The Child Emperor

The atmosphere in the Hall of Diligence is undergoing subtle changes. The ministers kept silent at first, and often asked three questions. They seemed incompetent. In fact, they were giving the Queen Mother a slap in the face, letting her understand that the court cannot be separated from the ministers. When the defeat of King Qi is determined, The ministers became active and scrambled to show that they were not really incompetent. Now, they began to be vigilant and wary of each other, and spoke more and more carefully, so as not to become the next accomplice of King Qi.

Those in power have always had no tolerance for rebellious behavior, and they are ruthless when taking revenge. This has been the case in all dynasties and dynasties. Some emperors will even kill those who are still in their infancy. This kind of thing can be accepted by ministers, and sometimes Will take the opportunity to eradicate dissidents.

The Queen Mother's ambitions surpassed that of most previous emperors. After issuing a lenient edict, her supervision over the arrest of King Qi and Yu Dang has not been relaxed. The Queen Mother couldn't be satisfied either. She kept asking about details and issuing new orders, demanding that everyone involved in the rebellion be dug up, to see people in life and corpses in death, from princes and ministers to ordinary people. Nor can they be exempted.

What disturbed the ministers the most was the arrival of a newcomer in the Hall of Qinzheng.

The Hall of Qinzheng is a place for discussing politics and formulating decrees. To be able to work here means to enter the core circle of power. The number of people is not limited, ranging from one person to more than a dozen people. Generally speaking, the prime minister must be one of them, and then the other ministers appointed by the emperor.

From the day Emperor Huan ascended the throne, the layout of the Qinzheng Hall had not changed much. The five ministers selected by Emperor Wu of Gu Ming became regular visitors here, and sometimes other ministers were summoned, all to solve a certain matter and dismissed after completion. .

Shangguan Xu was the elder brother of the Queen Mother, and he became the chief Sima of the Southern Army in one step. After only a few days in Qinzheng Hall, he went to the permanent barracks. Taifu Cui Hong and the right patrol censor Shen Mingzhi were ordered to leave the capital, and another minister temporarily replaced them. Sooner or later, he will still leave, and he is not an official.

The queen mother broke the old pattern and attracted a new person.

Han Ruzi knew not many ministers, but this person was one of them. Yuan Jiuding, Minister of Rites, once demonstrated to the emperor the ceremony of enthronement, and accepted the emperor’s first “secret edict”—turning around, he handed the note to the emperor. The eunuch Yang Feng.

Yuan Jiuding disappeared for a period of time, Han Ruzi thought he was being suppressed, but unexpectedly, he became a minister trusted by the Queen Mother.

As a newcomer, Yuan Jiuding seldom spoke, and most of the time he just nodded, but the other ministers felt like a light on their backs and knew very well that if a newcomer came in, I am afraid that an old one would have to go out.

Han Ruzi sat in the Qinzheng Hall for a symbolic time, usually no more than two quarters of an hour. In this short period of time, he could also feel the tension and suspicion among the ministers.

The empress dowager is too oppressive, maybe there are many ministers who support the emperor, he thought, and his heart is more at ease.

The imperial concubine was also there, and she often came out of the Tingzheng Pavilion to ask a few details for the queen mother, and sent stacks of edicts to Jing Yao, the supervisor of the Central Division. Jing Yao's position was at the entrance of the Tingzheng Pavilion, guarding a table with Baoxi on it.

Han Ruzi's heart beat a little faster, she couldn't help but admire the concubine, she didn't show any nervousness, she put down the edict, waited for Jing Yao to cover the seal, picked it up, checked it roughly, and handed it over to different eunuchs, eunuchs Then transfer it to the minister, and the minister will also check it again, and then the clerk will continue to check it. After there is no problem, it will be sent outside the hall and distributed to the relevant yamen.

Except for the empress dowager in the Tingzheng Pavilion, everyone in the hall moved in full watch. Han Ruzi couldn't figure out how the imperial concubine could hide it from the sky.

