Chapter 88 Section 88

The word "keep makeup" means that life is hard to save, so extraordinary means must be used, that is, ginseng should be considered.Ginseng is considered to be the "king of medicines", which can prolong life. If such a medicine is used, if news spreads, it will cause great surprise.Therefore, even the empress dowagers of the two palaces believed that "the wind is too loud" and it is better to use it slowly.And Li Deli also started from this point, saying that he was not sure about the emperor's illness.As for Han Jiutong, he had even more dangerous words. Of course, he could only repeat that the pox poison had penetrated deep into the skin, and it was difficult to vent it out. He could not tell the real root cause of the disease.

"Lao Liu," King Dun said quietly to King Gong, "I think you can make a queen for the emperor, right?" For the trust of the clan, this move was necessary, and Prince Gong felt the same in his heart, but this decision should not be taken lightly, because for one thing, it was a great stimulus to the emperor, and it was not suitable for the sick, and secondly, After establishing who is the emperor, it takes a lot of consideration. To stand, of course, is Li Xuanzong's great-grandson.In Xuanzong's branch, there are only two people in the "Pu" generation. Xuanzong's eldest grandson, Baylor Zaizhi, has two sons. According to family law, only his second son, Pu Kan, who was only eight months old, can be the heir to the emperor. He is a son, but Zaizhi is not Xuanzong's eldest grandson.

Xuanzong's eldest son, Yiwei, died in the eleventh year of Daoguang at the age of twenty-four.He was originally named Baylor, and his posthumous posthumous title was Yinzhi. After Wenzong came to the throne, he posthumously bestowed on his elder brother the title of county king.King Yinzhi had no sons, so Xuanzong somehow chose Zaizhi, the great-grandson of Yongzhang, the third son of Emperor Qianlong, to succeed Yiwei as his son.And Zaizhi is not Yongzhang's great-grandson, Yongzhang has no sons, and Mian Yi, the second son of Prince Cheng Yongzheng, is his son. Mianyi gave birth to Yiji, and Yiji gave birth to Zaizhi. , then once "something happens", the throne will be transferred to the Prince Cheng.In view of the fact that the son of Prince Xingxian of the Ming Dynasty entered Datong as Emperor Jiajing, and even Xiaozong was renamed "Uncle Emperor", the eleventh son of Emperor Qianlong became the successor of Prince Yongxuan, and he will be "born after respect" in the future. , even Renzong's blood sacrifice is also questionable.Therefore, it is conceivable that the empress dowagers of the two palaces and the descendants of Renzong's branch, such as Huijun Wang Yixiang and others, would definitely not agree.

"Let's have a look again," King Gong replied, "if you have to find out the tone of the two palaces first." He then offered advice to King Dun: "Fifth brother, there are many taboos about this matter, so you should keep it in your stomach." Good here." So Prince Gong had another important thing to worry about.In case the emperor dies, it is natural to establish a queen for the great line. It seems that, to accommodate the facts, only the son of Zaizhi can win. At that time, the empress will become the empress dowager. Empress Dowager Cixi may not be willing to hand over power.If we say that this empress dowager, like the empress dowager Cao of Song Shenzong, the empress dowager Gao of Song Zhezong, the empress dowager Zhang of Ming Yingzong, and the empress dowager Xiaozhuang of this dynasty, is loving and considerate, then the palace Qingxu, that's fine, but the empress dowager Cixi and the queen are already in conflict, and there will be troubles in the future, and it will be a serious dispute that cannot be mediated by the ministers.

After all, I can only hope that the emperor will not die!For this reason, Prince Gong became more and more concerned about the emperor's illness, and asked Li Deli three or four times a day, but the answers he got were all nonsense. To sum up Li Deli's words, the emperor's illness, the "five goodness" is missing, and the "seven evils" are all there, and the most troublesome thing is that the source is greatly damaged. If you use excessive supplementation, you may be afraid of Yang hyperactivity, and if you use cold attack, you may be afraid of hurting your Qi.As for the real root of the disease, no one dared to say it, but there were many rumors in private, and it was even said that the emperor's spirit was in a trance, and he was on his deathbed.

