Zhengde wore thick clothes, drank a bowl of boiled medicinal soup, and his face improved a lot. Song Nan dared to help Zhengde to walk out, and he didn't dare to go too far, so he only walked slowly along the corridor in the back garden; Before coming to more than a dozen plum trees, Zhengde stepped on the snow from the cloister and came to the plum tree in full bloom, holding the plum branches in his hand and being stunned.

Song Nan followed him gently, even if he tried his best to hide the love in his heart, but in the face of this dying emperor, it was difficult to maintain a relaxed complexion. It was very good, touching a blooming yellow plum petal and smiling: "Song Nan, I haven't come to enjoy plum blossoms for a long time, especially plum blossoms after snow." Today is the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, and the snow or auspiciousness that will come on the last day of the year, this year I will be a bumper year. ”

Song Nan smiled: "Then do you need to talk about it?" God bless me Daming, now the border trouble is eradicated, the border town only needs to consolidate the defense of the Hetao, the country can be a major event to develop agriculture and commerce, over time, my Ming will be prosperous, and the emperor will also become the king of the prosperous era The name will be immortal. ”

Zhengde sighed slightly: "I am very ashamed, I actually didn't make any efforts, if it weren't for the abundance of talents in this dynasty, all of whom were loyal to the country, how could I have today's situation in the Ming Dynasty?" To be honest, I don't have a good time as an emperor. ”

Song Nan hurriedly said: "How can the emperor say such a thing, the courtiers are promising, that is the emperor has a good way, after Han Gaozu Liu Bang grabbed Han Xin, he once had such a question and answer with Han Xin, Gaozu asked: Han Xin, how many soldiers and horses can I bring?" Han Xin replied unceremoniously: Your Majesty can lead up to 100,000 soldiers and horses, and if you have more, you won't have that ability. Gao Zu asked again: Then how many soldiers and horses can you Han Xin lead? Han Xin replied: The more troops the better, no matter how many I can keep the soldiers and horses in order. Gao Zu asked again: Then how did you get caught by me and serve me? Aren't you better than me? Han Xin said: His Majesty is not good at leading troops, but he is good at commanding generals, which is why Han Xin and I were caught by His Majesty. Moreover, the ability of the Majesty is innate, not something that people can achieve with their efforts. ”

Zhengde smiled and said: "Song Nan, you are silent in slapping sycophants, although I know that you are a sycophant, I am still very happy." ”

Song Nan smiled and said: "The emperor is the Son of Heaven, without the emperor's tolerance and commandery, the courtiers can't show their wisdom and talents, and there are many things that can't be done." ”

Zhengde saw the sincerity of what Song Nan said, and also touched the feelings in his heart, patted Song Nan on the shoulder and said: "Song Nan, I am actually very grateful to you, you and I have done a lot of great things over the years, I often think, if I hadn't met you, and Song Nan didn't have you in the court, what would my Ming Dynasty look like." Although you have acted in a biased way, I have never been dissatisfied with you, and I know that you are loyal to me and that you will never do anything against me. But I often have to make trade-offs in order to take care of the big picture, and you should understand that. ”

Song Nan nodded and said, "The minister understands." ”

Zhengde gently grabbed a layer of snow on the plum branch and kneaded it in the palm of his hand, watched the snow slowly melt and disappear, sighed and said, "After I ascended the throne, what do you know the most worrying thing?" ”

Song Nan shook his head and said, "The minister doesn't dare to speculate on the holy will. ”

Zhengde said slowly: "What I'm most worried about is that I, the emperor, will not do well, and I will not be able to see the emperor underground in the future." Of course, I want to be a good emperor who is a martial artist, but I don't think I can do this, but fortunately, I have you, and the courtiers of the Manchu Dynasty who are doing their best, as far as the current Ming Dynasty is concerned, if I see my father, I should be able to face it calmly. ”

Song Nan said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, what are you talking about?" The emperor now has to rest his body and mind, and he must learn not to think about things that he shouldn't think about, thinking about it is not good for his body. ”

Zhengde nodded and smiled: "It's very true, after this heavy snowfall, I don't know how thick the snow is on the slopes of Wanshou Mountain, and whether I can still ski." I really want to go skiing on Wanshou Mountain with Kangning and you, the last time I skied was the year I ascended the throne, and since then, six or seven years have passed in a flash, and you and I have never been there again. ”

Song Nan said with a smile: "As long as the emperor wants to go, the minister will naturally accompany him, but the current snow is not thick enough, and the emperor's body still needs to be raised. ”

Zhengde nodded, turned around and walked towards the corridor, Song Nan followed behind him to support, Zhengde suddenly stopped and turned to look at Song Nan and said: "Song Nan, I have something to tell you, you have to get me a Jianyi." ”

Song Nan said: "It's not too late for us to warm up the pavilion." ”

Zhengde shook his head and said, "I don't want to smell those pungent medicinal smells, so I'll say it here." ”

Song Nan said: "Then go to the pavilion over there to talk and avoid the cold wind." ”

Zhengde nodded and smiled, and walked towards the small pavilion behind Merlin, Zhang Yong, who was standing under the porch, saw the opportunity very much, and immediately asked the little eunuchs to move the brazier to the pavilion and put a thick cotton pad on the stone bench; Song Nan and Zhengde came to the pavilion and sat down, and after Zhengde waved away the people standing on the pavilion, he was silent for a long time and spoke.

