The little dark guard who travels between two lives

The Empress and the Imperial Physician arrived at Concubine Shen's palace almost at the same time. The Imperial Physician was so frightened by the Emperor's appearance that he stretched out his fingers to feel the Emperor's pulse.

When the imperial physician felt the emperor's pulse, his heart skipped a beat. Judging from the pulse, the emperor was just weak. However, the emperor was carefully cared for by the imperial chef and the imperial physician on a daily basis. It was impossible for him to be so weak.

It is so difficult to be an imperial physician in the palace. The emperor's illness cannot be said to be serious, nor can it be said to be nothing serious. I have to prescribe medicine for him. If he cannot be cured and the emperor cannot wake up, my days as an imperial physician will probably be over, and I might even lose my head.

After the imperial physician finished checking the emperor's pulse, he looked at the silent queen beside the bed with fear and trembling, and stammered, "Your Majesty, judging from the pulse, the emperor may have been overworked with state affairs, exhausted his mind and body, and exhausted his energy. He is just suffering from physical weakness. Please allow me to prescribe some medicine for you to take good care of yourself. The emperor should be able to recover."

Although the Queen had known in advance that the Emperor was going to pretend to be sick, when she came in today and saw the Emperor lying on the bed, pale and silent, she still felt a slight pain in her heart.

The emperor had already told the queen about his plan in advance. The news that there was a copy of the account book had spread, and Shen Taiwei believed it and sent people to intercept the emperor's troops and seize the account book.

The account book was naturally unavailable, and General Shen must have been anxious, and now the emperor was forcing General Shen to take action. Once he fell, General Shen would naturally have no scruples.

Once General Shen reveals his evil ambitions, the Emperor can naturally deal with him with justification, and by then, the Empress Dowager will have nothing to say.

The emperor only told the empress and the crown prince about this matter. He told the empress to avoid her worrying her, and he told the crown prince because he was growing up and needed to gradually understand the affairs of state. The emperor was also gradually training the crown prince on how to be a wise ruler.

When the Queen heard the Emperor say that he wanted to take some medicine that would make him look like he was really poisoned, she was very worried about his health. She once advised the Emperor not to take the risk.

The emperor told the queen firmly: "Ruohua, Shen Tuo has relied on the queen mother's kindness to me over the years and seems to have ignored me. He has formed cliques and factions in the court and cultivated his own followers."

The emperor handed the queen a secret memorial: "This is what Huai'an found in Jiangnan. Shen Tuo actually embezzled taxes and raised private soldiers in Jiangnan. It's a pity that all the witnesses and evidence are lost. There is not enough evidence to prosecute him."

The Emperor looked at the Empress and said, "Ruohua, if we cannot investigate Shen Tuo, this cancer will only grow bigger and bigger. It will not only be detrimental to me, but may even endanger our Rui'er. I have no choice but to resort to this last resort. Only when I fall will Shen Tuo dare to act boldly. This is the opportunity we have been waiting for."

The queen looked at the emperor's determined expression and finally lowered her head and said nothing. The emperor reached out and took the queen's hand and explained in detail:

"Ruohua, Shen Tuo has always been treacherous, and we don't know when he will make a move. Now that I have fallen, the court cannot be without a leader for a day. I have already handed over the affairs of the previous court to Huai'an and Mingxuan. The prince is already grown up, and during my "illness", the prince will be the regent. You have to stabilize the situation in the harem, and protect yourself and our Rui'er."

At this point, the emperor hesitated: "If this plan fails and Shen Tuo succeeds, I'm sure the Queen Mother will not let Shen Tuo attack you. I have already arranged for the secret guards to protect you and Rui'er."

The queen's face changed drastically, and she quickly reached out to cover the emperor's mouth: "Your Majesty is a lucky person, and you will definitely capture the traitor safely. Your Majesty, please don't say such unlucky words, I don't want to hear it."

Seeing the queen's anxious look, the emperor couldn't help but hugged her in his arms. The queen was startled and quickly broke free from the emperor's arms, her face flushed.

The emperor looked at the queen's blushing face, and seemed to see the little girl in the plum forest again. The emperor held the queen's hand tightly and said excitedly: "Ruohua, back then I..."

"Father! Father!" The prince rushed in hurriedly. The queen immediately shook off the emperor's hand, straightened her clothes and sat up straight.

The emperor looked at the prince who came into the room with an unhappy face. He really didn't know how to choose the right time. He finally mustered up the courage to express his feelings, but was disrupted by this child.

The prince hurried into the room, not forgetting to pay his respects to his father, the emperor and his mother. The emperor rolled his eyes at him and said, "Stand up. Did you receive the things Zhang Dequan sent?"

