Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 11: The King's Sickness
Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Forbidden City
"Your Majesty is fine. He just needs to rest and recuperate after recovering from a serious illness. No other medicine is needed. Just follow the previous plan." Liu Heqing was surrounded by all the members of the cabinet, the six ministers, the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department and the two princes, and felt a lot of pressure.

"When will the emperor wake up?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Your Majesty is just too tired. He woke up when he woke up." Liu Heqing said after saluting.

"Thank you, Envoy Liu." Given his status, he didn't actually need to give Liu Heqing luggage, but he still bowed ninety degrees to Liu Heqing to express his gratitude.

"Your Highness, please excuse me for embarrassing me." Liu Heqing was startled and quickly returned the greeting.

"I am paying my respects to the doctor who cured my father as a son, not paying my respects to the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau as a prince." Zhu Youxiao's answer made the ministers around him look bright.

"Then I will have the audacity to accept Your Highness's greeting." Liu Heqing was also satisfied with Zhu Youxiao's speech which was quite knowledgeable about etiquette.

"My lords, since His Majesty is well, please go back," said Wang An.

"Wang Bingbi, take good care of our father. We are leaving too." Zhu Youxiao took his brother's hand.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness the Fifth Prince, take care." Wang Anli said goodbye to the two princes.

After everyone had left, Wang An instructed his trusted eunuch, "Go and invite Lady Mi. Have her serve the master."

Wang An felt that compared to the eunuchs like them, Zhu Changluo would be in a better mood when he saw the beauty beside him for the first time after waking up.

It's no wonder he made that judgment. When Zhu Changluo was still the Crown Prince, he had nothing to do all day and night, and could only do the things he loved in the palace. He had someone to accompany him almost every night. This was also one of the main reasons why Concubine Zheng sent a beauty to Zhu Changluo. She was catering to his preferences.

Normally, Li Zhulan would serve as his concubine. Though much older than Mi Mengshang, she was undoubtedly more beautiful than her. Her unique blend of maturity and arrogance captivated the former crown prince.

But Wang An was a shrewd man. He could tell without even moving a toe that Consort Li had fallen out of favor. As for the reason, Wang An didn't know, nor did he want to know. He just wanted to make Zhu Changluo happy.

"Wang Bingbi, thank you very much." The first thing Mi Mengshang did after coming over was to thank Wang An.

But not everyone has the opportunity to see the emperor in person.

From this point of view, Wang An's power is terrifyingly great.

"Master Mi, there's no need to be so polite." Wang An was very respectful. "Please serve the master well. I will leave first."

"Goodbye, Wang Bingbi." Mi Mengshang bowed again.

Mi Mengshang knelt beside the bed, looking at the man on the dragon couch. She couldn't help but sigh at the impermanence of life.

Her background was not clean, being the daughter of a criminal during the reign of Emperor Shenzong. At the age of ten, she was sent to the Jiaofangsi for training. Generally speaking, after reaching a certain age, she would become an official prostitute, providing talent shows and other services for the princes and nobles.

If no one redeems her during her time as an official prostitute, then when she reaches a certain age, she will be sold to a wealthy businessman as a concubine or a maid at a slightly cheaper price.

But when she was fourteen, she was lucky enough to be taken away by a eunuch sent by Concubine Zheng. The Jiaofangsi didn't get a single copper coin. She is fifteen years old this year and will be sixteen in a month, but she is still a virgin.

She knew full well that the emperor wasn't attracted by her beauty; none of the seven beauties were inferior to her. As Concubine Zheng had said, the emperor's designation of a talent was simply a way to flaunt his power to the imperial concubine; the recipient of the favor was unimportant. If someone else had spoken up and caught the emperor's attention, she wouldn't be kneeling here. But regardless, the current situation was far better than having her lips tasted by thousands.

The man on the couch was a long way from being handsome. He wasn't ugly, but he clearly looked worn down by alcohol and sex. Yet, this tall, yet unassuming, man was the pinnacle of power in the entire Ming Dynasty. The only figures higher than him were the ethereal "Heaven" and the vast "people" of the land.

Mi Mengshang didn't know what "heaven" meant, nor how many people were considered "people." She only knew that the emperor held the power of heaven and could decide life and death with a single word.

"It would be great if I could give His Majesty a son." Mi Mengshang naturally came up with the idea that a mother is honored by her son.

But if she knew the fate of the two princes' mothers, she might not think so. Ming Dynasty emperors usually favored concubines over princes. If you don't have the emperor's favor, even if you are the mother of the prince, you may not have a good ending. (Zhu Youxiao's mother was tortured to death by Li Xianshi, and Zhu Youjian's mother was executed by Zhu Changluo.)
Therefore, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty learned from the lessons of the Ming Dynasty and replaced the Ming Dynasty's deformed system (or there was no system at all) in which one concubine would rise to prominence if she was the only one favored by the emperor, with a palace system similar to the seniority system (except for the legitimate wife, the longer the concubines worked, the higher their positions would be).

This greatly reduced the intensity of palace fighting, ensured the physical and mental health of the princes, and thus ensured the physical and mental health of the future emperor.

Why was Zhu Youxiao so dependent on his wet nurse, Ke Yinyue? It was because his mother died young and his father didn't love him. It's impossible for a child like that to become a good emperor. How could everyone be Zhu Youtang?

"Hmm." After Mi Mengshang knelt for more than an hour, Zhu Changluo, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, finally woke up.

He had a good dream. First, he dreamed that the Ming Dynasty was peaceful and prosperous, and everyone had food to eat, clothes to wear, and houses to live in. Then he dreamed of his parents in another world. They cooked a table of food for him and said, "Welcome home."

She noticed tears welling in the emperor's eyes, so she didn't say anything and instead tried to minimize her presence. Immersed in the sorrow of remembrance, there was a kind of happiness. It was just that this kind of happiness couldn't be shared with others, and usually, one didn't want to share it with others.

After a while, Zhu Changluo calmed down. He hadn't finished his work for the day yet.

"Why are you here? Who asked you to come?" After Zhu Changluo sat up, he glanced at Mi Mengshang who was kneeling beside the bed.

"My concubine." She suddenly felt aggrieved. She had been kneeling for so long that her legs were starting to go numb. He hadn't said a single kind word, but instead offered cold, accusatory questions. But she wasn't Consort Li, so she didn't dare lose her temper with the emperor.

"I came here on my own." She lied because she didn't want Eunuch Wang to dislike her.
Her skills were still too shallow. Without the tacit consent of a senior eunuch, even if you were the queen, you couldn't get close to the sleeping emperor. This senior eunuch couldn't be Cui Wensheng, he wouldn't dare.

"Okay." Zhu Changluo nodded without exposing her. "Next time you come, you can sit down."

Zhu Changluo was just a bit grumpy. He knew the girl was there to please him. The sun was already high in the sky, so it wasn't hard to guess how long she had been waiting there. It was a different kind of "even if she had no merit, she still worked hard."

"Hmm? Thank you, Your Majesty." She smiled.

Mi Mengshang was very smart. She immediately came to two conclusions - first, the emperor was in a bad mood after waking up, and she should stay away from him until he completely relaxed; second, the emperor did not hate her.

"Can you stand up?"

"Your Majesty, I can stand up." She had learned to dance, so this was considered basic skill.

"Then come and dress me."

(End of this chapter)