The Child Emperor

The atmosphere in the Palace of Qinzheng is undergoing subtle changes. The ministers kept silent at first, and they often asked three questions. They seemed incompetent, but in fact they were trying to give the queen mother a blow and let her understand that the court cannot do without the ministers. The ministers became active, competing to offer advice to show that they were not really incompetent. Now, they began to be vigilant and wary of each other, and they became more and more careful in their words, so as not to become the next accompanying death of King Qi.

Those in power have always had no tolerance for rebellious behavior, and they will never show mercy when taking revenge. This has been the case throughout the dynasties, and some emperors will even kill rebellion that is still in its infancy. Ministers can accept this kind of thing, and sometimes Will take the opportunity to eradicate dissidents.

The Empress Dowager's ambition surpassed most of the previous emperors. After issuing a superficially lenient edict, she has not relaxed her supervision on the arrest of King Qi's remnant party, and there is a trend of getting stricter and stricter. Even the harshest cruel officials The queen mother was not satisfied either. She kept asking for details and issued new orders, demanding that everyone who participated in the rebellion be dug out. People who were born to see people and dead to see corpses, from princes and ministers to ordinary people, whoever Nor can it be exempted.

What disturbed the ministers the most was that newcomers were ushered in the Palace of Qinzheng.

The Palace of Qinzheng is a place for discussing politics and drafting policies. Being able to come here to work means entering the core circle of power. Other ministers designated by the emperor.

From the day when Emperor Huan ascended the throne, the layout of Qinzheng Palace has not changed much. The five Gu Ming ministers selected by Emperor Wu have become regular visitors here, and sometimes other ministers are called in, all to solve a certain matter, and they are dismissed after the matter is over. .

Shangguan Xu is the elder brother of the Empress Dowager, who became the Grand Sima of the Southern Army in one step. He only stayed in the Palace of Qinzheng for a few days before going to the permanent barracks. The Grand Tutor Cui Hong and the right inspector Shi Shenmingzhi were ordered to leave Beijing, and another minister temporarily replaced him. Sooner or later, he will still leave, so he is not considered a regular employee.

The queen mother broke the old pattern and attracted a newcomer.

Han Ruzi didn't know many ministers, and he was one of them. The Minister of Rites, Yuan Jiuding, once demonstrated the enthronement ceremony to the emperor in person, and accepted the emperor's first "secret edict"—turning around, he handed the note to the emperor. The eunuch Yang Feng was killed.

Yuan Jiuding disappeared for a while, and Han Ruzi thought he was being suppressed, but unexpectedly, he rose to the top and became a minister trusted by the Queen Mother.

As a newcomer, Yuan Jiuding seldom spoke, and most of the time he just nodded, but the other ministers felt very anxious, and they knew very well that if newcomers came in, old ones would have to go out.

Han Ruzi only sat for a while in the Hall of Qinzheng, usually no more than two quarters of an hour. In this short period of time, he could also feel the tension and suspicion among the ministers.

The empress dowager oppressed her too tightly, maybe many ministers really supported the emperor, he thought, feeling more at ease in his heart.

The imperial concubine was also there, often coming out of the Tingzheng Pavilion, asking for a few details for the queen mother, and sending stacks of imperial edicts to Jingyao, the supervisor of the middle division.Jing Yao's position is at the entrance of the Tingzheng Pavilion, guarding a table with a seal on it.

Han Ruzi's heart beat a little faster, and she couldn't help admiring the imperial concubine, she didn't show any nervousness, she put down the edict casually, waited for Jing Yao to stamp the seal, then picked it up, checked it roughly, and handed it over to different eunuchs, eunuchs Then transfer it to the minister, the minister will also check it again, and then the scribe will continue to check it, and after there is no problem, it will be sent outside the hall for distribution to the relevant yamen.

Except for the empress dowager in the government cabinet, everyone in the hall was doing their actions in full view. Han Ruzi couldn't figure out how the empress dowager could hide the truth.

