Yi Xin as a concubine

Chapter 189 The Emperor is critically ill

In the afternoon, when the weather should have been the hottest, Xin Baoer walked towards Chu Xingchen's study, carrying a bowl of iced sweet soup.

The sunny day was suddenly covered with dark clouds, followed by lightning and thunder. The moment she pushed open the study door, a thick lightning bolt lit up behind her, followed by a loud thunder.

The thunder was so loud that it scared Xin Baoer and the tray in her hand almost flew out. Fortunately, when she opened the door, Chu Xingchen came out in time and caught the tray with his quick eyes and hands, so the bowl of soup was saved.

Xin Baoer's hands were empty, so she turned around to look at the direction of the lightning. What a coincidence, it was the direction of the imperial palace.

"It's really like a thunderbolt that suddenly strikes, and the building is about to collapse. Looking at the dark clouds pressing down over there, there are indeed some signs of destruction."

The two smiled at each other, then withdrew their gazes and turned into the study.

At this time in the palace, the old emperor's bedroom was in chaos, with palace maids and eunuchs coming in and out in a hurry.

It turned out to be the frail old emperor who had taken medicine at noon and had just fallen asleep. After a loud thunder, he suddenly sat up, then fell back onto the bed, his limbs twitching, his expression ferocious, his mouth crooked and his eyes slanted, and he kept yelling something incoherently.

The old emperor was frightened, and for a moment the Imperial Hospital, the concubines' bedrooms, and the princes' residences were all busy.

In the Queen's bedroom, the Queen also received the news. Upon hearing this, the Queen, who was meditating with her eyes closed, slowly opened her cloudy eyes, and no emotion could be seen in them.

“Good and evil will be rewarded in the end, it’s just a matter of whether it comes early or late. Alas!” As he said this, he stood up and knelt down, praying devoutly to the Bodhisattva. He muttered something in his mouth, but no one could hear a sound.

Several princes rushed to the emperor's bedroom, and no matter what they were thinking, their faces were filled with anxiety and sadness.

The only one who arrived late was the Crown Prince. He had been under house arrest for many days by the Crown Princess and his own son. If he hadn't been afraid that the court officials and nobles would arrive soon and the Crown Prince would not be there, it would be difficult to explain. He probably wouldn't even have received the news that the Emperor was critically ill.

In the distant Yingzhou, in the ancestral land of the Moxuan family, several low thatched houses were built side by side. The yard was no different from that of an ordinary farmhouse, but it was out of tune with the towering mansions not far away.

After the thunder, almost at the same time as the old emperor fell ill, a white-haired old man with long beard and eyebrows suddenly opened his eyes, and a divine light flashed in his eyes.

"Go call the master and tell him that I have something to discuss with him." The old voice was filled with compassion that came from someone who had seen through the world, but it also had a magic that could not be resisted.

"Yes" a reply came from somewhere, and after a gust of wind, the courtyard returned to peace.

"Second brother, what do you want from me?" The great scholar Mo Xuan was almost half-dragged and half-lifted by the man in gray. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he was put on the ground. He felt that he was able to function again, and he started shouting.

"Brother, come in and talk." The voice came from the hut, inexplicably soothing.

The great scholar Mo Xuan seemed unaffected, and continued to complain about the rudeness of the gray-clothed man while dragging his feet into the house. Then, the other people in the courtyard seemed to have gotten used to this scene, and continued to do what they were supposed to do, as if they had completely blocked out the cursing voice.

He pushed the door open, entered the room, sat down on the cushion in front of him, and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Ning, your luck has run out." The white-haired old man with long beard and long eyebrows spoke slowly, his tone was normal, without a trace of emotion.

It was this tone of voice that almost made the great scholar Mo Xuan, who was leisurely sipping tea, jump up and down.

"How come? Isn't it time yet?"

The white-haired old man closed his eyes and said nothing, looking unfathomable. This made the great scholar Mo Xuan so angry that he wanted to throw the tea in his hand on his face.

After all, he was a scholar who had seen big scenes. After picking up and putting down the teacup three or five times, he calmed down.

"But influenced by that woman?"

The white-haired old man opened his eyes upon hearing this. In his eyes was the wisdom of Chen Jing who saw through the world. He said, "It is a mixture of blessing and disaster."

"Humph, that's a blessing rather than a curse. At least I have a place to eat." The great scholar Mo Xuan retorted unconvinced.

