Chapter Ninety-Two: The Lonely One Falls Ill

  Four Seasons Residence

  As the master of the Carefree Mountain Villa, this place is naturally decorated luxuriously and spaciously. To say that it's just a suite for the master, in fact, it's no worse than the residence of an ordinary small wealthy family.

  As soon as Jiang Xia entered the Xiangyang Mountain Villa, he was surrounded by Zhu Houzhao and others and taken to bed. Cough... don't get me wrong, it's not that they wanted to do anything to Jiang Xia, but rather Zhu Houzhao had specially brought a doctor to diagnose and treat Jiang Xia.

  Zhu Houzhao brought three doctors, among whom was Hu Yuyi, the chief of the Imperial Hospital who had just treated Jiang Xia. However, Hu Yuyi only showed a hint of surprise and then calmly re-examined Jiang Xia without saying a word. It was clear that Liu Jin had informed Hu Yuyi not to reveal Jiang Xia's identity to outsiders.

  After Hu Imperial Physician finished examining Jiang Xia's body, he prescribed a nourishing prescription for him, and then left with the other two imperial physicians.

  Zhu Houzhao, Li Dongyang, Cui Nianci and Cui Ruxiang remained in the room.

  Zhu Houzhao asked about Jiang Xia's physical condition with concern, and after Jiang Xia repeatedly indicated that he was fine, Zhu Houzhao finally put his mind at ease.

  Jiang Xia looked at everyone and suddenly said: "Master, can you all go out first? I want to talk to Lao Er alone for a few words."

  Li Dongyang was taken aback for a moment. He looked deeply at Jiang Xia and nodded: "Alright, let's go out first."

  After finishing speaking, Li Dongyang beckoned everyone to leave.

  Only Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Xia were left in the room.

  Zhu Houzhao asked somewhat strangely: "What are you prepared to say to me?"

  Jiang Xia smiled slightly and shook his head: "Are you still trying to deceive me? Are you talking to 'me' or 'us'?

  Zhu Houzhao was shocked, "You know?"

  Jiang Xia nodded, and in a low voice said: "This time the person who saved me was Liu Jin. When his subordinate was carrying me, I inadvertently saw the East Factory's waist card on him."

  Zhu Houzhao's eyes slightly lost their focus, and he smiled faintly. He looked at Jiang Xia and said, "Now that you know my identity, won't you be afraid to call me 'Old Second' again?"

  Jiang Xia stretched out his hand and beckoned him over, saying in a low voice: "Come a little closer, I have something to tell you."

  Zhu Houzhao immediately stretched out his head, "slap!" Jiang Xia patted Zhu Houzhao's head, and Zhu Houzhao was stunned. Jiang Xia smiled weakly and said: "In the future, when there are outsiders, you will naturally be the emperor, but when there are no outsiders, you will still be the second child. We swore in front of heaven and earth that heaven and earth are above us, and we must listen to their words."

  Zhu Houzhao stroked his own head, feigning anger: "You dare to offend the emperor and commit treason? I'll immediately summon someone to take you away and throw you into the heavenly prison. After you've endured eighteen kinds of cruel torture, I'll have you beheaded at the Meridian Gate."

  "You dare, if so I'll let people spread the rumor that the current emperor's **dragon root is only two inches long and every time he favors a beauty, it ends in just three breaths."

  "You..." Zhu Houzhao immediately conceded defeat, shaking his head and saying: "You're ruthless, indeed worthy of being the boss."

  The two of them exchanged a glance and then burst out laughing.

  Zhu Houzhao did not expect that Jiang Xia would not have the slightest fear after learning his identity, but this was exactly what he wanted. Now that his wish had been fulfilled, Zhu Houzhao finally put down a big stone in his heart.

  Actually, Jiang Xia didn't plan to reveal so quickly that he already knew Zhu Houzhao's identity, but after discovering Zhu Youxiao's conspiracy and Liu Jin's hidden evil intentions today, Jiang Xia began to consider whether or not to remind Zhu Houzhao of one thing.

  Just now, as soon as he entered the Xiangyang Mountain Villa, Jiang Xia saw Zhu Houzhao waiting anxiously for him. Jiang Xia was deeply moved in his heart and decided that he must remind Zhu Houzhao about this matter. Jiang Xia suddenly sat up from bed, leaning his back against the headboard, looking at Zhu Houzhao with a serious face: "Second brother, I want to remind you of something."

  "What's the matter?" Zhu Houzhao asked, he rarely saw Jiang Xia speaking to him so seriously, so he also became serious. However, Zhu Houzhao liked Jiang Xia's attitude, still calling him "Lao Er" and using a tone that was instructive.

  Jiang Xia said: "You should have a son now."

  Zhu Houzhao did not expect that what Jiang Xia said to him so seriously would be this matter, and this matter happened to be the pain in Zhu Houzhao's heart.

  Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne at the age of 15, and is now 20 years old. At this age, in modern times, he would still be considered young, but in the Ming Dynasty, especially on Zhu Houzhao's body, it was different.

  To know that as an emperor, having many children and descendants is not just a personal matter, but also a national affair. It is the responsibility and duty of the emperor. If the emperor's offspring are thin, the collateral branches of the royal family will be eager to move, which is not conducive to the stability and prosperity of the country.

  According to Confucian etiquette, men were considered adults at the age of 20 and wore a crown. However, in ancient customs, men could get married at 16 and women at 14. Zhu Houzhao had already been crowned emperor, but after all these years, he still did not have any children, which was absolutely shameful for a man.

  For so many years, if an outsider had mentioned this to him, Zhu Houzhao would have been furious. But now that Jiang Xia had brought it up, Zhu Houzhao didn't get angry. He hung his head low, grasping the hem of his clothes with both hands. His face struggled for a while before he finally spoke: "Big brother, it's not that I don't want to give birth, but...I have an illness."

  "Huh?" Jiang Xia was suddenly shocked, and he couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you usually that... uh, what's it called?"

  Jiang Xia didn't say it outright, but the girls in Xishan Villa who had slept with Zhu Houzhao all said: "Young and fierce as a tiger, not an ordinary opponent." Jokingly, experienced courtesans all acknowledged they were no match for him. Is this still considered having a hidden illness?

  Zhu Houzhao sighed and said: "When I was young, I obtained the Four-Character Heart Scripture of the Imperial Female, and after diligent practice, I could understand human affairs at the age of thirteen."

  Good grief, starting to chase girls at thirteen? Jiang Xia mentally wrote a "guilty" verdict on his own second brother.

  Then Zhu Houzhao continued: "However, as my brother said, if the Heart Sutra of the Imperial Woman is not practiced perfectly, it will deplete the body's vital energy. I was only seventeen when the imperial physician examined me and found that I had already injured my dragon root, so...I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to have children."

  "No wonder." Jiang Xia muttered to himself, thinking that it was no wonder that this guy had been on the throne for 16 years and yet had no children to inherit the throne, and that the good country would eventually have to be handed over to his cousin Zhu Houzhuo. Jiang Xia tilted his head in thought, then asked Zhu Houzhao: "Tell your brother the truth, do you want to have a son?"

  Jiang Xia said this and Zhu Houzhao immediately rolled his eyes at him, bluntly spitting out two words: "Nonsense."

  "Alright, I'll teach you a set of skills called 'Tongzi Gong'. To cultivate this inner skill, you need to abstain from desires for a year before you can make some small progress. However, once you've made some progress, if you combine it with the 'Yu Nu Xin Jing', you shouldn't have any problem having children."

  "Abstain for a year?" Zhu Houzhao's face immediately turned gloomy. Since he was thirteen, he had been with a different woman every night, so asking him to abstain for a year would be more unbearable than killing him.

  Jiang Xia looked at Zhu Houzhao with a bad temper: "How? Can't bear it for a year?"

  "Is there something shorter?" Zhu Houzhao asked tentatively.

  "What do you think?" Jiang Xia directly dispelled Zhu Houzhao's lucky idea with one sentence, and at the same time emphasized: "Right, once this skill is started, it cannot be broken. Otherwise, if it breaks, it will be a waste of effort, and from then on, you don't have to think about passing it down to your children. How about it? Will you practice or not?"

  Zhu Houzhao fell silent for a moment, and finally nodded his head firmly, spitting out one word: "Practice!"

  Jiang Xia smiled and then began to pass on Zhu Houzhao's "Tongzi Gong".

  There is a saying that the best martial arts in the world come from Shaolin, and many people think that the most powerful martial art of Shaolin is either "Yi Jin Jing" or "Xi Sui Jing". However, this is not true. Those who truly understand Shaolin know that its most powerful martial art is actually "Tong Zi Gong". When practiced to the highest level, this skill can even contain a mouthful of true energy, making it impossible for swords and guns to harm the body. Of course, to reach such a level, one must have a childlike body. For someone like Zhu Houzhao, at most, he could only use this skill to accumulate some essence and try to solve the problem of having an heir.

  After General Jiangxia passed on the key to the "Tongzi Gong" method to Zhu Houzhao, he suddenly reached out and pressed his hand against the top of Zhu's head. General Jiangxia poured his true energy into Zhu from the top of his head, saying: "Don't be distracted, take a good feel for the route of that exercise."

  After Jiang Xia led Zhu Houzhao through three small cycles with his true energy, he withdrew from the exercise. He was originally injured internally, and now that he had mobilized his true energy again, his injury became even more severe.

  Jiang Xia fell weakly onto the bed, saying with a lack of energy: "You remember, now that you've started on this path, from today onwards, you must begin practicing this skill."