Soon, Han Ruzi no longer cared about the imperial concubine and Yuan Jiuding. Today, he has his own business to do.

The emperor was only a decoration in the Hall of Qinzheng, and received little attention. Only the newcomers could not help but occasionally glance at the emperor.

The Minister of Rites, Yuan Jiuding, noticed something abnormal in a quick glance. He didn't dare to say a word. He immediately retracted his gaze and continued to nod his head. At the third glance, I felt that I could no longer pretend to be confused.

Yuan Jiuding poked Feng Ju, the minister of officials beside him, with his finger, "Your Majesty..."

Feng Ju was very impatient, but after glancing in the direction of the throne, he couldn't keep his composure, so he poked Han Xing, the military governor on the other side.

Yin Wuxian had a deep concentration, as if he had no feeling, and was still chanting the difference between the two words. He didn't turn around until he was poked three times, looked up, squinted his eyes, and didn't respond for a long time.

The ministers were silent, but their strange behavior caught the eunuch's attention.

There used to be many eunuchs in the Qinzheng Palace, surrounded by the emperor, and the ministers were not allowed to approach, but now there are many fewer, only seven or eight people, and there are not as many scribes in the hall, and they still take care of the emperor.

Zuo Ji rarely entered the Qinzheng Palace. The one closest to the emperor was a middle-aged eunuch. When he looked back, he was shocked, his legs were weak, and he almost fell to the ground, and then he let out a childlike cry: "Ah... ... Duke Jing, Duke Jing."

Finally, all eyes turned to the emperor.

The emperor was sweating. Although it was summer, the hall was still cool. The beads of sweat on the emperor's face, the size of peas, were definitely not caused by the heat.

The minister could pretend to be confused, but Jing Yao couldn't. First, he waved an eunuch to notify the queen mother, then he hurried to the emperor's side and asked in a strange tone, "Your Majesty... Are you uncomfortable?"

Han Ruzi covered his abdomen and said in a hoarse voice, "Stomach hurts."

"Stomach... how could it hurt?" Jing Yao's voice trembled, in case the emperor's pain was caused by someone on purpose, it would be a huge mistake for him to be so close, in case the emperor really fell here In the hall, there will be another bloody storm, and I don't know if I can escape.

"It's alright." Han Ruzi squeezed out a smile. His pain was real. Since taking the pills from Meng E, he has often experienced abdominal pain, hiccups and other symptoms. Only the first two times were more serious. After the reverse breathing method, the symptoms hardly showed, but since last night, he stopped reverse breathing, intentionally caused abdominal pain, and reached its peak after entering the Qinzheng Hall.

He didn't look like he was "all right" at all.

Jing Yao didn't know how to deal with it, and stood there at a loss, not daring to ask any more questions, for fear that the emperor would say things he shouldn't know.

The imperial concubine quickly walked out of the Tingzheng Pavilion, came to the emperor, and asked eagerly, "What's going on?"

The concubine did not understand the emperor's tricks, and the concerns expressed were real.

Han Ruzi frowned, "Stomach hurts, it's okay, this is not the first time, it will be better later."

"Not the first time? When was the last time?" The Crown Princess's voice rose a little.

"More than a month ago, it should be... a few days before the queen entered the palace." Han Ruzi bent down and curled up, the pain was so painful that it was difficult to speak.

The imperial concubine's eyebrows gradually rose, and she turned to Jing Yao, "Why did no one inform the queen mother of such a big event?"

Jing Yao was at a loss, "The old slave doesn't know about this, is it the servants in the palace who know about it and don't report it?"

Han Ruzi shook his head laboriously, "It's not the palace, it's in the Lingyun Pavilion... oops... I don't blame them, I don't want the queen mother to worry, oh..."

The pain was so unbearable that Han Ruzi had to start breathing in the opposite direction, but his mouth screamed even more miserably.

