Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 322 Li Ruhua is seriously ill

A quarter of an hour later, the eunuch delivering the imperial eunuch arrived at the Ministry of Revenue. Although he was not a red-robed eunuch or a junior eunuch, the gatekeeper was tactful enough not to stop him for questioning.

The eunuch walked all the way to the main hall, but he didn't see the Minister of Revenue, Li Ruhua, who was supposed to be sitting behind the main table. As he looked around, Wang Ji, the Left Vice Minister of Revenue, who was working attentively, noticed the visitor. Seeing that he was wearing eunuch's attire, Wang Ji stood up and greeted him.

"What brings this eunuch to our department?" Wang Ji asked.

"In compliance with the imperial eunuch's order," the eunuch paused. Unexpectedly, his pause made Wang Ji think that this man was here to announce an imperial edict, so he lifted his robe, knelt down, kowtowed, and shouted, "Long live the emperor!"

When Wang Ji knelt, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue followed suit. "Long live!"

The eunuch froze, the atmosphere suddenly becoming awkward. His job was to escort the old minister into the palace, a less formal affair. But he couldn't help the old minister to his feet, so he had no choice but to make the best of a bad situation and, with a pretentious air of authority, coughed twice. "Ahem! By imperial decree, the Minister of Revenue, Li Ruhua, is to appear before the Emperor immediately."

You know what, this feels really good.

"This eunuch," Wang Ji said, standing up straight, "Minister Li hasn't come to the yamen yet. You see, there are already quite a few documents piled up on the desk waiting for his seal."

"It's almost 9am and he still hasn't arrived." The eunuch frowned slightly. He didn't want to go back and report like this. "What's going on?"

"Maybe he's unwell," Wang Ji said, not quite finishing his sentence. "But I'm not sure what the specific situation is."

"That's enough." The eunuch sighed. "Everyone, please stand up."

Wang Ji stood up and dusted off his coat. "How about I take my father-in-law to visit Li Butang's house?"

"No need, you're busy." The eunuch waved his hand. He hesitated for a moment, then walked out of the Ministry of Revenue. "I'll go by myself. It's only a few steps away anyway."

"My Lord, what are you asking?" Wang Ji muttered to himself as he watched the eunuch's receding back.

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The Li family's house is located in Nanxunfang, and even if you go through the streets and alleys, it is only a little over a mile away.

Bang, bang, bang. The eunuch grabbed the door handle and knocked on the door of Li's mansion.

A moment later, a young doorman came running to answer the door. Seeing that the visitor was not wearing a doctor's uniform, nor carrying a medicine box, but was wearing the clothes of a eunuch, a look of disappointment immediately flashed across his face. "What can I do for you, eunuch?"

"I was ordered to bring your master to the palace. I went to the Ministry of Revenue, but didn't see anyone, so I came here." The eunuch came trotting, still feeling a bit angry.

The doorman was startled. He moved his lips, but then swallowed his words. He opened the door and gestured for someone to come in. "Please follow me, sir."

"What's wrong with Lord Li?" the eunuch asked, stepping over the threshold. "Is he really ill?"

The doorman sighed and said, "The master hasn't been in good spirits these past few days. This morning he couldn't even get out of bed."

"Have you called a doctor?" The eunuch looked around and found that the overall atmosphere in the Li family was very heavy.

"One has come." said the doorman.

Arriving at the Li family's master bedroom, the eunuch found Li Ruhua lying on the bed, his face clearly exhausted. Beside the bed stood a young man with a forlorn look on his face. It was Li Ruhua's only son, Li Tingyuan.

"Young Master." The doorman walked to Li Tingyuan's side and whispered, "A eunuch has come from the palace. He is here to summon the master into the palace." Li Ruhua seemed to have heard the noise here. His eyeballs moved slightly under his wrinkled eyelids, but he did not open them.

Li Tingyuan turned around. "I understand. Go ahead."

"Yes." The doorman turned and left.

Li Tingyuan quietly let out a breath, collected himself, and asked with a bow, "Excuse me, sir, what is your name?"

"Excuse me, your surname is Shi." Eunuch Shi returned the greeting.

"Eunuch Shi, my father is ill and I'm afraid I won't be able to obey His Majesty's orders," Li Tingyuan said in a slightly hoarse voice. "Please inform His Majesty and explain my sorrow."

Eunuch Shi glanced at Li Ruhua lying on the sickbed. "I understand. I will go back and report to His Majesty immediately."

Li Tingyuan didn't try to persuade him to stay, but instead called over a servant. "Send Eunuch Shi away."

Some time passed after Eunuch Shi left the house before Li Ruhua slowly opened his eyes. His blurry vision swung left and right, and it took a moment for him to focus on Li Tingyuan. He clearly wanted to say something, but the breath that escaped his throat was replaced by several violent coughs.

