Chapter 696: The Empress Dowager's Illness

While the southern campaign progressed steadily, Liu Chengyou, the Emperor of the Great Han far away in the Eastern Capital, had been in an exceptionally foul mood of late, often wearing a fearsome scowl. The cause was that the Empress Dowager, Lady Li, had fallen ill, and despite prolonged medication, she had not been cured at the root, which filled Liu Chengyou with deep worry and gradually made his temper more irritable.

"All of you claim to be master physicians, yet the Empress Dowager has been ill for so many days—why is there no improvement, and even relapses!" Stepping into Ciming Hall, he glared coldly at the several imperial physicians and berated them: "Or have you misdiagnosed her and administered medicine recklessly!"

"Your Majesty, Her Ladyship's person is of infinite worth—how would we dare be careless? We are even more cautious with the medication, but..." An enraged emperor is always frightening. The leading Director of the Imperial Medical Bureau fell to his knees in terror and explained in a trembling voice.

"Can you cure her or not? If you cannot, then I will find replacements! I tell you, if you fail to cure the Empress Dowager, I will have your heads chopped off!" It was extremely rare for Liu Chengyou to threaten his subjects so directly.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty—we will deliberate further!" The Imperial Physician Director, even more panicked, hurriedly replied.

"Your Majesty, Her Ladyship summons you!" A female official from within the hall came out of the inner chamber and reported cautiously.

Upon hearing this, Liu Chengyou swept a glance over the physicians and left with a flick of his sleeve. With the emperor's fierce aura dissipated, the physicians breathed a sigh of relief, but worry quickly resurfaced on their faces. One of them couldn't help but look nervously at the white-bearded senior physician: "Master Zhang, what do we do?"

The senior physician sighed, looking troubled: "We have all examined Her Ladyship the Empress Dowager's condition—there should be no error. Why has the medication shown no improvement? Once we return to the bureau, let us consult the medical texts again and discuss it together!"

Leaving one erudite to remain on duty at the hall, as the group departed, one of the slightly younger physicians couldn't help but say: "Could it be that we are being overly cautious? Is Her Ladyship the Empress Dowager's illness merely an ordinary case of wind-spasm?"

No sooner had these words fallen than they drew attention, and then an argument broke out.

As for Liu Chengyou, by the time he entered the inner chamber, he had already changed his expression—all anger and irritability were concealed within. By the couch, Empress Fu and the eldest imperial prince Liu Xu were both present, their faces showing worry. The Empress Dowager, Lady Li, lay on the bed, her complexion indeed poor.

Seeing Liu Chengyou, she beckoned him over. Lady Li said to him: "How would the imperial physicians dare not to do their utmost? If the illness cannot be cured, you need not be harsh with them—it damages your reputation!"

Even in her ailing state, the Empress Dowager's gaze and demeanor remained so gentle and kind, putting one at ease. Liu Chengyou shook his head and said: "I cannot care about all that! If they cannot cure Mother, and I apply no pressure, how would they devote themselves fully! Mother, just rest and recover—do not worry about anything else!"

Seeing this, Lady Li sighed. At that moment, a maidservant entered carrying a bowl of medicinal broth. Lady Li said: "Since medicine is of no use, I shall not drink it. Do not waste those precious herbs either!"

"Medicine must still be taken!" Liu Chengyou glanced at the bowl of medicine and said: "However, those physicians are a noisy crowd with conflicting opinions, and since they may have misdiagnosed the illness, it would not be wise to drink recklessly!"

"Erlang!" Seeing that Liu Chengyou remained in a dangerously volatile mood, Lady Li struggled to prop herself up, her tone growing somewhat urgent.

Liu Chengyou quickly helped her lie back down himself, comforting her: "Mother, since you are unwell, do not trouble yourself with speaking. Rest well—the illness will surely be cured!"

"Sigh! The southern campaign is urgent now, and you need to manage military and state affairs. Do not spend too much thought on the inner palace. Here at Ciming Hall, the elder Lady Fu and the others will care for me—you may rest assured!" Lady Li said.

Seeing the look in her eyes, as if she were shooing him away, Liu Chengyou calmed his emotions somewhat and nodded.

"Erlang, Her Ladyship has always been in good health all these years—this sudden illness is surely nothing serious!" Empress Fu personally escorted Liu Chengyou out of the hall, and seeing his gloomy face, she gently consoled him.

Liu Chengyou snapped back to attention and turned to look at her. The elder Lady Fu's elegant and dignified bearing was tinged with a hint of weariness—ever since the Empress Dowager had fallen ill, she had remained at Ciming Hall, personally attending to her, barely taking time to change clothes, the very model of a filial daughter-in-law.

"You have worked hard!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand and gently stroked Empress Fu's cheek.

