After asking everything she could about Long Xiang’s recent adventures, Consort Liu turned her questioning to Long Xuan, “Has your uncle gone to see you?”
After Imperial Concubine Liu assumed managerial control of the Back Palace, Liu Shuang Shi couldn’t just find a random reason to go see his Imperial Consort sister anymore.
“Yes, he has,” Long Xuan answered.
“Has he said anything?” Consort Liu asked again.
“Nothing much,” Between the space of those two words, Consort Liu began to cough hard.
“Consort mother?” It took all of that for Long Xiang to finally notice that Consort Liu was not in good health, and he quickly added, “Consort other, what happened to you?”
Long Xuan clapped his hand on his mother’s back to sooth her cough while a maid came by with water and medicine.
“I don’t know what’s been happening lately,” It took a while before Consort Liu could stop coughing and speak, “This cough just hasn’t gone away!”
Long Xuan said, “Let’s get an imperial physician to take a look at you again.”
“He’s taken a look,” Consort Liu answered, “We changed physicians just last night. He came to see me and wrote another prescription. I just don’t think it helps much.”
“Consort mother,” Long Xuan said, “Give that prescription to me.”
Long Xuan would see to it that his uncle found physicians outside the palace to examine the prescription for the medicine that Consort Liu took.
“Consort mother,” Long Xiang asked from the side, “Does imperial father know that you’re sick?”
Consort Liu answered, “Your imperial father’s busy.”
“He hasn’t come to see you?” Long Xiang raised his voice.
“Be quiet!” Long Xuan stopped Long Xiang with a shout, then whispered, “Do you know what this place is? Can we afford to shout nonsense?”
“But what in the world happened?” Long Xiang didn’t get it. He’d left one palace to go to Nan Zhao, but came back to one that was completely different.
Long Xuan only wanted Long Xiang to shut up. Things aren’t right, that much he could feel. It seemed that there was another hand at his back, this one was slowly, determinedly pushing him further and further off a cliff’s ledge.
Zhao Fu arrived just then with an imperial physician in tow.
“Your royal highness, are you feeling better?” Zhao Fu asked Consort Liu reverently.
“A little,” Consort Liu had always been polite to this eunuch, he was the overseer of the Hall of Eternal Light, after all, “Mister, you’ve worked hard in service of our imperial majesty.”
Zhao Fu smiled, “Your humble servant is only doing what comes naturally.”
Zhao Fu watched Consort Liu take the medicine. In the last little while, every once in a few days, he’d come and watch to make sure that Consort Liu was taking her medicine. This was still a woman who’d once been favored by the emperor, Zhao Fu thought, how pitiable that heart had been too treacherous! It seems the emperor didn’t want her to stay around anymore.
Consort Liu finished the medicine, and gave a reward to Zhao Fu herself. Emperor Xing Wu wouldn’t visit, so she had hoped to ingratiate herself to the eunuch. Perhaps he’d mention her in front of the emperor and say something good, remind him all the good she’d done in the past.
Zhao Fu took the reward and excused himself.
Consort Liu put on a brave face and smiled at Long Xuan, “Today’s your birthday, Xiang Er’s back too, why don’t we have dinner together?”
Long Xuan nodded.
Outside the Hall of Eternal LIght, Luo Wei watched as Zhao Fu approached.
“Young master,” Zhao Fu saw Luo Wei from a ways away, and bid him good afternoon.
“Mister, you’ve been to see Consort Liu?” Luo Wei smiled as he asked.
“Yes, just now,” Zhao Fu answered, “Consort Liu’s been sick for a while now, and she doesn’t look like she’s getting any better.”
Luo Wei’s smile didn’t change. Zhao Fu had been going to watch Consort Liu take her medicine once every few days. It seems like Emperor Xing Wu didn’t want to keep this woman around anymore. It was only natural. How could the emperor of a nation stand to share a bed with someone devious enough to plot with him in mind?
“Young master,” Zhao Fu said to Luo Wei, “It’s the second prince’s birthday today, you know?”
Luo Wei blinked, that’s right, the last day of May, it was Long Xuan’s birthday. “Oh, you’re right,” Luo Wei grinned, “I almost forgot. Mister,” Luo Wei took a few steps closer to Zhao Fu, and whispered, “You’re always around the emperor. There’s some things you ought to remind him of, like how many of Greater Zhou’s soldiers stand behind Consort Liu. There are some things that, if you don’t deal with it well, might come and bite you in the back.”
Consort Liu can’t die just yet. She and her family need to go down together, just like what Long Xuan did to the Luo family in the past life. Long Xuan and Liu Shuang Shi weren’t stupid. If Consort Liu died under questionable circumstances, they’d struggle for their own survival all the harder. This wasn’t what Luo Wei wanted to see, because no matter what, it’ll end in chaos for Greater Zhou.
Zhao Fu turned his head to look at Luo Wei. In the soft warm glow of the afternoon sunshine, Luo Wei was definitely smiling and bright, but somehow, Zhao Fu didn’t feel any warmth in the youth standing before him.