Chapter 96
White catkins were floating all over the sky, clustered in clusters, with no place to fall. A thick layer had accumulated on the leeward corner of the Qianqing Palace. A little palace maid took a broom to clean it, and then she waved it, and all the catkins flew away. , drilling straight into the person's nose and throat.
The little palace maid was so angry that she couldn't even sweep up. She stomped her feet to vent her emotions. She caught sight of a pair of eunuchs coming out. She reflexively hid back and quickly covered her mouth and nose with her sleeves. Even though she was very far away, when She still wanted to be as far away as possible.
Not far away, a person who had just died was tightly wrapped in white cloth and was lying on a single frame made of simple bamboo strips. He was placed on the bluestone road. The water stains in the gaps between the bluestones wetted the white cloth little by little. When the wind blew, it was revealed. The face was already covered with pustules under the white cloth.
The eunuch guards who were carrying them were obviously numb on their faces, and their mouths and noses were all wrapped in silk handkerchiefs. They were carrying corpses that were still warm as if they were moving animals, and threw them into a pile with force. After ten corpses had been collected, the driver They were dragged out in horse-drawn carriages and cremated, and their mortal bodies were turned into ashes that were blown away and then dispersed.
The team transporting corpses was blocked in front of Xuanwu Gate, and the quarrels and fistfights were difficult to stop. In the face of life and death, everyone was in danger.
In just a few days, the epidemic spread far faster than anyone imagined.
The symptoms started from Ningshou Palace and spread in a circle. The epidemic was fierce. Apart from the palace maids and eunuchs, the ones most affected were the tall and strong bodyguards.
The hospital couldn't determine the cause, so it couldn't prescribe a prescription. It diagnosed it as smallpox, but the symptoms were far more dangerous than smallpox.
The West Wing Pavilion of Ningshou Palace burned out again in such weather. The prince was trembling in his coma, and the originally soft flesh was covered with pustules.
The prince was still shouting unconsciously: "Father, father, father."
The child's voice was clear and crisp, and his lips were chapped by the high fever for days. His longing for his father seemed to be grasping at a life-saving straw. Only by grabbing his father's lapel could his fear be alleviated.
The wise concubine was crying and could not stand up. She collapsed on the ground, unable to get up and did not dare to rest. She was afraid that once she left, she would not be able to see her child for the last time. The imperial doctor knelt down all over the room. Shaking his head, there was nothing he could do. The prince's life was hanging by a thread, and he relied entirely on decoction to survive.
Lu Jieming took Lu Zheng from the nanny's arms, untied his robe and picked him up. The patterns and lines embroidered with gold thread on the robe would always hurt the pustules on his face. He would Lu Zheng's face was close to the softest material of his inner clothing. He took the silk handkerchief that had been soaked by the maid and placed it gently on Lu Zheng's forehead.
"Zheng'er, father is here, you are a little man now, you have to be stronger."
The Xian concubine covered her mouth with a handkerchief and did not dare to cry. Lu Zheng was quiet in Lu Jieming's arms all night. When the sky was bright, she had a high fever again. Lu Jieming also didn't sleep a wink all night.
A group of humerus ministers were kneeling outside the palace, begging your majesty to put the overall situation first. The prince is important, but your majesty must not have close contact with him. If your majesty gets sick, the world of Dayan will not be saved.
They were crying all the time, and they looked like they just wanted to drag Lu Jieming out of Ningshou Palace.
Each one of them said bluntly that they wished they could suffer this for the eldest prince.
But when Lu Jieming really came to them and approached them step by step, how many of them did not try to hide away, or took advantage of the moment when they lowered their heads to pull up the gauze covering their faces. Pull.
Lu Jieming was too lazy to act out the role of a virtuous monarch and a saintly lord with them, and strode towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony quickly made way. He walked all the way, and the ministers knelt all the way until he sat down. After getting on the dragon throne, they were allowed to get up.
He didn't want to get entangled with them too much, so he asked them in a cold voice to speak quickly and end the morning court as soon as possible.
The ministers in the court reported their duties one after another, and their mouths hidden under the veil kept opening and closing. He listened and dealt with each one one by one, and his sharp back straightened.
When the debriefing was over, he bent his long legs, narrowed his phoenix eyes, looked at the courtiers standing at the front, pointed at one of them and asked: "Is there any change in the border area?"
The official had a tall nose and deep eyes, and was half of foreign blood. However, he grew up in Kyoto and had always been in contact with the informants who stayed in the border areas.
He took a step forward, his beard swaying under the veil, and spoke loudly, "The alien race has been restless over the years, and their rebellion has not ended, but recently they have suddenly restrained themselves, and even the army they have been supporting has been disbanded."
"Your Majesty suspects that the outbreak of the epidemic here is related to them?"
Lu Jieming flashed a thin smile, the corners of his eyes were longer, and the thin folds of his double eyelids made a small cross at the end of his eyes, making him look more and more indifferent. He had been suffering for a long time, and the corners of his eyelids were all red. He is tired, but his eyes are still powerful, "If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Keep staring."
The elders in the court were about to talk about this matter, but they were blocked by his words. Their emperor was really extraordinary. He only listened to a question in everything. He was like this even if it mattered no matter how big it was. He didn't care. Pay attention and make your own decision.
Then he decides on his own what he wants veterans like them to do in everything. I thought he was just a brat and overly arrogant.
But in the past six years, there has been no omission in decision-making.
There was already a subtle restrictive relationship between the monarch and his ministers. The emperor controlled the ministers, and the ministers restrained the emperor. But in front of this man, this restrictive relationship became slightly unbalanced.
