Chapter 71 [VIP]
The emperor had a persistent high fever and slept in a coma for a day and a night.
All the imperial physicians in the palace stayed by the emperor's bedside, and even Qingping was summoned to the palace overnight.
Qingping expressed his annoyance at this.
He's not skilled in medicine, so don't go looking for him every time someone gets sick; getting up and going out in the middle of the night is exhausting. But when he entered the palace, he realized, lo and behold, they really do need to come to him! Qingping drew a talisman, burned it to make talisman water, and with the other imperial physicians looking at him with disapproval but not daring to stop him, Qingping fed the talisman water to the emperor.
Not long after, the emperor awoke.
"A real person..."
The moment the emperor opened his eyes, his pupils reflected Qingping, who sported a small mustache.
Qingping held a whisk in his hand, smiling calmly, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance.
In a daze, the emperor seemed to see a deity. He grabbed Qingping's hand and closed his eyes in peace.
Qingping: ? ?
It would be better if we didn't have to be so intimate; it's uncomfortable.
When the emperor woke up again, his fever had completely subsided.
Qingping was finally released from the palace.
Several carriages were parked outside the palace gates, and the imperial physicians who were not on duty also walked out of the palace gates one after another and got into their own carriages.
very nice.
Qingping was extremely envious; unlike him, he had to walk back.
Yesterday, the palace sent someone to pick him up, but it seems they forgot to send someone back.
Qingping walked forward listlessly. Just then, an unremarkable carriage pulled up in front of him and stopped. The windows were completely covered, and the driver was a familiar-looking young man. The young man looked up and smiled, saying, "Please come in."
"Who will pick me up?"
As Qingping asked the question, he stepped onto the carriage and lifted the curtain. The next moment, he met Qiongfang's smiling face.
Qingping quickly climbed into the carriage and lowered the curtain.
"Miss Qiongfang, it's you."
As he spoke, he sat down on the ground without any regard for his image.
At first glance, the carriage looked rather simple, but the interior was much more spacious than a regular carriage. When Qingping sat down, he noticed that there were several layers of cushions under his bottom, so even when the carriage was moving, he didn't feel uncomfortable.
“My lady said that you must not have had breakfast, so she asked me to bring you some food.”
As Qiongfang spoke sweetly, she deftly separated the food box, each layer containing different pastries. These pastries were made only the size of dominoes, making them easy to eat one bite at a time with your hands.
The small table is welded directly to the side of the compartment, making it very stable. No matter how much you shake the food box on it, it won't fall off.
In the corner of the carriage, there was a small red clay stove burning, with a small copper pot on top of it.
The small copper pot was bubbling away, filling the carriage with a rich and fragrant aroma of mutton.
Qingping swallowed hard.
Qiongfang lifted the pot lid and ladled out a bowl of hot radish and mutton soup.
The Tianxin Sect doesn't have any restrictions on meat, and Qingping's favorite is mutton. However, he never mentioned it, yet his junior sister knew. She truly is his own junior sister!
Qiongfang smiled and said gently, "Sir, the young lady said that if you don't like the snacks, there are also cakes in the basket."
Waaah.
My junior sister is so much better than those boys in the temple who only know how to steal his food.
My master was wise; in his later years, he even had a junior sister.
With a sip of soup and a bite of flatbread, Qingping ate with tears welling up in her eyes.
He drank three bowls of wine and ate five flatbreads before putting down his bowl with satisfaction.
I'm full.
Qingping let out a satisfied burp, feeling content with his life.
He was summoned to the palace in the middle of the night and kept up all night; he hadn't slept a wink yet, and now that he was full, sleepiness was creeping in. Qiongfang quietly cleared away the dishes.
"You go to sleep, I will wake you when it's time."
As she spoke, Qiongfang thoughtfully took out a soft pillow.
The carriage moved forward smoothly and slowly, and Qingping soon fell into a deep sleep.
When they arrived at the gate of Taiqing Temple, Qiongfang woke him up and handed him the untouched snack box.
“Take this. Our young lady said that His Majesty’s illness means he might summon you to the palace from time to time these days. If you get hungry at night, you can have this to tide you over.”
That's true. Qingping nodded silently. Although Taiqing Temple was close to the capital, it was still quite a hassle to go back and forth.
My junior sister is so considerate.
He vowed never to complain about his junior sister's bad luck again.
Qingping hugged the food box with gratitude. Just as he was about to get off the carriage, he remembered something and lowered his voice to say, "Tell Junior Sister that the Emperor doesn't have an illness. He has a kind of shock disorder."