  "What?!" Zhu Houzhao shrieked, he was just about to have a good time for two or three months before starting to practice again, didn't expect Jiang Xia to directly cut off his retreat. Zhu Houzhao could only helplessly say: "You're ruthless..."

  "Alright, alright, go out and play with the mud, and help me call Ruxue and Nianshu in." Jiang Xia waved his hand impatiently.

  Zhu Houzhao gave Jiang Xia a resentful glance before sighing and walking out of the room.

  After a while, Ruhua and Niansheng walked into the room together.

  "As soon as he saw the two of them, Jiang Xia smiled and said: 'Ru Shuang, Nian Nu. My injuries are quite serious, so I'll probably have to rely on you two to take care of me for a while. Why don't you just stay tonight? This bed is big enough, we can all squeeze in together.'"

  Like Frost and Nian Nu, as soon as they heard Jiang Xia, they immediately blushed with shame. Like Frost nodded and said: "Zhu Shou just told us that because of your serious injury, you can't move for the next three months. So... Brother Jiang, you should endure it a bit longer."

  "What? Did that little Zhu Shou really say that?" Jiang Xia shouted, this is revenge, this is absolutely a thorough revenge...

  Jiang Xia tried to look serious and said to Ru Shuang and Nian Nu: "He's deceiving you, really."

  "Brother Jiang, it's better to believe that something exists rather than not. Anyway, it's only been three months, not a long time. My sister and I won't run away, sooner or later we'll be yours." Ru Shuang's voice became softer and softer, almost inaudible.

  Jiang Xia couldn't help but let out a sorrowful cry, "Zhu Houzhao, come in, I promise not to kill you..."

  The matter was divided into two parts. After Liu Jin went to the Leopard House, he didn't see Zhu Houzhao and simply waited at the Leopard House.

  But after Zhu Houzhao left the Xiangyang Mountain Villa, his face suddenly changed.

  When he was in the Xianyao Villa, Zhu Houzhao had a triumphant look of successfully framing Jiang Xia, but as soon as he left the villa, his face suddenly turned cold and he immediately transformed back into the supreme emperor who held the highest power in the world.

  As he got on the horse-drawn carriage, Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhang Yong and said: "Zhang Yong, Big Brother already knows my identity."

  Zhang Yong immediately put on a surprised expression, "He knows? This..."

  "It's nothing, with a clever mind like yours, you should know. This has dispelled my worries, I didn't even know how to talk to him at first. He knew and still didn't change his attitude towards me, I really like that."

  Zhu Houzhao lightly glossed over the matter and instead spoke of another with a serious expression: "Big brother, after getting injured this time, didn't say anything to me. It seems like he's reminding me that I should leave behind an heir. I'm thinking why big brother suddenly wants to remind me of this, could it be that he encountered something?"

  "Have someone go and investigate, see who exactly kidnapped Jiang Xia and his fiancée," Zhang Yong said.

  "En. Investigate, must investigate clearly, the more detailed the better."

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Houzhao began to close his eyes and cultivate his spirit. His face was unpredictable and it was unknown what he was thinking about again. Zhang Yong, who was sitting opposite him, did not make a single sound, and even the rhythm of his breathing slowed down quietly.

  Back in the Leopard House, Zhu Houzhao had just walked into the Yangxing Hall when Liu Jin rushed in to pay his respects.

  Zhu Houzhao asked Liu Jin as soon as he saw him: "Liu Jin, is it you who saved Jiangxia today?"

  "Yes, Your Majesty, I have received news..."

  "Who are the people who took Jiang Xia away? Is there any involvement of royal family members in this?"

  Zhu Houzhao directly interrupted Liu Jin's words and asked.

  Liu Jin's heart skipped a beat, he knew that Zhu Houzhao must have already known something. Liu Jin nodded and said: "Yes, the eldest son of King Xing of Xiang, Zhu Houxi, was involved in it."

  "Zhu Houxi?" Zhu Houzhao's eyes flashed a cold light, he took a slight breath and muttered to himself: "I'm only twenty, can't you wait? My throne will last for thousands of generations, my descendants will be numerous! Who dares to have that wicked thought, I'll take his life!"

  After finishing, Zhu Houzhao said to Liu Jin: "Investigate, investigate thoroughly for me. Check if King Xingxian is also involved in this matter. If there is any evidence that suggests King Xingxian is involved, immediately throw his entire family into the heavenly prison. If no evidence of King Xingxian's involvement can be found, then pass on my imperial decree and have him come to the capital to explain what happened."

  "The slave obeys the order." Liu Jin let out a slight sigh of relief, after all, this matter was still left to him to take charge of, otherwise everything would have been finished.

  Liu Jin slowly straightened up and only then realized that his back was already soaked through.