[Qing Chuan] Mu Emperor's Grace

After the two separated, Hongli came to the queen mother's other garden, and Baoyan hurriedly greeted her.Hongli said anxiously: "Auntie, how is Huang Erniang doing now?"

Bao Cang sighed: "It's still an old problem, dizziness and lying in bed are better, but this asthma and hemoptysis is not getting better."

Hongli was heartbroken, and said in a deep voice, "Did Queen Mother rest?"

Bao Cang shook her head: "The Empress Dowager also suffered from coughing and wheezing in the past, but this time it was particularly severe. She coughed so much that she couldn't sleep every night, but it was better when she was sitting."

Hongli raised his hand to push the door, but he stretched his hand half way but retracted it again.Baoyan watched his movements, and said softly: "Your Majesty, let's go in and have a look. When he was in the palace, the Emperor was busy with political affairs, and he could only see each other every morning and evening. The Empress Dowager is looking forward to it every day in Shoukang Palace Your majesty, but he is afraid that you are worried, so he always suppresses it."

Hongli's hand hanging by his side trembled slightly, and Baoyu said softly: "Your Majesty... this old slave has something to say, don't know if I should say it or not?"

Hongli nodded and said: "My aunt is an old man next to Huang Erniang. Even I was raised by you. If you have something to say, it doesn't matter."

Baoyu hesitated and said: "The empress dowager mentioned when she was talking to the old slave recently that the number of times she has met the emperor now is...one less time..."

Hongli's eyes widened, and he looked at Baochao in disbelief: "Is the emperor's mother really saying that?"

"This old servant dare not lie to the emperor..." Baoyu said softly, "I beg the emperor, for the remaining days of the east tour, please spend time with the empress dowager."

Hongli staggered when he heard this, and almost lost his footing.Baoyu was in a hurry to boil medicine for the queen mother, so he left Hongli alone in front of the door.

Hongli walked into the room slowly, the air was filled with a strong bitter smell of medicine, the closer he got to the bed, the more Hongli's heart trembled.The queen mother was lying under the thick quilt, her chest was heaving violently, and the terrifying panting became more and more obvious as Hongli approached. Even in the half-dream and half-awake state, the queen mother would cough twice now and then.

Hongli stood quietly on the edge of the bed, looking at the empress dowager's hair full of silver hair, his heart ached.Even if he was honored and rich all his life, he would still be tortured when the oil ran out and the lights ran out.

Hongli recalled that when he was a child, sometimes when he came to pay his respects to his mother and concubine, he would run into a palace lady and report back: "Grand Concubine Xi is taking a nap, please wait a while."

Hongli was very playful when he was a child, and he couldn't bear to wait. He always sneaked into the inner room to peek at Concubine Xi's sleeping face when the maids were not paying attention.The woman in my memory is extremely beautiful, especially at the moment when she was woken up by Hongli, with a lazy look in her sleepy eyes, many years later, she still remains in the depths of Hongli's memory.

If Hongli hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that the old man who was lying on a sick bed and getting thinner was his beloved Empress.

He stretched out his hand tremblingly, wanting to stroke the Empress Dowager's hair, but before he touched it, he suddenly heard the Empress Dowager's voice: "The emperor... is here?"

The emperor hurriedly responded softly: "Emperor mother, the son is here..." The queen mother slowly opened her eyes, and the corners of her lips slightly curved: "The Ai family guessed it was you... the smell on your body , I remember..."

Hongli felt sad, and he knelt on the side of the bed, holding the Empress Dowager's withered hand: "My son is unfilial, and the Empress Dowager is worried..."

The queen mother shook the emperor's hand vigorously, and smiled lovingly: "There are seven sufferings in the Buddhist family. Birth, old age, illness, death, resentment and hatred, love and separation, and not being able to ask for it. I have mourned the family and worshiped the Buddha for many years. I have already seen through it. The emperor must not So sad..."

The more indifferent the Queen Mother was, the more flustered Hongli became. He panicked and said, "Mother Huang, there are still many places my son hasn't accompanied you on the east tour. You haven't heard the authentic Bangzi opera yet. You must Get well soon so that your son can be filial in front of you..."

