blogombal Chapter 140 Fire, Miscarriage
Chapter 140 Fire, Miscarriage
Li Yuanke wanted to order, but Shen Shixi wouldn't allow it, saying, "I'm afraid my skills aren't good enough and the performance might be unstable, and I might accidentally hurt you. If you want to see, let Chao En and the others order."
Li Fude even rushed to order a few more, and they were indeed very good-looking.
They were all small ones, after all, the palace was made of wood and was not fireproof at all. If it caught fire, it would be a real disaster.
After playing with fireworks for a while, the two dined together.
I ate until I was very full, because it's not good to exercise when you're too full.
Li Yuanke then pulled Shen Shixi aside to help him figure out how to conduct ideological education in the army.
Shen Shixi mentioned it briefly that day, and he knew it was a brilliant idea, but he had no idea how to implement it.
Shen Shixi's idea was naturally based on the modern military management system, where each military unit has an officer who specializes in ideological and political work, from company political instructors to division political commissars.
Shen Shixi explained it to him in an enlightening way, and he understood.
As an emperor who had led troops into battle, having experienced the hardships of military life when he was a prince, he immediately had an idea.
"How do we conduct ideological and political work?"
"Then obviously you'll need to find someone to compile a set of related books. Don't make them profound, don't use classical Chinese prose, and definitely don't preach grand principles. They need to be simple, easy to understand, and easy to remember. Let's call it brainwashing for now, and it also needs to be done day after day like training a dog."
Shen Shixi wrote him a few things:
"Though we are made of flesh and blood, we are the Great Wall of Steel of the Great Zhou Dynasty. We will defend the land beneath our feet, our ancestral home. We are determined to be His Majesty the Emperor's most loyal warriors, the indomitable heroes of the Great Zhou!"
"All invaders are paper tigers! Those who offend our Great Zhou, no matter how far away, will be punished! Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live the Great Zhou!"
"Our troops must possess an indomitable spirit; they must defeat all invaders, be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and never yield!"
For ordinary people, the ruler is a very vague and abstract concept. However, if the ruler is connected with the Great Zhou Dynasty, their homeland, and the land, then the concept becomes concrete.
Shen Shixi threw down his pen. "You've served in the military. If you want a certain kind of army, you should use your ideas to arm your soldiers. I'm just throwing out an idea."
Li Yuanke folded the paper Shen Shixi had written and handed it to Li Fude, saying, "Take it to Qianyuan Palace and keep it safe!"
"yes!"
The two had been apart for a short time, and Li Yuange's teasing immediately got Shen Shixi excited. Her period was at the end of the month and had already ended.
Regardless of whether Li Yuanke was tired or not, she did whatever made her comfortable, tossing and turning on the couch for a long time, which made Li Yuanke angry.
Li Yuanke showed no mercy, pressing her down on the bed without restraint.
He thought she would behave herself, but as soon as she let go, she pinned Li Yuanke down.
Despite his aching back, he gave Li Yuanke a good beating.
Li Yuanke didn't hold out for long before surrendering.
It was shorter than usual.
Shen Shixi had a good grasp of his sensitive spots.
"Get off!" Li Yuanke, somewhat embarrassed and angry, lay back and cursed, "I've never seen anyone as crazy as you, you dog, aren't you tired?"
"I'm so tired, I don't want to move anymore."
[You bastard, you're so disloyal! You think you can blame me for all this? I had my fun too! And now you're denying it!]
Shen Shixi lay on top of him, not wanting to move. She was truly exhausted; her back felt like it was going to break.
Li Yuanke was furious and his pride was hurt. He threw her off the stage and almost lost his balance when he got up.
"I have to perform ancestral rites tomorrow!"
At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), one must get up and burn incense and pay respects to the gods and Buddhas everywhere to bless the Great Zhou Dynasty with peace and prosperity.
It's all tiring and useless work, but I can't refuse to do it.
Every Lunar New Year is the most relaxing time for others, but the most tiring time for him.
"Oh, then hurry up and wash up and go to bed!"
Shen Shixi pulled him up, climbed onto his back, and said, "Brother Yuan Ke, carry me!"
Li Yuanke didn't want to waste his energy arguing with her, so he carried her to the hot spring pool, where they washed up and then went back to sleep.
Mainly, Shen Shixi was also quite exhausted.
As a result, not long after closing her eyes, she heard a lot of noise outside. Shen Shixi sat up abruptly. "Lan Tan, what's going on?"
Lan Tan is on night watch tonight.
