I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 369: Farce in the Forbidden City

Zhu Yijun quickly entered the palace from Xihua Gate, and the eunuch Wanfu, the inner palace supervisor, hurriedly came to greet him.

Pointing ahead, Zhu Yijun said, "Mr. Wan, let's talk while we walk."

"Your Highness, Liang Zhaoyi of Shuhua Palace and Wang Jieyu of Chunkou Palace are giving birth at the same time. I asked someone to invite the midwives and doctors from the Infant Nursery of the Imperial Physician's Office, but the palace ladies around Liang Zhaoyi and Wang Jieyu refused to allow it. Your Majesty was also panicked and didn't know what to do.

Unfortunately, the situation of Liang Zhaoyi and Wang Jieyu became increasingly critical, and the palace was in chaos. When the queen heard the news and rushed over, she was at a loss as to what to do, so she had to ask the servants to quickly send someone to invite His Highness.

"Simultaneous production?"

"Yes, what a coincidence. In the morning, Liang Zhaoyi had a stomachache and was about to give birth. Less than half an hour later, Wang Jieyu also began to give birth."

"Didn't I clearly instruct you that when a concubine gives birth in the palace, she should be taken to the nursery of the Imperial Physician's Office immediately? Who is stopping you?"

"Your Highness, it was the palace ladies around Liang Zhaoyi and Wang Jieyu who blocked the midwives and medical staff from the orphanage and refused to let them in.

Liang Zhaoyi and Wang Jieyu were also shouting there, saying that they would rather die with both mother and child than cry out.

"You don't want to ask my people to deliver their babies, do you?" Zhu Yijun said coldly, "You are so stubborn. I would like to help them. But if there is a double death, I will still be held responsible."

Wanfu sighed and said nothing.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, indicating that the sedan chair should just follow behind. It would appear more sincere if he moved his legs himself at this time.

He walked forward quickly, and Wanfu followed behind him at a trot.

"There's still a chill in this Forbidden City."

"Don't be surprised, Your Highness. The concubines in the harem, when they have nothing to do, always gossip about random things when they visit each other. This kind of nonsense is also widely spread in private.

Alas, they have their mouths on their bodies, and there is nothing we can do about it."

"Feng Bao!" Zhu Yijun called out without turning his head.

Feng Bao ran quickly and got behind Zhu Yijun.

"The slave is here!"

"Collect the records of the concubines' visits to each other in the harem this year, especially the records of entering and leaving Shuhua Palace and Chunkou Palace."

"Follow the order!"

"Where is Father?"

"The emperor was so anxious that he had no idea what to do. He ran back and forth between Shuhua Palace and Chunkou Palace, and didn't even have time to sit in the sedan chair. Fortunately, the two places are not far apart."

Emperor Longqing was anxious, and Zhu Yijun could understand that.

He had been on the throne for more than two years, but no princes or princesses were born in the Forbidden City. All his children were born in the Prince Yu's mansion. At first, he thought he was young and healthy, so he didn't care.

But after the first year of Longqing, none of the seeds he planted sprouted, and he became anxious. So he went to Wan Quan and Li Shizhen to ask them for good prescriptions and medicinal materials.

At the same time, Emperor Longqing also restrained himself a little, changing his previous habit of scattering dandelion seeds widely to more regular scattering of seeds. Finally, in the middle of the second year of Longqing, Liang Zhaoyi and Wang Jieyu brought the good news of pregnancy.

Now it is harvest time and the melons are ripe, but this happened.

If I fail to keep them, then this year has been a waste of time, right?

"Why don't you try to persuade the emperor?" Zhu Yijun shook his head after he finished speaking. "You can't persuade him. At this moment, with Liang Zhaoyi and Wang Jieyu making trouble, the emperor's mind has long been in a mess. He doesn't know how to make a decision at all."

Wanfu sighed again.

I really don't want to say it, but God is fair. The father is so smart, the son is so wise, he must have a big flaw.

Zhu Yijun hurried to the gate of Shuhua Palace.

It is actually just a courtyard with two entrances, which used to be attached to a palace in Xiliusuo. Emperor Longqing was fond of literature and gave it this name, and even specially inscribed a plaque and hung it on the gate of the courtyard.

Now the place is in chaos. A woman's fierce screams were heard from inside, and a middle-aged woman stood in the middle of the yard, giving orders loudly.

"Quick! Go get some water ready!"

"Get a pair of scissors."

"You, prepare the bedding quickly!"

"Don't just stand there and get in the way. If you can help, help immediately. If Zhaoyi is in trouble, don't even think about running away."

