PFC Chapter 3: Sizi Has a Fever
Chapter 3: Sizi Has a Fever
Li Shimin's decree acted like a shot of adrenaline, quickly restoring order to the Taiji Palace, which was still in shock and chaos.
The officials accepted the order and went to perform their respective duties.
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were responsible for appeasing the officials and blocking the news to avoid causing unnecessary panic; Changsun Wuji was left behind by Li Shimin to assist the officials of the Imperial Observatory in conducting preliminary research and recording on the still sky.
Li Shimin himself, under the protection of the Imperial Guards, practically ran out of Taiji Palace and headed straight for the Empress's residence, Lizheng Hall.
He had to tell Guanyinbi about this big thing immediately!
Inside the Lizheng Hall, a somber and gloomy atmosphere prevailed.
Since the disappearance of Xiao Sizi, Empress Zhangsun's health has been deteriorating.
She already suffered from a respiratory illness, and the added worry made her even more ill. She lost a lot of weight, spent her days in tears, and was bedridden.
"Guanyinbi!"
Before Li Shimin even arrived, his anxious voice could already be heard.
He dismissed all the palace servants, rushed to the bedside, and grasped Empress Zhangsun's cold hand.
"Erlang..." Empress Zhangsun weakly opened her eyes. Seeing her husband's bloodshot eyes and unprecedentedly agitated expression, her heart tightened. "But... but is there news of Sizi?"
"Yes! I've got it!" Li Shimin nodded emphatically, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to keep his voice from startling his wife. "I saw the rhinoceros at the Taiji Palace!"
He incoherently recounted everything to Empress Zhangsun, including the events at the celestial canopy, the young man he called "the immortal," and the scene of the rhinoceros eating noodles.
Empress Zhangsun listened as if in a dream. At first, she couldn't believe it, then she grabbed Li Shimin's dragon robe and repeatedly confirmed it, and finally, tears streamed down her face like a burst dam.
But this time, they were tears of joy.
"She's still alive... my daughter is still alive..." she murmured to herself, a startling radiance appearing on her withered face. "Erlang, take me! Take me to the Taiji Palace! I want to see her too! I want to see my daughter!"
The next morning.
Jiang He was awakened by a rustling sound.
He opened his eyes and saw that Xiao Sizi was already awake, sitting on the bed with her two little hands gripping the corner of the blanket. Her big, dark eyes were staring at him without blinking, with a mixture of fear and curiosity in them.
"Good morning, Sizi." Jiang He smiled at her and sat up.
The effects of the body-strengthening liquid were remarkable; he only slept for a few hours and felt energetic and refreshed.
Little Sizi seemed to be infected by his smile and timidly returned a small smile.
"Are you hungry? Uncle will make you that delicious noodle dish again, just like yesterday?"
As soon as noodles were mentioned, Xiao Sizi's eyes lit up, and he nodded his little head repeatedly like he was pecking at rice.
Seeing her adorable appearance, Jiang He's mood improved.
But then a real problem arose: he had nothing there.
Little Sizi had no change of clothes, no toiletries, and no toys.
We can't keep her wearing this ancient costume covered in mud and sand forever.
"Looks like I need to go on a big shopping spree."
Jiang He glanced at the string of numbers in his mobile banking app and took a deep breath.
This 100,000 yuan was the start-up capital for his and Xiao Sizi's new life.
After breakfast, Jiang He prepared to take her out.
Meanwhile, inside the Taiji Palace of the Tang Dynasty, the scene was quite different.
Beside the dragon throne, a phoenix couch was specially set up for Empress Zhangsun, who had just moved here, to sit comfortably.
Li Shimin stayed by his side without leaving for a moment.
Below, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and other core ministers stood solemnly.
All eyes were focused on the sky above, which had been silent all night.
Just as the sun rose, the sky lit up again!
The clear picture reappeared.
"It's lit up! It's lit up!"
"It's the immortal abode of a celestial being!"
In the scene, Jiang He is carrying Xiao Sizi out of the room.
Empress Zhangsun sat up abruptly, staring intently at her daughter in the picture, forgetting even to breathe.
"Sizi... my Sizi..." She saw that her daughter had changed into clean clothes and looked better than yesterday, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was relieved a little.
Then, they saw Jiang He carrying Xiao Sizi, sitting in the iron house called "Elevator", watching the numbers jump from "18" all the way to "1".
"This...this iron house can actually rise and fall on its own?!" Du Ruhui stroked his beard, his face full of disbelief.
When Jiang He led Xiao Sizi out of the apartment building and into an unimaginably huge basement, and sat down in an even more luxurious and spacious iron box, the Tang Dynasty emperor and his ministers were already numb.
