Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 437 Powerless
After sitting for a while, Zhu Changluo gently patted the back of Shao Sishen's hand. Shao Sishen understood that the emperor was going to see the child. She reluctantly let go of the emperor's hand, and the emperor leaned down and gently kissed her forehead to show his concern.

Zhu Changluo walked over to a wooden cradle and looked down at the sleeping child inside. Even after more than ten days, the poor premature baby was still wrinkled. He reached out and gently placed his hand on the child's forehead. The child felt the touch and stirred slightly, but ultimately did not wake up.

The temperature from his fingertips indicated that the child's fever had subsided, but he was still not in good health. Zhu Changluo couldn't help but frown. He looked at the chief pharmacist Liu Yi, wanting to ask about the child's condition. But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed them back.

"Have you fed the baby?" Zhu Changluo asked casually, looking away.

Hearing this question, an eunuch who was staying in the Ming Dynasty hurriedly patted the young woman standing beside him and said, "Answer me."

The young woman, about seventeen or eighteen, looked very nervous. When the eunuch patted her, she immediately trembled as if in response to the stress.

This young woman was one of the wet nurses that the Imperial Household Department asked the Etiquette Office to bring into the palace on the day Shao Si Shen gave birth. The eunuch beside her was the manager sent by the Etiquette Office.

As the imperial court's steward, the Silijian (Office of Imperial Households) naturally oversaw matters concerning the royal lineage, such as selecting a marriage partner, the birth of imperial children, and the selection of wet nurses. The office specifically responsible for these tasks was the Liyifang (Ciyifang) within the Silijian.

The office of the Etiquette Office was located at the headquarters of the Imperial Household Department, but it had a branch office slightly north of Dong'an Gate. This branch office was specifically used to select wet nurses, that is, young women who were breastfeeding, to wait for summons from the inner court.

In the middle months of spring, summer, autumn and winter every year, the etiquette room would select forty wet nurses, half of whom would give birth to boys and half to girls, and they were called "sitting wet nurses"; in addition, eighty substitute wet nurses would be selected, who would only be registered and still allowed to live in their own homes, and they were called "point-in-time wet nurses".

"Dianmao nurses" served as backup personnel, waiting to be called upon by the inner court at any time. If the "sitting season nurses" were insufficient, they would be used to fill the gap. If there were no more nurses for the season, the etiquette office would send the "sitting season nurses" home and select a new batch of nurses to be on standby. This ensured that there were always nurses in the best lactation period available to supply the palace.

The selection process for wet nurses took place within the capital and the nearby counties of Wanping and Daxing. Married women from military and civilian families were sought. Eligible women had to be between fifteen and twenty years old, both married and unmarried, with a clean family background and good looks. During the selection process, a midwife would examine the wet nurse to determine the thickness of her milk and the presence of any underlying medical conditions. After the examination, the women would sign a pledge and be sent to the Imperial Household Department for approval. The eunuchs would then be selected from among the wet nurses sent by the various government offices and a final decision would be made. After the Imperial Household Department reviewed the selection, if a wet nurse was deemed unsuitable or uninformed, she would be returned, and the Etiquette Department would select another to replace her.

This was a guaranteed, lucrative position. Regardless of whether or not she ultimately became a wet nurse for the imperial children, simply being selected as a "wet nurse" would earn her a reward. Those waiting in their assigned rooms for the "seasonal wet nurse" also enjoyed meals provided by the Guanglu Temple. Consequently, every time the selection period came around, there was an oversupply of breastfeeding women available.

Because the branch room always keeps many wet nurses as reserves and has a plaque of the Etiquette Room hanging on it, the Etiquette Room branch room located in Dong'anmen and even the main Etiquette Room are nicknamed "Wet House".

For the nurses in the "wet nursery," the day they were summoned by the inner court could very well be the day their fate changed. As long as they passed the "trial period" and replaced other candidates, they would officially become the wet nurse of a prince or princess, and they would receive lifelong support from the imperial family.

If a nurse was fortunate enough to nurse a future emperor, she could benefit the entire family, earning her children a place in the family's family lineage. With even greater luck, her son could even rise to power and achieve great success. During the Ming Dynasty, the most prominent figure born from this lineage was Lu Bing, the head of the Jinyiwei during the Jiajing reign. Even those who were "dismissed" for some reason, like Ke Yinyue, could ultimately receive a generous reward of tens or even hundreds of taels of silver.

