Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine

After continuous adjustments to the prescription and appropriate acupuncture by Doctor Liu, the Emperor Emeritus’s health has improved significantly compared to before.

Although he still couldn’t sit up and walk, it was no longer as difficult as before to even turn over.

Nowadays, the Emperor Emeritus led a leisurely life, enjoying music, watching performances, playing with crickets, and raising birds. This had caused quite a commotion in the Imperial Household Department.

Recently, the Emperor Emeritus has developed a liking for listening to storytelling.

He didn’t want the palace’s trained performers; he found their delivery unsatisfactory. Instead, he insisted on recruiting storytellers from the commoners. These days, the sound of drums and the three-stringed instrument could often be heard within the palace.

Li Dequan walked in from outside. The Emperor Emeritus was currently amusing himself with the fish in a blue-and-white porcelain basin on the kang table. The basin was designed to resemble a miniature mountain, with a few palm-sized lotus flowers growing in it. Two tiny golden carp were swimming in the water beneath the lotus leaves.

At a glance, it looked like a painting. These were new offerings from the Imperial Household Department, intended for the Emperor Emeritus’s entertainment.

“Your Majesty, Minister Liu and his group have come again.”

At this moment, the blind storyteller was narrating an exciting part of the story, recounting how Wu Song drunkenly fought Jiang Meng, the Door God. When the blind storyteller described Wu Song lifting a fist the size of a sea bowl, he struck the sheepskin drum twice and tapped the wooden board a few times. It was unclear whether the Emperor Emeritus was listening, but his gaze had shifted from the kang table to the blind storyteller.

“What are they here for? Do they not have anything better to do?” The Emperor Emeritus tossed aside the jade rod in his hand, and it landed on the kang table with a clear sound.

Despite the blind storyteller being blind, his hearing was sharp. He was immediately frightened and knelt down, too afraid to speak further. Only when Li Dequan noticed that the Emperor Emeritus was displeased and signalled to a eunuch beside him, did the eunuch approach and instruct the blind storyteller to continue.

Li Dequan smiled wryly. Of course, these old ministers wouldn’t find it bothersome. Scholars enjoyed fame, and their favourite activity was opposing the emperor. Now that they finally had an opportunity with the new emperor, they believed it was a chance to show loyalty by giving advice and expressing concerns for the nation and the people. How could they easily give up?

This situation stemmed from Emperor Jin’an’s persistent refusal to expand the harem. Despite Emperor Jin’an rejecting the idea overtly and covertly several times, some ministers in the court remained persistent.

Even though the empress was pregnant, Emperor Jin’an spent his days in the Kunning Palace, which became a point of criticism. Initially, they tried persuasion and later resorted to tears, but Emperor Jin’an was stubborn. If he, as the emperor, didn’t agree, the ministers couldn’t just bring women into the palace.

In such a situation, their attention turned to the Emperor Emeritus residing in Qianqing Palace. The same old drama was restaged, and the steps of Qianqing Palace had almost been worn out by the frequent visits.

The Emperor Emeritus still held his previous attitude of ignoring these requests, but he couldn’t escape the daily visits from the old ministers. Some of them held relatively minor positions, but due to their seniority and reputation, they were respected. However, they were also the most persistent.

On the first visit, they wept, and some of these old men were even older than the Emperor Emeritus. With their hair and beards white, they wept with tears and mucus flowing down. It was heart-wrenching to witness.

In such situations, the Emperor Emeritus usually agreed to handle the matter, saying he would admonish the emperor. But when he turned around and pretended to scold Emperor Jin’an, no matter how much he scolded, Emperor Jin’an remained unmoved. These ministers went back, waiting and waiting, but there was no response from the Emperor Emeritus. As officials, they couldn’t say the Emperor Emeritus had no shame; they could only make another trip.

And now, they had come again.

“Tell them that in these past few days, my health has not been well, and Zhen has already gone to rest,” the Emperor Emeritus ordered.

Li Dequan’s mouth twitched. He didn’t know whether to comply or not. If he complied, it would be embarrassing to go out and say that since the sound of drums could be heard from outside. However, he also couldn’t afford not to comply.

But who was Li Dequan? Serving by the Emperor Emeritus’s side for decades, he was no fool. Setting his frustrations outside, he spotted his disciple Xiao Mengzi. He gestured for Xiao Mengzi to come over and handed him the task.

As for how Xiao Mengzi managed the old ministers, it wasn’t detailed here. Turning back, Li Dequan returned, and the Emperor Emeritus seemed somewhat annoyed. He said to him, “Tell the emperor that Zhen intends to move from this place to the Xiyuan Palace.”

Changing the palace for the Emperor Emeritus was no small matter, especially with so many dowager consorts in the Emperor Emeritus’s harem.

Xiyuan Palace had been ready for some time, but since the Emperor Emeritus had not mentioned it, no one dared to bring it up. They had lived like this for over half a year, and others assumed that the Emperor Emeritus intended to stay in Qianqing Palace permanently. Who would have expected him to bring up the topic now?

Naturally, as his son, Emperor Jin’an wanted to persuade him to stay. So, upon receiving the message, Emperor Jin’an arrived promptly.

After arriving, he exchanged a few words in an attempt to persuade the Emperor Emeritus to stay. However, the Emperor Emeritus didn’t bother to save face: “Do you think Laozi doesn’t know what you’re up to? You’re causing chaos up ahead, and when things go wrong, you turn to me. Zhen, with ailing health, can’t even rest while recovering from illness!”

With words spoken in this manner by the Emperor Emeritus, Emperor Jin’an had no choice but to obey and order his subordinates to prepare for the relocation of the Emperor Emeritus to the new palace.

Relocating the palace might sound simple, but it couldn’t be accomplished in just a day or two. The preparations alone would take some time. First, the Xiyuan Palace needed to be cleaned and decorated. This didn’t include just one or two places; there were dozens of palaces. The assignment of which palace each dowager consort and concubine would live in, and who lived in which palace, also had to be properly arranged for

If the assignments weren’t done well, or if any niangniang was unhappy with her location, dealing with the matters of these women could be complicated and might take a long time.

Lately, the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace had been quite lively. Those who wanted favour from the Emperor Emeritus went to him, while those who were less favoured used their status to approach Yaoniang, the Empress of the Central Palace.

However, at this moment, Yaoniang didn’t have time to deal with these matters. Earlier, Doctor Liu had come to take her pulse for checkup, and astonishingly discovered she was carrying twins.

This news surprised and delighted the people of Kunning Palace. There had been no mention of twins during previous check-ups. It turned out that in the early months, it was difficult to ascertain such details, but now Yaoniang was already over five months pregnant.

Aside from the surprise, there was definitely joy. One must know that the birth of twins in the Zhao clan was extremely rare. It had only occurred during the time of Emperor Gaozong. If the empress managed to give birth to twins safely this time, it would truly be a remarkable stroke of luck.

Given the empress’s current situation, she naturally had no time to concern herself with which palace the other dowager consorts and concubines would reside in.

While the commotion carried on below due to the Emperor Emeritus’s words, he himself seemed somewhat displeased. He stopped listening to books, stopped playing with his fish, and even the entire Qianqing Palace grew quieter.

On this day, Xiaobao entered the Qianqing Palace. As soon as he stepped through the palace gates, he felt a sense of unease due to the unusual silence prevailing within.

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