Chapter 1543 Dreams and Anxiety

Zhou Shuren entered the palace in a carriage with a heavy heart. Eunuch Zhang remained silent throughout the journey. No one dared to reveal the news at this time, and it was best not to ask.

Zhou Shuren knew it so he didn't ask. He closed his eyes and thought about various possibilities in his mind, and then organized his words to respond to what the emperor might say.

When he arrived at the palace gate, Zhou Shuren found that he was the only one there. He did not feel happy about being treated specially. He would rather not have such an honor!

Going all the way to the emperor's bedroom, Zhou Shuren saw the kneeling Prince of Qi and others, with the crown prince kneeling in the front.

Zhou Shuren, "......"

Don't scare him, maybe he's already gone.

Fortunately, I made it all the way into the bedroom. The retired emperor was leaning on the cushion, the emperor was sitting on the edge of the bed, and on the other side was the empress dowager. The empress dowager's eyes were red and I don't know how many tears she had wiped away.

Zhou Shuren quickly greeted, "I have met the Emperor, I have met the Emperor."

The Emperor raised his hand, "Stand up."

Zhou Shuren didn't look carefully at the retired emperor's face. He took a quick glance and saw that his face was gray. This feeling was really bad. He got to sit down. Zhou Shuren sat down carefully. This place was very close to the bed.

The emperor coughed, and the emperor hurriedly handed him some water. After the emperor moistened his throat, he spoke, "Shu Ren, my body is not doing well."

Zhou Shuren, "......"

This is unacceptable!

The Emperor replied, "Father, you will recover. You will be fine."

The Emperor raised his hand, "I have been seriously ill recently and have been in a deep sleep. I have had many dreams, which were so real that I really want to wake up."

Zhou Shuren's heart skipped a beat. It was obvious that the dream had dealt a heavy blow to the emperor. He stopped talking about "I" and went straight to "me," saying, "Dreams are the opposite of what they thought."

The retired emperor said nothing, but stared at Zhou Shuren. He was already very ill, and he looked much gloomier. It was quite scary to stare at someone so closely.

The emperor was stunned, looked at Zhou Shuren again, and said softly, "Father."

The emperor withdrew his gaze and Zhou Shuren began to sweat on his back.

The Emperor paused before speaking, "Shu Ren was not in my dream. I died a long time ago, but I still dreamed about the Emperor's reign."

Zhou Shuren, "......"

Silence is golden, just keep silent, why do you have to be so scary?

The emperor frowned, "Father, dreams are just dreams."

The Emperor raised his hand and continued, "I dreamed that last year's war was terrible. The treasury was out of money, the soldiers' equipment had not been replaced, and the food and fodder were insufficient. Although we won, it was a tragic victory. Nearly half of the soldiers were killed or wounded. The villages and the county were all covered in white."

Zhou Shuren knew in his heart that what the retired emperor said must have happened without his existence. He never thought that the retired emperor would dream about these things.

The Emperor continued with a lingering fear: "This is not the worst. Last year, there was a flood, the whole country had a poor harvest, and there was a shortage of food. The court had no money and no food. The whole country was in a dead silence, and many people died."

After hearing this, Zhou Shuren understood everything. It was not a will or entrustment, but the emperor was afraid, so he wanted to see him to prove that the dream was fake.

The emperor's pupils constricted. Even though he knew the dream was fake, he didn't dare to think that it was really as his father said. He still had ambitions and it was good enough for him to protect the country.

Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have always believed that the dream was fake. If you really care about it, it is a warning. It warns you about the importance of food and the abnormal temperature. The court should make more preparations."

The retired emperor motioned Zhou Shuren to sit down, and his eyes never left Zhou Shuren. Why was he afraid of nightmares? Because he had done it before he abdicated, and it was so real at that time. The common point was that Zhou Shuren was not there.

This also made the retired emperor more convinced that Zhou Shuren was capable of protecting the country. Zhou Shuren came up with many good ideas, and the treasury had money. Whether it was last year's war or the food shortage, the Ministry of Revenue controlled by Zhou Shuren handled it very well, and none of them could have been done without Zhou Shuren.

The Emperor excitedly pulled Zhou Shuren's sleeve and said, "Shuren, the master of Huguo Temple will come to Beijing tomorrow. Come with me to meet the master."

He had calculated for Zhou Shuren before, but several real nightmares made him feel uneasy, so he wanted to calculate it again carefully.

The hairs on Zhou Shuren's back stood up. No, he was resisting. What he and his wife hated most was asking a fortune teller to tell their fortunes, for fear of being discovered!

Zhou Shuren tried his best to keep his tone calm and curled his lips, "It is not appropriate for me to stay in the palace."

The emperor refused to let go. Zhou Shuren pulled at his sleeve but failed to budge. He was completely speechless. Was he afraid that he would run away?

The emperor said, "Nothing, the King of Qin will accompany the Marquis of Zhou."

He sensed his father's uneasiness. His father did not tell him when he woke up, but only told him when Marquis Zhou came. It can be seen that his father valued Zhou Shuren more. He also understood the intention of his father asking him to invite a master tomorrow. Influenced by the dream, his father wanted to make another calculation for Marquis Zhou.

Zhou Shuren, "......"

No, you are fine. The one who is in trouble is him. He has been hiding his identity for so long, he doesn't want to be exposed. Just thinking about it makes his back cold.

What's even more tragic is that he has to remain calm and not have any extreme reactions!

Outside the bedroom, the King of Qi and the King of Chu looked at the King of Qin. They were happy that their father had woken up, but his father refused to see them and instead invited Marquis Zhou.

Rongchuan was also confused. He also wanted to know why his father-in-law was invited. It was not like he was leaving a will. The head of the academy said that it was a good sign if his father woke up, which meant that his father would not die. Then why did he invite his father-in-law into the palace?

Prince Liang was half kneeling and half resting. He had already decided that once his father passed away, he would follow him. When he was about to enter the palace, he had arranged all the funeral affairs. However, things took a turn for the better. His father was still alive, and so was he. After digesting it for a while, his eyes could not help but fall on the fifth brother.

King Liang thought to himself, if he had a Yue family like Marquis Zhou, oh, forget it, the king will succeed and the bandit will be defeated, why should he continue thinking about it!

In the side hall, Xue Han was also being stared at by her sisters-in-law. She was dumbfounded, as she still wanted to know why her father came into the palace!

The Queen held the Princess Qin's hand affectionately, "I have seen clearly today how much Father and the Emperor value Marquis Zhou."

She was shocked. She had never expected that Marquis Zhou would be invited into the palace and stay there for so long with no intention of leaving. Her son was the crown prince, and she heard that the crown prince had not even entered the bedroom.

The empress knew her own body and was also aware of the emperor's attitude towards the noble families in the harem. She really didn't tell Concubine Hui that she saw it, because she knew that if she didn't do anything, the emperor would do it himself, so there was no need to dirty his own hands.

Her heart is entirely on her eldest son, the Crown Prince, and she cannot get too close to her mother's family. Now that she sees clearly how much importance her father and the Emperor place on Marquis Zhou, she wants to make plans for the Crown Prince.

Xue Han felt the eager gazes on her again. She didn't feel happy, but felt a chill on her back. She was not afraid of being ignored by keeping a low profile, but she was afraid of being remembered. Apparently, she was remembered because of her father!