Chapter 161: Great Contribution
Queen Ma opened her eyes, but she was still tired and weak.

But at this time, the complexion on his face actually improved slightly.

Especially the eunuch screamed that the fever was not that high anymore, and it seemed... Queen Ma also noticed it.

But...she began to worry instead.

Could this be the rumored last gasp?
Zhu Yuanzhang also seemed more cautious: "Are you... feeling better?"

"It hurts..." Queen Ma responded with almost all her strength gone.

When she said it hurt, many people were puzzled.

But... Deng Qianqiu, who was the most worried, seemed to come back to life all of a sudden.

Deng Qianqiu was originally worried about the last moments of life. Before a person dies, the body begins to secrete adrenaline, which causes the body's functions to begin to recover. However... this is only temporary. Under normal circumstances, people regard this as a sign that a person is about to die.

But...if Queen Ma felt great pain, it means that it was not the effect of adrenaline.

It should be noted that the adrenaline secreted by the human body before death can promote the excitement of the sympathetic nervous system, increase muscle tension, and accelerate blood circulation, thereby reducing the feeling of pain.

Since you are feeling severe pain and your whole body's attention is focused on it, then... maybe your actual body is recovering.

Deng Qianqiu suddenly felt that the burden on his body was greatly relieved. If he didn't show it now, what was he waiting for?
So he hurried over and said, "Let me take a look, let me take a look."

Immediately, he walked past everyone and came to the side of Queen Ma, and carefully touched her forehead with his hand. It should still be considered a fever, but it should not be a high fever.

This clearly shows that the infection in Queen Ma's body... should have been suppressed.

Of course, the situation is still not optimistic, but there are signs that there is a great chance of improvement.

Next, the most important thing is to reduce inflammation.

But now the critical period has clearly passed. As long as he receives proper care and the previous treatment methods are used, then... there shouldn't be any major problems.

At this moment, everyone looked at Deng Qianqiu nervously.

Deng Qianqiu sometimes frowned and sometimes relaxed his brows.

As a result, everyone here's mood fluctuated along with Deng Qianqiu's expression.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask, "Tell me quickly, what's going on?"

Deng Qianqiu then shifted all his attention away from Empress Ma and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, it is a good thing that the Empress feels pain."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously, "Is this a good thing?"

Deng Qianqiu nodded: "This shows that the queen is recovering, but in the future... the pain will continue, and it will be more unbearable. But there is no other way. There is no effective pain relief method at the moment. I can only rely on the queen to continue to endure it."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed at first, but then his face turned worried, and he asked, "Is my life really saved?"

"I'm about 50 to 60 percent sure." Deng Qianqiu was not too sure, so he could only answer like this.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was actually relieved.

But he knew Deng Qianqiu well. Deng Qianqiu was timid. If he said he was 50% to 60% sure, then he must be at least 80% to 90% sure. But this kid certainly wouldn't dare to say it for sure, for fear that if something like that really happened, the heavy responsibility would fall on his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked: "What should we do next?"

Deng Qianqiu thought for a while and said, "Continue to recuperate for a few days. If the wounds on your body can slowly heal after observation, then... I will be almost certain."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a long breath and said, "Is it that simple?"

"Yes, it's that simple."

Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but say: "If Xiuying's life is saved, I will definitely reward you generously. Xiuying and the child's lives were saved by you. I will grant you whatever you want."

Deng Qianqiu said to himself, what if I want the Ming Dynasty?
Of course, he didn't dare to say this.

Deng Qianqiu then said, "Your Majesty has been very kind to me. I am grateful to you for helping you. I don't even need to think about any reward. People are made of flesh and blood. I have been brought up in a strict family since I was a child. My father has always told me that a person should be grateful and repay kindness. Besides that, he should be loyal to the emperor and filial to his father..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Deng Qianqiu with some suspicion and asked, "Did your father really tell you that?"

Deng Qianqiu swore, "I said it in person."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "When did I tell you?"

Deng Qianqiu suddenly felt heavy-hearted, and subconsciously said, "Maybe... maybe it was when I was a child. Anyway, I was taught like this since I was young, so..."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "If you follow your father's teachings, then you should be loyal to the Shun Emperor of the pseudo-Yuan Dynasty. My Ming Dynasty overthrew the pseudo-Yuan Dynasty, and your Deng family should thank the pseudo-Shun Emperor with your death."

Deng Qianqiu was speechless. He didn't expect that even at this point, Zhu Yuanzhang was still in the mood to make fun of this.

Deng Qianqiu said, "The Tartars don't count. They just stole our Chinese territory. Any scholar with a conscience would not be loyal to the Tartars. My father is very clear about justice, so naturally..." Zhu Yuanzhang held his hand and said, "Stop talking so much. I've been talking to you so much just to tell you that I know your father better than you do. Don't play these tricks in front of me. You and Jing'er are taking care of Xiuying together. How can you be so eloquent at such a young age?"

