Although Xia Houxuan loved Li Tao and had a close friendship with Li Feng, he would not really get married, so what he just said was actually just a joke.
Li Feng naturally understood this and said with a smile:
"The dog is still young, and the wife doesn't know whether to have a boy or a girl yet. If Tai Chu arranges a marriage for them now, I'm afraid it will be too early, hahahaha!"
Xia Houxuan touched Li Tao's little tiger head and said with a smile:
"Your Majesty's Princess Qi is almost seven years old this year. She is about the same age as Tao'er. If Tao'er becomes a royal son-in-law in the future, I think that would be great, hahahaha!"
Zhuge Dan, Li Feng, and Deng Yang couldn't help laughing when they saw Xia Houxuan, who had always been serious, making a joke.
While all the friends were chatting freely, Gu Ting entered the main hall outside the door and informed the head of the house that the chamberlain Han Yong was coming to pay a visit to the house.
When Xia Houxuan heard that he was from the palace, he naturally did not dare to neglect him. What's more, this Han Yong had won His Majesty's favor in recent years. He came to visit the palace in person this time, so he naturally had something important to say to himself.
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Dan, Li Feng, and Deng Yang understood that it was inconvenient to stay at Xiahou Xuan's mansion, so they all bid farewell to Xiahou Xuan and left through the back door of Changlinghou's mansion under the guidance of steward Gu Ting.
After seeing off a few people, Xia Houxuan first ordered the people in the house to cook tea and prepare cakes in advance, and then tidied up his clothes. He estimated that Han Yong was almost outside his house, so he ordered his servants to open the middle door, and he went to greet him in person.
Although Han Yong was just a chamberlain, the fact that he came out of the inner palace so majestically to come to his house was a sign of the emperor or the queen mother's will. Therefore, Han Yong came to the house on behalf of the emperor, so he couldn't be careless.
When Xia Houxuan was walking respectfully in the corridor of his home, he suddenly realized that he could actually let go of his pride and cater to the secular world. In my heart, I like the three mysteries of Lao Zhuang and Zhuang Zhuang, and I am quiet and inactive. It turns out that I am still a well-behaved Confucian after all. Xia Houxuan couldn't help but sigh secretly, but there was just a wry smile on his face.
Xia Houxuan came outside the mansion and waited for a while. Not long after, he saw Han Yong, the chamberlain in the distance, walking towards the door of his mansion with a smile on his face. Xia Houxuan noticed that Han Yong did not carry an imperial edict in his hand. It seemed that what came from the palace was just an oral edict. After Xia Houxuan whispered a few words to a soldier behind him, the soldier quickly ran to the main hall in the backyard. After hearing what the soldier said, the servants in the backyard immediately removed the incense table they had just prepared for the owner of the house to use when receiving the order later.
"My noble lord, is everything in peace in the palace?"
After all, Xia Houxuan didn't want to become the person he hated the most, so when facing Han Yong who didn't carry the imperial edict, he simply held his hand and said hello with a smile.
Han Yong had long heard the story of Xia Houxuan's "Jianjia Yushu" and his refusal to marry him. He knew that the Marquis of Changling in front of him sometimes would not even give him the emperor's face, so when faced with Xia Houxuan's simple courtesy, he He didn't feel dissatisfied, and when he saw Xia Houxuan coming to greet him personally, it gave him enough face, so he didn't feel the slightest bit unhappy in his heart. On the contrary, he felt that the Marquis of Changling was honest and forthright, but he also didn't feel unhappy. Although he has lost some tact, he is really a powerful person. Han Yong's mind was flashing with lightning, and he immediately returned the greeting with a smile on his face:
"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your concern. The palace is fine, but Your Majesty..."
Having said this, Han Yong looked around and stopped talking. Of course Xia Houxuan understood what Han Yong meant. How could he talk about important matters in the palace so easily in this bustling city with so many people?
Xiahou Xuan's sleeves were rolled up, he smiled and spread his hands and said:
"The noble man has worked hard all the way. When Xuan heard that the noble man was coming, he had ordered his servants to prepare tea and invited the noble man to come into the house to talk."
