Chapter 207 Calculation
The Daming Palace was brightly lit.

Xia Shouzhong was also standing in front of the medicine pot. He opened the lid and gently blew away the steam. Then he used tongs to pick up a few pieces of charcoal from the small stove, and then placed the lid of the pot on two chopsticks, letting the low fire slowly boil the medicine in the pot. Then he looked at the soft couch.

The retired emperor lay on the couch, a steaming towel on his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The emperor is sick!
At this moment, a young eunuch came in with a basin of hot water. He put down the copper basin, walked to Xia Shouzhong, and whispered a few words.

Xia Shouzhong nodded.

The young eunuch bowed and walked out.

Xia Shouzhong walked to the copper basin, soaked a snow-white velvet cotton towel, wrung it dry, folded it into a strip, held it in his left palm, walked to the couch, and changed the towel on the emperor’s forehead.

“Your Majesty, are you feeling better?”

The emperor took off the scarf from his head, propped himself up and sat up, saying calmly, “It’s just a slight cold, nothing serious. What’s the matter?”

Xia Shouzhong smiled and replied, “Yes. The Fourth Prince sent someone to tell him that the Emperor agreed.”

The Supreme Emperor nodded.

Xia Shouzhong: “The Fourth Prince asked, what do you think about it?”

The emperor sneered: “Don’t pay attention to him.”

Xia Shouzhong smiled. The fourth prince wanted to gain the support of the retired emperor and obtain the power that the retired emperor still controlled.

“When will the Zhen family come to Beijing?” the emperor suddenly asked.

Xia Shouzhong thought for a moment and replied, “It’s still early. The Zhen family’s fleet has probably just entered Shandong.”

The Emperor sighed.

Xia Shouzhong turned back to the stove, opened the lid of the jar, wrapped the handle of the jar with a piece of cloth, carefully poured the medicine into the medicine bowl, and then poured the medicine in the medicine bowl into another empty bowl. He did this back and forth several times before he walked up to the emperor holding the medicine bowl.

Xia Shouzhong took a sip himself first, and then said to the emperor, “It’s just right, not too cold or too hot. Your Majesty, drink it quickly.”

The emperor sat up straight, took the medicine and drank it in one gulp.

Xia Shouzhong brought another bowl of warm water and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor took a sip, rinsed his mouth, and spit it into the medicine bowl. He then asked, “What has that evil creature Zhongshun been busy with?”

Xia Shouzhong: “What else can he be busy with? He hangs out with those actors all day long, and has become a laughing stock for the people of Beijing.”

The Emperor was slightly stunned: “Does this evil creature really not bear any grudge against the Emperor at all?”

Xia Shouzhong gave a bitter smile: “Perhaps it’s hard to change one’s nature.”

The emperor gave him a sidelong glance.

Xia Shouzhong suddenly came to his senses and realized that he had spoken rashly, and was about to kneel down and apologize.

The retired emperor spoke: “They are all useless. The emperor has almost driven out all the old ministers in the court, but they can’t even place their own people. They are all staring at what I have in my hands and still want to fight for the chair? Trash!” When he said this, he stood up suddenly and walked back and forth quickly.

Xia Shouzhong didn’t dare to speak, his eyes followed the footsteps of the retired emperor.

The emperor walked to the couch and stopped suddenly: “Doesn’t the fourth brother want power? Let him go find the Kong family.”

Xia Shouzhong: “But the Fourth Prince has offended the scholars.”

The Emperor looked at him and said, “Can the Kong family still be considered scholars?!”

Xia Shouzhong opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn’t know how to answer.

“I understand the emperor’s concerns, but the Kong family is different from other gentry families. Either don’t offend them, or you must root them out!”

The emperor sat down on the couch, picked up the rosary on the couch, fiddled with it for a few times, and then said, “I will help him once more.”

Xia Shouzhong was startled.

“.They offended all the scholars in the world, and then asked the third son to clean up the mess.”

“According to my observation, once the Crown Prince arrives, the Emperor will most likely choose the Second Prince.”

“That reckless man will never achieve anything!”

The emperor waved his hand and said, “The fourth child was pushed out by him to take the blame. He will be abandoned sooner or later. He has no other choice except the third child.”

Xia Shouzhong suddenly remembered: “What if the one in Fengzao Palace gave birth to a prince?”

