The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 179 Epidemic
Xie Zhao was slightly startled, and turned over suddenly.

Xue Li was awakened by the sudden movement next to her: "Your Majesty?"

He turned his head slightly, and said after a moment of silence: "I have something to do at the Zichen Palace, I want to go and have a look. It's still early, you go to sleep."

She gave a dazed "hmm" and then closed her eyes heavily again.He waited for a while, until her breathing had evened out, and then walked away quickly.

"What's the matter? It's fine at night." After leaving the main room, Xie Zhao lowered his voice and asked, while going to the north courtyard where A Yao and A Yuan lived.

The eunuch who had just reported the words didn't dare to lift his head: "I don't know, the nanny also said that everything was fine, she didn't catch cold and didn't eat bad food - because of this, the nanny was worried about whether it was an epidemic."

The emperor's feet froze for a moment, then he continued to walk forward: "Please go to the imperial doctor."

The eunuch bowed and hurried away.When the emperor entered the room, two imperial physicians who had already arrived came to block him, and the two knelt down in the tunnel and said, "Your Majesty, your Highness may have contracted an epidemic disease. Your Majesty must not go in, so as not to injure the holy body."

The emperor's eyes turned to the bed, A Yuan was not asleep, but looked at him limply without energy to speak, the nanny next to him half embraced him and patted and coaxed him, but A Yuan still didn't want to close his eyes and sleep.

The emperor stared intently for a while, then sighed softly: "I have to look at him, you get out of the way."

The two imperial physicians heard that this was not a discussion, and looked at each other, one of them kowtowed first and got up, turned around and went into the room, took out a veil, and said: "This veil has been soaked in medicine, and your majesty will protect the mouth and nose. Hold on, it's somewhat useful."

The emperor nodded, reached out to take the handkerchief and tied it on his face, then walked into the room.When he walked to the side of the couch, A Yuan finally opened his mouth: "Royal father."

"Ah Yuan." He smiled and sat down on the side of the couch. He wanted to touch his son, but the imperial doctor stretched out his hand nervously to signal that he should not do so.

Xie Zhao was quiet for a while, then smiled again: "Why don't you sleep? You're not feeling well, are you?"

A Yuan leaned on the nanny's lap and nodded, her little brows frowned, as if she was about to cry.

Xie Zhao said again: "If you are sick, you must eat well and sleep well, otherwise the illness will heal slowly. You have to drink the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor obediently. You are almost three years old, so don't lose your temper."

Ah Yuan pursed his lips, nodded silently, and said, "Then I want my mother to feed me."

"Let your mother feed you..." Xie Zhao pondered for a while, then smiled, "Yes. But father, I want to tell you first that your illness is different from before, and it is easy to pass it on to others. If your mother comes to feed you medicine, she might get sick too, and pass it on to your sister and younger siblings."

Ah Yuan's small face was wrinkled immediately, and he looked at him in surprise for a long time, just muttered "Then I don't want to be a mother", and then said in a particularly embarrassed way: "But it's so uncomfortable..."

Xie Zhao struggled in his heart for a while, he couldn't bear to make Ah Yuan feel more uncomfortable, but he had to say something.

He moved his eyes slightly, avoiding A Yuan's face: "You really want to see your mother, the emperor will not say no, and she will be willing to take care of you. But A Yuan, if your mother is sick, she will also be with you." It’s just as uncomfortable now, do you want to do that?”

A Yuan sniffled, shook her head vigorously, then turned over and hugged the pillow, and after being quiet for a long time, said sullenly: "Father, go too! Otherwise, Father will also get sick!"

Xie Zhao was stunned, and then the overwhelming sadness in his heart swept over him, making him unable to say a word, so he had to rush out the door!

The palace people did not dare to approach, the emperor pulled off the veil tied on his face.The scent of the medicine dissipated suddenly, he supported the wall and panted heavily, but he couldn't breathe out the fear in his heart.

He knew very well that five of the six palace people who contracted the disease had already died.

Ah Yuan is still so young.

"Come here." He was so confused that he didn't dare to think about A Yuan's smiling face or anything about A Yuan in the past three years, "Move A Yao to live with A Cong A Ling. She came to see A Yuan. If Xueli wants to come...ask the imperial doctor first."