Deng Qianqiu said angrily: "As you wish."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat for a while, and when he felt relieved, he stood up and left in a hurry.

He is the emperor after all. Now Empress Ma finally shows signs of improvement, but as the king of a country, he has a lot of things to take care of.

When he returned to the palace, he felt suffocated by the pile of affairs in the world.

This mountain of memorials was piled up on the desk.

Zhu Yuanzhang was upset and had to wave his hand: "Leave it to the Secretariat to deal with it."

After thinking for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Call the Right Prime Minister Hu Weiyong."

Soon, Hu Weiyong arrived.

Hu Weiyong was now promoted to the right prime minister, but before he even had time to get comfortable in the position, he soon felt a little dissatisfied. After all, Wang Guangyang became the left prime minister. How could this make him feel uncomfortable?
"His Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang only glanced at him and said, "Have you read all the memorials submitted by the Secretariat?"

Hu Weiyong said: "I have read it."

"Pick up the important reports and report them to me. Tell me how the Secretariat dealt with them."

Hu Weiyong was not in a hurry and told everything that had happened in the past two days.

Hu Weiyong expressed his own opinion: "Xuanfu needs to strengthen its vigilance. Nowadays, there is a drought in the desert. Such a severe drought will inevitably cause the death of many livestock. These desperate desert Tartars, even if they know the strength of our Ming army, must go south. They will die anyway, so it is better for them to harass our border towns than to starve to death. So I have three strategies..."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened carefully, his brows relaxed, and said: "You have handled each of these matters very well. You are so knowledgeable, well-organized, and you are truly my phoenix child..."

Hu Weiyong was secretly delighted when he heard this, but he quickly said modestly: "Your Majesty, such a flattery is unworthy of me. In my opinion, only people like Lord Li can support the country, help Your Majesty with his worries, and comfort the people. Only those who can be your Majesty's confidants can be compared with Lord Li. My talents and morals are not even ten or a hundred times better than Lord Li's. How can I be on par with Lord Li?"

Zhu Yuanzhang showed doubt on his face: "Li Shanchang? When did I say that you are on the same level as him?"

Hu Weiyong thought to himself, I am a phoenix chick, who else in the world can be worthy of Sleeping Dragon except Lord Li?
Could it be Wang Guangyang?

When Hu Weiyong thought of this, his heart sank to the bottom. If this Wang Guangyang was Wolong, wouldn't Wang Guangyang mean more to His Majesty?

Hu Weiyong said awkwardly, "I wonder who the Wolong is that Your Majesty is talking about? I am very lucky to be in the same rank with him."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "The Sleeping Dragon is Deng Qianqiu!"

puff……

A mouthful of blood almost spurted out of Hu Weiyong's mouth.

His face suddenly became dull and gloomy.

She immediately felt disgusted with the word "Fengchu" and wished that His Majesty would never mention it in front of her, or even better, never mention it in this lifetime.

After all, Hu Weiyong has followed Your Majesty for so many years, and followed Li Shanchang, serving the Emperor diligently. Although his achievements may not be comparable to those of the dukes and marquises of the current dynasty, he is a civil official after all. He has worked hard over the years and has played a lot of roles.

In addition, Hu Weiyong always thought highly of himself, but he ended up with Deng Qianqiu...

The reason why he values ​​Deng Qianqiu is because he values ​​that Deng Qianqiu can have a place by His Majesty's side, but it does not mean that he thinks this kid is qualified to be on par with him.

His heart sank to the bottom, but he still had to appear cheerful and excited: "Captain Deng is loyal and dedicated, and is truly a role model."

But nothing more was said after that.

Hu Weiyong took his leave and his face suddenly turned grim. He squinted his eyes and returned to the Secretariat.

At this time, a clerk came to pour him tea.

He smiled and said, "Go check...Deng Qianqiu..."

The clerk hurriedly whispered, "Mr. Hu, this Deng Qianqiu..."

Hu Weiyong said: "Send someone to sue, Deng Qianqiu... accepted benefits from the Marquis of Ji'an, and spread the news..."

"Ah...Jian Hou's side..."

Hu Weiyong said slowly, "After all, Marquis Ji'an is a man of great merit. Even if he is in collusion with Deng Qianqiu, Your Majesty will not investigate further for such a small matter. However... in Your Majesty's heart, I am afraid that he will have aversion to both Marquis Ji'an and Deng Qianqiu. There is nothing wrong with this. Marquis Ji'an will be afraid after hearing this news, and it will be easier to manipulate him. As for Deng Qianqiu... he has been in the emperor's favor recently, and it is time to let Your Majesty know that this person... has evil intentions."

This clerk was obviously Hu Weiyong's most trusted person. He looked at Hu Weiyong cautiously and said, "Mr. Hu...hasn't you always been optimistic about Deng Qianqiu?"

Hu Weiyong said: "I have a heart for talent, but I have no intention of competing with others... Who is he, and how can he be compared with me?"

(End of this chapter)