Chapter 173: Patient

The illness of the retired emperor was very serious this time. Ming Huashang had been taking care of him for several days. She could not bear it any longer and was forced by Li Huazhang to go back to rest. She slept from the evening to the next day at noon. When she woke up, she found that the palace was quiet. She asked and found that the emperor had come with the princes, princesses and clan members. The maids and eunuchs of Shangyang Palace went to the main hall to serve.

The Emperor and Empress came, and Ming Huashang was supposed to greet them, but she was sleeping soundly when the Emperor came, and Li Huazhang didn't let anyone wake her up.

Anyway, it was already late, so Ming Huashang was not afraid of boiling water, so he simply took a bath and changed his clothes before rushing to see the emperor. The emperor's bedroom was already full of people, and when Ming Huashang entered, everyone inside turned around to look.

Ming Huachang was very calm and walked through the crowd calmly and confidently, and saluted the superior: "Long live the saint, long live the queen. I meet the Prince of Xiang and the Princess Taiping."

Queen Wei was listening to Doctor Yu's report on the health of the retired emperor. When she saw Ming Huashang coming, she glanced at her and frowned slightly: "Why did Princess Yong come so late?"

Li Huazhang had walked to Ming Huashang without making a sound. Hearing this, he said calmly, "The emperor's condition has been recurring these days. Second Lady stayed by his bedside for a whole day and night, and only went back to rest when she was old. I didn't let anyone wake her up. If the queen has any questions, just ask me."

Queen Wei has been in power for a long time and has not felt the pain of being contradicted. She looked a little unhappy, but considering Li Huazhang's status, she did not lose her temper in public. She smiled and said, "Princess Yong came to show filial piety on behalf of me and Your Majesty. I feel sorry for her, so how could I be dissatisfied with her? It's pitiful. The girl who was as beautiful as a flower when she got married has lost so much weight in just a few days. Anle, come here quickly, you really should learn from your wife."

Princess Anle walked forward reluctantly. Even when she came to visit the patient, she was still wearing an exquisite hundred-bird skirt. This time, the hem of the skirt was changed to white bird feathers. The color was much lighter, but the luxury was not reduced at all.

Princess Anle bowed lightly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother and sister-in-law. Mother and I will remember your hard work."

Princess Anle's voice was nonchalant and as if it was a great honor for others to do things for her. Li Huazhang looked at Princess Anle quietly and said, "I came to Shangyang Palace to serve the sick, firstly to show filial piety to my father, and secondly to respect the achievements of the retired emperor. I have done my best. Everything I do is from my heart, not for anyone, so naturally I don't dare to be rewarded for my merits."

Princess Anle choked up, not knowing how to respond. Princess Taiping looked at the beautiful but frivolous and foolish vase and said, "Mother is seriously ill. As her children, we should stay by her side day and night without taking off our clothes. Now we need Erlang, a junior, to fulfill our filial duties for us. We should be ashamed."

Princess Taiping's voice was full of venom, and it was obvious that she had a lot of opinions about Empress Wei and her daughter. The Prince of Xiang was like a peacemaker without temper, and he said, "Mother is still in there recovering from her illness, so stop arguing and talk outside if you have anything to say."

Everyone agreed and walked out one after another. When Crown Prince Li Chongjun was leaving, he asked Princess Anle to go first. Princess Anle sneered disdainfully, raised her head, walked away from Li Chongjun, and went out through another door, as if Li Chongjun had something dirty on him and she was afraid to avoid him.

Li Chongjun took the initiative to show his goodwill but was humiliated like this, especially in front of the royal family and palace maids, which was very embarrassing. The palace maids lowered their heads silently, and several princes went out as usual, as if they didn't see what happened just now. The emperor and Queen Wei were chatting and laughing with Princess Anle in front, and the emperor kept calling her his precious daughter, not realizing that he had another son.

People passed by Li Chongjun one after another, and everyone remained silent, respectfully exposing Li Chongjun's embarrassment. However, this silence made Li Chongjun even more humiliated. He maintained the dignity of a prince, and clenched his fingers tightly in a place where no one could see.

Ming Huashang walked silently to the edge of the crowd. When no one was paying attention, she quietly asked Li Huazhang, "The elders are here, why didn't you wake me up?"

Li Huazhang held her hand and said calmly, "It's not necessary."

What is unnecessary? There is no need to see these relatives who share the same clan and surname as him, or rather, they are not considered relatives.

Ming Huashang did not ask any more questions, and Li Huazhang obviously did not want to continue this topic.

Li Huazhang once couldn't stand the empress's nepotism, the Wu family's tyranny, and the chaos of the government. He was obsessed with upholding justice and restoring the Tang Dynasty, and he was willing to give everything for this. Now that the Li Tang royal family is in power, he realizes that his own relatives are not better than the Wu family.

