bookrebus Chapter 289 Calling
Chapter 289 Calling
Wu Anhou knew that the emperor had summoned him to the palace in such a hurry that something extremely urgent and important must have happened. Therefore, he did not dare to delay for a moment and galloped all the way to the palace at full speed.
His guess turned out to be correct. As soon as he stepped into the imperial study, he saw that several respected regent ministers of the cabinet were already seated there, as well as several royal relatives including Prince Kang.
What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yuanpan from the Imperial Medical Bureau was also here.
Seeing everyone's solemn and gloomy faces, Marquis Wu'an's heart sank: Could it be that someone in the palace suddenly fell ill?
With an uneasy mood, Marquis Wu'an hurried forward to pay his respects to Emperor Mingde, and then respectfully retreated to his own seat and stood there.
He stole a glance at the Emperor seated on the Dragon Throne—his close friend, a friend he had grown up with. The once dashing young Emperor was now deeply scarred by time, his once handsome and upright features now bearing a more aged look.
Although the emperor is only two years older than him and is only forty-five years old, he looks much older than his actual age due to years of busy work on state affairs, excessive fatigue and pressure. No one would doubt that he is already over the age of knowing his destiny.
However, despite this, the emperor's sharp eyes like an eagle were still bright and seemed to be able to see through everything, making people more afraid to look him in the eye, for fear that they would offend the emperor by accident.
"All my dear ministers are here. Qing'an, you can tell them about this matter." Emperor Mingde sat upright on the dragon throne, his voice extremely hoarse, as if sand that had been deprived of water for a long time was rubbing against each other violently, which sounded very uncomfortable.
The eunuch standing next to Emperor Mingde took a small step forward.
This old eunuch is not young anymore, but he has been with Emperor Mingde since he was a child. If you ask who knows Emperor Mingde best, it must be him.
His eyelids drooped, as if it took a tremendous effort to keep them open. His voice, usually soft and steady, now sounded a little flustered, and even his speech was a little faster than usual: "After dinner today, the Empress Dowager suddenly fainted in the Cining Palace. The attendants at the time all assumed that the unpredictable weather in recent days had caused the Empress Dowager to catch a cold.
Nanny Zou quickly summoned the imperial physician to treat the patient.
However, after careful examination, the imperial physicians were unable to diagnose any definite illness. Finally, it was Zhang Yuanpan who examined the Empress Dowager and said that her symptoms looked like those of poisoning.
This old eunuch, who had worked in the palace all his life, naturally knew the interests involved, and he deliberately emphasized the word "seems".
The implication was to tell the people present that although Zhang Yuanpan felt that the Empress Dowager might have been poisoned, in fact the imperial doctors had not yet given a definite conclusion on this.
As the biological mother of Emperor Mingde, the Empress Dowager had a rather special identity.
She was not the late emperor's empress, and she did not even receive much favor and attention when the late emperor was alive.
However, in the harem full of intrigue and scheming, the Queen Mother always maintained a non-competitive attitude and never competed with others for the limelight or power.
Unexpectedly, it was this low-key and humble way of dealing with things that made the late emperor particularly fond of her son, the current Emperor Mingde.
The late emperor even personally paved the way for this prince who was neither a legitimate son nor the eldest son, which shows how clever the empress dowager was.
Because of this, Emperor Mingde was extremely respectful and filial to his biological mother.
After Eunuch Qing'an finished reporting the situation, he quietly retreated to the side of Emperor Mingde and instantly turned into a silent existence, as if he had become a transparent person.
Judge Zhang bowed respectfully to the emperor, his body trembling slightly as he spoke in a trembling voice, "This old official has examined the Empress Dowager. Her pulse is steady and normal, her complexion is rosy, and there is a faint smile on the corner of her mouth. She looks as peaceful and tranquil as if she were asleep.
But strangely, no matter how everyone called out to her, the Queen Mother remained unresponsive and could not be awakened."
Judge Zhang, who is over 60 years old, has been busy and toiled all day. He is now exhausted and can hardly stand.
However, facing such a difficult situation, he knew the weight of his responsibility. He gritted his teeth and mustered all his energy as he continued, "After a thorough examination, I found no obvious signs of poisoning on the Empress Dowager. However... however, in my decades of medical practice, I've never encountered such a bizarre case. Therefore, I boldly speculate that the Empress Dowager may have been poisoned by some extremely rare and strange toxin."
All the adults present were experienced and worldly-wise veterans who had worked in official circles. How could they not see the mysteries and tricks hidden here?
