Chapter 15 Bathing You're completely unmoved even by a beauty like me, aren't you...?

*Second floor of Zhaixing Pavilion.

Passing through layers of curtains, one comes into view a large bed, about a foot wide, with bright yellow sheets symbolizing the status and position of the bed's owner.

Xie Lanzhou placed her on the bed.

Su Panyue nestled in the soft brocade quilt, still covering her face with his dark outer robe.

[Waaaaah, I don't even know what time it is now, my whole body aches so much, could it be the poison taking effect?]

"Is she still alive?" Xie Lanzhou asked, pulling off the outer robe covering her. He saw two red patches on her face, not the shy blush from before, but more like a fever.

He frowned slightly, his expression cold and stern, and reached out to her.

Su Panyue was already somewhat delirious. When she felt the man's cool hand approaching, she subconsciously pressed it against him.

She pressed her cheek against the back of his hand, unconsciously rubbing against it, as if she had found a cool outlet, which lessened the burning sensation in her body.

Xie Lanzhou tried to pull his hand back, but she grabbed it.

Don't go.

Hearing her thoughts, Xie Lanzhou sat down on the edge of the bed as if possessed, letting her hold his hand and rub against him. He didn't look at the woman on the bed, his eyes fixed on the window, lost in thought.

The late emperor was extremely extravagant and built a huge hot spring on the other side, with an ingenious design.

One end is carved with six dragon heads, each holding a dragon pearl in its mouth. Simply rotate the dragon pearl, and hot water will flow out of the dragon's mouth. Once the hot spring is full, the dragon pearl returns to its position, and the water flow will stop.

Xie Lanzhou pulled her arm away and said, "Go wash up and change your clothes."

Su Panyue was delirious with fever. When she heard his words, she only whimpered twice, curled herself up in a ball, and did not respond.

Xie Lanzhou snorted coldly: "Su Panyue, you really have a death wish, daring to disobey my orders."

Su Panyue turned her back to him, ignoring him completely, thinking to herself: [Since I'm going to die anyway, who cares! My feet hurt so much, boohoo.]

Xie Lanzhou's tone was threatening: "The imperial physician will be here to detoxify you immediately. Are you sure you don't want to listen to me?"

"Antidote?" Su Panyue turned her head. "I won't die?"

Before Xie Lanzhou could answer, she smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life."

Xie Lanzhou also curled his lips and glanced meaningfully in the direction of the hot spring.

Su Panyue hesitated before speaking, "Your Majesty, I can't leave. Could you please...?"

She knew her words had gone too far, and her voice trailed off as she spoke.

Xie Lanzhou showed an impatient expression, but still picked her up again with a cold face.

To reach the hot spring, one must pass through layers of gauze curtains. Looking up at the pink and apricot-colored gauze floating in the air, accompanied by the increasingly dense misty vapor as one gets closer, Su Panyue belatedly felt a little shy.

He's not going to watch me wash, is he? That would be way too much...

What if he gets carried away and tries to take advantage of me? But my ankle is still quite injured.

Should I refuse? But he saved me, so to repay him, maybe I should sleep with him.

Hearing her increasingly arrogant thoughts, Xie Lanzhou's brow twitched twice, and he quickened his pace.

Upon reaching the hot spring, he immediately placed her on the white marble rim of the pool.

Su Panyue turned her back to him, fidgeted for a while, then turned around to see if he was watching, only to catch a glimpse of the man's departing back.

She pursed her lips and began to undress, muttering to herself as she did so:

[He actually walked away without even looking back. Is it wrong of him to be completely unmoved by a beauty like me?]

But Xie Lanzhou's departure did indeed relax her. She quickly took off her clothes and slid into the water along the edge of the pool.

The pool water was just the right temperature, and she sighed comfortably. She had to admit, the emperor really knew how to enjoy himself.

I never imagined that I, a mere palace maid, would have the opportunity to soak in the emperor's hot spring.

Although she still felt hot, the warm spring water washed away most of her fatigue and soothed her tense nerves after a long day.

She leaned against the edge of the pool, propped up her sprained foot, and scooped up some water to pour over her shoulder.

Petals floated on the water, creating ripples with her movements, carrying the petals up and down.

As she recalled the events of the past two days, a dull pain shot through her forehead. She was just a lowly palace maid; how had she gotten involved in the power struggle between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager? Although Xie Lanzhou had promised to detoxify her, the Empress Dowager would surely still cause her trouble.

Su Panyue rubbed her temples with her eyes closed, claiming she was thinking of a solution, but her mind was actually wandering.

She's been through hell and back again, she's exhausted. Whatever happens, happens. She'll just take it one step at a time.

Clearing her mind of all thoughts, she scooped two flower petals from the water and covered her eyes, intending to close them and rest. However, in the misty steam, she felt her head getting heavier and heavier, and finally, her head tilted to the side and she fainted.

Eunuch Fu had already returned with Imperial Physician Gao and stood outside the palace gate to report to Xie Lanzhou: "Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Gao has arrived."

Xie Lanzhou had someone wait outside the hall, and then he started walking towards the hot spring again.

"Su Panyue, how much longer are you going to wash?"

It can be quiet behind the curtain, without even the sound of water.

Xie Lanzhou frowned: "Su Panyue? If you don't speak, I'll come in."

There has still been no response.

Xie Lanzhou raised her hand to brush aside the gauze curtain and strode inside.