The strange thing is that the eunuchs who are around the emperor always say to people like this: "There is a big improvement!" "I was in a good mood yesterday, and I sat up and joked!" The more you speak, the more exciting you want to cover up.Therefore, Prince Gong told the empress dowagers of the two palaces that the military aircraft, the imperial court, the relatives of the close relatives, the Hongde Hall, and the Hanlin in the South Study Room should be allowed to visit the palace frequently, so that the common people would be more at ease. Although the empress dowagers of the two palaces accepted the suggestion, they did not implement it for a while.This is the idea of ​​the Empress Dowager Cixi, to pick a time when the emperor's spirit is better, and then announce the summons.

The eunuch reported that the emperor was awake after the meeting with the military aircraft that day, so the Empress Dowager Cixi delivered a decree: the quasi-military aircraft ministers, the former imperial ministers, the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the masters and masters who walked in the Hongde Hall, went to the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation to greet them.I saw the emperor leaning on an eunuch, and he was really in good spirits. A dozen people, led by King Dun, went up and looked forward one by one. The sores on the waist could not be seen, and half of the scabs were still visible.

"What time is it today?" the emperor asked, his voice hoarse. "Today is November twenty-ninth." Prince Gong replied. "The moon is big and the moon is small?" "The moon is big." "The day after tomorrow is the twelfth lunar month," said the emperor, "there are many things in the twelfth lunar month." "The ministers and others have followed the instructions of the empress dowagers of the two palaces, and everything has been properly arranged, so don't bother with holy worries." Prince Gong said: "Now take care of your body to rest your body."

"I can't calm down!" The emperor squeezed his fists and beat his chest lightly, "I just feel hot and thirsty." "The mind is calm and cool." The Empress Dowager Cixi said this and glanced at Prince Gong. King Gong ordered silently, knelt down and exited Dongnuang Pavilion.Because he did not withdraw from the Hall of Mental Cultivation according to Yi's order, he was still serving in the Ming Dynasty. Soon, the Empress Dowager Cixi came up alone, stood and asked: "The emperor bleeds too much 'juice', and his spirit is fatigued. Look, what can I do?" Then she took a handkerchief and stroked her eyes.Because Weng Tonghe was dissatisfied with Li Deli, there was a sentence that he wanted to say for a long time: "I have a foolish opinion, the saint has violated the agreement, it has been a month, and the eighteen-day period has passed. The current syndrome is a foreign syndrome, and it is better to choose another doctor." For the top."

"I told Rong Lu about this too." Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Are there any good doctors out there?" "There is a man named Qi Zhong, who is eighty-nine years old this year, and he is very good at treating foreign diseases." Rong Lu kowtowed and replied, "I'm asking for Yi's decree. Is there a pulse?" "Eighty-nine years old, I have seen a lot of syndromes. Let's pass them on to see!" At noon, Qi Zhong was summoned to the palace, got out of the car with the support of two Su Las, and walked slowly to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Seeing his handsome appearance, he was expected to be well-informed and capable of rejuvenating, so he paid attention to it all. Quietly wait outside the hall, waiting for the result.

