Chapter 16: Between Waves
Seeing Zhu Yuhuan open his eyes, Huai En and Xu Wangzhi both looked surprised.
"Your Highness!"
"You're awake!"
There was still some weakness on Zhu Yuhuan's face. She said softly, "Take out the dagger under my mattress..." Her consciousness was still a little drowsy, and she could only barely regain her sanity.
Xu Wangzhi was confused and asked, "Dagger? What dagger?"
Huai En had already taken out the dagger from the mattress familiarly and handed it to Zhu Yuhuan. He whispered, "Your Highness has the habit of hiding the dagger with him when he is outside."
Xu Wangzhi fell silent upon hearing this, and then asked Zhu Yuhuan, "How is it? Are you feeling unwell?" After saying that, she reached out and touched Zhu Yuhuan's forehead. Unlike his previous low body temperature, the temperature seemed to have risen significantly, and was even slightly hot.
Zhu Yuhuan just shook his head, struggled to get up from the bed, lifted the thick quilt, and stood up again with the support of Xu Wangzhi and Huai En on his left and right.
She had been unconscious for too long, her body lying motionless in bed. Now that she suddenly woke up, she felt like her body was rusty and she felt uncomfortable doing anything.
Xu Wangzhi saw that her pale face was as persistent as ever, and sighed: "You just woke up, what are you doing?"
Zhu Yuhuan took the dagger handed to him by Huai En and muttered, "It's very important."
Huai En picked up the cloak from the side and dressed Zhu Yuhuan neatly. Seeing that she was staggering but her mind was very firm, he reached out to stop Xu Wangzhi and shook his head at her.
Zhu Yuhuan barely supported herself and walked out the door. She looked at the snowflakes blown by the wind and said loudly: "Since I came to this world, I will never regret anything I have done! Even if you let me see more, I will never take a step back!" She pulled out the dagger, without any hesitation, holding the dagger tightly in one hand, and with a light scratch, blood dripped along the blade.
A gust of wind blew, and the blood drops were stained with flying snow, drifting away to an unknown place.
Xu Wangzhi was startled and quickly stepped forward to stop Zhu Yuhuan, saying, "Are you stupid? You haven't eaten or drunk anything for a long time, and you do something stupid as soon as you wake up. Are you hysterical because of the nightmare?"
Thinking about what happened in her dream, Zhu Yuhuan could vaguely understand that according to the original history, she should not continue to live in this world.
This illness, like his sister Zhu Youtong's previous illness, showed Zhu Yuhuan another side of the world, serving as a warning.
But if it is really that powerful, Zhu Yuhuan will not be able to come back completely.
Or perhaps Zhu Yuhuan had changed so much that it was no longer able to do anything to her and could only interfere with her mentally.
It’s hard to say anything else, but Zhu Yuhuan never gave up in spirit.
Zhu Yuhuan turned his head to look at her and said half-jokingly, "This is called bloodletting therapy." She no longer felt dizzy, and the cold wind blew, and she felt clear-headed.
After hearing her unreasonable arguments, Xu Wangzhi rolled her eyes in annoyance and said, "It seems that I still need you to learn some medical skills. How can you bleed like this..." She took Zhu Yuhuan's hand and saw a blood mark on the palm of Zhu Yuhuan's left palm. Xu Wangzhi hurriedly took the handkerchief handed by Huai En and bandaged Zhu Yuhuan's wound simply.
Thanks to Huai En, in order to allow Zhu Yuhuan to recuperate in peace, he had most people wait outside the hospital. When someone came to visit, they would go inside to pass on the message, and there was no need to worry about Zhu Yuhuan's appearance at this moment being seen by others.
Huai En sheathed Zhu Yuhuan's dagger. Zhu Yuhuan freed his other hand and said nonchalantly, "Now it's symmetrical."
"I really don't understand what you're thinking about all day..." Xu Wangzhi gave Huai En a look, and the two of them dragged Zhu Yuhuan away forcibly, one on the left and one on the right. Xu Wangzhi didn't forget to say, "I'll give you a good diagnosis first to see if your brain is stupid because of sleep."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't struggle, letting the two drag her back to the house. She smiled and said, "It's great to have you guys here..." She looked at the sky where snow was still falling and said, "It's great to be alive..."
Xu Wangzhi had no choice but to say, "If you don't go back and lie down quietly, you'll probably die young."
Zhu Yuhuan struggled to turn around and obediently cooperated with the two men as they walked into the house, saying as he walked, "I don't want to die young."