"Dad!" Li Tingyuan hurriedly picked up the spittoon from the bedside and sat next to Li Ruhua.

Li Tingyuan held Li Ruhua's head so that he could spit the bloody phlegm into the spittoon in a comfortable position. After Li Ruhua spit out the filth, Li Tingyuan used a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth.

"Come." Li Ruhua panted for a long time before he leaned over to Li Tingyuan's ear and whispered a few words.

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After leaving the Li Mansion, Eunuch Shi trotted off again. However, the distance from the Li Mansion to the Qianqing Palace was much longer than the distance from the Ministry of Revenue to the Li Mansion.

By the time Eunuch Shi ran past Jianji Hall and saw Qianqing Gate, he was already sweating profusely.

Under the eaves of the Qianqing Gate Hall, the eunuch Shi Fuming, the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, and Wei Chaozheng, the eunuch in charge of the Silijian, stood in front of the right door, one after the other, waiting. Seeing that only Eunuch Shi had come, they stood there quietly.

When Eunuch Shi saw the two figures, he didn't dare to neglect them. He quickly ran to the steps and knelt upright. "Your servant greets godfather and great ancestor. Godfather, great ancestor has been waiting for a long time."

They calculated the time to come and greet them, but because Eunuch Shi had gone to the Li Mansion, they did wait outside for a while.

"Shi Fangda," Shi Fuming asked directly, "Where are Li Butang? Why did you come back alone?"

"To answer godfather, Lord Li is ill and not in the Ministry of Revenue. I went to Li's house, so I am late." Even though Shi Fuming did not ask, Shi Fangda still explained the reason for being late.

"Are you sick?" Shi Fuming waved. "Why? Forget it, get up and come with us to see the master."

"Yes." Shi Fangda quickly stood up.

The three of them entered the Southern Study. By then, the emperor and his eunuchs had already processed the morning's first batch of memorials. Zhu Changluo considered most of these registers to be trivial matters. Often, he simply glanced through them and wrote "approval" after the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department's opinions.

"Your servant Shi Fangda pays homage to the master, wishing him long live the emperor." Shi Fangda worked in the Qianqing Palace and saw the emperor every day, but this kind of formal conversation had never taken place. "Shi Fangda, I remember you," Zhu Changluo said with a smile. "You were here when I was still in the Ciqing Palace, right?"

A spring of emotion immediately welled up in Shi Fangda's heart, bathing every limb in his body. The fatigue and tension that had been lingering on his body instantly disappeared. He kowtowed and said, "Yes. I entered the palace in the 40th year of the Wanli reign, and have been serving my master in the Ciqing Palace since the 43rd year."

Zhu Changluo certainly did not have this memory, but he could pretend to have such a memory through the eunuchs' roster.

Zhu Changluo stood up from his chair, stretched vigorously, and yawned. His eyes swept over the cakes that had just been delivered, and he picked up a piece from the plate and walked over to Shi Fangda. "Come. You too can try the craftsmanship of the pastry shop."

"I bow to thank the emperor for his grace." Shi Fangda wiped his hands on his clothes, then took the cake.

"Why don't you just eat? Why are you holding it?" Zhu Changluo paced in the hall, and several eunuchs stood up and stood beside their tables.

"Yes." Shi Fangda hurriedly stuffed the pastry into his mouth.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Master. Lord Li is ill and bedridden. He cannot respond to the summons." Shi Fangda had something stuffed in his mouth and spoke hesitantly. Zhu Changluo could not hear clearly.

"Haha. He choked. Get him a glass of water." Zhu Changluo ordered casually.

Before the water arrived, Shi Fangda swallowed the cake. "Master, Lord Li is ill and cannot be summoned to see you." Shi Fangda repeated what he had just said.

"Li Ruhua is sick again?!" Zhu Changluo's expression and tone suddenly became serious. He looked at Wang An and ordered, "Quick! Have the imperial physician, no, have Liu Heqing personally examine Li Ruhua. After the examination, have him come over."

"Yes." Wang An gave Shi Fuming a wink. Shi Fuming turned around and sent a eunuch to deliver the message in the direction of the Imperial Hospital.

Zhu Changluo was no longer in the mood to stroll around. He sat back at the imperial desk and asked Shi Fangda, "Have you visited Li Ruhua?"

"Your Majesty, I've been there." Shi Fangda was glad she hadn't been lazy. "Lord Li is bedridden, and his son has been attending to him. I even glimpsed a spittoon filled with scarlet-colored waste."

"Did you talk to him?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"No. Lord Li was resting and did not open his eyes. I did not disturb him." Shi Fangda said.

