diskusbooks Chapter 935 Cui Ling's Advice
Chapter 935 Cui Ling's Advice
Accompanying him to the emperor were Cui Ling and several others, as well as other cabinet ministers, including Grand Tutor Qian.
Everyone was deeply worried about the Crown Prince's condition. If the royal family was unstable, the court would be unstable as well.
Fortunately, Zhou Pu had two younger sons; it would have been even more troublesome if he had only one son.
However, Zhang Ping'an noticed that Zhou Pu didn't seem very anxious at this moment.
No matter how many imperial physicians came and went, reporting the situation, he would only nod indifferently and occasionally respond with a word.
The ministers present were somewhat bewildered, and those who had been offering words of comfort suddenly dared not say much more.
However, when Zhang Ping'an saw that Cui Ling didn't seem particularly anxious, he began to have some guesses.
News of the illness's relief didn't arrive until dusk, and the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.
However, after this incident, Zhang Ping'an knew that the matter of establishing a crown prince would soon be put on the agenda.
After the mourning period, the imperial harem selection will be a necessary event. At that time, countless families will send their daughters to the palace, hoping that their daughters will rise to prominence and become phoenixes.
With the symptoms subsiding, everyone else gradually withdrew from the palace and returned to their residences, except for Cui Ling, who was left behind.
Li Chong turned back to look at this scene before leaving, his eyes dark and unreadable. Only after being reminded by the person beside him did he turn back and continue walking out of the palace.
At this moment, he listed Cui Ling as the first stumbling block in his way.
While Cui Ling appeared to be enjoying boundless favor, he was actually quite hesitant at that moment.
After a moment, he cupped his hands and advised, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's condition is probably not something to rush. It would be better to proceed slowly. After all, too many things have happened in the court in the past two years. Most ministers are in a state of panic, afraid of being purged. Under such circumstances, how can they truly do their jobs seriously? In my opinion, we should wait until the court and the country are at peace before making any decisions. There is no need to rush."
Zhou Pu looked up, his face expressionless. "What? You think this was at my behest?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not!" Cui Ling immediately bowed his head and said, "No matter what, I will always wholeheartedly assist Your Majesty."
"Get up, I naturally believe you," Zhou Pu waved his hand and said, "Now I am the ruler of a country, the Son of Heaven, and I will not bother with a child. Besides, as you said, now is not the time, and we cannot be too hasty! Put the matter of the Empress and the princes aside for now. The most urgent tasks at present are to stabilize the court and the country, and to find the treasure left by Bai Chao. I do not trust anyone else to do this."
Cui Ling understood: "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your burdens. Why not let me handle this matter? I have already had some people investigate Bai Chao's confidant who previously helped the Second Prince plot a rebellion. I believe we will be able to capture him soon."
Zhou Pu nodded, somewhat satisfied with Cui Ling's sensibility. "Alright, then this matter will be handled secretly by Minister Cui. Once it's done, I will certainly not treat you unfairly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Cui Ling bowed his head and clasped his hands in thanks, concealing the expression on his face, while already having another plan in mind.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ping'an had just returned home when Xiao Yu'er grabbed him and asked him what had happened.
Zhang Ping'an rubbed his temples wearily and said, "It's alright, there are no problems now. How about you? How was the winter hunt?"
Xiaoyuer replied with an unchanged expression that everything was fine, without mentioning anything about dealing with Sanya, and only briefly talked about the interesting things that happened during the winter hunt.
"Don't be too arrogant. I think many of those scions of prominent families are truly talented. Get to know them better and learn from them how to conduct yourself. It will definitely help you," Zhang Ping'an casually advised after listening.
After saying that, he suddenly remembered what Li Chong had told him earlier, so he instructed, "The New Year is coming soon. Take some time to visit your cousin at the Li residence and get to know the boys in Uncle Li Chong's family. Remember to bring an extra gift."
"Is this branch of their family going to settle down in the capital?" Xiaoyuer asked curiously.
Zhang Ping'an pondered, "I think it's probably true. It wouldn't hurt to build a good relationship with their family. Li Chong's branch of the family has a promising future. Today, when we left the palace, he specifically mentioned at the palace gate that his family has several sons who are about your age. Since they've offered us a way out, we should take advantage of it and give them face."
“I understand!” Little Fish nodded.
“You’ve always done a good job in this regard, so I’m very relieved. But sending you to see your cousin Zhuzhu isn’t just a pretext. I heard she’s pregnant with twins this time, and the pregnancy isn’t going well. The Li family is quite worried. Your aunt and the others are in the Northwest, so as her family, we should support your cousin when necessary.”
After saying this, Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, feeling somewhat worried.
People in this era believe that having many children brings many blessings. Therefore, even though Zhuzhu has already given birth to four children, three of whom are sons, she will continue to have children whenever she gets pregnant.
But in his view, having two or three sons is enough for a woman. There is no need to suffer so much, as it is not only harmful to her health, but also makes it difficult to treat the children equally in their upbringing and education, and the allocation of resources is even more limited.
But no matter his position, he couldn't say these words, otherwise people would think he had ulterior motives.
Xiaoyuer and Zhuzhu used to be very close when they were young, but since Zhuzhu got married and has been busy with a bunch of children, they have had fewer opportunities to meet and their relationship is not as close as before.
But family ties remained, and Xiaoyuer was still very concerned. She immediately agreed, "Okay, when I see my cousin, I'll ask her about her current situation. We have a few century-old ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms at home, and I'll bring her two over."
After speaking, Xiaoyuer went about her own business.
After finishing his meal, he stepped forward, his tone tinged with excitement, "Master, the person has woken up. The doctor said he's very lucky; he was almost dead from a high fever."
"Did you get any results?" Zhang Ping'an asked in a low voice.
After eating his fill, he shook his head and said, "No, he wouldn't say. He insisted that we heal his injuries first. Judging from his 'I don't care what' attitude he had, he probably knew his situation. He's actually quite clever."
“Then there’s no need to rush these next two days. Once his injuries have healed and he wants to live, he’ll naturally speak up,” Zhang Ping’an said with a faint smile.
Once he recovers, there will be plenty of ways to get him to talk. He also wants to know what Qin Qingshan said before he died in Yangning Palace.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken such a big risk and had his inside man go through so much trouble to rescue the person.
"Sir, there is one more thing," he said hesitantly after finishing his meal.
"Speak, don't hesitate."
"Our scouts in the suburbs reported today that Abbess Miaozhen left the outskirts of the capital and headed towards the docks. Should we follow her?"