Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 108 The Prince's Mansion is United
"Ji Fangcheng, how is His Highness?"

Inside the prince's bedroom, Jia Xu stood in the side room where the palace maid on night duty lived, his brows furrowed, his hands behind his back, and he slowly walked up to Ji Ping and asked. His voice was low but with a hint of urgency, breaking the oppressive silence in the bedroom.

Under the Imperial Physician, there is one Yao Cheng and one Fang Cheng, both with a salary of three hundred stones. The Yao Cheng is in charge of medicine, while the Fang Cheng is in charge of prescriptions.

The person in charge of diagnosing the prince was Fang Cheng Jiping.

Ji Ping was stared at by Jia Xu's sinister gaze like a poisonous snake. His body trembled slightly unconsciously, and he swallowed his saliva subconsciously, and a little fear arose in his heart.

After all, Jia Xu had a notorious reputation in Luoyang, and so many nobles and aristocrats could be arrested without any mercy.

"From your perspective, your Highness's condition is a sign of overwork and a pre-existing deficiency of vital energy. Your Highness has been diligently contemplating state affairs day and night, exhausting both body and spirit. This has depleted liver blood over time, causing a weakening of the Shaoyang meridian, weakening the Wei Yang, and losing the defense of the Ying Yin. This has allowed the evil spirit to take advantage of this weakness, invading with external wind and cold, and primarily attacking the Taiyang meridian..."

Suddenly, Ji Ping caught a glimpse of Jia Xu's solemn face, which seemed covered with a layer of frost. He quickly put away his usual pretentious words and explained, "Your Highness is in good health. It's just that you have been overworked recently and the evil spirit took advantage of the opportunity to enter, causing Your Highness to catch a cold."

Even though he was somewhat afraid of Jia Xu, Ji Ping couldn't help but feel a little emotional when he looked at the prince behind the curtain. He calmed himself down and said, "Fang Fang just gave His Highness acupuncture. I think His Highness will wake up within half a day."

"There are also these two prescriptions, one for dispelling cold and one for nourishing the body. The cold should be gone within half a month." Ji Ping handed the two prescriptions to Jia Xu and said seriously, "But please don't let Your Highness work so hard anymore. Your Highness is still young, and youth is harmful to the body. I'm afraid..."

Ji Ping's words stopped abruptly, his expression full of worry, but everyone in the hall understood what he meant and looked at him, having already grasped the unspoken meaning.

After saying that, Ji Ping was about to turn around and leave, but he suddenly bumped into a "wall" and stumbled.

Ji Ping took a step back in panic, only to see Xu Chu with his eyes wide open and a murderous look on his face, standing with his sword in hand, blocking his way.

"Ji Fangcheng will temporarily live in the East Palace. Fangcheng's family is small... Xu will help Fangcheng settle down."

Jia Xu's emotionless words reached Ji Ping's ears, and there was a threat in his words that could not be questioned.

If the prince showed any abnormality, it would not only be his life or death, but also his family... No, with the prince's current prestige in the army, the Chiyang Ji family would probably disappear from this world forever.

Thinking of this, Ji Ping pulled a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly, but logically speaking, he could also understand Jia Xu's approach.

But it seems that he cannot leave the Eastern Palace until the prince recovers.

After settling Ji Ping's affairs, Jia Xu slightly turned sideways, raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation, and then he and everyone else left the Prince's bedroom and went to the side hall to discuss matters.

Except for the Prince's Grand Tutor Lu Zhi, the Prince's Junior Tutor Xun Shuang, the Prince's Chief Guardian Cheng Yu who was the Prefect of Hedong, the Prince's Servant Dong Zhao who was the Prefect of Henei, the Prince's Secretary Zhong Yao who was the Prefect of Luoyang, the Prince's Secretary Zhang Zhao who was the Chancellor of the Imperial Guards, and the Prince's Secretary Zhang Hong who was the Chancellor of the Chief Architects, all the officials of the Prince's Palace were gathered here. In addition, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and Guo Sheng were also brought here by Jia Xu.

Originally, Jia Xu, as the governor of Henan, was on duty today. Xu Chu sent his brother Xu Ding, who was the doctor of the Prince's Gate, to call him over to take charge of the situation.

Although the Prince's Grand Tutor Lu Zhi and the Prince's Junior Tutor Xun Shuang were the ones who nominally took charge of the Prince's Palace, the Prince had always entrusted all matters of the Prince's Palace to Jia Xu, the Prince's Household Manager.

Moreover, at this moment, Xu Chu was more willing to trust Jia Xu, a colleague who was promoted from humble beginnings by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, rather than Lu Zhi and Xun Shuang, who had already gained fame.

