Chongfei Manual [II]

Chapter 166.4

The summer weather was muggy and hot. It felt unbearable. As Wei Luo lied on an elmwood couch that was underneath a trellis roof for growing flowering vines, she could hear the continuous chirping of insects from the trees. She sat up to hold a cup of ice-cold black plum soup. As she sipped the soup, she said to Bai Lan, "Fan harder. Did you not eat enough at lunch? Why are you fanning so weakly?"

(T/N: Below is a picture of the trellis roof.)

Bai Lan's brow was twisted as she said, "Your Highness, you're about to give birth soon. It would better if you drink less cold liquids."

There was a thin layer of sweat on the tip of Wei Luo's nose. Even though she was hiding underneath the trellis roof, she wasn't able to escape from the heat. She lied back down on the couch and lazily looked up. "Don't worry. I asked Doctor Sun about this. He said it was okay. If even my small desire of drinking something cold is taken away from me, I don't know how I can endure through this endless summer."

As soon as Bai Lan heard Doctor Sun's said it was okay, she immediately stopped worrying. Doctor Sun was much more knowledgeable than them.

Wei Luo lied on the couch to rest for a while. When Zhao Jie came home, her eyes were closed and she was peacefully sleeping.

Zhao Jie waved his hand to indicate for Bai Lan and Jin Luo to withdraw and sat down on the couch. He parted the loose hair on Wei Luo's forehead and gently used his thumb to wipe away the sweat.

During today's morning court, Emperor Chong Zhen brought up the topic of establishing the next emperor again. The court ministers that had previously objected to Zhao Jie had already vanished without a trace. Some of them had met with accidents while they were traveling. Other court ministers had been thoroughly investigated by Emperor Chong Zhen for accepting bribes. There were also court ministers who took the initiative of proposing to retire from their official positions and returning to the countryside. Everyone had a tacit mutual understanding of who was behind all of this.

Other than Prince Rui, who had stepped forward, to retort, no one else in the imperial court dared to voice any objections. Regardless, the emperor had suppressed his objections and he could only step back to his original position.

The matter of choosing the crown prince was settled just like this. Once the Ministry of Rites selected an auspicious date and the Ministry of Justice finished drafting and finalizing the documents, Prince Jing Zhao Jie would be proclaimed as the crown prince. Emperor Chong Zhen announced that he would step down from the imperial court once this was done. In front of everyone, Emperor Chong told Zhao Jie to come with him to the imperial study. This was to clearly indicate that they would be discussing an important matter.

Prince Rui stood inside Han Yuan Hall with a gloomy and cold gaze. Soon after, he flung his sleeve and left the hall.

Zhao Zhang's expression wasn't good either. He clenched his fists inside his sleeve before following after Prince Rui's footsteps and left the hall together.