The prince took out a secret decree sent by Zhang Dequan and said, "Father, even if you want to pretend to be poisoned to lure Shen Taiwei into action, there is no need to give the power of regent to your son! I am afraid..."

The emperor pointed to a chair beside him and told the prince not to be impatient and to sit down and talk. The prince sat down, stared at the emperor and said, "Father, I am afraid that I have failed you and failed to do my job well, which will affect your plan."

The Queen saw beads of sweat on the Prince's face and took out her handkerchief and handed it to him: "Rui'er, don't be anxious. Wipe the sweat off your face and talk to your father slowly." The Prince stood up and bowed to take the handkerchief: "Thank you, Mother!"

The emperor was a little envious and a little jealous of his son when he saw the queen's caring for the prince. He watched the prince wipe the sweat off his face with the queen's handkerchief and said to him, "I have just explained this to your mother. This time I am planning to lure Shen Tuo to take action, which is a bit risky, but there is no evidence at the moment. Only by luring Shen Tuo to take action can we catch this thief in one fell swoop."

"Once I fall, Shen Tuo's party will surely stir up trouble in the court. I keep you as regent, firstly to facilitate Huai'an and Mingxuan's actions, and secondly to train you."

The emperor looked at the prince with burning eyes: "Rui'er, your mother and I have taught you carefully for many years. I will eventually grow old, and you must slowly learn to share my worries."

The Emperor glanced at the Empress, and then said to the Crown Prince, "This matter is indeed serious, but your mother and I believe that you will be able to handle it. Besides, you have Lord Qin and Lord Yu to help you."

The prince looked at his father and mother's eager eyes, opened his mouth but did not refuse the idea of ​​being the regent. The prince looked at the emperor again: "Father, is the medicine you pretended to be poisoned and wanted to drink harmful to your body?"

The emperor saw the queen also looked up at him, with uncontrollable concern in her eyes. A sweet feeling rose in the emperor's heart, and he smiled and comforted the queen and the prince, saying: "Don't worry, this is a drug specially prepared by Lord Yu who asked the poison maker in the Dark Guard Camp. It has no harm to my body, it just looks like poisoning."

The queen looked at the emperor lying on the bed, and remembered her instructions beforehand. She was still secretly worried. She looked at Concubine Shen who was crying beside her. Although she didn't want to reveal any clues, she still blamed Concubine Shen in her heart. So many troubles in the palace were caused by this woman.

The queen calmed down her anger and said to Concubine Shen calmly, "Concubine Shen, please stop crying. Saving the emperor is the most important thing at this time. Zhang Dequan!"

Zhang Dequan responded quickly, and the queen said to him: "Order the emperor to stay in this palace. I will take care of him personally. No one inside or outside the palace is allowed to disturb the emperor's recuperation without my permission."

Concubine Shen suddenly looked up at the Queen and opened her mouth to speak, but Suqin beside her quietly pulled her sleeve, signaling her not to speak anymore.

The Queen then ordered: "Please ask the Crown Prince to come over, and then ask Yu Huaian and Qin Mingxuan, as well as several other adults in the cabinet, to come to Kunning Palace to discuss matters."

The Queen stood up and said to Zi Yuan beside her: "Give orders, the concubines in the palace are not allowed to inquire about the emperor's affairs at will, and each palace must manage their servants well and not leak palace news to outsiders. Anyone who dares to pass on information to outsiders will be beaten to death!"

Shenpin stared at the queen blankly. She had never seen a queen like this before. The queen, who was usually kind and cheerful in the palace, stood with a frown on her face. She exuded a majestic aura that could not be ignored. People dared not look up. She was completely different from the usual queen.

After returning to Kunning Palace and settling the unconscious emperor, the crown prince and all the courtiers in the cabinet had already hurried to Kunning Palace.

Except for Yu Huaian and Qin Mingxuan, the other officials in the cabinet were a little confused. The queen in the palace was said to be out of favor, but the emperor respected her, and her position as queen was still very stable.

The Queen has always been silent in the palace, so why did she call the cabinet to discuss matters today? The ministers exchanged suspicious glances with each other and saluted respectfully to the Queen and the Crown Prince.

The queen glanced at the ministers and told them that the emperor was seriously ill and unconscious. Then she looked at the ministers and said, "The harem is not allowed to interfere in state affairs. I am only responsible for pacifying the harem. The affairs of the court will naturally require you to take care of them. The state affairs must not be disrupted because of the emperor's illness."

The Queen then looked at the Crown Prince and said, "The Emperor has told me that, just in case, he has left a secret decree for the Crown Prince. Zhang Dequan, please tell the others the contents of the secret decree."