Even if there is an epidemic, he has dealt with all domestic matters. The monarch is too wise, and their ministers are really at a loss what to do.
I don’t know how long this relationship will last. When the originally balanced scale tilts too far towards one side, something will happen sooner or later.
They cursed in their hearts and secretly applauded their foresight, but in fact Lu Jieming no longer wanted to deal with these old bones.
The balance is tilted, and it won't be tilted for a few years. Instead of wasting time with them talking nonsense, it would be better for him to deal with it directly and save time. Anyway, they argued back and forth in the court, but couldn't come up with any good solution. In the end, it was he who made the decision. When the situation was at its worst a few years ago, I couldn't even listen to their reports, let alone watch a group of old men spitting at each other like they were quarreling.
He stood like this all morning, until the eunuch next to Lu Jieming shouted down to court, many so-called nobles from aristocratic families did not even say a word.
Everyone was chasing after them in frustration, and when they were about to leave, they saw a little Taoist priest wearing Taoist robes running in. The clothes were the clothes of Qin Tianjian.
The Qin Tian Jian also has official uniforms, but in order to advertise themselves as "messengers of gods and Buddhas in heaven", they always wear Taoist robes in their own territory.
"Your Majesty! This catastrophe is the result of a crime committed by the gods and Buddhas! Someone close to Your Majesty acted against nature, so the gods and Buddhas will punish the prince. Your Majesty, please eradicate the sins in order to protect the country and the country."
Everyone was in an uproar and looked at the person who had left the throne. Lu Jieming turned around, his narrow peach blossom eyes showing a spicy and thin arc. He suddenly turned back and said, "Say it again."
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He seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and dusted his sleeves almost romantically. He walked down the four or five steps with his hands behind his back and came to the man, "Wang Xi pretended not to be in Qintian Prison, and then you are going to cause trouble?"
His tone was relaxed, and the little curve at the end even contained a hint of intimacy. He stretched his fingers to the man's chin, and with some strength, he said, "Come, raise your head and show me what you look like... I remember it well."
There was a "click", which was the sound of a broken neck.
The man was killed on the spot, right in the Jinluan Hall, under the plaque of "Justice and Brightness".
"I will remember every unjust soul who died under my hands," he looked down at the courtiers in the hall, "so if you have injustice to repay injustice or revenge to seek revenge, come to me. I am waiting for you."
The courtiers knelt down in a group, and every head under their black gauze hats was trembling.
Lu Jieming took the handkerchief handed over by the eunuch and wiped his fingers, "I said, anyone who dares to pay attention to my Qianqing Palace will go to the underworld."
The Qianqing Palace in his mouth no longer refers to this location, but to the person inside.
Everyone present knew it.
Rumors had already spread throughout the court that there was a woman living in Qianqing Palace. His Majesty loved her so much that she lingered there every night and never went to the harem again.
At first, it was said that Hu Meizi was bewitching the Holy Heart, and the memorials were all about admonishing the emperor not to be deceived by beauty. At that time, Lu Jieming could laugh it off. He desperately hoped that what was written in the memorials was true, and that he could really become that foolish emperor and desolate master. , but it’s a pity that now he has to find a reason to even touch the finger of “Fox Meizi”, and he has to disguise his identity as his younger brother.
Later, the rumors spread more and more, and they even found Master Qingyuan. He had ordered and banned it once before, and now it seemed that he had to see blood before he could do it.
"Now, are you satisfied?" He shrugged helplessly, his cruel and ferocious methods in sharp contrast with his handsome and elegant face, "You are so free, why not go to Taiyuan Hospital to try the medicine, Taiyuan Hospital can't prescribe it When the prescription comes, you will accompany it. Once the prescription comes out, you will taste it first. If it doesn't work, then bring it to me."
"I say it again, whoever touches the Qianqing Palace will go to hell."
After Lu Jieming said this with a smile, some officials were already fighting and fell down. The past two years had been so peaceful that they had almost forgotten what this living king of hell once was.
Lu Jieming still returned to Ningshou Palace. The court was incessant, and Ningshou Palace was also in trouble.
Zheng'er's body temperature remains high. She used to murmur in her sleep, but now she can't even talk in her sleep. When she lifts up her clothes, there are pimples all over her back and belly.
The concubine Xian was holding the child and shouting. Lu Jieming could hear clearly even before he entered the palace.
Just as he was about to step in, he saw Prince Rong waiting in the pavilion of Ningshou Palace with his sleeves folded. Prince Rong saluted him with a smile on his lips but the meaning was unclear.
Prince Rong didn't want to stay in the fiefdom, so he ran for kilometers at this time. Lu Jieming raised his eyebrows and thought, it's getting more and more interesting.
He turned around and walked towards the pavilion, but when he turned around, he told the eunuch beside him to listen, "Call Concubine Shu over."
……
The imperial doctor couldn't stop Xian Concubine. He pulled off Xian Concubine's sleeves and saw a small red rash on her body. It was the first time the rash appeared and it was not serious. The imperial doctor took a look at it and knelt down in panic, "Mother, Forgive me, I am incompetent!”
The virtuous concubine gasped, scratched the rash on her hands vigorously, and shouted, "You are incompetent, you are evil, you are God's punishment."
She shouted like this, as if she suddenly thought of something, the veins in her neck bulged, she hugged the child and ran out, the potential in her body was stimulated without limit, so many palace people couldn't stop her.
She yelled and stumbled all the way, heading towards the Qianqing Palace.
"Both of us are going to die. Why should we live with that sin? It was all her fault and her spell. I want to die with her. I want to die with her."
(End of chapter)