Soon, Han Ruzi no longer cared about the imperial concubine and Yuan Jiuding. Today, he has his own things to do.

The emperor was just a decoration in the Palace of Qinzheng, and rarely received attention. Only newcomers couldn't help but glance at the emperor occasionally.

During a quick glance, Yuan Jiuding, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, found something abnormal. He didn't dare to say anything, and immediately looked away, and continued to nod, but the doubts and curiosity in his heart had already taken root, so he couldn't help being indifferent, so he took a second look, At the third glance, I felt that I could no longer pretend to be confused.

Yuan Jiuding poked Feng Ju, the Minister of Officials next to him with his finger, "Your Majesty..."

Feng Ju was impatient, but after glancing in the direction of the throne, he couldn't keep his composure anymore, so he poked Han Xing, the military commander on the other side, and Han Xing immediately stretched out his hand to poke Prime Minister Yin Wuhai.

Yin Wuhai had a deep concentration, as if he didn't feel it, he was still chanting the difference between the two words, until he was poked three times, then he turned around slowly, looked up, squinted his eyes, and didn't respond for a long time.

The ministers kept quiet, but their strange behavior caught the eunuch's attention.

There used to be many eunuchs in the Palace of Qinzheng, surrounding the emperor and not allowing ministers to approach, but now there are only a few eunuchs, not as many as there are scribes in the palace, and they still take care of the emperor.

Zuo Ji seldom entered the Palace of Qinzheng. The one closest to the emperor was a middle-aged eunuch. He looked back and was shocked. His legs gave way and he almost fell to the ground. Then he uttered a childlike cry: "Ah... …Jinggong, Jinggong.”

Finally, all eyes turned to the emperor.

The emperor was sweating. Even though it was summer, the palace was still cool. The bean-sized beads of sweat on the emperor's face were definitely not caused by the heat.

The minister could pretend to be confused, but Jing Yao couldn't. He first waved his hand and ordered a eunuch to inform the queen mother, then hurried to the emperor's side, and asked in a strange tone, "Your Majesty...are you uncomfortable?"

Han Ruzi clutched his stomach and said in a hoarse voice, "Stomach hurts."

"Stomach...why does it hurt?" Jing Yao's voice trembled. If the emperor's pain was deliberately caused by someone, it would be a huge mistake for him to be so close. If the emperor really fell here In the hall, there will be another bloodbath, and I don't know if I can avoid it.

"It's okay." Han Ruzi squeezed out a smile. His pain was real. Since he took the pills Meng E gave him, he often experienced symptoms such as abdominal pain and hiccups. Only the first two times were more serious. After the method of reverse breathing, the symptoms will hardly appear, but since last night, he stopped reverse breathing, intentionally causing abdominal pain, which reached its peak after entering the Palace of Qinzheng.

He didn't look like he was "okay" at all.

Jing Yao didn't know how to respond, he stood there at a loss, he didn't dare to ask any more, for fear that the emperor would say something he shouldn't know.

The imperial concubine quickly walked out of the Tingzheng Pavilion, came to the emperor, and asked eagerly, "What's going on?"

The imperial concubine did not understand the emperor's tricks, and the concern expressed was genuine.

Han Ruzi frowned, "Stomach hurts, it's okay, this is not the first time, it will be fine later."

"Isn't it the first time? When was the last time?" The Queen Dowager raised her voice a little.

"More than a month ago, it should be... a few days before the queen entered the palace." Han Ruzi bent over and curled up, the pain was so painful that it was even difficult for him to speak.

The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows gradually, and turned to Jing Yao, "Why did no one inform the Empress Dowager about such an important matter?"

Jing Yao was at a loss, "This old slave doesn't know about this, is it because the slaves in the bedroom know about it and don't report it?"

Han Ruzi shook his head vigorously, "It's not the bedroom, it's in the Lingyun Pavilion... Ouch... Don't blame them, it's because I don't want the Queen Mother to worry, Ouch..."

The pain was so unbearable that Han Ruzi had to start breathing backwards, but his screams became even more miserable.

