The heavy palace door creaked open, and a slender figure stood against the wind, the corners of the light blue student's robe fluttering. Her hair was a little messy, having not been combed for a few days, but her eyes were extremely bright on her tired face, burning with amazing persistence.
The palace maids and the imperial doctors retreated like a tide, making way. The eldest princess walked straight forward, bent down and sat beside the little prince's bed, and gently held him in her arms.
"Sister...sister...you're back... "
Tan Yixi sniffed the familiar scent on her body, her mouth pursed, and big tears slid down. Mu Lin felt a damp heat in his arms, and his outer shirt was gradually stained with a dark blue.
The kitten-like younger brother waited for her return every day in the deep palace. It is said that children of two or three years old do not remember things, but every time the little guy saw her, he would happily run over with his short legs, grab the corner of her clothes with his little hands, look up at his innocent pale face and call her sister, with a pair of round lychee eyes that were pure.
Every time that happened, the bond and love caused by the blood connection would surge like a tide, hitting the softest place in her heart again and again.
"Sister...Sister won't leave...stay with...Xi'er..."
Hearing his childish voice, Mu Lin's heart ached. Her throat seemed to be blocked by a ball of cotton and she couldn't speak for a long time. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would burst into tears. She just stroked her little brother's head lovingly and hugged him tighter.
The maid was still standing by with the medicine. Mu Lin glanced at her, and when she calmed down a little, she said gently, "Sister won't leave, and will always be with Xi'er... Xi'er, listen to sister and the imperial physician, and take the medicine and heal your illness, okay?"
Tan Yixi's eyes lit up when she heard the first sentence, but when she finished speaking, she couldn't help but frown and said in resistance: "I don't like it... medicine is bitter..."
He doesn't like taking medicine!
"But if Yixi doesn't take the medicine, she will continue to sleep and will never see her sister and father again."
Although Mu Lin was smiling, her expression was so sad. Tan Yixi looked at her gentle smile and felt inexplicably distressed.
"Yixi, stay alive and accompany your sister, okay?"
Tan Yixi's head felt heavy and he had no strength left. His blurred vision was filled with his sister's worried look. He blinked and tried to say, "Okay."
At the age of three, he already understood the difference between death and life. For himself, he had neither the strength nor the desire to struggle.
Since his sister needs him, he will try his best to survive.
Mu Lin supported him and let him lean gently on the soft pillow. He picked up the bowl of medicine held by the palace maid, scooped out mouthfuls of medicine with a spoon, blew on it to cool it, and fed it to Tan Yixi.
Tan Yixi drank the medicine obediently, and after he finished, Mu Lin dismissed everyone and stayed here to coax him to sleep. When he fell asleep, she gently pulled out her hand that he was holding and carefully left the room.
As soon as she closed the door, several imperial doctors who had been waiting at the door came up to her and reported the prince's condition.
"Your Highness is born with deficiencies in the lungs, spleen and kidneys, which causes phlegm and fluid to stagnate in the lungs. As the weather fluctuates from winter to spring, the prince is exposed to cold and dampness, which triggers cold asthma. During an attack, phlegm and air clash and block the airway, causing coughing, wheezing, and phlegm in the throat..."
Mu Lin had noticed all of this and continued in a calm voice, "It is caused by exposure to the evil cold, so symptoms include thin white sputum, cold body and limbs, pale complexion, aversion to cold without sweating, and clear nasal discharge. The treatment should be to warm the lungs and dispel the cold, resolve phlegm and calm asthma."
Doctor Hu, the most experienced doctor, stroked his beard and said with emotion: "I didn't expect that Her Royal Highness the Princess is also well versed in medical theory."
Mu Lin said calmly: "Please ask Doctor Hu what prescription the prince used."
"After discussion, the Imperial Hospital decided to use Xiaoqinglong Decoction combined with Sanzi Yangqin Decoction with some modifications..."
Doctor Lin presented the prescription to Mu Lin, who took it, scanned it, and said thoughtfully: "Xi'er's lung qi is insufficient, so add 30% each of white peony root and schisandra chinensis to restrain the pungent and warm dispersing ingredients from damaging the lung qi. In addition, Xi'er's phlegm and cough symptoms are gradually weakening, so reduce 10% each of perilla and white mustard seeds..."
"Your Highness, what you said makes sense. We can try it. I will ask the Imperial Hospital to prepare the medicine. But the Crown Prince is reluctant to take the medicine. He was forced to drink the medicine before, so the efficacy of the medicine is inevitably reduced. Only a small amount of medicine enters the internal organs. How can the condition gradually improve?"
"Yes!" Doctor Yun also sighed, "His Highness is young, but he is stubborn. Even if Your Majesty comes to coax him to drink the medicine, he will resist nine times out of ten. His condition was once critical, which scared us. Five days ago, Your Majesty personally ordered him to drink the medicine, and it took more than half an hour every time. After all, no one dared to really hurt His Highness. Three bowls of medicine were prepared, and he barely drank one bowl. His Highness's condition has gradually improved in the past few days. It was only because you, the princess, came to coax him personally that he drank it all..."
Mu Lin understood what the doctors meant and immediately promised: "I will keep watching the prince drink the medicine until he recovers."
"In this case, the old ministers can rest assured."
After sending the doctors away, Mu Lin asked the head maidservant beside the prince about the prince's recent condition while preparing to bathe and change clothes. The maidservant's words were similar to those of the doctor, and Mu Lin learned the truth about Tan Yixi's disturbance, and couldn't help but ponder.
After the prince drank the medicine, he would usually fall asleep for an hour or two. During this time, Mu Lin changed into a light palace dress and prepared to meet the emperor.
