He believed he was being selfless in conveying the key points to the other party. As Wei Sushen's gaze shifted, Fang Shan spoke again, "Shall we go together to see the Emperor?"
Wei Sushen nodded.
Fang Shan: "Will this arouse Emperor Chengyuan's suspicion?"
The good relationship between the prince and the imperial physician always makes people think of other things.
Wei Sushen: "Sooner or later this day will come."
Fang Shan pretended to be confused.
"You're not a pushover," Wei Sushen stated the facts in a cold tone, then added, "Me neither."
Even if everyone has their own plans, they will eventually get mixed up. In this case, it is better to tear off this fig leaf from the beginning.
Fang Shan thought for a moment and said, "Alright. Maybe speaking out proactively will dispel suspicions."
The palace was huge, but people were passing by every corner. It was inconvenient for Wei Sushen to talk much with Fang Shan. One of them resumed his arrogant and indifferent look, while the other pretended to be a humble and obedient imperial physician and walked towards the imperial study.
Through a heavy carved door, one could smell a faint smell of blood.
The eunuchs on duty in the palace handled many medicinal herbs, so their sense of smell was more acute than others. The two young eunuchs guarding the door looked glum, their faces tingling with worry. The faint smell of blood was irritating them.
When he saw Wei Sushen, he hurriedly greeted him. After Wei Sushen nodded, he conveyed the message with great fear and trepidation.
In the imperial study, a tall man stood in front of Emperor Chengyuan. His outline was somewhat like that of an alien, and his sturdy body possessed an extreme explosive power.
The moment he saw Wei Sushen, his brows frowned slightly.
Emperor Chengyuan noticed this and coughed lightly, saying, "The Crown Prince has been practicing silent meditation recently."
A flicker of distrust flashed across Chen Yan's eyes. He'd experienced the Crown Prince's constant babble once before. It was no exaggeration to say that he would rather lead a hundred cavalrymen to ambush the enemy's rear camp than have a close exchange with the Crown Prince.
Emperor Chengyuan didn't expect Chen Yan to change his mind about the Crown Prince anytime soon. He fixed his eyes on Fang Shan, who was standing next to Wei Sushen. "I remember not summoning you."
"I asked him to come."
Emperor Chengyuan raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"
Wei Sushen lied expressionlessly, "I and Imperial Physician Zhang hit it off right away, and since I haven't been feeling well lately, I'm asking him to come along so we can handle any emergencies."
The reason for compiling the article is very careless and can be said to be illogical.
Emperor Chengyuan rebuked him with a single word: "Nonsense."
Wei Sushen: "Dr. Zhang is a highly skilled doctor. I feel very relieved to have him with me."
Emperor Chengyuan wondered if the drowning incident had frightened the prince, and after sighing inwardly, he decided to indulge this minor infraction of the rules.
"Doctor Zhang is very skilled," Wei Sushen said without a trace of joking, "Why not let him help the general as well?"
Emperor Chengyuan frowned.
Chen Yan rejected this "good intention" with one sentence: "Your Highness, please don't bother with it."
"General, you are the pillar of the country. If you deviate from this, wouldn't that just play into the hands of those restless small nations? I hope the general takes care of himself, and is responsible to his soldiers, to the emperor, and to..."
A series of parallel sentences came down, and Chen Yan's face twitched. He looked at Emperor Chengyuan with a meaningful look... Didn't he say that he was practicing silent meditation?
Emperor Chengyuan was slightly embarrassed by being publicly slapped in the face. Fang Shan said at the right moment, "What the Crown Prince said makes sense."
This sentence made Wei Sushen shut up instantly.
Emperor Chengyuan felt that the air was flowing more freely, and for a moment he had the idea of promoting the imperial physician.
Fang Shan then continued, "I hope the General will consider this."
If he had said this at the beginning, it would have been very abrupt. But after Wei Sushen's nonsense, this request became a way for everyone except the prince to save face.
