Chapter 600: Your Majesty, Please Think Twice

Ouch, that's a bit sore!

Bracing his waist with both hands, Zhu Youxiao stood at the doorway in a daze for a moment before continuing on his way.

He had to admit, his waist really was quite sore.

A woman's word is a lying devil — he'd never believe them again!

He was still too naive. Two lifetimes as a man, and he still fell for such a trick!

They'd agreed he wouldn't do anything, just sleep. But once he actually lay down on the bed, that was a different story entirely.

Wei Chao stood off to the side, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Of course he knew what had gone on between the Empress and His Majesty last night — there were records of such things, and he'd been standing guard outside the door the whole time.

But seeing His Majesty's condition, Wei Chao wanted to offer a few words of advice yet didn't dare. If word of this reached the Empress's ears, he'd likely be in for a scolding.

Wei Chao could only follow carefully behind Zhu Youxiao, terrified that something might happen to him.

"Your Majesty, why not summon an imperial physician to take a look?" Wei Chao watched Zhu Youxiao take each step with effort and couldn't hold back, cautiously offering his counsel.

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Chao, his expression grave, brows furrowed, as if about to say something.

But then he thought — this concerned his lifelong affairs after all; one misstep could affect the future.

Zhu Youxiao nodded helplessly and said, "Then summon one to take a look."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will go find someone at once." With that, Wei Chao, his face full of worry, turned and ran outside.

Though Zhu Youxiao didn't want to be examined either — after all, this wasn't exactly something to be proud of — he was a man from a later era and knew he couldn't hide illness and avoid treatment.

It might just be overexertion, but what if something was actually wrong?

By the time Zhu Youxiao had shuffled his way to the Qianqing Palace, the imperial physician was already waiting there.

"Your servant Li Tianyi, paying respects to Your Majesty."

The imperial physician was an old man in his fifties, his beard already turning white. Clearly the people of this Ming dynasty era couldn't compare with those of later generations — a man in his fifties already looked this aged.

Zhu Youxiao sat down and let the imperial physician Li Tianyi take his pulse. He didn't feel like saying a word right now.

Li Tianyi quickly pressed his fingers to Zhu Youxiao's pulse, closing his eyes in contemplation while gently stroking his beard.

After a long while, the old physician Li Tianyi opened his eyes and said, "Your Majesty's body is in no great danger — still vigorous as a dragon and fierce as a tiger. Only, these past days there has been some depletion; marital duties have been somewhat too frequent."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the old physician, said nothing, and nodded.

He'd guessed as much. After all, on the road here he'd been attended to day and night by Da Yu'er and her sister, and upon his return he'd been looked after by Empress Zhang for two nights plus a day. With those three taking turns caring for him, it would be strange if he weren't depleted.

Good, nothing serious then.

At this moment, Zhu Youxiao wasn't in a position to speak. Wei Chao beside him smiled and said, "This servant will see you out."

With that, Wei Chao led the way.

The old physician Li Tianyi bowed to Zhu Youxiao and said, "Your servant takes his leave."

With that, he quickly followed out.

The two walked out of the palace gate together.

Wei Chao lowered his voice and asked the old physician Li Tianyi, "Are you certain there's no problem? You don't need to hide anything from me here. If you dare speak falsely, you know the consequences."

As he said this, Wei Chao stared hard at Li Tianyi, a murderous glint in his eyes.

Li Tianyi dared not be negligent.

These eunuchs by His Majesty's side were all deferential before His Majesty and had a decent reputation outside the palace. In the past two years, even Wei Zhongxian, Eunuch Wei, had seen his reputation improve.

But everyone in the palace knew that none of these old eunuchs were to be trifled with.

Wei Zhongxian, Eunuch Wei, who controlled the Eastern Depot, was old but still formidable, with a ruthless streak. Deeply trusted by the Emperor, he had run the Eastern Depot for eight years and could be called a man whose reach extended to heaven itself.

Chen Hong, Eunuch Chen, His Majesty's personal chief steward, was all smiles when meeting people, yet still no one dared provoke him. When he struck, he struck hard, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard close behind him. In the past two years, this Eunuch Chen had gained great favor with His Majesty, and no one dared offend him lightly.

Wang An, Eunuch Wang, was the chief eunuch by the Empress's side. He knew everything that happened in the palace, great or small — any hint of trouble and he was aware of it. Moreover, before the Empress he was utterly indispensable. Offend him, and the consequences would be dire.

Especially outside the palace — the Imperial Household Department was also under Wang An's control. Though he didn't have the final say in everything, he at least managed half the affairs. Under such circumstances, one casual word from Wang An could drive those fellows outside to do who knows what. This Wang An, Eunuch Wang, was equally unprovokable.

The Wei Chao before him, Eunuch Wei, had served in Liaodong and was said to have killed enemies in battle. He had excellent relations with the great generals of the military and the old dukes. Half of the affairs of the Imperial Guard Corps were his responsibility. Under such circumstances, no one in the palace dared offend Wei Chao either.

These were the four great eunuch powers of the palace, plus a Fang Zhenghua whose martial prowess was off the charts — every single one of them not to be trifled with.