Accompanied by Li Deli, Qi Zhong entered the East Nuan Pavilion, and after about half an hour, he was called to the West Nuan Pavilion after his consultation. Qi Zhong actually came up with a trick. He said that the ulcers on the emperor's waist were called "acne".It took about 7 days for pus to form. First came out yellow-white thick pus, then bloody "peach blossom pus", and finally light yellow water. At this time, the swelling gradually disappeared, the pain also subsided, and it was almost healed. When the Empress Dowager Ci'an heard this, she suddenly became overjoyed, and asked impatiently: "You mean, the emperor's carbuncle doesn't matter?" Eighty-nine-year-old Qi Zhong has a healthy waist and legs, and his eyes are still bright, but he is hard of hearing.At that time, Rong Lu loudly relayed the words of Empress Dowager Ci'an, and he replied: "Long Live Lord's acne, although it is fierce, fortunately, it is not on the 'Shenshu' acupoint, it is not serious if it is under the Shenshu." "Oh," the Empress Dowager Ci'an asked again, "Where is the Shenshu point?" Rong Lu even talked about the emperor's illness with Li Deli every day, what kind of disease, what kind of prescription, and he knew a little bit about it. The Shenshu point happened to be talked about by Li Deli. At this time, because Qi Zhong was deaf, it was troublesome to convey it, so he played it on his own. , pointing out that the Shu point is located at "the center of the ridge facing the navel, each half an inch apart", which is where the kidney grows, so it is called Shenshu. This makes it clear that if the hair is on the Shenshu point, the kidney may also be festered, "it's a blessing in the end", the Empress Dowager Cixi was also relieved, and asked calmly: "Then, how to treat it? " Qi Zhong's answer is that it is mainly based on cultivating the source and consolidating the source. If the source is fixed, all diseases will disappear, which is the truth that evil cannot defeat good.This is the same as the idea of ​​warming and tonic, so the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered to take a prescription. Seeing that the prescription was all about ginseng, the Empress Dowager Cixi was taken aback, but because the Empress Dowager Ci'an was waiting to listen, she read it out: "Ginseng two qian Atractylodes macrocephala two qian Poria cocos two qiangui two qian Shudi three qian white peony two Qian Chuanxiong, half astragalus, three qian, cinnamon, eight fen, roasted licorice, one qian." After finishing the reading, Empress Dowager Cixi said in a voiceless voice: "Isn't this 'Shiquan Dabu Decoction'?" Qi Zhong couldn't hear him and didn't make a sound, King Gong replied: "Yes!" Just at this moment, the monarch and his subjects looked at each other in blank dismay.In the end, it was still the Empress Dowager Cixi who ordered: "Let him go down first! Wait for the emperor to be safe, and then please be kind." "Cha!" Rong Lu agreed, pouted at the eunuch on duty, and helped Qi Zhong down. "You can't use warming and tonic medicines, how can you use 'Shiquan Dabu Decoction'?" Empress Dowager Cixi said disappointedly, "I think this Qi is too old!" She wanted to curse: "Old and dark!" It's just that she was on the temple grounds, and as the empress dowager, it was inconvenient to say it out.In fact, Qi Zhong is not obscurant at all. He has practiced medicine for seventy years, and he has seen all kinds of strange and difficult diseases in surgery. , When it comes to clinical "seeing, hearing, asking and knowing", knowing the rumors outside is not entirely false.If it is an ordinary family, if they say "please be wise", they will have to get on the sedan chair, but they can't in the palace.He thought to himself, as long as this disease gets on his hands, there will be no merits and demerits. At such an age, it is thankless and ruins his reputation for the rest of his life. Why bother?Therefore, I came up with such a theory, intentionally keeping the prescriptions on record, no merits, no faults, and retreated.Anyway, having been to the inner courtyard of the deep palace and paying homage to the Empress Dowager, this life is not in vain. He had such a plan, but he harmed Ronglu who "recommended the virtuous", and made the boss feel boring. In the end, he still obeyed Yi's decree: "Let Li Deli take the pulse carefully." As a result of taking the pulse carefully, a new syndrome was added, the cheeks and gums suddenly became swollen, which was still caused by excessive yang energy, and at the same time he suffered from diarrhea, which he relieved twenty times a day and night. It was terrifying, but Li Deli was delighted, saying that with this one purge, the remaining poison can be purified, and he is sure. This word spread to the deep palace, and everyone rushed to tell each other.This day coincided with the first day of the twelfth lunar month. Usually, every new moon, the emperor served meals in Shufangzhai. The first is in the east of the back hall of Ningshou Palace, the Fanhua Building and Fori Building in Jingfu Gate; the second is in the Cining Palace, where there are several Buddhist halls, where the queen mothers of the two palaces often come to pay respects. Yes, it is located in front of the main hall, the one in the east verandah of the left gate of Huiyin; there are three other buildings, mainly Yuhua Pavilion, inside the Ninghua Gate, with three floors of pavilions, the upper floor is for the five Huanxi Buddhas, and the lower floor is for the West Heaven. Fanfo, this is still the relics of the former Ming Dynasty. There are brain bone lamps, human bone flutes and other magical instruments inside. From the perspective of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, it is almost a demon heretic, and