After saying that, he jumped off the carriage and waved to Qiongfang.
When Qiongfang returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, it was just past noon.
Gu Zhizhuo was still keeping watch in the mourning hall when she heard this, and she raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Hoarseness?"
Gu Zhizhuo didn't intend for Qiongfang to inquire with Qingping; she simply wanted her to deliver some food. Knowing the emperor as she did, she was certain he wouldn't think of sending someone back, as it would take three or four hours to walk from the capital to Taiqing Temple.
Anyway, we have our own carriage, so it won't be a problem to give them a ride.
Unexpectedly, her senior brother would tell her such a secret.
"Fright syndrome" is caused by shock and is commonly known in folk tradition as "losing one's soul." It usually occurs when a young child suffers some kind of fright and develops a persistent high fever. The elders in the family will go to the village entrance to burn paper money while calling out the child's name, a practice called "calling back the soul." They will burn the paper money all the way home and then give the child some talismanic water; the child's fever will then subside. (Note)
In her previous life, after the young master died, she witnessed someone calling back a soul while learning Taoist arts and techniques from her master.
I heard that the emperor was fine when he got up in the morning, but fell ill as soon as he finished court?
"Young lady."
The head steward, Chen Jin, hurried over and reported with a hint of urgency, "His Majesty has sent someone to summon the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince asked me to come and tell you."
Gu Zhizhuo nodded: "You go ahead and get busy."
The mourning hall was still set up, and people continued to come to offer incense and pay their respects, though fewer people came due to the Emperor's illness. However, this had no impact on the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion; the household remained busy but orderly.
Gu Yican left home at midday and didn't return until dusk, accompanied by Prime Minister Song.
Gu Baibai came out to greet him.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chief Minister Song followed Gu Baibai inside and said, "It seems we'll have to wait a while longer for the Crown Prince's title."
He sighed inwardly as he said this.
Gu Yican and Gu Zhizhuo followed behind. Gu Yican winked at her, spread his hands, and said, "The Emperor ordered me to come back and reflect on my actions. We'll talk about the inheritance of the title after I've reflected on it."
"Not only me, but Zheng Si and the others were also notified."
After leaving them kneeling in the scorching sun for an hour, the emperor sent a eunuch to order Zheng Si and the others to return home and be confined for a month. He then summoned Gu Yican alone.
The emperor gave him a severe scolding, not only confining him to his quarters for a month like Zheng Si and the others, but also saying that with his nonsense, how could he trust him to inherit the title?
This was exactly what Gu Yican wanted.
He stirred up trouble, a matter that was neither too big nor too small, so that the emperor wouldn't spend all his time thinking about the Gu family's imminent rebellion.
Gu Yican could tell that although the emperor was scolding, his expression wasn't as tense as he seemed.
In the emperor's mind, it would be more reassuring for him to return to the capital after making meritorious contributions, rather than rushing to plan for inheriting the title, and instead go out and cause trouble with a group of纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy and powerful families).
However, after the Prince of Jin arrived, Gu Yican noticed that the emperor's aura suddenly turned several degrees colder.
Plans are in place!
The brother and sister smiled at each other, secretly hooked their little fingers together, and then touched their thumbs.
"You two siblings," Chief Minister Song turned around and glared at them, "you'd better control your tempers in the future."
He lowered his voice and whispered, "Especially you..." He was referring to Gu Zhizhuo, "The wrath of the emperor can cause bloodshed for thousands of miles. The emperor's concession was only because he wanted to be a benevolent ruler."
Chief Minister Song spoke these words sincerely, yet he only touched upon the point briefly.
Gu Zhizhuo never refused a kind offer.
Her lips were slightly pursed, a shallow dimple appeared on her cheek, her long, curled eyelashes fluttered gently, and her dark eyes looked obediently at Chief Minister Song.
"I understand."
The Grand Secretary stroked his gray beard, a relieved smile spreading across his face. He seemed quite docile now, unlike in the imperial palace when he was unyielding and every word he uttered was like a knife.
He truly did not want to see his entire family of loyal and virtuous people meet a bad end.
"Regarding the matter of Prince Gu," Chief Minister Song added, "it's actually because of Prince Jin. Don't worry, Prince Gu, your succession to the title will only be delayed for three months at most. Once the Emperor's anger subsides, the Cabinet will definitely submit a memorial to the throne to request this matter."