Zhang Dequan stepped forward, holding up a scroll in his hand, and said loudly: "The emperor has ordered that if the emperor is ill and cannot attend court, the crown prince will be the regent, and all ministers will obey the crown prince's orders."

Zhang Dequan then looked at the ministers and said, "Here is the imperial edict. You may come forward to check the emperor's handwriting and seal." The ministers in the cabinet looked at each other in bewilderment. They did not expect that something big had happened to the emperor, to the point where the crown prince had to serve as regent.

Lord Wang from the Cabinet stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, how is the Emperor's health?" The Queen gestured to the imperial physician who was about to step forward to answer.

The imperial physician was just stepping forward to salute the lords and replied: "From the pulse, the emperor just fainted due to physical exhaustion. No other problems can be found for the time being. It is just that compared with ordinary physical exhaustion, it is slightly more serious, which caused the emperor to fall into a coma. We have already discussed giving the emperor medicine, and we have to see what the results of the medicine are."

The Queen looked at the ministers and said, "You are all loyal ministers to the Emperor. Before the Emperor wakes up, please work together to assist the Crown Prince. I would like to express my gratitude to you all."

The Queen stood up and bowed slightly to thank the ministers. The ministers dared not accept the Queen's greeting, so they quickly lifted their robes and knelt on the ground: "We will do our best and live up to the trust of the Emperor."

The Queen then looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Crown Prince, you must remember your father's teachings and instructions, and humbly seek advice from all the adults. Don't let your father and mother down." The Crown Prince bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Queen Mother. I will definitely work hard at court."

The Queen nodded to the Crown Prince and then said, "Your father will be well taken care of by your mother. Don't worry, Crown Prince. Go down with the others to discuss matters. The court is busy and there are many things that need to be dealt with as soon as possible."

The Crown Prince and the other officials bowed to the Queen again, and then left Kunning Palace. Arriving at the Imperial Study, after the Crown Prince and the other cabinet ministers were seated, Yu Huaian stepped forward and reported: "Your Highness, a few days ago, the Emperor ordered me to go to Jiangnan to collect evidence of the Jiangnan corruption case. Fortunately, I have fulfilled the order. Yesterday, the account books involved in the Jiangnan corruption case that I found in Jiangnan have been sent to the capital. Please review them and give me instructions on what to do next."

The prince nodded and said, "I have heard my father talk about this case. Because the witnesses and evidence were all silenced some time ago, the case has been at a standstill. Now that we have new evidence, I will definitely handle the case properly and eliminate the corruption that plagues our dynasty."

The prince said to Huai'an, "Please keep the evidence properly, sir. Send it to the palace tomorrow. I will summon all the cabinet ministers to discuss how to deal with this case." The ministers bowed and agreed, then left the palace and waited to be summoned by the prince tomorrow to discuss the matter again.

In the evening, a figure sneaked into the Taiwei Mansion and was led by a servant directly into Taiwei Shen's study. Taiwei Shen was waiting in the room. When he saw this person enter the door, he immediately stood up to greet him: "Sir Wang!"

The man took off his veil and it turned out to be the cabinet minister Wang who had inquired about the emperor's condition in the palace during the day. The two of them were obviously very familiar with each other, and they stopped talking and sat down.

Lord Wang said to General Shen, "General, something has happened in the palace. The Emperor suddenly fainted today and the Empress has invited all the ministers to the palace to discuss matters. The Emperor has left an imperial decree, ordering the Crown Prince to be the regent."

Shen Taiwei was not surprised to hear this, as this was what he had expected. He was concerned about another matter. Shen Taiwei asked Lord Wang anxiously, "Did Lord Wang hear anything about the Jiangnan corruption case?"

Lord Wang replied, "That's right, I was just about to talk about this. Lord Wang has been telling me to pay attention to this case. Today, I heard from Yu Huaian that the physical evidence has arrived in Beijing. Tomorrow, the prince will convene the cabinet to review the evidence and discuss how to deal with the Jiangnan corruption case."

Shen Tuo secretly said that it was not good. As expected, what he feared would come true. The account book had indeed been delivered to Yu Huaian. This was exactly what he feared the most.

Fortunately, at this time, the emperor had already been poisoned and unconscious, so it would be easy to deal with him as long as he fell down. As for the prince, Shen Taiwei only regarded him as a child. Shen Taiwei, who had been in power for many years, did not take the prince seriously.

The key now is to make sure that the account book is out tomorrow, so that what I did in Jiangnan can no longer be concealed. I must make a decision on what to do next.