Chapter 160: All the elixirs are worth collecting

The warm room of Ciqing Palace.

Zhu Yijun slowed down his pace and walked gently into the pavilion.

There was a fire burning in the pavilion, and a stick of sandalwood was burning on the table, with green smoke curling up.

Princess Yanqing was squatting in the corner, teasing the cat slave with the things in her hands. The latter ignored her, stretched, and continued to curl up in the corner to take a nap.

Empress Dowager Chen sat behind the desk, one hand supporting her cheek with boredom and her head tilted, while the other hand was particularly busy, sometimes flipping through the books on the table, sometimes stroking the fox on her lap, and sometimes stretching out her fingers to push back the hair beside her ear.

"Mother."

Zhu Yijun called out softly.

Empress Dowager Chen looked up and saw the person coming. She closed the book and sat up straight: "The emperor is here."

It was against the rules for the emperor to break in without notifying the emperor, but unfortunately it was no longer the time when she could use the excuse of going to bed to keep the emperor out of the palace.

As she spoke, Empress Dowager Chen called Princess Yanqing over to pay her respects.

The princess was still young, only four years old, and she performed the ceremony with great clumsiness.

Zhu Yijun did not urge her. He waited quietly for his sister to finish her ceremony, then touched her head encouragingly, took out a talisman from his arms and handed it to his sister.

He took out another amulet and presented it to Queen Mother Chen with both hands. He smiled sincerely and easily and said, "Mother, this is the amulet I asked for for you two mothers, as well as my brothers and sisters when I left the palace the day before yesterday. I hope everything goes well for you, mother."

Empress Dowager Chen took it silently, without mentioning the emperor's sneaking out of the palace, and nodded to thank her.

Although he only said thank you, his expression softened visibly: "Is the Emperor looking for me for something, or is he here to see Bai Yang?"

Zhu Yijun touched Princess Yanqing's head and replied, "I was just passing by, so I came in to take a look."

He paused and said, "I heard that Li Baiyang suddenly fell ill. What did the imperial physician say?"

Empress Dowager Chen treated it as a casual chat and consoled him, "It was just a little dizzy, with a cough and chest tightness. After the fever subsided this morning, it's fine now. The imperial physician said it was a cold. You should stay out of the house for a while and rest for a while and you'll be fine."

Zhu Yijun sneered in his heart.

Cold? I'm afraid it's cinnabar allergy.

He had just seen the cinnabar wall outside the hall and immediately realized something was wrong.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that cinnabar sounds romantic and looks beautiful, it is actually highly poisonous!

Its main ingredient is mercury sulfide, which is also the main material for making a calming and soothing medicine recorded in the "Shennong Bencao Jing".

How to calm the nerves and soothe the mind? Later generations generally called it the symptom of nerve poisoning.

Zhu Yijun occasionally took a look at how cinnabar causes poisoning, but he couldn't remember clearly. It seemed that although cinnabar was stable, it could react with certain substances in the air to form methylmercury.

It goes straight into the lungs and brain through breathing, stimulates the body, and it is colorless and odorless, making it a unique recipe for sterilization.

It would be strange if nothing happened to your body after soaking in the cinnabar room.

Even the imperial physician advised not to go out. No wonder he was expelled by Emperor Sejong.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Everything was fine in Xiyuan."

Empress Dowager Chen seemed to realize something. She took the fox on her lap and handed it to Princess Yanqing, and asked the palace servants to take it aside.

Then she looked at the emperor, frowning slightly: "Is there anything wrong?"

Zhu Yijun did not answer, but asked: "Mother, why don't you use red clay for the walls when rebuilding Ciqing Palace this time?"

What puzzled him most now was whether someone had done this on purpose.
Cinnabar is a natural mineral, but nowadays it can be manufactured under the name of Lingsha, and the output is not small.

So it is common knowledge that cinnabar contains mercury. As for the fact that it is poisonous...

On the one hand, it is clearly written in major medical books that "(Cinnabar) contains real mercury, is not hot but cold, and is highly toxic."

On the other hand, he was a sage emperor, and Taoist priests often took it and called it a panacea.

Therefore, it was common knowledge in Zhu Yijun's mind that cinnabar was poisonous. For the eunuchs at that time, it was probably difficult to say which one to believe - the conclusion about this thing was still ambiguous in the Ming Dynasty.

It is even possible that expensive materials were used intentionally to show filial piety.

