She turned around and left the imperial study.
The palace lanterns dimly illuminated the dark corridor in front of her feet. The air was filled with the fragrance of magnolia flowers blooming in some corner. She walked out of Yuanchen Palace without noticing that behind her, under the shadow of the trees, there was a young boy standing quietly.
In the imperial study, there was another burst of suppressed coughing, intermittent, with the eunuch's low voice of prayer in between.
"… Your Majesty, you just coughed up blood, please call the imperial physician…"
With a "bang", there was a sound of bowls and plates falling to the ground and breaking - perhaps the emperor finally lost his patience and angrily swept them to the ground.
The surroundings became quiet.
A moment later, when another cough was heard, a look of resentment and reluctance flashed across the young boy's eyes.
He closed his eyes, and finally walked out from the shadows of the night, stepped onto the palace steps, and knocked on the half-open palace door.
"Father, I encountered something I didn't understand while studying, and I wanted to come here to ask you for your advice, but I didn't expect you to be unwell..."
He glanced at the eunuch who was squatting on the ground picking up the broken pieces of the medicine bowl, then knelt down towards the man opposite who was looking up at him.
"Your Majesty, please take care of your health." He knelt and said.
In this place, besides the Queen, the Crown Prince was the only person who could come and go without notifying anyone. When the eunuch saw him coming, he knelt down as if he had found a savior and begged in a low voice.
The emperor slowly put down the memorial in his hand and remained silent. The young boy ordered the eunuch to call the imperial physician, who stood up and rushed out.
After a while, several imperial doctors arrived. After carefully examining the emperor, they gathered together and wrote a prescription. They handed it over and said, "Why don't we ask the queen to take a look at it..."
"Don't bother her. Just do it."
The emperor looked tired and said indifferently.
The imperial doctors looked at each other, nodded and left.
The young boy was the only one left in the imperial court. He asked the emperor to rest early and respectfully took his leave under the emperor's smiling and pleased gaze.
He walked out of the hall, walked down the palace steps step by step, turned his head, looked at the lights reflected on the doors and windows behind him, his expression gradually turned cold, he concentrated for a moment, turned around and walked, his figure disappeared into the night.
Mu Fulan returned to Ziwei Palace.
The blood that kept surging in the body seemed unable to calm down until this moment, making people feel hot and sad.
She sat alone under the lamp for a long time before she gradually calmed down. She asked the time, and the palace servant said it was 11:33 am.
It was almost midnight, and she thought of Xier who lived in the side hall.
After entering the palace, he became more diligent than before, often reading late into the night. Several times, Mu Fulan caught him reading late into the night.
At this moment, she suddenly wanted to go see him. Even if he was asleep, it would be good to see his sleeping face.
God was kind to her after all, and brought this child with her into this world. Many times, when she was helpless and lost, she saw this child, and her heart seemed to have a clear direction and found support.
She left the bedroom and was about to walk towards the side hall, but she saw the figure of a young boy standing outside the hall.
She was startled, then walked towards him, smiling and gently scolding him: "It's so late, why haven't you gone to bed yet? What are you standing here for?"
The young boy still stood there, saying nothing.
Mu Fulan gradually felt that something was wrong.
She thought for a moment, then held the boy's hand and led him inside. After everyone in the palace had left, she said softly, "Xi'er, if you have anything on your mind, just tell your mother."
The young boy said in a low voice: "I know everything that happened tonight."
Mu Fulan was surprised. She didn't have time to think about how he knew what happened tonight, and she felt embarrassed.
She looked at the teenager in front of her, afraid that he might misunderstand her, and immediately wanted to explain to him. However, when she opened her mouth, she did not know how to explain.
She paused: "Xi'er, don't misunderstand..."
The young boy shook his head, and under Mu Fulan's surprised and somewhat embarrassed gaze, he slowly knelt down in front of her.
"Mother." He looked up at her and no longer called her mother, but mother.
"I know you entered this palace for me. I'm already the crown prince, and everything is going well for me. I'm not a child anymore, and I'll be able to take care of myself in the future. Besides, my father treats me better than his own son, so you don't have to worry about me anymore. If you don't like it here, go back to Dongting if you want to. Don't let me hold you back and hold you back."
He stared at Mu Fulan.
"Mother, please don't force yourself to accept someone you don't want to face because of me."
Mu Fulan's heart skipped a beat.
"In fact, I would be very happy if you could be with General Yuan, mother. He is a good man, and he will do his best to make you live a happy life without worries."
"Mother, Xi'er can promise you that one day, Xi'er will let you completely break away from the past and live a new life. This is what you deserve."
Finally, he said this sentence in an emphasized and slow tone.
Mu Fulan was completely stunned.
It's not that she wasn't moved. But at this moment, the shock and impact his words brought to her far exceeded being moved.
She lowered her head and looked at the young boy kneeling in front of her.
It's her Xier, she has really grown up, she thought.
He was no longer the child she had met in the temple, waiting eagerly for her to take him home.
She should have been extremely relieved, but at this moment, her heart was filled with only a deep sense of confusion.
