Jia Zhen, Uncle of the Red House

　　An imperial doctor next to him said, "Dare to ask the maid, where is that palace maid now?"

　　Baoqin replied: "It's in the side hall."

　　Someone immediately went in to check it out.

　　It didn't take long for those people to report back, and it was indeed acne!

　　Everyone present exclaimed.

　　At first, I thought that it might be a mistake, but now that the diagnosis is confirmed, everyone is afraid.

　　Xia Shouzhong's complexion also changed, and he said to Yuan Chun, "Niang Niang, the old slave respects the empress dowager's decree to carry out the sick person." After speaking, two people, one tall and the other short, with pockmarks on their faces, entered.Before long, they wrapped the ink paintings in sheets and carried them out.

　　Yuan Chun couldn't help but ask, "Where are you going to send her?"

　　Xia Shouzhong said with a smile, "Don't worry, Niangniang, she will be sent to Ye Ting Palace for the time being. When she recovers, she will naturally come back to serve as an errand."

　　Yuan Chun's face was sad.Entering the Ye Ting Palace is like entering the gate of hell. There is always only one who goes in and no one comes out.

　　When they took the ink painting away, Xia Shouzhong laughed again: "I also asked the empress to call everyone in Fengzao Palace."

　　Yuan Chun's face froze, "What do you want to do?"

　　Xia Shouzhong was still smiling, "Niangniang, this old slave has been ordered by Yi, and all those who have had contact with the palace maid just now will be imprisoned."

　　Yuan Chun was calm for a while before asking, "Where are you going to lock us up?"

　　Xia Shouzhong was about to answer, when a little waiter beside him whispered a few words in his ear, his expression changed suddenly, and he asked Yuan Chun, "Niangniang, did you feed the ink painting just now?"

　　Baoqin hurriedly said, "Eunuch Xia, it's me who feeds the ink paintings. The lady is so far away!"

　　Xia Shouzhong's expression changed, and he slumped: "Niangniang, you are embarrassing this old slave! How can this be good? How can it be good?"

　　But he didn't wait for Yuanchun to speak, and he had already ordered: "All the servants in Fengzao Palace, regardless of their size, will be sent to Chengxiang Palace to guard, and they will be released after five days if they are free of disease." Then he said to Yuanchun: "Please maiden these. Tian Bian stays in the palace and does not go out, the old slave will bring meals in on time."

　　Yuan Chun shivered, "Are you going to lock me up too?"

　　Baoqin supported Yuanchun and scolded: "Who gave you the courage? Don't you take the empress in your eyes?"

　　Xia Shouzhong pleaded guilty and said, "My lady's forgiveness, and the old slave is compelled to do so. My lady is so close to the ink painting, no one dares to judge whether the lady will also get the disease. In the palace, there are the Supreme Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and many other ladies. "Prince and princess, there can be no mistakes. Therefore, the old slave has no choice but to offend the maiden first, and then the old slave must kowtow to you and confess his guilt.

　　Yuan Chun still underestimated the seriousness of the matter.

　　This is an era in which there is no cure for smallpox, but only hard resistance.

　　This is an era when little pockmarked Xuan Ye survived with smallpox and vigorously promoted human pox vaccination.

　　What's more, this is an era without a cowpox vaccine.

　　Maybe today's people have no concept of smallpox. Smallpox in that era was equivalent to a terminal illness.

　　So after a while, there were only Yuanchun and Baoqin in the entire Fengzao Palace.

　　Looking at the empty palace, Yuan Chun said with a wry smile: "I originally thought that the palace was noisy, and I couldn't try to clean it up. Now that it's better, I finally got what I wanted."

　　Holding the piano, he ran out, tiptoed to look out, not only was the palace gate closed, but it was also locked.

　　She came back with tears on her face, "Niang Niang, they are too deceiving, so they locked us up like this, and didn't even give us medicine? If we were really sick, we would just watch us die. Lose?"

　　Yuan Chunqiang smiled and said: "How can it be so easy to get on? You, stop, anyway, it will be fine in a few days. Wasn't it just the two of us when we only entered the palace?"