This is where the dilemma lies.

The positive explanation makes sense, and the negative explanation also makes sense. If you say that someone did it intentionally, there are also clues to follow.

Mercury was needed for gilding the Forbidden City. The gilding process required high temperatures, and each time one or two craftsmen would be poisoned to death due to inhaling large amounts of steam. Even if they did not die, they would be injured and unable to reproduce.

This is also common sense, at least it is common sense for the eunuchs and craftsmen who supervised the construction of the palace.

It is hard to say whether anyone was inspired by this and wanted to try their hand at the emperor.

Anyway, cinnabar can be used for decoration and no one can find fault with it.

Queen Mother Chen was a little confused when she heard this, and said, "This is usually the case when a palace is rebuilt after a fire."

"First, cinnabar is precious and is said to contain spiritual energy. It can be used to suppress the evil spirits in the palace fire."

"The two said that they were trying to meet deadlines, and cinnabar is easier to find than red clay."

"Another consideration is that after a big fire, many insects and ants will crawl out, and cinnabar is known to be good at repelling insects."

“So, in the past, when people rebuilt buildings after a fire, they would paint the walls with cinnabar.”

Zhu Yijun frowned.

What Empress Dowager Chen said was reasonable. It was both about meeting deadlines and preventing insects, and they were all practical considerations.

The problem is... when he heard that the walls of the palaces rebuilt after the Forbidden City fire were painted with cinnabar, he immediately thought of the frequent fires in the Forbidden City.

Coincidence? Or a diabolical scheme?

Frequent fires and frequent wall refreshes?

I shouldn't have calculated it to this extent...

But then again, the Qianqing Palace should have been burned down at the end of last year.

In history, Wanli's old problem of oral and dental erosion, in addition to the possibility of tooth decay, seems to be one of the symptoms of chronic mercury poisoning...

The more suspicious Zhu Yijun became, the more his brows furrowed.

As he was thinking, he found that Empress Dowager Chen was staring at him, and then he realized that he had been thinking for a long time.

Alas, he sighed silently in his heart.

This is what it means to be lonely at the top.

It is really not easy to be an emperor, and his suspicions are almost inevitably growing.

He came back to his senses, his expression slightly relaxed, and continued the topic they had just discussed: "Does the Queen Mother like cinnabar?"

Empress Dowager Chen looked at the emperor and said meaningfully, "I may not like it."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly: "Then the Queen Mother just doesn't like it."

"Please ask the Queen Mother to inform the eunuchs later and tell them that cinnabar is too extravagant. From now on, all the decorations in the palace will be replaced with earth red."

He didn't know whether it was a plot by someone or an unintentional mistake, so he could only pretend that nothing happened.

Zhu Yijun didn't want to appear to be taking it very seriously.

We can't just turn into a big case based on the slightest clue.

Empress Dowager Chen seemed to understand and immediately shook her head: "No need to find any excuses."

Zhu Yijun was stunned.

"If I don't like it, I simply don't like it. From now on, cinnabar and mercury are not allowed to be used in the palace." Queen Mother Chen suddenly smiled, "I am a woman, and outsiders will understand."

Zhu Yijun was relieved: "The Ciqing Palace boy will have the walls repainted."

Empress Dowager Chen nodded slightly to show her agreement.

Then he asked, "Should I return to the Western Garden or move to the Qianqing Palace?"

This is a question asking the emperor whether to return to the Forbidden City or continue to stay in the Western Garden.

The emperor could not return to the Qianqing Palace and send his stepmother back to the Western Garden, otherwise the crime of unfilial piety would fall on the emperor.

Zhu Yijun glanced at Empress Dowager Chen.

I wonder if I should let her loosen the circle of close ministers to prevent her from making some inappropriate suggestions due to lack of information.

Thinking in his heart, Zhu Yijun stood up and bowed to pray: "Please go back to the West Garden and continue to stay, so that I can serve you with peace of mind."

Maybe he is too suspicious, but in this situation, he should continue to stay in Xiyuan.

Queen Mother Chen nodded.

Seeing that the two had reached a consensus, Zhu Yijun bowed and took his leave.

Zhu Yijun took two steps out, then stopped and turned back to explain: "Grandfather once told me that cinnabar and mercury were highly poisonous after he personally tested them. I am doing this for my mother's safety."

"I have gone to see Li Baiyang. Please take care of yourself, mother."