"It's right not to disturb you." Zhu Changluo nodded. "You can leave now."

"The slaves retire."

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After teaching the young eunuchs, Grand Secretary Shen set out from the headquarters of the Imperial Household Department, headed south through Donghua Gate and returned to the cabinet duty room in the southeast corner of the Forbidden City.

Before entering the room, Shen heard a quarrel in the duty room. He didn't pay much attention to it. Disagreements in the cabinet were normal, so it wouldn't be surprising if there was a quarrel.

Shen pushed the door open and walked in. The duty room immediately fell silent. At this moment, he had not yet noticed the subtle atmosphere and was still thinking about making himself a cup of tea before starting work.

Shen walked over to the shelf where the tea sets were placed and took down a glazed porcelain jar. Because a new batch of tea had just been added, it was already filled to the brim. As Shen removed the lid, a sweet, refreshing aroma of tea immediately filled his nostrils.

"Ming Zhen." Shen Gang used a tea spoon to pour tea leaves into his own cup, and the voice of Prime Minister Fang Congzhe came from behind him.

Shen turned around, holding the teacup, and said with a smile, "What advice do you have for me, Prime Minister?"

"A note just arrived from the study." Fang Congzhe picked up a piece of paper from the desk and showed it to Shen. "It says they want to punish Feng Quan, Cui Chengxiu, Qi Shijiao, and others for making groundless accusations and falsely accusing them of the governor."

"Does the cabinet want to propose a punishment?" Shen's smile froze on his face, and the hand holding the lamp began to tremble unconsciously.

"No." Fang Congzhe shook his head and said, "The crime and punishment have been determined. The emperor wants the cabinet to draft an edict according to the note." Fang Congzhe looked at Liu Yirong and said, "Ji Hui, show Mingzhen the emperor's edict."

Liu Yirong was stunned for a moment, but his expression remained almost unchanged, only his eyes moved slightly. "Yes."

"Mr. Shen, please take a look." Liu Yirong came to Shen with a piece of letter paper.

Shen's smile faded, and he casually placed the teacup back in its place. He silently took the letter and read through its contents in a few breaths. After finishing, Shen didn't express his opinion. Instead, he walked around Liu Yirong and quickly walked over to Fang Congzhe's desk, handing it back.

Fang Congzhe didn't take it, so Shen placed the letter on Fang Congzhe's desk. "Prime Minister, why is this?"

"You don't know?" Fang Congzhe picked up a paperweight to press the letter, but the noise was like a judge banging a gavel during a trial.

"How would I know? I have to go to the inner study hall to teach today. Didn't I just come back?" Shen's eyes flickered slightly.

Fang Congzhe looked up at Shen, his lips curled up slightly, as if he were smiling, but there was no trace of laughter between his eyebrows. Then, he handed Shen a not-too-thick leaflet and said, "Then let me tell you about it first."

"This is Wen Shouhuan's resignation." Shen pretended to be surprised. "So this is why."

"Mingzhen." Fang Congzhe lowered his head, his eyelids drooping slightly, a bitter look tinged with annoyance on his face. "What do you think about this?"

"Prime Minister. I..." After a moment's hesitation, Shen said earnestly, "It is the duty of a censor to report rumors. If the Emperor does not accept the advice, I can either withhold it or refute it. Such punishment would damage His Majesty's reputation and could even lead to unbridled behavior by the provincial governors."

"So, does Lord Shen want the Prime Minister to refute the emperor's imperial edict?" Han Yu's voice came faintly.

"Of course not!" Shen denied it categorically, and said: "The cabinet should follow the example of last year's dynasty change and mediate to calm the emperor's wrath. Don't bring up another "Zou Zhao Party Case" to cause an uproar in the court and the country, shocking both China and foreign countries. Lord Han, do you understand what I mean?" Shen is best at drawing the target first and then knocking it down, so naturally he would not let Han Yu use the same rhetoric to trick him into it.

"Hmph." Han Yu's breath was choked by Shen's words, and he immediately said sarcastically: "Then please ask Elder Shen to mediate between the emperor and the ministers in the name of the cabinet, just like last time."

Shen didn't answer, but glanced quickly at Fang Congzhe.

"I'm the Prime Minister, so it's naturally my responsibility to draft a memorial to appease the Emperor's wrath." Fang Congzhe simply stared straight ahead, his gaze not glancing at anyone. "Ming Zhen."

"Prime Minister." Shen Ningshen clasped his fists.

"We'll talk about other things later." Fang Congzhe tapped the resignation form in front of him with his fingernails. "Take this one and draft the imperial edict according to the emperor's approval. The edict will be sent to the Ji-Liao Governor-General's Office within today."

(End of this chapter)