She sat down slowly, lost in thought for a moment, and said softly, "Mother will consider it. Once mother has considered it clearly, she will make a decision."
The young boy got up from the ground, took Mu Fulan's hand and led her inside.
"Mom, go and rest first."
"No rush, let's take it slow." The young boy smiled and said softly.
In Penglai Palace, the sun and the moon are eternal.
Yuan Handing returned to Changsha. The imperial doctors did their best to treat the emperor's injuries, and would secretly visit Mu Fulan from time to time. The emperor worked hard, rested and cared for the people, appointed people to the right positions, and rectified disciplines, with a strong determination to govern. The new dynasty was a new one, and the people of the world were in awe.
The days passed silently like still water. Everything seemed to be getting better, except for the Queen Mother's illness.
According to the daily records of the Imperial Hospital, the Empress Dowager initially fell and injured her tendons, which led to blockage of her meridians, traction on half of her body, dizziness, and amnesia. Despite her best efforts, her condition recurred and was not optimistic. By the end of summer, the Empress Dowager's teeth were becoming increasingly tight, making it difficult for her to eat.
Misfortunes never come singly. At this time, suspicions that the emperor might have suffered a relapse of old injuries from years of war began to spread.
This suspicion first arose from some court officials, and then gradually spread, turning into a rumor that the emperor was seriously injured and could not be cured. People in and outside the capital were inevitably unsettled.
But soon, the rumor disappeared.
The emperor was a filial son, and everyone in the world knew it. When the empress dowager was ill, the emperor was extremely anxious. He left the palace and personally led all the officials to offer sacrifices outside the palace and pray for the empress dowager.
On that day, the emperor was wearing sacrificial robes and looked majestic. The whole city witnessed it with their own eyes. The rumors were dispelled and the people finally put their minds at ease.
After the suburban sacrifice, at noon that day, Mu Fulan was reading the medication log about the emperor's lung injury sent by the imperial physician in front of the south window of the living hall in Ziwei Palace. Suddenly, she felt that the surroundings were quiet and something was unusual. She looked up and saw that the palace servants in the courtyard in front of the palace had retreated at some point, and under the magnolia tree, stood a figure in a dragon robe.
Xie Changgeng came and stood there, looking at himself toward the window. He didn't know how long he had been there.
She closed the journal and slowly stood up.
He took a step and walked towards this side.
It was hot and humid in the dog days of summer. Mu Fulan welcomed him into the palace and saw sweat on his forehead. Knowing that he was always afraid of heat, she ordered people to open all the curtains in the palace that were half-closed just now.
"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?" she asked.
Xie Changgeng stopped at the entrance of the hall and said, "I will go to the north in a few days."
When the new dynasty was first established, there seemed to be peace on the surface, but in fact there were crises everywhere, especially assassinations and espionage activities, which were extremely rampant.
In the past six months, not to mention other places, just in Shangjing, as far as Mu Fulan knew, he had secretly dealt with no less than a dozen assassination attempts. It was extremely difficult to get close to him, so most of these assassinations were aimed at his right-hand ministers. And the rumors about his old injury recurring and his imminent death naturally spread in this way.
"Just a few days ago, the inspector completely eradicated the last spy den left in the capital. But the rumor that I will not live long has spread to Hexi. It has been peaceful there for a few years, and now the northerners are making unrest again, and people are a little uneasy. If I don't show up, it will be difficult to stabilize the army's morale by relying solely on government orders. Hexi is extremely important and must not be lost. I want to go there in person, and I will personally lead the army. I will hand over the affairs of the court here to Liu An and others, and they will assist the prince, and you will supervise the government. What do you think?"
He said, looking at her.
Mu Fulan raised her eyes, looked at him, and said, "I understand."
"As for the Queen Mother, I will also do my best," she added.
He remained motionless, as if waiting for her to continue speaking.
The hot afternoon wind blew in from the south window, making the crystal tassels on the curtain rustle, making people feel very irritated.
But she never said anything else.
He stood there for a moment, as if coming to his senses. He suddenly turned around and said hastily, "Thank you for your help."
Mu Fulan looked at the hurriedly departing figure in front of her, turned back, glanced at the medical journal behind her, and felt a warmth in her chest. She could no longer hold back and called out, "Your Majesty!"
The man had already stepped out of the hall, but suddenly stopped and looked back at her.
Mu Fulan took a deep breath, walked over under his gaze, and said, "Your Majesty, go over there. If you see the old patriarch, please give my regards to him."
"Okay." he replied.
"There is a shortage of doctors and medicine in Hexi, and it is inconvenient for the people to seek medical treatment. Once the situation stabilizes, if Your Majesty allows, I can select doctors to settle there and help spread medical skills."
"Okay." He responded again.
"Also, Your Majesty, please take care of yourself..." She paused.
"The court has just been established, and we cannot be separated from Your Majesty for long," she said.
An imperceptible darkness flashed across his eyes. He was silent for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face, and he slowly uttered the third "OK".
"I'm just showing my face. Don't worry."
His throat seemed a little hoarse. He nodded at her, retracted his gaze, turned around and walked away quickly.