Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 18 What is he going to do?
The queen is really not sick, but the eldest prince is really "sick".

Chen Ju came to Jingyang Palace as ordered.

Concubine Wang Gong sat on the bed with red eyes, and Wang An served her beside her.

"How is your highness?"

Chen Ju looked at the eldest prince lying on the bed and asked the imperial physician.

"To answer Eunuch Chen, the pulse is fine." The doctor from the Imperial Hospital was a little scared and said hesitantly, "There is no serious illness..."

Chen Ju frowned. Is he pretending to be sick?
The date for moving to Ciqing Palace has been set, and then I will go to school soon.

But the emperor and the empress dowager were reported to the Jingyang Palace, saying that he was ill and could not visit them regularly.

The emperor naturally did not give any instructions, but unexpectedly the empress dowager asked about it and asked someone to see what was going on.

Although Chen Ju "did not do a good job" and "alarmed the Empress Dowager" at the time, his reputation of always putting ancestral laws and rules first paid off.

Now that he was sent by the emperor to visit the patient, Chen Ju walked to the bedside after listening to the imperial physician's words and asked, "Your Highness?"

Zhu Changluo was lying on the bed, sweating all over his head and his face slightly red. Under his tightly closed eyes, his pupils moved. His lips were slightly open, but it was obvious that his lips and teeth were working very hard.

"No...no..." His voice was vague and small.

"Your Highness?" Chen Ju called again.

“No… wu…”

Amid the intermittent murmurs, the eldest prince finally sounded like he was crying, as if something extremely terrifying had happened.

"...Your Highness, how long has it been like this?" Chen Ju asked Wang An.

"My Lord, I came to see His Highness yesterday and have not gotten up. I have been like this ever since. I woke up for a while, then felt extremely sleepy again, and then I had nightmares one after another..."

Chen Ju remained silent, staring straight at Zhu Changluo's face.

What is this?
The imperial physician would not dare to speak nonsense about such matters.

Since there is nothing wrong with the pulse, then there is no disease.

To say there are no serious symptoms means that there are no symptoms.

Why are you pretending like this?
Of course, he was of noble status. If he wanted to pretend, no one would expose him directly unless the Empress Dowager Li or the Emperor came in person.

"...In that case, please take good care of His Highness. I will go and report back."

Chen Ju turned and walked out. When he was almost at the door, he heard the eldest prince say loudly and clearly: "I don't believe it!"

He turned his head and saw that the eldest prince was still lying on the bed, his eyes closed but veins bulging on his forehead.

When Chen Ju arrived before the emperor, he was still considering what to say.

In the end, I just decided to tell the truth.

Do not express your own inner judgment, just recount in detail what you have seen and heard.

"...playing tricks." Zhu Yijun commented, "Since there is no serious problem, let's wait and see. The day for the lecture has been set. If he still doesn't get better, the outsiders will suspect that I am deliberately delaying it!"

Chen Ju declined to comment.

"Since the Empress Dowager is concerned about you, please go to the Cining Palace again."

This is also part of the reason why Zhu Yijun was upset.

For some reason, the Queen Mother became concerned about the boy now that she didn't see him come to ask how he was.

I don't know how that kid tricked the Queen Mother into summoning him repeatedly for several days.

Chen Ju went to the Cining Palace as instructed. He waited for quite a while before Empress Dowager Li came out from the Buddhist temple in the rear hall.

"Nothing serious?"

"Your Majesty, this is what the imperial physician said."

"Then why is it that he is bedridden and unable to get out?" Empress Dowager Li was a little confused.

"Your Highness, I am... possessed."

Chen Ju gave the general statement about this situation.

The so-called being possessed by a nightmare is what is commonly known as "sleep paralysis" during sleep.

It is difficult for people to wake up, they are plagued by nightmares, and they are often extremely tired after waking up.

"Haunted?" Empress Dowager Li was extremely surprised. "Then how could he be haunted from yesterday to today?"

"I don't know. But when I went to visit him, His Highness was sweating profusely, his eyes were tightly closed, his pupils were bulging, he looked like he was half asleep, and he was still talking."

"What did you say?"

"I only heard a few mumbled words, all saying 'No', 'No'. There was something faintly terrifying, like crying. But before he left, His Highness seemed to have tried his best to whisper 'I don't believe it'."

Some people say that they talk clearly in their sleep, and some even sleepwalk.

However, people who are possessed by nightmares often speak as if they are trying very hard and gritting their teeth, but what they say is actually loud and unclear.

Empress Dowager Li became worried after hearing this: "Has he been haunted for so long? What kind of evil spirit dared to..."

Chen Ju didn't say anything.

If someone pretends to be asleep, and he insists on pretending, then who can wake him up unless he can't stand the disturbance?
Should I deliberately tell him some witty remarks to make him laugh, or make him beg for mercy due to the pain?
Since he is the eldest son of the emperor, this move is brilliant.

"What does the emperor say?" Empress Dowager Li asked again.

"Your Majesty only said that since there is nothing serious, let's wait and see."

He omitted the second half of the sentence to avoid being suspected of mocking the emperor's intentions.

"Being haunted for so long cannot be taken lightly!"

Empress Dowager Li was a devout believer in Buddhism and she believed these things.

"Then you take my handwritten scripture and place it beside your eldest brother's pillow." Empress Dowager Li ordered someone to fetch it, "and have his eunuch recite it from time to time to drive away the evil spirits."

"My queen, please be merciful. I will go right away."

Chen Ju didn't know when the Queen Mother started to care so much about the eldest son, but the old lady's love for her grandson deserved praise. So Chen Ju ran from west to east, came back to report, and ran from west to east again.

Seeing that the Queen Mother personally bestowed the Buddhist scriptures upon Concubine Wang Gong, she was so moved that she burst into tears and expressed her gratitude repeatedly.