it is usually not extinct. Zhan Wuyao, she willingly held incense and kowtowed, and prayed for a long time. Beginning early in the morning, I worshiped all kinds of Buddhas from east to west. It was almost morning, and it was time for the military plane to "call". Sitting side by side, he also felt bored, so he excused "headache", accompanied by the queen, and went back to his Zhongcui Palace. This is a rare opportunity for their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to get along alone.Usually serving meals, Empress Dowager Cixi is there, and she needs to be cautious in her words and deeds. Although she goes to Zhongcui Palace every morning to greet her, she also meets alone, but Empress Dowager Ci'an knows that the "west side" is always on the lookout, she is sympathetic to the empress, and refuses to let her Make more stays.Since the emperor had smallpox, she had accumulated countless words and wanted to talk to the empress in detail, so for this moment, she let go of her scruples and refused to let it go easily. "The queen is here to serve you, so go away!" This was Empress Dowager Ci'an's intention to send her away. The court ladies naturally understood and left one after another, but they were still guarding in the corridor, waiting for greetings.Two vigilant guards went outside the palace to guard against people from Changchun Palace spying on the Queen's actions. During this month, the Empress shed tears every day, but she dared not show any sadness in front of Empress Dowager Cixi.Of course it was different at this time, when the Empress Dowager Ci'an had just sighed, before she could finish saying "how good it is", two tears rolled down her face. Thinking of this being a taboo, she hastily turned her back and wiped it with the back of her hand, but she couldn't hide it from Empress Dowager Ci'an. "Cry to your heart's content!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an shed tears herself. Having said that, the queen dared not and could not bear to make her sad, suppressed tears, took her own handkerchief and gave it to her, and said with a forced smile, "Don't be sad, mother-in-law! Didn't the imperial physician say that you are sure?" The Empress Dowager Ci'an remained silent, wiped her eyes, was stunned for a long time, then suddenly said: "Come here, I have something important to ask you." "Yes!" The queen agreed, bowing and listening. The Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't speak immediately, but her face became more and more ugly, and she couldn't tell whether it was the look of despair, sadness or fear. Finally, she finally spoke, her voice was low and empty, which sounded extremely strange, "If the emperor has something, he should have a plan." She said, "I have to ask what you mean." The empress only heard half of the sentence clearly, but the first half of the sentence was like a thunderclap, which made her almost faint. The Empress Dowager Ci'an appeared calmer than ever before, "Don't be sad, it's not time to be sad yet." She grabbed the Empress's hand and shook it vigorously a few times, "Calm down and listen to me. " "Yes!" The queen replied with a trembling voice, looking at the Empress Dowager Ci'an with tear-filled eyes, the corners of her mouth twitched, losing her usual grace and serenity. "We are just in case." The Empress Dowager Ci'an knew that her attitude and voice had frightened the Empress, so she tried to keep her tone calm and calm at this time. Picking one to adopt first is also a joy of having a baby. I vaguely told the emperor that he wanted to ask you what you mean." These two sentences made the queen very sad.More than two years of work, the days of getting along together, probably less than two months in total, but she knew the emperor's heart, seven points of love, three points of respect, but no one thought that there would be someone in the middle!Not only was she sympathetic to the emperor's situation, but she also deeply blamed herself, feeling that everything was caused by herself. If she didn't have such deep affection for herself, the emperor would not be so angry with Concubine Hui. It is because of anger that I stayed alone in Qianqing Palace, because I stayed alone, I walked slowly, and because of quiet movements, today's disaster happened. From the queen whose father has read the precepts of women's boudoirs, she has always had this kind of thought: I can't do it. Gu Huan's virtue is not enough to touch her dear ones.We can only bear with it, and hope that one day the Empress Dowager Cixi will smile and say a few words of compassion, and then I will make it through. But even with such painstaking efforts, it has now become an extravagant wish. Once the emperor dies, everything will cease.A 21-year-old queen raised a son who wasn't her own. How could she survive these days in this gloomy palace? Thinking about it this way, it seems that the whole body is enclosed in the coldness of the eighteenth floor of hell, unable to survive or die.How terrible this is!The queen trembled involuntarily, if it wasn't for the restraint of the strict system, she would have screamed and ran out. "What's the matter with you?" Even the Empress Dowager Ci'an was a little scared, "What do you think?" The queen kept silent, but after all, she was not in a daze, she knew that she was impolite, but she couldn't tell, so she bent her knees and threw herself in front of Empress Dowager Ci'an's knees. "Where is it coming!" The maid waiting outside the window was waiting for this call.The Empress Dowager Ci'an's voice was still there, someone had already stepped into the palace gate, and it was only when they got closer that they could see clearly that the Empress's face was pale and blue, as if she was seriously ill.There is no need for Empress Dowager Ci'an to give any instructions, four or five maids helped the queen up with all their might. "Get on the couch!