"Promise." The palace servants hurriedly went to do it after answering the words. Xie Zhao leaned against the wall and waited for a while before saying: "After the imperial doctor's consultation, come to the Zichen Palace to answer immediately. Tell them, it doesn't matter whether the eldest son of the emperor gets it or not." If the epidemic cannot be cured, they will not avoid staying in the Tai Hospital anymore!"

In the main room, after waking up, Xueli lay in a daze on the couch for half an hour.

At first, it was the palace people who said that the eldest son of the emperor might have the disease. After a while, the imperial doctor came in and told her that the eldest son of the emperor had indeed contracted the disease.

As if struck by lightning for a moment, Sydney felt that she stopped breathing, her mind went blank, and then she couldn't react to anything.

When she slowly recovered her thoughts, she even forgot for a moment why she was shocked just now.It wasn't until the buzzing in her ears dissipated and her eyes were no longer dizzy that she pursed her lips to feel the dryness of her lips, and finally forced herself to calm down.

"I'll go and see him." She got off the couch tremblingly, put on a cloak and went out.

No one blocked her at the door of the north courtyard, but when she reached the door of A Yuan's room, four eunuchs greeted her together: "My lady."

It was the four eunuchs who called over with the maid beside Ah Yao, and they usually do some chores in the courtyard.

Xue Li's eyes were slightly cold: "Get out!"

"Miss Ruan..." The four eunuchs were already lacking in confidence, and they knelt down in unison when she got angry, "My lady, please forgive me! Yes, it was His Royal Highness who specially called the ministers to come over to block the lady..."

... Ah Yuan? !

Surprised for a moment, Xueli looked at the closed door behind them: "What do you mean?"

Several eunuchs were kowtowing before they could speak, when a childish voice came from inside: "Mother..."

Sydney: "A Yuan? Mother is here."

It said again: "Mother, don't come in, I'm taking medicine!"

Xueli: "...?" For a moment she didn't understand the relationship between taking the medicine and not letting her in, so she said again, "Mother is here to feed you the medicine, you let mother in."

"No, no!" A Yuan held the medicine bowl and looked at the brown bitter soup inside, feeling unhappy. After rejecting a sentence against his will, he struggled for a long time before saying the next sentence, "I will drink the medicine myself! Mom! You don't want to come in, my father said that my mother will get sick too, and it will be passed on to my elder sister and younger brothers and sisters! It's very uncomfortable!"

Sydney froze immediately.

A Yuan's immature voice is still ringing: "There is a nanny and a doctor girl here, it's okay! Mother, don't come in, and don't let my sister come, I want to recuperate!"

While pretending to be brave, he looked at the medicine bowl worriedly.After saying this, I mustered up the courage and decided to grit my teeth and down the medicine. I just took a sip, but I almost cried bitterly.

"Mom, I want to eat preserved fruit!" Xueli heard the voice suddenly crying, "There are snacks! Yogurt! Mom..."

The aggrieved words in it finally turned into a loud cry of "wow".Ah Yuan couldn't hold it anymore, he just felt sad that his mother was not allowed to come in, but this medicine... this medicine will kill him!
Listening to the words in it, Xueli felt as if she had overturned the five-flavored bottle in her heart.She almost wanted to forcefully push the four eunuchs in front of her to force her way in, but just as she raised her hand, she restrained herself again.

A Yuan is right.If she went in to have a look, she might also get sick, and then Ah Yao, Ah Cong, and Ah Ling might all be infected.

A Yuan is only three years old, and she already knows how to "take care of the overall situation", but she wants to let her temper go?

Xueli took a deep breath: "A Yuan, be good, my mother will cook food for you, and someone will bring it to you later."

A Yuan yelled very honestly this time: "Go quickly! Go quickly! This medicine is too bitter!"

Xue Li silently cooked food for A Yuan in the kitchen, and not long after, A Yao came to help.

A Yao was as silent as she was, and after mixing the bean paste for a while, A Yao burst into tears.

"Ayao?" Xueli hurriedly put down the living face in her hands and knelt down to embrace her, "What's wrong? Don't cry..."

A Yao sobbed and wiped away his tears: "I heard that my younger brother is seriously ill, he may, will die..."

She had heard that if she died she would never be seen again - that was horrible!

Xueli was palpitated by the words, and immediately comforted herself while coaxing her: "No, no, Ah Yuan just has a little fever now, it's not that serious."

Ah Yao nodded, then lowered his head and continued making bean paste.The backs of the mother and daughter were quietly in the kitchen, looking a little sad.

