Chapter 74 Section 73

"How is the emperor?" Knowing that it was unnecessary, Du Zhongjun still asked. "It's still the same." Ji Lu replied, "If it suddenly gets better, it's not good!" This remark is incomprehensible at first, but after careful thought, he is saying that "becoming better at once" must be "reflection of light", and it has entered the time of "great gradualness". "The emperor can't get up today..." Before Jilu finished speaking, he stopped himself and looked out of the window. Du Zhongjun also looked out, only to see Shixu coming in a hurry, holding a piece of paper in his hand. Look."

Zengchong stood close, took Zhu Yu and looked at it and said: "The people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs will never dare. Now that Zhu Yu has it, just tell them the truth." "That's right! Not only must we tell them, but we must also conduct a thorough investigation. This matter is so important that we cannot ignore it at all." At this time, Zhu Yu was in the hands of Jilu. Du Zhongjun looked over his head and saw clearly. It read: "The emperor is seriously ill, and he is not allowed to enter with pills privately. If anyone enters, there will be no changes, but the person who enters the medicine is ask!"

"That's right!" Jilu returned Zhu Yu to Shixu, looked up at him, and made a suggestion: "Zhongtang, I think the emperor's bedroom will be sent to guard the palace." "Not good! Not good! It doesn't look good." Shixu said: "You just send more capable and reliable people, and keep an eye out!" In fact, it was nearly noon, and Yingtai began to send a decree to ask for pulse. Lu Yongbin and Shi Huan treated Empress Dowager Cixi in the Hall of Yiluan, so Du Zhongjun and Zhou Jingtao made up a temporary team, but when asking for pulse, they still came in individually. Du Zhongjun was first, Zhou Jingtao was there rear.

Qingmai is still in the room on the left, and it is still on the kang bed by the window, but it was able to sit up and sit up the day before, but it is sleeping on the kang this day, standing next to a eunuch in his thirties, thin cotton A blue Ning silk vest was put on over the robe, and his expression was very calm, without any worries. The emperor fell asleep at first, and the eunuch raised his voice slightly and said, "Dr. Du came to ask for the pulse of Long Live." So the emperor turned over with great difficulty. Du Zhongjun knelt down and saluted. He took a book and rolled it up to stabilize his wrist, and began to check his pulse.

The pulse condition is even worse, fast and thin, and the heartbeat is fast, but it is already exhausted.The other hand is inside the kang bed, so it is inconvenient to diagnose and press, so there is no need to diagnose it again. "Has the emperor understood?" Du Zhongjun asked the eunuch. "No." "What food came in?" "I don't want to enter anything, I just want to drink water." "Did you sleep well at night?" "Can you sleep?" The eunuch's tone seemed to think his question was funny. There is no need to ask any more, Du Zhongjun kowtowed, got up and left.Together with Zhou Jingtao, they returned silently to the Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"How is it?" Kui Jun came up to him and asked. "There is no turning point!" Du Zhongjun replied bluntly. "Master Zhou, what do you think?" "It's hard!" Zhou Jingtao shook his head greatly. "Then please write a prescription." Prescriptions are difficult to open, but they must be opened.Du Zhongjun told Zhou Jingtao what the Minister of Military Aircraft said the day before: "If you write the book according to the facts, you must take it back and change it. The writing is too light, and the relationship is too heavy. I can't afford it. What's your opinion?"

"I'm not afraid of trouble. I'd rather get it back from the military plane and get it changed. As for my brother, since Wang Chun took care of me yesterday, I don't need to make any more trouble myself. Just take a prescription and put it in a slightly more emphatic tone." "That's right, that's right! It's brilliant." Du Zhongjun fully accepted his suggestion, prepared the prescription, and sent it to the Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At this moment, Lv Yongbin and Shi Huan had returned from the Hall of Yiluan asking for their pulse, and the three ministers of the House of Internal Affairs went up to greet them, as if deliberately avoiding idlers, they hugged Lv Yongbin and Shi Huan aside, and the conversation was not loud , Du Zhongjun couldn't hear what they said clearly, but he could guess that they must be asking about the Empress Dowager Cixi's illness, and he could also deduce that the illness is difficult from the point of the long-term conversation.

