Chapter 45

Chapter 45

After the two imperial physicians left, they both wiped sweat from their brows, each one more nervous than the other. One of them asked, "Um... Physician Zhang, what... what... pulse did you detect just now?"

Physician Zhang also wiped a handful of sweat off with his sleeve: "Physician Li, why are you asking me? You just took the young lord's pulse too, so you must know as well."

Physician Li closed his eyes and said, "Then let's say it together!"

The two silently counted to three, then said in unison: "A slippery pulse!"

After speaking, they both covered their mouths at the same time. Physician Zhang looked around cautiously and whispered, "What do you make of this? The young lord is a man! How can a man possibly have a slippery pulse?"

Physician Li lowered his voice: "How the hell would I know? But given this young lord's temper, he'd kill you over a single word of disagreement! We don't dare say a thing!"

Physician Zhang nodded heavily in agreement: "He even dared to lay claim to a prince—back then, he nearly beat the Sixth Prince to death! How... how are we supposed to talk about this?"

Physician Li let out a hiss and asked, "Then... how do we prescribe medication?"

Physician Zhang said, "Just prescribe some mild tonics. Maybe the young lord ate something weird and his pulse is just off."

Physician Li asked, "But what if he really... really... really is pregnant..."

Physician Zhang grabbed Physician Li's hand: "How is that possible? When he was a kid and wet the bed, I came to treat him—he was fully intact, balls and all! There's no way he's pregnant! Something's gotta be wrong. Let's not overthink it. Maybe in a few days, his pulse will go back to normal."

Physician Li could only nod in agreement. The two put their heads together and prescribed Lu Yunqi some mild warming tonics to strengthen his body.

When the medicine bowl was brought over, Lu Yunqi pinched his nose and said, "Do I really have to drink this?"

Murong Jie looked up at him, and Lu Yunqi quickly said, "Fine, fine, fine, I'll drink it, I'll drink it! This stuff won't cause any problems, will it?"

He quickly asked the system, "Xiao Jiu, can I drink this? Don't let it hurt my little one."

Xiao Jiu replied, "You can drink it, master. It's just mild tonics—drinking it will actually be good for the baby."

Lu Yunqi frowned: "Didn't they say I had heatstroke? Why are they giving me warming tonics?"

Xiao Jiu answered, "My young lord, why not ask yourself? In the past, because of your illness, how many imperial physicians got beaten with planks?"

Lu Yunqi: ...Another sin committed by the original owner.

Lu Yunqi massaged his temples in frustration, pinched his nose, and downed the medicine. Fortunately, it did have some effect—after drinking it, he didn't feel as nauseous anymore.

He lounged on the couch, his loosely tied hair spread across the brocade pillow. Sunlight fell across his face, and there was something almost beautiful about the scene.

Murong Jie deliberately avoided looking at him, just unwilling to admit that he was indeed somewhat handsome.

Lu Yunqi hugged a big, plump pillow and said, "I sent a letter to my dad the day before yesterday. His 300,000-strong Lu Family Army is at your disposal anytime."

Murong Jie frowned: "Lu Tong would have to be insane to listen to your bullshit."

Lu Yunqi chuckled and handed Murong Jie a carrier pigeon message with only four words on it: "Listen to your son."

Lu Yunqi said, "My dad is the best dad in the world! Your dad being terrible is your problem—my dad listens to everything I say."

Murong Jie looked at those four characters and confirmed they were indeed in Lu Tong's handwriting, but he still had doubts: "How exactly did you convince General Lu?"

Even supporting Murong Jie to ascend the throne would only be a minor contribution—how could that compare to sitting on the throne yourself?

Lu Yunqi grinned, stood up, and wrapped his arms around Murong Jie's waist, saying, "I told my dad that I wanted my man to be emperor, and I wanted to be empress! My dad said, listen to your son. See? Isn't my dad the best dad in the world?"

Murong Jie was silent for a long time, because he felt that while a father like the dog emperor was a rare cold-blooded scumbag, a lunatic father like Lu Tong was just as rare.

Far away at the border, Lu Tong sneezed twice, wondering which son of a bitch was cursing him.

Fortunately, Lu Yunqi's morning sickness didn't last long. After a few days of vomiting, he recovered and was once again a dashing young man.

These days, the emperor had been greatly troubled by the refugee situation. He had placed high hopes on the eldest prince, but the eldest prince's area had seen three consecutive refugee riots.

He brought a squad of personal guards, but then a fourth riot broke out.

Even Murong Jie found it somewhat unbelievable: "I always thought the eldest prince was an idiot, but surely he can't be this incompetent? All he has to do is hand out porridge to refugees, and he still manages to stir up so much trouble?"

Lu Yunqi burst out laughing at this, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Murong Jie finally caught on and asked, "Are you the one sabotaging him?"

Lu Yunqi waved his hand while laughing: "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed, but all you need to know is that this does you no harm."

Actually, he hadn't done anything major—he'd simply thrown all those with loyalty below fifty percent, especially those below thirty percent, into the eldest prince's area.

In ordinary times, most people's loyalty ranged from sixty to seventy percent. Fewer than one in ten fell below fifty percent, let alone below thirty.

But these were extraordinary times. Those who had once been at fifty percent would scheme due to hunger and poverty.

Those who schemed would see their loyalty drop, and once it dropped low enough, they would start causing trouble.

By gathering such people together, Lu Yunqi was essentially breeding chaos—so of course trouble broke out every few days!

At this moment in the imperial palace, the emperor slammed a stack of memorials onto the eldest prince Murong Feng's head, splitting his brow open and drawing blood.

Still not satisfied, he pointed at his nose and cursed: "Look at yourself! You can't even handle such a trivial matter! All I asked was for you to settle a group of refugees—just over a thousand people—and in a mere half month, you've caused so many problems! How am I supposed to trust you with anything else?"

The eldest prince knelt there, blood dripping from his head, not daring to speak, just playing the part of a quail.

After finishing his tirade, the emperor took a deep breath and looked at another memorial: "But your sixth brother, on the other hand, has settled the refugees in perfect order. The refugees incorporated into the army have already begun training, and those employed through work-for-relief programs have been settled by the thousands with Lu Yunqi's help! And you? Look at what you've accomplished!"

The eldest prince finally spoke: "Your son knows his mistake, Father. Please give your son another chance."

The emperor waved his hand wearily and said, "Forget it. You may withdraw."