At Zhu Changluo's bedside, she and Wang An recited scriptures devoutly, hoping that Zhu Changluo would wake up soon.

On the bed, Zhu Changluo did not move, and he no longer spoke nonsense, but his brows were still furrowed and his fists were clenched.

Chen Ju left Jingyang Palace again. As there was nothing to do at the moment, he walked from the east through the Renshou Palace, which was newly built during the Jiajing period, and headed south to the direct quarters of the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department.

On this way, we passed Ciqing Palace.

The Ciqing Palace, which had been cleaned up again, was still waiting for its new owner, but this process was destined not to be smooth.

Among all the princes, only the crown prince could enjoy the privilege of marrying off and going to school, because this was necessary to establish relationships with foreign officials.

Among all the princes, only the Crown Prince can enjoy the privilege of living alone in a palace in the Forbidden City.

The rest of the princes, after being conferred the title of king, were either still young and lived in the same palace with their mothers, or were sent to their own countries and had their own palaces.

Nowadays, it is no longer popular to live in the Ten Kings' Palace first.

On the eve of this symbolically significant palace move and lecture, the eldest prince suddenly fell "sick".

When Chen Ju arrived at the Silijian's direct office, he just shook his head helplessly.

What does the eldest prince want to do?
……

At this moment, the instructions given by the emperor at the end of March had just arrived in Nanjing.

Chongli Street, west of Zhengyangmen in Nanjing, is a relatively high area in Nanjing city.

From here, you can see the imperial palace and various government offices in Nanjing.

On Chongli Street, an official residence that was just completed last year has now changed dramatically.

The Dragon Boat Festival had passed, and before noon that day, a middle-aged scholar came to the outside of the house.

There have been quite a few officials and gentry coming and going here recently, and this middle-aged scholar is not special among them.

He looked up at the official residence with a cross-wooden pillar in the main hall and asked the gatekeeper: "Excuse me. Is this the residence of Mr. Matteo Ricci?"

"Exactly. Who is it?"

"Please tell me that Xu Guangqi from Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture, is here to visit. I heard that Pastor Guo Jujing is also here. He and I are old friends."

"…It turns out to be Xu Jieyuan! Please come in quickly!"

Xu Guangqi thanked him with a smile and followed him into the house.

He was already 39 years old when he was unexpectedly selected as the top scorer in the Nanzhili provincial examination three years ago.

This time, he planned to go to Nanjing first to visit his mentor Jiao Hong, who was selected as the top scholar at that time, and then go to Beijing to prepare for the imperial examination next year.

From his mentor, he learned that the Israeli missionary Guo Jujing, whom he had met in Shaozhou, was also there, and from Jiao Hong he saw a map roll and heard that there was a Mr. Matteo Ricci who was more proficient in Western learning.

Soon, he saw Guo Jujing, with a big beard, coming out.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Guo Jujing also wore a Ming Dynasty robe and greeted him warmly when they met: "Long time no see, Mr. Xu!"

"Long time no see, Pastor Guo."

"It's Priest Guo!" Guo Jujing said happily, "The Society of Jesus in Nanjing has been established, and President Matteo Ricci has appointed me as the assistant parish priest."

"It seems that Father Guo's missionary work has made great progress."

"Because President Li told the Ministry of Rites that he would never return to his country and would be a vassal." Guo Jujing pointed at the church. "It was rumored that this place was haunted before, but in our opinion, there is no place more suitable for a church than here."

The two chatted as they entered the main hall, where a man with a full beard said to the workers, "We need to carve an exquisite dragon here. The cabinet needs to be engraved with floral patterns..."

"What is this?" Xu Guangqi asked puzzledly.

"The great Ming Emperor has issued an order! President Li is going to Beijing to meet the Emperor. The gift for His Majesty is still in Linqing, Shandong, but President Li decided to decorate the gift in a more exquisite cabinet."

After Guo Jujing finished his introduction, he said to Matteo Ricci: "Please allow me to introduce you to a respected friend, Mr. Xu Guangqi, who I mentioned before, the top winner of the last Nanzhili provincial examination!"

"It's a great honor to meet you, Mr. Xu."

Matteo Ricci's eyes lit up. In the East, the most successful missionaries were these gentlemen.

In such a large province like Nanzhili, it must be very difficult to win the top prize in the provincial examination.

Xu Guangqi greeted him and then told him his intention: "I saw a map at my mentor Jiao Siye's place a few days ago. I heard that it was brought by Mr. Li..."

The two intellectuals from the East and the West met for the first time.

In the Yikun Palace of the Forbidden City, Zheng Mengjing exclaimed in surprise: "Haunted?"

"My mother said so." Zhu Yijun nodded. "Whether it is true or not, we will know it by trying it. However, I am too lazy to check it out, and others dare not try it. Humph, playing tricks!"

Zheng Mengjing did not intend to encourage him to expose it, but he hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, maybe it's really an evil spirit at work!"

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment.

...Not to mention, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager sent hand-copied Buddhist scriptures to suppress the rebellion.

When the pillow wind began to whistle over there, Zhu Changluo in Jingyang Palace finally opened his eyes and woke up after listening to the scriptures many times.

"…Your Highness? Your Highness is awake! Your Majesty, Your Highness is awake!"

Wang An shouted in surprise, and Zhu Changluo stretched out his hand.

"Help me... up."

The play has been performed enough, and the next step is to take that step.

Since he could only use Wang An, and in today's world where ethics and moral principles are extremely important, there was no violent way to gain pleasure and still maintain power.

He is the emperor and the father.

But it's okay.

Since you are the Son of Heaven, don’t you have the Mandate of Heaven above you?

My coming is destiny!
(End of this chapter)