The Empress Dowager listened with a smile, and seeing that Hongli became more and more excited as he spoke, she pinched the emperor's hand: "Good boy, listen to what Aijia said, no one knows better than Aijia... ..." The Empress Dowager stroked her chest and said with a slight smile: "You heard it too, the voice here is so loud that it can scare people to death... Now that Ai's family can't even get out of bed, I'm afraid I won't be able to watch the Bangzi opera ..."

Seeing that Hongli's eyes were red, and there was a trace of wetness in the empress dowager's cloudy eyes, she insisted and said: "The emperor need not be sad... Aijia will tell you something from the bottom of my heart... This disease is too difficult, Ai It's the first time I feel that the night is so long after I have lived such an old age, and when I close my eyes, my chest hurts intermittently, and I cough all night until I feel nauseous..."

Hongli felt pain in his heart when he heard this, and the queen mother weakly pointed to the empty medicine bowl beside the bed: "Ai's family drank countless medicines, but the disease just didn't get better. Sometimes when Ai's eyes were closed, he even felt unable to see Tomorrow's sunrise..."

Hongli trembled all over, and raised his tone involuntarily: "Emperor Niang!" The queen mother said softly: "The emperor...no one can accompany you forever, not even Aijia. Aijia only hopes to have someone to accompany you forever By your side..."

Feeling the emperor's hot tears dripping on the brocade quilt, the queen mother hesitated and said, "Heshen...is he alright?"

Hongli nodded, saying that men do not flick their tears lightly, but at this moment Hongli's tears could not stop overflowing his eyes.The queen mother couldn't see him being so sad, and said in a hoarse voice: "Silly boy... In my life, I have had the most filial son and the most well-behaved granddaughter, and when I grow old, I can still have my grandson by my side. No shortage, Aijia is really content..."

The queen mother wanted to comfort the emperor, but she never wanted to make Hongli cry even more fiercely. In the end, the queen mother could only wipe his tears with her sleeves: "Why are you still like a child? Aijia remembers that when you were young, you always said, If you want to be the Balutu of Manchuria, you don’t allow yourself to shed tears so easily, why do you love to cry when you grow up?”

Hongli wiped his face with his sleeve indiscriminately, and tried to force a smile: "What the queen mother said is that the son lost his temper..."

The Empress Dowager's eyes lingered on Hongli's face, and she suddenly smiled and said: "The days go by too fast, in a few days, Shi Ge'er will also reach the age of marriage..."

Hongli replied: "Yes, by that time, Empress Empress will be able to drink the tea served by Shigeer..."

The queen mother did not answer, but just held Hongli's hand and said word by word: "The candidate for this forehead must be carefully selected. In the past, Shi Ge'er always said that she would not marry anyone, and would stay by Ai's side. Xiao Nizi is the treasure in the palm of Ai's family, if she is unwilling, the emperor can't force her..."

There was an ominous premonition in Hongli's heart, and the Queen Mother's tone seemed to be confessing something.He really wanted to stop the Queen Mother from continuing, but the old man was very stubborn this time, holding the emperor's hand tightly, and Hongli couldn't find a reason to interrupt for a while.

He could only laugh and say: "Look at what Queen Mother said, Shi Ge'er is also my treasure. In my eyes, there is no man in the world who is worthy of her..."

The queen mother sighed softly: "Don't coax Ai's family. As the saying goes, the kindness of a king is unpredictable. Although you are a child of Ai's family, you are still the emperor. Even elder brother and Gege, it is not up to you to say what you want to deal with... "

Hongli looked at the empress dowager's dignified face, and pondered: "Is the empress dowager worried?"

The empress dowager's eyes moved slowly when she heard the words: "Emiang doesn't play around with you. Although the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, the Ai family has seen and heard a lot in the past few years. Tell the Ai family the truth. Yongxin...is it possible to sit in that seat..."

Hongli felt that when the queen mother asked this sentence, her hands became stronger.However, Hongli couldn't give an accurate answer. He looked at the look of expectation in the Empress Dowager's eyes, but he could only let that expectation fail.

