Ping Zhao Lu

Chu Yunxiao calmed down, put his clothes in place with a serious face, lifted the curtain and got off the bed.

Then he stood up and called the eunuch to change his clothes.

Xu Zhouye gazed at the emperor's tall back through the curtain, as if thinking about something.

I'm afraid that nothing good will happen if Fu Chuoren comes to see the emperor at this time.

After dressing neatly, Chu Yunxiao glanced sideways behind him, raised his hand to slowly draw the curtain, and then walked towards the imperial study.

As soon as Chu Yunxiao left, Su Ming ran in hurriedly.

"Your Highness, the man in the side hall is ill."

Xu Zhouye paused for a moment, "Why are you sick?"

He was just left out for a bit, yet he acted so eagerly. Even though he sent people to keep an eye on him, something still happened. It seemed these people weren't really working for him.

Xu Zhouye's eyes darkened.

Su Ming hesitated and said, "Looking at the signs, it looks like poisoning."

"Have you asked for the imperial physician?" Xu Zhouye's voice became a little colder.

"It has been passed on." Su Ming said with his head down.

Xu Zhouye stood up, his tone carrying a subtle hint of urgency: "Let's go and take a look."

The two of them hurried to the side hall and saw the person on the bed with a pale face and a furrowed brow.

"What's wrong?" Xu Zhouye walked to the bed and asked softly.

After taking the patient's pulse, the imperial physician shook his head and said, "I am incompetent. This poison is very strange. It seems to be a mixture of several poisons. I cannot determine for the moment."

Xu Zhouye's eyes darkened: "No matter what, we must cure him."

The imperial physician looked troubled: "Your Highness, this..."

"If you can't cure him, you won't survive." Xu Zhouye's voice was full of majesty.

"Yes……"

The imperial physician had no choice but to agree.

Xu Zhouye's expression was stern. He turned to the palace servants and shouted, "How did you take care of someone like this?"

The palace servants knelt hurriedly and kowtowed to apologize.

"We servants have faithfully followed His Highness' orders and served Master Rong wholeheartedly, without slacking off in the slightest."

"Wholeheartedly? Have you ever been apart for even a moment?"

Xu Zhouye said in a deep voice.

Take care of the sick person wholeheartedly.

The palace servants all hung their heads in silence, looking at each other in panic.

"Your Highness, we servants originally wanted to accompany you at all times, but Master Rong doesn't like us to be close to him, so..."

"They are not doing their job properly and are still trying to make excuses. Drag them away and give them twenty strokes of the cane each." Xu Zhouye gave the order indifferently.

When these words were spoken, the palace servants were terrified and begged for mercy.

"Your Highness, I (the servant) acknowledge my guilt, Your Highness..."

Xu Zhouye pretended not to hear and waved his hand to signal someone to drag them all out.

"Please have mercy, Your Highness!"

"Your Highness..."

The cries for mercy gradually faded away.

Then came the wailing and screaming of the palace servants, accompanied by the sound of caning and beating. The imperial physician who was giving Rong Yu'an acupuncture heard this and his hands trembled, almost hitting the wrong acupoint.

Xu Zhouye turned sideways and ordered Su Ming: "Send Qinghe here quickly."

Su Ming bowed and accepted the order, then left quickly.

After a while, Su Ming came in with Qinghe.

Xu Zhouye stepped forward, took out a jade token and handed it to Qinghe, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Please ask Dr. Zhang from the family to come to the palace."

Qing He nodded in agreement, "Yes, I'll go right away."

Xu Zhouye nodded, turned around and looked at the person with purple lips lying on the couch, lowered his eyes, and his eyes gradually darkened.

*

imperial study room

Chu Yunxiao sat down on the dragon throne and looked at Fu Chuoren below with cold eyes.

Fu Chuoren saluted respectfully, then stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have an important matter to report. The northern border has been repeatedly invaded by the Rouran in recent days, and the people living on the border are suffering terribly."

It was not to commend Wei Xian.

