noffsinger What is the purpose of Chapter 268?
What is the purpose of Chapter 268?
"Hmph! Don't think I'll admit defeat just because of this! Who wins and who loses is still uncertain!"
"Get out of here, all of you! Get out!" Chen Xianlin roared hysterically, her face contorted into a terrifying grimace.
The palace maid retreated cautiously, only letting out a sigh of relief after she had completely exited the door.
On the second day after Consort Shu's death, many officials began to worry about Xue Huaiyu's health as he still did not attend court.
early morning
"Lord Chen, hasn't Her Majesty the Empress been praying for the Emperor all this time? How is the Emperor's health?"
Finally, someone in the crowd could no longer contain their anxiety and asked.
After all, Consort Shu, who had the same symptoms as Xue Huaiyu, has already passed away, while Xue Huaiyu's fate remains unknown, which makes everyone increasingly worried about Xue Huaiyu's condition.
"Yes, Lord Chen! What illness does His Majesty have? Why has his condition not improved for so long?" Immediately afterward, another person chimed in.
Faced with the crowd's questions, Chen Tongyu remained silent for a moment, then replied in a deep voice, "His Majesty is currently recuperating, but he is feeling slightly unwell and is unable to attend court."
However, his words did not dispel the doubts of the crowd; on the contrary, they made them even more worried.
After all, the Emperor's illness had lasted for so long without any improvement, which was truly worrying.
"Ha!" Zheng Luoqi let out a cold laugh after hearing what Chen Tongyu said, her voice clearly filled with dissatisfaction and disdain.
Upon hearing the cold laugh, everyone turned to look, wondering who was so bold as to be so rude to Chen Tongyu in this setting.
Upon hearing the voice, everyone turned to look, only to see Zheng Luoqi standing there calmly and slowly speaking:
"Lord Chen, last time the Empress and the Imperial Physician both said that His Majesty only had a common cold, but now so much time has passed, and His Majesty's condition has not improved but has become more serious."
"In my opinion, there's no use keeping such a physician around, don't you think, Lord Chen?"
The crowd exchanged glances, pondering to themselves that Zheng Luoqi's words had a hidden meaning. The Emperor's condition had not improved, and the reasons behind this were indeed worth considering.
Although the Prime Minister is now under house arrest, his son Zheng Luoqi is still alive. Moreover, Zheng Luoqi was involved in the incident of breaking into the inner courtyard, so he may know some of the inside story.
Chen Tongyu naturally noticed everyone's reaction. His gaze fell on Zheng Luoqi, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.
He thought to himself, "Zheng Yuxiang isn't here, and you, a mere greenhorn, dare to challenge me like this!"
However, due to the circumstances, he dared not express his anger.
He coughed a few times to ease the awkwardness, then said, "Lord Zheng, what do you mean by that? His Majesty's good health is a matter of great importance to the country. How can you speak such nonsense here!"
Zheng Luoqi chuckled softly, put her hands behind her back, and strolled around the hall a few steps with ease. "Lord Chen, you are mistaken."
Zheng Luoqi turned slightly to the side, her gaze fixed on Chen Tongyu. "The Emperor's health is a matter of great importance to the nation and its people, and we, his subjects, are naturally concerned about it."
"Now that His Majesty is ill and has not recovered despite treatment, and the imperial physicians are incompetent, shouldn't they be held accountable? If it is truly as the imperial physicians and Her Majesty the Empress say, that His Majesty only has a cold, why has it dragged on until now? Could it be that someone is deliberately delaying the treatment with ulterior motives?"
The hall was deathly silent. The ministers looked at each other, none daring to speak.
Chen Tongyu's face suddenly turned ashen, the veins on his forehead throbbed, and his fingertips turned white from the force, but he still tried to remain calm on the surface. "Lord Zheng, please be careful with your words! His Majesty is the supreme ruler, how can you and I presume to speculate about him? Besides, Her Majesty the Empress personally prayed for His Majesty's well-being, and the imperial physicians took care of him day and night. How could there be any delay?"
Zheng Luoqi smiled knowingly, slowly approached Chen Tongyu, and said in a low voice, "Lord Chen, there are some things that we both know. Why pretend here? If the Emperor is truly unwell, it's fine; but if someone is secretly manipulating things with malicious intent, that would be a heinous crime."
Chen Tongyu's pupils contracted sharply, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly. He suppressed his panic and, feigning authority, shouted, "Zheng Luoqi! Stop talking nonsense! This is a sacred place of the imperial court; how dare you be so presumptuous!"
Zheng Luoqi sneered, turned to face the assembled ministers, and said loudly, "My lords, His Majesty's condition has not improved, and he is even unable to preside over the morning court. This is no small matter. If it is not thoroughly investigated, I fear the fate of the nation may be in jeopardy!"
When Zheng Luoqi spoke, the officials from the Prime Minister's faction echoed him:
"Yes, yes! Lord Zheng is right! His Majesty's condition is unstable right now. If we allow the rumors to continue to spread, I'm afraid it will affect the stability of the country!"
"Yeah yeah!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with skepticism as they looked at Chen Tongyu.
Upon seeing this, Chen Tongyu was extremely anxious, but his expression remained calm.
“Zheng Luoqi, today in the court, you made outrageous remarks, falsely claiming that His Majesty was unwell, causing panic among the officials and chaos in the court. What is the meaning of such behavior?” Chen Tongyu rebuked sternly.
"Master Chen!"
Zheng Luoqi sneered, "You don't need to put on airs in front of me. If you were thinking of the Emperor, why would you be throwing a tantrum here?"
After speaking, Zheng Luoqi calmly took out a prescription from her sleeve, then slowly unfolded it and showed it to everyone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please look at this prescription." Zheng Luoqi's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but just loud enough for everyone to hear clearly. "This prescription was personally handed to me by the imperial physician summoned by Her Majesty the Empress the other day. This is the prescription for the medicine His Majesty currently needs to treat his illness!"
"I had the imperial physician write down a prescription for me as well. Afterward, I took this prescription and asked many doctors around, and guess what? They all said that this prescription was just a common one for treating colds!"
Zheng Luoqi's words puzzled some officials, who looked at each other, clearly confused by what she was saying.
One official couldn't help but ask, "Since it's just a common prescription for treating a cold, what's the problem?"
Zheng Luoqi smiled slightly, as if she had expected this question.
He calmly replied, "That's the problem! Think about it, if His Majesty really only had a common cold, then according to common sense, this prescription should have been effective very quickly."
"But the Emperor's condition shows no signs of improvement. Isn't that strange?"
He raised his voice slightly and continued, "Thinking further, if His Majesty's illness is not a cold at all, then why did the imperial physician prescribe medicine for treating colds for His Majesty? What was their intention?"
"This is clearly someone who doesn't want His Majesty to get better!" Zheng Luoqi's words were abruptly interrupted by Chen Tongyu's angry rebuke.
Chen Tongyu's face was full of anger, his eyes fixed on Zheng Luoqi. "Zheng Luoqi, your words are slandering Her Majesty the Empress!"
"You are but a mere Vice Censor-in-Chief, yet you dare to be so arrogant and spout such nonsense!"
"Without any concrete evidence, you dare to spread such rumors about Her Majesty the Empress? Do you have no respect for the law?"