Chapter 194: The King's Heart is Hard to Predict
Li Zhaonian said with red eyes: "I have summoned the imperial physician. Father will be fine."
Emperor Tongxu was barely breathing and so weak that he couldn't even shake his head.
"Zhao Nian, the body of your elder brother Jin Cheng..." Tears flowed from Emperor Tongxu's eyes.
Emperor Tongxu remembered what Li Jincheng had said. He said that he would never admit it even if he died. At that time, he said to Li Jincheng: "Then you should die to prove your loyalty."
Li Jincheng submitted fifteen letters of apology, but he did not read any of them because he was afraid that he would be soft-hearted.
After all, they are his own flesh and blood. Even though he is an emperor, he can also be weak.
He didn't expect that it really wasn't Li Jincheng who did it, and he didn't expect that Li Jincheng would really die to prove his integrity.
"Don't worry, father." Li Zhaonian said, "My elder brother's body has been properly placed, but father is in a coma and I am not sure what kind of rules should be followed to bury him. The ministers have been arguing for several days but have not come to a conclusion."
Emperor Tongxu looked at him, tears streaming down his face, "According to...according to the rules for princes...go to the imperial mausoleum."
Li Zhaonian: “Yes.”
"I can't do it anymore."
"May my father live a hundred years." Li Zhaonian shed tears.
They both knew that this was just empty talk.
Tongxu's bony hand suddenly grabbed Li Zhaonian, "Don't let him go."
Li Zhaonian said: "Father, you mean..."
"Thank you Tingzhou." Emperor Tongxu panted a few times, "We can't let him go."
"But," Li Zhaonian said, "When my father was in a coma, news came that the Prince of Beilin was critically ill and that he would not live much longer. The cabinet did not advocate letting the prince return to Beilin, but some bad news has been heard in the capital in the past few days."
The eunuch outside the palace reported: "Your Highness, the imperial physician has arrived."
"Father, please let the imperial physician first..."
"No." Emperor Tongxu interrupted him with a breath, "You speak first."
Li Zhaonian did not dare to delay the imperial physician's treatment, so he had to make it short: "It is widely rumored in the capital that the King of Beilin is loyal and patriotic, and the Prince of Beilin has suffered injuries from fighting on the battlefield. The people are saying..."
Li Zhaonian didn't dare to say it, for fear of irritating Emperor Tongxu and making him angry.
Emperor Tongxu understood clearly, "Are you saying that Beilin's achievements are so great that they threaten the emperor, or that I am afraid of Beilin?"
Seeing that Emperor Tongxu was so calm, Li Zhaonian boldly said, "People have been saying that Beilin saved the people of Yanliang Pass and saved their lives."
"Tan, now the King of Beilin is seriously ill, but the Crown Prince cannot be at his bedside to show his filial piety. The King of Beilin and the Crown Prince have worked hard for the Great Zhou for decades, but in the end, the father and son could not even see each other for the last time. "
"There are still many people and students kneeling outside the palace gate, begging to let the prince go back to Beilin, father." Li Zhaonian tried to persuade: "I think, let the prince go back."
"No." Emperor Tongxu half closed his eyes and said, "Bei Lin is a sharp blade. This blade can cut down foreign enemies, and it can also stab our own people. It is the scabbard that binds Bei Lin. You... you must hold it in your hand, and you can't let the blade face yourself."
Emperor Tongxu coughed a few more times, and the corners of his mouth were covered with blood after he wiped them with a handkerchief. "Let, let Chen Yu come in, I have something to tell you."
"Father, please let the imperial physician see the patient first." Li Zhaonian advised, "I am worried."
Emperor Tongxu agreed, and the imperial physicians filed into the palace for consultation.
The court official withdrew his hand from the pulse check and said, "Your Majesty, I will discuss with the imperial doctors and decide on the prescription later."
Emperor Tongxu moved his fingers weakly, and Li Zhaonian went out with the imperial physicians, only to see them kneeling down at the palace gate.