You know, the Queen Mother suddenly fainted. If this was caused by poisoning, then the problem is serious. After all, in front of so many servants and guards, someone was able to secretly poison the Queen Mother. What does this mean? This harem must be full of dangers!
If even the Empress Dowager suffered such a cruel fate, then the Emperor's personal safety would also be in danger... Thinking of this, everyone was silent, not even daring to breathe.
Even Zhang Yuanpan, who was skilled in medicine and experienced, was helpless in the face of the empress dowager's illness and had no idea what was wrong. The other doctors did not dare to come forward to see the patient.
After all, no one knows whether this is caused by poisoning. If the diagnosis is wrong, it will be a matter of life and death!
It is difficult to confirm whether the Queen Mother was poisoned at the moment, so how can we find the hateful person who poisoned her?
Emperor Mingde, who had been silent the entire time, finally couldn't contain his anxiety and anger anymore and spoke out, "My dear ministers, what are your opinions on this? The Empress Dowager is already very old. I absolutely cannot watch her sleep like this!"
After saying this, he swept his sharp gaze over the ministers below.
When the emperor looked at them like this, everyone shuddered and looked at each other, but no one dared to speak first.
For a moment, the entire palace fell into a suffocating silence. Everyone's heart was heavy, as if a huge stone weighing thousands of pounds was pressing down on them, making it difficult to breathe.
Everyone knows that saying the wrong thing at this moment could bring fatal disaster.
However, there must be a solution to the problem. What should we do?
Taifu Qin Zhengqing slowly raised his head and his gaze fell squarely on Marquis Wu'an.
This afternoon, the two of them had met once at Ru Yue's residence. Although one of them was a welcome guest, treated like a distinguished guest, while the other was almost ruthlessly driven out, like an insignificant passerby on the street, they both knew the true reason behind the whole incident like a mirror.
Ru Yue's medical skills were truly admirable. Even the most experienced doctors in the palace were probably inferior to hers. Not to mention that she had the backing and support of Divine Doctor Shen.
But this matter is of great importance and involves many things. How could they dare to mention it lightly?
If you are not careful, you may be killed or even lose your life.
At this moment, the imperial study was completely silent, so quiet that even the sound of an embroidery needle dropping to the ground could be clearly heard. The heavy breathing of Emperor Mingde became even more abrupt and obvious in this silence.
These old foxes who have been working in the officialdom for many years know very well that they have served the monarch for decades. The current situation clearly means that His Majesty's anger is about to erupt like a volcano and is on the verge of exploding.
At this critical moment, Prime Minister Zhao Mingcheng, who had remained silent, walked out of the queue.
He bowed respectfully to the Emperor and spoke aloud, "Your Majesty, I believe the most urgent matter at this moment is to ascertain the exact nature of the Empress Dowager's illness. Since none of the Imperial Physicians are able to make an accurate diagnosis, why not seek out some renowned physicians from the public and invite them to the palace to carefully examine and treat the Empress Dowager? After all, time waits for no one, and we must not allow the Empress Dowager's condition to be delayed due to a momentary oversight!"
When everyone heard this, they all nodded in agreement.
Where should we go to find this famous doctor who can bring people back to life?
For a moment, the originally noisy imperial study fell into silence again. Everyone looked at each other and racked their brains, but they still couldn't come up with a suitable solution.
At this moment, Prince Kang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stepped forward.
He frowned tightly and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I know there is a 'Huairen Clinic' in the capital, which was opened by the most talented disciple of Doctor Shen.
In my humble opinion, we might as well send someone to invite her over and let her diagnose the Empress Dowager first.
Even though this woman's medical skills are a little lacking, we can still invite Doctor Shen to come out and help through her.
In this way, there may still be a glimmer of hope.”
Prince Kang is the uncle of the current emperor and the most respected person in the entire royal family.
The weight of his words is naturally extraordinary.
Moreover, since he had made the proposal himself, even if Ru Yue ultimately failed to successfully cure the Queen Mother's illness, she would surely be able to escape unscathed.
When the emperor heard this, a glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in his heart.
Just as he was about to order the dispatch of personnel, Marquis Wu'an interrupted him and said, "Your Majesty, I know a thing or two about that clinic. I would like to personally convey the order to recruit them. I beg Your Majesty's permission."
As soon as Wu An Hou finished speaking, everyone present was shocked and turned their eyes to him.
After all, with such a noble status as Marquis Wu'an, he actually volunteered to summon a small doctor to treat him. No matter from which angle you look at it, it seems a bit out of place and extremely inconsistent.