Lan Tan's voice was urgent, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something has happened at Zhenxia Pavilion, it's on fire, and the fire has spread to Wangxian Palace. Consort Li has startled the imperial unborn child..."
With his house burned down, Li Yuanke couldn't sleep any longer and got out of bed.
The two quickly dressed and went out. The Empress had arrived before them and was so pregnant that she couldn't get off the phoenix carriage. She didn't look well.
[Being an empress is no human job! She's almost dead, and she still has to deal with this mess! She's probably going to miscarry!]
"Your Majesty, please go back first!" Li Yuanke's face was very bad, and the air was filled with thick smoke and the smell of burning.
But how could the Empress dare to go back? However, she had no choice but to go back now, as her pregnancy seemed to be in bad shape.
The Empress was carried back, and the fire was gradually brought under control. Li Yuanke told Shen Shixi to go back to sleep first, but Shen Shixi was too embarrassed to do so, since all the concubines were staying there and she was perfectly healthy.
Consort Li was burned, and the imperial fetus was also disturbed. She was moved to Lianyue Pavilion in Yongyan Palace to give birth. The midwife was summoned temporarily. When she felt the position of the fetus, she was terrified. It was a difficult labor.
This baby was born nearly a month premature and was in an abnormal position.
For a midwife to be selected, she doesn't even need to ask whether to save the mother or the child.
Royal offspring are of utmost importance; even the empress may not have priority in ensuring the survival of her child. Otherwise, how could Emperor Kangxi have lost his wife?
Basically, no one cared about Consort Li.
The emperor was extremely annoyed by the fire. Putting aside the losses, he was worried that it would cause trouble in the court and jeopardize the fate of the nation and the emperor's virtue.
Who knows, there might be some short-sighted censor who could make the emperor issue an edict of self-reproach.
"Xuan Cen Yin!"
Cen Yin was unlucky; he was sleeping soundly with his wife in the middle of the night when he was summoned and led to investigate.
The emperor had already led his concubines to Yongyan Palace, and the fire gradually subsided.
The Empress Dowager also rushed over, furious. "It's the New Year! What's going on? Where's the Empress? Why isn't she here?"
"The Empress is pregnant and in poor health, so I have sent her back," Li Yuanke said.
The mother and son sat in the seats of honor, making those below feel as if they could hardly breathe.
Just then, someone from Fengyi Palace came to report, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress has miscarried."
Li Yuanke remained silent, which was expected. He had never held out hope for the child in the Empress's womb; he had only one thought, and he had managed to hold on until now.
Seeing that her son was ignoring her, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to speak, "I know, take good care of the Empress. The Emperor will visit her after things are settled here."
"Yes!" Tingqin was clearly sorry for her master. Before leaving, she glanced at Shen Shixi out of the corner of her eye.
Cen Yin came over after reaching a preliminary conclusion. "Your Majesty, according to the palace servants of Zhenxia Pavilion, the fire was caused by the eunuchs who were watching the furnace outside placing the replaced coal on the ground under the eaves instead of putting it in the sand as required."
However, according to my investigation, it appears to be arson, because there were traces of oil near the coal storage area and on the pillars of the eaves, which is the soybean oil currently used in the palace.
All eyes turned to Shen Shixi, and she smiled.
"Go on!" Li Yuanke said.
"I found soybean oil in a jar in the tea room. After interrogating the palace servants in Zhenxia Pavilion, a eunuch named Xiaoxiazi confessed that the jar of soybean oil was given to him by Zhaoyang Palace."
[As expected, this has come to my attention. Whoever is blind enough to mess with me, I'll make sure they pay!]
Qing Zhaoyuan hurriedly said, "That's impossible! How could it be Zhaoyang Palace?"
Li Yuanke looked up at her, his eyes sharp and piercing.
Yang Tingyue quickly replied, "What's impossible? Seeing that Consort Li is about to give birth, Consort Yuan must be feeling terrible. You probably wish you were the only one giving birth in the harem, right?"
Shen Shixi ignored the two idiots and asked, "How big is the container? Let me see how much oil it can hold."
The jar was brought up.
Shen Shixi glanced at it and said, "This can hold about two or three catties. The amount of oil pressed in Zhaoyang Palace is recorded. It records how much was pressed in total, how much was sent to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and other palaces, how much was used each day, and where it was used. Bai Ping, go and get the booklet."
If it's just a drop or two, it's hard to explain, but how can it be hard to explain two or three pounds of oil?
(There will be an extra chapter after this case is finished.)