SFS Chapter 153: Northern Qi Concubine - Changing Situations
Chapter 153: Northern Qi Concubine - Changing Situations
Inside the Concubine Shu's palace, a man and a woman were walking slowly along the path, followed by eunuchs and palace maids.
The emperor seemed to have thought of something, and he suddenly said, "My beloved concubine, what do you think of the eldest prince?"
Zhou Leng replied as if after careful consideration:
"In the past, I only thought that the eldest prince was well-dressed and righteous. People in the palace said that he was loyal and virtuous. But now, I feel that the eldest prince is gullible and not very filial. He may be a good prince, but not necessarily a good son. Just the fact that the eldest prince rarely cares about the emperor makes me unhappy."
Gao Zhao patted Concubine Shu's hand, his eyes thoughtful. Now Concubine Shu gave him the impression that she was a man of few thoughts but many words, not very smart and easy to manipulate. So even if this remark was quite inappropriate, he would not pursue it.
Two months later.
Some things come without warning.
The old emperor, who was full of energy a few days ago, suddenly fell ill. All the concubines in the harem had to serve him, but in the end, no one could even enter the emperor's bedroom.
Cao Fu guarded the palace gate, and no one could enter the palace except the imperial physician who came to treat patients every day.
Zhou Leng's makeup was dull and her figure was deliberately thinner. She carefully questioned Cao Fu at the palace gate. After all, she was not allowed to visit the patient, so she was suspicious.
After three or five questions, the flaw was discovered. Zhou Leng was well versed in the art of medicine, and under her questioning, Cao Fu's statements were inevitably contradictory.
Zhou Leng frowned and held his forehead and said to Cao Fu: "Manager Cao, you must..."
Bang.
"Someone come quickly, the Concubine Shu has fainted, let the imperial physician take a look."
Fortunately, Caiyue had been following Concubine Shu. Seeing that Concubine Shu was about to faint, she stepped forward and supported the Empress.
Cao Fu was reluctant to let Concubine Shu lie at the entrance of the palace, so he ordered the eunuchs to carry Concubine Shu into the side hall, and then he asked the imperial physician to examine her.
About two quarters of an hour later, Zhou Leng slowly woke up, her face pale. She seemed to be looking around blankly, wondering where she was.
Caiyue stepped forward to support Concubine Shu, and she explained: "Your Highness, we are in the wing room of Fuyun Palace. Chief Steward Cao said that Your Highness will take the sedan chair back to the palace to recuperate after she wakes up."
Zhou Leng nodded and said, "Go and prepare the sedan chair."
The group left Fuyun Palace.
There were high palace walls on both sides. Zhou Leng looked at the reflective glazed tiles through the slightly translucent curtains. He was afraid that the weather would change.
Everyone returned to Concubine Shu's palace, and Zhou Leng said in a deep voice:
"Caiyue, go tell Chief Steward Han that the palace gates are locked and no one is allowed to enter or leave. If anyone comes knocking on the door, you can tell them that I am seriously ill."
"promise."
****
The emperor was drinking tea. Seeing Cao Fu coming in, he asked, "How is Concubine Shu?"
Cao Fu bowed and replied, "The imperial physician said that the Concubine Shu was exhausted and overworked. Now that the Concubine Shu has regained consciousness, she will be sent back to the palace in a sedan chair. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Gao Zhao frowned slightly, but said nothing more. Instead, he waved his hand and asked Cao Fu to leave.
****
After the eldest prince Gao Jing sent a message to Concubine Shu in the palace, there was no reply at all. There was also news in the palace that the emperor was critically ill. In fact, the information he received was what the emperor wanted him to know.
At the same time, several small leaders of the imperial guards also took the initiative to show goodwill to the eldest prince.
Two days later, news came from the palace that many important ministers and Prince Sheng entered the palace to visit the emperor.
Gao Jing felt very disappointed. His own father was ill and he couldn't visit him. Now a group of important ministers and Prince Sheng had entered the palace. This meant that he was passing on the throne. What should he do then?