　　Baoqin pouted and babbled, and he was so lost that he was going to change his clothes in a while, and take a bath in a while.

　　Yuanchun also allowed her to read a book of poems by himself.There are many songs in it that are very narcissistic, and Jia Zhen should be very familiar with them.

　　Back in Ningguo Mansion, the letter from the palace had already spread, and You Shi and the others were all gathered together.

　　"Master, how come there are pimples in the palace? I haven't even heard of it in Shenjing, let alone contagious. How did it get in?"

　　Jia Zhen was also puzzled.Shouldn't it be passed from the Shenjing to the palace?The news now is that the palace is raging, and the Shenjing is calm?This is unreasonable!

　　Ke Ren guessed: "Maybe the nobles in the palace are more delicate, and they eat finely, so it's easy to get them?"

　　Qingwen said: "There's no need to guess, someone must have brought it in from outside, and it's too late to find out."

　　You clasped his hands together and recited the Buddha, "Fortunately, the concubine's palace is not infected, which is also fortunate."

　　Jia Zhen is very anxious. If Yuanchun really gets smallpox, even if she can survive, the emperor will not like the pockmarks on her body. It is inevitable that she will fall out of favor. For Jia Zhen, she has lost the bond with the emperor. It is equivalent to lifting the veil of tenderness, leaving only the cold relationship between the monarch and the minister.

　　The emperor likes to say that if the king wants the minister to die, the minister has to die, but Jia Zhen is the one who wants the minister to die, and the minister is the one who doesn't die. When the two meet, something will definitely happen.

　　Therefore, Yuanchun must not be in trouble!Not only can nothing happen, but also have to give birth to a prince, so that is perfect!

　　"You can't hope that you won't get infected! I'll go to the palace early tomorrow morning and quietly let the mother-in-law plant cowpox. In this way, even if the palace is dead, I won't be afraid." Jia Zhen smiled confidently.

　　You Shi hurriedly said, "Master, what are you talking about?"

　　So, early the next morning, Jia Zhen used a small jar to pick out some of the pox pulp from the blisters around the milk, and put it in her arms to enter the palace.

　　I don't know if you go in and you won't be able to come back.

Chapter [-] Isolate Together

　　The emperor is not in Daming Palace today, which is very unusual for a diligent emperor.

　　Jia Zhen had no choice but to take Dai Quan to inquire about the news.

　　But Dai Quan was hesitant and hesitant to speak, which made Jia Zhen even more worried.

　　He said to Dai Quan, "Father-in-law, we are old friends. Can't you help me with such a busy job?" He quietly stuffed him a few banknotes.

　　Dai Quanwei: "Master, it's not that we don't talk about it, it's just that the emperor has issued a strict order, don't reveal the slightest bit, or you will be blamed!"

　　Jia Zhen stepped forward and took his hand, smiled and said, "Father-in-law, you don't have to say anything. If I say something, if you think it's right, your eyes will move up and down, and if it's wrong, you will move left and right. Okay?"

　　Dai Quan saw that there was no one left or right, and just moved his eyes up and down.

　　Jia Zhen asked, "Is the concubine Xiande okay in the palace?"

　　Dai Quan's eyes moved left and right.

　　Jia Zhen's heart sank, is it already infected?He suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, and only asked: "Did he be punished by the emperor or the empress dowager?"

　　Dai Quan's eyes moved left and right again.

　　Jia Zhen asked again: "Is it sick?"

　　Dai Quan's eyes moved left and right, then up and down.

　　What does this mean?

　　Jia Zhen stared and thought for a long time, "Are you sick or not? It's not like you're going to be sick, right?"

　　Dai Quan's eyes twitched wildly.

　　about to be sick?

　　Jia Zhen thought that someone in her palace was sick, and she was a close contact?I'm afraid that eighty-nine are not far from ten.

　　Jia Zhen became nervous. It was time for cowpox to be vaccinated at this stall. If it was delayed, it would be too late.

　　"Father-in-law, how can I see the emperor?"

　　Dai Quan is still moving his eyes.

　　Jia Zhen said anxiously, "You can talk about this!"