After Xue Li finished the things and sent them to A Yuan, he returned to the main room, only then did he know that Xie Zhao had come, and there was a lot of battle.

Several imperial guards were waiting in the room, and one of them was Qianhu Shizhan, who had escorted her home to visit her relatives, and saluted her when she came in.

Sydney was startled: "Why..."

Xie Zhao: "I checked, and no one who had contact with those sick palace people came here yesterday. A Yuan is so sick."

Somebody did something?Xue Li didn't quite understand, after all, it wasn't poisoning, and she couldn't think of how to get A Yuan infected if there hadn't been a patient.

"Ah Yuan has to check everyone he has seen and everything he has used in the past two days. If you think of anything special, just tell them."

Xue Li was still a little dazed, and after hearing what he said, she began to think back according to his words.After thinking about it for a while, I don't remember anything "special". No outsider has ever been in Jiugeyuan, and A Yuan hasn't left in the past two days.

So the imperial guards were led by Fugui and Dousha to check various places in the courtyard. When they heard that the eldest son of the emperor had just fallen asleep, they first went to check other places he had been to.

Fugui led them to the North Courtyard: "This is the residence of Emperor Ping'an. Today, Emperor Ji moved to the south. The room next to it is the study where Emperor Ji usually studies. The eldest son of the emperor often goes in."

After hearing this, several people went in to check, and compared everything in the room with the files in Jiugeyuanji, which took a long time.

I didn't see anything wrong in Emperor Ping'an's bedroom, but in the study, Shi Zhan looked at Chazhan and frowned: "Is this correct?"

Fugui's heart tightened, and he leaned over to have a look, and saw that there was a line in the brochure Shi Zhan was holding that read "Blue and White Porcelain Cup with Cloud Pattern Xishang Meishao", and he looked at the teacup again: "This is Xishang Mei Shao..."

Shi Zhan tapped on the rim of the cup.Fugui took a closer look and found that his body was cold.

The blue pattern around the mouth of the cup is not a moiré pattern, but a Sihe moire pattern.In astonishment, he snatched the teacup over and took a closer look, and soon found a small shallow chip under the cup.

It is impossible for the things used by Di Ji to be broken. Even if Di Ji is young and doesn't care, the palace people will replace them in time when they see it.

Fugui looked at Shi Zhan in bewilderment, Shi Zhan's expression was heavy: "I'm going to see Diji."

In the south courtyard, Ah Yao heard from the doctor girl that because she had played with Ah Yuan yesterday, even though she didn’t show any signs of illness, it’s better to be more careful, so she obediently stopped visiting her younger siblings and read a book by herself in the room.

When she first saw a man in a flying fish suit, she thought something had happened, and looked at Shi Zhan with an uneasy expression on her face.

"Di Ji." Shi Zhan clasped his fists, pointed to the tea cup on Fugui's tray, and asked her, "This is the tea cup in Di Ji's study, did Di Ji drink water from this yesterday? Has His Royal Highness the eldest son ever taken this to drink water?"

A Yao blinked, looked at the teacup carefully for a while, and said crisply: "I don't have one, but my younger brother drank it. He was tired from playing with Yuxiang, so he ran in and asked for water, so he ran to the table to get it!"

At that time, Ah Yuan poured down all the cups in one go!A Yao remembered that she advised him to drink slowly and not choke, and then A Yuan wiped his mouth and put down the cup after drinking, and ran out to play with Yu Xiang again.

Shi Zhan and Fugui looked at each other, bowed to A Yao and bid farewell, and then returned to the main room to return to their orders.

After hearing this, the emperor's face turned livid: "Whether it's because of this or not, there is something wrong with this cup. Let's check it first. The room of the eldest son of the emperor, you can go and see it after he wakes up."

Shi Zhan led the people to leave, the room was empty, and Xue Li's feet suddenly softened.

"Sydney?" Xie Zhao supported her in time, frowned and wanted to help her to lie down, "Take a rest, Ah Yuan's side... the situation is okay, don't worry too much."

"I offended someone..." Xue Li's thin lips trembled, and she looked at him palely, "It must be because of the audit, right? Other than that... I haven't provoked anyone else."

She didn't expect, didn't know it would be so serious.In fact, since he checked the accounts, he has never really blamed anyone for this. They have already stretched out their poisonous hands to the children?

Xie Zhao looked at her and said nothing for a long time.