"Emperor Gao, I don't trust these people in the Imperial Medical Bureau." Jia Xu said solemnly, taking a step forward. His eyes fell on Gao Wang and he said solemnly, "Could you please ask someone else to verify the prescription and personally prepare the medicine for Your Highness?"

Gao Wang nodded. As the number one eunuch beside the prince, although Jia Xu did not actually have the power to command him, he did not refuse Jia Xu's orders. The safety of the prince was at stake and he could not be careless.

"I am the Imperial Pharmacist. I will not let anyone else do the work of preparing medicine for the Crown Prince!"

As a palace insider, he knew too many secrets. Did many emperors and princes really die suddenly? Back then, the emperor sent the prince to live outside the palace. Although he disliked the queen, he also hoped that the prince could grow up safely outside the palace.

Jia Xu nodded slightly, then turned to look at Dian Wei and Xu Chu, and said sternly, "Dian Junming, Xu Zhongkang, from now on, you two will take turns guarding the Crown Prince's bedroom, every four hours. You are not allowed to leave for even a moment!"

"Zhao, Ding, Xu, Guo, and Li, the five attendants, I do not care how you deploy them, but two must always be at His Highness's side, ready for His Highness' summons. One shift is two hours."

Although Jia Xu was emotionally willing to trust these seven people, Dian Wei and Xu Chu were both loyal ministers promoted by the prince from humble beginnings, and the five eunuchs were also promoted by the prince, but he had to be responsible for the safety of the prince and could not trust the loyalty of these people. He had to let them supervise and check each other.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu exchanged a glance, then leaned forward with Zhao You, Ding Su, Xu Yan, Guo Dan, and Li Xun, and said in unison, "Yes!"

"Xun Wenruo, lead Chen Kongzhang, Qian Zijing, and Ju Gong and the other three to temporarily handle the memorials sent by the Secretariat on behalf of the Crown Prince. After I leave my shift, deliver the processed memorials to my residence."

Chen Lin is a fair and impartial person, and his seniority in the Prince's Palace is several months earlier than Xun Yu's. If Xun Yu has no ulterior motives and handles government affairs honestly, Chen Lin can also find and fill in the gaps for him.

If there is any ulterior motive, Qian Zhao will cooperate with Chen Lin to take down Xun Yu, and the newcomer Ju Su is also a righteous man, and he will act as a third party to restrain the others.

"Tian Yuanhao, lead Xun Gongda, Chen Changwen, and Chen Gongtai to handle all affairs of the Crown Prince's Mansion."

"Jian Xianhe and Xu Bokang led the guards of the Crown Prince's Palace to inspect the palace."

"Please ask Changshi Zhang to keep an eye on the North Palace. Zhao Changqiu will report this to the Empress. We must not let her get too excited. Changshi Guo will keep an eye on the eunuchs and maids in the palace. I don't want any of them to talk about His Highness having a cold."

"Liu Gongshan, you will be on duty at Xuanwu Gate for the time being. Liu Zhengli, you will guard Canglong Gate!"

"Guo Gongze and Shen Zhengnan, I will hand over the command of the Henan Yin Xiuyi Envoy to you two. Report any unusual movements to me immediately!"

"If anything happens, you can kill first and report later!"

Seeing that Jia Xu had arranged all matters in such a short time, no matter how big or small, and even considered mutual restraint in the arrangement of personnel, the newly appointed officials of the Prince's Mansion also witnessed the methods of this Prince's Household Manager.

Just this quick wit and courage in making decisions on the spot made everyone respect Jia Xu.

After arranging everything, everyone left to carry out Jia Xu's orders. Only Jia Xu was left kneeling in front of the desk in the side hall, looking at the backs of everyone leaving and sighing slightly.

When everyone disappeared from his sight, Jia Xu put his hands on the table, supported his forehead with his hands, and remained silent.

In fact, the prince is still young. If he were an ordinary child, it would be nothing for him to get sick at the age of thirteen. He would recover in half a month if he caught a cold. There was no need to mobilize such a large force.

However, since Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty, few emperors lived to be fifty years old, and by the Later Han Dynasty, even the princes died young.

The prince's sudden illness inevitably caused some people to become disloyal, ruining the situation that the prince had worked so hard to save.

Yan Zhong’s case is definitely not an isolated one.

Especially since the moth bandits had not been completely pacified yet, and Zhang Jue was once famous for his skill in using talismans and water to cure diseases, it was inevitable that people would have second thoughts and associate the prince's cold with Zhang Jue, and rumors would surely spread.

Alas, this is truly a turbulent time!
(2422 words)
(End of this chapter)