fault. I'll go and make a cup of new tea for Your Majesty."
Zhong Zhiheng pushed Zhao Ruhai away in annoyance, then hurried to the dragon table, took out a brush from the pen holder, and wrote on the paper.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea to moisten your throat. You must be exhausted after this day." Zhao Ruhai came in with freshly brewed tea and just saw Zhong Zhiheng put down the brush in his hand.
"Ruhai, tell the guards to come over," Zhong Zhiheng lowered his head and put the handwritten letter into the envelope, sealing it with wax himself. Seeing Zhao Ruhai bowing and leaving, Zhong Zhiheng suddenly called him back, "No need, just summon Ma Zhiming to see me."
"Yes, I obey your command." Zhao Ruhai bowed and retreated hurriedly.
…
"Your Majesty, I greet you and wish you the best!" Ma Zhiming hurried to the imperial study and bowed to Zhong Zhiheng.
"Zhiming, I want you to go to Ningguta in person," Zhong Zhiheng said slowly, walking out from behind the dragon case and handing the letter to Ma Zhiming. "The Queen Mother has passed away, and Prince An, as the eldest grandson of the Emperor, cannot be absent from the funeral. I am worried about others going, and I will only feel relieved if you go in person."
"But Your Majesty, it will take at least three months to go from the capital to Ningguta. And I heard that Prince An has difficulty walking, so it may be even slower. I'm afraid..." Ma Zhiming looked embarrassed, "I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to the empress dowager's funeral."
According to the ancestral system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, after the empress dowager's death, the body would be kept for eighty-eight days.
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