Empress Ma was already in extremely poor health. When she learned that Wen Zilong, whom she had always highly admired, had taken a mistress and forced his wife to leave the family, she was immediately so enraged that she suffered a heart - attack.
Suddenly, there was a great upheaval in the Changchun Palace. Emperor Guangwu rushed over in a hurry.
The imperial physicians knelt on the ground in a row, trembling nervously.
"How is the Empress?" Emperor Guangwu asked anxiously before he even reached the sickbed.
Behind him followed the Crown Prince Song Chengyuan, the Prince of Yan Song Yinghuai, and the great master Guangzhi who had just been summoned into the palace.
The chief of the Imperial Hospital knelt on the ground, sweating profusely. "Your Majesty, the Empress was so enraged that her already weak body suffered a great blow. I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."
"Ridiculous! What do you mean by 'I'm afraid'?" Emperor Guangwu flew into a rage. "If you can't cure her, I'll have the entire Imperial Hospital buried with her!"
Song Chengyuan also panicked. He kicked the chief of the Imperial Hospital to the ground. His eyes were blood - red. "Did you hear that? Go and discuss a countermeasure at once!"
No matter how reckless he was, he still knew how much his mother loved him.
Especially recently, Emperor Guangwu had somehow distanced himself from him and kept him away from the court, which made him feel even more panicked.
If something happened to Empress Ma at this time, who would speak up for him?
Song Yinghuai calmly said, "Father, if the Imperial Hospital is at a loss, I suggest letting Master Guangzhi go in and check on Mother's condition."
Emperor Guangwu's gaze immediately turned to the old monk, with surprise in his eyes.
He had forgotten that there was a great master here.
Back then, when Song Yinghuai and Song Chengyuan had an internal strife, Song Yinghuai was poisoned by the twin - snake love gu from the grasslands. If it hadn't been for Master Guangzhi, a national - level expert at that time, who had suppressed the gu poison in Song Yinghuai's body, he would have died long ago.
Emperor Guangwu was well - aware of the inside story.
However, Song Chengyuan glared at Song Yinghuai viciously. "What nonsense are you talking about, Fourth Brother? If the Imperial Hospital can't cure the disease, how can you let an old monk do it? Do you think that the monk can really save all sentient beings just by chanting a few 'Amitabha'?"
"Master Guangzhi is known as the medical monk in the Jianghu. In the whole of Daye, his medical skills are among the best. Why don't you give it a try, Elder Brother?" Song Yinghuai said calmly.
"Hehe!" Song Chengyuan rolled his eyes and sized up the old monk from head to toe. "Medical monk? I think he's more like a swindler."
Song Chengyuan had an inexplicable dislike for Master Guangzhi.
Because the Celestial Master Zhang recommended by him had been driven out of the palace by Emperor Guangwu, while this Master Guangzhi was recommended into the palace by Song Yinghuai. Just now, the old monk's esoteric Buddhist sayings had made Emperor Guangwu listen intently, while making Song Chengyuan feel restless.
Song Yinghuai was brainwashing their father!
Song Chengyuan said sinisterly, "The one lying on the bed is my mother, not yours. You have ulterior motives. You found a swindler to examine my mother. You want to kill my mother so that I have no one to support me. Song Yinghuai, you..."
"Enough!" Emperor Guangwu roared, interrupting Song Chengyuan's words. He was even more disappointed. "Master Guangzhi is a famous Buddhist monk. How dare you spout nonsense here! Get out of my sight!"
"Father!" Song Chengyuan called out. Meeting Emperor Guangwu's furious gaze, he finally swallowed his anger, flung his sleeves, and retreated to one side. He glared angrily at Song Yinghuai and the others.
Master Guangzhi remained calm and composed. He only put his hands together and said, "Amitabha. It's an honor for this old monk to relieve the Emperor's worries. I'll go in and examine the Empress now."
After nodding slightly to Song Yinghuai, Master Guangzhi stepped into the bedroom.
Lan Jinqin and a group of palace maids were all kneeling beside the bed.
Empress Ma's face was as pale as gold paper. Her breath was extremely weak, and her eyes were tightly closed as she lay on the bed.
Master Guangzhi's gaze met Lan Jinqin's for a moment.
Emperor Guangwu paced back and forth outside the hall. The atmosphere was extremely tense. He was asking the little eunuchs about the reason for Empress Ma's sudden illness.
