After Head Imperial Physician Yang said these words, everyone was silent. Empress Dowager Yao asked rhetorically, "What are you asking for Aijia to prepare?"
Head Imperial Physician Yang lowered his eyes and stared at the floor motionlessly. The floor of Qianqing Palace were not made of gold, but were made with a special clay. Using this clay, the cost of a brick is no less than gold. Such 'gold bricks' are very hard, even if the people below dig tunnels and pry them with the sharpest dagger, they can't move any of the bricks.
The royal family are always so afraid of outsiders entering the palace to kill them, but they forgot that the killers were often in their own kin. No matter how thick the bricks are, what good is it?
It is indeed a coincidence that the emperor fell into the water, but the emperor himself said that he went out to play. When he fell into the water, he was with his own people. After returning, the emperor became more and more sick. No matter how you look at it, this is a tragedy of accidentally falling into the water, contracting wind and cold, and finally getting worse and endangering your life. Such tragedies happen every day and everywhere, and the only unusual thing is that the emperor's uncle Prince Jing is in the capital at this moment.
Coincidence? It's a coincidence. But what is the evidence? Empress Dowager Yao suspected that the emperor had been poisoned, so she changed imperial doctors one after the other, and even secretly brought in private doctors to see the Emperor. However, without exception, everyone said that the wind and cold attacked his lungs, which unfortunately triggered his old diseases, and whether he can survive depends on Buddha's will.
It is very common for a child to die. Empress Dowager Yao just didn't expect this kind of thing to happen to herself.
She has already prepared the funeral for her son. Now, she will also prepare her grandsons?
The Empress Dowager fell into deep thought. She had good temper over the years, and she was graceful and calm no matter what happened. Now, the soul of the Empress Dowager seemed to collapse suddenly, and deep wrinkles appeared on her face. Head Imperial Physican Yang realized at this time that the Empress Dowager is also an old person.
Head Imperial Physican Yang is old as well and is well over the age of retirement. Head Imperial Physician Yang took two steps back gently, his footsteps stopped, and the hem of his robes swayed leisurely under the wind. Head Imperial Physician Yang knew it would be unpleasant to say these things, but the reality must be said. If he didn't say it, no one would be able to say it.
Head Imperial Physician Yang lowered her eyelids and whispered, "The Empress Dowager must announce the Emperor's death. The country can't be left without an emperor for a day. It's time for you to think about the future."
It doesn't matter if the emperor is dead, whoever inherits the throne next is the most important thing.
The emperor was young and playful, leaving no heirs, and the former Emperor Xiaozong had no other sons. According to etiquette, in this situation, you should look for heirs from Emperor Shizong's line.
Among the many sons of Shizong, his eldest son Emperor Xiaozong, his second son Prince Xiang, and his third son Prince Teng have all died. According to the order of succession, it is Prince Jing's turn.
It just so happens that Prince Jing is now in Jinling.
Head Imperial Physician Yang pointed this out carefully. After speaking, regardless of whether Empress Dowager Yao heard it or not, he quietly retired.
Tang Shishi originally thought that her life was to raise a baby in peace, teasing her son, and from time to time use Buddhist beads to pretend to be worried. But her life changed suddenly.
The atmosphere in the capital became tense inexplicably, Zhao Chengjun became busier and busier, people in the palace walked faster and faster, and she and Zhao Zigao even began to have guards outside their own courtyard. Tang Shishi hasn't been out of the mansion these days, and she doesn't know what's going on outside, but she feels that something big is about to happen.
At this time, Tang Shishi became more and more nervous, as she has not heard the news of the emperor's recovery.
Tang Shishi shook her heart, but thinking of the meaning behind this incident, her blood became cold. She took the risk of being discovered for the first time, and pulled out the book from the bottom of her chest and opened it to read the latest chapter.
It's a pity that this book doesn't do much for her anymore. According to the timeline in the book, they are still in Xiping City. Zhou Shunhua just won the battle with Lu Yufei, got diagnosed as pregnant, and was promoted to be a Side Consort.
In addition, Tang Shishi was never mentioned in the book anymore, and the Nuanxiangwan incident never happened. Zhou Shunhua did not need to rely on false medicine. When she announced the news, she was really pregnant.
In reality, the Nuanxiangwan incident was made public by Zhao Chengjun. At that time, Zhou Shunhua was about to be killed and can only say that she was pregnant to save herself. If you tell a lie, you will have to make up for it with countless more lies. Pretending to be pregnant with her completely flat belly is not a ridicule. When she is pregnant later, there will be no way to explain the truth.
Once you leave the impression of lying to everyone, you will no longer be able to reverse the word of mouth, and even Zhao Zixun's image will be greatly damaged. It's a wrong step.
