The next day, the emperor failed to come to court.
Gu Xiujin arrived at the court and told the courtiers that His Majesty had a long conversation with the old master last night and was still drunk, so he would not come to the court today.
Those officials who are not familiar with high-level matters will certainly not doubt it, because yesterday was indeed a very special day.
Moreover, it is not the first time that the emperor has not come to the morning court. This is not a strange thing.
He could live in Guzhu for a year, and he could also live in Yunzhou for more than half a year without even returning to Geling.
So if you don't come to court for a day occasionally, most people won't think randomly.
However, when Wang Luoshen heard that the emperor did not come to the morning court, he couldn't help but get excited.
His eldest son Wang Fenglin died, and his second son Wang Huoshan died. He wanted revenge. Would he be satisfied with seeking revenge from Lin Ye?
He has always had only one enemy. Until the emperor dies, he will have trouble sleeping and eating.
What happened to the emperor became Wang Luoshen's first priority and he had to find out as soon as possible.
The emperor actually looked fine. At least when Lin Ye saw the emperor for the first time, he didn't see that the emperor was any weaker than before.
After Gu Xiujin announced that the emperor would not attend court early today, he sent a message to Lin Ye to go to the imperial study room, and his majesty wanted to summon him.
On the way Lin Ye followed Gu Xiujin, Gu Xiujin revealed some news to Lin Ye about the Emperor's physical discomfort.
Of course, Gu Xiujin didn't dare to say it explicitly, but he just wanted Lin Ye to be mentally prepared.
The emperor met the little Taoist boy named Jingxuan last night. Lin Ye didn't know about it yet, and Gu Xiujin didn't say anything about it, so Lin Ye didn't pay much attention when he heard that the emperor was slightly unwell.
The emperor's health was not good to begin with, this was something Lin Ye had already guessed.
If he really spent the whole night talking with the old headmaster, then it is normal for his body to be weak.
When people reach a certain age, let alone poor health, even those who are in good health will find it difficult to recover after staying up all night for less than three to five days.
Especially for men, if you stay up late all night after the age of forty, you will probably feel groggy the next day and the third day.
Even if I can find time to catch up on sleep during the day, it still won't relieve my fatigue.
The emperor was leaning on the couch, with a piece of clothing draped over his shoulders and a memorial in his hand.
Without going to court, he would not have a pure rest.
After Lin Ye bent down to salute, the emperor raised his head, glanced at him, and gestured to the side.
"Sit down and talk."
Lin Ye saluted and thanked him again, then sat down next to him and waited quietly.
After the emperor read the memorial in his hand and made instructions with a red pen, he put down the things in his hand and raised his hands to rub his temples.
Lin Ye said: "Your Majesty, you stayed up too late last night and didn't get any rest, so you have a headache?"
The emperor said: "I feel a little dizzy. Last night, the real master gave me a massage to activate my blood circulation. I only felt comfortable for a while, but now I feel a little awkward."
Lin Ye asked tentatively: "Try, sir?"
The emperor glanced at him and then nodded: "Then give it a try."
He turned around on the couch and faced Lin Ye. Lin Ye walked over and held the Emperor's shoulders: "It's better to lie down."
Lin Ye was very familiar with acupuncture points, and there were few people in the world who knew better than him how to relieve discomfort by massaging acupoints.
The moment Lin Ye started massaging the emperor, Lin Ye's heart suddenly shook.
He noticed something strange about the emperor's body, and the moment he noticed the strangeness, he understood what the emperor meant by summoning him today.
He just tentatively said that he could try massaging the emperor, and the emperor agreed... Wasn't the emperor afraid that he would take the opportunity to notice something?
The emperor agreed because what he wanted to say when he summoned Lin Ye today was precisely about his body.
"No matter how weak your hand is, I'm not as strong as you think."
The emperor's words pulled Lin Ye out of his thoughts.
"Scared?"
The emperor asked.
Lin Ye nodded and answered truthfully: "Yes... I'm a little scared. Your Majesty should take care of yourself more and..."
The emperor interrupted him: "As a minister, you take it upon yourself to explore the emperor's body. This alone can condemn you to death."
Lin Ye's hand stopped and he wanted to stand up and confess.
The emperor seemed to feel it. He opened his eyes and looked at Lin Ye: "To touch you, your technique is better than that of the master, which is rare."
The emperor felt the pain relief in his body and involuntarily exhaled a breath of turbid air.
"With your method, how about purifying yourself later and letting you come into the palace to replace Xiao Gu?"
Lin Ye: "I... am not very happy."
The emperor couldn't help but smile.
"Guess what I wanted you to know when I called you here today?"
"My lord, I guessed a bit."
The emperor hummed, "I know you are smart. The only person in the civil and military dynasties who is smarter than you is Ning Weimo."
Lin Ye said: "My lord, I'm not convinced."
The emperor was amused by him again.
"Since you have guessed it, I will tell you something clearly."
The emperor closed his eyes and seemed to enjoy Lin Ye's massage technique which was completely different from the master's.
"I have always felt that I can face the fact that I am not in good health calmly."
The emperor spoke in a calm tone, as if he was not chatting with a minister, but with a junior.
"But if you can't admit it calmly in the human world, then you are not really facing it calmly."
The emperor said: "Today I spoke so clearly in front of you. This is the first time that I feel that I have truly faced it calmly."
Lin Ye was thinking about something, but for a while, he couldn't find any suitable words.