After a quarter of an hour, Lan Jinqin's surprised cry came from inside the hall. "She's awake! She's awake! The Empress is awake!"
Emperor Guangwu immediately left the others behind and rushed into the bedroom first. He supported Empress Ma, who was about to get up, and said with relief, "Thank the Buddha. It's good that the Empress is awake!"
He and Empress Ma were childhood sweethearts. They had a deep - seated affection for each other, and he respected her greatly. This was not fake.
Empress Ma took a breath. Her complexion was still not good. Her nails that were clutching Emperor Guangwu's arm trembled slightly. Her breath was unsteady as she said, "It's my fault to worry Your Majesty... But that Wen Zilong really disappointed me. Your Majesty, we must give Jinqin an explanation..."
Emperor Guangwu patted the back of her hand with his other hand to comfort her. "I've already heard the whole story from the eunuch just now. I'll handle it well and won't let you down."
Song Chengyuan had also listened to the whole story outside for a long time. He secretly thought that something was wrong.
The last time Wen Zilong reported the theft from the private treasury, since the Ministry of Justice had intervened and taken over the case, when Xu Ziyi reported the truth, he specifically mentioned that there were treasures worth millions in Wen Zilong's private treasury. Emperor Guangwu had already taken this to heart.
If Wen Zilong hadn't exchanged the divorce letter for the ledger, he would probably have been held accountable at that time.
Now that the storm had not passed yet, Lan Jinqin had added fuel to the fire and made Empress Ma sick. Father would definitely not let this matter go lightly this time.
After getting Emperor Guangwu's guarantee, Empress Ma's complexion looked a little better.
She was already in poor health and had just woken up. After saying a few words, she felt drowsy.
After she fell asleep again, Emperor Guangwu walked out of the inner hall with a gloomy face.
A group of people had gathered outside the inner hall and were kneeling on the ground.
Seeing that something was wrong, Song Chengyuan quickly said, "Father, this is a private matter of the Wen family. I think that since Miss Lan has not given birth in seven years, she has already violated the seven reasons for divorce. It's reasonable for her to be divorced. Master Wen has done nothing wrong."
Song Yinghuai said, "Although that's true, the marriage between Miss Lan and Master Wen is not just a family matter, but a national model. It's a teaching material that Mother used to educate young couples. If Master Wen wants to divorce his wife, he should at least report it to Mother first. Otherwise, it's an insult to the country's dignity."
Lan Jinqin looked sad. "I know I'm wrong. I failed to fulfill my responsibilities as a wife. I have nothing to say if I'm divorced... But Your Majesty, my family has long been destroyed, and I have no one to rely on. If Master Wen divorces me, I'll be like a rootless duckweed, lonely and helpless."
"I just hope that Her Majesty the Empress will, out of the old friendship with the Lan family, give me the qualification to set up my own household."
When the Lan family was mentioned, both Emperor Guangwu and Song Chengyuan's eyes flashed with a strange light.
Emperor Guangwu recalled the years when he fought side by side with his brothers - in - arms before the founding of the country.
Time had passed so quickly. Among those brothers back then, not many had died of old age, but there were countless who had died suddenly.
This was a lonely path that all emperors in history had to take.
Lan Yuanyi's resolute face was still in front of his eyes, but unfortunately, he had been exiled to the distant Hainan. He didn't know if he would ever have the chance to see him again in this lifetime.
And this weak woman in front of him was the only descendant of the Lan family who had not been implicated.
Emperor Guangwu couldn't help but sigh with emotion. His anger towards Wen Zilong grew even stronger.
Song Yinghuai was right. His marriage with Lan Jinqin was no longer an ordinary marriage. Although it was a private matter of a courtier's family, as an emperor, he didn't need to worry about it. But at least, Wen Zilong should have considered Empress Ma.
He should have said hello in advance to avoid making the Empress so angry that she almost had an accident.
Emperor Guangwu sat on the upper seat with a cold look in his eyes. He ordered Eunuch Cen, "Draft an imperial edict. Wen Zilong is unvirtuous for divorcing his wife. I allow Lan Jinqin to take half of the Wen family's property and set up her own household. The matter of inventorying and distributing the property shall be jointly carried out by the Censorate, the Jinyiwei, and the Ministry of Revenue. In addition, Wen Zilong is ordered to stay at home and reflect for one month. He is required to write a self - reflection letter and submit it to Empress Ma to plead guilty within three days."