Chapter 33 Contacts
How big is the emperor's stomachache? Han Ruzi knew it.
As soon as the two eunuchs guarding the door heard the emperor's wail, they immediately opened their eyes from the half-dream, stood up and looked up, like watchdogs who heard the footsteps, vigilant and dazed.
None of them reacted as quickly as the other. Luo Huanzhang walked to the mat in two steps, knelt down on one leg, hugged the emperor, and stared into his eyes.
It was only later that Han Ruzi realized that Luo Huanzhang was checking whether the emperor's pain was real or not. It was no wonder that the master of the King of the East China Sea had doubts. As soon as he told the crucial secret, the emperor fell down on the table and rolled over. It was a coincidence up.
At that time, Han Ruzi didn't think about it so much, he just felt the pain, so painful that he didn't dare to straighten his waist, he could only curl up into a ball, with large beads of sweat oozing from his forehead, and he couldn't stop moaning.
With just one glance, Luo Huanzhang was convinced that the emperor was not pretending, and said to the eunuch, "Go and pass on the imperial doctor."
The two eunuchs panicked, stopped hurriedly, circled each other half a circle, and then one stayed and the other ran outside. The remaining eunuch was relatively young, kneeling on the ground, trembling all over, not knowing what he was thinking, suddenly rushed towards the emperor, as if they were going to die together.
Although Luo Huanzhang was a scholar, his body was not weak, he freed his left hand, pushed the eunuch away, and said sharply: "What are you panicking about, go and inform the Queen Mother."
The eunuch whimpered, ran out of the door even scrambling.
"What's going on, is someone plotting against His Majesty?" Luo Huanzhang looked stern, like a mighty general, not a scholar full of benevolence and righteousness.
Han Ruzi knew what was going on. The elixir that Meng E asked him to take took effect, and the symptoms were more severe than expected, and there was a writhing pain in his abdomen, "No, maybe... Maybe it's the wrong food, it's okay , it will be fine in a while."
"This matter is by no means simple, Your Majesty..." Luo Huanzhang was halfway through speaking, when hurried footsteps came from outside the door, he lowered his voice and sped up his speech, "All the ministers in the court support His Majesty's personal administration, and someone will contact His Majesty soon, Don't be suspicious."
Han Ruzi was just about to ask who secretly inserted the note yesterday, when Zuo Ji and several eunuchs ran in, knelt on the ground and formed a half circle.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Zuo Ji had never been a calm person. He maintained a cold attitude in the morning, but now he became an overly frightened wretch, sweating profusely, and seemed to pass out earlier than the emperor.
If the emperor really had three ups and two downs, the empress dowager's favor would not keep him.
The pain in the abdomen was not so obvious, it turned into a ball of hot air, looking for a way out, it felt like eating too much chili, Han Ruzi sat up reluctantly, as soon as he stretched out his hand, a towel was offered to him, he wiped it After wiping off his sweat, he felt better again, and said, "It's okay, I feel much better, maybe it's because I've eaten too much."
"The Imperial Food Supervisor is responsible for this matter!" Zuo Ji almost shouted this sentence.
Luo Huanzhang retreated on his knees, "It may also be that he exerted too much force when practicing martial arts, which made his breath not smooth."
"Ah! That's right, Your Majesty practices kung fu every afternoon. I have already said that this is not acceptable." Zuo Ji was eager to shirk responsibility, and he could blame anyone.
Han Ruzi didn't want to make matters worse, so he forced a smile: "It's just a small accident, it's not worth making a fuss about, especially don't alarm the Queen Mother."
"Don't you need to notify the Queen Mother?" Zuo Ji asked blankly.
Han Ruzi shook his head, "There are so many major events in the world, the Queen Mother has enough to worry about. Even if I can't share the Queen Mother's worries, I shouldn't add trouble."
Zuo Ji understood at once that the Empress Dowager was quite suspicious, and if things really went wrong, a large number of people in the palace would be in trouble, and he was also responsible, so he hurriedly turned around and said to an eunuch, "Hurry up and chase those two guys down!" Come back, don't talk so much."
The eunuch led the order to go downstairs, Zuo Ji said to the other eunuchs: "Everyone is responsible for this matter, no one is allowed to talk nonsense, understand?"
No one was willing to take on this responsibility, and all the eunuchs nodded together.
Zuo Ji was still not at ease, and walked up to the emperor, "Is Your Majesty really alright? Just in case... just in case..."
Han Ruzi stood up, took a deep breath, "Look, I've recovered. You all go down, and ask Master Luo to continue teaching the history of the country."
Most of the eunuchs left, Zuo Ji stayed and looked at the emperor with a good eye, the emperor frowned, and he would hold his breath and be nervous for a while.
For the rest of the class, Luo Huanzhang spoke quite well, looking out of the window, immersed in the perfect prosperity of Emperor Cheng.
It was time to go to the Hall of Qinzheng. The emperor got up and said goodbye to the master. The two finally made eye contact. Han Ruzi blinked and Luo Huanzhang nodded lightly.
Luo Huanzhang said that someone would contact the emperor soon, who would this person be? Han Ruzi's heart was full of curiosity and excitement. He was right. The ministers supported the emperor, but it was unexpected to choose Luo Huanzhang as the messenger. After thinking about it, he felt that it was reasonable.
Luo Huanzhang, a commoner, is the master of the King of the East China Sea and the teacher of the Cui family. He may be the person who is least suspected by the Queen Mother. Except for him, there is really no one else who can send a letter to the emperor.
But who was the person who stuffed the note yesterday?
Han Ruzi had a lot of doubts in his heart, but he couldn't think about it carefully. The hot air in his body was moving more and more urgently. He had to concentrate on practicing the reverse breathing method to force it down. In this way, he no longer had the energy to think about complicated things. question.