※※※ Due to the worsening illness of the two palaces, the ministers of military affairs were all preoccupied, and Yuan Shikai was particularly depressed.He has encountered countless turmoil in his life, but no matter how difficult it is, there is always a way to get it out, except this time he is helpless. This is because there are too many taboos.It is a taboo to say that the Empress Dowager Cixi's illness is serious, and it is even more taboo to ask about the illnesses of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor! Another taboo is the boundary between Manchu and Han.After the coup of 1898, the mutual suspicion became more and more serious. Once the new official system came out, many vacancies of high officials and senior officials were cut out of nowhere, which made the struggle for power and interests even more intense.The current trend is that relatives and nobles exclude the clan, the clan rejects the Eight Banners, and the Eight Banners reject the Han people.The world is not only the world of Aixinjueluo, but even the world of Xuanzong's family.If the emperor dies, who will belong to the big position is the housework of the close relatives and nobles, and has nothing to do with the Han people, and even has nothing to do with the distant clan.Therefore, among the military ministers, Lu Chuanlin was indifferent to this, Zhang Zhidong was the most taboo, and deliberately avoided talking about it, so Yuan Shikai had nothing to talk about.

There are only one and a half people to talk about, one is Qing Wang Yikuang, and the other half is Shixu.But talking with half a generation later, naturally they can't talk too deeply, they only have the same opinion, no matter what, they must invite Yikuang back to Beijing as soon as possible. There are two ways to do this, one is to ask the King of Jin to write a letter to inform Yikuang as a military plan, and the other is to send a private letter to Yikuang, as if he returned to Beijing to return to his command.When Yuan Shikai was considering which method to adopt in the small study, the servant came to report and Qu Tinggui asked to see him.

It is conceivable that there must be news from the palace, and Yuan Shikai ordered: "Please come here." Naturally, all the servants avoided him from a distance, Qu Tinggui was still worried, looked out the window again and again to make sure there was no ear behind the wall, Fang Shi said: "Gongbao, I think the emperor may be poisoned!" Yuan Shikai was taken aback, looked at him for a long time, and then asked, "What did you see?" "I went to Yingtai to ask for pulse in the afternoon. The emperor was rolling all over the bed, and when he saw it, he yelled, 'I have a terrible stomachache!' The symptoms of the emperor include heartbeat, dark complexion, neurasthenia, yellow tongue coating, constipation, and being unable to sleep at night. These are all the same as before, why do you suddenly have such a stomachache! According to the pathology, there will be no such situation."