Han Yong smiled and nodded:
"If that's the case, then we won't be polite."
"My dear sir, please."
Xia Houxuan deliberately let Han Yong walk in front, but he did not forget to point out the road at any time, and also introduced some elegant scenery to Han Yong in his mansion. Han Yong was naturally very pleased.
After arriving at the main hall, Xiahou Xuanbai retreated and then asked about the emperor's condition.
Han Yong, who was somewhat thirsty, took a sip of the tea poured by Xia Houxuan himself, and then said:
"Although His Majesty's current condition is not serious, he will need to rest for several months before he can recover."
After Xia Houxuan heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He understood that at this time, there seemed to be no major events in the court, but in fact, there were deep internal and external troubles lurking. Moreover, Qi Wangfang was still young, only a child of three or four years old. Yue, the political power of that dynasty will inevitably be controlled by the people around His Majesty.
This dynasty took a lesson from the eunuchs' manipulation of power in the previous dynasty. When Emperor Wen just succeeded to the throne of Wei, he personally engraved the following decree: "There will be four casual knights and four ministers each. Those eunuchs who are officials must not go beyond the official orders." According to the iron law of Jin Ce, he ordered people to hide in the stone chamber of the inner palace. Therefore, the important planning ministers around the emperor of this dynasty have all become scholars, serving as regular servants of Sanqi and Huangmen. As for the eunuchs around the emperor, there is no longer any danger of disrupting power.
Not only that, on the Jiawu Day in September of the third year of Huangchu in this dynasty, Emperor Wen also issued an edict: "The relationship between husband and wife and politics is the root of chaos. From now on, the ministers are not allowed to interfere with the Queen Mother, and the family of the descendants is not allowed to When serving as assistant to the government, one must not accept the nobility of Mao Tu; this edict is passed down to future generations, and if there is any violation, the whole world will punish him." Therefore, the Guo family, headed by the Queen Mother Guo, and the Zhen family of the late Queen Wen Zhaozhen The Queen's family, the Mao family, and other relatives also had no real power and could not interfere in politics.
As a result, the great power of the government will inevitably fall into the hands of the powerful officials in the court!
Thinking of this, Xia Houxuan couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Although Xia Houxuan's frightened expression was not very obvious, Han Yong, who was sophisticated in the world, still saw it. He took another sip of tea and stated the purpose of his trip:
"It is precisely because the country cannot live without a king for a day, so Queen Mother Guo heard that Mrs. Hou Ye was a disciple of the miracle doctor Hua Tuo, so she ordered me to come and ask Mrs. Hou Ye to come into the palace to administer acupuncture and prescribe medicine for your majesty to help your majesty recover as soon as possible. .I don’t know about this matter, what do you think, Lord Marquis?”
Xiahou Xuan was worried at first, but after listening to Han Yong's words, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope. Huigu is indeed good at medicine. When His Majesty just came to the throne, it was because he wanted to seek medical treatment for Empress Dowager Wu Xuanbian that he met Huigu. Originally, there was nothing wrong with this matter, but the difficulty was that Huigu was already three months pregnant, and her movements had become quite inconvenient in recent days. Entering the palace to perform acupuncture on His Majesty at this time would definitely be extremely energy-consuming and exhausting. How can I make a decision?
Han Yong originally thought that Xia Houxuan was worried about state affairs and would agree immediately, but he did not expect that Xia Houxuan would frown and be undecided at this time. This made it difficult for Han Yong to guess the reason for a while.
Just when Xia Houxuan was hesitating, Huigu's voice came from outside the hall:
"Husband, can Huigu come into the hall?"
When Xia Houxuan heard Huigu's voice, his brows instantly furrowed. He didn't want Huigu to see him with such an ugly expression at this time. When Han Yong heard that it was Mrs. Xiahou Xuan, he felt happy and nodded towards Xiahou Xuan.
Xia Houxuan also nodded, stood up in person, and opened the wooden door of the main hall. He hurriedly helped Huigu, who was inconvenient, and walked into the main hall. In just a few words, Han Yong explained the purpose of his visit, and Han Yong naturally discovered that Huigu was already pregnant with Liujia. He instantly understood why Xia Houxuan looked so embarrassed before.
