Zhao Yuanrou was wearing a veil, and the two of them stood in the shadow of the lanterns, carefully avoiding the crowd so as not to meet acquaintances.
She leaned on Zhou Jingxun, her eyes flickering slightly, and she had a vague guess in her heart.
Her hand gently touched her belly.
If it's true... this child came at the right time.
At that time, she eloped with the intention of spending her whole life with Zhou Jingxun. Even though there was no matchmaker, they still prayed to heaven and earth, and she also tied up her long hair for him.
If it weren't for Qin Wei, they would be living a comfortable life now and would not have fallen into the quagmire of the capital city again.
Zhao Yuanrou said softly: "The emperor has had a stroke."
Qin Wei hurried back to the palace after hearing the news, and she was able to meet Zhou Jing again.
If the emperor suffers a stroke, no matter how serious it is, he will definitely not be able to manage state affairs and will definitely appoint someone to oversee the country.
The emperor has no prince, so the only one qualified to be regent is Qin Wei.
Moreover, there was the Empress Dowager in the palace. There were precedents of Empress Dowagers ruling from behind the curtain in all dynasties, which meant that when the emperor was unable to govern, the Empress Dowager had a great say in the court. The Empress Dowager only had two sons, the emperor and Qin Wei, so it was obvious who the Empress Dowager would let rule the country.
This was better than she had expected.
As long as Qin Wei can get to that position, everything will belong to her child.
Zhao Yuanrou is determined.
This matter cannot be told to Zhou Jingxun for the time being, she needs to plan it carefully.
"Axun." Zhao Yuanrou's eyes were filled with tenderness, and she said gently, "This is our chance, we just need to be patient for a few days..."
She couldn't let anyone find out that she was still in contact with Zhou Jingxun.
Patience now is necessary for the future.
Only by standing at the top of the dynasty can they get everything they want!
Zhou Jingxun gently put his arm around her shoulders and nodded slowly.
He was useless and could not protect Rouer, causing her to make all kinds of plans for their future.
"Rou'er." Zhou Jingxun lowered his voice and said, "My mother has already given the things to Liu... Don't worry."
Zhao Yuanrou nodded.
The emperor suddenly suffered a stroke, and the situation was very good. It was no longer so urgent to win the Zhenbei Palace for Qin Wei.
However, Sheng Xiyan has repeatedly humiliated me, so it would be good to let her get some retribution.
Zhao Yuanrou raised her head, looked at him tenderly, and said, "I believe you...you have to believe me too. For our future."
Zhou Jingxun clenched his fists.
Of course he believed her, and he would not make her sad over such a small matter again.
Zhao Yuanrou's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she was somewhat impatient to know the situation in the palace.
Bang!
Fireworks exploded in the night sky and lanterns swayed in the cold wind.
In order to welcome the Holy Chariot, the area around the Huangjue Temple was decorated with colorful lanterns, but the Holy Chariot could not be seen.
After the emperor was sent back to the palace, Song Yuan immediately summoned all the imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital. They gathered together to diagnose the emperor's pulse and give him acupuncture to stabilize his condition.
The royal family, nobles and ministers were waiting in the front hall, looking panicked, with confusion and uneasiness on their faces.
Zheng Zhongming sat in an armchair, his eyes slightly lowered, his expression gloomy, and he looked at Chu Yuanchen opposite him from time to time.
The Queen Mother was even more restless, unable to hide the anxiety in her eyes.
She had a headache and felt weak recently, so she did not go to the Lantern Festival. She thought it would be just like every year, she would have fun with the people and then the emperor would come back. However, she never expected that what she would receive was one bad news after another.
Before she had recovered from the burning of the late emperor's coffin, she saw the emperor being carried back unconscious. They said that the emperor had suffered a stroke!
How could he have a stroke? The emperor was not even forty years old.
I've been waiting for almost half an hour.
The Queen Mother was restless and wanted to go in and take a look, but she was worried about disturbing the imperial doctors. Her head began to ache slightly, so she raised her hand to rub her brow and yawned.
Finally, the Queen Mother's messenger came out from the back hall.
After a long consultation and treatment, the imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital reported to the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty, we have given the Emperor acupuncture, and he is now stable."
