Emperor Ming Fengyunlu

Volume 5: Lying on the salary and tasting the guts

Chapter 3 Social turmoil and turmoil

Section 9 Red Pill Suspicion (Part II)

Emperor Taichang did not feel anything strange in his body after taking the "elixir", and after chatting with Fang Congzhe and others for a while, he fell asleep under the service of the two eunuchs, while Fang Congzhe, Han Huoguang, and Li Kezhuo retreated to the side hall to rest, waiting for Emperor Taichang to wake up and then summon him.

About an hour later, Emperor Taichang slowly opened his eyes, and slowly sat up with the support of the two eunuchs, and his face seemed to be much healthier all of a sudden, and his face suddenly became a lot more rosy. Emperor Taichang himself felt the change in his body, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

Emperor Taichang smiled and said to the two eunuchs beside him: "Haha, it's really an immortal medicine, an immortal medicine!" With such a great effect in such a short period of time, it seems that my illness is about to be cured. Then, Emperor Taichang praised again: "Li Kezhuo is really a great loyal minister, and the improvement of my condition this time is all due to Li Aiqing."

After saying that, Emperor Taichang leaned out and shouted, "Li Kezhuo! Pass on Li Kezhuo! Then pass the elder Fang Ge and Lord Han over. The eunuch guarding the door immediately responded when he heard this, and then immediately ran to the side hall.

At this time, Fang Congzhe, Han Huoguang, and Li Kezhuo, who were staying in the side hall, had been waiting anxiously for a long time, and suddenly heard that Emperor Taichang had summoned them and hurried over, and after entering the hall, the three of them fell to the ground and whispered: "Your Majesty, the ministers are here." "

When Emperor Taichang saw that everyone had arrived, he smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have taken this elixir and the effect is really remarkable, and now I feel that I am very well. Li Kezhuo, you have contributed a lot this time, and I should reward you heavily. Immediately, Emperor Taichang issued an edict and rewarded Li Kezhuo with one hundred taels of silver and five pieces of silk. After that, Emperor Taichang continued: "Li Aiqing, you will take another pill of the elixir tomorrow, I think that after taking another pill of the elixir, you will probably be cured." After I recover, I will definitely reward you again, and I will definitely give you an official and a knight. "

Hearing this, Li Kezhuo hurriedly knelt on the ground and replied: "The minister is just loyal to His Majesty, this is the duty of the minister, as long as His Majesty can recover, the minister who rewards or anything is not wanted." There is still a pill of elixir in the minister's family, but the immortal chief who taught the minister's immortal prescription once instructed that this elixir needs to wait for three days after taking the first pill before taking the second pill. Therefore, the minister should offer the elixir to His Majesty three days later. "

Emperor Taichang nodded frequently when he heard this, and Fang Congzhe and Han Huoguang on the side listened to Li Kezhuo's words, and they also felt a trance, and secretly said in their hearts: "Could it be that this elixir really has an effect?" Could it be that there really are any immortals in the world? ”

And since Emperor Taichang ate the "elixir" offered by Li Kezhuo, his condition seemed to have been driven away all at once, and his physical condition was getting better day by day, as if he was about to recover. In the past two days, in addition to often sitting in front of the dragon case to recuperate, Emperor Taichang actually walked out of the temple gate twice and walked outside.

During this period, Fang Congzhe has always felt uneasy, although Emperor Taichang personally felt the effect at that time, but Fang Congzhe relied on his experience of ups and downs in the sea for many years, and afterwards always felt that this seemed to be just a psychological effect, not necessarily the divine effect of the elixir. On the same day, after Fang Congzhe returned to the mansion, several confidants came to inquire about the situation, and after everyone knew the specific process of this matter, they all strongly persuaded Fang Congzhe not to lead Li Kezhuo into the palace to offer medicine; In particular, after hearing about this, several doctors of the Tai Hospital unanimously denied the role of the so-called "elixir"; Those imperial doctors even said that if Fang Congzhe led people to send any "elixir" again, they would collectively resign and return to their hometowns, because if this continues, something big will definitely happen.

However, on the third day, Emperor Taichang sent someone to urge again, and issued a holy decree that if the cabinet blocked the medicine, it would be punished for the crime of resisting the decree and bullying the king. Early in the morning of the third day, Fang Congzhe first summoned Li Kezhuo to the cabinet and repeatedly asked about the medicinal effect of the so-called elixir, but Li Kezhuo tried his best to ensure that the elixir had miraculous effects, claiming that as long as His Majesty continued to take the "elixir", he would definitely be able to recover as before. Fang Congzhe saw that Li Kezhuo swore an oath, and the suspicion in his heart was slightly reduced, so he pulled Han Huoguang to accompany Li Kezhuo into the palace to offer medicine.

When he arrived at Emperor Taichang's bedroom, Li Kezhuo immediately offered the elixir, and watched Emperor Taichang take the elixir, so he knelt down and asked Emperor Taichang to go to bed to rest, so as to better exert the effect of the medicine. But Emperor Taichang waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "No need, I am in good spirits today." Li Aiqing has made meritorious contributions to the medicine, and he will be rewarded in the future. "

At this time, Fang Congzhe and Han Huoguang on the side saw Emperor Taichang's relaxed face, and he was in good spirits, and a stone that had been hanging in his heart for a long time finally landed. The two talked with Emperor Taichang for a while, and then retired from the palace with Li Kezhuo.

