Wei Dongling asked, "Do you know where Concubine Shu is living now?"
The palace maid was startled and quickly stuffed the gold ingot back into Wei Dongling's hand. Covering her mouth, she said, "You're actually coveting our Concubine Shu? She's the emperor's consort! If you like her, you'll lose your head!"
Wei Dongling shook his head repeatedly and said, "No! Listen to me! There's a palace maid named Chunjuan beside Concubine Shu. She's my sweetheart!"
Only then did the palace maid calm down from her panic. Rolling her eyes, she said, "Young man, can't you just tell the whole thing at once?"
Wei Dongling quickly apologized with a smile. "Sister, don't be angry. Please do me this favor right away. There'll be another generous reward when you come back!"
The palace maid held the gold ingot lovingly and quickly hid it in her clothes. Then she happily left with the wooden hairpin.
Not long after, Wei Dongling finished stewing a pot of ginseng soup. He took the Ninth Prince and knocked on the door of the emperor's bedroom.
The door creaked open. Wei Dongling and the Ninth Prince walked forward respectfully. The Tenth Prince was sitting on a chair on one side, tapping his long fingers impatiently on the armrest.
Eunuch Cao was waiting beside the sickbed. Turning to Wei Dongling and the other, he ordered, "Put it on the table. You two can leave."
Wei Dongling was secretly anxious. The Ninth Prince hadn't even had a chance to take a look at the emperor!
At this time, the emperor opened his dim old eyes, looked up tremulously, and pointed at Wei Dongling. "You, come and serve me!"
Everyone was stunned. Eunuch Cao glared at them and coughed lightly. "Hurry up and come and serve the emperor to drink the ginseng soup!"
Wei Dongling secretly nudged the Ninth Prince and gave him a look. Murong Yuchen immediately understood. He stepped forward, scooped up the ginseng soup, walked to the sickbed respectfully, and blew it cool in small breaths.
The emperor's point just now was clearly for Wei Dongling to go and serve. But the Tenth Prince and Eunuch Cao didn't know the emperor's intention, so Wei Dongling took advantage of the situation and pushed the Ninth Prince forward.
The emperor was dying. It would be good to let the Ninth Prince, who had always admired him, serve him well. Murong Yuchen had admiration for the emperor, but he had never been in close contact with him and had never even had the chance to attend to the sick emperor.
At this moment, he was holding a bowl of ginseng soup and walking to the emperor's sickbed. He blew it cool carefully and fed it to the emperor bit by bit.
The emperor was so protective of his daughter that he didn't tell anyone. He had wanted Wei Dongling to come and take a good look at her again, but unexpectedly it was a stranger who came. The emperor saw Wei Dongling kneeling on one side and didn't say anything. He reluctantly opened his mouth and drank the ginseng soup.
The young man in front of him was obviously serving someone for the first time. His hand holding the teacup was constantly trembling. He blew the ginseng soup cool carefully and handed it over. He was very attentive. But why was this child trembling as if he was about to cry?
The emperor was a little unhappy. Just as he was about to say something, he saw two drops of tears slide down the young man's eyes. There were two faint grooves on his face where the tears had flowed. The emperor saw it clearly and couldn't help being a little shocked.
Ruan Niang quickly took a step forward and blocked Murong Yuchen's side face with her body. She whispered, "Feed him slowly. Don't let him choke."
The Ninth Prince quickly nodded.
The emperor stared at Murong Yuchen's face without blinking and slowly asked, "What's your name?"
Murong Yuchen was stunned for a moment and replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty, my name is Rong Chen."
"Rong Chen?" The emperor squinted his eyes and thought for a long time, then nodded slightly.
The Tenth Prince, who was sitting on the chair on one side, leaned over to look and raised his eyebrows. "Is it the same character as the 'Chen' in Concubine Chen in the palace?"
Murong Yuchen shook his head and said, "Your Highness, the 'Chen' in my name is the one for 'star'."
The emperor closed his eyes and pondered. The Tenth Prince sneered sardonically on one side. "You should change your name. It offends my Ninth Brother!"
Wei Dongling was shocked. Murong Yunqian was smart and cunning. Had he vaguely recognized the Ninth Prince?
Murong Yuchen lowered his head respectfully without showing any emotion. "Yes! I'll change it as soon as I get back."
In the harem, Chunjuan, the personal maid of Concubine Shu, received a wooden hairpin from someone who claimed it was a gift from her lover. Chunjuan scratched her head and thought for a long time but couldn't remember when she had a lover.
She wanted to catch the palace maid and ask her about it, but unfortunately, the maid happily left the hairpin and walked away without looking back. Now there was not even a trace of her. Chunjuan had no choice but to play with the hairpin in her hand. Suddenly, she saw that there was a hidden secret behind this hairpin! The hairpin was actually made up of two pieces of wood spliced together. With a gentle twist, the wooden hairpin was disassembled into two pieces!
Chunjuan stared at the note that appeared inside in disbelief. Seeing that there was no one around, she quickly unfolded it. There was a line of small words on it: "Please ask Concubine Shu to help. Take the Empress Dowager to Qianqing Palace immediately!" Chunjuan was stunned and quickly went to find her mistress.
In the bedroom, the emperor slowly drank a whole bowl of ginseng soup. His complexion looked better and he was more energetic. Murong Yuchen asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, would you like to drink a little more?" Saying that, he got up and wanted to pour another bowl.
The emperor waved his hand and said softly, "No need. I feel much better." Murong Yuchen had no choice but to put the bowl on the table, retreat to one side respectfully, and kneel with Wei Dongling.
The Tenth Prince glanced at Wei Dongling and the other kneeling on the ground and said slowly, "Since Father is feeling better, let the irrelevant people leave! Your son has something important to discuss with Father."
Before the emperor could reply, Ruan Niang stepped forward quickly and bowed. "Your Highness, although the emperor seems normal on the surface, he may have an attack at any time!"
Murong Yunqian frowned impatiently and said coldly, "Fine. Then you can stay here!" Saying that, he waved his hand and took out a volume of booklet from a guard beside him. Then he asked someone to bring the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and grind the ink. He walked up to the sickbed arrogantly and said to the emperor, "Your son has been a little embarrassed in the court these days. Since the death of the Crown Prince, Father has not established a crown prince for a long time. Now that you've been ill in bed for so long, your son has to grit his teeth and step forward to handle the government affairs on your behalf. But some old officials have been criticizing your son, saying that your son is ignorant and not yet an adult! Father, a country cannot be without a king for a day. If you're bedridden with this illness, what should your son do?"
Hearing this, the emperor coughed continuously on the sickbed.
Wei Dongling and Murong Yuchen's faces darkened. So the Tenth Prince had come to force the emperor to establish a crown prince and pass on the throne!
The Tenth Prince spread out the booklet in his hand in front of the emperor, pointed at the blank signature at the bottom, and said confidently to the emperor, "Your son thought that Father is seriously ill and unable to write the imperial edict of passing on the throne. Your son has already asked Eunuch Cao to choose the right words and draw it up. Please take a look, Father. You just need to sign and seal it!"