The Qianqing Palace at night is quiet, in a warm pavilion in the apse, Zhengde personally poured wine for Song Nan who was sitting opposite, this is the last night before Song Nan left Beijing, tomorrow morning, Song Nan will take people to escort the materials and grain back to the Yanchi Great Wall Pass to fight, the banquet of Zhengde, the right to practice for Song Nan.

Compared with the loud and grand before the last expedition, this time there were only two monarchs and ministers at the practice banquet, although the emperor personally took the lamp, but it was also extremely shabby. Due to the disagreement between Song Nan and the outer court, the two sides had a very unpleasant quarrel, and Zhengde simply did not invite one, so as not to reluctantly come to the banquet and make an unpleasant disturbance at the banquet.

I don't know when, Zhengde's state of mind has also changed, after he ascended the throne, there were repeated turmoil and wars in the Ming Dynasty, although no one dared to blame him face-to-face, but he was not a fool, and naturally knew that this qiē had a lot to do with himself as an emperor. Now Zhengde only hopes that Yiqi'an will be stable, and he can't even stand the quarrel of his subordinates in front of him, so tonight he decided to practice it for Song Nan in person and not ask anyone to accompany him.

"Song Nan, don't complain about me in your heart, I know that you are a heart for the country, and recovering the Hetao is a long-term peace and stability move, and I actually approve of you doing this. But helplessly, I have to take care of the feelings of the ministers of the outer court, and I also have to consider their opinions, the external turmoil is not settled, the internal strife cannot be reborn, and the Ming Dynasty can't withstand too much wind and rain. Zhengde gently filled the wine glass in front of Song Nan, which seemed to be comforting and seemed to explain.

Song Nan's expression was indifferent, his eyes were fixed on Zhengde's face, under the light, Zhengde's face was a little puffy and swollen, his eyes were faintly black, and the flesh on his cheeks drooped slightly. Song Nan sighed in his heart, Zhengde was two years younger than himself, he was twenty-three, he was only twenty-one years old, and he was the emperor in his youth, and he looked like a dying old man at this moment; When his head swayed slightly, he seemed to be able to see a trace of white hair. Listening to the sound of Zhengde's muffled cough from his chest and abdomen, Song Nan understood that the wine and indulgence had completely destroyed this young body. No wonder some people are in a hurry to find a successor, and the appearance of righteousness gives people a very bad feeling.

"Don't worry about the emperor, it's important to take care of the dragon's body; In fact, there was no fundamental disagreement between the ministers and the adults in the outer court of the cabinet, and they actually hoped to recover the Hetao, but the finances of the court were tight, so they disagreed with the ministers. The reason why the minister insisted on continuing to fight was because fighter planes were rare, and if many things were not carried out in one go, they would be delayed until he knew when he could make up his mind. At that time, the strength of the Tartars will be restored, and it will be even more difficult to do. ”

Zhengde sighed and said: "I understand what you said, but in this situation, the ministers of the first hall actually do their own things, and they can't coordinate with each other to do things together, isn't it a joke to spread it." The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. Song Nan, am I not qualified as an emperor? Isn't I too far behind the previous emperor? ”

Of course, Song Nan didn't tell the truth, but comforted: "The emperor doesn't want to be cranky and hurt his nerves, the emperor is waiting for my good news in the capital with peace of mind, I am completely sure of this expedition, at most a month, at least twenty days, and I will drive the Tartars back to the north of Yinshan." When the time comes, re-set the Daning Wei Kaiping Dongsheng Sanwei, build more walled forts to defend, and firmly hold the Hetao in their hands, and the Tartars will lose this place where the water and grass are abundant, and lose this springboard for attacking Datong Ningxia Town, and will no longer be able to offend our border towns in the future. The emperor supported his ministers to complete this initiative, and his merits were even higher than those of the emperors of the previous dynasty, which was a major event for all generations. As for the affairs of the court, they always have to be resolved slowly after the triumphant return of the ministers. The minister and Yang Shoufu are both ministers in the same hall, how can there be any knot that cannot be untied? Things will develop in a good direction, and the emperor doesn't have to worry too much about it. ”