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an commanded, "Look what hot soup is there, bring a bowl quickly!" In the small kitchen of Zhongcui Palace, there is often a pot of chicken soup boiling, and when a bowl is served, Empress Dowager Ci'an personally holds it to the queen who is lying on the soft couch panting.She wanted to kneel down to meet her, but Empress Dowager Ci'an stopped her. Only then did the Queen have to roughly return to normal.It wasn't the maid's care, it was this tossing that made the queen temporarily forget the horror of "the environment is created by the heart". "I don't know what's wrong?" The queen said with a forced smile, and suddenly turned sad, "The queen mother always hurts me, I have no other filial piety, except to kowtow a few more times for the queen mother. " This most sincere head kowtowed to make the Empress Dowager Ci'an feel ashamed and apologetic.Although it was the emperor's own intention to choose this empress, it was actually facilitated by himself.Who knows that "the right kind of love is enough to hurt them", for more than two years, seeing the Empress Dowager Cixi regard the queen as a thorn in the side, neither can reconcile the feelings of their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, nor can they speak up to protect them, and they can't even persuade the emperor to love himself, so that In today's situation, once the dragon controls the guest, the first one to suffer endlessly is the queen. Thinking about it really made her miserable. Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager Ci'an felt like a knife was piercing her heart, and her whole body seemed to be paralyzed, but when she thought of the sentence "one mistake can never be repeated", she aroused the sense of responsibility to make up for her mistakes, and finally straightened her back again, and she was able to strengthen herself. Supported myself. "Let's talk about that important matter!" said the Empress Dowager Ci'an, "Master Daoguang has one family, and the Pu family is only the two sons of Zaizhi. According to the law, the younger one should be adopted. If you want the older one, It's also easy to discuss. What do you think?" Only then did the queen begin to think about it.This is a top priority, not to choose a son, but to choose an emperor, which is related to the ten thousand years of the Qing Dynasty.Thinking of this level, the queen suddenly felt that her shoulders were heavy, and her heart was rather timid, just like a person who has never gambled money and suddenly asked him to put his entire family fortune on one game and throw it at the other end. "Speak up!" Empress Dowager Ci'an encouraged her, "You are also a person who can read and write, and you have a lot of ink in your stomach. When it's time for you to make a big decision, you have to stand up." This remark reminded the queen, recalled the words in the book, and blurted out: "Mr. Guo Lai, there are clear instructions in ancient times." The Empress Dowager Ci'an was taken aback for a moment, and then asked in a hesitant tone: "That's not bad, where can I find such a 'Long Lord' of Pu's generation? Even counting all of Lord Jiaqing, I can't find it. Push it further up, and look for it among Lord Qianlong. But there is one level, find someone who is about your age, how can you be the queen mother?" "Queen Mother, Queen Mother!" The queen said a few words to herself, thinking it was an incredible thing!No matter what, I can't imagine what a 21-year-old queen mother should look like? Seeing the empress's bleak face and straight eyes, knowing that her grief had been touched again, and it seemed that the conversation could not go on, the Empress Dowager Ci'an sighed helplessly and said, "It's so difficult! I have no choice but to speak slowly! " When Kneeling An exited, the Empress Dowager Cixi had already returned to the Changchun Palace from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and sent someone to summon the queen, saying that she would meet her immediately. Hearing such a tone, the empress immediately felt chills running up her spine, thinking that she had just been to the Zhongcui Palace, and also thinking that her tears were still there, she became more and more flustered, but she didn't dare to hesitate, and hurried to see Seeing Empress Dowager Cixi's complexion as usual, she felt a little relieved. "As soon as the twelfth lunar month is over, it's time to get busy celebrating the New Year!" "Yes!" The queen agreed cautiously. "You have been cooking for two years, you should know the rules by now!" "Yes." The Queen replied, "If there is anything you don't understand, you have to ask the Queen Mother to teach you." "That's what I want to tell you. What should be done, do it early." The queen was ordered to be cautious, and on the same day, she directed the maids and eunuchs, starting from the Changchun Palace, to dust off the windows and redecorate them to make them look brand new. In addition, all kinds of ceremonies at the end of the year and the beginning of the year are also carried out as usual, but those that require the emperor to preside over them in person, such as the perennial routine of writing the word "blessing" to ministers inside and outside Beijing, naturally stopped. Therefore, on the surface, the empress who rules the six palaces looks like a "head of the family". Knowing that the House of Internal Affairs is in charge of the Empress Dowager Cixi, she has already made arrangements, but she has to check carefully and work hard everywhere. Once he couldn't take care of him, he looked at the face of "Xi Bian".