Imperial Husband Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Yongle Palace.

Zhiqiu, who had been waiting anxiously, suddenly saw Gu Rushuang finally return and hurried forward to meet him. He helped Gu Rushuang sit down. "Your Majesty, please sit down quickly."

Heaven knows, ever since Gu Rushuang left Yongle Palace, Zhiqiu had been on tenterhooks, terrified that something might happen to Gu Rushuang.

Initially, Zhiqiu had wanted to follow Gu Rushuang, but he had been assigned other tasks by Gu Rushuang and could not free himself for a while, so he did not go along.

"It's fine." Gu Rushuang shook his head. "Zhiqiu, have everyone withdraw."

"Your Majesty, this servant already had them withdraw earlier." After saying this, Zhiqiu handed the medicine he had prepared earlier to Gu Rushuang. "Also, the medicine has cooled a bit. You should drink it first."

"Mm."

Gu Rushuang picked up the medicine bowl and drank it down in one go without changing his expression.

"Your Majesty, have some candied lotus seeds..."

"No need." Gu Rushuang shook his head and refused. "This Palace has long grown accustomed to this bitterness. Whether or not to have the candied lotus seeds matters little."

"But..."

"Zhiqiu, This Palace knows you mean well, but my own body, This Palace understand it best." Gu Rushuang suddenly smiled and said calmly, "It is likely nearing its limit."

Tears welled up in Zhiqiu's eyes. "That's impossible, Your Majesty. With proper nourishment and rest, you will definitely get better."

"Perhaps."

Gu Rushuang knew that after Zhiqiu accidentally learned the true state of his health some time ago, he had been very worried every day. Therefore, he gave an ambiguous answer to reassure Zhiqiu.

"Your Majesty, your health is not good. Why did you go out today?"

"Jin'er and the others were in trouble. This trip was unavoidable."

Tao Yichu was the person Gu Rushuang placed openly, and coupled with Li Jin not deliberately hiding it, the matter of Li Jin writing two letters could not be hidden from Tao Yichu, and naturally could not be hidden from Gu Rushuang either.

Therefore, upon learning the news, Gu Rushuang immediately went to seek out Ying Zhengjing, fearing that any delay might lead to unforeseen trouble.

Fortunately, Gu Rushuang arrived in time. Otherwise, given Ying Zhengjing's clearly already angered state just now, he definitely would not have let Li Jin and the others off easily. By then, their situation in Zhuzhou would have been even more difficult.

Zhiqiu spoke with a heavy heart, "Your Majesty the Empress, it is not wrong for you to be concerned about Heir Li and the others, but you must also make proper plans for yourself."

"In this state, what plans are there to make?" Gu Rushuang shook his head somewhat indifferently. "Zhiqiu, my greatest wish now is for Jin'er and Yuan'er to live safely and not be dragged into the war among the princes... Ugh..."

Gu Rushuang couldn't hold back and vomited blood.

"Your Majesty!" Zhiqiu was frightened and hurried forward to check. "How could this be? Could the medicine be problematic?"

"Zhiqiu, calm down." Gu Rushuang patted Zhiqiu's shoulder, then took out a jade pendant carved with a gourd and pressed it into Zhiqiu's hand. "It seems these medicines are no longer of much use to me. Take this jade pendant to the Duke of Zhongguo's mansion and give it to my father. He will know what to do."

"This servant will go right now, right now. Your Majesty, you must not let anything happen to you."

Zhiqiu used his sleeve to wipe the tears that had unconsciously flowed out due to fear, then hurriedly ran out.

"Is the limit approaching? I hope I can hold on a while longer."

Gu Rushuang looked up at the ceiling, which displayed low-key luxury everywhere, and murmured to himself.

___

Prince An's Mansion

Ying Ziheng's confidant bowed and reported, "Your Highness, the people arranged in Zhuzhou are already prepared. As long as Your Highness gives the order, we can proceed with the plan at any time."

According to Da Xia's laws, once a prince married, he was enfeoffed as a prince and moves out of the palace.

Prince An, Ying Ziheng, was the first prince to be enfeoffed.

Ying Ziheng said coldly, "Mm. Have them find an opportunity to act soon. They must ensure Li Jin is killed."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, the confidant immediately bowed respectfully and left.

Ying Ziheng's personal maid, seeing the confidant finally leave, hurried forward to report, "Your Highness, the mansion's physician said earlier that both the Princess Consort and Secondary Consort Li are with child."

"Really?"

Ying Ziheng raised an eyebrow, a flash of joy in his eyes.

Neither the Princess Consort nor the Secondary Consort in the mansion were whom he desired, but having children was still a cause for happiness. Perhaps he could even use the children to turn the tide, as among the existing princes, only he had offspring.

The maid said, "Absolutely true. The physician checked the pulses several times. I wonder if Your Highness wishes to see the Princess Consort first or Secondary Consort Li first?"

Ying Ziheng thought for a moment and immediately decided, "Go to Secondary Consort Li's place."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maid curtseyed and hurried down to make preparations.

The Secondary Consort Li mentioned by the maid was none other than Li Ruoyan. Although Li Ruoyan had become a daughter of a concubine, she was still from the Dingbei Prince's mansion after all. Moreover, with someone persuading, Ying Zhengjing did not insist on making Li Ruoyan merely a concubine. As for the Princess Consort, it was precisely Li Siyuan.

However, from Ying Ziheng's choice just now, it appeared Li Siyuan's days were not going well.

___

Northern Frontier.

