Before Murong Jie turned around and left, he asked, "Old Eight has been taken back to the capital. What do you think..."
"Don't worry about him. Someone will take care of him." The Empress Dowager said calmly.
She was even more disappointed with Lao Ba.
Murong Jie's eyes flickered, "Could it be that the Regent King Qingtian is really back?"
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Who knows? I'm not familiar with him."
Murong Jie chuckled, "Yeah!"
After saying that, he walked out.
Xiwei Palace.
The emperor's bedroom was already deserted, with only a few palace maids sent by the Empress Dowager to serve him, and Eunuch Lu was still serving at the emperor's bedside.
When Murong Jie arrived, Concubine Mei had just helped him take medicine.
"My Lady Imperial Concubine." Murong Jie looked at the haggard Imperial Concubine Mei, "I haven't congratulated you yet."
"Thank you, Your Highness." When Concubine Mei saw him coming, there was some joy in her eyes, but she didn't show it in words. The emperor was not asleep yet and could hear her words, but her expression showed that she was happy.
"Could Your Majesty please step out for a moment? The King and the Emperor have something to discuss."
"Okay!" Concubine Mei looked back at Eunuch Lu and said, "Eunuch, please go out too."
Eunuch Lu glanced at the emperor with a little concern. The emperor had his eyes closed, and if it weren't for his slightly rapid breathing and obvious wheezing sound in his throat, one would have thought he was asleep.
"Your Highness, the Emperor is weak and needs to rest. Please don't talk too long." Eunuch Lu said softly.
"Well, go ahead." Murong Jie raised his hand.
Imperial Concubine Mei took Eunuch Lu and two palace maids out. The glass curtain fell, and the sound was crisp and pleasant, but it did not make people feel happy.
Murong Jie walked over and stood in front of the bed.
The red spots on his face were very obvious, especially on both sides of his nose, and his nose bridge was slightly black, like a color-changing butterfly stuck on his face.
He finally opened his eyes. His swollen eyelids did not diminish the sharpness of his vision. They were like two steel knives, trying to scrape away the indifference on Murong Jie's face.
The roar in his throat became more intense, and he said, "Are you back?"
His voice was unclear, as if there was phlegm in his throat.
"Yeah!" Murong Jie said, with no expression on his face except indifference.
The emperor took a breath, and his trachea sounded like a bellows. He tried hard to stop himself from coughing. His face became redder and there was almost no white around his eyes, which were all scarlet.
Finally unable to hold it in any longer, he started coughing. This cough was so loud that it shook the earth and he could hardly stop.
He was shaking from coughing, and he held the quilt tightly with both hands. His nails hooked the embroidery of the quilt. A broken red thread was hidden in his nails. If you didn't look carefully, you would have thought it was stained with blood.
Murong Jie just watched him cough quietly, feeling uncomfortable, and was not moved at all.
After experiencing life and death, Zi'an almost lost his life at the hands of King Nan Huai. If he still cares about brotherhood, he would be extremely foolish.
The emperor spat out a mouthful of blood. He could not hold up his body, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, across his cheeks all the way to the silk embroidered pillow, giving off a fishy smell.
After spitting out the blood, he collapsed straight, gasping for breath, his forehead covered with sweat, as if he had experienced a life-and-death experience.
Murong Jie then sat down, took the towel beside the bed, and wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth and cheeks.
"Go away. Stop pretending to be kind." The emperor growled, but the last syllable was stuck in his throat, as if he was about to start a cough again, so he quickly held it back.
Murong Jie, however, pinched his chin and forcefully wiped away the blood on his face, "The emperor is ill, and as a subject, it is our duty to share his worries."
"What do you want to say?" The emperor looked horrified.
"I am still the regent. Since the emperor is seriously ill and cannot manage state affairs, I should take on the responsibility of the regent and supervise the country for the emperor. Just like now, the emperor is unable to take care of himself. I am here, so I should take care of him."
He stretched out the last sentence, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were like ancient wells, without a trace of emotion.
The emperor raised his head with all his strength, clenched his fists, the muscles on his face trembled, and hatred burst out from his eyes, "You have evil ambitions."
Murong Jie smiled and looked him straight in the face. "I didn't have any such idea originally. You forced me into this situation. Since the Regent has the power to increase the people's taxes without consulting the cabinet, it is clear that his authority is the same as that of the Emperor. I will definitely live up to Your Majesty's expectations and work hard to govern the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"You... Murong Jie, do you really think that I can't do anything to you?" The emperor coughed, but held it back, his face red and black.
"What can I do?" Murong Jie stood up, took a step back, and bowed. "I will wait for you. I will take my leave!"
The words "I'm waiting" were a direct declaration of war.
Murong Jie turned around and strode away.
Eunuch Lu rushed in and exclaimed, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... Someone, call the imperial physician!"
Murong Jie left the hall, and Concubine Mei stepped forward quickly, "Your Majesty, please stay."
Murong Jie stopped and turned to look at Concubine Mei.
"Your Highness," Imperial Concubine Mei lowered her voice and took a step forward, "Your Majesty seems to have not much time left. Can you let him go in peace?"
Murong Jie raised his eyebrows, somewhat unsure of what Concubine Mei meant.
Imperial Concubine Mei looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I don't have any other intentions. I just can't bear to see him suffer every day."
Murong Jie's voice was cold, "My Lady, some things should be kept to yourself. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Imperial Concubine Mei was startled, and immediately realized that Murong Jie had misunderstood her meaning. Her eyes suddenly turned red, "Don't misunderstand, Your Majesty. I don't mean what you think. I just think that the Empress Dowager is unwilling to save the Emperor, and the Imperial Physician is helpless. I heard what you said just now. He doesn't have much time left. Do whatever you want, but don't tell him, and don't provoke him."
Murong Jie didn't expect that Concubine Mei would be so compassionate to the emperor. Among the many concubines with children, Concubine Mei was the least favored. It was rare that she didn't feel resentful due to the neglected days in the harem.
Murong Jie's tone softened a little, "Just supervise the prince's studies, and don't worry about anything else."
"I will, Your Highness, don't worry." Concubine Mei said hurriedly.
Zi'an waited in the side hall for more than an hour, during which time he drank a bowl of soup that Aunt Ase specially prepared for him. After drinking it, he felt drowsy and slept on the couch in the side hall for half an hour. When he woke up, he felt very energetic.
Aunt Ashe told her that this was a precious medicinal herb privately collected by the Empress Dowager. If a pregnant woman drank it, she would no longer suffer from morning sickness, and it would also strengthen her body and make childbirth easier in the future.
Zi'an knew that in this era, the rate of difficult labor was very high, and giving birth to a child could cost a woman her life at any time, so she asked Aunt Ah She curiously, "Are there any more?"
"Greedy, that's all." Aunt Ah She had a stern face, but still gave her a small white porcelain bottle, "Please keep this medicine, it is very valuable, the medicine alone is made of thousand-year-old ginseng, if a woman has difficulty giving birth, she only needs to take one pill to abort the fetus."
Zi'an hid himself quickly and thanked him a thousand times.
Murong Jie just happened to come back, and the two of them said goodbye to Aunt Ashe, then left the palace hand in hand.
(End of this chapter)