Chu Yunxiao's eyes were dark and he frowned slightly. "If that's the case, what countermeasures do you have, Fu Aiqing?"

Fu Chuoren quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I believe we should send a powerful general to lead a large army to intimidate the Rouran."

Chu Yunxiao was silent for a moment, "Then who do you think is more suitable?"

Fu Chuoren's expression was solemn as he spoke in a deep voice, "There are many brave generals among the military commanders, but when it comes to commanding troops and fighting, none can match the experience and maturity of Duke Dingguo."

Chu Yunxiao's face was stern. "General Xu has fought for half his life and suffered countless wounds. His body is no longer fit to fight on the front lines."

"Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely true, but..." Fu Chuoren's face was solemn, and he spoke earnestly, "His son, Xu Jianglin, once led an army to defeat the Wuman in one fell swoop. He currently holds the rank of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front Department, a fourth-rank official. He is truly a rising star, and his abilities are no less than any other formidable general in the court. He has inherited his father's true teachings. If we were to send him to lead the army to conquer the Rouran, he would be the perfect choice."

Chu Yunxiao raised his eyebrows, his eyes flickered slightly, and he tapped lightly on the imperial desk with his fingers, "I think Wei Xian is worse than Xu Cheng, isn't it..."

Fu Chuoren immediately chimed in mid-sentence, "General Wei just won a victory. If he were to travel to the northern border now, he would be exhausted and unable to split his attention."

Chu Yunxiao smiled.

No matter how he refuses today, Fu Chuoren will find a way to let Xu Jianglin lead the troops to battle.

After a moment, Chu Yunxiao looked up at Fu Chuoren. "My dear minister, your words make sense, but Xu Cheng is young after all and needs the assistance of an experienced veteran. I have decided to send the Minister of War, Sun Youwei, to accompany him. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Chuoren's eyes flashed with surprise, but he quickly recovered and knelt down to kowtow, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. This is very good. With Minister Sun leading the army, we will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Chu Yunxiao smiled slightly, "Then it's settled. You go and draft the decree."

"I obey your order." Fu Chuoren accepted the order and left the imperial study.

Chu Yunxiao leaned on the dragon throne, his eyes like deep pools narrowed slightly, and his gaze was extremely cold.

"Shang Jiu."

"My subordinate is here."

Shang Jiu, who had been hiding in the dark, appeared leisurely and knelt down to salute.

Chu Yunxiao: "How's things going at the Cining Palace?"

Shang Jiu: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Yang has been sent back to the Cining Palace. However, I am confused. Why not take this opportunity to pry him open?"

"That's so boring." Chu Yunxiao said casually, "It's not fun if you make people angry."

Rather than killing the chicken to get the eggs, he prefers to shoot the rooster without hitting the nest.

……

In the evening, Qinghe hurried into the palace with Zhang, the palace physician.

As she was rushing to Fengluan Palace and passing by Xianfu Palace, she was spotted by Cuihuan, the maid of Concubine Xian.

She stepped forward to stop the person. "You are His Highness's personal maid Qinghe, right?" She paused and looked at the man behind Qinghe, who was lowering his head and carrying a medicine box. "I heard that Master Rong was poisoned. Is that true?"

Qing He's face darkened. "Where did you hear that rumor? Young Master Rong has the Queen looking after him, so what could possibly happen? It's just that Your Highness must be very tired today. What's wrong with asking a doctor to take his pulse?"

Cui Huan looked embarrassed. "So that's how it is. I told you those palace maids were dishonest and were spreading rumors. Now everyone in the palace is saying that the Queen is...jealous and is afraid that if I allow you to become the Emperor's servant, you'll take away His Majesty's favor, so..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Qing He was so angry that she was shaking all over. "Your Highness is the Master of the Central Palace, and he would never bother to resort to such despicable means. How dare you believe such rumors? If anyone dares to say such nonsense again, I will be rude to them!"

After saying that, she dragged Doctor Zhang away quickly.