"This is what a daughter-in-law ought to do!" Empress Fu replied calmly. From her demeanor, Liu Chengyou could discern no trace of "calculation."

"Leave things here to you, then! I am returning to Chongzheng Hall now!" Drawing a deep breath, Liu Chengyou turned and left.

"Go slowly!"

Standing behind, watching Liu Chengyou walk away slowly with his hands clasped behind his back, the elder Lady Fu's expression also turned serious. When the Empress Dowager had been healthy before, she had not felt it deeply, but now that she had suddenly fallen ill, certain considerations and thoughts arose irresistibly.

Although Lady Li rarely managed palace affairs, as long as she was alive, she would always be the foremost figure of the inner palace, one whom even the Emperor had to serve attentively. And the Empress Dowager was also the greatest pillar of support for the eldest imperial prince, Liu Xu.

If the Empress Dowager were to pass away...

Of course, these were merely stray thoughts. What needed attending to still had to be attended to, and she had to sincerely pray that the Empress Dowager's illness would recover soon. Setting everything else aside, Lady Li had always been gracious to the elder Lady Fu, and was also a powerful support for her position as Empress.

As for Liu Chengyou, his thoughts gradually grew heavier, the cause naturally being Lady Li's illness. Illness always strikes like a mountain falling—precisely because she had been healthy and rarely sick for so many years, this sudden severe affliction that kept her bedridden was deeply worrying.

On one hand, Liu Chengyou genuinely cared about Lady Li's health, but on the other hand, as Emperor, he had to make deep, rational, even ruthless calculations. If the Empress Dowager were to suddenly pass away, what impact would it have on the Great Han?

Setting aside everything else, within the palace alone, there would inevitably be a storm, a upheaval—the struggles among the consorts would only grow fiercer. In the current Han palace's inner quarters, aside from Pure Consort Zhou, who had the nature of a war trophy, every single one of the rest came from military-merit aristocratic families with vast clan power.

And as for the Empress Dowager Lady Li's role for Liu Chengyou, besides mediating disputes in the inner palace, the power of Lady Li's maternal clan also served as a counterbalance to the consorts' maternal relatives.

Now, with the south still at war and the pace of unifying the realm accelerating, according to the ceremonial and ritual system that Liu Chengyou and the court had newly constructed, if anything happened to the Empress Dowager, it would inevitably affect his military and state affairs. Although Liu Chengyou had never been a man bound by ritual, this was after all a system he himself had reconstructed—it needed to be upheld, and appearances needed to be maintained.

For Liu Chengyou, whether by emotion or reason, whether for public or private concerns, he hoped that the Empress Dowager Lady Li would enjoy blessings as vast as the Eastern Sea and longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountain.

Yaohua Hall.

In the large bronze mirror was reflected a mature and radiantly beautiful face. Noble Consort Gao sat upright with her full bosom held high, while a maidservant carefully attended to her makeup.

"Light makeup, no gold or silver ornaments, plain garments!" Though her features were incomparably bright and lovely, when she spoke, Noble Consort Gao was cold and stern.

Hearing the instruction, the maidservant quickly set down the gaudy cosmetics in her hands.

"Has His Majesty gone to Ciming Hall again?" Glancing at a female official attending nearby, the Noble Consort said languidly, a hint of coquettishness creeping into her tone.

"Yes! He left not long ago!" the female official reported.

"It seems Her Ladyship the Empress Dowager's illness has everyone's hearts in a stir!" The Noble Consort also sighed: "How is the Empress Dowager's condition? Still no improvement?"

"No. His Majesty just flew into a rage at the imperial physicians and declared that if they could not cure Her Ladyship, he would kill the physicians treating her!"

Hearing this, the Noble Consort's brow furrowed slightly: "In all my years serving His Majesty, I have never seen him behave this way!"

After a pause, she asked again: "Is the Empress still there?"

"Yes! Still personally attending to Her Ladyship as before!" the female official said.

Hearing this, a slight smile appeared on Lady Gao's face. She raised her hand elegantly and instructed: "Go fetch Liu Xi back. We too should visit Ciming Hall more often—we are equally Her Ladyship's daughter-in-law and grandson, lest others call us unfilial!"

"Yes!"

After some time, her makeup was finally completed. Gazing into the bronze mirror at that delicate, jade-like face, the Noble Consort could not help but gently stroke it, a hint of melancholy showing in her eyes.

Among the consorts of the inner palace, she was the oldest—she was three years older than Liu Chengyou, and in another two or three years, she would turn thirty. Feeling that her prime years were slipping away and her beauty fading, she could not help but feel a sense of urgency. Of course, she did not know that at this very age, she was precisely at the time when she most attracted Liu Chengyou...

And since Gao Xingzhou's death, even contending with Empress Fu within the palace had lacked some confidence—it was a hard feeling to bear.