Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2389: Movement (VIII) Sparrow and Mantis

Under the night sky, the Forbidden City was covered with snow and wind. The lights of the Yikun Palace swayed in the wind, exuding a strange atmosphere. Concubine Zheng sat alone in front of the dressing table. Her delicate face was reflected in the bronze mirror. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were shining with complex light. In her hand was a small jade bottle, which contained the Western Regions miracle medicine she got from Li Wenjin.

She sighed softly, put the jade bottle away, and thought secretly in her heart. Li Wenjin had said that this strange medicine from the Western Regions had special effects, and it could cure all diseases and pain in a short period of time, but... it did not cure the root cause.

However, it also has some other effects, such as making people's five senses sharper and their joy doubled, and they will definitely become addicted to it after a long time. The last time the emperor coughed up blood, she secretly began to add this medicine to the emperor's medicine, and the effect was also very good, so that after the emperor returned to the palace this time, he almost always lived in the Yikun Palace and refused to move. This was certainly because the emperor originally doted on her, but this strange medicine from the Western Regions must have also contributed to it.

What reassured her most was that Li Wenjin, as the emperor's uncle, had once assured her that the medicine was non-toxic, and he even dared to take it himself in front of her as proof.

Concubine Zheng really believed what Li Wenjin said was true. After all, the wealth of the entire Li family came from the emperor, and his current special status of "no one dares to offend" was due to his merit in protecting his nephew by becoming an eunuch and entering Prince Yu's mansion. Concubine Zheng believed that Li Wenjin might not be a good person, but at least he would not harm the emperor, especially not kill him... except for one situation.

Yes, who would want to harm the emperor? The emperor is good enough to those around him. It's a pity that the emperor couldn't stand the pressure from those people outside and couldn't make the decision for my mother and me...

"Your Highness, it's time to deliver medicine to the Emperor." An "old" palace maid in her thirties beside Noble Concubine Zheng reminded softly.

Concubine Zheng nodded, a trace of determination flashed in her eyes, she glanced at the medicine jar on the tray in the maid's hand, and sighed softly. She stood up, led the maid, walked through the corridor, and walked towards the main hall where the emperor was.

In the main hall of Yikun Palace, Zhu Yijun was sitting at the table, playing with a private seal in his hand. His complexion was still not good, waxy and yellow, but his face was calm, and his slightly swollen eyes revealed a sharp light. He seemed to be waiting for something, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is here to bring you medicine." Liu Ping, the eunuch in charge of imperial ceremonies, reported softly.

Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, signaling for Concubine Zheng to come in. Concubine Zheng walked into the hall, holding a bowl of medicine in her hand, with a light step and a gentle smile on her face.

"Your Majesty, this is the medicine soup for tonight. Because of the heavy snow and the weather, it is no longer hot. Your Majesty should drink it quickly." Concubine Zheng said softly, handing over the bowl of medicine.

Zhu Yijun took the medicine bowl, glanced at Concubine Zheng, nodded, and slowly drank the medicine. Concubine Zheng's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible struggle, but then she regained her gentle demeanor.

"Thank you for your hard work, my beloved concubine." Zhu Yijun said softly. His tone was as gentle as usual, but there was a flash of complex emotions in his eyes.

"I never feel tired when sharing the worries of His Majesty." Concubine Zheng picked up a fine cotton handkerchief and gently wiped the residual soup from the corner of the emperor's mouth, saying, "If we talk about hard work, it's still the Prime Minister who is the hardest. The Queen just asked the doctors in the Jingguo Mansion in detail, and also asked the three imperial doctors to discuss it. The Prime Minister's illness this time is not due to anything else, but all because of overwork... It is said that during this period of time, the Prime Minister only slept for three hours a day at most, and most of the time he could only sleep for more than two hours."

Zhu Yijun looked worried and nodded, "I have been sick since childhood, so I know how to take care of him. But he has been immune to all diseases since he was young. It seems like a good thing, but it has also cultivated his bad habit of not caring for himself. In the past, he was young, and even if he felt a little uncomfortable, he would be fine after a little rest. Now he is almost forty, how can he not get sick like he did back then?"

After a pause, he sighed and said, "This is also my fault. I let him worry about everything... Although the court does need capable officials like him, I really can't let him do everything himself in the future.

It's funny to say that Zhao Zhigao is old and weak, and has not been involved in government affairs for a long time, but I can't ignore my old ministers, so I can't easily agree to his retirement, so I can only keep him. Although Shen Yiguan is capable of doing things, he fell into trouble in Nanjing not long ago. Now it is clear that he is pretending to be dead. Even when he writes a bill, he can only say "approval".

Finally, Zhou Yong is left, but he doesn't care about anything other than military affairs... Sigh, I will issue an order tomorrow, asking you to practically select one or two new assistant ministers and give them to the nine ministers for discussion."

Concubine Zheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty has told me these things, but I can't say anything. What's the point of saying anything? After all, the world belongs to your Majesty, and the officials belong to your Majesty. How you appoint them is up to your Majesty, isn't it?"

"Whatever you want?" Zhu Yijun laughed at himself, closed his eyes, put his hand on his forehead, and sighed: "No one in the world can do whatever they want, unless they don't care about the consequences. But if they don't care about the consequences, then anyone can do whatever they want, so why does it have to be the emperor?"

