Fu Jinzhan said: The emperor's bedroom has only one door in front, no other entrance. But I can ask Cao Tai to go and get the attendants and the imperial physicians out of the way, and then have him take you through the corridor next to the main hall. Go along the corridor, away from people's sight. I will wait for you inside, and you can come in to see him later.
Guo Shao stood up and bowed, then followed her instructions.
He first left the main hall and sat in the side room outside for a while waiting. Here, outside the main hall, the doors and windows were wide open, facing the square under the steps, with a very wide view and very good light.
Guo Shao just lingered in the hall for a while, and then he saw that the sun had risen high. The bright sunshine made him hesitate a little.
Soon, Cao Tai came out to call him, and he stood up again and left the room, walked to the steps of Jinxiang Hall, and walked into this magnificent building complex through the corridor. Cao Tai stopped at the corridor, and Guo Shao quietly entered the bedroom he had been to before, and sure enough, he saw Fu Jinzhan in front of the bed.
Guo Shao kowtowed to the dragon bed and leaned forward to take a look. He saw Chai Rong quietly closing his eyes. He looked no different from yesterday, but not worse either. What was slightly better was that he was quieter today, as if he was resting his eyes.
Guo Shao was not a doctor, so he could not tell what disease the emperor had. Zuo You once suspected that it was lung distension after hearing the description. What kind of disease is this? It may be a chronic disease like emphysema. In short, it is not an emergency. Otherwise, why would Chai Rong wait for several years before getting sick? It has been one or two months since the disease broke out in Hebei, which is indeed very delayed.
He looked at it carefully for a while, then motioned for the queen to come out before talking.
Fu Jinzhan left first, and Guo Shao followed her out of the dormitory and gently closed the door.
After she went out, she turned around and looked inside. Her expression was not as calm as usual. Guo Shao discovered that the only person who could scare Fu Jinzhan to the point of losing her composure was Chai Rong.
She whispered: He may be asleep now. He was able to talk in the morning and drank porridge.
Guo Shao hesitated for a moment, and suddenly his tone became less nervous than before and asked: Queen, have you heard of the last breath
Hmm. Fu Jinzhan nodded and looked at him doubtfully.
Guo Shao said in a deep voice: The official's performance is just a flash in the pan and won't last long.
Fu asked, "How did you see that?" Guo Shao said seriously, "I have been in the army for a long time and have seen many fatal injuries. Anyway, I can see it, but I can't explain it clearly for the time being. I will tell the queen later."
Fu Jinzhan was skeptical and said: "There is still an excuse for the unrest in the past two days. Once the court is settled, even if the ministers and concubines dare not ask for it, if we don't let them see the emperor, they will think that we have imprisoned the emperor."
That's true. Guo Shao nodded, but the emperor really had a last gasp, and we only need to wait two more days to know the result.
His eyes gradually became very bright, and he stared at Fu Jinzhan's eyes without any courtesy and said: The Queen doesn't want to harm him in her heart, right
Fu Jinzhan said: Of course I don’t want to. I wouldn’t think about that unless I had to.
Guo Shao added: "Now the Queen is thinking of other more appropriate ways to solve the current urgent matter, right?"
Fu Jinzhan frowned and said: General Guo suddenly spoke strangely, what do you want to say
Guo Shao said: I just want the Queen to understand that you only thought of some extreme measures when you were afraid and panicked before, but you didn't have any intention in your heart. He didn't wait for Fu Jinzhan to speak, and said, the Queen can't do it either. First of all, the emperor is a strong warrior. Even if he is sick, his strength may hurt people. Could you break free when you grabbed the Queen's hand yesterday? Secondly, the Queen couldn't bear it. After all, the Queen and the emperor have been married for many years, and there is always a deep gratitude between them.
Hearing the word "enqing", Fu Jinzhan's lips moved.
Guo Shao immediately added: Think about it, when Li Shouzhen rebelled, if it weren’t for your great grandfather and his son who rescued the queen, the queen might be living a worse life now.
After hearing this, Fu Jinzhan murmured: Taizu did do me a favor.
Guo Shao gently guided her: "Now Queen, think about whether there is a better and gentler way." The Queen is very wise, and as long as she calms down, she will definitely be able to think of a better way.
Fu Jinzhan nodded slightly and said: Let me think about it again, there should be a better way. I really shouldn't treat him like this.
Very good. Guo Shaodao, the queen will wait for me over there, I will go in and confirm his condition.
There was no one else in the huge back hall. Fu Jinzhan was frowning and thinking hard. She also trusted Guo Shao, so she waved her hand and left him alone.
In the dark bedroom deep in the palace, the emperor lay quietly on the dragon bed, and the air seemed to be filled with the smell of conspiracy.