"So, according to your opinion, what kind of poison is it?" "I don't know! There are many poisons and strange medicines left over from the Ming Dynasty in the "Shou Pharmacy" in the palace and the paint storehouse of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. No one can figure it out." When I asked, what did the emperor eat? Take the rest to test. I had to say, "take a rubber bag and fill it with hot water and apply it on the stomach to relieve pain." In the emperor's palace, no one cares at all." "Ah!" Yuan Shikai sighed: "The emperor has been treated like this, I really can't be reconciled to him." "The emperor's illness is not important at first, but recuperation is very important! Whoever is known as the emperor is worse than a poor family. The illness is reduced by one point, and two points are added secretly, so that it is getting worse and worse. Chinese medicine says that the emperor It's only been a few days, and we doctors of western medicine can't agree with this. The emperor's illness is a chronic disease, and western medicine can always find a way to make him live a few more days. But as it is today, our western medicine can't do anything. I'm here to report to Ming Gongbao , I won’t be able to enter the palace to ask for pulse tomorrow.” "I know." Yuan Shikai said with a solemn expression: "We, as subjects, do our best! We have done our best, and you have a clear conscience. You don't have to be sad!" When Qu Tinggui resigned, Yuan Shikai recalled what he had said, and could not but suspect that the emperor had been poisoned.But if you think about it carefully, there is no doubt, since Du Zhongjun has already made a conclusion, "There must be danger within four days", so why do you need to poison?Who is the poisoner? He was thinking that it would never be Li Lianying.The emperor called Li Lianying "Ada", and regarded him as a Manchu minister who taught "Mandarin language" and riding and shooting. If he wanted to preserve his wealth, he would rather have the emperor alive. Like Gengzi before, a veritable manager above Cui Yugui.Moreover, the Empress Dowager Cixi also knew very well that Li Lianying had been protecting the emperor for the past few years, even if there were extraordinary actions, she would not hand over this task to Li Lianying. When my thoughts turned here, I naturally thought of Cui Yugui.Things are clearly there, it's not Yang Jimo!However, it is hard to say whether he did it himself or at the instigation of Empress Dowager Cixi. If you think about it a little deeper, you can be sure that it will not be the Empress Dowager Cixi's instigation.Because of Du Zhongjun's words, it is inevitable that someone will play on Ciwei.Now that the emperor's time limit has come, why bother to do such a thing that will make his conscience uneasy until death?At the same time, he thought, why did the Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly have such a Zhu Yu that "it is not allowed to enter with pills privately" and "there is no change, but only the person who enters the medicine should ask"?It seems that someone has been involved in the plan of "donating medicine", which is absolutely unacceptable to Empress Dowager Cixi, so there is such a strict order. But here comes the question again!Back to the first question, why can't this person wait for four days and insist on killing the emperor? This doubt weighed on Yuan Shikai's head, making him unable to sleep peacefully until Choumo Yinchu, when he was supposed to get up and go to court, suddenly woke up with a start, and realized that the Empress Dowager Cixi herself thought that the emperor must have died before her. And the attendants on the left and right must have been warned by the doctor that the Empress Dowager Cixi is in danger, and she may die before the emperor! Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai broke out in a cold sweat, because he was in the same situation as Cui Yugui, and he was the one who would be killed by the emperor.Maybe the Empress Dowager Cixi is dying at this moment, and the palace is in chaos.Sure enough, it was time for him to seriously consider what he should do. So, he coughed, and when Fifth Aunt woke up too startled and wanted to call the girl who was sleeping in the back room to come in to serve her, he couldn't wait to say: "First ask someone to bring the phone book!" The so-called "telephone book" is a record of calls made in the palace.Li Lianying, Cui Yugui, Xiao Dezhang, and the respect room and memorial office all have telephones installed. If there is a "big incident" in the palace, or the two palaces are in danger, the inherent news comes that the illness has changed slightly. People will also be notified.He was eager to read the records, just to understand the condition of the two palaces. Judging from the records, there is only a phone call from the memorial office, saying that no papers have been sent out. It can be seen that the Empress Dowager Cixi has reached the point where she cannot review the memorials. At this time Yuan Shikai was a little more at ease, so he still went to court as usual.Arriving at Xiyuan Junji Zhilu, I saw that King Jin Zaifeng and Shixu had just arrived, so before we exchanged greetings, we first asked about the condition of the two palaces. "I'm afraid the emperor will fail!" Shi Xu said without hesitation in front of Zaifeng: "The empress dowager is