The retired emperor was reminded that the emperor was in his prime and could afford to wait!

The emperor thought for a moment and said, “Let’s find a way to check it out.” Xia Shouzhong was a little embarrassed and answered hesitantly, “The one in Fengzao Palace eats in a special kitchen, and there is no record in the imperial kitchen. As for the Imperial Hospital, it was Li Yuanzheng who personally took the pulse and prepared the dietary prescriptions.”

The retired emperor’s face darkened. The emperor was on guard against someone. It seemed that he really had this in mind.

Xia Shouzhong continued, “Fengzao Palace is run by Dai Quan’s people, so it’s hard to get any information.”

The Emperor Retired: “Has anyone from Rongguo Mansion entered the palace?”

Xia Shouzhong’s eyes lit up: “Jia Zheng’s wife comes here very frequently, on the 2nd and 6th of every month, she never misses a day. Tomorrow is the second day of the new year, and she will definitely come to the palace early in the morning with a sign.”

The emperor nodded and said, “Then let’s find a solution from her.”

Xia Shouzhong: “Yes.”

“And that evil creature Zhongshun, we can’t let him continue to be depressed. Whoever we target will attract the emperor’s attention. The winter solstice is coming soon, and I plan to hold a family dinner.”

The imperial city was very quiet after dark, and the sound of piano could be heard from Fengzao Palace.

It’s brightly lit here too.

At this time, Dai Quan was standing under the eaves of the corridor outside the palace, and a red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department was whispering something in his ear.

The music stopped.

The chief eunuch had finished speaking and was waiting quietly for Dai Quan to speak.

Dai Quan looked up at the sky and thought for a long time before he said, “Be careful, don’t alert the enemy.”

The chief eunuch replied, “Yes.” and stepped back.

Just as Dai Quan was about to go in, the voice of Emperor Yongchang came from inside the palace gate: “It’s freezing outside, don’t send me off, go to bed early.”

“Yes.” A clear and pleasant voice sounded.

Dai Quan did not go in. He took the lantern from the young eunuch and waited for the emperor.

After a while, Emperor Yongchang, wearing a thick fur cloak, came out and went straight to the Yangxin Palace.

Dai Quan, who was waiting at the door, quickly followed and held the lantern in front of Emperor Yongchang, saying softly, “Your Majesty, there is more news from Daming Palace.”

Emperor Yongchang stopped suddenly and looked at Dai Quan.

Dai Quan came forward and whispered a few words quickly.

Emperor Yongchang: “Did you hear correctly?”

Dai Quan replied: “Although I didn’t hear it clearly, I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with the Fourth Prince and the Kong family. As for the Second Prince, the Third Prince, and Prince Zhongshun, I didn’t hear much.”

Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment and said, “Since he wants to help me, give him this opportunity.” After that, he took another step forward.

Dai Quan hurriedly chased after him.

As the two of them walked out of the Fengzao Palace gate, they saw a sedan chair turning past in the distance.

Emperor Yongchang frowned and asked, “Whose sedan is it?”

Dai Quan: “Your Majesty, this is the Crown Princess’ sedan chair. It should have just come out from the Queen’s place.”

Emperor Yongchang said “hmm” and continued walking towards the Yangxin Palace.
The sedan chair stopped at the entrance of Yuqing Palace. The pole tilted and the Crown Princess walked out.

Ignoring the palace maids and eunuchs, the Crown Princess walked straight into the West Warm Pavilion.

There were only the Crown Prince and Zhao Tong in the West Warm Pavilion. The Crown Prince was still sitting on the recliner, holding a book in his hand, reading it half-heartedly.

As soon as he saw the Crown Princess come in, Zhao Tong hurriedly saluted.

The Crown Princess: “Go and see if the medicine is ready?”

Zhao Tong: “Yes.” He answered and walked out.

The prince put the book in his hand on the coffee table and looked at the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess took out an envelope from her sleeve and said softly, “This is from my mother.” Then she handed it to the Crown Prince.

The prince took the envelope, pulled out the letter inside and read it.

If Xia Shouzhong were here, he would be shocked, because the letter recorded his conversation with the retired emperor, although the record was not very detailed.

After reading the letter, the prince thought for a moment and said to the princess, “The winter solstice is coming soon. Send some gifts to the Li family and tell them to urge Li Hu to return to the capital.”

(End of this chapter)