Chapter 857: Chapter 857: With Mother Here, I Dare Not Act Out
He wanted to uncover the truth in secret, to counter darkness with darkness, so that foreign forces would not realize their intentions had been discovered, while also gaining the upper hand to prevent trouble before it occurs.
Saying that these guilty officials sought to collude with foreign forces is actually overstating it; those who can enter the court to become officials wouldn’t be foolish enough to collude with foreign forces.
These people were merely driven by interests, coupled with their contempt for foreign forces, which led them to leak things that should not have been leaked.
The mess left by the Late Emperor, which caused the rampant smuggling back then, although time has passed, Minister of Revenue Xue Ping provided protection for these people within the court. The Emperor confirmed this without a doubt, and this conclusion was verified through the interrogation of Guo Neng and Guo Shun.
So it was with Xue Ping’s protection that he could afford those private soldiers, and the Guo family became so wealthy.
It was precisely due to Xue Ping’s protection that the smuggling was so rampant.
Later, the Emperor sent Minister Xie to investigate, strengthened the border guards, and conducted a reform. These people, seeing the unfavorable situation and witnessing the Emperor’s iron-fisted approach to the Rebel Prince’s rebellion and the salt regulations reform, were intimidated and obediently withdrew.
The Emperor’s remarks left several veteran ministers deeply ashamed and indignant.
Finally, he changed his tone: "However, as heaven cherishes life, considering they haven’t dared to offend again for many years and as you gentlemen have reasoned, the multiple cases this time are bound to cause instability in the court. Therefore, only the heads of the deepest involved guilty officials’ families will be implicated; the elderly and weak relatives of the other guilty officials will not be implicated. Furthermore, the guilty officials’ families are barred from holding office for three generations henceforth. Let it end like this."
Not all of those guilty officials were deeply involved; Xue Ping did not dare to be so blatant as to let everyone know. They merely did things they shouldn’t have, whether knowingly or unknowingly, with varying degrees of involvement. Individually their power wasn’t great, but together they formed a vast net, subject to pardon or not.
Because of his Little Concubine, he was willing to be lenient.
These veteran ministers felt both shame and guilt; suddenly hearing this, they couldn’t return to their senses for half a day.
However, the Emperor had already descended from the throne, granting the veteran ministers a meal before leaving.
This gesture was of great significance. Firstly, it showed sympathy for the elderly ministers who were too old and frail to have a proper meal for nearly a day. Secondly, it affirmed their loyal deeds. Thirdly, it comforted them.
The anxious veteran ministers immediately felt reassured, repeatedly praising the Emperor’s wisdom.
And the Emperor had long since strode out of the Star Palace, heading towards Canglan Court.
This matter was yet another of the Emperor’s maneuvers.
The country stretches for thousands of miles; even without wind, waves arise. Without planning step by step and strategizing in advance, how could there be peace, prosperity, and flourishing?
Inside Canglan Court.
Lian Hua widened her almond-shaped eyes, staring at the bowl of thick, black medicinal broth, and nervously glanced to the side, whispering: "Grandma, Mother, why... why do I have to take medicine?"
She was awakened by hunger, her stomach growling. Otherwise, she could have continued sleeping.
She had a good sleep, feeling much more energetic, and a bit of strength returned. During the nap she occasionally woke up in a fright, squinting slightly to see her mother, feeling reassured enough to continue sleeping. Her mother would then sing her childhood songs, sounding wonderfully dreamlike.
Upon waking, the first thing she did was look for her mother. Just as she pulled back the covers to get up, she heard her mother’s caring voice.
She eagerly lifted the bed curtain to peek, seeing her mother coming in from the side hall, and Nanny Qi was also there. It turned out they were all waiting for her to wake up.
Her mother looked distressed, quickly coming over to hang the bed curtains properly and scolding her for being as reckless as a child, then softly tucking the covers back over her.
She was very happy, watching her mother bustling about, just like when she was a child, feeling extraordinarily secure and content, grinning widely.
It was so nice, her mother was really still here, it wasn’t a dream, her family was all still here, how wonderful...
Then came the not-so-wonderful part, hmm...
Xiao Qing helped her sit up against the bed, bringing a bowl of fragrant and delicious fresh fish porridge, which she drank down in one go. After finishing the bowl, her belly felt warm and very comfortable, with most of her strength restored.
She looked on expectantly, thinking there would be more good food, but there was none, not even another bowl of porridge.
Her mother said that since she had just woken up, she was afraid she might not be able to handle too much at once and could only have one bowl and wait to have another later, with small and frequent meals.
Oh dear, that little bit of porridge wasn’t even enough to fill the gap in her teeth; it was gone in no time. It wasn’t enough for her, so what about Little Melon?
But just as she was about to act coquettishly and argue her case, an old man came in, smelling of medicine, looking even scarier than a Charcoal Head. There was something familiar about him.
She shivered at once, the thought flashing across her mind: The visitor comes with ill intent!
Sure enough, behind the old man was Xiao Linzi, carefully walking in, carrying a medicine box. He greeted her enthusiastically, babbling auspicious words incoherently.
This old man was indeed a doctor!
Before noticing the medicine box, she was quite happy to see Xiao Linzi. It had been a while since she’d seen them, and she missed them, but after seeing the medicine box, she didn’t want to see Xiao Linzi anymore. Why was the Young Eunuch carrying a medicine box?
A lackey to the old doctor, hmph!
She was thinking whether or not to pretend to feel sleepy, not wanting to see a doctor, but under her mother’s gaze, she didn’t dare to cause trouble and obediently stretched out her hand to let him take her pulse.
This old doctor was very quick at taking pulses. After checking her pulse and having her open her mouth for a look, he declared her fine, saying there was nothing much wrong, just some physical weakness. Since she awoke early, her good constitution would allow her to recover with some rest.
She was delighted to hear this but hadn’t finished enjoying her happiness when a joyful shout came from outside the hall. It was Xiao Jizi, walking in while rattling off a string of auspicious phrases, eliciting her smiling eyes.
Soon he came inside, full of joy, holding a tray in his hands.
As she smiled, it slowly froze—the mischievous eunuch had on the tray a large bowl of thick, black medicinal broth!!!
Oh no, why did she have to drink medicine!
When she first woke up and saw Xiao Jizi wasn’t around, she specifically asked about him, they said he was on an errand. Turns out, the errand was watching over the simmering of medicine!
Huff huff, it seemed so bitter, just looking at it!
Lian Hua pulled a bitter face, looking pitifully at Nanny Qi and Su Ran, filled with resistance.
Nanny Qi watched with amusement, seeing her eyes, quickly showing a helpless expression and sighing while turning away, secretly delighted.
After making the porridge, Nanny Qi learned Lian Hua was asleep, so she had it kept warm and took a rest herself.
Feeling glad, she hadn’t slept long but felt much better, and because she was concerned for her, she came back after less than a shichen and saw Su Ran had also awakened. The two stayed by her side until now.
Earlier, seeing Divine Doctor Huang check Lian Hua’s pulse, Nanny Qi watched with great interest, initially thinking it would take some coaxing, as usually one would at least act cute, struggle a bit, and whine, which was her usual behavior. Yet, under Su Ran’s gaze, Lian Hua only whimpered slightly before obediently extending her hand.