Her face was full of hysterics, her voice was hoarse, and foam appeared at the corners of her mouth. The palace maids and eunuchs were being directed around by her, but no one knew what they were busy with.

The screams coming from the inner courtyard were getting louder and louder.

This kind of person is just like some civil servants out there, who think they can control everything, but don't know that their abilities are limited. They think they are busy all day and night, stabilize the situation, and make great contributions, but they don't know that they are actually not helping at all and are just causing trouble.

Zhu Yijun ignored her for the time being and turned to ask, "Where is the emperor?"

An eunuch replied, "Your Highness, the Emperor has gone to Chunkou Palace."

Wanfu urged from the side: "Your Highness, let's hurry to Chunkou Palace."

"No hurry, how long has the emperor been there?"

"To reply to Your Highness, it's been a quarter of an hour."

"Then wait here, Father will be back soon."

Sure enough, less than two minutes later, a group of people came running over there.

The leader was none other than Emperor Longqing. He held up the front of his clothes with his left hand and swung his right hand high in the air. He ran very fast with his carrot legs. Behind him followed dozens of eunuchs and palace maids, carrying an empty sedan chair, all of them panting.

When he saw Zhu Yijun, Emperor Longqing rushed over, grabbed Zhu Yijun's hand, and tears flowed down his face.

"Boss, the sky is falling. They are having a difficult birth. Mother and child are in danger. Boss, please think of a way to save them. Woohoo!"

After crying for a while, Emperor Longqing ran so hard that his legs became weak. He simply sat on the ground, grinning, his face full of tears and snot, and howled without caring about his manners: "Oh, God, you are trying to kill me. It is difficult for us to have children in the royal family, and you are torturing us like this.

"Big brother, you must quickly think of a way to save your brothers and sisters. If they are gone, how can I live!"

Zhu Yijun frowned and gave Wanfu a wink. The two of them stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, to help up Emperor Longqing.

"Father, you can't do this. If you do this, the people inside will become even more panicked."

Emperor Longqing took the towel from Feng Bao and wiped his face carelessly. "I don't want to panic. I know that they are both counting on me, but I am panicking. My heart is flustered and my legs are weak. I can't think of any good ideas, so I have to run back and forth."

There's no point in running around the Forbidden City!

"Father, please leave this matter to your son."

Emperor Longqing looked up and found that Zhu Yijun had grown taller after not seeing him for a while, and was now more than half a head taller than him. Seeing the calmness on his face, Emperor Longqing's troubled heart suddenly settled down.

He nodded repeatedly: "I'll leave this matter to you, Boss. You will definitely be able to save them."

Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows slightly, turned to Wanfu and said, "Help father to sit on the sedan chair and rest."

He turned and walked into Shuhua Palace and stood in the yard. All the busy people inside stopped and stared at him blankly.

The arrogant woman who was giving orders saw Zhu Yijun and shouted, "You can't come in. Men can't come in! Do you understand the rules? If you break the rules, it will bring bad luck and people will die."

Zhu Yijun didn't even look at her. Feng Bao walked up to her, raised his right hand and slapped her hard in the face, making her dizzy and seeing stars.

"Where are the midwives and medical staff in the orphanage?" Zhu Yijun asked calmly with his hands in his sleeves.

"Go back, Your Highness. Wait outside Shuhua Palace."

"Send it in. They will take over the delivery. You should do whatever the midwife tells you to do."

"Yes!"

The woman's left face was red and swollen. She rushed over and tried to stop them: "Don't go in. We only use our own people in Zhaoyi, not you."

"Shut this crazy woman's mouth!" Zhu Yijun pointed at her casually.

Feng Bao stepped forward, grabbed a handful of dirt from the flowerpot, stuffed it into the woman's mouth, and said viciously, "If you scream again, I'll stuff all the dirt in this flowerpot into your mouth."

The East Depot commander was in full force, and the woman was so frightened that she dared not speak.

Feng Bao waved his hand and said, "Drag him out, you ignorant fool."

Four guards carried the woman and quickly left Shuhua Palace.

Feng Bao came close to Zhu Yijun and whispered, "Your Highness, I will go check the details of this woman."

"Well, wash your hands."

"Yes."

After the midwives and medical staff from the orphanage came in, Shuhua Palace seemed much more orderly. Liang Zhaoyi had been in pain for more than an hour and was no longer able to bear the pain. When she saw that the orphanage had taken over the delivery, she became deflated and no longer screamed as miserably as before.

Empress Chen hurried over from Chunkou Palace. Seeing Zhu Yijun standing in the courtyard of Shuhua Palace giving orders, she frowned and looked a little flustered. She walked up to him and whispered, "Jun'er, why are you so reckless?"

(End of this chapter)