Queen Mother Chen turned her head away, unable to see her expression: "No need to explain, I believe you."

"Since the imperial physician said that Li Baiyang has a cold, Your Majesty should just observe from a distance outside the door..."

When he turned around, he found that the emperor had left.

……

As Zhu Yijun walked out of the warm room, Zhang Hong came to greet him first.

The latter was about to speak, but seeing that the emperor did not stop, she had to quickly catch up, speaking very quickly as she walked: "Your Majesty, I just went to ask about this matter."

"Replacing red clay with cinnabar was an old practice used by the Imperial Palace Supervisor during the Jiajing period when the palace was rebuilt after several fires. No one deliberately replaced the red clay."

The Inspector of the Internal Palace was in charge of all the construction of palaces and tombs for the state.

The reconstruction of Ciqing Palace was funded by 73% of the internal and external funds, and the Inner Court Inspector General and the Ministry of Works' Food Department jointly proposed the matter.

Zhu Yijun didn't even turn his head: "The old rules of Jiajing? What about before Jiajing?"

Zhang Hong followed behind the emperor and felt that as the emperor grew older, his power became more and more unpredictable. Until now, he still didn't understand why the emperor was angry!
He quickly explained: "Your Majesty, in the first month of the ninth year of the Zhengde reign, a fire broke out in the Qianqing Palace, which spread to the rest of the palace and burned down everything from the second drum to dawn."

"Then the walls were rebuilt using cinnabar."

At this point, Zhang Hong added: "It was only during the Hongzhi period that Emperor Xiaozong cut down on palace expenses, and the inner palace supervisors only used red clay instead of cinnabar."

Zhu Yijun stopped, and everyone stopped behind the emperor and looked at each other.

After a while, the emperor seemed to be fine and continued walking: "I understand, there is no need to investigate further."

It means to let go gently.

But when Zhang Hong glanced at the emperor's back, he did not feel relieved at all.

The emperor's words were brief and his emotions were unclear. The atmosphere inevitably became increasingly depressing. Zhang Hong followed behind him cautiously, only to feel the pressure growing.

Fortunately, this pressure did not last long.

When Zhu Yijun walked to the warm room in the west hall, he took a deep breath and relaxed his unsightly expression.

Only then did he leave someone waiting outside and walked in alone.

Li Baiyang’s current identity is actually a bit embarrassing.

At the beginning, Li Chunfang sent her granddaughter into the palace, although it was in the name of being the princess's study companion.

But anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she was aiming for a position in the harem.

However, the emperor, who should have been the most active in this matter, has been slow to express his opinion - not to mention a wedding, at least giving the lady a title of lady would be fine.

Let the emperor avoid him if he wants to. If he avoids him completely, everyone will understand what attitude we should have towards him.

But the emperor chose to maintain an ambiguous attitude.

Some time ago, Li Baiyang was driven back to Ciqing Palace by the emperor. Today, he fell ill and the emperor came to visit him in person.

Especially the eunuchs and palace maids around Li Baiyang, they all started to get confused. Before being driven out of the warm room by the emperor, they lowered their heads and carefully peeked at the emperor's expression, trying to figure out what was going on.

Unfortunately, the emperor had a blank expression on his face, and his servants could hardly figure him out.

Zhu Yijun pulled out a chair and sat down beside Li Baiyang's bed.

Li Baiyang wanted to stand up and salute, but was pushed back by the emperor. He had to half-lie on the bed, covering his mouth and nose with his hands, as if he was afraid of infecting the emperor.

Only a pair of pitiful eyes and trembling, lively eyebrows were left.

Zhu Yijun did not say anything to comfort her, saying that mercury poisoning is not contagious. Instead, he got straight to the point: "I wonder what your grandfather Li Chunfang told you when he sent you to the palace."

"Give me the truth today."

Seeing the emperor's attitude, Li Baiyang was stunned for a long time.

Shui Ling's eyes seemed to dim for a moment.

She covered her mouth, turned her head away, and said softly: "When I entered the palace, my grandfather did not tell me anything, he only said..."

"When he was teaching His Majesty in the court, he saw that His Majesty looked very happy."

"Seeing what Your Majesty has done before and after he ascended the throne, you must be a great hero in the world. I think I will definitely be attracted to you."

Zhu Yijun sat on a chair, his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands crossed and his chin supported, quietly watching Li Baiyang reply.

In his two lives, he walked on thin ice and was always trembling with fear in the ups and downs of his official career.