"Your Highness, the Heir has sent a letter."

"Oh? Bring it up for me to see."

"Yes."

A moment later, Li Shiyun took the letter and began to read. His expression grew increasingly grave as he scanned the contents. "This is serious. Zhuzhou is a vital territory. If Qianluo manages to seize it, it would be a disaster for our Da Xia."

Li Shiyun's deputy general said, "But Your Highness, without the Emperor's explicit order, we cannot leave."

"Nor can we stand by and do nothing." Li Shiyun thought for a moment and quickly made a decision. "Go and convey this prince's order: have General Bai and his son lead fifty thousand troops to Zhuzhou."

Fifty thousand troops were the maximum Li Shiyun could deploy, as the border fortress he was stationed at was also of utmost importance and could not be left without heavy defense.

"Your Highness, this lowly general is also willing to go to Zhuzhou."

The speaker was another of Li Shiyun's deputy generals, Yan Chongjin (the man whose name was embroidered on Wei Shiwan's handkerchief).

"Good." Li Shiyun nodded. "You have always been resourceful. With you there, it will be twice the result with half the effort."

"Then after this lowly general informs General Bai and the others, I will write a reply to the Heir."

"Mm, go ahead."

Li Shiyun waved his hand in agreement.

Yan Chongjin suddenly asked, "Your Highness, weren't you... somewhat dissatisfied with the Heir?"

"I don't like Li Jin." Li Shiyun replied straightforwardly. "But this matter concerns Zhuzhou. This prince cannot let personal feelings endanger Zhuzhou and Da Xia. Chongjin, it's getting late. Hurry back and prepare. Set off for Zhuzhou first thing tomorrow morning."

The reason Li Shiyun made this decision was never for Li Jin's sake, but for the sake of the common people.

Or, from another perspective.

While Li Shiyun was not a good father to Li Jin, to the common people, he was a rare general who prioritized their safety.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Seeing the displeasure in Li Shiyun's eyes, Yan Chongjin dared not continue asking and took his leave to withdraw.

Half a month later.

The common people who used the method taught by Li Jin to plant sweet potatoes had already succeeded. At the same time, long-awaited rain had fallen twice. Seeing the vibrant sweet potato seedlings, the people of Zhuzhou couldn't help but weep with joy.

Because these were all hope.

Lan Mingzhou could hardly conceal his joy. "Your Highness, with this growth rate, in another three months, the sweet potatoes will definitely mature."

"Mm." Li Jin nodded and said meaningfully, "The success of the sweet potatoes is indeed heartening. But before that, Zhuzhou still has a calamity to overcome. Lord Lan, you must not be negligent."

"This official has never forgotten."

Mentioning the impending Qianluo army, Lan Mingzhou's expression instantly turned serious.

Initially, although Lan Mingzhou complied with Li Jin's statements on the surface, in his heart he was somewhat skeptical. After all, he knew how poor Zhuzhou was, he thought it would be a waste of manpower and resources for Qianluo to send troops to attack.

However, not long after, as more and more outsiders entered Zhuzhou, each time arriving and leaving on the same day, the bit of doubt in Lan Mingzhou's heart instantly disappeared.

At the same time, he became completely convinced of Li Jin.

Suddenly, a soldier entered and reported, "Your Highness, there are two commoners outside with a letter who request an audience."

It was Dongzi and Dashu.

Upon hearing this, Li Jin immediately said, "Bring them here."

"Yes."

The soldier nodded and went to bring them over.

However, the soldier was a step too slow.

The two waiting outside the yamen had already been brought in first by Ying Yuan. "Li Jin, see who I brought to see you."

"Brother Jin."

As soon as Dongzi and Dashu entered, they called out to Li Jin in unison.

"Why have you come?" Li Jin smiled back at them. "Could it be that Liujia Village is in some trouble?"

"No." Dashu vigorously shook his head, his face red as he shouted, "Actually, Dongzi and I are preparing to get married. We came to find you this time to invite you, Brother Jin, to come drink at our wedding."

Ying Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Dashu, you told Dongzi?"

Not long ago, Dashu was still very shy and didn't dare to make things clear to Dongzi. Unexpectedly, now they were about to get married.

"Mm."

Dashu grinned happily, scratching his head, his eyes full of contentment.

Ying Yuan asked curiously, "Does your father and stepmother not object?"

Dashu said, "My father said that marrying Dongzi is fine as long as I like it, he won't object anymore. As for my stepmother... my father divorced her. The children she bore were taken back by that side..."

Speaking of Wang Jinhua, Dashu's expression was simply indescribable.

Or rather, Dashu himself never imagined things would turn out like this.

It turned out that after the Wang Jinhua siblings were captured by the prefect, Dashu's father, Liu Fugui, came to visit. Unexpectedly, precisely because of that visit, Liu Fugui learned that the children Wang Jinhua bore were not his at all, Liu Fugui had been wearing a green hat all along.

Liu Fugui, who had originally wanted to bail her out, exploded.

Wang Jinhua, perhaps realizing her ties with Liu Fugui were severed, simply stopped pretending and began cursing him furiously—venting her rage so violently that Liu Fugui fainted from sheer fury.

Later, when Liu Fugui woke up, he not only decisively divorced her but also returned to Liujia Village, took all Wang Jinhua's children to Wang Jinhua's natal family, and completely broke off relations with the Wang family.

Liu Fugui also seemed to have aged ten years because of this.

The only fortunate thing was that Liu Fugui treated Dashu much better and no longer interfered with Dashu's marriage.