"Is this a blessing or a curse?" Although he was unwilling to accept it, he was still very concerned about the life and death of his grandson. After snorting twice, he still asked shamelessly.

"If it is a blessing, it will not be a disaster. If it is a disaster, it cannot be avoided!" The white-haired old man recited a Zen saying and then kept silent.

The great scholar Mo Xuan curled his lips, knowing that his unlucky brother was not going to say anything. This person has been like this since he was a child. If he didn't want to say it, he would not say it no matter what. He had to drink the tea in the cup reluctantly, got up and left angrily.

After the lightning and thunder, there was a heavy rain. The sound of the rain extinguished the midsummer heat, but it could not extinguish the restlessness in the hall.

The prince was pushed by his eldest son Ning Pei, accompanied by concubine Xin Huang'er and young princess Ning Yuan. The four of them stood in a corner. The mother and her two sons all had the same sad expression. Only the prince had an obscure look as he looked at the imperial couch.

The Second Prince and the Third Prince had seen their power decline sharply in recent times, and their faces were already gloomy. Now things were even worse. There was hardly any sadness on their faces, but resentment was clearly visible in their eyes as they looked at each other.

The Fifth Prince had not seen the old emperor since he was caught having fun while attending to his sick son last time. Now, seeing the skinny man on the couch, pale, foaming at the mouth, he could not help but feel grief-stricken. He threw himself on the bed, wailing and crying for real.

It is unknown whether he was crying because of his uncertain future or because of the old emperor's favor towards him over the years.

As for the Fourth Prince, oh, he was slacking off, leaning timidly behind the pillar at the end of the bed, with his face buried in the curtain beside the pillar. He seemed to be checking on the old emperor's condition with great concern, but in fact, his phoenix eyes were filled with deep hatred and ridicule.

The most interesting thing here is that the people throwing themselves at the head of the old emperor's bed were not any concubines, but the Crown Princess whose family had just been killed by the old emperor and the legitimate grandson Ning Ye. Even Noble Concubine Xie, who was in charge of the seal of the harem, was squeezed into the middle of the bed.

The mother and son cried so miserably, as if the old emperor had died.

Noble Consort Xie was so angry that her beautiful face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. The other concubines didn't know what expression to make, and each of them had a bitter face, as if they were about to cry.

This is because the old emperor was unconscious. Whenever he woke up and took a look, he would be so angry that he would collapse again.

Everyone in the room had different thoughts. The ministers and royal family members who had rushed in from outside were frightened by the crying sounds coming from inside the room. They kept asking the palace maids and eunuchs who were coming in and out questions.

The palace maids and eunuchs were also restricted by rank. How could those who were running errands outside have any chance of knowing what was going on inside? Their answers were also hesitant, making those waiting outside even more anxious.

It’s not that this group of people care much about the old emperor’s life or death, they just have their own calculations.

The ministers each have their own camps. The life or death of the old emperor is not important. What is important is that the old emperor does not die in such a confused manner. At least it should be made clear who owns the chair under his butt. This is directly related to their lives and property.

The thoughts of those clan members were even simpler. The Ning Dynasty had only been established for a short time, and they were originally just an ordinary clan. They never thought that they would have such luck in this life. When the dragon rose, they would rise to heaven along with their relatives and become royal relatives.

When the old emperor is alive, they live a life of wealth and worry-free. When the old emperor is gone, his unfilial descendants will only fight to the death for the position. No one will remember these side branches and details. After they get the throne, they will just cut off these branches and twigs that have made no contribution and get rid of them completely.

The rain was still falling outside, and there were thousands of calculations and thoughts flying around inside and outside the bedroom. The old emperor's soul probably felt the "sincerity" of everyone, and after another loud thunder, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Imperial physician, imperial physician, His Majesty has woken up, please call the imperial physician."

The Crown Princess and Ning Ye were still howling with their eyes closed. It was the chief eunuch Qiu He who first noticed the change in the old emperor. He ignored the hierarchy and pushed away the Crown Princess, who was crying as if her father had died, and shouted outside the door.

Qiu He's voice was sharp and high-pitched, with an excited tremor, which shocked everyone and made them all look at the people from the Imperial Hospital hiding in the corner.

The imperial doctors were trembling with fear after being looked at, and finally it was the director who walked into the bedroom under pressure.

A quarter of an hour later, a piece of news spread like wildfire from the bedroom.

"The old emperor is critically ill and will only live for a few days."