Gao Jing was in a state of confusion, but finally he gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and decided to rebel.
On the fifth day when the emperor was critically ill, the eldest prince broke into the palace with some imperial guards just to force him to abdicate and succeed to the throne.
An hour later.
There were only a dozen or so close confidants protecting the eldest prince, and the rest of the imperial guards had all defected. The emperor looked at his eldest son, who was clearly in good health and had no illness on his face, standing on the courtyard tower in armor, looking down at him.
Everything is under the Emperor's control.
The eldest prince Gao Jing understood half of it in his mind. He looked at his father disappointedly and shouted:
"Since I was born, my father has always relied on me and never rebuked me. Throughout the world, the history books show that if there were a son, who would pass the throne to his brother? You schemed everywhere and tried to seduce me. Are you worthy of being a father and a ruler?"
Gao Zhao's eyes were very calm, as if he was looking at a stranger. He raised his arm and said, "Spare the life of the eldest prince, and kill all the others."
Someone behind the emperor shouted loudly: "Spare the life of the eldest prince, and kill all the others."
The sounds of swords clashing, armor being cut and torn, and the soldiers shouting and yelling were soon replaced by shouts of victory.
The eldest prince was tied up and thrown into the Daye Hall, and the bodies of the rest were taken away and buried by the soldiers.
There were only the emperor, the eldest prince and Cao Fu in the Daye Hall.
Cao Fu stepped forward and took out the clean silk cloth stuffed in the eldest prince's mouth.
The eldest prince Gao Jing seemed to be laughing and crying. He asked in a firm tone:
"Father, have you never thought of passing the throne to me? Have you never thought of passing the throne to Uncle Sheng? Then who else can you pass it to? Father, please be clear-headed. No one can live for tens of millions of years! Da Qi still depends on me!"
Gao Zhao looked at his eldest son. To be honest, he had thought about passing the throne to Gao Jing, but he wanted to live a few more years. Moreover, the emperor defending the city did not necessarily have a radical personality like him.
Gao Jing could not help but shout, "Tell me, can't you give an explanation to the prince you have raised since he was a child? You can kill him or chop him up as you wish."
Gao Zhao looked at the hysterical eldest prince and said in a deep voice:
"I wanted to pass the throne to you in the past, but things change unpredictably. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. I won't kill you. You can live peacefully in this mansion from now on. Just don't step out of this mansion again."
"Hahaha, you actually want to imprison me. Just kill me, kill me! You are such a tyrant. The Great Qi will be destroyed in your hands."
Gao Zhao raised his hand.
Cao Fu quickly stepped forward and covered the eldest prince's mouth, then went outside the palace and asked the imperial guards to take the man away.
The news that the eldest prince had rebelled and was demoted to a commoner by the emperor and locked up in the palace without being allowed to go out soon became widely known.
****
Concubine Shu has been staying indoors in the palace for many days.
Emperor Gao Zhao went to Concubine Shu's palace to visit her in person. When he saw the person on the sickbed, not only the emperor but also Cao Fu was shocked.
The woman on the hospital bed had a pale face, blisters at the corners of her mouth, and had lost a lot of weight. She was as thin as a lightning bolt and looked like a completely different person compared to her original plump appearance.
Gao Zhao sat at the head of the bed. He reached out and took Concubine Shu's hand. Touching the skinny "skeleton", he said with great distress:
"My beloved, I haven't seen you for just half a month. How come you are so thin? I asked the imperial physician to examine you."
Zhou Leng burst into tears when she spoke of this. She said in a hoarse voice, "Is the emperor's illness cured? What did the imperial physician say? Is his foundation damaged?"
Gao Zhao was slightly touched, and his frozen heart cracked a little. He said with a distressed tone, "I'm fine now." He turned to Cao Fu and said, "Why don't you go and call the imperial physician?"
Zhou Leng seemed to take a breath and muttered, "As long as the emperor is healthy and well, that's enough." After she said that, she fainted.
Gao Zhao was shocked, he thought Shufei was dead.