Zhengde shook his head and said: "Don't lie to me, I know it's not that simple, I have been restless recently, it is difficult to sleep at night, and I often cough; Even when you fall asleep, you have nightmares. I tell you that I have dreamed more than once that my father appeared in a dream, but my father did not speak, but only looked at me coldly, and I felt furious in my heart. I wondered if I had done a lot of wrong things, and my father was not satisfied with me. My heart is very troubled and confused, and I don't know what to do. ”

Zhengde's expression was a little distorted, his eyes were straight, his expression was a little terrifying, and he was babbling these words in his mouth, which made people's hearts feel compassionate; Song Nan didn't know what to say, no matter how Zhengde blamed himself, he couldn't say half a word about Zhengde, the emperor's incompetence, but seeing Zhengde's appearance was really weird, it seemed that he had suffered a lot, and Song Nan was a little unbearable.

Song Nan gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has a sentence that I don't know whether to say or not. ”

Zhengde said: "Say, what can't be said between you and me?" ”

Song Nan sighed and said, "Isn't the emperor's recent health not very good?" What do the doctors at the hospital say? ”

Zhengde shook his head and said: "Those wastes in the Tai Hospital, I am not feeling well, they have prescribed dozens of prescriptions in different ways, and I have to vomit when I drink and I haven't seen any improvement." You see that in this Qianqing Palace, there are medicinal residues everywhere, and that group of waste is useless, but the Dragon and Tiger Rejuvenation Pill presented by King Ning has a good effect, and when I feel uncomfortable, I feel better when I take one pill, but I need to take two or three pills recently to have an effect, I wonder if my condition has worsened. ”

Song Nan got up and arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, if you want to forgive the ministers for their innocence, the ministers will say some words, these words may make the emperor unhappy or even angry, and they may also touch some people close to the emperor, but as a courtier, if the ministers don't say it, they will be disloyal, please forgive the ministers for their rudeness." ”

Zhengde was stunned: "Why is it so solemn? You say yes, I don't blame you. ”

Song Nan said: "Emperor Xie, the emperor forgives his ministers for being rude, you can't eat the Dragon and Tiger Rejuvenation Pill offered by Prince Ning." ”

Zhengde was stunned and said, "Why? Don't......? ”

Song Nan shook his head and said: "Don't think too much about it, it's a medicine that is poisonous, and the Dragon and Tiger Rejuvenation Pill is a drug, there must be side effects, the emperor can't rely on this medicine to relieve the pain, and the dragon body needs to live in a healthy life, temperate and exercise diligently." After the triumph of the minister, the minister will attack every day to accompany the emperor to bow tennis, go skiing on Tai Sui Mountain, before that, the emperor should ask the palace guards to teach some fist and foot exercises, riding and archery can also do more, so that is the foundation of physical health. ”

Zhengde frowned and said, "Come slowly, don't change the topic, why can't I take the pill that King Ning offered me anymore?" I'm afraid the explanation that the medicine is three parts poison can't be justified, do you know something that you don't want to be honest with me? ”

Song Nan arched his hand and said: "The emperor wants to ask, but the minister does not dare to answer truthfully, the minister makes his own opinion, and orders someone to take the dragon and tiger rejuvenation pill and ask the pharmacist to test the composition of the medicine, this pill does contain many precious and rare medicinal materials, which have a great tonic effect on the body; However......"

Zhengde looked at Song Nan with wide eyes, and his face became a little nervous.

"However, there is also a medicine in it, called poppy poppy, and the emperor has heard of this thing."

"Poppy poppy? Isn't that what doctors often use? What's wrong with this? ”

"What the emperor said is that the poppy is indeed a commonly used thing in doctors, which can treat a variety of diseases, but what the emperor does not know is that the danger of this thing is also very great, a small amount of food can certainly cure the disease, if a large number of times of consumption, it will make people addicted and dependent, a day without food will be weak and tired, and will aggravate the original condition of the body. After taking the Dragon and Tiger Rejuvenation Pill, does the emperor feel happy, full of energy, and a sense of fluttering immortals? ”

Zhengde was shocked and said: "That's true, after taking it, I was really happy physically and mentally as if the symptoms had completely disappeared, but after an hour or two, it disappeared, and my body was a little tired." ”