After a while, he slowly opened his mouth and said: "If you go back to the emperor's mother, my son... dare not lie to you, this matter is in my son's heart, and there is no conclusion yet."

The queen mother waited for a long time, but did not get a definite answer, but it was not unexpected.She slowly looked away, and sighed softly: "It's the Ai family's fault. After insisting on picking the Ulanara family back then, the disputes between your young couple have not stopped these years. The Ai family was worried, and persuaded him However, it is still the same, now that the empress has cut off her hair, the Ai family only asks for one thing from the emperor..."

The queen mother's eyes seemed to be nailed to Hongli's body, and she said word by word: "Even if the emperor doesn't like the queen...even if the queen has done many wrong things...", the queen mother suddenly strengthened her hands: "But the child is innocent. of……"

When the Empress Dowager mentioned this, Hongli already fully understood, he nodded and said: "My son promises you, no matter how I deal with the Empress, I will not implicate Yongxi."

Seeing Hongli's indifferent expression, the queen mother lost half of her strength in her clenched hand, and murmured: "Okay, okay!"

After a while, he found that Hongli was not interested, so he smiled and said: "Yongzhen has been unfavored since he was a child. Although the Ai family prefers the queen, it is inevitable that they are not considerate of this grandson on weekdays. Later he was raised in the Shoukang Palace, and the Ai family got close to him. Looking at him, the Ai family could always think of you when you were a child. He is a good boy. The Ai family does not ask him to rule the world, but only wants him to live forever Peace and joy, no worries about food and clothing...Emperor, can you agree to Aijia?"

Hongli noticed that the queen mother's hand strength was getting weaker and weaker, so he hurriedly replied: "My son promises you..." As if he was afraid of something, Hongli said anxiously: "The empress dowager wants to see elder brother, Gege, ten Ge'er is always talking about wanting to see the imperial grandmother..."

The queen mother smiled and shook her head: "Emperor, listen to what Aijia said...Although Aijia spent all his life in the harem, the women in the harem are also charming and charming, each with their own thoughts..."

"Aijia's skills have not been practiced, but the ability to look at people is good... Heshen is smart, cautious, and humane. Aijia originally thought that love will never last, and wisdom will hurt. It is really difficult to find the true heart in such a person... But today, Aijia felt that He Shen's thoughts were not as serious as Aijia thought. If the emperor really recognized him, then he would take care of him Let's go..."

Hongli's eyes widened in surprise: "Emperor Niang...you..."

The Empress Dowager looked at Hongli reluctantly: "As long as you are happy, Aijia can feel at ease. Aijia is looking after the century-old foundation of the Qing Dynasty for the late emperor. One day, I will report to him..."

Hongli's face changed suddenly, but the queen mother was already lying face down, and she no longer looked at the emperor: "Aijia is tired... I want to rest..."

Hongli froze in place, looking at the emaciated figure of the empress dowager, he couldn't even support the quilt covering his body, as if the empress dowager closed her eyes, and heaven and man would be separated forever.

Hongli knelt down straight, and kowtowed three times in the direction of the bed, the sourness at the tip of his nose made him frown.When Hongli walked into the garden, he saw the precious dowry holding a medicine bowl beside him, and hurriedly said, "Auntie..."

Baoyan stepped forward to take a look, and saw that Hongli's face was dirty, and the tears and dust made him look very embarrassed.Baolian, who couldn't laugh or cry, hurriedly handed the handkerchief to Hongli: "What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

Hongli answered the wrong question: "Which imperial physician prescribed this medicine?"

Baoyu looked puzzled, but still answered truthfully: "It is the prescription that the imperial hospital sentenced and accompanied the imperial physician to expel after treating the empress dowager together. His body was also hollowed out by these domineering medicines, and now he is just...hanging..." After the words fell, Baolian realized that he had said something wrong, and sneaked a look at Hongli, only to see him standing still Immersed in his own thoughts, his face was heavy.

Baoyu was about to bring the medicine into the room, but Hongli suddenly raised his hand, and the medicine bowl in the tray fell to the ground, and the medicine soup and fragments scattered all over the floor, Hongli said sharply: "Harmful thing... Waste...a bunch of waste..."