The Queen Mother asked nervously, "How is the Emperor now?"
The imperial physician came to the hospital and said respectfully, "The emperor is still in a coma. We have written a prescription for him. Let's try it first."
Those who could serve as imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital were all top-notch medical experts. Even if a prescription could not cure the disease, at least some effect could be seen. Whenever an imperial physician used the word "try it", it meant that they were not sure about the results.
The Queen Mother's body shook and her face turned even paler.
"I'll go in and take a look."
There was no color on her face and her steps were a little unsteady.
Cao Xi supported her with one hand and said in a sharp voice, "Empress Dowager, be careful where you step."
Prince Li stopped her and said, "Don't be impatient, Queen Mother. Let the doctor finish his words first."
Prince Li is the head of the clan and the elder of the royal family, so his words always carry some weight. However, the empress dowager could no longer sit still and was about to rush into the back hall without caring about anything when the hall suddenly became quiet, as if all the sounds were instantly sucked away by something.
Everyone faced the palace gate, bowed and said, "Master Governor," with an attitude even more respectful than they had shown to the Queen Mother.
Xiao Shuo, wearing a red Qilin robe, walked in from outside. He had a gentle temperament and a noble air in his steps, just like a young man from a noble family. However, when facing him, everyone dared not even breathe loudly.
Zheng Zhongming looked at Xiao Shuo and narrowed his eyes slightly.
When he left Beijing, although Xiao Shuo had already taken charge of the East and West factories, and was even feared for his decisive and ruthless methods, he was far from being as intimidating and fearful as he is now, and he could not make the entire court, including the nobles and relatives, obey him. At that time, Xiao Shuo was more feared by others, and was far from the man who had the final say as he does now.
Xiao Shuo did have the emperor's trust. In fact, the emperor's trust in him was no less than Xiao Shuo's! Before he left Beijing, his position in the capital was far from being as awkward as it is now.
To be honest, his status in the court at that time was actually comparable to Xiao Shuo, or even better.
Zheng Zhongming concealed his unhappiness, his eyes darkened, and he regretted that he should not have left the capital in anger because of the quarrel with the emperor.
He couldn't help but think of last year. At the beginning of last year, the emperor suddenly mentioned that he wanted Xiao Shuo to select the elite from the imperial guards to form twelve guards, led by Dong Chang.
Zheng Zhongming was furious at the time, thinking that the emperor wanted to use Xiao Shuo to dilute his military power. After all, the emperor's desire for military power was written on his face. Although Zheng Zhongming claimed to be the emperor's confidant and the emperor treated him differently from others, after witnessing the fate of the two princes, he was also afraid that he would end up like them.
Seeing that the emperor was showing signs of weakening his military power, Zheng Zhongming had a big quarrel with the emperor and left in anger.
At that time, Zheng Zhongming had also made plans. Given the relationship between him and the emperor, a quarrel would not be a big deal.
The emperor was jealous of the Zhenbei Palace and needed him to lead the imperial guards. He wanted the emperor to figure out who was more useful between him and Xiao Shuo.
"Sir Zheng." When Xiao Shuo walked past him, he glanced at him calmly and said, "I heard that Yingling was destroyed and the coffin of the late emperor was burned. Sir Zheng is in charge of the imperial guards, so why don't you investigate this matter thoroughly?"
Xiao Shuo said, "I heard that there were 10,000 bandits. There are so many bandits in the capital. Lord Zheng has failed in his duty as the governor of the capital camp."
Xiao Shuo acted condescending, as if Zheng Zhongming, who commanded a large number of troops, was just a subordinate of his.
Zheng Zhongming's face became even gloomier.
How is it possible that there are 10,000 bandits roaming around in Gyeonggi Province!
If there really were so many bandits, he would have received the news long ago and would not be so completely in the dark like he is now.
Zheng Zhongming believed that Chu Yuanchen was most likely responsible for the Yingling incident, and the emperor must have had his suspicions. Even these 10,000 people were probably a lot of water... Zheng Zhongming knew the character of the imperial guards under him, and they had become addicted to eating empty salaries in recent years. It was hard to say how many guards there were in Yingling!
However, if the fact that he was drawing a salary without working was ever exposed, Xiao Shuo would definitely hold on to this handle and never let it go.