As soon as the emperor entered the Hall of Qinzheng, he was congratulated by the ministers. Good news came from the Kanto region. The Tai Fu Cui Hong, who had reunited the remnant troops and received support from various counties, fought a victory outside Luoyang City, and the Qi army was defeated.
Whether this victory can completely defeat the Qi army is still unpredictable, but everyone believes that this will be a turning point. From then on, Qi is no longer an urgent threat. The next issue that needs to be considered is to ensure that one does not land Catch all the rebels, especially King Qi, if he escapes the law for more than a month, it will be a great shame to the court.
There are also barbarians from all over the world who took advantage of the fire, bandits from all corners of the country who were overwhelmed, and princes from all sides who wavered in their positions. It is time to prepare to settle accounts with them one by one.
Han Ruzi was just listening in, and gradually realized that his previous views on the ministers were somewhat biased. Including Prime Minister Yin Wuhai, none of these ministers was really incompetent, and he could casually tell the name and merit of a certain county prefect or even a certain county magistrate. As for the shortcomings, as for the local specialties, customs and terrain, it is not a problem. The general trend of the world is in the minds of these ministers.
He used to think that Feng Ju, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was a guy with no ideas, but the facts proved that Feng Ju had the most ideas. He knew where bandits were not to be feared, where good generals were needed, and where elite soldiers were needed. can pass unanimously.
The imperial court already has an absolute advantage, and they have no reason to hide their abilities.
Han Ruzi began to understand why Emperor Cheng gave up revenge on the opponents of the prince's time. Without the assistance of these ministers, it would be extremely difficult to govern the world. Just memorizing countless names of places and people would consume the emperor. A lot of energy.
If he could get the support of these people, he would definitely be able to fight against the queen mother. Han Ruzi's confidence gradually increased, and he desperately hoped that the contact person Luo Huanzhang mentioned would appear soon.
After proving his ability to govern the country, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials once again showed his talent of flattery, dancing in the hall, shouting long live, and then said: "This is the blessing of the heavens. Your Majesty's wedding is about to come. In other words, the day after tomorrow when the Queen will be appointed may be the time when King Qi will be arrested."
These words were for the queen mother, Han Ruzi was expressionless, he might have to marry the queen against his will, but he would never give birth to a prince under the control of the queen mother, no matter who became the queen, it was useless.
The afternoon martial arts session was canceled on the grounds that the emperor needed to rest and prepare for the big wedding.
In fact, there is nothing to prepare for. Unlike ascending the throne, the protagonist this time is the empress. The daughter of the Cui family has long been receiving training from the Ministry of Rites, Taichang Temple, and palace maids to ensure that every step of the way when marrying into the palace will not be out of step. error.
Han Ruzi returned to the Palace of Compassion and Ning, and waited anxiously for the contact person. Seeing that everyone was suspicious, even Zhang Youcai and Tong Qing'e, who were serving him, seemed to hide some secrets in their eyes from time to time.
Not going to practice martial arts is also good. Han Ruzi's stomach hurt again in the afternoon. This time he was prepared, and he didn't show too much pain.
In the evening, the imperial concubine brought the king of the East China Sea to have dinner together.
The imperial concubine sat across from her, smiling as she watched the two of them eat, without moving her chopsticks.
The king of the East China Sea looked depressed, and as soon as he came in, he kowtowed to the emperor to admit his mistake, and expressed that he would make amends.
What can the emperor do? This is his younger brother, a close relative, and he will never turn against each other over a trivial matter. Han Ruzi forgave the King of the East China Sea and invited him to have dinner with him. Under the watchful eyes of the imperial concubine, the two brothers reconciled as before.
Donghai Wang just made a fool of himself in front of many honorable children, his appetite was greatly reduced, he put down the bowls and chopsticks after only a few mouthfuls, and served the emperor with dishes instead of the waiter, making everyone confused, so seeing that the empress dowager did not stop him, he nodded slightly , The eunuchs and maids are relieved.
"This dish is stir-fried lotus root. It is said that it can ventilate and relieve heat, nourish the stomach and soothe the nerves. Your Majesty should eat more." Donghai King was full of enthusiasm, almost acting like a spoiled child, but when he put the dish on the table, turned his back When everyone was there, his face darkened, he gave the emperor a threatening look, turned around and happily went to serve another dish.
Han Ruzi didn't think it was scary, he just felt it was ridiculous, and he didn't care about the king of the East China Sea, so he pretended he didn't see it, and ate normally, then put down his chopsticks to show that the meal was over.
The eunuchs and maids got busy, and Han Ruzi saw the shadow of "convention", but this convention had many benefits, and no emperor wanted to change it.
Thinking of the "convention", Han Ruzi looked at the Empress Dowager, who was also looking at him with a smile.
The emperor smiled back. He is not afraid of the empress dowager. The king of the East China Sea is ambitious and backed by the powerful Cui family. However, Han Ruzi has nothing, but very few places where he can be threatened.
The attendants withdrew, and the King of the East China Sea also withdrew. The Empress Dowager stood up and did not leave immediately. She walked slowly, as if checking whether the emperor lived comfortably. When there were no outsiders, she stopped, turned her head and said to the emperor: " Luo Huanzhang claimed that His Majesty is ready, is it true?"
Han Ruzi was taken aback, and stood up suddenly, his breath was not smooth, and his stomach began to hurt again, "You...how could it be you?"
The smile on the Empress Dowager's face slowly disappeared, "If you understand what kind of person the Empress Dowager is, you will understand my choice."
(Publication schedule: two updates from Monday to Saturday, 8-9 am, 18-19 pm, and one update on Sunday. One update today.)