Because of thorough preparations, after learning that Concubine An might give birth prematurely, the eunuch Cao Huachun, who was also in charge of the Etiquette Room, immediately sent people to the Etiquette Room to select a few "wet nurses" to enter the palace.

The young woman who answered was breastfeeding for the first time, and it was also her first time to see the emperor. She was trembling with nervousness, and her voice was softer than a mosquito's. Zhu Changluo didn't hear a word, so he said, "Come over and talk."

"Go, they're calling you." The eunuch in charge reached out and pushed the woman.

The woman took trembling steps, and tremblingly walked around the eunuch Wang An in front of the screen and came to the emperor. She lowered her head and repeated in a low voice: "Hello." She lowered her head and didn't even dare to raise it.

"How many times did this child have milk today?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"." The emperor was different from the eunuchs. He was a serious man. Asking such a question in person made the young woman embarrassed to answer.

"Speak," Zhao Yuxian patted the woman's back, half encouraging and half urging her, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

The woman's face was as red as fire. She opened her mouth, her throat trembling a few times, but no sound came out.

"Six times. I ate it six times today." Finally, it was Liu Ying who answered.

Hearing this answer, Zhu Changluo's brows furrowed even more. But when he turned his head to look at Shao Sishen, a smile appeared on his face again. "I know."

After staying for about another quarter of an hour, Zhu Changluo left the main hall of Jingren Palace. He had only come to take a look today and had no intention of staying overnight or having a meal.

Although the two healthy concubines felt regretful, they still took the princess and accompanied the emperor to the palace gate surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids.

Just as everyone was about to pay their respects and bid farewell, the emperor suddenly stopped, turned around and waved to Liu Ying. "Come here."

Liu Ying's heart was suddenly in suspense when the emperor suddenly called her. Her heartbeat began to accelerate, and her body temperature began to rise. By the time she got close to the emperor, her entire face and forehead were red.

"How is the situation of Concubine Shao and her daughter?" Zhu Changluo knew that she was very nervous, so he deliberately made his voice soft and gentle.

Zhu Changluo felt helpless. Few people in the entire Forbidden City could speak to him without trembling. It was as if he wasn't a human being, but a man-eating monster. But then again, Zhu Changluo never intended to change this impression. As the saying goes, when the emperor loses his authority, the world is in turmoil. He could occasionally be kind and gentle, but that shouldn't lead to the impression that he tolerated anything.

"Your Majesty," Liu Yun said nervously. "Princess Shao is fine. She's gradually recovering. As long as she rests for a while, she'll be able to walk again."

"So, the child is indeed not well." Zhu Changluo had never raised a child before, and he had no knowledge of this subject. However, he knew from other concubines who had given birth that a swaddled child needed to be fed at least eight times a day, and a healthy child needed to be fed ten to twelve times. Any less than that, and something was definitely wrong.

"Your Majesty," Liu Heng hesitated for a moment, then finally chose to speak frankly, "It is very bad."

"Isn't the fever gone away?" Zhu Changluo's tone unconsciously dropped two degrees along with his mood.

"The fever's gone, but her complexion is sallow, her heart rhythm is irregular, and she's not getting enough milk." Liu Yun tried her best to speak clearly. "These aren't good signs. If this continues, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

"Is there any way to save it?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"Grandfather said it was very difficult." Similar to the emperor, Liu Heqing also came almost every day, except that Liu Heqing came to take pulses during the day, while the emperor came to visit in the evening.

"Alas," Zhu Changluo sighed. "Please, Your Majesty, forgive me!" Liu Heng knelt down. Since the day she arrived at Jingren Palace, Liu Heng had been worried that the Emperor would punish her and her family because of Concubine Shao's situation.

"You are not guilty, and you don't need my forgiveness." Zhu Changluo leaned over and pulled her up, patting her head comfortingly. "A doctor can cure illnesses, but they can't change fate. My dear girl, you've done your best. If you want to blame someone, blame it on the fact that it's the first year of the Taichang reign."

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In the early morning, when the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the annoying birds on the branches began their incessant singing all day long.

Whether it was his biological clock or the birds chirping, Lu Wenzhao opened his eyes punctually. Rubbing his eyes, wiping away the tears that had accumulated overnight, he got out of bed and reached for his clothes on the hanger.

As Lu Wenzhao's fingertips touched the white cotton lining, he heard a voice behind him that was still not very familiar. "Master."

