The Lonely City Closed - Chapter 61
When I asked her about the situation, she lowered her voice and said, "Recently, the Emperor usually sees the chief ministers after dawn, but today he got up very early and summoned me to comb his hair. After I finished, Chief Minister Shi came in before Chief Ministers Shi and Wu to take him to the small hall at the inner east gate. He helped him walk and talked to him. Just as the Emperor reached the hall door, he suddenly gasped for breath, clutching his chest as if in great pain. By the time I ran over, he had already fainted on the ground."
"Prefect Shi?" It shouldn't have been Shi Quanbin who accompanied the Emperor to the inner East Gate Hall to meet the Grand Chancellor these past few days, so why did he arrive so early this morning? I asked Qiuhe softly, "Did you hear what he said to the Emperor?"
Qiu He said, "At first, he only said some words of concern and care, but after he walked away, I could no longer hear him. Just now, the Empress also asked Chief Inspector Shi, and he said that he was only exchanging health tips with the Emperor and did not dare to say anything more."
I looked up at Shi Quanbin. He stood there expressionless with his eyes down, showing no sign of anything amiss.
At this moment, Consort Yu also arrived. The Empress then addressed Miao and Yu, saying, "His Majesty suddenly fainted, and medicine has proven ineffective; the imperial physicians are helpless. Just now, Maoze suggested acupuncture, but it requires needles to be inserted at the back of the head, and none of the imperial physicians dare to treat him this way. Maoze has worked in the Imperial Pharmacy for many years and has also studied medicine. He has treated similar illnesses before, and to avoid delaying treatment, he has volunteered to perform acupuncture on His Majesty. What do you two think?"
The two ladies looked at each other, not responding for a moment, but Shi Quanbin spoke up from the side: "The acupoints at the back of the head are of utmost importance. If there is the slightest mistake, it could lead to blindness at best, or unimaginable consequences at worst... Ladies, please consider this carefully."
Upon hearing this, the two ladies dared not easily express their opinions, their faces showing reluctance, and they remained silent. Seeing this, Zhang Maoze stepped forward and said to them, "Ladies, please rest assured, this is not the first time I have seen this symptom. I have also performed acupuncture on patients' brains many times without ever making a mistake. If the acupuncture harms Your Majesty, I am willing to accept the punishment of being slowly sliced to death."
Shi Quanbin retorted indifferently, "Can the lives of lowly eunuchs like us be compared to those of the supreme emperor?"
Perhaps fearing that they might clash and provoke each other, Consort Yu immediately said to the Empress, "Sister Miao and I are merely imperial concubines. This matter is of great importance. Your Majesty, we dare not say more, but please make the decision."
Miao Shuyi echoed, "Yes, yes. Please let the Empress decide; we will obey."
"So, you have no objection to acupuncture?" the Empress asked.
The two ladies were taken aback for a moment, but still nodded in agreement.
The Empress then looked at Lady Zhou and Lady Zhang: "You are also ladies of the harem, and in a sense, you are family members of the Emperor. Do you feel there is anything inappropriate about my decision?"
Although hesitant, the two princesses ultimately agreed with the Empress's decision: "Everything is at the Empress's discretion."
Therefore, the Empress immediately ordered Mr. Zhang: "Maoze, enter the inner chamber and treat the Emperor with acupuncture."
Mr. Zhang accepted the order and was about to enter when he heard Wu Jilong instruct his men to close the palace gates in front of the Funing Hall. He immediately turned around and said loudly, "There is nothing to worry about. Why close the palace gates and arouse suspicion from both inside and outside the palace?"
Wu Jilong fell silent for a moment, then immediately ordered the eunuch who had gone to close the palace gates to return.
Fewer people were allowed into the inner chamber by the Empress. Apart from Mr. Zhang, there were only four ladies: Miao, Yu, Zhou, and Zhang, as well as Qiu He, who was to untie the Emperor's hair.
I waited in the hall with the others. Mr. Zhang began his treatment, and the outcome was unknown. The bedroom was completely silent, and no one made any unnecessary movements. I also remained still, as if it were me, not Mr. Zhang, holding the golden needle and piercing the back of the Emperor's head, afraid that the slightest movement would pierce that extraordinary life-saving thread.
Then, breaking the stagnant silence was a gasp. As if caught off guard by a horrific sight, the person's voice was filled with extreme terror and unease. This was followed by two or three screams from women.
Without a second thought, I rushed into the bedroom and saw the Emperor standing before the bed with his hair disheveled, holding a sharp blade that was pointed directly at Zhang Maoze. Dozens of gold needles were scattered on the floor.
Mr. Zhang watched him quietly, his right hand still holding a long needle.
The ladies were so frightened that they turned pale and shrank to a corner of the room. Only the Empress went to greet the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, Maoze is treating you..." the Empress tried to explain to him.
The emperor wouldn't listen to a word, and with a flick of his arm, the sharp blade was pointed at the empress again.
