In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

Chapter 286 A Concubine Begs for the Emperor's Favor with Her Blood

Zhao Zhen sat by the couch, took her hand, and then said to Zhang Maoze, "Zhang Maoze, go and find the imperial physician to get medicine for the Consort."

Zhang Maoze accepted the order and hurriedly left, leaving only Zhao Zhen and Consort Zhang in the hall.

"Your Majesty..."

Consort Zhang called softly, her voice weak and feeble as if soaked with tears. She could only look at Zhao Zhen with teary eyes and say, "Your Majesty, I know that court affairs are complex and multifaceted, and the law is not to be lightly violated, but my uncle..."

"Your Highness, my heart is also breaking. Regarding Yao Zuo's matter, I have weighed the options carefully, and exiling him to Qiongzhou is the biggest concession I can make under the pressure from the court." Zhao Zhen sighed, and could only gently wipe the water off her face with a dry cloth.

Then, his gaze shifted and he noticed the bloodstains on her knee. Without thinking, he gently placed the dry cloth in his hand on her knee, his movements tender—he had been so focused on the old wound on her collarbone that he had overlooked the new injury she had sustained while kneeling on the broken porcelain.

"Zhiheng..." Zhao Zhen softly called out Consort Zhang's maiden name, his voice full of tenderness.

Upon hearing this long-unheard title, Consort Zhang's tears streamed down her face once again.

"Your Majesty, I never imagined that I would put you in such a difficult position." Consort Zhang forced herself to sit up and said, sobbing, "But my uncle has been so kind to me. Without him, I would not be who I am today. Now that he has suffered such a calamity, I simply cannot stand by and do nothing."

“When my lord passed away, he left me and my mother alone. If it weren’t for my uncle taking us in, my mother and I would probably have been homeless and starving to death in the wilderness.”

“My uncle treated me like his own daughter, teaching me to read and write, to do needlework, etiquette, and to sing, dance, and play music, hoping that I would have a bright future. Now he is to suffer the pain of exile, how can I bear it?”

&34; After my father passed away, we had no money for his burial, so his coffin stayed at home for seven days. My uncle, disregarding my other uncle's objections, used a grain transport cart to take my mother and me away and personally helped with the burial...&34;

Zhao Zhen gently draped a dry cloth over her knees and said, "I know Zhang Yaozuo has been kind to you, but what he did today has truly crossed the line of the laws of the Great Song Dynasty. If I do not punish him, how can I explain this to the people of the world, and how can I convince the court officials?"

"Your Majesty, I know..." Zhang Zhiheng stopped crying, cleared her throat, and tried her best to remain composed: "Does Your Majesty believe that I smashed those porcelain pieces today to throw a tantrum?"

Zhao Zhen shook his head decisively—Zhang Zhiheng was not the type to throw a tantrum, and said, “I know your character; you certainly didn’t do this to cause a scene.”

Zhang Zhiheng smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. Although I am a member of the inner palace, I understand the laws of the country. However, my uncle has been very kind to me, and I cannot help but try to help him."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to plead with you with my own blood. Even if you cannot pardon my uncle, I hope that Your Majesty can make his journey more comfortable. Qiongzhou is full of miasma, and my uncle's health is already poor. I am really worried about him."

Zhao Zhen looked at the bloodstains on Zhang Zhiheng's body and said, "Very well, I hereby grant Yaozuo permission to travel by sea. There are Persian merchant ships in Guangzhou Port, carrying incense from the South China Sea countries to ward off miasma."

"This is my personal indulgence that belongs only to you."

To be honest, Zhao Zhen's affection for Zhang Zhiheng was no less than Li Longji's affection for Yang Guifei, and it could even be said that it was greater.

Emperor Renzong (Zhao Zhen) was capricious many times in his life, but he only gave Han Zhi this favor once; the rest of the favors were given to Zhang Zhiheng.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Zhiheng propped herself up from the bed and, ignoring her trembling knees due to her injury, gave Zhao Zhen a proper "Wanfu" (a traditional Chinese greeting).

"After my uncle departs, I wish to pray for His Majesty in the palace, so that our Great Song Dynasty may be prosperous and peaceful."

Seeing Zhang Zhiheng struggling to bow, Zhao Zhen hurriedly stepped forward to help her up again, gently guiding her back to sit on the couch, saying, "Zhiheng, why are you doing this? Sit down quickly, don't aggravate your wound."

"Your Majesty, my mind is made up." Zhang Zhiheng raised her head and looked at Zhao Zhen, saying, "Although I am confined to the inner palace and unable to fight for the Song Dynasty, I still wish to do my best to share some of Your Majesty's burdens."

"In this way, I will not fail to live up to His Majesty's great favor towards me."

"I understand."

Zhao Zhen continued to wipe her body, and at this moment, Zhang Maoze brought in the imperial physician.

The imperial physician stepped forward respectfully, first bowing deeply to Emperor Zhao Zhen and Consort Zhang, then hurriedly opened his medicine chest, took out various instruments, and prepared to treat Consort Zhang.

The imperial physician carefully removed the slightly bleeding gauze from Zhang Zhiheng's knee, examined the wound closely, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Your Majesty, Consort Zhang's knee wound is not healing well due to repeated pulling. It needs to be cleaned and treated with medicine again to prevent infection from worsening. The old injury on her shoulder blade has also flared up due to being caught in the rain, and she needs to continue taking medicine to recuperate."

Zhao Zhen nodded slightly and said, "Do as you say."

The imperial physician began to treat Consort Zhang's wound. He first carefully cleaned the wound on her knee with warm medicinal water, making every movement extremely gentle, for fear of hurting Consort Zhang.

After treating the knee wound, the imperial physician began to change the dressing on the old injury on her shoulder blade.

However, out of courtesy, after consulting with his superiors, he instructed a palace maid to handle the matter.

After all the wounds were treated, he instructed the palace maids to carefully apply a layer of ointment with a faint medicinal fragrance and then carefully bandage it with clean gauze.

After confirming that the palace maids had finished, the imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully bowed to Zhao Zhen, saying, "Your Majesty, the Consort's wound has been properly treated. However, she must strictly follow the doctor's orders for the next few days, take her medicine on time, and move around as little as possible. If she experiences any discomfort, please summon me immediately."

Zhao Zhen nodded slightly and waved his hand, saying, "You may leave now. If there is any change in the Consort's injuries, I will summon you."

"Yes."

Zhang Zhiheng tried to stand up, but because her knees were bandaged, she couldn't. Helpless, she had to sit back down on the bed and said:

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am in such a state today that I cannot accompany Your Majesty for a stroll in the Imperial Garden."

As she spoke, her face turned red.