After Zhu Yuhuan was relocated, Xu Wangzhi carefully examined him again, then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "He's fine... Apart from being a little weak, his pulse is normal."
Zhu Yuhuan leaned obediently on the pillow behind him and said to Huai En, "Huai En, tell me about what happened recently."
Huai En responded and immediately explained what had happened during this time.
For example, after Zhu Yuhuan fell into a coma, the native officials in Yunnan came to visit him one after another. Wang Ji also came to his house many times, saying that he had written a petition and asked someone to rush to Beijing, asking Zhu Qizhen to bring some people and medicinal materials from the Imperial Hospital, etc. Fortunately, the policy of reforming the native system was not affected.
"Your Highness suddenly fell into a coma. Many officials suspected that some of the native officials in Yunnan were dissatisfied with the policy of converting native officials into officials, and secretly used the nightmare to oppress His Highness." Huai En said this with a look of embarrassment. "Dao Gaihan also suspected this was the reason, and has been secretly investigating. Anhan also asked if we should send someone to take a look."
Zhu Yuhuan was a bit amused and said, "What a mess..." At this point, she became a little wary and asked, "These officials didn't take this opportunity to do anything ridiculous, did they?"
These words may sound absurd at first, but they are not entirely unreasonable. If someone uses this as an excuse to stir up conflict between the two sides, it will instead affect the progress of the land reform.
Xu Wangzhi said on the side: "Don't worry, Huai En told me this. I explained to them that you suddenly fell into a coma due to overwork. Just rest for a while and you will be fine. Anyway, they can't come to visit you in person, so this way they can hide it."
"But His Majesty will submit a memorial every two months as usual. His Highness's illness cannot be concealed casually, so Huai En took the initiative to inform His Majesty."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded gently and said, "You are right to do this. If I hadn't woken up, hiding the truth would have caused serious problems."
Xu Wangzhi glared at her and said, "What do you mean by not waking up? Don't talk nonsense."
Zhu Yuhuan just smiled and said nothing.
If she really didn't wake up, Huai En and Xu Wangzhi, who knew about it, would inevitably become the biggest scapegoats. However, this incident reminded Zhu Yuhuan that since some people in Yunnan thought so, it was likely that some people in the capital would also think so.
If this is used as an excuse, it may not be impossible to "fight back" Wang Zhen, but this depends on whether the group of people in Beijing will do so.
"There is another incident, which happened in the capital, but it has something to do with Your Highness."
Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Hanlin editor Liu Qiu reported to Your Highness." Huai En said cautiously, "The Emperor used this as an excuse to accuse Liu Qiu of harboring evil intentions and had him imprisoned..."
Zhu Yuhuan stroked his chin and said, "Liu Qiu...isn't he the one who wrote a petition opposing the Luchuan campaign? I do have some impression of him. He's better than those who just opposed but couldn't explain why."
Although Liu Qiu was a scholar, he was not a person who only talked about military affairs on paper. It was just that his focus was different from that of Zhu Qizhen.
Wynn responded.
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly and said, "What did he say? Tell me."
Huai En briefly recounted Liu Qiu's advice. Zhu Yuhuan's expression became more serious. He said, "He certainly has his reasons, but..."
Xu Wangzhi snorted and said, "What's his point? His Majesty allowed you to 'hold great power' so that you could maintain peace in Yunnan, not because you had any ill intentions. If you want to make a suggestion, you shouldn't be scolded. You should be scolding His Majesty for allowing you, a woman, to 'hold great power'."
Fortunately, there were not many people in the room, so Xu Wangzhi’s "treasonous" speech would not be heard by anyone.
"Your Majesty thinks so too." Zhu Yuhuan pondered for a moment and said, "To Your Majesty, this statement is tantamount to denying Your Majesty's decision. How could Your Majesty let Liu Qiu off so easily? With others deliberately fanning the flames, I'm afraid he's in great danger."
Previously, Wang Zhen vigorously promoted the expedition to Luchuan, one reason being to satisfy Zhu Qizhen's wishes, and the other to prove his ability and status through the Battle of Luchuan. However, Liu Qiu was opposed to it at the time and had already completely offended Wang Zhen. Now that there was such a ready-made handle at his doorstep, Wang Zhen would definitely not let Liu Qiu go easily.
Zhu Qizhen himself naturally would not care about such rumors, but Wang Zhen would naturally help Zhu Qizhen pay attention to these "little things". In this case, no one would come out to rescue Liu Qiu.
Zhu Yuhuan sighed and said to Huai'en, "Huai'en, please write a memorial for me to submit to His Majesty. First, greet my mother and tell her and them that I am safe and there is no need to worry."