The emperor seemed to feel Lin Ye's thoughts again, so he smiled and said: "You don't have to think so hard about how to agree to me today, just listen."
Lin Ye responded quickly, feeling a little relieved.
"My health has been getting worse since more than ten years ago. The first person who knew about it at that time was the Master, and the second person who knew about it was Liu Jigong."
Lin Ye was startled when he heard this.
He suddenly thought of something. Could it be that General Liu Jigong died tragically in Northern Xinjiang because he knew about this?
Thinking about it again, it was unlikely, because at that time the emperor wanted to use Liu Jigong to contain Tuoba Lie.
At that time, those who were most looking forward to Liu Jigong's death were the Xungui old clan, Tuoba Lie, and those who were afraid of the emperor.
The Emperor continued: "I was very scared at that time, thinking that there were still so many things that I had not done yet, so why was my body so weak?"
"It's the headmaster who has been treating me for more than ten years. I can count on my strength and survived."
"But, I also know that what is supposed to come will always come, and even the master master cannot stop it."
He opened his eyes and looked at Lin Ye, as if he wanted to see the expression on Lin Ye's face.
"Last night, the head master looked at it for me. He said that my deadline may not be too far away."
Lin Ye's hand movements stopped.
The emperor smiled and said, "Are you scared again?"
Lin Ye hummed.
The Emperor said: "If a person can be open-minded about life and death in this life, then he will be truly transcendent. It's a pity that I am not open-minded until now."
"But I have to make some open-minded preparations... So now you will understand why I will choose to abdicate soon."
Lin Ye hummed again.
"I came to you today just to tell you clearly that my plan may be earlier than planned before."
"I promised the noble concubine that I would accompany her to have a good look at the world of the Central Plains. Over the past ten years, I have thought of countless places and written them down one by one."
Lin Ye said: "I am willing to protect your majesty."
The emperor curled his lips: "Bah." He said: "You are not telling the truth."
Lin Ye said: "What I said is true."
The emperor smiled again, very relieved.
"I believe it, whether it's true or not, I believe it, so I'm very happy."
The emperor said: "If my plan is advanced, many things will become hasty, including... the new king I am preparing to ascend the throne."
Lin Ye asked: "Does your Majesty have anything to entrust me to do?"
The Emperor said: "You have too many things to do, and you are smart enough, so you don't need me to explain them one by one."
He opened his eyes again and looked at Lin Ye, and his tone of voice became a little heavier.
"I need you to remember something."
"Please give your Majesty's orders."
"I want you to remember that I am using you so that Yan Que can use you in the future, so no matter what Yan Que asks you to do, you must obey it."
Lin Ye agreed.
"My lord, I obey the order."
The emperor seemed to be relieved.
"I know that he is not a qualified emperor, so I feel uneasy when I hand over the big jade to him so hastily."
"But fortunately, before I left the court, I found you, Ning Weimo, and a large number of loyal ministers."
The emperor closed his eyes: "Be more attentive. Don't let your hand movements become perfunctory just because you are listening to me."
Lin Ye agreed immediately.
The emperor continued: "I will stay in Geling City for a few more days, and I will set off when I feel better. I have to let you understand what happens to Yanque when he takes the throne..."
Lin Ye didn't wait for the emperor to finish speaking before he took this sentence. He said: "I will risk my life to protect Mr. Xin from successfully ascending the throne. No one can stop him."
The Emperor said: "No one can stop me, but they will think that Yan Que is not as good as me, so they can be arrogant."
Lin Ye said: "I have a knife in my hand."
The Emperor said: "That's why I asked you to remember that sentence just now... No matter what Yan Que asks you to do, you just do it."
Lin Ye agreed again, but vaguely felt that the emperor's words seemed to have a deeper meaning.
The emperor said: "You have troops in your hands. I ordered Ning Shehai to lead his troops back to Dongbo a while ago, and asked Hong Wuding to lead his troops to Yunzhou. I just thought that if you lead troops from Yunzhou in the future, When you come to Geling from Zhouzhou, you can’t be without someone behind you.”
Lin Ye asked: "Hong Wuding...is it credible?"
If it were in the past, he would never be able to ask this question so straightforwardly in front of the emperor.
The emperor said: "He is not trustworthy, so I sent him to Yunzhou. He is close to Yunzhou. Behind him is Xumi Jinghong, with Ning Shehai on one side and Ning Haitang on the other."
Lin Ye understood.
The emperor said: "After I leave Geling, there may be no news suddenly. Therefore, after Yan Que takes the throne, he will also face many sudden things. For example, some people question my edict of passing the throne and question his identity."
Lin Ye repeated again: "I have a knife in my hand."
The emperor was satisfied.
"I actually don't want to say these words. It's as unlucky as Tuogu."
The emperor smiled, and it seemed that this smile was truly the smile of a person who has been open-minded about life and death.
"Ning Weimo is a minister who governs the world, and peace and prosperity cannot be separated from people like him, but you are a general who governs the country, and even a little chaos cannot be separated from people like you."
The Emperor said: "I have never believed in oaths, but today I want to hear you swear an oath."
Lin Ye stood up and stood in awe: "I swear to your majesty today..."
The emperor said: "Wait a minute, just say whatever I tell you to say."
Lin Ye said: "I obey the order."
The Emperor said: "You swear, no matter what Yan Que asks you to do in the future, you must do it."
This is the third time.
If you say a sentence three times, it must have a profound meaning.