Even more vicious, more stupid, and more predatory towards the people.

The Emperor and Empress Wei led the royal family to the side hall, asked about the retired emperor's condition, said some nice words that had nothing to do with the itching, and then drove back to the palace.

They didn't even wait until the emperor woke up. Ming Huashang suspected that they did it on purpose, deliberately choosing the time when the emperor was unconscious, so that they could demonstrate filial piety without having to actually take care of the patient.

Shangyang Temple soon returned to normal. The days of caring for the patients were boring and tiring. Ming Huashang gradually found a balance and would no longer work herself to the point of dizziness. But she still only took on a small part of the work. Most of the time, it was Li Huazhang who stayed by the bedside.

After an unknown amount of time, one evening, the emperor woke up from his sleep and smelled a faint fragrance. She struggled to open her eyelids and saw a branch of osmanthus stuck in front of the bed. Behind the screen, a vague but tall figure was calculating something. Hearing the sound, he gently put down his pen, stood up and walked towards the inner hall: "Emperor, you are awake. Are you feeling unwell?"

The emperor looked at the shadow behind the screen. He was very conscious and knew that she didn't want to see them, so he never showed up on his own initiative. But every time she woke up from her illness, she could see him, or that woman, standing not far away.

This feeling is very subtle. The emperor undoubtedly hates these two traitors, but for such a long time, even the emperor himself hates this rotten body that exudes a strange smell. However, these two people have always been calm and patient in feeding her medicine, keeping watch, and dealing with the garbage, without showing any abnormality in their expressions. If this is a show, then their patience is too good.

The emperor sighed and asked for the first time, "What are you looking at?"

Li Huazhang's eyes moved, and he was obviously surprised. But this wave of emotions soon subsided. He half-lowered his eyes and replied slowly with his hands crossed: "Reporting to the emperor, it is the account book of Guanglu Temple last quarter. I am calculating the price of grain and meat."

"Guanglu Temple." The retired emperor murmured, his tone noncommittal, "So you were transferred from Jingzhao Prefecture to Guanglu Temple."

Li Huazhang was silent. The emperor had been in charge of government affairs for so many years and was an expert at manipulating people's hearts. He certainly understood the meaning behind this move. It was meaningless for him to protest. As expected, the emperor smiled softly and asked, "So what did you figure out?"

"During the Wude years, the Tang Dynasty was first established. The Sui Dynasty's zhu was abolished, the Tongbao was established, and amnesty was granted to the whole country. However, due to the constant wars and the invasion of the Turks, the people had a hard time making a living, and twelve or thirteen people died of hunger. When Taizong succeeded to the throne, the price of rice and grain remained high, and one piece of silk could only be bought for one bushel of rice. Taizong advocated frugality and showed great kindness. Although the people were chasing after food, they still supported Taizong very much and were not dissatisfied with the court. Zhenguan San In the 16th year of Emperor Gaozong's reign, the rice price in Guanzhong gradually dropped. In the third year of Emperor Gaozong's reign, the rice price in Chang'an remained at 3 or 4 yuan. However, in the second half of Emperor Gaozong's reign, the harvest in Guanzhong continued to be poor for many years. In April of the first year of Emperor Yongchun's reign, the rice price in Guanzhong was 400 yuan. In addition, there was an epidemic, and many people died. Emperor Gaozong fled to the Eastern Capital because of the famine in Guanzhong. After that, he lived in the Eastern Capital and rarely returned to Chang'an. Now, do you know how much the rice price is among the people? "

The emperor did not answer, so Li Huazhang took the initiative to give the answer: "In Chang'an, rice is sold for a hundred coins, and there are many thieves. Some of the guards have not eaten for three days."

The retired emperor listened calmly and said calmly, "Before the first year of Linde, Emperor Gaozong was in power. After the year of Linde, I was in charge of government affairs. The two emperors came to the throne. Sure enough, a severe drought broke out in the third year of Linde, and the price of rice rose to 400 yuan a bushel. Are you trying to say that because women are in power, they are not talented enough to govern the country and their morals are not in line with etiquette, so the gods sent down a warning and the price of rice has been soaring year after year?"

