Chapter 212.1

Chapter 212.1

After continuous adjustments to the prescription and appropriate acupuncture by Doctor Liu, the Emperor Emeritus’s health has improved significantly compared to before.

Although he still couldn’t sit up and walk, it was no longer as difficult as before to even turn over.

Nowadays, the Emperor Emeritus led a leisurely life, enjoying music, watching performances, playing with crickets, and raising birds. This had caused quite a commotion in the Imperial Household Department.

Recently, the Emperor Emeritus has developed a liking for listening to storytelling.

He didn’t want the palace’s trained performers; he found their delivery unsatisfactory. Instead, he insisted on recruiting storytellers from the commoners. These days, the sound of drums and the three-stringed instrument could often be heard within the palace.

Li Dequan walked in from outside. The Emperor Emeritus was currently amusing himself with the fish in a blue-and-white porcelain basin on the kang table. The basin was designed to resemble a miniature mountain, with a few palm-sized lotus flowers growing in it. Two tiny golden carp were swimming in the water beneath the lotus leaves.

At a glance, it looked like a painting. These were new offerings from the Imperial Household Department, intended for the Emperor Emeritus’s entertainment.

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At this moment, the blind storyteller was narrating an exciting part of the story, recounting how Wu Song drunkenly fought Jiang Meng, the Door God. When the blind storyteller described Wu Song lifting a fist the size of a sea bowl, he struck the sheepskin drum twice and tapped the wooden board a few times. It was unclear whether the Emperor Emeritus was listening, but his gaze had shifted from the kang table to the blind storyteller.

Li Dequan could only wait for that segment to finish before reiterating the message.

“What are they here for? Do they not have anything better to do?” The Emperor Emeritus tossed aside the jade rod in his hand, and it landed on the kang table with a clear sound.

Despite the blind storyteller being blind, his hearing was sharp. He was immediately frightened and knelt down, too afraid to speak further. Only when Li Dequan noticed that the Emperor Emeritus was displeased and signalled to a eunuch beside him, did the eunuch approach and instruct the blind storyteller to continue.

Li Dequan smiled wryly. Of course, these old ministers wouldn’t find it bothersome. Scholars enjoyed fame, and their favourite activity was opposing the emperor. Now that they finally had an opportunity with the new emperor, they believed it was a chance to show loyalty by giving advice and expressing concerns for the nation and the people. How could they easily give up?

Naturally, as his son, Emperor Jin’an wanted to persuade him to stay. So, upon receiving the message, Emperor Jin’an arrived promptly.

After arriving, he exchanged a few words in an attempt to persuade the Emperor Emeritus to stay. However, the Emperor Emeritus didn’t bother to save face: “Do you think Laozi doesn’t know what you’re up to? You’re causing chaos up ahead, and when things go wrong, you turn to me. Zhen, with ailing health, can’t even rest while recovering from illness!”

With words spoken in this manner by the Emperor Emeritus, Emperor Jin’an had no choice but to obey and order his subordinates to prepare for the relocation of the Emperor Emeritus to the new palace.

Relocating the palace might sound simple, but it couldn’t be accomplished in just a day or two. The preparations alone would take some time. First, the Xiyuan Palace needed to be cleaned and decorated. This didn’t include just one or two places; there were dozens of palaces. The assignment of which palace each dowager consort and concubine would live in, and who lived in which palace, also had to be properly arranged for

If the assignments weren’t done well, or if any niangniang was unhappy with her location, dealing with the matters of these women could be complicated and might take a long time.

Lately, the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace had been quite lively. Those who wanted favour from the Emperor Emeritus went to him, while those who were less favoured used their status to approach Yaoniang, the Empress of the Central Palace.

However, at this moment, Yaoniang didn’t have time to deal with these matters. Earlier, Doctor Liu had come to take her pulse for checkup, and astonishingly discovered she was carrying twins.

This news surprised and delighted the people of Kunning Palace. There had been no mention of twins during previous check-ups. It turned out that in the early months, it was difficult to ascertain such details, but now Yaoniang was already over five months pregnant.

Aside from the surprise, there was definitely joy. One must know that the birth of twins in the Zhao clan was extremely rare. It had only occurred during the time of Emperor Gaozong. If the empress managed to give birth to twins safely this time, it would truly be a remarkable stroke of luck.

Given the empress’s current situation, she naturally had no time to concern herself with which palace the other dowager consorts and concubines would reside in.

While the commotion carried on below due to the Emperor Emeritus’s words, he himself seemed somewhat displeased. He stopped listening to books, stopped playing with his fish, and even the entire Qianqing Palace grew quieter.

On this day, Xiaobao entered the Qianqing Palace. As soon as he stepped through the palace gates, he felt a sense of unease due to the unusual silence prevailing within.