Finding that the emperor's pain seemed to have nothing to do with the conspiracy, all the ministers gathered around and knelt in a half circle under the throne, expressing their condolences.

"Call the imperial doctor." The imperial concubine ordered, everyone's reaction became normal from then on, and two eunuchs rushed out of the palace immediately.

"Why does Your Majesty endure the abdominal pain alone?" The queen mother came out from the listening cabinet, and the ministers and eunuchs who were kneeling on the ground separated on their knees to make way for a passage.

Han Ruzi looked up at the Queen Mother, and really wanted to rush over to ask where his mother was taken, but he just said in a weak voice: "My child can still...bear it, thinking it was just a temporary pain, and I don't want to, I don't want to make the Queen Mother worry... Oops."

The queen mother walked to the steps of the throne, stared at the emperor for a while, then turned around and said, "Biography Zuoji."

Zuo Ji had already heard what happened in the hall, and was guarding the door, when he heard the Queen Mother's voice, he rushed in immediately, landed on all fours, crawled a few steps, kowtowed repeatedly, and kept saying, "Your servant is guilty."

The hearts of the ministers and eunuchs in the palace were raised again. Everyone knew that Zuo Ji was the queen mother's confidant. He deliberately concealed the emperor's first abdominal pain, which seemed to be a bit of a conspiracy.

"What a bold slave, you knew you were guilty, why did you hide it and didn't report it?" The queen mother was really angry. The ministers and eunuchs kneeling on both sides lowered their heads, and their bodies shrunk even more than the emperor.

"I really don't blame Zuo Gong, it's me...persisting..." Han Ruzi defended Zuo Ji.

Zuo Ji himself did not dare to defend himself, this is the Palace of Qinzheng, and there are ministers present, and it would only be more sinister to shift the responsibility to the emperor, "I am guilty, I am confused for a while, I think your majesty is just a coincidence..."

"Do you think? Are you an imperial doctor?" The queen mother was even more angry. She took the situation firmly in her hands with great difficulty, and would never allow a small matter to cause many suspicions. "Slap your mouth and hit you hard."

In the palace, few people dared to touch Zuo Ji's hair, but in Qinzheng Palace, he was just a eunuch with a complicated background. Immediately, two eunuchs stepped forward, one pressed his shoulder and the other slapped his mouth.

It didn't take long for Zuo Ji's face to be dripping with blood, and he yelled "should be beaten" vaguely in his mouth. He knew in his heart that the queen mother had to deal with him severely in front of everyone, in order to stop everyone talking.

But he just didn't understand, how could the emperor's temporary abdominal pain recur, and why did he happen to be in the Palace of Qinzheng?

The imperial doctor arrived quickly, first kowtowed to the queen mother, and then knelt in front of the emperor to check his pulse, "What did your majesty have for breakfast?"

Han Ruzi's abdominal pain was not so serious, and his voice was still weak, "I don't remember, it seems to be the same as usual."

"Well, your majesty's breath is a bit disordered, it may be caused by poor food accumulation and overwork, in the next few days, it is advisable to eat light food, rest in bed more, and I will prescribe a few more medicines, after taking it, there should be no relapse. "

"Isn't it a matter of food?" the imperial concubine asked, she was more concerned about the emperor's safety than anyone else.

The imperial doctor did not dare to say that he was dead, "Probably not, but the minister may go to the imperial dining supervisor to ask for confirmation. It is not suitable for your majesty to stay here for a long time, and you should return to the palace to rest."

Several eunuchs joined hands to carry the emperor out of the Qinzheng Hall, and soon a sedan chair was brought in. Han Ruzi usually walked back to the palace, and it was the first time he took a sedan chair today.

The emperor's abdominal pain will cause a moderate disturbance, but what Han Ruzi cares most about is the reactions of the people around him.

That night, Zhang Youcai and Tong Qing'e knelt down to the emperor sincerely for the first time, showing expressions of awe.

Han Ruzi finally had two available people.

(seeking collection and recommendation)