Finding that the emperor's pain seemed to have nothing to do with the conspiracy, the ministers all gathered around, knelt in a half circle below the throne, and offered their condolences.

"Call the imperial doctor." The imperial concubine ordered, and everyone's reaction became normal from then on, and immediately two eunuchs flew out of the hall.

"Why does Your Majesty suffer from abdominal pain alone?" The Queen Mother came out of the Tingzheng Pavilion, and the minister and eunuch who were kneeling on the ground separated and made way for a passage.

Han Ruzi looked up at the queen mother, and really wanted to rush over to ask where his mother was taken, but he just said in a weak voice: "The child can... I don't want the queen mother to worry... oops."

The Queen Mother walked down to the steps of the throne, stared at the emperor for a while, then turned around and said, "Case Zuo Ji."

Zuo Ji had heard what happened in the hall, and was guarding the door. Hearing the voice of the queen mother, he rushed in immediately, fell on all fours, crawled a few steps, kowtowed repeatedly, and kept saying: "The slave is guilty."

The hearts of the ministers and eunuchs in the hall were raised again. Everyone knew that Zuo Ji was the confidant of the Queen Mother. He deliberately concealed the emperor's first abdominal pain, which seemed to be a bit conspiracy.

"What a daring servant, you already know your guilt, why did you hide it and didn't report it?" The queen mother was really angry, the ministers and eunuchs kneeling on both sides lowered their heads, and their bodies shrunk even more than the emperor.

"I really don't blame Zuo Gong, it's me... Persistence..." Han Ruzi defended Zuo Ji.

Zuo Ji himself did not dare to defend himself. This is the Hall of Diligence and Administration. With the presence of ministers, it would only be more sinister to put the responsibility on the emperor. "The slaves are guilty, but the slaves are confused for a while, and the slaves think that your majesty is only occasionally..."

"What do you think? Are you the imperial doctor?" The queen mother was even more angry. She managed to grasp the situation firmly in her hands, and would never allow a trivial matter to arouse many suspicions.

In the palace, few people dared to touch Zuo Ji's hair. In Qinzheng Hall, he was just a eunuch with a complicated background. Two eunuchs stepped forward immediately, one pressed his shoulder and the other slapped his mouth.

After a while, Zuo Ji's face was dripping with blood, and he shouted indistinctly "it's time to fight", knowing that the queen mother would have to deal with him ruthlessly in front of everyone in order to block Youyou's mouth.

But he just didn't understand, how could the emperor's temporary abdominal pain recur, and it happened to be in the Qinzheng Palace?

The imperial doctor arrived quickly, first kowtowed to the queen mother, and then knelt in front of the emperor to check his pulse, "What did your majesty have for breakfast?"

Han Ruzi's abdominal pain is not so severe, and his voice is still weak, "I don't remember, it seems to be the same as usual."

"Well, His Majesty's body's breath is a little disordered, which may be caused by poor food accumulation and overwork. In the next few days, it is advisable to eat light things, stay in bed more, and prescribe a few more medicines. After eating, there should be no recurrence. "

"Isn't it a matter of food?" asked the imperial concubine, who was more concerned about the emperor's safety than anyone else.

The imperial doctor did not dare to say death, "It shouldn't be, but Wei Chen may go to the imperial kitchen supervisor to ask before confirming it. Your Majesty should not stay here for a long time, you should go back to the palace to rest."

Several eunuchs joined hands to carry the emperor out of the Qinzheng Palace, and soon a sedan chair came. Han Ruzi usually walks back to the palace, and today is the first time to take a sedan chair.

The emperor's abdominal pain will cause a major disturbance, but what Han Ruzi cares about most is the reaction of the people around him.

That night, Zhang Youcai and Tong Qing'e knelt down to the emperor for the first time, showing awe.

Han Ruzi finally had two available people.

(seeking for collection and recommendation)