After hearing this, Concubine Zheng was distracted for a moment and did not answer. Then she heard the emperor continue: "I wanted to make Chang Xun the crown prince, but the officials did not let me do so; I also wanted to grant Chang Xun more land, but the officials still opposed it... If I had not cooperated with Shishi in several businesses and could get a lot of shares every year, I am afraid that I would not be able to give Chang Xun these rewards now. Tell me, can I really do whatever I want?"

Concubine Zheng was angry when she heard this, and she subconsciously pursed her lips and said, "Officials are only good at talking. Think about what happened to Emperor Shizong back then... Humph, if it were you, the emperor was too kind to them."

Zhu Yijun looked a little unhappy and said, "Oh, my beloved concubine, you hope that I will also accept a "Public Security Memorial" and be scolded by the ministers, saying "People in the world have been disloyal to Your Majesty for a long time", and then I can't really do anything to this person, lest he become famous for his criticism and end up being angered to death?"

Concubine Zheng knew she had said something wrong, but as always, she refused to admit her fault. She just pouted and said, "How could I know these great principles? After all, the emperor has the final say on right and wrong. If the emperor says I am wrong, then I will just accept it." Zhu Yijun was speechless for a moment. After a while, he sighed softly and said, "You should go to bed first. I just took some medicine and have a fever. Come back later."

Concubine Zheng did not suspect anything, she bowed lightly and turned to leave. Zhu Yijun watched her leave, the light in his eyes becoming deeper.

Liu Pingfang had been standing quietly in the shadows, but now he came out. In his hand, he also held a small jade bottle, which looked exactly the same as the jade bottle that Concubine Zheng had held before, which contained the "Western Region Wonder Medicine".

"Your Majesty, everything is under control." Liu Ping said softly, his voice low but with a hint of firmness.

Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, with a trace of pain in his eyes. "I just want to know what she wants to do, and how far she wants to go." There was a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.

Liu Ping was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "I have inquired from many sources, and this thing is called 'Wuxiang'. Some wealthy families occasionally use it. It is indeed not a poison and has been used as medicine, but..."

"But what?" Zhu Yijun asked.

"However, when the Medical Department of Jinghua Artisan Academy compiled the medical canon, it listed it as an 'addictive hallucinogenic poison', and it is said that Yuanfu insisted on including it. Yuanfu even had a serious dispute with some professors of the medical school for this reason."

Zhu Yijun was surprised and asked, "Really? But Shishi is not familiar with medicine. How could he argue with doctors on medical matters and force them to compile medical books according to his own ideas?"

Liu Ping shook his head and said, "Although this matter is bizarre, I really haven't found out the cause and effect. If the emperor wants to understand the secret, I'm afraid he needs to summon the prime minister and ask him in person."

Zhu Yijun thought about it, shook his head and said, "He is ill right now, let's put it aside for now."

After a pause, he seemed a little unwilling and said, "Whether it is addiction or hallucination, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a famous 'Hanshi Powder', which was loved by celebrities at that time, and it seems to have similar effects.

In the Tang Dynasty, the King of Medicine Sun Simiao said: "If you encounter this recipe, you must burn it immediately and don't keep it for a long time." So it gradually lost its way. Could it be that the practical people regarded this "Wuxiang" as something like Hanshi Powder and therefore insisted that it was a poison?"

This question seemed a bit beyond the scope of the syllabus. Liu Ping smiled bitterly and said, "I am not even a bit less talented than the Prime Minister. I cannot find out what the Prime Minister is worried about."

Zhu Yijun thought so too, nodded, and asked, "Have you finished writing the written order I asked you to draft?"

Liu Ping immediately pulled out a bright yellow book from his sleeve, opened it and handed it to the emperor, saying, "It has been drafted. Please have a look, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun took it and looked at it for a few seconds, then put it on the table. He then used his private seal that he had played with when Concubine Zheng entered the palace to seal the imperial edict, and then handed it back to Liu Ping, saying, "With your status, I'm sure you can't resist the curfew and the city ban. In that case, you'll have to work hard tonight and deliver it there."

Liu Ping took the handwritten letter and saw that the signature had been engraved with four characters: "万世立久". He blew on it gently, then carefully closed it and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will deliver it right away and will personally deliver it to...him."

Zhu Yijun asked again: "The place is heavily guarded, how can you get in? Also, this matter cannot be known to outsiders, how can you hide it?"

Liu Ping lowered his voice and said, "I have thought about it... I will come to your house in the name of being sent by the Prime Minister. I believe he dare not not come out to see me, nor dare to let others know."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Well, you can leave first. Remember, these two days are very important, don't take it lightly."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I would never dare to treat you disrespectfully in the slightest." After Liu Ping said this, seeing that the emperor did not reply, she slowly left the main hall.

The snowstorm continued, and the night in the Forbidden City became even darker. In this snowstorm, everyone in and outside the city was busy pursuing their own goals, but no one knew who could achieve their goals.

PS: This chapter seems to have fewer words, but the content is indeed this much. If I collect 4K, it will be superfluous. So that's it. I also wish all book friends a happy new year and all the best in 2025!

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