But on this night, there was a sudden change, and Emperor Taichang, who had seemed to have basically recovered, suddenly wailed in the night, and his voice was so tragic and terrifying that the eunuchs and palace maids who served and served around him and were on duty at night were all frightened and at a loss; And the imperial doctor who rushed to hear the news was also in a hurry, and all kinds of first-aid drugs were useless on Emperor Taichang's body. In this way, Emperor Taichang struggled in pain for nearly an hour, and finally died at midnight. The eunuch, the leader of Emperor Taichang, was suddenly panicked, and the six gods had no master, and hurriedly sent someone to inform Fang Congzhe.

Fang Congzhe was immediately stunned when he received the news, and he couldn't believe that this was true for a long time, and it took a while before he recovered. After that, Fang Congzhe hurriedly sent people to summon all the ministers and the six Shangshu to rush to the Tiren Pavilion to discuss the matter. After everyone was shocked to hear the news of Emperor Taichang's death, they all rushed to Tiren Pavilion at night, and under the auspices of Fang Congzhe, everyone urgently discussed all night. In the end, everyone decided to announce the news of Emperor Taichang's death in the name of the cabinet the next day, and immediately began to prepare for the crown prince's accession to the throne and the aftermath of Emperor Taichang.

When it was early in the morning, when everyone was dispersing, Fang Congzhe left Huang Jiashan, the secretary of the military department, and said to him: "Lord Huang, let's send someone to inform Liu Yunwei, the general soldier of Tongzhou, and let him lead the troops to be stationed outside the Xuanwu Gate in case of accidents; Liaodong should also notify Xiong Tingbi as soon as possible to prevent Jiannu from taking the opportunity to make trouble. ”

Huang Jiashan was stunned when he heard this, and then said: "I will immediately ask someone to inform Liu Zongbing and Xiong Jingluo." After saying that, Huang Jiashan turned around and left.

After that, Fang Congzhe did not return to the house, but sat down in the Tiren Pavilion, staring at the moonlight outside the window alone, not knowing what he was thinking, his face was full of sadness. At this time, Fang Congzhe's mind kept thinking about the various things that needed to be dealt with, and after going through it carefully, Fang Congzhe thought that everything had been arranged, but in his heart, he didn't know why he always felt very unsteady, as if something important had been left behind.

At this moment, Han Huoguang hurriedly walked in from outside, and when he saw that there was no one around, he closed the door, and stepped forward to say to Congzhe: "Elder Ge, now that Your Majesty has suddenly died, should we think about the aftermath?" ”

Fang Congzhe looked at Han Huoguang and said, "Didn't the aftermath have been discussed and arranged with everyone just now?" Tomorrow morning, everyone will be busy with their own work, do what they should do, and do their best to handle the affairs of His Majesty's death. ”

"But Elder, have you forgotten? Before His Majesty returned to heaven, he took the elixir offered by Li Kezhuo twice! And it's we who bring people and medicine into the palace! Han Huoguang said anxiously.

Fang Congzhe stood up abruptly when he heard this, and now he knew what was left behind! I was in a hurry and busy this night, how could I forget such an important thing!

Fang Congzhe paced back and forth in the room impatiently, and secretly said in his heart: "This is broken!" His Majesty suddenly returned to heaven, and the imperial doctor probably won't be able to figure out the reason for a while, and now I can't tell even if I have a hundred mouths! If those imperial historians and civil and military officials seize this point to make a fuss, then I will be finished! ”

At this time, Han Huoguang on the side was also panicked when he saw Fang Congzhe, and suddenly became even more flustered, chattering and talking non-stop beside Fang Congzhe, and there was no lack of complaints between the words, which caused Fang Congzhe to look at him angrily. Seeing that Fang Congzhe was already annoyed, Han Huoguang could not stop talking, and sat on the side with a desperate face and sighed.

After thinking for a while, Fang Congzhe asked Han Huoguang, "Then where is Li Kezhuo now?" ”

As soon as Han Huoguang heard Li Kezhuo's name, a raging anger suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he said angrily: "That damn Li Kezhuo is in his own home at the moment, I have secretly informed the Shuntian Mansion and secretly guarded it, no one is allowed to enter without the order of the elder!" ”

Fang Congzhe glared at Han Huoguang when he heard this, but he didn't say anything, now is not the time to dwell on these details. After thinking for a while, Fang Congzhe said: "Lord Han, let's go back first, now we can't do anything, after all, Your Majesty ate the red pill elixir twice before returning to heaven, and the people and medicine were also brought into the palace by us." At this time, we can't get rid of it anyway, and it's not clear to say, we can only take one step at a time. ”

When Han Huoguang heard this, he suddenly sighed like a frosted eggplant, sitting on the chair.

Seeing this, Fang Congzhe immediately shouted in a low voice: "Lord Han! No one has said anything about this matter yet, and you yourself are afraid that it will be like this, and if something really happens in the future, how will you deal with it! ”

Han Huoguang was yelled at by Fang Congzhe, and suddenly became a lot more energetic, and said, "The elder is right, the lower officials know." ”

Fang Congzhe also sighed and said, "Go home, take a good rest, we still have a lot of things to do tomorrow." ”

Early the next morning, after hearing the shocking news of Emperor Taichang's death, the civil and military ministers immediately raised an uproar, and various voices spread.

On the same day, Liu Yunwei led an army of 5,000 dragon cavalry to arrive outside the Xuanwu Gate in the capital.