As soon as she stepped out of the door, she saw the chief eunuch Dexi beside Emperor Ming waiting at the door. He came forward eagerly to salute her, "Your Highness, His Majesty has been waiting for you in the main hall of Qinghan Palace for a long time."
Mu Lin nodded and was led by De Xi. Her father came in person after hearing the news of her return, saving her the trouble of running back and forth.
When he entered, Emperor Jingming was sitting and drinking tea. He seemed to be thinner, but in good spirits. Seeing his daughter come in, he raised his eyelids and said, "Sit down."
Mu Lin bowed to him and said calmly, "Father, Xi'er has taken the medicine and gone to sleep. I will take good care of him from now on."
Emperor Ming put down his teacup and asked, "What about your studies?"
"What I have learned in Baihu Academy is enough, so there is little point in going there again. In terms of knowledge, the masters in the upper study are not bad either. Besides, I hope to continue to receive your teachings. After all, there are some things that a master cannot teach."
Qin Zishu is inseparable from her, so she has little chance and energy to find the secret intelligence network she wants most in Baihu Academy. It would be better for her to integrate Jingsheng's spies and build one from scratch.
Mu Lin was not a scholar who entered the officialdom through the imperial examination, so she did not need to sell her talents to the imperial family. In her position, she needed to learn the ways of the emperor, as well as the vision and methods of dealing with things that a superior should have.
Every profession has its own specialties, and the teachers cannot teach things that concern the imperial class.
Despite this, Mu Lin originally wanted to stay in Baihu Academy for another year. This kind of free academic atmosphere is hard to come by, and it brings her spiritual pleasure far more than practicality.
Now, in order to take care of Yi Xi, Mu Lin chose to give up Baihu Academy and pursue the power she needed more in the imperial city.
Emperor Jingming nodded and did not ask any more questions about this matter. He raised his eyelids and glanced at Dexi, who immediately stepped forward and handed a letter to Mu Lin with both hands.
Emperor Jingming took a sip of tea and glanced at her: "Take a look."
Mu Lin took it. The envelope was new, the most common type, and the paper was also ordinary, with no signature on it. The only special thing was that there was a wax seal with a rolling cloud pattern on the seal. The envelope had been opened, and the letter inside could be taken out directly.
"This is the news from Daqin."
Mu Lin stroked the scarlet cloud pattern, and her eyelids jumped when she heard this. She took out the three folded pages of letter paper, smoothed out the creases, and glanced through them.
Unexpectedly...
Mu Lin placed the letter on the table, stared at it with his eyes lowered and thought deeply.
"Emperor Qin Zhang probably couldn't have imagined that five of his six sons would be killed overnight. Some died and some were disabled. He is not even as good as my offspring."
Mu Lin pretended not to hear the gloating in his father's tone, nor did he expose his father's fact that Emperor Zhang's daughter was more than ten times his age.
"I never expected that the first person to take action would be the Sixth Prince, and he chose to do so during the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, catching Emperor Zhang and the other princes off guard..."
Emperor Ming had a trace of fear in his eyes, and he said slowly: "'This altar was built on Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the heavens, to repay the heavens' merits, so it was called Feng. This hill below Mount Tai was cleared of land to repay the earth's merits, so it was called Chan.' This boy picked this opportunity to imprison his father, kill his brothers, and threaten all the ministers. It is obvious that he does not care about ghosts and gods, and he does not even have the slightest fear of them. Such a ruthless character will definitely be a big trouble for Jingsheng in the future."
The letter described in great detail that this low-key Sixth Prince had taken control of the Imperial Guards at some point in time, and his power had even infiltrated the accompanying Imperial Guards. He controlled the accompanying officials with iron-blooded means, killing nearly 30% of the rebels alone, causing Mount Tai to become a river of blood, and the smell of blood lingered for a long time.
"Father, when do you think the Sixth Prince will become emperor?"
Emperor Jingming chuckled and said, "Emperor Zhang was defeated by his son, but he is much more valuable alive as an emperor than dead..."
"It seems that the Sixth Prince will not become emperor in the short term." Mu Lin felt a little regretful. If the name is not right, then the words will not flow. He even wanted to cause some trouble for him.
Soon after, the news that Princess Jingxuan was accompanying the emperor again spread throughout Kyoto. In the eyes of the court officials, this young princess was not like a colorful butterfly, but rather had some of the shadow of Emperor Ming, sharp and calm, and her great power was gradually becoming established.
No one would doubt that in a few years, Princess Jingxuan would be qualified to join the grand game between countries.
The health of the little prince Tan Yixi was getting better day by day, and the smile on his face was getting brighter day by day, because he could see his sister every day. He liked to stay in his sister's study the most. While his sister was doing homework, he sat on the carpet beside her and played puzzles, nine-linked rings, and various small toys.
He thought he was very smart and could always solve the Nine-Ring Chain faster than his sister, but his sister only taught him some simple enlightenment books, such as "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Names", and practiced a few big characters, so as not to let him use his brain too much in school. His sister said he was too young and couldn't use his brain too much, so she would wait until he was a few years older, and then she would teach him to read and how to be a good emperor...
In the tenth year of Xihe, Emperor Ming fell seriously ill and his health was not as good as before. He delegated power to his eldest daughter, making Princess Jingxuan the actual controller of the empire. Crown Prince Xi (seven years old) was inseparable from his eldest sister, attending court and participating in government affairs.
In the twelfth year of Xihe, Emperor Ming's health improved and he instructed Crown Prince Xi to handle state affairs on his behalf. Princess Jingxuan gradually became less aggressive.