"Did I wake you up again?" Lu Wenzhao took the lining from the hanger and put it on. As he tied the rope, he turned back to look at the woman on the bed.

It would be better to say that this was a girl than a woman. She had barely turned 15 years old when a letter from home, one that she couldn't refuse, invited her to the capital. Then, Luo Qing was brought into the Lu family and became the second concubine of Lu Wenzhao, a rising star in the Imperial Guard.

"Master, why are you saying that again?" Luo Qing tied the string of her underwear tightly with her backhand, then groped her way down the bed. "I'll help you change your clothes."

"You don't have to be so polite." Lu Wenzhao took the official robe from the hanger and put it on himself.

"You're welcome?" Luo Qing looked at Lu Wenzhao with a hint of annoyance. "Master, you're the one who's always talking nonsense."

"I didn't." Lu Wenzhao immediately shook his head in denial.

"Then why does the master never let me serve him?" Luo Qing stubbornly grabbed Lu Wenzhao's hand, preventing him from tying the rope for her.

"I was born poor and have never had anyone serve me in my life." Lu Wenzhao lowered his hands helplessly.

"Sister Jiu, don't you serve the master too?" Luo Qing was very skillful and quicker than Lu Wenzhao in putting on his clothes.

"She's my wife's dowry." Lu Wenzhao smiled inexplicably. "You knew that long ago."

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Lu Wenzhao's timing was very accurate. Not long after he arrived at the East Office Yamen, the night watchman's sound, which represented the fifth watch or the beginning of the morning, climbed over the wall of the yamen and reached his ears.

Lu Wenzhao always came early, but Admiral Liu Chengxi arrived even earlier. When Lu Wenzhao entered the hall, Liu Chengxi was already sitting behind the main table drinking tea.

"I'm honored to meet Admiral Liu." Lu Wenzhao quickly walked up to Liu Chengxi and performed a greeting respectfully.

Liu Chengxi nodded, put down his teacup, picked up his pen, and circled the roll call book in front of him. This was considered signing for Lu Wenzhao.

The Jinyiwei were a task-driven yamen, so roll calls were relatively casual. Only on the first day of each month, when the monthly detective missions were assigned, would a grand roll call take place. After the roll call, the vacancies filled by the thousand-household and hundred-household officers would be determined by drawing lots under the auspices of the governor-general, who held the seal of the East Office.

Outside of roll call, Jinyiwei at all levels simply reported to their respective superiors. Of course, if someone had a special mission and was unable to report to the yamen or to their superiors, they could choose not to come, as long as they had a reasonable reason and their superiors' understanding.

"I'll take my leave." Lu Wenzhao bowed again.

"Wait." Liu Chengxi stopped Lu Wenzhao. "Come here."

"What are your instructions, sir?" Lu Wenzhao walked quickly to the big desk.

"Sign this." Liu Chengxi placed the draft of the case closing opinion that he had shown Lu Wenzhao earlier in front of him, and then handed him the pen in his hand.

Lu Wenzhao suddenly became more energetic. "Is the case concluded?"

Lu Wenzhao did not directly participate in the work of interrogating the stolen goods. He just found an excuse that he was busy and needed support, and then he took the opportunity to pass the task of interrogating the stolen goods and the credit behind the task to Liu Qiao.

"Xing Kuan has used every possible torture method. If they can still hide it, and there's any left, then they should keep it." Liu Chengxi smiled faintly. "Sign it. I'll present this to the Command Headquarters today."

"Thank you, sir." Lu Wenzhao bowed again before taking the pen from Liu Chengxi's hand.

"Liu Qiao should thank you." Liu Chengxi smiled.

"Look at what you're saying. There's no need to be thankful." Lu Wenzhao quickly reviewed the draft of the closing opinion, confirming it was correct before picking up his pen to write. "Good things are best shared. If you only eat them alone, you'll choke to death."

"Write here! This space is reserved for you. What are you going to do after writing it?" Liu Chengxi nodded with satisfaction and pointed to the blank space between the names "Liu Chengxi" and "Liu Qiao" and said, "If outsiders didn't know, they would think that Liu Qiao was in charge of this case."

Liu Chengxi was the chief officer of the Eastern Office, so there was nothing wrong with him being listed first. However, if Lu Wenzhao signed his name after Liu Qiao, it would be a bit too modest.

Lu Wenzhao smiled silently and put his name between the two people according to Liu Chengxi's instructions.

(End of this chapter)