Zheng Zhongming snorted and said, "This is my business. Commander Xiao has overstepped his authority."
Xiao Shuo was not annoyed and smiled faintly: "I am waiting for good news from Master Zheng."
After he finished speaking, he did not wait for Zheng Zhongming to speak and asked the imperial physician, "How is the emperor?"
The Imperial Medical Officer quickly bowed and said, "Master, the Emperor has had a stroke."
The Imperial Medical Officer carefully looked at Xiao Shuo's face and continued, "Master, the emperor had a stroke a few years ago because of anger. He needed to calm down and rest his mind to recover. He must not get angry again. But today, the emperor got angry again, so he had a stroke. There is nothing we can do to save him."
Xiao Shuo asked calmly, "How is the emperor now?"
Lin Shoufu and others felt a glimmer of hope again.
There are two types of stroke: major stroke and minor stroke. A minor stroke will cause slurred speech and weakness in the limbs, but with careful care the patient can recover to 70% to 80%.
The imperial physician bowed his head and reported, "The emperor has lost control of his bowels and bladder, his speech is crooked, and he is half paralyzed."
What he meant was that the emperor was very ill.
The little hope that the ministers had just ignited was completely extinguished.
The imperial physician continued, "Your Majesty needs to rest and recuperate, and absolutely not worry about anything else."
Xiao Shuo nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
Xiao Shuo said: "Where's the pulse case..."
"Useless things." The Queen Mother was furious and interrupted Xiao Shuo's voice. "Take all of you out and let me beat you. You can't even cure the emperor, so what's the use of you! Beat you all to death!"
The eunuchs all lowered their heads, as if they hadn't heard anything.
The Queen Mother shouted for a long time, but no one responded. She looked around in disbelief and shouted again, "Someone come!"
Xiao Shuo said nonchalantly: "It's so noisy."
Everyone shuddered and pretended not to hear that he was talking about the Queen Mother being "noisy."
"The Queen Mother is tired. Send her back to rest." Xiao Shuo said lightly.
Queen Mother: “…”
She could hardly believe her ears, and pointed at Xiao Shuo and cursed, "How dare you! Someone, take Xiao Shuo down for me."
Everyone, including the court officials, looked at the Queen Mother with an incredible look, as if she was saying something fantastic.
Cao Xi said with a wry smile: "Empress Dowager, you may be tired. You should go back to Ci Ning Palace to rest. The imperial physician is here."
The Queen Mother finally realized that they had completely ignored her words.
Her face darkened and she cursed, "How dare you!"
Cao Xi was still servile in front of the empress dowager and just smiled respectfully. Then he gave a look and immediately two maids came over and supported the empress dowager on the left and right.
"Queen Mother, please go back to the palace and rest. If you get sick from exhaustion, the Emperor will be worried."
Each of these maids' words was more caring and more pleasant than the last, but their actions were to quietly drag the empress dowager out.
She was simply dumbfounded.
She married the Crown Princess at the age of fifteen, then became the Empress, and then the Empress Dowager. Her life was smooth sailing. Who would have thought that when she was old, her words were no longer effective in the palace?!
The Queen Mother was filled with resentment: "I am the Queen Mother. How dare you be so rude to me? Do you want to die?"
The maids are all elderly people who are used to living in the palace. They know best how to make people speechless when it comes to grievances. Normally, they certainly wouldn't dare to be violent towards the Empress Dowager. But now, Governor Xiao has spoken, so they have to do it even if they don't dare!
When the Queen Mother was about to yell, a maid grabbed her arm and used some skill, causing half of her body to feel sore and numb immediately. She swallowed the words she hadn't said yet. On the surface, they were just supporting the Queen Mother, and if you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't be able to see the mystery.
Soon, the Queen Mother was taken out.
The hall fell silent again. Xiao Shuo was reading the pulse report brought by the imperial physician, while some court officials including Lin Shoufu were looking at each other in bewilderment.
They really couldn't take care of the Queen Mother.
The most important thing now is that the emperor is so seriously ill that he is definitely unable to take care of state affairs. What should we do in the future?
What should the court do? !
Who can take over the government and oversee the country? !
The court officials all looked at Lin Shoufu, waiting for him to say something. Lin Shoufu smiled bitterly. He would be able to retire in a few months, so how could he encounter such a thing?