Emperor Chengyuan didn't want to listen to his son's rants, so he said, "It's good to take a look."
"Father is right, General, you need to know..."
As soon as Wei Sushen opened his mouth, Chen Yan took the initiative to extend his hand in front of Fang Shan, while at the same time moving away from the prince with disgust.
Fang Shan pretended to take his pulse and said in general terms, "You have a lot of hidden illnesses in your body. It was fine when you were young, but you're bound to suffer some pain when you get old."
Chen Yan remained calm after hearing this, and said in a cold tone, "A general will die in a hundred battles."
The Chen family has been loyal and brave for generations. Since the imperial physician pointed out this problem, Emperor Chengyuan naturally would not let it go. He frowned and asked, "Is there any way to solve it?"
Chen Yan hated the taste of the medicine and had already refused it before Fang Shan even opened his mouth.
Emperor Chengyuan said sternly, "If something happens to you, the soldiers will be demoralized. What if a war breaks out?"
Chen Yan said calmly, "Your Majesty, please leave behind a decree of succession. Then you can lead the army in person. This will surely boost morale."
“…”
From Fang Shan's perspective, he could clearly see the veins on Emperor Chengyuan's forehead, and he couldn't help but admire Chen Yan. It was not something that an ordinary person could do to speak such treasonous words calmly.
Emperor Chengyuan was not a tyrant. His eyes flickered several times before he finally closed them tightly. Only then did his composure return. He then darted towards Fang Shan, "Stop at all costs to make him recover, or I'll punish you first."
Fang Shan replied politely, "I will do my best."
Emperor Chengyuan glared at Chen Yan again, "General, you must take good care of yourself. I heard there was a fierce general in the previous dynasty who was still fighting on the battlefield at the age of seventy. I hope you can hold on until you are ninety-nine."
Chen Yan: "I will definitely live up to your majesty's high expectations."
As a bystander, Fang Shan raised his eyebrows at Wei Sushen, and pointed at Emperor Chengyuan with his finger hidden under his wide sleeves, revealing a hint of sympathy.
Not to mention him, Wei Sushen also felt a bit of sympathy for him. His son was a chatterbox, and the court officials he relied on were capable of making people angry to death. Emperor Chengyuan was indeed not a worry-free emperor.
Emperor Chengyuan waved his hand, indicating that they could all pay their respects and leave.
As Wei Sushen retreated to the threshold, Emperor Chengyuan seemed to have thought of something and instructed: "The flower viewing banquet will be held on the 16th."
Wei Sushen nodded: "My son knows his limits."
The flower viewing banquet was to decide the future Crown Princess. He thought Fang Shan would make a big fuss after returning, but Fang Shan kept smiling on the way, as if he didn't care at all.
For two consecutive days, Wei Sushen carefully observed Fang Shan's condition, but found nothing abnormal. A sense of uneasiness rose in his heart.
He didn't hide his suspicion, but Fang Shan said nonchalantly, "It's just a flower viewing party, not a real wedding."
Wei Sushen thought about it and agreed, and didn't pay any more attention to the matter.
Chen Yan's return to the court was originally the most talked about topic in the palace during this period. However, overnight, Doctor Zhang replaced Chen Yan's popularity.
He was highly regarded by the prince and was always by his side. He also had to leave the palace to treat generals on weekdays, so he was basically not seen in the Imperial Hospital every day.
A minister wrote to the emperor saying that it was unreasonable, but Emperor Chengyuan quickly suppressed his opinion with a light-hearted remark, "Could it be that you, my dear minister, cannot bear to see the general in good health?"
On this day, Fang Shan went out of the palace as usual to the general's residence to treat Chen Yan. The guard at the gate had already recognized him and thanked Doctor Zhang for his hard work.
In their eyes, Doctor Zhang was the prince's favorite, so there was no harm in trying to please him.