　　Dai Quan patted his head, "I'm all confused! The emperor is in the Xinuan Pavilion of Yanying Palace. Let's take you there."

　　On the way, Jia Zhen didn't speak. Dai Quan thought he was worried about Yuanchun's illness and couldn't say anything, so he just sighed inwardly.He was even ready for Yuanchun's death and Jia Zhen's loss of power.I'll drop by and greet Concubine Wu later, right?

　　The two came to Yanying Hall, and Dai Quan went to report it.

　　After a while, Dai Quan came out again and said with a smile, "Master, the emperor announced that you have an audience."

　　Jia Zhen tidyed up the jade belt of the python robe, bowed her head, and followed in.

　　The Xinuan Pavilion is the west second room of the Yanying Hall. It is divided into two small rooms, north and south, with carved Nanmu partitions.Under the window sill, there is a high and low kang that can sit and lie down, and the emperor's throne is set on the high kang sitting on the east and west position.The name of the plaque and the couplet of the royal book Suian Hall were posted above and on both sides of the royal seat.The colorful porcelain wall vases on the low kang walls and the nanmu boxes under the wall vases are completely captured by the large glass mirror on the opposite wall, which is immediately clear.

　　Jia Zhen knelt down and bowed like a ceremonial rite.

　　The emperor was lying on the kang, and when he saw Jia Zhen come in, he stretched out his hand, and Dai Quan hurriedly stepped forward to help him up.

　　"I didn't summon you, you came by yourself, which is really rare!"

　　Jia Zhen smiled and said, "This minister is just reinstating the emperor's orders. The workshops along the Weishui River were completed one by one. The output in the first month was not satisfactory. Only five hundred new-style cannons and one hundred large and small artillery pieces..."

　　"Okay!" the emperor interrupted him, "I know all this. Let's put these imitation Western firearms aside, I just ask you, have you completed the task I gave you?"

　　The emperor's voice was a little stern, "Several provinces will use one million taels of silver immediately next month. I have already boasted to them that they don't need one tael of silver from the treasury. Can you take them out?"

　　Jia Zhen said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, this minister is not the Minister of the Household!"

　　The emperor smiled and said, "Would you like to replace your governor with the Minister of the Ministry of Households? And then give you the title of a grand scholar?"

　　Is this entering the cabinet?A proper prime minister position!

　　Jia Zhen's mind was spinning rapidly, is this to remove military power, rise up and down in secret, and then remove the grind and kill the donkey?Or just joking, testing?

　　He reminded in surprise: "Your Majesty, this minister is not from the top three scholars..." Aren't you afraid that the scholars will rebel?

　　The emperor joked: "Don't worry about it, you said you would like it or not?"

　　Jia Zhen pretended to think about it, and smiled, "Your Majesty, can you change the minister to the imperial envoy of Zuodu?"

　　The emperor asked, "Why do you want to be a censor?"

　　Jia Zhen said, "The Censor doesn't have to do anything, he just needs to show his mouth and spray him if he doesn't like it. This kind of job is the most suitable for me."

　　The emperor laughed and scolded, "It's useless, I thought you would say Shang Shuling!"

　　"Shangshuling?" Jia Zhen shook her head anxiously, "Shangshuling is very hard-working, and they all die early, so they can't do it! This minister still has dozens of concubines who are like flowers and jade. If they die early, which one will be cheaper? ."

　　The emperor seemed to ask casually, and Jia Zhen answered casually.

　　Then, no one mentioned it again.In fact, Jia Zhen rejected the emperor's intention for the first time that he would not give up military power.

　　The emperor's face was very bad, he coughed a few times, covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and hurriedly put it into his sleeve.

　　Jia Zhen lowered her head and didn't see it.Just finished talking, it's time to get down to business.

　　"Emperor, can you let the minister see the concubine Xiande?" In fact, he was very uneasy, and he didn't know whether the emperor would agree or not.

　　The emperor looked at Dai Quan next to him and snorted coldly, "You told him?"

　　Dai Quan immediately knelt down, "Your Majesty, the servant never revealed a word!"