Chapter 60 Visiting Gong Sun

  "Cough! Cough! Cough!" Amidst a continuous and unrelenting bout of coughing, Empress Longsun slowly came to from her coma, her fingers slightly twitching. Wang Zikui, the Imperial Physician who had stood guard all night, let out a deep sigh of relief - she was going to make it after all.

  "Empress, Empress!" Li Shimin whispered into Changsun's ear, "Empress, can you hear my voice?"

  "Your Majesty!" Longsun Empress slowly opened her eyes, weakly saying: "I can hear you, Your Majesty's voice I've been listening to all along. It's just that I couldn't open my eyes, couldn't speak, and I was anxious. My illness has worried Your Majesty."

  "Wake up, just wake up!" Li Shimin held Changsun's hand tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time. This caused a faint blush to rise on Changsun's pale face.

  At this time, Li Chengqian and the others rushed over, knelt down at Changsun's bedside and said: "Empress Dowager, you finally woke up. This night scared us to death."

  "Qian'er, Tai'er, and also Zhishu, you've all suffered enough, it's time to get up." Empress Changsun tried to sit up, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't muster the strength. Emperor Taizong gently pressed her back down, saying: "You just woke up, don't worry about these small matters anymore. Rest well, the imperial physicians have already found a good prescription for you, and your illness will soon be cured."

  Li Shimin then turned to Li Chengqian and the other two, saying: "All of you get up and retreat outside to rest for a while. Your mother has just woken up, don't disturb her too much."

  "Yes, Your Majesty." Crown Prince Li Chengqian led the way, bowing to Empress Longsun, and then the three brothers withdrew one after another.

  After the three princes left, Li Shimin instructed Zhangsun Wuji again: "Zhangsun, you also go back and rest. From last night to now, you must be exhausted too."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhangsun Wuji bowed and said: "Since the Empress Dowager is now unharmed, I beg Your Majesty to attend today's morning court. There are many urgent military and national affairs in the court that require Your Majesty's attention and review!"

  "Are you out of your mind?!" Li Shimin pointed at Changsun Wuji, feeling somewhat displeased. How could you be so heartless when the Empress is also your own younger sister? Her condition has just taken a turn for the better, and yet you want to force me to leave?!

  "Your Majesty, the Duke of Qi is right. As the ruler of a country, how can you neglect state affairs for the sake of one concubine? I am not worthy of such consideration, nor do I wish to be the cause of trouble for the country and its people!" Empress Changsun lay in bed, advising, she had already understood what Changsun Wuji meant - he was afraid that his sister would become a topic of gossip in the future. "I beg Your Majesty to prioritize state affairs!"

  "Please, Your Majesty, consider state affairs as important!" Changsun Wuji also knelt down and begged.

  Li Shimin pressed down on Empress Changsun who was about to struggle up, saying: "Alright, Your Majesty, don't be like this. I'll do as you say. You should rest well."

  Li Shimin finished speaking and walked out, with Zhangsun Wuji and Wang Ziqiao following behind him.

  Chang Sun Wuji intentionally slowed down his pace, drew closer to Wang Ziqiao and cupped his hands in a salute, saying in a low voice: "Wang Taishan has worked hard, I don't know how my sister's illness is doing after all? I hope Wang Taishan can tell me the truth."

  "Your Imperial Highness!" Wang Ziku looked at the emperor in front of him and replied in a low voice, "Not to deceive Your Imperial Highness, although Her Majesty the Empress is unharmed this time, I'm afraid it's hard to guarantee that next time she falls ill, things will go as smoothly as they did this time. In my estimation, Her Majesty the Empress may not be able to survive this summer."

  "What?!". Zhang Sun Wuji couldn't help but stop in his tracks, this news was too shocking. He disregarded etiquette and grabbed Wang Ziqiao's arm: "Wang Taixu, what you just said is true? This kind of thing can't be joked about at all?!"

  "Your Honor, there are twenty-five townships in San Yuan County. Among the 102 Langs, big and small, eighty-one of them are over forty years old, and only twenty-one are consistent with Your Honor's statement. I have collected their information, please take a look." Li Zhide respectfully handed a thin book to Li Jihong.

  Li Ji took it and flipped through it for a while, saying: "Good, Lord Li indeed handles matters quickly, able to find clues so soon. No wonder the Emperor sent you to take office here. If we can find the divine doctor this time, I will remember Lord Li's first achievement!"

  "Thank you, sir! I will definitely not disappoint your expectations and will soon help you find the divine doctor!" Having been praised by his superior, Li Zhide did not forget to seize the opportunity to show his loyalty.

  "Hmm." Li Ji nodded and mounted his horse, saying: "It's rare for Lord Li to have a kind heart, so this time let's go together with Li. Twenty-one households can be handled in one day!"

  "I'm willing, but I don't dare ask! Lord Li, please go first!" Li Zhide also wanted to ride a fine horse, so he mounted one and went with Li Ji together.

  Early in the morning, Liu Laoshi got out of bed, worried about the family's oxen, fearing that the neighbors would not take care of them. After eating breakfast, he wanted to go home for a while. Yang Bofang couldn't persuade him, so he had to send Xiaoliu to drive the horse cart to take him back. Anyway, the two families were not far apart, and it only took one or two hours to go and come back.

  As for Liu Yitiao, Ben also wanted to go back and take a look, but Yang Bofang didn't allow it, saying that he should take advantage of the situation to pay a return visit to Gongsun Wenda and consolidate the relationship that had just been established with great difficulty last night.

  So after dinner, Yang Bo took Liu Yitiao into the Gong Sun family's gate.

  Similar to the situation when Gong Sunwen arrived at Yang's mansion, Yang Bo didn't even use a messenger to announce his arrival when he entered Gong Sun's mansion, and instead directly pulled Liu Yitiao into the mansion and rushed towards the main hall of Gong Sun's mansion.

  Not yet arrived at the hall, he heard Gong Sun Wenda's bright laughter, and he shouted loudly towards the outside: "Just listen to the movement outside, I know it's Brother Baofang visiting. Brother Baofang please come in quickly! Old man has already prepared strong tea for you!"

  As soon as he entered the house, Liu Yitiao saw two people inside. One was Gong Sun Wenda and the other was surprisingly Gong Sun Helan, the folding fan man from last night.

  Yang Bofang sat down in the chair next to Gong Sun Wenda without any courtesy, while Liu Yitia stepped forward and saluted the host's family, saying: "I've seen Master Gong Sun, I've seen Brother He Lan!"

  "A wise nephew, haha, no need to be too polite, just like last night, don't have to be formal with me. Sit down at ease." Gong Sun Wenda warmly greeted. Gong Sun Helan, on the other hand, turned up her nose in disdain and ignored him.

  Liu Yitiao didn't mind, and after thanking Gong Sun Wenda, he sat down beside Yang Bofang. It was Gong Sun Wenda who noticed that his son's attitude was somewhat off, and recalling that Liu Yitiao had also mentioned Gong Sun Helan the previous night, he asked: "Lan'er, is there some misunderstanding between you and Yitiao?"

  Gongsun He Lan flicked open his folding fan and fanned himself twice, saying: "Misunderstanding? Father, you're giving him too much credit. What misunderstanding could I have with a farmer?"