Huigu was a smart person. After listening to what Han Yong said, she already understood the priority of the matter. She also saw that although her husband concealed it on the surface, the slight mark between his eyebrows and the deep His worried eyes couldn't hide it from himself.
"Husband, I am a noble lady. Hui Gu knows that this matter is very important. Don't worry, husband. Hui Gu is determined to enter the palace immediately to administer acupuncture and medicine to Your Majesty. As for Hui Gu's body, Hui Gu is a doctor herself, so she will naturally be more careful. State affairs. As a matter of fact, I would like to invite you to guide me, and I will follow you to treat your majesty."
After hearing what Hui Gu said, a stone in Xia Houxuan's heart fell to the ground, but another stone hung up again. At this moment, he was so excited that his nose was sore. He no longer cared about Han Yong and grabbed his beloved wife's hands. At this moment, he seemed to have thousands of words in his heart that he wanted to entrust to his wife, but when these thousands of words came to his lips, in the end he could only Condensed into a few words:
"Huigu, be careful when you arrive at the palace."
Huigu looked at her husband and unconsciously held his hands tighter:
"Don't worry, husband, Huigu knows."
——————
Not long after, under the leadership of Han Yong, Huigu, dressed in the official uniform of a married woman, took the medicine bag and needle bag with her and headed towards the Jiafu Hall where the emperor rested. Hui Gu recognized most of the roads in the palace, but compared to six years ago, the interior and exterior of Luoyang Imperial City had become much more magnificent due to the emperor's careful renovations.
Along the way, the chamberlain Han Yong had been thinking about something in his mind. For no reason, Han Yong remembered the year when the emperor's beloved son Cao Yin was born. In that year, he followed the order of the master of Qingqing Garden to assassinate Cao Yin, but accidentally killed Pingyuan Yi. Princess Cao Shu. It was only later that he coerced the palace maid Qixiu, and then he successfully completed this task. It's just that the secret master has arranged for himself a task that is difficult to achieve.
Just now, when he saw that Xia Houxuan looked troubled and Li Huigu was pregnant with Liujia and had difficulty moving, he was overjoyed. He knew that if Xia Houxuan refused to let Li Huigu enter the palace for acupuncture, half of his plan would be completed, but Who would have thought that Xia Houxuan and his wife understood the righteousness so well that even though it was so inconvenient, they still put the emperor's safety first.
It seems that only after letting Mrs. Xiahou perform acupuncture first can I recommend to His Majesty the Shouchun peasant woman arranged by the master who is good at "treating diseases" with "sacred water".
Not long after, Huigu, led by Han Yong, arrived outside Jiafu Hall. Han Yong turned around and said with a smile:
"Mrs. Xiahou, please wait for a moment and allow me to go and report."
Hui Gu leaned over and smiled and said:
"Then there is Noble Launai."
Not long after, Hui Gu heard a voice calling her from inside the palace. After entering the main hall, Huigu smelled the scent of medicines in the air that the doctors had specially burned for the emperor. After sniffing carefully, she found that there was nothing wrong with the scent of these herbs.
Before she even reached the emperor's bed, Huigu felt a strong atmosphere of royal majesty.
She couldn't help but look up, and then she saw several ladies sitting in front of the emperor's bed visiting. Among those ladies, there was one who was wearing a phoenix robe, very majestic, and seemed to be middle-aged. Huigu once diagnosed the Empress Dowager Wu Xuanbian and knew that this was exactly the dress of the Empress Dowager. She knew in her heart that the person in front of her was the Empress Dowager Guo. In addition, there were three elegant young ladies standing beside Queen Mother Guo. One of the two ladies was also wearing a phoenix robe. Huigu knew that she must be Queen Mao.
What Huigu saw at this moment was the Queen Mother Guo, the Queen Mao, the noble concubine Guo, and Princess Dongxiang and Gao Xun's wife Cao Ling who came to the palace today to check on her brother's condition.