"No," Li Huazhang said, "400 coins per bushel of rice was the highest price, and that was because Guanzhong was first hit by floods, then droughts and locusts, and then epidemics, and then gradually fell. The reason why the price of rice could fall and not be driven up by merchants to make a fortune in the national disaster was because of the intervention of the Changping Office. The Changping Office was first created by Emperor Gaozong. Normally, it would buy back rice at a price higher than the market price, and sell it at a price lower than the market price when there was a shortage of food. It even exchanged grain for coins at one point to regulate prices. Therefore, although the price of rice during Emperor Gaozong's reign was more expensive than during the reign of Emperor Zhenguan, it was still within the range that most people could afford, and fortunately no major disaster occurred. At that time, you were already in charge of government affairs, and all political affairs, no matter how big or small, came from the imperial palace. I believe you know these measures better than me. You may be one of the policy makers. The high price of rice after the Second Sage came to power was mostly due to the poor harvests. Those who said that the rooster crowing at dawn was a sign of national disaster were pedantic and incompetent. Those men were powerless to change the status quo, so they put all the blame on women. As a commoner in Dongdu over the years, I have personally seen the ups and downs of rice prices, but overall it was stable, so I thought it was no big deal. Later, when I became an official, I realized how much effort it takes to maintain such a stable and meticulous policy. I am not flattering you, but I sincerely admit that you have done your best, and another emperor may not be as good as you are now. But the continuous rise in rice prices over the years is a reality. Have you ever thought about the reason?"

The Empress Dowager believed that Li Huazhang was not flattering. If he was a person who could flatter, it would be too late for him to flatter her now. Since the Empress Dowager was deprived of power, she rarely talked about state affairs. Today, she was not interested for a long time. She sighed and said, "The weather is not good. It has been either drought or flood for years. What can people do?"

Li Huazhang had just mentioned the Changping Office in a tone of praise, but now he was very critical and said, "The territory of the Great Tang is so vast that it is difficult for the weather to be good and nothing to happen all year round. Disasters happen every year, so why can the Zhenguan Year withstand the impact of natural disasters and man-made disasters, keep rice prices low, and keep people's lives safe and prosperous?"

The retired emperor was silent for a rare time. Li Huazhang paused for a few breaths and gave his answer: "Because the political situation in Zhenguan was stable, the emperor was willing to accept advice and valued honest ministers. The powerful ministers were all talented people. The prime ministers knew each other well and had been in power for a long time, which could ensure the smooth implementation of policies. The retired emperor opened up the channels for people to express their opinions and established imperial examinations, so that the children of poor families in the world could have a chance to make a name for themselves and the court was no longer monopolized by the five surnames and seven families. This is a good thing. You are not short of talented people around you. In terms of the ability of your ministers, they may not be worse than those in Zhenguan years, but the struggles in your court were too fierce and the changes were too frequent. The first thing the prime minister did after taking office was not to solve the people's livelihood problems, but to ensure that he would not be caught by the cruel officials. The upper guarded the lower, and the lower was hostile to the upper. Even if you can't speak sincerely, how can you cooperate to govern the country?"

The emperor was silent for a while, then asked, "Is this why you betrayed me?"

"I remember when I joined Xuanxiaowei, I swore not to seek fame, not to care about life and death, and to be the guardian of the people in the dark night. I may have betrayed you, but I have never betrayed the world." Li Huazhang said, "At first you were worried about the betrayal of the ministers, so you set up Xuanxiaowei to monitor secretly. Later, you were worried about the betrayal of Xuanxiaowei, so you set up monitors for the monitors. Those who play with fire will get burned. Ruling others with fear will only lead to more disasters. First, there were cruel officials like Lai Junchen, and then the two Zhang brothers appeared to seize power. You can no longer control the fire you ignited. If you want to save the country, the only way is a coup."

The emperor smiled very softly, whether mocking Li Huazhang or himself, and suddenly changed the subject: "You launched the Shenlong coup and were the first hero in restoring the Li Tang dynasty. But now you have been pushed to the edge of power and can only count the rice prices and food bills. Even your wife has been treated coldly with you. If you had known this would happen, would you regret helping Li Xian to seize the throne?"

It would be a lie to say that Li Huazhang had no resentment. It was too chilling to see the bridge demolished before crossing the river. But Li Huazhang was silent for a moment, and shook his head slowly and firmly: "No. Even if it happens again, I will still do the same."

The retired emperor raised his eyebrows and asked, "Really no regrets? You also know that Li Xian is not suitable to be the emperor. After so many years, he behaves exactly the same as when he first ascended the throne. He is still greedy for pleasure, squeezes out old ministers, and promotes Yue family. It seems that as long as all the prime ministers are replaced by people from the queen's family, he can control the government and sit firmly on the throne. It's a pity that he has been exiled for so many years without any progress. I was young and arrogant at the time, and I insisted on executing Li Xian. I didn't expect that my sons would be more disappointing than the last one. But it's not too late to make up for it now. Instead of relying on others, it's better to hold the power in your own hands. Have you ever thought about becoming an emperor?"

Li Huazhang looked calm and composed. He looked at the emperor calmly and said, "You are trying to pull me back. You want to drive a wedge between me and the Li family."

