Chapter 8

Qi Yu returned to the hall, and because of what had just happened, she glanced down.

Pei Jin and Zhao Wanyi were not seen.

However, she quickly put the two of them out of her mind. As long as she was certain that Zhao Wanyi was friendly to her, she had nothing to worry about.

As for the reasons behind it, she didn't want to investigate.

Qi Yu savored the delicacies at the palace banquet and enjoyed the singing and dancing, since she had arranged everything herself, and her preferences were reflected in it to some extent.

She had a faint smile on her face, but you could tell she was genuinely happy.

Upon seeing this, Pei Jiu's dejected mood improved slightly.

Having always been by the Empress's side, she could see that the Empress was heartless and thoughtless. Since the Empress was like this, how could they, as servants, force her to do anything?

But I will never again hear His Majesty come to Zhaoyang Palace and get excited like crazy.

After a while, the nanny beside Wu Shiyan finally couldn't help but come to Qi Yu's side.

She said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has been drinking continuously, and even the Empress Dowager cannot persuade him to stop. You..."

Qi Yu felt a moment of embarrassment upon hearing this, as her attention had been focused on the singing and dancing, and she had naturally overlooked Wu Shiyan.

This is not something a favored concubine should do.

But Wu Shiyan probably drank to drown his sorrows because Pei Jin and Zhao Wanyi had been gone for too long.

Young couples, when they get together, it's all about romance and nothing else. I bet Wu Shiyan couldn't stand thinking about that.

Qi Yu silently grumbled to herself, "Even the Empress Dowager couldn't persuade her, how could I possibly do so?"

But since the old woman had arrived, she naturally couldn't do nothing.

Qi Yu glanced in Wu Shiyan's direction and saw that his face was slightly red and his expression had not changed from beginning to end. However, the way he drank one glass after another showed that he was unhappy.

Apart from that, nothing else seemed amiss. The ministers, who should have been attentive to the monarch, were still laughing and toasting each other with their colleagues, completely unaware of what was going on.

If Qi Yu hadn't been guessing the process from the answer, even a deity wouldn't have been able to discern the truth from these events.

Qi Yu got up and walked towards Wu Shiyan.

"Your Majesty, drinking alcohol is harmful to your health. Why not have some hangover soup instead?" She glanced at the nanny, who immediately presented the hangover soup that had been prepared beforehand.

Qi Yu picked it up, stirred it, and handed it to Wu Shiyan with a gentle expression.

Feeding him was out of the question; her fingers were slender, and she didn't want to do any work of serving others.

Of course, she didn't look down on the palace servants who did the work of serving others. That's how things were in the feudal world. All she could do was not exploit them and be absolutely generous.

She wouldn't feel uneasy or guilty about having so many palace servants taking care of her; otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of such a privileged life?

From beginning to end, Qi Yu's goal was to enjoy herself; her own happiness was the most important thing.

Wu Shiyan didn't notice the difference. He reached out, but instead of picking up the hangover soup, he grabbed Qi Yu's wrist.

Qi Yu's wrist trembled, and a lot of the hangover soup she was holding spilled out. She looked at him in shock, then quickly covered her face.

She quickly realized that Wu Shiyan was not fully awake. He looked at her a beat late, and although his eyes were clear, he blinked much slower.

He was drunk.

"Help me back to my palace," Wu Shiyan said.

Qi Yu thought of a row of black dots left by crows flying by. Even in such a drunken state, he could still give orders. Wu Shiyan truly deserved to be called the emperor.

Fortunately, Wu Shiyan could walk on his own, and Qi Yu followed him as an accessory.

Anyway, the palace banquet is almost over, and there's nothing to regret about the remaining songs and dances. If anyone wants to see more, they can have the dancers perform at Zhaoyang Palace.

And there's no need to ask anyone's permission, since in the harem, the imperial concubine who holds the power is still the most powerful.

Wu Shiyan, however, completely ignored these matters.

The Empress Dowager resided in Changxin Palace, and the two women kept to themselves.

Not long after Qi Yu and Wu Shiyan left, Zhao Wanyi and Pei Jin returned, and neither of them showed any sign of anything amiss.

Zhao Wanyi's gaze was searching for Qi Yu.

Pei Jin then discovered that His Majesty was not at the palace banquet.

Zhao Wanyi was so captivated by the striking resemblance between Qi Yu and her, perhaps because she was her younger sister from her memories, that she failed to grasp the hidden mystery behind the palace's favored concubine's similar appearance to her.

Pei Jin wasn't stupid; he understood men and immediately grasped His Majesty's subtle and unspoken thoughts.