From the moment he realized that someone might have tampered with it, he thought that it was probably the revenge caused by her audit.He has not yet punished the eunuchs and female officials in the palace, but those officials who knew that there was a disaster and still tampered with the purchase of ranunculus, they should be locked up and killed.

Perhaps it was because the incident spread into the palace and caused uneasiness among the palace people, so they wanted to use this method to make her stop what she was doing.

"It's my fault...Your Majesty told me that this matter is too involved!" Xue Li's eyes were empty, her body fell uncontrollably, and tears flowed out suddenly, "I thought it was too simple! I... I should listen to His Majesty..."

Xie Zhao frowned, put his arms under her armpit to hold her steady, and said solemnly: "It's not your fault, I allowed you to investigate."

Xueli shook her head weakly, feeling so helpless that she didn't know how else to react.

"It's their fault for tampering with the accounts; it's also their fault for eating inside and out." Xie Zhao helped her to lie on the couch, and said in a harsh tone, "If you dare to harm A Yuan now, it's a villainous slave who deceives the master. , it's not your fault."

"But Ah Yuan..."

"But Ah Yuan is really ill, I know." Xie Zhao stroked her forehead, smiling hard, "This shows that what you said at the beginning was right - there will be future troubles if you just ignore this matter .”

If you don't investigate, these people will not stretch out their hands, but they have the ability and courage to stretch out their hands, and I don't know when they will be bought to do evil things.

"A Yuan is ill, you can let go of the audit. But after he recovers, I hope you can continue the investigation." Xie Zhao looked at her calmly and held her cold hand, "This matter It's right."

Xue Li's sinking heart seemed to be suddenly supported by something, she stared at him in a daze for a while, then sat up with all her strength on her arms: "I'll ask Ah Yuan what he wants to eat tonight, Go do it for him."

A Yuan said that he wanted to eat noodle soup at night, and Sydney made him a bowl of noodles by himself.

The base soup is very simple. It is made of soy sauce and vinegar, and some sesame oil is added. After the noodle soup is mixed in, the thickness is just right, and the taste is refreshing and appetizing.

There is a poached egg lying on the surface, and some green onions are sprinkled on the side to add color.

A simple bowl of noodles comes with several side dishes, such as fried pork with cucumber, tender scrambled eggs, sliced ​​elbow meat, ground three delicacies, grilled eggplant with sauce, and steamed sea bass.

The combination of meat and vegetables is complete, and Sydney asked Zhang Suicai, who was going to deliver the food, to remember to tell the nanny to ask Ah Yuan to eat as much as possible.

When the leftovers came out, I saw that I really ate a lot.There were only two mouthfuls of noodles left, and three or five mouthfuls of almost every dish.

Zhang Suicai replied: "I heard from the nanny that the eldest son of the emperor doesn't need to be persuaded or fed, but he eats as much as he can, saying that he wants to get well soon."

Xueli felt very uncomfortable when she heard that, and told Zhang Suicai to wait in the north courtyard. If A Yuan wanted something, he would call back right away, and it didn't matter at night.

When she returned to the main room, she saw Xie Zhao flipping through medical books.

"It's all the records of the epidemic that happened in this dynasty. If it happened before this time, it should be cured better." Xie Zhao rubbed his temples and smiled bitterly, "You should go to bed early. Shi Zhan and the others are still looking into it. I will make arrangements when I have clues."

Xue Li didn't speak, and pulled a chair to sit beside him, leaning on his shoulder and flipping through another medical book in his hand.

Xie Zhao sighed and stopped persuading.Both of them were reading page by page. Occasionally, there was a light sound of paper being turned over, which briefly pierced the silence in the room, and then became silent again.

When it was almost Haishi, Shi Zhan found out what happened.

He entered the room and bowed: "The servants have inquired about the palace maids and nurses around Diji and the eldest son of the emperor, but they didn't find anything. But I saw a stool under the window behind Diji's study, and there was tea in that window. table."

"Stool?" Sydney Dai frowned.

There is only a narrow passage behind the study, and the courtyard wall is on the other side of the narrow passage.That narrow passage is only to make room for the windows, and no one usually goes there.

"Where did you find the stool?" the emperor asked.

Shi Zhan nodded: "Found it, it's Diji's two people who are in the slave maid's room. When I went to ask them, they looked panicked and refused to admit it, obviously they had a ghost in their hearts."

(End of this chapter)