My heart has long become as cold as iron.

woman?

Ah.

Zhu Yijun slowly stood up and sat down beside Li Baiyang's bed, forcing the latter to look directly at him.

He ignored Li Baiyang's somewhat flustered expression and said solemnly: "Then I will be honest with you today."

"I can't leave the throne to you, but I can leave you a copy of the Golden Book and the Golden Treasure."

He tried to slow down his tone and whispered, "Is it okay?"

The Golden Book and Golden Seal were originally exclusive to the Empress. According to the rules, the Imperial Concubine only had the Golden Book but no Golden Seal.

So there was an institutional innovation.

She ranks above the noble concubine and below the empress, and enjoys the golden book and golden treasure, and is called the imperial noble concubine.

Seeing that the emperor was sitting so close, there was no point in covering his mouth and nose.

Li Baiyang's eyebrows trembled slightly, and his already delicate skin looked even whiter and more delicate when he looked a little sick.

She raised her head and looked at the emperor who was sitting on the edge of the bed with a heart of stone.

Not knowing what she was thinking, she bit her lips lightly and said resentfully, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction.

It's easy to communicate with him and his appetite isn't too big.

He patted Li Baiyang's shoulder earnestly and said, "Let's select a talented person first, and then change her to a noble concubine after I take power."

Maids who were selected to enter the palace but did not receive any title were called selected maids.

But she was also among the emperor's concubines, which was a status without any official status.

Li Baiyang coughed deliberately and inadvertently pushed away the emperor's hand that was patting his shoulder in an air of superiority.

I felt more and more depressed.

She lowered her head, counted on her fingers and said sullenly, "It's all up to your Majesty's orders."

Zhu Yijun stood up with satisfaction and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Li Baiyang raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to take charge of the government?"

She looked at the emperor who was about to leave after saying only three sentences, and somehow found something to say.

Zhu Yijun was about to turn around when he stopped and met Li Baiyang's gaze with some surprise: "Why do you say that?"

It was rare for Li Baiyang to see the emperor showing interest in him, and it was because of this matter. He felt mixed emotions.

She forced herself to sit up straight and said softly, "Your Majesty avoided me before, wasn't he avoiding ruling the country?"

"Since you have spoken to me like this today, it is obvious that you have made up your mind."

Zhu Yijun was silent.

He was indeed somewhat stimulated today and was preparing to take power ahead of schedule.

As for what kind of stimulation she received, it is not worthy of being considered as a woman.

Although there was little common ground in this political marriage, Zhu Yijun couldn't help but look up to her.

He admitted frankly: "I will select the candidates this year, and if things go according to plan, I will take charge of the government next year."

In history, the selection of concubines for Emperor Wanli was delayed again and again, and even after his marriage he was still punished to kneel all day long, let alone ruling the country himself.

But my situation is very different now.

As soon as he opened his mouth, there was an overwhelming response.

Neither the two palaces nor the six ministries of the cabinet would stop him.

In fact, he had not originally intended to take power so early.

Zhang Juzheng could live for at least another eight or nine years, so it would be good for him to control the overall situation from behind the scenes and take some risks.

However, sometimes the development of things is not subject to human will.

Zhu Yijun realized that his previous thoughts had underestimated the profession of emperor.

People always want peace of mind, and he, the emperor, is no exception.

He couldn't guarantee that what happened today was really a coincidence.

What if?
Therefore, although he suppressed the matter of cinnabar on the surface and did not investigate it further, his mentality changed involuntarily.

Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, Li Baiyang moved back and couldn't help feeling happy.

She fiddled with her fingers, lowered her eyebrows and looked at the emperor timidly, trying to gain the emperor's rare chance to look at her straight in the eye: "Your Majesty, do you think that the cause of my illness this time may be man-made?"

Zhu Yijun, who had just looked up to him, couldn't help but frown slightly at this moment.

This woman's mind is a little too delicate.

No wonder our ancestors have set a law not to marry the daughter of a wealthy family. This would not be a good thing if one wanted to seize the throne for his son in the future.

He didn't want to talk about it any more, and his expression naturally turned slightly colder: "Don't think too much, just take good care of yourself."

As he said this, he pushed Li Baiyang, who had sat up, back down, then picked up the corner of the quilt to cover her fair neck, sealing her directly.

When Li Baiyang saw the emperor's obvious change in attitude, he would comfort himself and recuperate.