Chief Minister Song found it utterly incomprehensible.
Accompanying Gu Yican to the Prince of Jin's residence was his own little grandson, the most well-behaved child imaginable. Last time, when he went to see a play with Zheng Si, that scoundrel Xie Sheng beat him up. This time, he was just retaliating, but who knew that the Emperor, at his age, would still take sides? His little grandson had been kneeling in the sun for so long; it pained him to see him kneeling like that.
"Thank you, Chief Minister."
Gu Yican bowed and thanked him, a faint smile on his face. Both of their similar phoenix eyes looked at Chief Minister Song, which softened Chief Minister Song's heart.
Gu Baibai glanced at them out of the corner of her eye. Hmm, their act of pretending to be well-behaved was exactly the same as when they were kids, not at all rusty. Relieved!
Upon arriving at the main hall, Chief Minister Song offered three sticks of incense and then took his leave.
Duke Wei also arrived, and Gu Baibai went to greet him. The two siblings then escorted Chief Minister Song to the outer gate.
After giving some earnest instructions, Chief Minister Song added vaguely, "Don't keep the mourning hall set up for too long."
"I will urge the Ministry of Rites to prepare the sacrificial rites for the cabinet."
His meaning was that the matter should end here, and the Gu family should also know when to stop.
Gu Yican then said, "We plan to keep the body in state for seven days."
Chief Minister Song nodded slightly, said nothing more, and stepped into the carriage.
Watching the carriage depart, the two turned back. Gu Zhizhuo vaguely remembered that in his previous life, Prime Minister Song had died in July of this year.
At that time, the Gu family had already been convicted of a crime.
The chief minister of Song insisted that the Gu family had made contributions to the country. Even if Gu Yican failed in his duties, resulting in bandits killing people indiscriminately in the suburbs of the capital, it was only Gu Yican's fault. How could the whole family be implicated because of this? Furthermore, Gu Yican's treason and escape were only Xie Jing's one-sided account, without any real evidence.
The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion should not be falsely accused.
Thanks to the Grand Secretary's insistence, the Gu family managed to hold on for a little longer.
Later, the Grand Secretary's old illness recurred, and he passed away not long after.
As the young master once said, Song, the chief minister, was wholeheartedly devoted to the Great Qi Dynasty. For the sake of the Great Qi, he was willing to suppress the turmoil in the court even though he knew there were hidden reasons for deposing the crown prince, so that the emperor could ascend the throne smoothly.
Even when he was seriously ill, he would stay in court until he died because he couldn't bear to leave the incompetent emperor.
So, if it were for the sake of the Great Qi Dynasty, would he be willing to give up the throne...?
"Sister, I was in the palace today..."
Gu Yican told her about what had happened after entering the palace, which quickly drew Gu Zhizhuo's attention. After finishing, Gu Yican said thoughtfully, "After Prince Jin arrived, the Emperor treated him very well, like a gentle breeze. But, I noticed that the Emperor's fingers were very tense, and his fingertips were white. It seems that he was being friendly on the surface but not on the inside."
"It must have been the young master who did it."
Gu Zhizhuo said with a smile, lightly stepping on her own shadow, looking very happy.
Young master?
"Xie Yingchen!?"
“Yes.” Gu Zhizhuo walked forward, tapping his feet. “Young Master said he wants to bring the Prince of Jin’s heir back from the southern border and plant a dagger between the Emperor and the Prince of Jin. Wait, didn’t I mention that?”
Upon hearing the name Gongzi Chen, Gu Yican pursed her lips unhappily.
He was only gone for three months, and his sister actually got engaged! This is absolutely infuriating. That Xie Jing from before was a scoundrel; he originally planned to put a sack over Xie Jing's neck and beat him a few times after the mourning period was over, so that Xie Jing would take the initiative to break off the engagement.
As soon as he finished mourning, he got a job, and when he returned, his sister was engaged!
Good news: It's not Xie Jing.
Bad news: It's another one surnamed Xie.
He secretly asked his third uncle, who said that his sister had taken a liking to Gongzi Chen because he was handsome.
Hmm! He's very handsome too.
He saw his sister tilt her head slightly, a joyful smile welling up in her eyes, as radiant as the rising sun, as if just thinking of this person brought her happiness. Gu Yican became even more unhappy, swinging her ponytail back and forth.
“Now I’ll tell you,” Gu Zhizhuo said to himself, “The Emperor’s sudden shock is most likely related to Prince Jin… Young Master must know the reason.”