The emperor sneered, and suddenly there was a stern look on his face. Even though he was very old, he still had the majesty of the empress: "I am the common ruler of the world. Who should I pass the throne to? Who is the legitimate one? Do I need to argue?"

Li Huazhang's eyes were clear and he said rationally, "But you didn't really want to pass the throne to me. You just wanted to take back the power. If you really took power, you would kill me. If I agreed, I would fall into your trap. I'm not that stupid. If your majesty is in power, the most we, the Prince of Xiang, and the Princess Taiping would be powerless. If you restore the throne, all of us would die without a burial place. As for your previous question, I can tell you very clearly that before I started the rebellion, I had anticipated that as a descendant of the Crown Prince Zhang Huai, I would definitely not be tolerated by the new royal family. But I still have no regrets, because at that time, in order to succeed in the palace coup, the only way was to promote the crown prince to the throne. I was willing to sacrifice my personal honor and ensure that the Li Tang royal family took power smoothly, and I had no regrets."

The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, shook his head and laughed: "Since you know everything, why do you still do stupid things?"

"Because this is what I should do," Li Huazhang said frankly. "Morality is used to restrain oneself. I cannot ask others to abide by morality in the same way. As long as I know and do what I want and have a clear conscience, that is enough."

"Even if unethical people step on you and climb higher and higher, and you are defeated and destitute, will you not regret it?"

Li Huazhang shook his head, thinking of another person, and his voice could not help but become warm: "No. I have already obtained the most precious thing, and I have nothing else to ask for in this life."

"You are really a very stubborn person." The emperor commented truthfully, "The Ming family taught you too many sage books, which made you naive and idealistic, and inflexible. With such a character, you can only be a scholar, but you will definitely suffer a great loss in the officialdom."

Li Huazhang didn't care and said calmly: "So what? If I can't be an official, I can just be a free and easy person, traveling around the world with her."

The emperor was a little surprised: "Are you sure your wife doesn't care about the fiefdom and imperial decree?"

Li Huazhang lowered his eyebrows, revealing a gentle smile: "She doesn't care. As long as the person she loves is by her side, she never cares about the official position or the amount of wealth."

The emperor had seen many loving couples, so she knew that many couples said they would share the good and the bad, but in fact they would only run away from each other when the disaster came. She wanted to expose Li Huazhang's fantasy and tell him that what he said was just a cliché, but when she saw the soft light in Li Huazhang's eyes, she suddenly had an absurd idea. Maybe what he said was true?

Perhaps in this world, there is still true and pure love without any mixed interests.

The Empress Dowager was silent for a long time, and then she sighed deeply. She seemed to finally relax, and said, "Do you know why I succeeded in deposing the Li family and establishing myself as emperor?"

Li Huazhang knew that the Queen was speaking the truth at this time. His expression became solemn and he shook his head slowly.

"You may think it's because I took the initiative and used cruel officials to kill all the Li royal family members who disobeyed me, or because I have spies all over the court and no matter what happens, I can't hide it from my eyes. This is indeed one of the reasons, but it is just a technique, not a way."

"The reason I was able to sit firmly on the throne was that I followed the flow of the situation. I killed many officials and almost all the royal family members. Several large-scale rebellions broke out in various places, but none of them were successful. It was not because my army was strong or the rebels were weak, but because the people did not respond. The world has suffered from the aristocratic families for a long time, and the imperial examinations I promoted gave them hope that the common people could change their fate. This world belongs to the people, not to one family or one emperor. As long as you follow the will of the people, it doesn't matter who is in the upper echelons or whether the emperor's surname is Li or Wu."

Li Huazhang was shocked when he heard this. As a member of the Li family who kept his real name hidden, he had only seen the cruelty of the empress and the darkness of the cruel officials since he grew up. He never thought about it from another perspective: why was the empress successful? Why was it Wu Zetian who succeeded instead of other empress dowagers who ruled the country from behind the curtain?

While Wu Zetian rewrote history, wasn't it history that chose her?

Li Huazhang remained silent for a long time, with his eyes downcast in deep thought. The emperor had been talking for so long, and she was a little tired. She slowly lay on the pillow, looking at the osmanthus flowers on the bedside table and fell into a daze.

So, is it already autumn? Her memory stopped at that winter night. Before she knew it, half a year had passed.

Things in the world are really unpredictable. Back then, she was so stubborn that she forced Li Xian to death. Who could she have imagined that many years later, when she was dead and suffering from various illnesses, it would be Li Xian's son and daughter-in-law who would accompany her through the last journey of her life.

The retired emperor couldn't help but wonder, if she had known the outcome today, would she have spared Li Xian?

She had no answer, because there was no if in fate.