Baoyan had never seen Hongli get so angry, and was frightened for a moment, until Hongli walked away from the queen mother's other garden, leaving only an angry back, before he reacted.

After recovering the precious dowry, he didn't care to clean up the mess, so he stumbled to find a guard on duty, and said anxiously: "Quick! Go find Mr. He, and say that the emperor was furious and threw the empress dowager's medicine bowl. He will understand...he must be quick!"

But he said that when the guard came to pass the interrogation, He Shen was holding the scroll in his hand and read to the beginning, and was about to taste it carefully, when he heard the jailer's message.

He didn't care about tidying up carefully, put on his cloak and felt hat, and rushed to the place where the officials of the imperial hospital were staying.In winter, He Shen walks like flying, and along the way, he can clearly see the white air produced by his breathing.When he approached the north wing, he heard heart-piercing wailing before he entered the door.He Shen walked into the yard, even though he was mentally prepared, he was taken aback by the scene in front of him.

In the narrow courtyard, there was a strong smell of blood, rattan stools were lined up side by side, and on top of them were imperial doctors who were shivering in the cold wind with their official uniforms stripped off.They were tightly bound, with paper rolls in their mouths to prevent them from screaming.

Hongli was sitting at the head, playing with the paperweights on the temporary table with a gloomy face. The edict of staff duty had been issued, but it was not carried out at the same time, but one by one according to the official position from low to high.

He Shen couldn't help but imagine, enduring the bone-chilling cold, the screams of his colleagues in his ears, and the boundless fear in his heart, it was simply purgatory on earth.He Shen shook like sifting through chaff, and Hongli found the trace with this shake.

Hongli's expression changed, he frowned and said, "Why are you here? Go back!"

Seeing He Shen's eyes, he stared blankly at the blood stains on Li Mu's lower body, and then turned his head to look at him in a daze.Hongli reluctantly walked to Heshen's side, and in front of all the imperial physicians who had already lost their minds, raised his hand to cover Heshen's eyes: "Dirty, don't look..."

The tone of these words was gentle and tender, but the volume was not low. All the officials present suspected that they had been hallucinated by fright.

He Shen didn't have time to think about everyone's thoughts, he took advantage of the opportunity to hold Hongli's hand in front of him, and was startled by the cold touch: "Your Majesty... what's wrong? What did you do wrong? Made the emperor so angry?"

Being held by He Shen, the impatience and anger in the emperor's heart were calmed down a bit, he tried his best to suppress his anger and said: "You shouldn't ask me about this, you should ask these highly skilled doctors, all of whom pride themselves The art is superb, like the reincarnation of Hua Tuo, and he writes some prescriptions to make a fool of himself. If they hadn't delayed the Queen Mother's illness, why would the Empress Dowager have to suffer today."

While stroking Hongli's hand, He Shen listened carefully to Hongli's words, and understood after a while.It must be that the queen mother's condition worsened repeatedly, which caused Hongli to anger all the accompanying imperial physicians.

He glanced at the dying officials of the imperial hospital, and the pair of eyes staring at him, full of expectation and fear, turned his head and smiled at Hongli: "In this way, they are really a group of quack doctors..."

The imperial physicians present all looked at He Shen in disbelief. If it wasn't for their mouths being gagged, they would have already yelled at him, especially the imperial court judge who stared at He Shen as if he wanted to eat people.

He Shen's tone was still soft, but the topic changed: "It's just that, in my humble opinion, it's still on the east tour road. Although these quack doctors are useless, the basic diseases can still be cured. The emperor's trip, the entourage There are many people, and at the same time they have traveled to many places, so they are afraid of being unaccustomed to the environment. Rough people like slaves can tolerate procrastination for minor ailments and pains, but elder brothers and princesses are golden branches and jade leaves. Those quacks should be reassuring."

Hongli frowned and said, "So on weekdays, if you feel unwell, you would force yourself not to speak?"

He Shen couldn't help showing a smile, Hongli's heart trembled strangely, and when he regained consciousness, He Shen had already put away his smile.Hongli said sternly: "If a minor illness drags on for a long time, it will become a serious illness. Don't procrastinate next time..."

