There were more than a dozen directors and imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau, all standing nearby. When they heard the empress dowager's words, they were all filled with shame and fear, fearing that the empress dowager would get angry and have them dragged out and beheaded.
No matter what I thought of Xiaocao before, I really hope she can be here at this critical moment...
"She took Wei Tingyu out to look for medicine."
Emperor Xuanren did not show any emotion, but what he did not say was that he had already contacted his people.
“Why at this moment…” The Queen Mother was somewhat annoyed, yet helpless.
In comparison, Emperor Xuanren was quite emotional about this. Of course, only Emperor Xuanren himself knew what he was thinking now. When he didn't want others to figure it out, then no one really knew.
"Your Majesty, Doctor Lin has arrived." A eunuch tiptoed in to report.
"Xuan."
As the condition worsened, and since the Wen family had a doctor named Lin, Emperor Xuanren had no intention of concealing the condition completely. However, his son seemed a little impatient, so Emperor Xuanren endured the abdominal pain and leaned back.
But the Queen Mother didn't know about Divine Doctor Lin, "Who is this person?"
"I heard that the girl's adoptive father is also a master of medicine. It is said that his medical skills are also very good."
"Since he can teach the girl Wenren so well, he must be good." The empress dowager seemed to see hope.
No, Emperor Xuanren did not comment on this. After all, according to Wei Tingyu, the girl from Wenren had not been with her adoptive father since she was eight years old. Even if she had received medical enlightenment at the age of three or four, eight years old was only a few years. Many people might not even know all the medicinal herbs. The girl's adoptive father at most just brought her into the family. She could have the medical skills she has today because of her own efforts and talent. Judging another person by one person, rather than by their character, is not credible.
However, he is from a medical family after all, and he has traveled all over the country for decades and seen all kinds of patients. I think he should be fine, at least not worse than those in the Imperial Hospital. Maybe he has a way.
Doctor Lin was led in, "I…"
"No need for that. Come quickly and let the emperor see you." The Queen Mother said anxiously.
Doctor Lin did not dare to delay. He stepped forward, asked Emperor Xuanren to lie down, and made a careful diagnosis. He asked about the entire course of the illness, asked for the previous pulse records to look through, and also looked at all the medications, with a frown on his face.
"What's the situation?" the Queen Mother asked hurriedly.
"Replying to the Queen Mother, the Emperor's condition is not optimistic. I think it was because he was not cured the first time. When he relapsed later, the medication was too light and he was unable to control the condition in time. As a result, the condition is getting worse now and ordinary medicines are basically ineffective."
"I just want to ask you, can you cure it?"
"Empress Dowager, according to the symptoms the emperor is showing now, the lesions in his abdomen have become severely ulcerated and festered. Some bad things have entered the abdominal cavity, affecting the intestines, and the abdominal cavity may have become festered. This is such a serious illness, please forgive me for my incompetence." Doctor Lin said bluntly.
When the Queen Mother heard this, her eyes went dark and she almost fainted.
Emperor Xuanren was helped to sit up again, frowning slightly, with a fierce look in his eyes and his fists clenched unconsciously, but other than that, he did not show any excessive emotions. "Where is that girl from Wenren? If it is her, is there any way to cure her?"
"Your Majesty, I have read the medical records left by my adopted daughter, and there is such a symptom in them. According to what is said above, in this case, the abdominal cavity needs to be opened and the lesion removed. However, I only know the theory and have never done it. I don't know the specific process. If it were someone else, I might give it a try, but Your Majesty is worth a million dollars, and I dare not do it."
"How can this man survive after his stomach was opened?" the Queen Mother asked in surprise.
Doctor Lin was about to explain, but Emperor Xuanren spoke first, "You mean that girl can make it?" Emperor Xuanren did not consider the question of whether she could survive after her stomach was opened. He only knew that the girl from the Xu family had her head opened, the lesion removed, and she survived from the brink of death.
Don't ask him how he knows it. As long as he wants to know, he will know it naturally.
"I'm afraid I'm not sure at all." Since it concerns his own daughter, Doctor Lin didn't dare to talk big.
"Alright, I understand." Emperor Xuanren waved his hand, "Steady my condition and wait for her to come back, okay?"
"Common people should try their best."