"Song Nan, I remember talking to you about my secret illness before, I don't know if you remember?"

Song Nan was stunned and said, "Is the emperor still thinking about your illness?" Didn't the minister just say it clearly? ”

Zhengde waved his hand and said: "What I said is that the dark disease is the infertility that I suffer, and when the queen mother mentioned this, I was not happy and didn't believe it. I remember the last time you left Beijing for an expedition, I told you about it. ”

Song Nan's heart jumped, and Zhengde took the initiative to mention this matter, which seemed to be related to the matter of the heir who was making a lot of noise in the court now, but Song Nan couldn't say much, only said: "Who is spreading rumors?" The minister ordered the Jinyi guard to find out. ”

Zhengde waved his hand and said: "No need to investigate, this matter was presided over by the Queen Mother, and I was informed a few months ago, and I didn't believe it at first, but how could the Queen Mother deceive me on this matter?" And I've long suspected that I have no future in this life. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have hundreds of women, none of whom are pregnant, are all these women unable to have children? The only explanation can only be that something is wrong with my body. Moreover, the queen mother informed me of Lu Zhen's judgment on my diagnosis, and Lu Zhen was given by the queen mother to commit suicide because of this matter. ”

Song Nan knew that if the Queen Mother wanted Zhengde to believe this, she would definitely inform Zhengde of all the facts, otherwise Zhengde would never believe that she was suffering from infertility, and now it seems that the Queen Mother did not hide Lu Zhenzhi's death at all, admitting that she personally gave her death.

"I'm ashamed of the emperor, I even broke the blood of the emperor, I'm guilty." Zhengde thumped his chest and let out a hoarse gasp.

Song Nan hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, don't blame yourself for this, if this matter is true, but it is not what the emperor wants, this kind of thing is also common among the people, this is not the emperor's fault." The matter of children and daughters is not what people want, and the emperor has done his best. ”

Zhengde really tried his best, for seven or eight years, he worked hard every day, tossing on the bodies of all kinds of women, sluts, palace maids and concubines, it can be said that he didn't work hard, I'm afraid he also worked too hard, too much, so he got nothing.

Zhengde took a few breaths, calmed down and said, "I really couldn't sleep all night after believing this, and I was really in a terrible mood for those days at that time; Although this matter is a trivial matter among the people, it happened to me, and it was about the inheritance of the country. I originally hoped that a prince would be born and that he would be able to inherit the throne. But now it seems that the only way to accept the advice of the queen mother and the ministers is acceptable. ”

Song Nan couldn't ask, he could only listen, he knew that Zhengde would continue.

"This matter naturally cannot be concealed from the ministers of the court, the queen mother informed the cabinet scholars Yang Ting and Fei Hong Liang Chu and others of this matter, I also know that the matter of establishing an heir is inevitable, but in this matter, the queen mother and Yang Ting and their opinions are different, Yang Ting and Jian yì Li Xing Xian Wang's son Zhu Houxi cousin Zhu Houxi as the emperor's younger brother, the reason is that he is the closest to my bloodline, and it is also in line with the rules of my Ming brother's final brother; But the queen mother has been building yì I am looking for a suitable clan son in the clan to succeed as the prince and inherit the throne in the future. ”

Zhengde sighed and narrated, unable to hide the regret in his heart.

Song Nan asked quietly, "Then what does the emperor think?" ”

Zhengde rubbed his head and frowned: "It's really hard for me to decide, I'm only twenty-two years old, is it too early to establish an heir, I was originally extremely disgusted by this, but the danger of my illness has changed a lot of my state of mind all of a sudden." I've been thinking about it for a long time. There are unforeseen circumstances, and when the emperor was on the throne, he made me the crown prince early, just in case. Who would have thought that my father would die at the age of thirty-five in the prime of life, if my father had no son and no heir, I am afraid that many people would be ready to move, this truth should have been understood a long time ago. ”

Song Nan nodded and said: "That's true, the candidate to inherit the unification must be clear, otherwise it is likely to cause infighting between clans for the throne, there is no doubt about it." ”

Zhengde said: "It is precisely because of this that I have officially begun to consider this matter, and now that the cabinet minister and the queen mother have each nominated a candidate, it is really difficult for me to decide. This morning, I went to the harem of the queen mother to say hello, and the queen mother mentioned this matter again, and asked me to make a decision quickly, so that the people in the court would not be in turmoil, and the vassal kings would be stupid; At that time, I thought that the severe illness was difficult to treat, so I agreed to the candidate proposed by the queen mother. But I always feel a little dissatisfied, and I want to ask your opinion before making a decision. ”

Song Nan was shocked, but he didn't expect that just this morning, Zhengde had already agreed to the candidate for the heir.

"But I don't know which prince the Queen Mother proposed?" Song Nan asked in a low voice.