Chapter 2031: The Old Emperor

In the bedchamber of Taikang Hall, the old emperor lay calmly on his side on the imperial couch, covered only by a thin layer of satin. The environment of Mount Jigong was indeed suitable for escaping the summer heat, and the architectural layout of Taikang Hall was even more fitting—outside, the sun blazed fiercely, but inside the hall it was as cool as water, allowing the old emperor to rest and nurture his spirit. Apart from the days spent on inspection tours in disguise, this hot summer was the most comfortable the old emperor had enjoyed in decades.

Incense curled up from the burner beside the couch, and a faint, elegant fragrance filled the air—the palace had long since begun using spices imported from overseas. The old emperor, head tilted, idly flipped through a book by the lamplight. Perhaps thinking of Empress Dowager Li, he had recently taken to reading the *Classic of Filial Piety*, and with considerable enthusiasm at that.

Hu De led a young eunuch inside, paid his respects, and reported cautiously: "His Majesty, it is time to take your medicine."

"Medicine? I'm not sick—why would I take medicine!" the old emperor said coldly.

The old emperor's sudden remark caught Hu De off guard. He looked up and met the old emperor's gaze, utterly devoid of emotion, and immediately shuddered.

Before he could explain anything, the old emperor had already turned his attention to the young eunuch—or rather, to the bowl of medicine on the tray he was holding, still faintly steaming.

"What medicine is this?" the old emperor asked.

Hu De dared not be negligent and replied: "To answer His Majesty, it is merely a tonic for regulating the body, prescribed by Imperial Physician Wang Meng."

"You!" Hearing this, the old emperor raised his hand and pointed at the eunuch, then ordered: "Drink this bowl of stuff!"

The young eunuch's mind clearly hadn't caught up. He stood there dumbfounded, actually looking toward Hu De as if seeking instructions. That look made Hu De's hair stand on end—not because of the eunuch himself, but because he could feel the chilling, suspicious gaze boring into his back from behind.

Without a moment's hesitation, Hu De snapped at the eunuch: "You idiot, what are you standing there for? Didn't you hear His Majesty's oral decree? Do you want to defy the imperial order? Drink it now!"

Scolded thus, the young eunuch finally reacted. Flustered, he picked up the bowl of tonic and quickly swallowed it down, a little spilling from his mouth and staining his collar, until only dregs remained in the bowl.

After drinking the medicine, the young eunuch stood there stiffly, waiting. Hu De was equally anxious, while the old emperor said nothing, silently watching the young eunuch's reaction.

After a long while, the old emperor finally waved his hand and said: "Enough, all of you may withdraw! Remember, I am not sick, and from now on there's no need to brew any more tonics for me."

"Yes!"

Walking out of Taikang Hall, the young eunuch still held the porcelain bowl, looking somewhat at a loss. Hu De, his shock barely settled, glanced at him with brows tightly furrowed. After pondering a moment, he said: "You will no longer serve in His Majesty's presence from now on!"

"Senior eunuch, this lowly one…" Hearing this, the young eunuch's face changed color, clearly unwilling. For servants like them, serving in the imperial presence was a tremendous honor and opportunity—in his view, Hu De was robbing him of his future and fortune.

But Hu De had experienced plenty of the palace's shifting fortunes, and could see through the man's thoughts at a glance. He snapped: "You have already caused His Majesty discomfort. If you don't value your life, you may stay!"

Hearing Hu De's words, fear flashed across the young eunuch's face, but there was more hesitation than fear. After a few breaths, he replied with a somewhat aggrieved tone: "Yes."

After he left, Hu De let out a long sigh. As an old servant who had come from beside Worthy Consort Zhe, he normally bore no ill intentions, and so he did genuinely harbor some protective affection for that young lad.

However, the other clearly couldn't understand. Young people with little experience only knew the glory of serving in the imperial presence—they only knew that the closer one was to the emperor, the more favored and higher in status one became. And until the moment their heads hit the ground, they could hardly understand the simple, plain truth that "serving a monarch is like sleeping beside a tiger."

