Zhou Shuren entered the palace in a carriage with a worried look on his face. Eunuch Zhang remained silent throughout the journey as this was not the time to reveal any information.
Zhou Shuren didn't ask. He closed his eyes and thought about various possibilities in his mind, then organized his words to respond to what the emperor might say.
When he arrived at the palace gate, Zhou Shuren found that he was the only one there. He did not feel happy about being treated specially. He would rather not have such an honor!
Going all the way to the emperor's bedroom, Zhou Shuren saw the kneeling King of Qi and others, with the prince kneeling in the front.
Zhou Shuren, "..."
Don't scare him, maybe he's already gone.
Fortunately, I made it all the way into the bedroom. The emperor was leaning on the cushion, the emperor was sitting on the edge of the bed, and on the other side was the empress dowager. The empress dowager's eyes were red and I don't know how many tears she had wiped away.
Zhou Shuren quickly saluted, "Greetings to the Emperor, greetings to the Emperor."
The Emperor raised his hand, "Get up."
Zhou Shuren didn't look closely at the retired emperor's face. He just glanced at him and saw that his face was gray. This feeling was really bad. So he got up and sat down. Zhou Shuren sat down carefully. This place was very close to the bed.
The emperor coughed, and the emperor hurriedly handed him some water. After the emperor moistened his throat, he spoke, "Shu Ren, my body is not doing well."
Zhou Shuren, "..."
There's no way I could respond to that!
The Emperor responded, "Father, you will recover. Everything will be fine."
The emperor raised his hand and said, "I have been seriously ill recently and have been sleeping in a daze. I have had many dreams, which are too real. The real me wants to wake up."
Zhou Shuren's heart skipped a beat. It was obvious that the dream had dealt a heavy blow to the emperor. He didn't even mention "I" anymore, but directly said "I", "Dreams are the opposite of what they actually are."
The retired emperor didn't say anything, but stared at Zhou Shuren. He was already very ill, and he looked much gloomier, and it was quite scary to stare at someone so closely.
The emperor was stunned, looked at Zhou Shuren again, and said softly, "Father."
The emperor withdrew his gaze and Zhou Shuren broke out in sweat.
The Emperor paused and said, "There is no Shu Ren in my dream. In my dream, I died a long time ago, but I still dreamed about the Emperor's reign."
Zhou Shuren, "..."
Silence is golden, just keep silent, there is no need to be so scary.
The emperor frowned, "Father, dreams are just dreams."
The Emperor raised his hand and continued, "I dreamed that last year's war was terrible. The treasury had no money, the soldiers' equipment had not been replaced, and the food and grass could not keep up. Although we won, it was a miserable victory. Nearly half of the soldiers were killed or injured. The villages and the county were all covered in white."
Zhou Shuren knew clearly in his heart that what the retired emperor was talking about must have happened without his existence. He never expected that the retired emperor would dream about these things.
The emperor continued with lingering fear: "This is not the worst. Last year, there was a flood and the whole country had a poor harvest. There was a food shortage. The court had no money and no food. The whole country was dead silent and many people died."
After hearing this, Zhou Shuren understood everything. It was not a will, but the emperor was afraid, so he wanted to see him to prove that the dream was fake.
The emperor's pupils constricted. Even though he knew the dream was fake, he didn't dare to think that it was really as his father said. He still had ambitions and it was good enough for him to protect the country.
Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have always believed that dreams are fake. If you really care about it, it is better to say that it is a warning, a warning of the importance of food, a warning that the temperature is abnormal, and the court should be more prepared."
The retired emperor motioned Zhou Shuren to sit down, and his eyes never left Zhou Shuren. Why was he afraid of nightmares? Because he had them before he abdicated, and they were so real at that time. The common point was that Zhou Shuren was not there.
This also made the retired emperor more convinced that Zhou Shuren was a protector of the country. Zhou Shuren came up with many good ideas, and the treasury had silver. No matter whether it was the war last year or the shortage of food, the Ministry of Revenue controlled by Zhou Shuren handled it very well, and each and every one of them was inseparable from Zhou Shuren.
The emperor excitedly pulled Zhou Shuren's official sleeve and said, "Shuren, the master of Huguo Temple will come to Beijing tomorrow. Come with me to meet the master."
He had calculated for Zhou Shuren before, but several real nightmares made him feel uneasy, so he wanted to calculate it again carefully.
The hairs on Zhou Shuren's back stood up. No, he was resisting. What he and his wife resisted most was seeking fortune-telling from a fortune teller, for fear of being discovered!
Zhou Shuren tried his best to keep his tone calm and curled his lips, "It is not appropriate for me to stay in the palace."
The emperor refused to let go. Zhou Shuren pulled at his sleeve but failed to budge. He was completely speechless. Was he afraid that he would run away
The emperor said, "Nothing, the King of Qin will accompany the Marquis of Zhou."
He sensed his father's uneasiness. His father did not tell him when he woke up, but only told him when Marquis Zhou came. This showed how much his father valued Zhou Shuren. He also understood his father's intention of asking him to invite a master tomorrow. Influenced by the dream, his father wanted to do another calculation for Marquis Zhou.
Zhou Shuren, "..."
No, you are fine, but he is the one in trouble. He has been keeping his mask for so long, he doesn't want to be exposed. Just thinking about it makes me feel cold.
What's even more tragic is that he has to stay calm and not have any overreaction!
Outside the bedroom, the King of Qi and the King of Chu looked at the King of Qin. They were happy that their father had woken up, but his father refused to see them and instead invited Marquis Zhou.
Rongchuan was also confused. He also wanted to know why his father-in-law was invited. It was not like he was leaving a last will. The head of the academy said that it was a good sign if his father woke up, which meant that his father would not die. Then why did he invite his father-in-law into the palace
Prince Liang was half kneeling and half resting. He had already decided that once his father passed away, he would follow him. Before entering the palace, he had arranged all the funeral affairs. However, things took a turn for the better. His father was still alive, and so was he. After digesting it for a while, his eyes could not help but fall on the fifth brother.
King Liang thought, if he had a Yue family like Marquis Zhou, oh, forget it, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, why should he continue thinking about it!
In the side hall, Xue Han was also being stared at by her sisters-in-law. She was dumbfounded. She still wanted to know why her father entered the palace!
The Queen held the Princess Qin's hand affectionately and said, "Today I have seen clearly how much the Emperor and Father value Marquis Zhou."
She was shocked. She really didn't expect that Marquis Zhou would be invited to the palace and stay for so long with no intention of leaving. Her son was the crown prince, and according to the news, the crown prince had not even entered the bedroom.
The Queen knew her own body and was also aware of the Emperor's attitude towards the aristocratic families in the harem. She really didn't tell Concubine Hui that it mattered, because she knew that if she didn't do it, the Emperor would do it himself, so there was no need to dirty her own hands.
Her whole heart is on her eldest son, the Crown Prince, and she cannot get too close to her mother's family. Now that she sees clearly how much importance her father and the Emperor place on Marquis Zhou, she wants to make plans for the Crown Prince.
Xue Han felt the eager gazes on her again, but she didn't feel happy. Instead, she felt a chill on her back. She was not afraid of being ignored by keeping a low profile, but she was afraid of being remembered. Obviously, she was remembered because of her father!