Lin Shoufu finally said with difficulty: "Maybe the emperor can get better."
Even he himself did not believe what he said.
Zheng Zhongming didn't say a word the whole time, even when the Queen Mother was taken away, he just remained silent.
He regretted again that he should not have left the capital so easily. Otherwise, he would at least be able to compete with Xiao Shuoxiang now.
During the more than half a year since I left, Xiao Shuo's arrogance and power have increased a lot.
Even though he still had the imperial guards at his disposal, they were completely overwhelmed by Xiao Shuo's momentum.
Zheng Zhongming's eyes grew even darker.
"I will go in and see the Emperor."
Xiao Shuo returned the pulse case to the Imperial Physician. He brushed off his red Qilin robe and walked towards the back hall. The Imperial Physician followed closely.
After leaving the front hall, the Imperial Physician whispered to Xiao Shuo, "Master, Your Majesty..."
Xiao Shuo glanced at him nonchalantly and said calmly: "The emperor has had a stroke. Let the emperor rest well."
The Imperial Medical Envoy lowered his head even lower and said hurriedly, "Yes."
The emperor's pulse clearly did not indicate a stroke, but since Governor Xiao said "stroke", it could only be a stroke.
He cannot make a healthy person have a stroke immediately, but he can make a healthy person act like he is having a stroke.
The imperial doctors were still standing by the emperor's bed. As soon as Xiao Shuo entered, they all bowed and greeted him.
Wu Ning casually sent everyone away and stepped aside to wait.
Xiao Shuo walked silently to the front of the couch and looked down at the emperor.
This face, which was much more mature than it was twenty years ago, was one that Xiao Shuo never dared to forget for a moment.
Every midnight, Xiao Shuo woke up as if he was in a sea of fire, the heat was unbearable, the fire burned everything, and his mother was burned to death in front of him...
The Lingnan Palace that day was like hell!
As if he felt Xiao Shuo's gaze, the emperor opened his eyes with difficulty. He felt that he had no strength in his whole body, as if he had slept for a very long time.
He moved his lips and shouted indistinctly: "A...Shuo..."
"I...what's wrong..."
Every word he uttered took up almost all of his strength. Then, the emperor panicked. He found that he could not utter a complete sentence. His tongue seemed to be out of control. Even his hands and feet were difficult to lift. They felt so heavy that they did not seem to be his own.
"Your Majesty," Xiao Shuo said insincerely, "Don't worry, you're having a stroke."
Stroke?!
The emperor grumbled and looked horrified. How could he have a stroke? He was not even forty years old.
He regretted it. He shouldn't have been angry with Chu Yuanchen. He shouldn't have been angry!
"Your Majesty, please don't worry. The imperial physician said that if you take good care of yourself, you will still have a chance to recover." Xiao Shuo said calmly, "I will take care of the affairs of the court for you."
"Just take good care of it."
The emperor did not notice the coldness in Xiao Shuo's voice. He seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, with hope in his eyes: "A Shuo... The court is in your hands..."
The emperor was still very sober. He understood that if he fell down, someone would have to take over the country. Moreover, the most likely person would be Qin Wei, or in other words, only Qin Wei was qualified!
He didn't believe Qin Wei.
Once Qin Wei comes to power, he will definitely get rid of him and then ascend the throne himself.
He just had a stroke. He will get better. He will definitely get better!
Even if he can't get better, he is still the emperor!
"A Shuo...watch for me..."
"I obey your order."
Xiao Shuo lowered his eyelids slightly, and his thick eyelashes cast a faint reflection.
He said, "I will take my leave now. There are many gentlemen waiting outside."
The emperor nodded laboriously.
Xiao Shuo said to the eunuch Song Yuan who was beside the emperor, "Take good care of the emperor."
Song Yuan heard his meaning clearly and replied respectfully, "Yes. Don't worry, Lord Governor."
The Imperial Physician stayed.
Xiao Shuo walked towards the front hall, and Wu Yuan followed him not too far away.
"The Lord Governor is here!"
In the front hall, everyone was still waiting. When they saw Xiao Shuo come out, they bowed again.