Guo Shao walked into the room and bolted the door. He kowtowed in front of Chai Rong's bed, saying silently: Your Majesty, I have lived cautiously under your wrath for a long time, but I still respect your majesty and dare not deny your achievements in civil and military affairs and your contributions to the prosperity of the country. But from a personal perspective, I am only loyal to Empress Fu. Without her, I would not be who I am today.
He quickly got up from the ground and saw a towel placed on a copper basin not far away. He walked over and picked it up. It was still wet when he held it in his palm. Guo Shao carefully folded the towel, pressed it firmly with his hands, walked quietly to the bed, and gently placed it on the emperor's mouth and nose. Then he pulled the quilt over his head and pressed his body on it. His iron-like arms firmly controlled the torso of the person below. Soon the emperor struggled.
After a while, Fu Jinzhan seemed to hear a noise, and her frightened voice came from behind Guo Shao: Guo Shao, what are you doing
Guo Shao ignored the noise outside. After a long while, Guo Shao's face turned pale and his eyes widened as he let go of the quilt. He stretched out his hand and gently probed the nose of the motionless person, then opened his eyelids and observed for a while. Then he washed the towel in the copper basin and gently put it back.
He walked forward, tidied the bed and quilt, then bowed deeply to the bed and said in a deep voice: Your Majesty, if you die like this, you will receive the funeral rites of an emperor, and the people of the whole country will mourn for you.
Silence returned to the shadows, a thin beam of light shone in the dark air, and tiny dust particles danced like ghosts. In the midst of the conspiracy, Guo Shao felt that his blood was slowly turning black.
He let out a long sigh, turned and walked to the door, pushed open the bolt, and creaked open the door. He saw Fu Jinzhan leaning weakly against the door, looking inside with trembling shoulders.
It's okay. Guo Shao comforted her and said, let's leave here.
Fu Jinzhan held onto the wall and tried to walk inside: Let me go in and take a look.
Don't look at it. Guo Shao's tone suddenly became a little rough. He is dead. I killed him.
Fu Jinzhan looked up at Guo Shao and shook her head meaninglessly: Why
Guo Shaodao: No reason, I just want to kill him
I'm not asking you why the murderer Fu Jinzhan's eyes were so wide, and there was a complex look of pain that made people feel pity.
Guo Shao said in a deep voice as if cursing: We can deceive others, but we cannot deceive ourselves. I don't want to see the queen become a sinner who kills her husband and the emperor. In my heart, you should be a beautiful, smart, pure and innocent woman, like a fairy. You are already thinking about how to protect the emperor. The evil things you have done have nothing to do with you.
If I am guilty, it is all my fault. I first deceived the queen, and then plotted to assassinate the monarch. I killed the emperor who rewarded me with an official position and salary. I am a traitor who does not know how to repay my gratitude and has evil ambitions. If I am to be infamous for eternity and be punished by God, it is all my fault. Come on.
Fu Jinzhan shook her head silently, tears already falling without any defense.
Guo Shao said in a trembling voice: "No matter what happened, I will protect the queen. No matter what happened to you in the past, in my heart, you are a noble and pure fairy."
Fu Jinzhan burst into tears, completely losing the reserve of a noble lady. She cried unrestrainedly and leaned against the wall as if she wanted to cry her heart out.
Guo Shao felt that the world was spinning, as if a bolt from the blue was brewing. His worldview and values collapsed in an instant, and a sense of guilt lingered in his heart. He felt that he might become a sinner in history.
Guo Shao took a deep breath, looked back at the dark room, and saw Fu Jinzhan sobbing silently, so he said: I killed your relatives, you can hate me
"I want to hate you, but I can't," Fu Jinzhan choked up.
Guo Shao said: Now we should leave here quickly. The queen should first ask her confidants to guard the door and not let the news leak out, and wait until the imperial physician finds out that the emperor has passed away. Then she should pretend to be shocked, not announce the death first, and then summon the ministers to discuss important matters. It is said that Taizu also praised the queen for not being afraid in the face of danger. Now is not the time to be sad, you have to keep calm and manage the overall situation.
Fu Jinzhan finally turned around, wiping the tears from her face, and said, "You go first, Cao Tai is on the corridor. Let me go in for a while."
Guo Shao gradually calmed down from the state of blood gushing out, he let out a long sigh, clasped his fists and said: I'm really sorry to say goodbye.
Fu Jinzhan opened her mouth, endured for a while and said: I can't explain it clearly. You don't understand the matter between me and the emperor at all. So go away.
Guo Shao bowed again, turned around and walked towards the palace gate calmly.
When he felt the sky was falling apart in his bedroom, the whole palace was actually silent. When he walked out of the palace gate, he was dazzled by the sunlight and heard the chirping of birds. There was no sign of anything, as if nothing had happened.
He walked towards the side corridor. His mind became clearer and his steps became heavier.
He had indeed done something very serious, but after thinking about it, he only felt fear, not regret.