The old emperor's behavior just now made even Hu De—an old eunuch steeped in worldly affairs—feel danger, let alone a mere young palace eunuch. Those expressions, those gestures, those questions—all pointed to one thing: the old emperor suspected the medicine was problematic, suspected someone was trying to harm him.

A situation like this made even a man like Hu De feel a chill run down his spine. He turned to look back at Taikang Hall. Under the blazing summer sun, the hall gleamed with flowing radiance, but what it brought Hu De was deep terror.

"Sigh."

Hu De let out another heavy sigh. If not for fear of the old emperor's suspicion—or even outright execution—Hu De would truly have begged to return to Worthy Consort Zhe's side. Staying by the old emperor was simply too agonizing.

Sometimes Hu De even wondered how men like Yan Tuo and Wang Ji'en had managed to serve for thirty or forty years, and through all that long time, always retain the old emperor's trust.

Of course, Hu De did have an answer for this: the old emperor of today and the Emperor Liu of those years were simply not comparable. And the fact that even a eunuch like Hu De would harbor thoughts of distancing himself from the old emperor showed just how "serious" the old emperor's current problem was.

Ever since returning to the traveling palace from his inspection of Luoshan County, the old emperor had been ill—and not lightly. He had taken to bed and stayed there, listless all day, his face far too grim.

The eunuchs attending him were frightened out of their wits, and the imperial physicians were equally tense. Yet after repeated diagnoses, with the physicians taking turns, the results were all similar: apart from fatigue, the old emperor's body had no major problems—at most, the same old ailments from before.

But judging by the old emperor's demeanor, he was anything but at ease. In the end, they reached a conclusion: the old emperor's illness was in his heart. As they say, heart ailments require heart medicine—and for the imperial physicians, that was a deadly difficult problem.

Not to mention whether anyone in the world could heal the emperor's heart—even if such a person existed, who would dare? To treat the heart meant guessing the imperial mind, even simulating it—a crime of deceiving the sovereign.

In this world, perhaps only Ancestor Chen Tuan, long respected by the old emperor, had such ability. However, Ancestor Chen Tuan might not be willing to wade into these murky waters, and the old emperor might not hesitate to kill him either.

And so, the imperial physicians could only prescribe mild tonics for the old emperor—not daring to guarantee any notable effect, but at least not overly harmful to the imperial body.

Thus, the old emperor had been drinking medicine for some twenty days now, roughly one dose per day. And then, today, that scene in Taikang Hall occurred.

To say it outright would be offensive, a grave disrespect. But in Hu De's heart, he was already convinced: the old emperor's "illness" had worsened. From now on, he must act with extreme caution, and could only keep reminding himself inwardly.

The old emperor's collapse could hardly fail to have an impact among the accompanying ministers—suspicions ran high, the number of those expressing concern for the imperial health multiplied, and those coming to pay their respects came in an unending stream.

And among everyone, the one who could best empathize with the old emperor's "heart ailment" was, unexpectedly, an unlikely person—Meng Chang.

Many servants had noticed that recently the old master liked to laugh—hearty laughter, even laughing until tears came—roughly starting from after the old emperor returned from his inspection tour.

As for the reason behind Meng Chang's strange behavior, it lay in the old emperor's "feat" at the Luoshan County office—that *Admonition and Exhortation* had also stirred up Meng Chang's distant memories.

It must be said that although Meng Chang had written that piece, his deepest feelings and fullest understanding came only after he had surrendered and lost his kingdom, while residing in the Han capital.

More than thirty years had passed, and Meng Chang was now past seventy, yet he suddenly heard that the old emperor had solemnly brought up his old essay. In that instant, Meng Chang truly felt a sense of "shared experience."

The reason old Meng Chang laughed, laughed until tears streamed down, was that he was shouting inwardly: You've got yours too!

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