Except for the person being treated, the attitudes of the rest of the people can basically be compared to those of these guards.
Chen Yan sat in the yard with a cold face, resisting the urge to throw the imperial physician out.
Fang Shan seemed completely unaware of his impatience, and kept pretending to be cool and reserved.
The Crown Prince's sudden overtures had aroused Chen Yan's suspicions, and he had someone inspect Fang Shan's daily prescriptions to confirm they were all effective in strengthening the body's constitution. Unable to grasp the other party's intentions, he could only turn a blind eye and wait and see what this man from the Eastern Palace was up to.
"I'm feeling much better now." Fang Shan put away the medicine box. "Just take the previous medicine on time."
After saying that, he got up and left.
Chen Yan narrowed his eyes as he looked at his back. Today's consultation time was one stick of incense shorter than usual, and there was no acupuncture.
People were coming and going on the street, and people were busy making a living. Fang Shan was walking in the crowd with a medicine box on his back. Occasionally he would stop for a while to look at the things on the stalls, and finally turned a corner and went into the alley.
Even in summer, places where the sun doesn't shine are still cold.
Fang Shan gave a few taels of silver to the little beggar sleeping under a bamboo pole, sent him away, and leaned against the wall with his arms folded. He looked at the empty alley and said, "Hiding is not like the general's style."
Chen Yan's figure appeared at the entrance of the alley, and his whole body seemed to be shrouded in a shadow.
"Who are you?" When he asked these three words, there was an undisguised murderous intent in his eyes.
"General, you can check it out, but I guarantee there will only be one answer."
Chen Yan frowned. During a military campaign, it wasn't uncommon for enemy spies to infiltrate the camp. He'd evenly sought out someone to teach him disguises. But Imperial Doctor Zhang's skin was evenly colored, and his expression was rich. If he'd truly used disguises, he definitely wouldn't have been able to produce such a rich array of facial expressions.
Fang Shan: "Unlike the general, I am loyal only to the crown prince."
Chen Yan warned in a cold voice, "Your Majesty is in the prime of life. Doctor Zhang should not overthink it."
Fang Shan shook his head: "What I want is to ensure that the Crown Prince can maintain his position in the Eastern Palace, not to become a traitor."
Seeing that Chen Yan still had a suspicious look in his eyes, Fang Shan said bluntly: "If Your Majesty is ill, the Imperial Hospital cannot escape the blame, and medicine is to save people, not to harm them.
Chen Yan kept silent and waited for him to continue, guessing that the other party must have some ulterior motive if he revealed his evil intentions.
Fang Shan: "The Yuexiu Kingdom appears to be submitting to the emperor, but they are indeed making many moves behind the scenes. Your Majesty did not send troops because he was worried about the poison."
Although Yuexiu is a small country, nine out of ten people are witch doctors, which makes them very difficult to deal with.
"I might have a solution."
Chen Yan looked at him with an even colder gaze: "What do you want?"
Fang Shan: "An identity." He paused and said, "The one most likely to become the Crown Princess right now is Liu Wenjing, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. But as far as I know, the Liu family used to have good relations with Concubine Li's mother's family."
Chen Yan had a vague feeling of foreboding, but it only lasted a moment. Just as he was about to react, Fang Shan said, "A person like this, keeping him by the Crown Prince's side, will sooner or later become a hidden danger. Concubine Li dared to plot the Crown Prince's downfall, so who knows if she'll instigate someone to poison him next time."
The furrows between Chen Yan's brows grew deeper and deeper.
"The Crown Prince has no intention of choosing a concubine, but he doesn't want to go against His Majesty's wishes." Fang Shan chuckled softly and suddenly raised his eyes to look at Chen Yan: "General——"
The two words spoken were very gentle, with a kind of tenderness.
Chen Yan's heart suddenly shuddered. The next moment, he heard Fang Shan say in this tone: "In fact, God has always owed you a sister."
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