They were only sufficiently cautious before the Emperor; toward the outside world they were truly overbearing. Ministers might still contend with them, but someone like Li Tianyi couldn't afford to offend them even a hundred times over.

Li Tianyi quickly said, "Rest assured, Eunuch. There's not a problem at all. Your Majesty is young and will recover in a few days. Only, during this period he should exercise restraint and engage in marital duties less often."

Hearing this, Wei Chao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely worried. His Majesty was his great patron now — as long as His Majesty stood firm, men like him could rise to glory; but if anything happened to His Majesty, they'd all be finished.

He stared at the old physician Li Tianyi and asked, "Should you prescribe some warming tonic to help him recuperate?"

The old physician Li Tianyi shook his head repeatedly and said, "His Majesty is young — two days of rest and he'll be fine. The most important thing is restraint. When I return, I'll write out two food-based tonic prescriptions. Eunuch Wei, just have the imperial kitchen prepare them."

Hearing this, Wei Chao waved toward someone not far away.

A young eunuch hurried over to Wei Chao's side and said respectfully, "Godfather."

"Follow Physician Li on an errand." Wei Chao looked at the young eunuch and instructed, "Go fetch a prescription. Mind you keep it secret. If anyone else finds out about this, I'll strangle you and stuff you down a well, and send your whole family, old and young, to Liaodong as slaves."

Hearing this, the young eunuch shuddered.

Over in Liaodong, everyone was one of his godfather's men. Those generals there had been currying favor with his godfather for the past two years, sending gifts for every festival and holiday.

Though because His Majesty kept a tight rein, what they sent wasn't anything valuable — just local specialties from Liaodong. But the young eunuch also knew it wasn't about what was sent; the very gesture itself said enough. And the fact that His Majesty even allowed his godfather to accept them made it all the more significant.

The young eunuch quickly said, "Rest assured, Godfather. Nothing will go wrong."

Beside them, Li Tianyi's face also showed bitterness.

Those words seemed directed at the young eunuch, but weren't they also a threat to him?

If he leaked this information, he'd likely find his entire family, old and young, killed as well.

But Li Tianyi also knew this information truly couldn't be leaked. It concerned His Majesty's health — the crime of divulging secret palace matters was one no one could bear, and his whole family would be executed and his clan wiped out.

Seeing the young eunuch agree and having achieved his goal of intimidating Physician Li, Wei Chao finally said, "Then go."

The two of them hurried away at once, both wanting to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Wei Chao.

This old eunuch radiating murderous intent was not someone to be trifled with.

After calming his emotions, he put on a brilliant smile, turned around, and headed back.

Walking inside, he saw Zhu Youxiao reclining sideways on the daybed. Wei Chao hurriedly said, "Your Majesty."

"What did he say?" Zhu Youxiao asked, looking at Wei Chao with an expressionless face.

"Nothing serious." Wei Chao said quickly: "Imperial Physician Li said it's just that you've been somewhat overworked these past days. A little moderation is all that's needed — no medicine required. He's gone back to prepare two medicinal food prescriptions to nourish Your Majesty, and that will be the end of it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao nodded, then said, "Go find Noble Consort Tian and Noble Consort Yuan, and have the two of them come over."

Hearing this, Wei Chao shuddered, and with a thud fell to his knees, speaking with earnestness in his tone: "Your Majesty, although there's nothing wrong, you truly cannot overwork yourself any further. If you keep pushing yourself, something might actually happen."

"Get up." Zhu Youxiao shot him a glare and said with irritation: "You're well along in years, yet you show no composure at all. Look at the state of you."

Wei Chao dared not speak, and hastily scrambled up from the ground.

Zhu Youxiao glared at him again and said, "Go tell Noble Consort Yuan and Noble Consort Tian that since returning from Liaodong, I've caught a slight chill and feel unwell, and that I want them to come attend to me."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao acknowledged, turned, and headed out.

The smile that had been on his face was now gone entirely, replaced by nothing but worry.

His Majesty said to have them come attend to him — that all depended on how one interpreted it. Before you knew it, "attending" could very well end up with them attending him in bed.

But he dared not disobey. Since His Majesty had said so, refusing to comply would mean a beating.

Zhu Youxiao had no choice in the matter either. These past two days since returning from Liaodong, he had been staying at Empress Zhang's place the whole time. He truly couldn't afford to neglect these two consorts, or it would leave the impression that the Empress was jealous, which could easily cause problems.

He needed to comfort them a little — first have them brought over, then take it from there.

Last night Empress Zhang had come up with that scheme, and he'd ended up thoroughly played for a fool. This time, no matter what, he wasn't going to their quarters.

Have them come over, and at night they could attend outside the bedchamber — no need to share the bed with him. That way, both sides were satisfied.

After all, a consort able to attend at the Emperor's bedside was one who enjoyed great favor, and no other duties were required of her.

Zhu Youxiao was not about to joke around with his own body. Though he was young now and fearless, he still had to think ahead to his later years.

He couldn't very well be worn out and prematurely old just past forty.