In addition, the time and place to promote a Side Consort were wrong. In reality, Tang Shishi and Zhao Chengjun were suddenly called to Jinling. In order to provoke Zhou Shunhua's infighting, Tang Shishi designated her as the Side Consort early. There are two ways to be a Side Consort, one is won by being smart and having children, and the other is passive acceptance.
Tang Shishi calculated the time and found that the time of pregnancy in Zhou Shunhua's book was the same as in reality. Although there was a slight difference between the time before and after, the result was not wrong. The only difference is that this time Zhou Shunhua annoyed Zhao Chengjun and was accused of miscarriage.
Everything is unpredictable.
Tang Shishi scanned the past chapters and found that the chapters was full of wives and concubines fighting back and forth. Tang Shishi read the parts she did not read page by page, but it was all trivial matters not relating to the current situation.
Looking at the progress of Zhou Shunhua's pregnancy, until her child was two years old, Prince Jing still lived in the northwest. Therefore, in the plot of the original book, Zhao Chengjun rebelled at least three years later.
Now, everything is happening ahead of schedule, and the development is completely different. If the emperor in the book died of illness, according to etiquette, the next heir to the throne is Zhao Chengjun, and Zhao Chengjun has no need to rebel. Therefore, the point of the rebellion in the original book is most likely because the emperor already had heirs.
Tang Shishi was completely stunned, she leaned on the wall, unable to recover for a long time. The maid outside didn't hear Tang Shishi's movement for a long time, and was a little scared, and asked, "Wangfei, are you inside?"
"I'm here." Tang Shishi closed the book, tucked it back under her clothes, and said, "I want to be alone for a while, you don't have to wait for me."
The maids were relieved to see that Tang Shishi was okay, and obeyed: "Yes."
Tang Shishi put everything in it's original place. She walked calmly to the dressing mirror and combed her hair. She stared at her figure in the bronze mirror, and the light in her eyes faded from time to time.
In the original book, the emperor did not fall into the water, nor did he die of illness. So now, why did the emperor have a fever and is about to die?
Tang Shishi didn't dare to think about it. When she first got the book, she was ambitious and uttered a lot about becoming the Empress Dowager. The ignorant is fearless, because she doesn't understand what the words empress dowager and empress mean, so she is fearless and dared to want anything. As she got closer and closer to the center of power, Tang Shishi also understood that more and more will die in exchange for supreme glory.
Tang Shishi picked up the comb. She originally wanted to tidy up her hair, but after trying for a long time, the comb was stuck in the hair as her fingers kept trembling, and she couldn't even comb it.
Tang Shishi used to eat well and sleep well, but during this period she constantly had insomnia. She often wakes up when she falls asleep. Tang Shishi opened her eyes and realized that everything was just a dream. She breathed a long sigh of relief, but when she sat up, she found that the bedding beside her was cold.
Slowly, Zhao Chengjun even concealed his traces from Tang Shishi and tricked her into doing everything as usual. On the day the emperor fell into the water, Zhao Chengjun was away from home all day, and he did not come back when the doors closed at night.
Tang Shishi's hear skipped. The maids also felt that the atmosphere in the capital was not right. Seeing Tang Shishi's face was not good, they comforted: "Wangfei, the prince is atttending a banquet outside, and is probably just a little late. The princess should not worry, and just wait until the prince comes back tomorrow."
The maids are not comforting Tang Shishi, but comforting themseleves. Tang Shishi knows that now that the emperor is seriously ill, which family in Jinling has the courage to hold a banquet?
Zhao Chengjun never leaves without saying goodbye, unless he's doing something shady.
Tang Shishi's hands were cold, but she smiled reluctantly, and nodded: "Yes. Let people watch the door. If the prince comes back, come in immediately and report to me. Instruct the kitchen to prepare sober soup and hot dishes, in case the prince comes back."
"Yes."
After Tang Shishi gave her instructions, she looked at the dusky sky outside and felt that she had nothing to do for the first time. Before when there was Zhao Chengjun, she never felt this difficult at night. Taking care of Zhao Zigao, taking care of affairs in the mansion, She always feels that time is gone in the blink of an eye.
Now, Tang Shishi has nothing to do and can only go to see Zhao Zigao. She played with Zhao Zigao for a while, and soon Zhao Zigao yawned, obviously tired and wanting to sleep. Upon seeing this, Tang Shishi could only ask the nurse to hug Zhao Zigao to sleep.
Tang Shishi walked around the room several times, not knowing what to do. Seeing that Tang Shishi was in a low mood, the maids suggested: "Wangfei, you have been tired out today. Why don't you shower and sleep?"
So far, this is the only thing that can be done. Tang Shishi sighed and said, "Prepare water."
After Tang Shishi took a bath, the maid brought a towel and wiped her hair. Tang Shishi was sitting on the bed, her mind drifting away.
Usually, Zhao Chengjun wiped her hair. After nightfall, there would not be so many servants in the courtyard.
It turned out that when her husband did not come home, she felt this way.
