20demayo Chapter 274 This is what it means for things to go against your wishes.
Chapter 274 This is what it means for things to go against your wishes.
Was Yinzhuo just trying to scare his father? Well, this time he wasn't, or rather, not entirely. Ever since he decided to rebel, Yinzhuo had given up eating. Every day, apart from the medicinal soup that had to be fed to him under his watchful eye, he would only have Dexi secretly bring him a few pieces of pastry to fill his stomach late at night. He persisted like this for two or three days, and when he figured he could fool Kangxi, he hurriedly sent Dexi to Qingxi Study to report.
When Kangxi and Yinti rushed to Shufeng Pavilion, Yinzu was sitting on the headboard, clutching his rumbling stomach and sighing. Hearing the greetings from outside, he quickly pulled the blanket over himself and lay back down on the bed.
"Yinzuo, you brat... sigh, how did you get yourself into this state? Eldest brother, quickly send someone to fetch Physician Wang. Yinzuo, can you hear your father?"
Could Yinzhi hear Kangxi speaking? The answer is of course yes, but even if he could hear, he couldn't respond. After all, there's a saying: you can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.
Yinzhuo's half-dead, pale appearance startled not only Kangxi but also Yinti. When Kangxi said he would send someone to fetch the imperial physician, he didn't ask anyone else to do it and went directly to the residence of the imperial physicians to bring the physician Wang over.
"Physician Wang, come quickly and take a look at him! This child hasn't eaten or drunk anything for three days and seems to have fainted..."
When Kangxi saw Yinti pulling the Imperial Physician Wang in, he quickly got up to make room for Wang in front of Yinzuo's bed and invited him to take Yinzuo's pulse. With Wang's medical skills, he could tell whether Yinzuo was unconscious or not at a glance. But as the saying goes, to know what you know and to know what you don't know is true knowledge.
"Your Majesty need not worry too much. Judging from the pulse, the Prince is only slightly weak and otherwise fine. If Your Majesty wishes to awaken the Prince, this old minister can administer acupuncture now..."
At this moment, Imperial Physician Wang was standing by Yinzhuo's bedside. He even raised his voice slightly when he spoke, making it very clear that whether Yinzhuo woke up, when he woke up, and in what way he woke up, was entirely up to him.
What will Yinzhuo choose? First of all, it is certain that he does not want to be injected with needles. After ruling out this method of awakening, it seems that he has no other choice now.
"De Xi... De..."
When Yinzhuo "woke up," Kangxi was inquiring about Yinzhuo's condition with Imperial Physician Wang. Upon hearing the noise, Kangxi quickly pushed Imperial Physician Wang aside and hurried toward the bed where Yinzhuo was lying.
"Yinzhuo, how are you feeling now? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Physician Wang is right here, would you like him to come and take a look at you again?"
The reason why Yinzhuo looked so weak was because he had tortured himself so much in the past few days. No matter how skilled the imperial physician Wang was, he couldn't cure his hunger that made him so weak that his stomach was sticking to his back. So when Yinzhuo heard Kangxi's words, he quickly shook his head and said that there was no need to make things difficult for the imperial physician Wang.
“Father, I’m fine except for feeling really hungry, but the thought of eating makes me want to vomit.”
Upon hearing this, Kangxi tenderly touched Yinzhuo's forehead, then turned his gaze to the waiting Imperial Physician Wang. His meaning was clear: Come, explain to me what happened. Who is Imperial Physician Wang? After all, he was someone who constantly lingered in front of the Empress Dowager. He had already thought of a solution when he heard Yinzhuo's words, so when he faced Kangxi's questioning gaze, he answered with confidence.
“Your Majesty, as the saying goes, every medicine has its side effects. The reason why the Prince feels hungry but wants to vomit after eating is likely due to weakened gastrointestinal function caused by taking the medication for too long. This old minister believes that the previous medication should be stopped for now, and the Prince should rest for a while until his gastrointestinal function is restored before making any further plans…”
How can one describe Yinzhuo's current feelings? Let's put it this way: if it weren't for his status, he really wouldn't mind getting out of bed and kowtowing to Imperial Physician Wang. This wasn't just an imperial physician; he was practically a living bodhisattva sent by heaven to save him. Heaven knows how much he'd been tormented by those bitter medicines these past few days.
The phrase "things don't go as planned" has now become a reality for Yinzhuo. He thought that after he stopped taking the medicine, he could return to his carefree life, but after all this trouble, he realized that he had just escaped one danger only to fall into another. The medicine had stopped, but a new torment had begun.
"Father, look at what your son has laid out here, and then look at what you have laid out over there. Is this right? This is all bland and watery, it doesn't look appetizing at all. Your son doesn't want to eat this. I want to eat your braised pork ribs."
Normally, if Yinzhu wanted to eat the braised pork ribs on his table, Kangxi would have ordered Liang Jiugong to bring the dish to him without hesitation. But now, just thinking about how Yinzhu had been lying half-dead on the bed before filled Kangxi with dread, so he would never indulge him.
"That won't do. The imperial physician said that your stomach and intestines are weak recently and you can't eat these greasy and hard-to-digest foods. Yinzhuo, listen to me and take good care of your health. When the time comes, I will never stop you from eating whatever you want."
Yinzhuo now truly understands what it means to lift a stone only to drop it on one's own foot. To be honest, he didn't want to be obedient, but what could he do when faced with his own father speaking to him gently like a child? Well, so be it, plain and simple it is. Perhaps this is the punishment for his impulsiveness.
The saying "a soft heart leads to defeat" is absolutely true. Kangxi knew Yinzhi well and knew that he was the type of person who responded best to gentleness and not force. So when Yinzhi couldn't stand it and started making a fuss, Kangxi didn't rush. He just kept coaxing, praising, and persuading him. Not only did he coax him himself, but if Yinzhi made a big fuss, he would also call Yinzhi's brothers to help coax and persuade him. Yinzhi was precisely controlled by his father. Even if he were Sun Wukong who had read Journey to the West, he would not be able to escape the palm of his father, this great Buddha.
"Sigh, it's true what they say, the devil is one foot tall, but the righteous are ten feet tall. No wonder he's the father and I'm the son! He really has a way to deal with me. Tell me, how could someone as smart as me come up with such a terrible idea as a hunger strike? Dexi, my brain was fogged up by that bitter medicine soup back then. Why didn't you think to stop me then..."
Haha, are you sure I didn't stop you? I was practically begging you on my knees back then, wasn't I? What did you say back then... right, "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub," and "If you're not willing to take risks, you can't control your father"? How come you've messed things up now and realize your idea was terrible? Where were you all this time?