"So, whether you want to prescribe medicine or give acupuncture, just tell me and everyone will cooperate with you." Emperor Xuanren said decisively.
"only."
"Your Majesty, where is that girl now?" the Queen Mother asked. At this point, the Queen Mother did not ask any more nonsense, but only concerned about Xiaocao's whereabouts.
Even if that girl was there, there was still a chance of saving him, but it was obvious that if time dragged on, what if he didn’t get to wait? Thinking of this possibility, the Queen Mother became extremely anxious...
"Don't worry, mother. I have already arranged this matter." Because of the abdominal pain, Emperor Xuanren looked a little tired.
The Queen Mother moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't.
Doctor Lin prescribed medicine for Emperor Xuanren and then gave him acupuncture. Emperor Xuanren's expression eased a little, which showed that the medicine did have some effect.
Emperor Xuanren is in a critical condition now. Even if people outside already know about it, they cannot be told more specific details. Therefore, not only Doctor Lin has to stay, but all other people from the Imperial Hospital must also stay and are not allowed to contact people from outside. The people serving Emperor Xuanren are even more tight-mouthed.
Even before the final moment, the atmosphere still seemed very depressing.
A eunuch came in and said softly, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, Princess Fukang wants to see you."
"Fu Kang is here, let her in."
It is normal that Princess Fukang did not ask about external affairs and found out about them later.
Princess Fukang's feet were a little anxious, and she pressed them down when she came in, "Greetings to my brother, and to my mother."
"No need to be polite."
Princess Fukang walked a little closer and looked at Emperor Xuanren who had his eyes closed. In her eyes, her brother had always been confident and wise, and he was always heroic and extraordinary whenever she saw him. However, she didn't expect that he looked weak and old after this illness. Princess Fukang's tears came to her eyes, and she quickly reached out to wipe them away, "Brother..."
Emperor Xuanren lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, "Don't worry, it's really okay. Why didn't you see Wuguo?"
"The people in his mansion said that when he learned that his brother was ill, he immediately took people to the Wenren family. Now he has left the imperial city to pick up the Wenren family's maid."
"This child is thoughtful." Compared with his own sons, Emperor Xuanren was indeed touched by the actions of his nephew.
"He is indeed filial and it is worthy of the emperor's love for him," said the empress dowager.
The empress dowager's eyes fell on Princess Fukang. Because Fan Wuguo was born with defects, people attacked Emperor Xuanren, who was still a prince. The empress dowager did some bad things at that time, so there was a rift between mother and daughter. Afterwards, the empress dowager regretted it and wanted to do her best to make up for it, but the damage had already been done and it could not be made up just by wanting to.
Fortunately, Fan Wuguo has now returned to normal, and it is confirmed that the source of the problem is not Princess Fukang. Princess Fukang's heart knot has been untied, and over the past few months, the relationship between mother and daughter has improved. However, it has been too long, and it is probably impossible for them to be close forever.
Princess Fukang is now getting along with the Empress Dowager. Adhering to the idea of letting things take their own course, she asks about Emperor Xuanren's situation.
The Queen Mother did not hide anything from her, but of course, she did not explain it in detail. It was not because she did not trust her, but because she wanted to avoid her worrying too much.
Therefore, in Princess Fukang's view, even if Xiaocao came back, she didn't ask, and she didn't know that Emperor Xuanren might not be able to wait due to his current condition.
But no matter what, all we can do now is wait.
In the court, ministers came to ask Emperor Xuanren about some political affairs. Emperor Xuanren made up his mind and let them do it. It seemed that everything was the same as usual, but this was obviously just a superficial phenomenon.
People from various factions have gathered privately countless times, and the main topic is quite clear: What should be done if Emperor Xuanren can't hold on this time
The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and the crown prince is also related to the stability of the country. In the past, the emperor was in good health and was not in a hurry to choose a crown prince. He was easy to talk to, but he also had times when he was arbitrary and arbitrary. After the former crown prince, now Prince Duan, became blind, someone did mention the matter of appointing another crown prince, but was suppressed by Emperor Xuanren with a cold face, and no one dared to mention it again. Now, it is a good opportunity.
After searching again and again, someone finally couldn't hold back any longer and when asking for an audience with Emperor Xuanren, he carefully brought up the matter of appointing a crown prince.
