Seeing the Emperor's grim face, as if he might erupt at any moment, Eunuch Zhao's legs trembled, and he dared not even breathe heavily...
"Why is Heng'er here again?" The Emperor frowned, stood up, and glanced towards the hall. "This brat, if he's not here for anything else, he must be here about Consort Hui's case again..."
How many times had he said it? Consort Hui could not possibly be involved in the corruption case of the Jiangnan漕运 (grain transport). Why wouldn't this brat believe him?
Eunuch Zhao: "..."
Your Majesty, your temper has been a bit fiery lately.
Every time the morning court is held, the ministers are all trembling and walking on thin ice.
Afraid that a wrong word might touch the Emperor's sensitive spot...
They say women's tempers are abnormal during menopause, could His Majesty also be going through menopause?
"Your... Your Majesty, should I let the Crown Prince in?" Eunuch Zhao asked weakly.
The Emperor pondered for a moment. "No, just tell him that I am busy with state affairs and feeling very tired. If it's not something particularly important, he shouldn't disturb me..."
After speaking, the Emperor flicked his sleeves and slowly walked towards the inner hall.
Unexpectedly, before he could sit down and rest, Xiao Jinheng's indignant voice came through, "Father, your son has something to discuss with you!~"
The Emperor: "..."
This old Zhao, how dare he let him in privately, not even listening to my words.
Seeing Heng'er follow into the inner hall, the Emperor sighed and pointed to a chair, "Heng'er, sit down..."
Since he was already here, he couldn't just kick his son out.
Xiao Jinheng suppressed his anger and did not sit. Instead, he respectfully bowed to the Emperor, "Father, your son has heard that you have been working day and night, exhausting yourself for state affairs, and your dragon body is not as good as it used to be..."
Speaking of which, Xiao Jinheng curved his lips into a slight smile, "So your son has specially found a divine physician to diagnose and treat you, to recuperate your dragon body!~"
The Emperor was stunned for two seconds. "Heng'er, you came here today just to talk about this matter?"
He thought it was about Consort Hui...
"That's right, it's to recuperate your body, Father. That's why your son specifically entered the palace!~" Xiao Jinheng said with a slight smile.
Hmph, if it's really discovered that Father has been poisoned by some strange toxin and is being manipulated by that woman, Consort Hui, Xiao Jinheng would never let her off...
The Emperor chuckled heartily, his irritable mood slightly eased. "Heng'er, why are you being so polite to me? The palace is not short of imperial physicians. If I feel unwell, I can just ask them to treat me. Why would I need you to make a special trip?"
As the saying goes, the bystander sees clearly what the player cannot. The Emperor felt that his body was fine...
It's just that those imperial physicians like to make a fuss over nothing.
"It's a trivial matter, hardly worth mentioning?" Xiao Jinheng smiled calmly, then clapped his hands outside the hall. "Doctor Guan, please come in..."
A moment later, Guan Zhongbo walked in slowly, his hands tucked into his sleeves.
He brought nothing with him today, not even his medicine box...
The imperial hospital in the palace had abundant medicinal materials. Even a few common ones were extremely precious. Did he still need to prepare them?
"This humble subject pays his respects to Your Majesty!~" Guan Zhongbo cupped his hands.
The Emperor blinked his eyes, curious. "Is this the divine physician Guan that Heng'er mentioned?"
He looks quite ordinary, nothing special...
Xiao Jinheng 'hmm'ed and introduced, "Divine Physician Guan has traveled far and wide, practicing medicine for the people in his years. He has a great reputation in the northern frontier and even the Central Plains. If Your Majesty's dragon body is in good health, that's all the better. If there is a problem, Divine Physician Guan can also help regulate it. Please rest assured, Father..."
Guan Zhongbo looked up and glanced at the Emperor, wondering, this Son of Heaven of the Great Liang Dynasty isn't much either, he doesn't look imposing at all.
However, judging by his face alone, this emperor seems to be truly ill.
"Good, then I'll trouble Doctor Guan..." The Emperor walked to the couch, sat down, rolled up his sleeves, and extended his arm. "Doctor Guan, please begin!~"
Guan Zhongbo nodded, leaned over, and took his pulse. With just a touch, his eyes widened.
Well, as expected, there was a problem.
And it was a big problem.
Seeing Guan Tou's face flicker, Xiao Jinheng asked, "Doctor Guan, is my Father alright?"
After all, the imperial physicians took the Emperor's pulse daily, and they hadn't heard of him having any serious illness...
Guan Zhongbo did not reply, but continued to examine the pulse. Then he asked the Emperor to stick out his tongue and also checked his eyeballs.
"Doctor Guan, why don't you speak?" Xiao Jinheng was sweating profusely from anxiety. "Is my Father really sick?"
The Emperor was also confused, staring blankly at Guan Zhongbo...
Does this old doctor like to be mysterious so much?
Even if he had a terminal illness, it would eventually be made public, and no one could hide it.
After a long while, Guan Zhongbo slowly released his pulse and pulled Xiao Jinheng aside. "The situation is not optimistic..."
Xiao Jinheng: "???"
He saw his Father's complexion was gentle and his energy was still quite abundant. If he were truly seriously ill, his Father would have collapsed long ago and would be unable to handle court affairs...
"It's alright!" Xiao Jinheng concealed the worry in his eyes. "You can tell me directly!~"
"Your Father seems to have been poisoned by a Gu. This Gu technique is very sinister. If the mother Gu cannot be found, the child Gu will act within your Father's body, at the mercy of the mother Gu's control and manipulation..."
Guan Zhongbo wiped the sweat from his forehead. "So, to eliminate the child Gu, ordinary herbs are useless. Your Highness might as well think about who secretly planted the Gu on the Emperor. Tracing the source is the way to solve the problem..."
Alas, the world is really changing, and people's hearts are not as they used to be.
Who is this foolish person who dares to plant a Gu on the Emperor...
And when he took the Emperor's pulse just now, he discovered that the child Gu was already affecting the Emperor's internal organs. If it wasn't removed quickly, the Emperor might not survive this winter and would die.
Of course, Guan Zhongbo didn't tell Xiao Jinheng these words, fearing he would worry...
Xiao Jinheng frowned upon hearing this. "My Father was poisoned with a Gu?"
The first person he thought of was Consort Hui. Besides her, who else would want to use Father to disrupt the situation and obey her commands?
Guan Zhongbo nodded slightly. "That's right. This matter is quite tricky and complex to handle, so please be mentally prepared, Your Highness..."
Every family has its own difficult problems. Guan Zhongbo had experienced the poisoning of the Khan and Khatun when he was in the royal family of Suicheng.
He didn't expect that the methods of the Central Plains people were even more insidious than those of the barbarians, directly planting a Gu on the Emperor.
Xiao Jinheng pondered for a moment before turning to walk towards the Emperor...