"Are you so eager to kill me?" he said slowly, looking at the Empress. The anger he had shown when facing Mr. Zhang had subsided slightly, and tears welled up in his eyes. "I took you as my wife, and even arranged for Thirteen to marry Tao Tao, yet you are still not at ease... Fine, then I will take your men to the court. Whatever you want to know, I will let you know... Give me the ropes, and I will willingly accept the restraints. Isn't that enough? Yet why are you still not at ease, doing so many things in secret, preferring to believe that eunuch rather than me?"
"Did I not trust you?" The Empress was also quite moved at this moment, her eyes brimming with tears. "If you trusted me, would you have made me walk on thin ice for the past twenty-two years, always ready to deal with one unexpected humiliation after another? If you had trusted me a little more, our marriage wouldn't have come to this!"
The Emperor trembled slightly, gazing absently at the Empress. After a moment, he smiled sadly, shook his head, and sighed, "Twenty-two years, truly boring..."
Before the words were even finished, he had already raised his hand, twisted his wrist, and pointed the knife at himself...
Realizing what he was about to do, I rushed forward to stop him. However, I was too far away, and just as I watched him swing his hand down, regretting my inability to catch him, someone suddenly rushed from the left side of the emperor and grabbed his hand before his blade touched his body.
It was Qiuhe. The scene froze for a moment, making me realize that my previous impression was not quite accurate. To be precise, it was Qiuhe who rushed over, grabbed Jinshang's hand with one hand, and with the other hand... firmly gripped that sharp blade.
Bright red blood trickled down Qiu He's hand, dripping into the quiet space, falling to the ground little by little with a soft sound.
Like everyone else, the Emperor stared at her in astonishment, showing no reaction for a brief moment. It wasn't until I snatched the knife from his hand that he regained consciousness, pushed aside the attendant who came to his aid, and strode out of the palace.
Qiuhe seemed to only then realize the excruciating pain. She bent over, pressing her hands to her chest, and uncontrollable groans and fragmented sobs escaped from her clenched teeth. Her body slumped and she fell to the ground.
Consort Miao and Consort Yu rushed forward to help her sit up. The Empress immediately ordered Deng Baoji, who had arrived from behind, "Quickly summon the imperial physicians from outside to bandage Lady Dong!"
Despite the chaos, I noticed that she had just referred to Qiuhe as "Lady Dong," and she emphasized those three words.
After the Emperor ran out of Funing Palace, Shi Quanbin, Wu Jilong, and others went after him. Even the two Lady Zhou and Lady Zhang ran out. Now, the Empress turned to Mr. Zhang and instructed, "Pingfu, go and check on the Emperor quickly..."
Mr. Zhang agreed and went to chase after him immediately. I followed closely behind him, heading in the direction the emperor was running. My heart was pounding, and I had a vague premonition that even greater storms were about to strike in the unknown future.
This premonition was correct. The Emperor's destination was the small hall at the inner east gate. It was dawn, and the chief minister had already entered the hall. When we caught up with him, he had already grasped the hand of Prime Minister Wen Yanbo, who had come out to greet the Emperor, and loudly proclaimed, "The Empress and Zhang Maoze are plotting treason!"
The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) Falling Flowers and Wind Play with Clear Autumn Rain 52. Swallows' Mud
Chapter word count: 3261 Update time: 08-08-21 17:04
Swallow Mud
The surrounding officials turned pale upon hearing this, but Wen Yanbo remained calm and asked the emperor, "Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?"
The Emperor clutched his chest, breathing heavily, and said haltingly, "They conspired with the ministers to make the Thirteenth Prince... the Emperor..."
When the conversation turned to "conspiring with ministers," his dazed gaze inadvertently drifted to Fu Bi, who was standing beside Wen Yanbo. Fu Bi stiffened, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but the words ultimately remained unspoken. He finally bowed to the emperor and remained silent.
"They wanted to...kill me...with needles...with needles into my brain..." The Emperor's voice grew weaker and weaker, and his body kept sliding down. The eunuchs on both sides rushed forward to support him. Then the Emperor closed his eyes and was in a semi-conscious state, muttering incoherently.
Wen Yanbo ordered his men to help the Emperor into the small hall at the East Gate to rest, and then summon the imperial physicians. He then looked at the people in front of him and asked about the reason for this. Seeing that Mr. Zhang remained silent, I spoke to Wen Yanbo before Shi Quanbin and the others could speak: "Just now, His Majesty fainted. The usual methods of administering medicine and moxibustion were ineffective. Mr. Zhang suggested acupuncture at the acupoints on the back of the head. None of the imperial physicians dared to perform this procedure. To avoid delaying the treatment, Mr. Zhang volunteered to perform the acupuncture. It was not, as His Majesty said, an attempt to harm the Emperor's body."
The Lady of Anding County, who was standing nearby, also confirmed: "That is indeed the case. A short while after Mr. Zhang applied acupuncture, the Emperor awoke, turned his head and saw Mr. Zhang holding a needle about to pierce his head. He was terrified, pulled out the needle from the back of his head, quickly got up, and drew his knife... He probably mistook it for Mr. Zhang..."
She stopped there, not continuing, but her meaning was clear. Wen Yanbo pondered for a moment, then asked the Lady of Qinghe County again, "Is that so?"