Only after hearing from the maid that Zhao Wanyi had deliberately gone out after the Imperial Concubine got up did he rush out to look for them. He didn't want Zhao Wanyi to stay with the Imperial Concubine any longer, and he didn't want Zhao Wanyi to realize what had happened.

No wonder His Majesty has not taken any concubines for so long, no wonder His Majesty does not trust him as much as before, and no wonder the Empress Dowager has been summoning Zhao Wanyi to the palace so often.

Two words popped into Pei Jin's mind.

A tragic fate.

How could this not be a tragic fate? His Majesty loves Zhao Wanyi so much that he would rather find a substitute than touch Zhao Wanyi.

Since arriving in the capital, Zhao Wanyi had been plotting to get close to the Emperor. Pei Jin, out of consideration for their childhood friendship, was unwilling to watch her go astray. After the Emperor's secret guards frequently appeared around Zhao Wanyi, he decided to fulfill his marriage agreement with her, which was actually a sham marriage.

Looking back now, it seems that the secret guards sent by His Majesty were not intentionally monitoring him because they had noticed something, but because they had fallen in love and wanted to know every move their beloved made.

Including the secret guards lurking in the Pei residence...

Pei Jin remained expressionless. Ever since he decided to help Zhao Wanyi conceal her past grievances and allow this potential threat, who might be ready to assassinate His Majesty at any moment, to appear before His Majesty, he had found himself in a difficult position.

Zhao Wanyi is currently only blinded by the possibility of blood ties; once she comes to her senses, she will surely have some plans.

What a wonderful natural advantage!

On the other side.

This was Qi Yu's first time visiting Wu Shiyan's palace. He usually stayed in the Greenhouse Palace and rarely came here. However, this palace was the closest to the main hall where the palace banquet was held, so the journey did not take much time.

Even in such a short time, Qi Yu saw the palace servants retreat a few steps away, and when she pried open Wu Shiyan's tightly clenched hand, red marks still appeared on her wrist.

She gently nudged Wu Shiyan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, with one finger, and he fell straight down onto the bed.

Qi Yu now has some disdain for Wu Shiyan; no matter how handsome a person is, they won't smell good when they drink alcohol.

She got up and called for the old woman to find someone to help Wu Shiyan change his clothes.

When the nanny came in and saw that His Majesty was so drunk, she said to Qi Yu, "Your Highness, His Majesty will surely like it more if you personally help him change his clothes."

Qi Yu rubbed her forehead: "I'm a little drunk too. If I could do it myself, why would I need to rely on someone else?"

The old woman had no ill intentions; she simply wanted to curry favor with Consort Yu, whose power was gradually growing in the harem.

Upon hearing this, she stopped insisting and immediately had someone bring over a hangover soup. At the same time, she had a palace maid come in to rub Qi Yu's forehead to relieve the pain.

Qi Yu enjoyed it without ceremony. After removing her hairpins and jewelry, she lay down on the palace maid's lap and pretended to sleep with her eyes closed.

She thought to herself, "The emperor really knows how to enjoy life. Even the palace maids in his rarely visited quarters are so talented, attentive, and gentle."

Pei Jiu found this strange. Based on Qi Yu's attitude of ignoring all the beauties before entering the palace, she thought it was because she disliked women. But now it seemed that Qi Yu was just too casual.

She greatly admires beautiful, quiet women who know how to please her.

How could there be such a person in the world?

She was neither jealous nor possessive, and even when she was in the same palace as His Majesty, she did not harbor any worldly desires.

If the Empress had not consummated her marriage with His Majesty before, today would have been an excellent opportunity for her to conceive. Even if His Majesty were angry, would he not want the imperial heir in his womb?

Pei Jiu was lost in thought, but the Empress's moderate approach was good for them, her maids.

There's no need to worry about the master being in danger of falling from power and implicating the palace servants.

As for His Majesty's fondness for the wives of his ministers, Pei Jiu subconsciously overlooked it. She doubted that anyone who had made such a guess at the palace banquet today would dare to discuss it, and as a mere palace maid, she naturally wouldn't even dare to think about it.

Qi Yu didn't expect that she would actually fall asleep while pretending to doze off.

When she woke up again, she thought she was on the big bed in Zhaoyang Palace. She subconsciously reached into the bedding and casually explored her growing body.

But suddenly I bumped into a hand.

Qi Yu suddenly came to her senses, let go of his hand, and moved far away.