He Shen nodded and said: "The slave will save..."

The two responded to each other like no one else, and the tense and depressing atmosphere gradually disappeared.

Seeing that Hongli's hands gradually warmed up, and his face softened, He Shenfu persuaded again: "At the moment, the palace is not as crowded as the Forbidden City. If the news spreads that the emperor beat the minister with a cane, the people will know about it. I'm afraid it will cause criticism, so the slave thinks that the emperor might as well keep these quack doctors and deal with them when he returns to Beijing."

He Shen's voice was not high, his tone was gentle and calm, well-founded, as if he was not affected by the tragic situation in front of him at all.

Hongli took a look at the officials who had vented a lot of breath but had little intake, and the high-ranking imperial physician who was shaking violently, and said in a deep voice: "Today, I will just listen to what He Shen said, spare your lives, and wait until you return to the capital." , whether you can survive depends on your ability..."

The imperial physicians who were lucky enough to save their lives said one after another: "The guilty minister thank the emperor for his kindness..."

Hongli frowned and said: "My lord saved your lives, not me..." After finishing speaking, he led the guards and turned to leave.

As soon as the emperor left, the courtyard was in chaos. The experience of the rest of his life made these experienced and prudent imperial doctors lose control. Some closed their eyes and trembled all over while mumbling, some howled wantonly, and some They scolded and laughed at each other: "Tsk tsk tsk, Mr. Liu... Are you scared to pee?"

"Who...who peed...don't talk nonsense..."

"I told you to stop pretending... I can already smell it..."

He Shen stood aside, frowning and looking at the messy yard, while instructing the guards to carry the seriously injured official's eyes down, and at the same time instructing the guards to clean up the mess and wipe away the blood.

Among all the officials, only the Tai Hospital judge remembered Hongli's last words.Dressed neatly, he walked up to Heshen respectfully, and knelt down just under Heshen's clothes. The originally noisy courtyard became silent because of his actions.

Seeing the older court judge kneeling in front of him, He Shen hurriedly reached out to help him: "What are you doing, a man has gold under his knees, kneeling up to the king, kneeling down to his parents, how can an adult give it to him?" The reason for kneeling..."

The judge from the Imperial Hospital who was nearly two rounds older than He Shen said in a hoarse voice: "If it weren't for Your Excellency... the life of the next official, I would have given it here today. You are a guilty minister, and you have the grace to save your life..."

He Shen also stopped arguing with him, but just helped him and asked: "Since I have a favor with you... now I have a problem with you, please don't lie to me..."

The Supreme Hospital judge repeatedly said: "Please tell your lord, the next official will know everything..."

He Shen looked around, and finally said with a smile: "Please take a step to speak..."

The two walked under the shade of a secluded tree, and He Shen said softly, "Is the court judge the empress dowager's chief physician?"

The court judge sighed: "Exactly..." He lowered his head slightly, pointing to the silver-white hair on the back of his head: "Your official is so worried that his hair is turning white..."

He Shen raised his eyebrows and asked, "But the Empress Dowager's illness is very troublesome?"

The court judge nodded helplessly: "My lord, you also know that even the nobles of the Tian family will die one day. To be disrespectful, those so-called thousand years and long lives are all lies. Anyone, you and me , the emperor, and the empress dowager will all have their deadlines. The empress dowager has also reached her age. When she consults a doctor on weekdays, she is holding back some ailments. The illness has accumulated for too long, and it has become the current situation. Tell me... There is no way a disease can be cured in a moment."

He Shen looked solemn: "Then according to what you said, how many days does the Empress Dowager have?"

The court judge was taken aback by He Shen's straightforwardness, he took out his handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, making sure that no one had compared two fingers.

He Shen said, "Two years?" The judge shook his head.

He Shen said again: "Two months?" The court judge sighed, but still shook his head.

He Shen's eyes widened, and he said in a trembling voice: "Could it be... that it's twenty days?" The court judge did not deny this time: "The Empress Dowager is in a hurry, and now she is almost exhausted. I can't go back to heaven..."