Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 436 Assisting the Government
The emperor was awake, but he felt weak all over and had difficulty raising his hands. He was gasping for breath in a hurry.

"Your Majesty, you have been overworked and have become unwell. The imperial physician has already examined you. You just need to rest well and you will recover." The queen spoke in a gentle tone, but there was no tenderness in her eyes.

Imperial Concubine Jing stepped forward and held the emperor's hand, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. National affairs are important, but your health is the welfare of the people of the world."

"Your Highness is right. I have indeed been overworked these days." The emperor seemed a little tired again. He closed his eyes and gasped for breath.

Imperial Concubine Jing reached out and gently stroked the emperor's chest to help him breathe. She turned to look at the imperial physician and asked in a low voice, "Will your majesty's condition relapse this time? What do you need to pay attention to?"

The imperial physician replied respectfully: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Although His Majesty's condition is serious this time, fortunately it was discovered in time and the medicine is effective. As long as Your Majesty can rest and not overwork, he should recover soon."

Imperial Concubine Jing nodded slightly, signaling the imperial physician to leave, and then said softly to the emperor: "Your Majesty, you heard it, you only need to rest for a few days and you will recover."

The emperor hummed, "The imperial concubine stays with me, and the others leave."

Concubine Jing looked at the Queen provocatively, with the corners of her lips raised and a smug smile on her face.

The queen had a stern face, bowed, and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I will withdraw now. You should take good care of yourself. I will pray for you in front of the Buddha, and ask the Buddha to bless you to recover soon."

After a pause, he said, "My Lady, thank you for taking good care of His Majesty."

In front of the emperor, she didn't dare to call the imperial concubine "sister".

"It is my great honor to be able to accompany Your Majesty. I don't feel tired. Your Majesty is tired. Please go back to the palace and rest." Concubine Jing said with sarcasm.

The queen glared at her and left in anger.

The emperor opened his eyes slightly, looked at the gentle face of Concubine Jing, and said softly: "Concubine, I feel at ease with you by my side."

"Your Majesty, I will always be by your side, so you can rest assured and recuperate." Concubine Jing's voice was as gentle as water.

Having said that, when the emperor fell asleep, Concubine Jing slept on the couch next to him. At dawn, she asked the palace maids to put on haggard makeup for her and loosen her hair. Then she sat beside the couch, acting as if she had been guarding the emperor all night without sleep.

The eunuch came in and said, "My Lady, Prince Zuo is outside and wants to see His Majesty."

"His Majesty hasn't woken up yet. I'll go out to see him." Concubine Jing stood up and walked out.

Prince Zuo saw her and bowed, "Mother, I heard that my father fainted last night. I wonder how he is doing now?"

His address of "Mother Consort" pleased Consort Jing. "Your father has taken medicine and has woken up, but he needs to rest for a while. I'm afraid you will have to take care of the affairs of the court."

"It is the duty of a son to share the worries of the emperor." Prince Zuo answered respectfully, but there was a subtle flash of ambition and calculation in his eyes.

"You go to the main hall. The eunuch will announce that you will be the regent soon. You don't have to worry about His Majesty here." Concubine Jing said.

"Yes, thank you, mother." Prince Zuo bowed and left.

As soon as he left, Concubine Liu came with the eleventh prince, clamoring to go in and see the emperor.

Imperial Concubine Jing refused to let her in, "Your Majesty is ill and needs to rest. You should go back first."

Concubine Liu was relentless, speaking in a soft but somewhat sarcastic voice, "Your Highness, I just wanted to see His Majesty and make sure he's okay. Why are you stopping me from seeing him? Is His Majesty seriously ill, and you don't want anyone to know?"

Upon hearing this, Imperial Concubine Jing's eyes turned slightly cold, "Sister Concubine Liu, are you cursing His Majesty?" "Are you trying to force me to death by saying this? How dare I curse His Majesty? His Majesty is not in good health. I am worried and want to see Him with my own eyes to make sure that He is okay. But Your Majesty stopped me, so I began to suspect that Your Majesty has ulterior motives." Concubine Liu confronted Imperial Concubine Jing.

In the past, she had been submissive because she knew her son was too young to compete with his older brothers. But now, only two of the emperor's sons were dead, and she felt that her son was also qualified to compete for that position.

He no longer had the fear he once had towards Concubine Jing, who no longer had any children.

Imperial Concubine Jing glanced at her calmly and said, "Your Majesty needs to rest now. Your noise will only make His Majesty's condition worse. If you really care about His Majesty, you should leave quietly and let His Majesty rest well."

"Little Eleven is His Majesty's son. His Majesty is ill, and as a son he should stay by his side to take care of him. This is filial piety. Will the Imperial Concubine stop him?" Concubine Liu pulled the Eleventh Prince.

"Your Highness, please let me see my father." The Eleventh Prince said knowingly.

Imperial Concubine Jing frowned slightly and was about to start a reprimand when a young eunuch came running over: "Madam Imperial Concubine, His Majesty has woken up and is calling you in."

"His Majesty has woken up and is summoning me in. Sister Concubine Liu, you'd better go back first. If his Majesty wants to see you, he will naturally send someone to summon you." Concubine Jing turned around, held her head high, and walked in.

Concubine Liu pulled the eleventh prince to follow, but was stopped by the eunuchs and palace maids, "Concubine Liu, His Majesty has not summoned you."

"You bastards who can't see the situation clearly, I'm waiting for you to come and invite me." Concubine Liu took the Eleventh Prince and left angrily.

In the inner hall, Imperial Concubine Jing, who was dining with the emperor, was almost mad with anger. The emperor asked Prince Zuo to govern the country, but he also appointed four ministers to serve as regents.

One of the regent ministers was Yun Hao, whom Prince Zuo and Concubine Jing feared the most.

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Prince Zuo did a good job in handling state affairs when he was regent last time. There is no need to appoint another regent." Concubine Jing asked tentatively.

The emperor put down his chopsticks and looked at Concubine Jing with deep eyes, "It's not unnecessary, it's very necessary."

Imperial Concubine Jing had served the emperor for so many years, so she naturally knew that the emperor was very suspicious. "Ministers are outsiders after all, and Prince Zuo is your son after all. If you do this, the civil and military officials will probably think that you don't trust Prince Zuo."

The emperor smiled faintly, but his tone was full of unquestionable majesty: "I appointed these four regents not because I don't trust the Prince of Zuo, but to ensure the stability of the country and the integrity of the government. The inner palace is not allowed to interfere in government affairs, so don't say anything more."

"Yes, I spoke out of turn." Concubine Jing didn't dare to say anything more.

The eunuch went to the palace with the emperor's oral order. Just as Prince Zuo had expected, he got the power of regent, but he heard that the emperor also named four regent ministers.

If he hadn’t been thinking hard enough, Prince Zuo would have almost lost his temper on the spot.

Yun Hao, who had obtained the power of assisted politics, was in a very good mood, and Zhao Wangshu soon learned the news.

In the evening, Zhao Wangshu asked the kitchen to prepare a few dishes that Yun Hao liked, as well as a pot of wine.

When Yun Hao returned home, she greeted him with a smile, "Congratulations, Lord Yun, on your promotion to the position of Regent Minister."

"Thank you, Madam." Yun Hao took her hand and asked, "Madam, how do you plan to celebrate for your husband?"

"How about I have a few drinks with you?" Zhao Wangshu said with a sweet smile.

"It's my honor." Yun Hao smiled gently.