Emperor Xuanren was not angry at all. He even summoned all civil and military officials to hold a grand court session.
This includes royal relatives who do not hold power, dukes and marquises who hold titles, and even princes over ten years old who are not yet qualified to attend court.
Looking at this situation, are they really going to appoint a crown prince? The concubines in the harem became anxious and paced back and forth frequently, making people pay attention to the situation in the court at all times.
—Once this kind of thing is confirmed, there is naturally no possibility of hiding it. It is not difficult to know the situation at the first time.
However, Princess Fukang, who was in a side hall of Emperor Xuanren's bedroom, was furious. "These bastards actually let my brother appoint the crown prince at this juncture. What are they thinking?" She wished she could tear them apart.
In comparison, the Queen Mother was much calmer about this matter. After all, her political skills were far superior to Princess Fukang's. Establishing a crown prince did not mean the worst-case scenario, but was also for the purpose of stabilizing people's hearts.
"Fukang, your brother knows how to handle this matter."
Princess Fukang looked at the Queen Mother and smiled sneerfully. Some words came to her lips, but she swallowed them back.
The Queen Mother was helpless. Her daughter might have thought of something else. The relationship that had eased a little bit might return to the original state. However, some truths might not be understood even if they were said. In essence, the Queen Mother was more rational, while Princess Fukang was more emotional. If they really said something that didn't make sense, they might end up quarreling.
On the Danbi, Emperor Xuanren sat leaning back with one leg bent and placed on the dragon chair, his hand on his abdomen. At this moment, no one had any objection, and some even advised him to return to his bedroom. Emperor Xuanren waved his hand and did not take it seriously.
Apart from him, the only other person sitting there was the blind Prince Duan. He always had this privilege in front of Emperor Xuanren.
Prince Duan seemed very quiet. To be honest, he was just going through the motions here and there was no need for him to say or do anything.
The other two stood quietly and respectfully. Many of them had worry and concern on their faces, but it was hard to say how much of that was true. Some people were extremely nervous and expectant.
"Since you want to appoint a crown prince, then tell us who is more suitable."
Although they were not sure how much of Emperor Xuanren's words were true, this opportunity was rare, and it didn't seem like a joke to open the court while he was sick, so some people boldly spoke up.
As soon as they opened their mouths, the others couldn't wait to follow suit, as if they were afraid that if they were a step slow, they would fall behind.
Apart from a few big guys, the only people who have not yet participated are the young princes. Even those who are not in power are now scrambling to curry favor with those who they think will join in.
With interests at stake, once the quarrel started, some people's true colors were exposed. Some of them originally said "May the emperor be blessed with good health", but now they probably wish that he would die soon and give up their positions.
The princes mentioned - some of them were even underage princes, such as Prince Duan's younger brother, the Thirteenth Prince - were either nervous, surprised, or delighted...
Emperor Xuanren looked down calmly. His eyesight was fine, and he noticed everyone's reactions. Even when someone mentioned the thirteenth prince, Prince Duan frowned. These ministers, sons...
Even though he had known for a long time that they each had their own selfish motives and had not cared about it in the past, this person was always vulnerable and easily angered when he was sick, and Emperor Xuanren was no exception.
Because I wanted to see how these people would react, I had to go through the trouble of holding a grand ceremony. When it really came to this, it only made me feel worse. "In that case..."
No matter how fierce the quarrel was, there were still many people paying attention to Emperor Xuanren's reaction. As soon as he opened his mouth, the quarrel immediately became weaker. Even if someone didn't notice it, there were still people who reminded him at the first time.
"My dear ministers, please go back and submit your reports. I will see who is the most popular choice."
This grand court was dispersed after a few quarrels. Most people were busy writing memorials or winning over people, but there were still a few people who felt that something was not right, but they couldn't put their finger on it.
Prince Heng did not return home, but Concubine Kou sent everyone to urge him to go back.
Concubine Kou, who was waiting, also paced back and forth in the room with a big belly, "Why is he not dead yet, why is he not dead yet..." She kept muttering this sentence over and over again. In her memory, Emperor Xuanren died today, and it seemed to be dawn, but today not only did the court start, but it was already afternoon. She knew that some things would change, but this matter... Since Emperor Xuanren fell ill as expected, why didn't he die as expected