also very dangerous. Today, I have to say, I'm afraid it's time to resolve the big doubts and make big plans. " "How is the Queen Mother?" "I can't tell. Anyway, the stomach is extremely weak, and I can't bear anything. If I get up dozens of times a night, a good person will be tossed out of shape, let alone an old lady in her seventies!" While talking, Su La lifted the curtain outside and announced, "Zhang Zhongtang is here!" Zhang Zhongtang was in high spirits, but when he looked closely, he seemed to be on fire. After entering the door, he cupped his hands, sat down and said, "I read "Art Code" all night yesterday, and the more I read, the more confused I become!" Everyone didn't know what "Art Code" was, and Zaifeng didn't even hear these three words clearly, so he asked bluntly, "Xiang Tao, what did you say you watched all night?" Zhang Zhidong saw that everyone was troubled, so he had no choice but to explain clearly: "It's the "Art Dictionary" in "Book Collection". I only read the medical department, but I still haven't figured it out." He still didn't quite understand what he said, but everyone who listened understood it. He probably wanted to know about the condition of the two palaces, to see if it was necessary, and if there were any prescriptions available.Therefore, Yuan Shikai said: "According to Shi Zhongtang, the situation is very bad, and it's time to make preparations. Zhongtang sees it, what should we do?" "When Zixuan comes, let's discuss together." Lu Chuanlin asked for leave that day, Shixu said: "There's no need to wait, Zixuan is also having a stomachache today, so send someone to notify him that he can't come to work." "I think I'll invite Qing Mansion back!" Zhang Zhidong said, "It's his master after all." "So am I!" Yuan Shikai nodded. Zaifeng was still hesitating, but Shixu came up with an idea: "Let's go to the Yiluan Hall and say hello in the bedroom. By the way, find out what the empress dowager wants, what do you guys think?" "That's okay, but I have to send someone in to ask first." "I'll say hello when I get there." So the group of four arrived in Zhonghai, and when they entered the Xunmen Gate, it was the Yiluan Hall. The residence of the Empress Dowager Cixi was in the Fuchang Hall in the north. When they arrived here, Su La had already entered and informed them. Come out, say hello one by one, and ask why you are here. "Come to pay respects to the Empress Dowager!" Zhang Zhidong asked, "Do you think it's better to come?" "Afraid of difficulty!" "How about now?" Zhang Zhidong asked again: "How is your spirit?" "It's always better in the morning." Li Lianying said immediately, "My lord must have something to say with all the adults? I'll ask Da Gege to come to the bed to act." "No!" Zaifeng had another opinion: "You ask Da Gege to discuss it with the queen. We mean, we want to invite King Qing back, and see if it's appropriate." "The queen went to serve the emperor, she is not here." This is great news, the emperor and the empress can't speak ten words a year, they usually look at each other and avoid each other, but now they say they are going to serve the decoction, it's no wonder! Of course, no one was willing to reveal their own feelings, but Li Lianying spoke again: "I see that the matter of inviting King Qing to return to the capital can be decided by the prince and the adults." He said: "If you must request an order, it is still It's got to be played by Da Ge Ge." "Let's ask Da Gege to act on his behalf!" Shi Xu's representative replied. So, Li Lianying bowed her waist, turned around and left.After a long time, Fang Shi came back and replied: "Lafayette said, 'Okay! Hurry up.'" He glanced at King Chun, as if he wanted to say something, but finally remained silent. "That's good!" Zhang Zhidong said, "Send a special messenger down immediately." "Hurry up," Yuan Shikai said, "you can send a telegram!" "Ah, ah, not bad!" Just as everyone was about to turn around and leave, Li Lianying pulled Shixu and said, "Shizhongtang, please take a step slowly, I have something to tell you." "Say it!" "These two days are critical." Li Lianying waited for everyone else to leave before she lowered her voice and said, "Cui Yugui suddenly wants to take a few days' leave, saying that he has returned to the queen. Since the queen agrees, no one can stop him. However, the situation is different now, if something happens, I can’t take care of it alone. I want to ask Shi Zhongtang to send someone to tell Cui Yugui that the holiday can be canceled if it can be sold!” "There is such a thing, I don't know." Shixu asked: "Did he report the day off?" "The day before yesterday." "Okay! I'll send someone to talk to him." Shixu asked again: "What's wrong with the illness above?" "You mean Lafayette?" "Yes!" Shixu also said in a very low voice: "You only tell me! What's going on, everyone should be prepared." "It can't be done! That side and this side," Li Lianying pointed to the outside and then to the inside: "It's a matter of a day or two!" Shixu was silent for a long while, and finally asked: "Why did the queen go to Yingtai suddenly?" "The empress has to go and watch over her!" Li Lianying said, "It's a couple's one! It's also right to send it off to the end." Li Lianying's voice was very strange, as if trying to cover up her sobs, so her voice was completely changed.Shixu suddenly shivered, turned around and left.