Shou Kang Palace
The Empress Dowager looked at Zhu Xi, suddenly stood up, and asked anxiously, "What did you say? The Fourteenth Prince contracted typhoid fever at the Imperial Mausoleum and is already delirious?"
Zhu Xi said, "The news from the Imperial Mausoleum says this: His Majesty has ordered the imperial physicians to go to the Imperial Mausoleum immediately to treat the Fourteenth Prince."
"The imperial physicians will only be allowed to return once the Fourteenth Prince has fully recovered. The Fourteenth Prince is in good health and will surely recover soon, so Your Majesty need not worry too much."
The Empress Dowager wore a bitter expression. The Emperor was always ruthless and showed no brotherly affection towards his fourteenth brother.
She often woke up in the middle of the night, terrified. Since the emperor ascended the throne, she had dreamt several times of scenes of her brothers killing each other...
The Empress Dowager panicked; how could she have contracted typhoid fever out of the blue? The people at the imperial mausoleum hadn't reported it until the illness had become so severe.
She worried that after the emperor seized the throne, he would find the fourteenth prince extremely annoying. However, due to his reputation and her status as his mother, he couldn't openly kill him.
Now that such an opportunity has presented itself, all it takes is a subtle hint to the imperial physician to legitimately take the fourteenth prince's life.
At most, when the time comes, they'll use the excuse that the servants at the imperial mausoleum didn't take good care of things and punish a few of them to show her and everyone else.
Although a discerning person could easily see the intricacies involved, those unaware of the inside story couldn't really find anything wrong with him.
The more the Empress Dowager thought about it, the more she felt that the Emperor's thoughts were generally as described.
She said in a panic, "No, I must go to see the Emperor and ask him to bring the Fourteenth Prince back to the capital to take care of him. I am so old, I cannot bear to see my son die before my own parents."
Zhu Xi stopped the Empress Dowager, knowing what the Empress Dowager was worried about.
Because if it were the Empress Dowager in her time, facing someone she despised in such a predicament, she would also be happy to go with the flow and send them to their deaths.
But Zhu Xi felt that the Emperor might not have that intention. Even if he did, the Emperor would certainly not admit it after the Empress Dowager went to find him.
If things escalate, the Fourteenth Prince's situation will only become more difficult.
Zhu Xi said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The Emperor has already sent an imperial physician over and instructed people to take good care of the Fourteenth Prince, and has also bestowed medicine upon him. There is nothing wrong with this arrangement."
"Your hasty departure to have the Emperor bring the Fourteenth Prince back will only strain the relationship between the Emperor and you further."
Tears welled up in the Empress Dowager's eyes as she cried out, "I can't care about anything else! Nothing is more important than the Fourteenth Prince's life!"
Zhu Xi said, "It is precisely because of the Fourteenth Prince that you must calm down."
"Otherwise, if you damage the mother-son relationship between you and the Emperor, who will speak up for the Fourteenth Prince then!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water, completely drenched.
"You're right. I can't afford to lose my composure. If I do, then the Fourteenth Prince will truly be out of hope."
"Go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. I must find out what the Emperor is planning!"
*
Hall of Mental Cultivation
Looking at all these documents in front of him, which only seemed to be filled with complaints of poverty, Big Fat Orange couldn't shake off his bad mood.
Last winter's heavy snowfall will surely bring a bountiful harvest this year. Spring planting is in full swing, and we can't afford any mishaps, otherwise things will be difficult later.
If we can get through these next few months and wait for this season's harvest, the depleted national treasury will be somewhat alleviated.
We can manage for now, but the real worry is that by May or June, the people will have run out of old grain before the new grain has even ripened. Every year during this lean season, many impoverished families die of hunger.
Although the imperial court had no money, it still needed to set aside a sum of money for disaster relief in case there were too many starving people and things got out of hand.
The fat orange tree is worried. The taxes collected have to cover not only the salaries of civil and military officials, noble families, and the Eight Banners, but also the military pay and provisions from the central government to the local level.
If he hadn't immediately purged the Eighth Prince's faction after ascending the throne, directly confiscating the property of the Ninth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince, and their trusted subordinates.
It's likely that even the current situation will be difficult to maintain. How stifling it must be for him to be emperor.
So when the imperial mausoleum reported that the fourteenth prince was seriously ill, Big Fat Orange really wanted to say, "If you're going to die, then hurry up and die!"
However, he still retained some rationality. He ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to send two physicians to treat the Fourteenth Prince properly, and then waited for the Empress Dowager to arrive at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
As expected, the Empress Dowager arrived very quickly. She appeared relatively calm, but the worry in her eyes was impossible to hide from him.
If he were the one who contracted typhoid fever while imprisoned in the imperial mausoleum, I wonder if his mother, the Empress Dowager, would have been just as anxious.
The chubby orange cat said calmly, "I remember that this is the day when the Empress Dowager worships Buddha, and she has never liked to be disturbed."
"Why are you rushing over at this time? What urgent matter could you possibly have to attend to?"
The Empress Dowager had no interest in beating around the bush with the chubby orange cat, and forced a smile as she spoke.
"Why should the Emperor consult someone he already knows? I heard that your brother has contracted typhoid fever and is currently delirious and on the verge of death."
"The Emperor disregarded past grievances and, out of consideration for brotherhood, sent the imperial physician to take care of her. Mother was very gratified."
Big Fatty Orange originally thought that the Empress Dowager would be impatient and ask him to bring the Fourteenth Prince back to the capital for treatment, but he did not expect to hear her say this.
The tactic of giving a stick followed by a treat only works on him before he turned 30.
The chubby orange said, "For the sake of the Empress Dowager, I have been extremely lenient with the Fourteenth Prince."
"If that's truly what you think, then I can rest assured."
The Empress Dowager said, "If I don't think so, what else could it be? Your sixth son and your three younger sisters all passed away early, leaving me with only you two sons."
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