Tang Shishi couldn't help but sigh. When the maid heard this, she thought she was pulling Tang Shishi's hair too tightly so she hurriedly knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "Wangfei, forgive me."
"It's okay." Tang Shishi waved to the maid, and said, "I'll do it by myself, go down and rest."
The maids looked at each other and hesitated: "Wangfei..."
TangShishi looked very determined, she waved her hand and said, "Leave."
"Yes." The maids obeyed. They put the cloth on the sandalwood table and stepped back gently. Tang Shishi picked up the clean cloth and felt tired after rubbing her hair twice. Why is her hair so long? When Zhao Chengjun wiped her hair before, didn't he feel tired?
She picked up her half-dry hair and looked at it for a while. She didn't want to call the maid back, nor did she want to make herself tired. She just threw the cloth away and planned to sleep like that. Anyway, the window is closed in the room, so she won't catch a cold.
Tang Shishi went to bed and tried to sleep. She was lying on the bed and found that the whole bed was surprisingly big. She accidentally knocked her elbow just now, and no one came to comfort her. Tang Shishi didn't know why she felt so wronged, but she tossed and rolled for a while, and slowly fell asleep.
Tonight, for some reason, Tang Shishi felt very cold. She was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night, and when she opened her eyes, she found that everything was dark and there were only shadows. Tang Shishi lay on the bed and went dumb for a while before realizing that she was in the mansion and Zhao Chengjun had not come back tonight.
Tang Shishi couldn't help rubbing her arms, no wonder it was so cold, because it turned out that her arms were outside the quilt. It turns out that she hadn't been awakened from freezing before, all because Zhao Chengjun always pulled the quilt for her.
Tang Shishi didn't know why she was not drowsy, so she sat up slowly, and stared at the curtain in the dark in a daze. The maid outside who was doing nightwatch heard the movement and knocked gently on the door: "Princess, are you awake?"
"It's me." Tang Shishi replied, "I'm fine, i just woke up because i want to wash my hands, you can continue to rest."
When the maid heard that it was Tang Shishi who had gotten up, she grabbed a small lamp and came in with a pot of water. The maid put the water in the palm of Tang Shishi's hand, and when she touched Tang Shishi's fingers, she asked in surprise: "Why is your hand so cold, Princess?"
"I just woke up, it will be fine after a while." Tang Shishi asked without taking it seriously, "Where's Gao'er?"
"The little junwang fell asleep well." The maid stood up and said, "Wangfei, wait, this slave will get him."
Tang Shishi was about to say no, when suddenly she heard the sound of a child crying from the back hall. The child's voice was sharp and the crying was extremely loud. Tang Shishi was startled and immediately lifted the quilt: "Gao'er is crying? What's wrong, why did he cry suddenly?"
In order to care for him better, Zhao Zigao lived in a side hall behind the main courtyard of Tang Shishi and Zhao Chengjun. Tang Shishi took a cloak and hurried to the side hall. The nanny was holding Zhao Zigao, and suddenly she saw the front yard light turned on, when she saw Tang Shishi, she immediately saluted: "Greetings to the princess. Wasn't the princess sleeping? This slave doesn't know why the little junwang suddenly started crying."
Tang Shishi took Zhao Zigao with her own hands, and coaxed softly: "Mother is here, Gao'er don't cry."
Tang Shishi hugged Zhao Zigao and walked around for a while, his crying slowly stopped, but he was still sobbing lightly. Seeing this, the nurse and nanny quickly said: "Princess, you still have a baby in your belly. Give the little junwang to these slaves."
Tang Shishi is pregnant and can't use force. She did not persist, so she gave Zhao Zigao to the nurse. Tang Shishi looked at Zhao Zigao's face and asked, "What's the matter? He never cried at night before, did he catch a cold?"
"No." The nurse and nanny were puzzled. "These slaves have checked the doors and windows several times. Everything is the same as usual."
The nanny was a commoner who has seen many things. Seeing this, she lowered her voice and said: "It's possible that the little junwang was frightened by a ghost."
Tang Shishi's heart became tense, and without waiting for her to speak, a maid scolded the nanny with a cold face: "At the feet of the emperor, how can there be ghosts? Don't cause trouble for the princess."
The nanny just said this casually, and did not expect to have violated a royal taboo. She bowed her head and apologized to Tang Shishi.
Tang Shishi glanced at the maid, and said, "It's the middle of the night, don't say these irritating things. Now that Gao'er is asleep, just look after him and make sure nothing happens to him."
"These slaves obey orders."
Tang Shishi saw that there was nothing wrong with Zhao Zigao anymore, so she left. She tightened her cloak and just crossed the side hall when she heard a huge bell ringing from the northeast.
The bell sounded long, with a damp chill. Tang Shishu was stunned when she heard the first chime, and then the second chime came.
The bell rang in the middle of the night, and it was in the direction of the Forbidden City.
The emperor died.