The somewhat resentful expression on his face just now turned into a sunny one. He smiled and nodded happily.

Looks very lively and cute.

She became more active and boldly asked the emperor, "Your Majesty, please do not tell my family about my illness, so as to avoid unnecessary worry."

Zhu Yijun was thinking about something, and when he heard this, he was reminded by Li Baiyang.

Since he ascended the throne, he has been suppressing Nanzhili.

From the collection of salt taxes, to the relocation of the Governor-General Caojiang to Anqing, and even to the opening of sea transportation to weaken the grain transport in Lianghuai, these were all political signals that were extremely likely to trigger a dispute between the North and the South.

After all, the conflict between the North and the South has been going on since the founding of the country and is deeply rooted.

In order to prevent the southerners from misjudging and making unwise moves, he compromised with Li Chunfang - regardless of the ancestral laws, he put his granddaughter into the harem.

Even more so, if we really think deeply about the direction of the conspiracy this time, is it aimed at Empress Dowager Chen, or does someone want this woman to be sterilized or even die of illness?
If this woman died inexplicably in the palace...

Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun turned his head and looked at Li Baiyang, saying seriously: "Don't take the medicine prescribed by the Imperial Hospital yet. I will send someone to take you back to the West Garden later."

After saying this, he wanted to continue to instruct others, but suddenly he saw the woman smiling brightly, revealing two fangs, which made him puzzled.

Well, dimples are pretty cute.

Unfortunately, he was too scheming and suspected that he might be involved in some danger, so he deliberately pointed out his own value.

Zhu Yijun pinched his face and gave a meaningful warning: "Wisdom is harmful to the body, and beauty is a disaster. Being smart and good-looking are not necessarily good things. Don't use them in the wrong way."

Having said that, he was about to leave.

As soon as I turned around, I heard a voice behind me.

"Your Majesty...you are also very good-looking."

Zhu Yijun looked back in confusion, only to see that the woman had pulled the quilt to the top, with her entire head retracted into the quilt, leaving only her two feet stretched out to fight back and forth.

He's so crazy that he can't even use high-level words to flatter others.

Zhu Yijun muttered something and finally walked away.

……

At nightfall.

It started snowing again in the Forbidden City.

Jiang Keqian took one step at a time, stepping on the snow that had not yet formed.

Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi followed Jiang Keqian all the way to the Western Garden.

If it is said that Duke Chengguo is the most prominent lineage among the nobles canonized by Emperor Chengzu.

Then Xu Wenbi, the eighth-generation grandson of King Zhongshan Xu Da who inherited the title in the second year of Longqing, was the most prominent lineage among the nobles canonized by Taizu. It is worth mentioning that the lineage of Duke Dingguo in the capital and the lineage of Duke Wei in Nanzhili are both from the same family of King Zhongshan.

Well, in other words, the fact that the founding fathers were not taken away by Taizu and have been passed down to the present day is a legend in itself.

Xu Wenbi is forty-three years old this year, which is the prime age for a nobleman.

However, the lineage of Duke Dingguo did not have a close relationship with Emperor Shizong, Emperor Muzong, and the current emperor.

Not to mention being granted the title of one of the Three Dukes and being in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, even the silver reward was not half of what Duke Cheng received - when Duke Cheng was rewarded with 40 taels of silver, he could only blend in with the crowd and get "20 taels of silver each, two pieces of colorful clothes and one inside and one outside" to fool people.

On weekdays, he could only be assigned some sacrificial tasks, and other than that, he had few opportunities to meet the emperor.

But tonight was unexpected.

The emperor actually summoned him in the middle of the night.

After nightfall, it started snowing outside, so it was inevitably a little cold. Fortunately, it became warm as soon as we entered the Wanshou Palace.

However, it seemed that because it was a private summons, it was very dark inside the Wanshou Palace and no guards or eunuchs were seen along the way.

The wind was howling outside, but the hall was quiet and peaceful.

Xu Wenbi followed closely.

Finally arrived at the main hall.

The emperor was writing something at his desk.

Xu Wenbi quickly bowed: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Xu Wenbi!"

He thought a lot along the way, speculating on his own fortune and misfortune, recalling the emperor's character, and trying to figure out the purpose of his being summoned.

But when the emperor spoke, Xu Wenbi was still caught off guard.

"Xu Qing, you are the commander of the Jinyiwei. Go and set fire to the Qianqing Palace for me."

(End of this chapter)