Li Zhaonian had expected this, "Can't you prescribe a prescription?"
The court envoy bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, we are powerless and can only prescribe some medicine to keep you alive. Your Majesty is already on the verge of death. I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."
Li Zhaonian looked into the darkness and asked, "How long will it take?"
The envoy's forehead was covered with sweat. "I cannot say for sure, but it should not be done within five days."
"Go and write the prescription." Li Zhaonian listened to the footsteps of everyone leaving, turned his head and looked at Chen Yu, "Father wants to see you."
Chen Yu entered the bedroom, but Li Zhaonian did not follow her in.
"His Majesty."
Just now, Emperor Tongxu took some ginseng to refresh himself, and he felt a little better. He opened his eyelids a little and looked at Chen Yu, "Zhongan and I are old friends. You, you come over here."
Chen Yu walked to the dragon bed, and Emperor Tongxu stared at her for a moment, with a faint smile on his face.
"Your eyes are like your mother's, but your nose is like Shen Zhongan's. You look very heroic. Your father told me this, but I didn't see it."
Emperor Tongxu seemed to want to laugh, but when he opened his mouth he coughed.
"Actually, my personality is more like my father." Chen Yu said, sitting down on a chair nearby.
"Yes." Emperor Tongxu said, "I can see that. Although I am more than ten years older than him, I regard him as a close friend."
Shen Yu thought of her previous life, when her father and brother were defeated at Yanliang Pass. Everyone wanted them to be killed, but Emperor Tongxu did not punish the Shen family and even granted her marriage.
In her previous life, she thought that her father's achievements were too great and frightened the emperor, so Emperor Tongxu granted her a marriage to comfort the widow after he used a knife to kill someone. Now it seems that it was the remaining friendship in the emperor's heart.
It can be seen that if you don’t see it with your own eyes, you should not be suspicious.
"I've never heard my father mention it." Shen Yu said softly.
"On the surface, we are the monarch and his subject," Emperor Tongxu said, "but privately, we are close friends. We once talked by candlelight at night, wanting to clean up the world and bring peace and prosperity to the people."
"He, Shen Zhongan, did it. He fought through all the difficulties and guarded the border for me, but I...didn't do it."
Emperor Tongxu's voice was choked with sobs. "Who hasn't been full of ambition and vigor when they were young? When I ascended the throne, I also wanted to do something big, but I was hindered everywhere. I feel ashamed of my ancestors and your father."
I don't know what he was thinking about. The tears in his eyes gradually faded away, and his eyes became sharp. "But I am the emperor! I am the emperor! There are some things I have to do."
He suddenly grabbed Shen Yu's hand, "Do you understand?"
The veins on the back of Emperor Tongxu's hand were bulging, and he was shaking as he held Shen Yu's hand. "I feel guilty towards your father. I already owed him once, and I don't care about the second time. I will apologize to him in the afterlife."
An ominous premonition suddenly surged into Chen Yu's heart. She frowned slightly, and Emperor Tongxu had already spoken: "I can let Xie Tingzhou leave."
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in Shen Yu's mind. He looked at Emperor Tongxu and tried to remain calm. "Your Majesty, I don't understand what you mean when your ministers say such things."
"There is no impenetrable wall in this world." Emperor Tongxu said, "Some things can be hidden, but the look in a person's eyes cannot be hidden."
Those people were deceived by Chen Yu's disguise as a man, but Emperor Tongxu knew from the beginning that she was a woman, and he understood the look in a man's eyes when he looked at a woman.
He was a wise and intelligent emperor, but it was a pity that he was born at the wrong time.
"Sitting in this position, I must consider the overall situation." Emperor Tongxu paused and said, "Whether Beilin has rebellious intentions or not, I have to be on guard."
Shen Yu calmed down and said, "Your Majesty just said that he would let the prince leave."
"Yes." Emperor Tongxu said, "I can let him go, but you must stay and be the scabbard for me to restrain him and Beilin."
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