Gu Yican: !
I'm very unhappy. Where's our understanding? Neither of us is trying to comfort me!
No, he had to meet this young master Chen. If he didn't like him, he'd still put him in a sack and beat him.
He quietly tugged at his sister's sleeve, wanting her to stop talking about Gongzi Chen and to look at herself quickly, otherwise he would wither away.
The two chased and joked around, then their steps faltered, and Gu Baibai accompanied the Duke of Wei, who had offered incense, as they walked out.
The two men stopped and greeted, "Lord Duke."
The Duke of Wei also did not linger; after leaving the Duke of Zhenguo's residence, he went back to the palace. He was puzzled by the Emperor's sudden change in attitude towards the Prince of Jin.
However, the emperor did not summon him.
After punishing the纨绔 (playboys) Gu Yican and Zheng Si, the emperor only met with Prince Jin. He did not attend court for several days afterward. Not only did the imperial physician stay by his side every day, but Qingping was also summoned several times and gained weight.
The emperor was ill, but with the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Grand Secretariat in place, the court continued to operate smoothly, seemingly unaffected.
After a seven-day lay in state, Gu Taotao's coffin was laid to rest.
The funeral had been held more than three years ago, and therefore, the entire process was conducted without disturbing anyone.
Only Gu Yican and Gu Zhizhuo, along with a few guards, carried the coffin out of the capital.
The old Duke Gu Xie was born a beggar. The Gu family had no clan land; even their ancestral graves were bestowed by the founding emperor himself, who allocated a plot of land to the left of the imperial mausoleum. From Gu Xie and his wife to Gu Taotao and his wife, Gu Weiwei, as well as the eldest son of the second wife and the baby girl who was born without a heartbeat, they were all buried here.
The brother and sister lit incense, burned paper money, changed out of their mourning clothes and burned them before returning home.
He left before dawn and returned to the capital after 11 PM.
Gu Zhizhuo suppressed all her grief to the deepest part of her heart, and smiled, saying, "Brother, let's stop by Jinxiufang on our way."
Jinxiufang is a famous embroidery workshop in the capital. Many of their fabrics are imported directly from Jiangnan, and some are even imported from Fujian. Even the embroiderers are brought from Jiangnan. Many of their patterns are simply not found in other embroidery workshops in the capital.
July is almost here.
The household was in a chaotic state of activity, and Gu Zhizhuo remembered a few days ago that the summer clothes hadn't been made yet.
Of course, it wasn't that they didn't do anything at all. Every season, the sewing room would make two new outfits for the masters of the mansion; that was a regular practice. But how could they wear only two outfits a season? Especially since they had just finished mourning this year, most of the brightly colored clothes in Gu Zhizhuo's closet were from three years ago.
There are two younger sisters in the household; we can't let them make do with only two summer dresses.
Gu Zhizhuo then told the manager of Jinxiufang to take a few embroiderers to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion later.
After returning to the mansion, the two went directly to Ronghe Hall, where the Grand Madam and the others were waiting for them.
Seeing that the two of them had finally returned, the old lady was relieved: "Is everything taken care of?"
"yes."
After exchanging greetings, the Dowager Lady took Gu Zhizhuo's hand, touching her rough fingertips and palms, looking with heartache at the tiny new cuts on them. Without asking, she knew that the pit was dug by the two siblings themselves.
She seemed a little lost in thought.
These past few days, even with the grandchildren taking turns to coax and accompany her, the old lady's spirits have clearly deteriorated. Seeing this, Gu Zhizhuo quickly interrupted, "Grandmother, Weiwei, Nannan, Aman, and I haven't had new clothes made in a long time."
The old lady was taken aback, then glared at her and said, "What is it about me that you've taken a fancy to this time?"
Gu Zhizhuo said with a smile, "I saw a few bolts of brocade silk in your storeroom last time... Hurry up and bring them out, I specially called someone from Jinxiufang, they'll be here soon."
As she spoke, she gave her three younger sisters a sharp wink.
New clothes!
No girl her age dislikes new clothes, and even Aman was no exception. Her eyes lit up when she heard about new clothes, and she hugged the old lady on one side and acted coquettishly.
“Grandma, Grandma, and my older brother and I.”
Gu Yique looked at the old lady with pleading eyes, wanting to act coquettishly, but also feeling that he had to maintain the demeanor of an older brother.
But he really wanted a bright orange riding outfit with a purple belt; it would look amazing!
A note from the author:
Note: Do not believe or use this.
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