Coming back to her senses, she realized that she was still in Wu Shiyan's palace. This was not her Zhaoyang Palace, and the person lying next to her was naturally Wu Shiyan. There was no one else besides him.

Looking again in the bright candlelight, Wu Shiyan had his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, his lips a vibrant rose pink, and his face was as white as a sleeping beauty.

—It should be the aftereffects of drinking alcohol.

It's completely dark outside now, so even if she lets someone in, they won't be able to get back to Zhaoyang Palace.

It wasn't that the palace servants disobeyed her orders, but that if she left in the middle of the night, rumors would start circulating in the palace tomorrow.

Qi Yu rested her chin on her hand, her gaze sweeping over Wu Shiyan's face.

Thinking to myself, the female lead must be eating really well, and both her husband and lover are incredibly handsome men.

Despite these thoughts, Qi Yu avoided Wu Shiyan at all costs.

As she watched, Qi Yu gradually noticed something was wrong. Wu Shiyan's face was getting paler and paler, and he even broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. His eyelashes trembled slightly, but his eyelids were too heavy, and he couldn't even open his eyes.

Wu Shiyan is having health problems!

Qi Yu had noticed something was wrong as early as when Wu Shiyan was staying at the Greenhouse Palace, but adhering to the principle that the less you know, the less trouble you will have, she pretended not to know.

But today, it's unavoidable.

Her first thought was to call the palace servants in, but after thinking about it, she realized she didn't know if all the palace servants in the bedchamber were trusted by Wu Shiyan, so she got out of bed and called the person on the roof beam.

"His Majesty is ill!"

The guard was certain that Consort Yu was speaking to him, so he quickly got up and went to find an eunuch, who was followed by several palace servants.

Qi Yu glanced at him and recognized him as an unfamiliar face.

Li Chang remains active in the palace, but in terms of trust, Wu Shiyan has probably already replaced him with someone else.

After the old man entered, he began to arrange the matter without saying a word.

As night deepened and the dew grew heavy, Qi Yu followed them to the Greenhouse Palace.

Pei Jiu rubbed her sleepy eyes, confused about the situation. Qi Yu told her to stay in the palace and return to Zhaoyang Palace the next morning.

Judging from the guards' attitude, Qi Yu knew she hadn't sent the wrong person. Wu Shiyan's illness was still a secret, and not many people knew about it, so she decided not to bring Pei Jiu along.

The greenhouse was constantly heated by an underground heating system and burning charcoal, making it feel as if a scorching sun was embracing the place.

Wu Shiyan's complexion improved considerably shortly after entering the greenhouse, but he remained unconscious.

The Greenhouse Palace has a resident imperial physician, though calling him an imperial physician isn't quite accurate, because he's not one of the imperial physicians Qi Yu knows; he's probably someone who specializes in treating Wu Shiyan's illness.

The guard glanced at Qi Yu, unsure whether he should let her leave first. While he was pondering this, a heated discussion was already taking place beside His Majesty's bed.

The guard shut his mouth and lowered his eyes. Oh well, the Imperial Concubine already knows a lot, one more won't make a difference.

But even his light-footed skills couldn't fool the Imperial Concubine?

The guards couldn't help but shut themselves off.

Qi Yu followed them to a different place in the middle of the night. It was a time when she didn't want to think, so she didn't think about leaving.

By the time she heard Wu Shiyan's confidants starting to discuss it, it was too late.

Therefore, she knew that Wu Shiyan was not ill, but poisoned. This poison was called cold poison, which had been rooted in Wu Shiyan's body for several years and could only be suppressed, not removed.

However, things have recently taken a turn for the better. It is said that there is a red flower on the snow mountain called the "Breaking Calamity Flower," which dissolves in water and becomes colorless. If a woman drinks it and then has sex with Wu Shiyan, the cold poison can be cured.

After practicing the principles of Yin and Yang, it not only detoxifies but also benefits both men and women, repairing hidden injuries within the body and promoting better health.

Qi Yu: "..."

No wonder Wu Shiyan, with his passive personality, was able to win Zhao Wanyi's heart; it turns out it's because of this.

When emotions run high, this is the way to break through the last barrier.

The discussion around them continued, and Qi Yu also heard the words "Madam Pei" from their mouths, indicating that they already had a target in mind.

Once the secret guards bring the Blessing Flower, the so-called plan can be implemented.

However, the flower has not yet been found, and it is still uncertain whether it even exists. The secret guards sent to the snow mountain have not brought back any good news either.

So while they were frustrated with the leader of the secret guards beside her, they were also actively seeking other methods. If other methods worked, the cold poison would have been cured long ago.