The heat from the water had dissipated considerably, and he immediately spotted the woman leaning against the edge of the pool with her back to him.

From his angle, all he could see was her cascading black hair falling over her shoulders, making her skin appear even whiter.

Xie Lanzhou subconsciously tilted his head and coughed lightly, but still did not react.

He didn't care about anything else, and walked up to her. When he saw the scene underwater, he gasped. She had previously said something silly like having big breasts, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, Xie Lanzhou could only say that this woman wasn't just talking nonsense.

He calmed himself down, reached out to check her breath, and then removed the two flower petals covering her eyelids.

He forced his gaze to stay on her face, and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. It seemed to be hotter than before, and the burning sensation spread from the back of his hand to his whole body.

Guessing that she had fainted, Xie Lanzhou, who was usually decisive, hesitated by the pool.

He never had a maidservant to serve him personally, let alone a reliable one.

Xie Lanzhou closed his eyes and reached out to pull her out of the water.

After soaking for a while, the woman's fair and delicate skin turned pink, and water droplets kept sliding down her smooth arms and back, some landing on the ground and some on Xie Lanzhou, soaking his newly changed clothes and leaving dark marks.

Xie Lanzhou pulled off a towel draped to the side to dry her off. To his surprise, she felt incredibly light when he picked her up, yet she was still quite well-endowed.

After wiping himself haphazardly a couple of times, Xie Lanzhou felt a bit thirsty, his Adam's apple bobbed, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

He had never lost his composure like this before, even when women who came to seduce him stood naked in front of him, striking seductive poses.

Xie Lanzhou disliked situations that were beyond his control, so he quickly dressed her in one of his own clothes and tossed her onto the bed.

Just as she was about to call the imperial physician Gao in, she took a deep breath and picked up the brocade quilt beside her to cover her completely.

Only then did he speak: "Come in."

Eunuch Fu and Physician Gao entered in response.

When Eunuch Fu saw that Xie Lanzhou's face was flushed, and even his ears were red as if they were about to bleed, he asked with concern, "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

Xie Lanzhou's expression was somewhat cold. He did not answer, but simply nodded to Physician Gao: "You come and take a look at her."

The two men who entered then discovered that there was another woman lying on the bed, but the bed curtains had been drawn, and only her outline could be vaguely seen.

The imperial physician Gao walked to the bedside, raised his hand to take her pulse, and immediately knew the woman's identity. She was the girl who had been poisoned by the Seven-Day Powder a few days ago.

After a moment, he spoke: "After the acupuncture last time, the poison of the Seven-Day Powder was temporarily blocked, but now she is deficient in qi and blood, and has caught a cold and has a fever. The clash between cold and heat in her body may pose a risk of poisoning."

Then he stopped and asked, "This young lady seems to have external injuries."

Xie Lanzhou grabbed the injured leg from under the quilt, rolled up the trouser leg to reveal her swollen ankle.

The imperial physician Gao pinched her ankle a few times and said, "It should be a bone misalignment. You should be careful for a month and try not to walk on it. Then there should be no major problems."

Xie Lanzhou looked up at the imperial physician Gao, signaling him to continue.

Imperial Physician Gao sighed: "I have already prepared an antidote for that poison, but no one has tried it yet. If the medicine is ineffective, it might..."

Seeing Xie Lanzhou remain silent, Imperial Physician Gao continued, "There is another conservative approach, which is for me to administer acupuncture again, supplemented with mild medicine. This will not cure the poison completely, but it can delay its onset."

Without hesitation, Xie Lanzhou made a decision: "Let's start the acupuncture."

"As for the antidote, I'll give you another half month. Is that enough?"

Imperial Physician Gao nodded: "Your Majesty, rest assured, that should be enough."

As Physician Gao was administering the acupuncture, Xie Lanzhou went out and told Eunuch Tongfu, "Call Seventeen over."

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a bodyguard dressed in black knelt inside the hall.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"How's the investigation going on the matter I previously instructed you to handle?"

"Your Majesty, I have found that the guards who are acquainted with Miss Su include Guard Sun of the Imperial Guard, Guard Liu of the Sima Bureau, Guard Wang of the Northern Palace Patrol Battalion, and Guard Li of the Xuanwu Gate."

As he went on and on, Xie Lanzhou's expression grew increasingly grim. Finally, he interrupted him, saying, "Get to the point."

Seventeen cupped his hands and said, "The most suspicious one is named Sun Shi. He was originally an imperial bodyguard under the command of Rongxiu Zhonglang General, but he was suddenly transferred half a month ago to reinforce the garrison camp on the northwest border."

"However, the news that came back said that he did not reach the Northwest Army camp. He may have met with misfortune on the way and his whereabouts are unknown."

"The rest of the staff continued to work in their original positions, and no suspicious activity was found."

Xie Lanzhou, with half his face hidden in shadow, slowly spoke: "What's going on between her and these guards?"

Seventeen was somewhat surprised that he had just been about to emphasize the key points, and now he was asking about it again.

However, the well-trained guards would not question their masters and answered in a serious manner: "According to my investigation, Miss Su is beautiful and has a lot of friends. There are quite a few guards in the palace who are interested in Miss Su, but she does not seem to have a particular favorite. She treats everyone the same."

"There was only one person."

A note from the author:

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Xie Lanzhou, you've really gotten a good deal today!