"yes."
After listening to her words, Xu Wangzhi thought for a moment and couldn't help asking, "Then...what will happen to Liu Qiu?"
Zhu Yuhuan turned to look at her and just shook his head.
Xu Wangzhi was still confused, but Huai En beside him had already spoken up: "He must have been executed."
Wang Zhen hated this person extremely and used the eldest princess as an excuse to detain Liu Qiu. Of course, he couldn't wait until this matter reached Zhu Yuhuan's ears before taking action. The sooner he took action, the better. Who knows, he might be able to put the blame on Zhu Yuhuan.
Xu Wangzhi took a deep breath after hearing this and asked, "Then... that's not a capital crime, right? Aren't there many officials in history books who spoke out directly and not only survived, but also left their names in history?"
Zhu Yuhuan said helplessly, "I've never told you that at the beginning of the Xuande reign, an official who had taught the emperor advised him to reduce his hunting trips, and he was beaten to death."
Xu Wangzhi was dumbfounded and couldn't utter a word.
People have always emphasized the profound gratitude towards teachers, and even a teacher who only taught them one word is worthy of respect. How could she have imagined that such a thing could happen?
Zhu Yuhuan estimated the speed of travel from Beijing to Yunnan and was afraid that Liu Qiu was already dead.
But for her, she had been in a coma during this period, so it was normal for her not to know about what was happening in Beijing, not to mention that she "didn't know" about the grudges between Wang Zhen and Liu Qiu.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at Huai En and continued, "I have told Your Majesty in the memorial that Liu Qiu was concerned about Your Majesty's reputation and was truly passionate. I ask Your Majesty to pardon Liu Qiu. If you really want to punish him, perhaps send him to Yunnan to experience the suffering of the people in the southwest."
Huai En responded: "Yes."
Xu Wangzhi asked in confusion, "Didn't you all say he might be dead? Why are you still writing this?"
"After all, this is just our speculation. We still need to write what needs to be written, otherwise His Majesty will inevitably have doubts."
Xu Wangzhi sighed and said, "You, you've just recovered from your illness, so don't think about these things. Taking good care of your body is the most important thing."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly without refuting.
She made this memorial not only to deal with Zhu Qizhen, but also to clear herself of the trouble.
Liu Qiu's advice was not wrong in the eyes of some people of that era, so it is inevitable that some people would think that Zhu Qizhen handled it in this way to protect Zhu Yuhuan. Zhu Yuhuan certainly could not take the blame silently.
She was wondering about the situation in the capital when her stomach started to growl.
Zhu Yuhuan rubbed his nose and asked with a smile, "Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. The kitchen has always prepared porridge and side dishes, just in case Your Highness is hungry when he wakes up. I will have it delivered right away."
The news that Princess Shunde was safe and sound spread quickly. Because Zhu Yuhuan had just recovered from a serious illness, Wang Ji and others only sent people to inquire about Zhu Yuhuan's condition. After a few days, Zhu Yuhuan's body recovered a lot and he was able to walk independently. The princess's mansion was then reopened, and Wang Ji was naturally the first to visit.
Wang Ji first looked at Zhu Yuhuan calmly, then spoke: "When His Highness was inspecting Wunong Temple, he suddenly fainted. After Madam Xu's treatment, there was nothing wrong. We were all shocked. Fortunately, His Highness is safe and sound."
Zhu Yuhuan was wearing a white shirt and a blue skirt. After all, she had been ill for a while, so she looked thinner than before.
"Perhaps he was really too tired recently, which is why he fainted suddenly. Thank you for your concern, Minister Wang."
"His Majesty has already replied to the memorial. According to the schedule, the imperial physician should be arriving soon. We will have them examine His Highness again then."
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, this grace is truly excessive. I've already written a memorial of thanks and will send it along later." She finished her pleasantries before continuing, "I heard from An Han some time ago that southern Yunnan is rich in flowers. The climate here rivals that of the Jiangnan region, making it suitable for growing tea. Records of infusing tea with the fragrance of flowers have been around since the Song Dynasty. If Yunnan could utilize some of its land unsuitable for growing grain for tea, it would be a boon to the people. Why not let He Yong try it out in parts of southern Yunnan first? If it proves successful, we can expand the program."
Wang Ji didn't expect that after she recovered, she didn't ask about anything else, but started thinking about the affairs in Yunnan directly. He was slightly stunned. He responded a few times before continuing, "Your Highness may not know what's happening in the capital..."
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