Because the system's newbie gift pack not only includes money, but also a car with its own garage and a one-year usage right.
"I think we can burn the carriages of my Great Tang Dynasty," Cheng Yaojin muttered to himself, looking at the iron carriage that started smoothly without any bumps.
What happened next was the real blow to their worldview.
Jiang He drove to a huge building with three unfamiliar but impressive-sounding characters on it: Wanda Plaza.
He took a wheeled iron basket out of the car and carefully put the little ox inside.
"Is he going to lock Her Highness the Princess in a cage?!" a military officer exclaimed in shock.
But the next second, he shut up.
Because Xiao Sizi didn't cry or fuss while sitting in the shopping cart, but instead giggled as Jiang He pushed her around, clearly treating it as a novel toy.
When Jiang He pushed the shopping cart into the building called "Supermarket".
An eternal, deathly silence fell over the Taiji Palace.
Everyone, including Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, gaped and stood there dumbfounded.
As far as the eye can see, there are countless neatly arranged shelves, filled with a dazzling array of goods!
Beautifully packaged snacks, colorful candies, mountains of rice, flour, and cooking oil, rows of brand-new clothes, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables that I'd never heard of before...
The floor was as smooth as a mirror, the dome was as bright as day, and the space was so vast that it seemed to stretch on forever...
"This...this is..." Fang Xuanling's voice trembled, "Is this the treasure vault of the immortals?"
"A treasure trove?!" Changsun Wuji gave a wry smile. "Brother Xuancheng, is even one percent of the wealth in the treasury of our Great Tang Dynasty comparable to this?"
Li Shimin's expression became extremely solemn.
As an emperor, what he saw was not wealth, but... terror!
Such a massive amount of supplies, such exquisite packaging, such an orderly display... What's most terrifying is that he saw in the scene that there were also many ordinary people dressed in strange clothes like the immortals, who were also using the same vehicles to casually take these "treasures" off the shelves!
This means that this treasure trove is not exclusive to the immortals!
What kind of prosperous era is this?
Has the wealth of ordinary people reached such an unbelievable level?
Compared to the political considerations of the ministers, Empress Zhangsun saw things more purely.
She saw Jiang He pushing his daughter in a stroller, patiently picking out cute little dresses and shoes for her in the children's clothing section; she saw Jiang He pick up a bag of potato chips, and Xiao Sizi looked at it curiously, so he smiled and taught her how to open it; she saw Jiang He even let Xiao Sizi choose a fluffy, white jade rabbit doll herself.
Little Sizi hugged the rabbit doll that was bigger than her head, her face beaming with a pure joy she had never experienced before.
Empress Zhangsun's tears fell again, and she covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.
Her daughter, when she was in the palace, rarely had the chance to laugh so heartily because of her frail health.
The young man they regarded as a celestial being, though of unknown origin, was... taking great care of her daughter.
Just then, Jiang He in the scene suddenly stopped. He frowned slightly, reached out, and touched Xiao Sizi's forehead.
Then, he touched his forehead.
This subtle movement made everyone's hearts clench.
Empress Zhangsun stood up anxiously: "What's wrong? What happened to the Prince?"
In the sky above, Jiang He's expression turned somewhat serious. Without saying a word, he pushed the shopping cart and quickly paid the bill.
The miraculous sight of a single beam of light completing a transaction once again shattered the worldview of the Tang Dynasty's rulers and ministers.
Then Jiang He, carrying the little ox, hurriedly left the treasure vault.
After returning to the Immortal Abode, Jiang He placed Xiao Sizi on the sofa, then took out a white, pen-shaped object from a medicine box.
"What is that?" Li Shimin asked in a deep voice.
No one can answer that.
They saw Jianghe dip the tip of the pen into Xiao Sizi's forehead.
Instantly, a string of red symbols that they couldn't understand lit up on the "pen".
38.5 ° C.
Jiang He's face darkened completely when he saw the number.
"I have a fever," he muttered to himself.
Although his voice was soft, it was clearly heard by everyone through the sky.
"fever?!"
Empress Zhangsun was struck dumb, her vision went black, and she nearly fainted.
She knew better than anyone what the word "fever" meant to the frail Sizi!
Every fever is a brush with death!
"Imperial physician! Quickly summon the imperial physician!" Li Shimin panicked and shouted instinctively.
But after shouting, he froze in despair.
The imperial physician is here, but his daughter... is far away!
At this moment, everyone inside the Taiji Palace was staring intently at the sky and at the immortal they had placed their hopes on.
Their princess suffers from an illness that even the Tang Dynasty couldn't cure, but now, they can only rely on you!
Immortal, what... exactly will you do?!