"Yes, this is the effect of the poppy, the emperor from the initial taking one, to now two or three a day, this is the dependence, in the end the emperor will not need it all the time, if you don't take it, you will have pain all over the body, painful. The minister is not to scare the emperor, this thing will make a sturdy adult become powerless within a few years, so the emperor must stop taking this medicine immediately. ”

Zhengde was shocked and exclaimed: "You mean to say that King Ning is here to harm me when he sacrifices this medicine?" How dare he be so bold? ”

Song Nan shook his head and said: "The emperor is angry, it is also common for poppy poppy to be used in medicine, I expect that King Ning will not dare to do this, maybe he doesn't understand the danger brought by this poppy poppy." This is not enough evidence. Did King Ning specifically explain anything when he offered this medicine? ”

Zhengde thought for a while and said: "He said that he can only take one pill a day, and it can be used when he is unwell, and he can't use it more, so as not to hurt his body." ”

Song Nan nodded and said, "In this way, Prince Ning must know that this thing is dangerous, so he told the emperor not to take more." Even so...... Since this thing is harmful, it is a little inappropriate for Prince Ning to present it to the emperor. ”

Zhengde shook his head and said: "Impossible, absolutely impossible, King Ning will never dare to do such a rebellious thing, among the vassal kings, I and he think the most." He couldn't have been. If he dares to harm me with his intentions, how dare he not go to the palace in love? He and Princess Ning have lived in the palace with his eldest son for more than 20 days, and they have lived in the queen mother's palace. If I knew that this medicine was harmful, I would have left long ago. ”

Song Nan was surprised: "Prince Ning lives in the palace with his family? Is his eldest son also in the palace? How old is that kid? ”

Zhengde said: "I met them once, the child was about seven or eight years old, but he was smart and clever, and his tongue was very sweet, and the Queen Mother liked him very much. I saw that the Queen Mother liked him, so I allowed them to live with the Queen Mother for a period of time. What, what's wrong? ”

Song Nan pondered for a long time, and finally had the courage to ask: "Your Majesty, has the Queen Mother or anyone else mentioned something to you recently?" ”

"What?"

“…… Regarding the matter of the emperor's heir, the minister said bluntly, the emperor has been married for several years, and none of the concubines in the palace have given birth to heirs for the emperor, has anyone mentioned this matter to the emperor? ”

Zhengde said with an embarrassed expression: "I'm still young, why did you ask about this." ”

Song Nan hurriedly said: "The emperor forgives the sin, the minister deserves to die, and he shouldn't ask about this matter, but can the emperor tell me if anyone mentioned this matter?" The minister has a big doubt in his heart to solve. ”

Zhengde was obviously very unhappy, and the absence of an heir was also one of his inner worries, and he didn't understand why he worked so hard, but the harem queens, concubines, and even the favored women could not give birth to an heir; The most taboo thing for men is this matter, and when they are asked directly at this moment, the displeasure in their hearts can be imagined.

"I'm most annoyed by you like this, I have to take care of every qiē, I'm only twenty-one years old, can't I die tomorrow? Is the matter of the emperor's heir so important? ”

Song Nan hurriedly said: "The emperor is angry, if the emperor doesn't want to mention it, the minister won't ask." The emperor was in his prime, and he shouldn't have mentioned these things, but when the minister asked, he just wanted to figure out a doubt in his heart. ”

Zhengde stared at Song Nan for a long time, and finally frowned: "Well, since you and I have nothing to talk about between the monarch and the minister, I have nothing to hide from you, I believe that you are for loyalty, not for other intentions." ”

Song Nan said: "The minister is wholeheartedly for the sake of the emperor, I am afraid that someone will have a bad idea, as a close minister of the emperor, some ministers do not want to inquire about it, so as not to take advantage of the loopholes for others." ”

Zhengde didn't know what Song Nan meant in his words, but seeing the sincerity of what Song Nan said, he said: "You are not the first to ask about this matter, before you, the Queen Mother and the Cabinet University Scholar Liang Chu have mentioned this matter, and the Queen Mother naturally cares about me, and the time Liang Chu asked, I spat on his face." ”

Song Nan said in a low voice: "Could you please tell the emperor in detail?" Chancellor wants to hear the details. ”

Zhengde resisted the urge to smack Song Nan's face, picked up the wine glass and drank it all, sighed and slowly spoke.