Xiao Shuo glanced at everyone and said, "The emperor has suffered a stroke and needs to rest. It is inconvenient for him to handle court affairs. The emperor has ordered that from today on, I will supervise the court."
Lin Shoufu and the others all moved their shoulders slightly.
In fact, they had been mentally prepared for this, and now they felt as if it was just as they expected.
Lin Shoufu gave a bitter smile. He had just been thinking whether he should object if Xiao Shuo really was in power.
This is different from the past. In the past, it was natural for the Imperial Household Department to take charge of several matters. However, now that the emperor has suffered a stroke, it may be difficult for him to recover. If Xiao Shuo takes power, it will not be a matter of one or two days. The Great Rong Dynasty cannot really be handed over to him, right?
Whenever the emperor was seriously ill and unable to govern, the crown prince would be in charge of the government according to convention. But now there is neither a crown prince nor a prince.
After thinking it over again and again, Lin Shoufu still felt that he should persuade Xiao Shuo to let the empress dowager rule the country from behind the curtain, and then choose one of the emperor's sons to govern the country, which would be the orthodox way.
However, when Xiao Shuo's gaze fell on him lightly, all the words he had prepared could not be uttered.
"Prime Minister Lin," Chu Yuanchen said leisurely, "It's not like the emperor hasn't stopped attending court before, and it doesn't seem like the government has been affected."
Lin Shoufu believed this deeply, and not only was he not affected, but things became smoother. Apart from the incidents involving the vassal kings, the emperor was not a tyrant on weekdays, but he was extravagant, ambitious, and indecisive, and there were many problems with the government. It was only in the last few months that the emperor had been absent from court from time to time, which made things go more smoothly.
Chu Yuanchen spread his hands and said, "That's it. The emperor is the same as he was when he left office."
Lin Shoufu: “…”
Several princes from the royal family looked at him again and again, signaling with their eyes that he should come out and speak.
Lin Shoufu simply made up his mind and thought to himself: Anyway, no one in the Great Rong Dynasty has the surname Lin, and even the princes of the royal family don't speak up, so why should he care so much? !
He believed that even if he really spoke up, few people would follow him.
It's not worth it to be the first to stand out!
Anyway, Xiao Shuo was used to supervising the emperor, so a few days wouldn't make any difference. Maybe the emperor would get better soon.
Lin Shoufu felt that his waist might bend a little too quickly. He was about to retire and didn't want his house to be raided before he retired.
Lin Shoufu was the first to bow and said, "Yes."
With Prime Minister Lin speaking, no one else dared to say no. The princes of the royal family hesitated for a long time. Prince Cheng looked outside the palace from time to time, wanting to see why Qin Wei had not come yet, when it was obvious that Qin Wei should be in charge of the court.
The ministers had already expressed their loyalty. Xiao Shuo smiled and said, "Do you have any objections, my lords?"
His voice was as gentle as ever, but it was like a basin of ice splashing on me. The princes hurriedly said, "The governor said so!"
"Since this is the case, I will be in charge of government from now on."
The final word is the hammer.
From beginning to end, only Zheng Zhongming remained silent.
He watched coldly, without a doubt, Chu Yuanchen openly and unreservedly leaning towards Xiao Shuo.
Zheng Zhongming thought back to when he left Beijing. In addition to being angry, he was also angry because someone secretly told him that Xiao Shuo had a huge handle on him.
Zheng Zhongming knew that the only way to bring Xiao Shuo down was to make the emperor suspicious of him, so that he would no longer trust him and abandon him. Zheng Zhongming also wanted to use his short absence to make the emperor realize his importance, so he left the capital under the pretext of quarreling with the emperor.
He took his whole family away from Beijing just to cover up something and avoid Xiao Shuo's suspicion.
He thought that being away for only half a year wouldn't have any impact, but who could have known that everything would change in just half a year.
During the half year that he was away, Xiao Shuo's power and status had reached the peak, which even he could not reach.
If not, how could Xiao Shuo, a eunuch, be in charge of the country now?
He shouldn't have left!
Zheng Zhongming's gaze involuntarily turned towards the direction leading to the back hall, his eyes flashing.
Did the emperor really have a stroke, or was he imprisoned by Xiao Shuo, using the emperor to control the princes? !
He hasn't lost yet.