Chapter 9

The leader of the secret guards was named Xiao Cong, the eunuch was named Tian Wenshan, and the doctor who treated Wu Shiyan was named Meng She.

Xiao Congdun was taciturn, and even when Meng She was practically pointing his finger at Xiao Congdun in disgust, he didn't say a word in his defense.

Meng She was a middle-aged man with a twisted beard, who would puff out his beard and glare when he got angry.

Tian Wenshan responded to Meng She's words with "yes" and then interjected with a few words, asking His Majesty how his health was now.

The cold poison cannot be easily cured. Rather than hoping for the good medicine Meng She mentioned, it would be better to let His Majesty's health stabilize and wake up as soon as possible so as not to delay state affairs.

His Majesty's health is such that he is still unwilling to casually find a concubine to bear him an imperial heir, which is making Tian Wenshan extremely anxious.

If His Majesty agrees, he can immediately go to the Pei residence and bring Madam Pei into the palace.

What does it matter if he's not famous? He's a eunuch, loyal only to His Majesty, and doesn't care about such things.

I never expected that His Majesty would be so soft-hearted when it comes to love, showing none of the decisiveness and bravery he displays when suppressing rebellions on the battlefield.

Like Li Chang, Tian Wenshan had served the emperor since he was the seventh prince. However, for many years he was just an insignificant eunuch by the seventh prince's side, unlike Li Chang who could speak up for his master in the palace.

Later, after His Majesty ascended the throne, he hurriedly went to pacify the country. During a perilous situation, Tian Wenshan and Xiao Cong rescued His Majesty, and only then did they gradually gain appreciation and promotion.

That was the time when His Majesty was poisoned by cold. Once it took effect, his body was extremely cold and his muscles and bones were in excruciating pain. Even under normal circumstances, his body temperature was lower than that of an ordinary person.

Meng She, formerly a folk healer, later became a military doctor for Wu Shiyan. He was also one of the few doctors who knew about Wu Shiyan's illness.

The tormenting cold poison would have robbed most people of their skeletal frame, forcing them to commit suicide by sword.

Fortunately, Wu Shiyan had a strong will.

Since His Majesty has taken this to heart, they will overcome all difficulties to help His Majesty get rid of this poison. At the same time, they will keep a close watch on the news to prevent anyone from having any improper thoughts.

Fortunately, there is some progress in understanding this cold poison.

Next, we just waited for the guards who went to the snow mountain to bring the medicine back.

Meng She opened his bag containing silver needles and began to administer acupuncture to Wu Shiyan.

Tian Wenshan asked, "Couldn't His Majesty suffer less pain?"

Meng She gave the same answer he had given countless times before: "Of course I can, but His Majesty will not agree. If I use acupuncture to stimulate the toxins to take effect faster, the pain will be many times greater, but His Majesty will wake up sooner. If I suppress the toxins, although the pain will be reduced, the period of confusion will be prolonged."

His Majesty will choose the former without a second thought.

“His Majesty’s excessive drinking this time caused the poison to take effect prematurely, which means he will inevitably be in more pain,” he said, frowning.

Meng She inserted the needles very steadily without pausing. Before long, he had probably finished. He flicked his finger, and the golden needles vibrated.

Qi Yu watched intently from the side.

After another short while, with everyone holding their breath, Meng She removed the needle. Wu Shiyan was instantly drenched in sweat, his brows furrowed and his teeth grinding together.

Seeing this, Meng She sighed and left the greenhouse hall.

After that, it was up to Wu Shiyan to endure it all by himself.

Xiao Cong climbed onto the roof beam.

Tian Wenshan instructed his trusted palace servants to prepare, as usual, the things His Majesty needed.

"This servant greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort." Tian Wenshan was not surprised to see Qi Yu there.

They weren't so careless as to ignore a living person right there.

Tian Wenshan had his own ulterior motives. He knew that Li Changcai had deliberately chosen women who looked similar to Madam Pei when selecting beauties, and he even secretly gave him a push.

He did not think Madam Pei was irreplaceable, and his attitude towards Qi Yu was surprisingly consistent with Li Chang's.

They think highly of her.

Qi Yu nodded to Tian Wenshan, then glanced at Wu Shiyan symbolically, her brows furrowing slightly, tears welling up in her eyes, blurring her vision, before she finally turned her face away, unable to bear it any longer.

Anyone who witnessed this scene could feel her genuine emotions.

Tian Wenshan was no exception. He didn't know much about Consort Yu before, but at this moment, his liking for the Consort increased significantly.

He considerately said, "Your Majesty can stay and comfort His Majesty. Hearing a familiar voice might distract him and ease the pain."

Should we try to coax her?

Qi Yu blinked away her tears: "I don't know how to coax people."

She's more likely to be coaxed by others.

Qi Yu's voice was soft, and Tian Wenshan didn't detect any refusal in it; of course, he didn't think of it that way.

When the Imperial Concubine saw His Majesty's unwell and worried appearance, he felt from the bottom of his heart that the Imperial Concubine was a kind-hearted person who also had compassion for the poor and weak towards His Majesty.

Tian Wenshan said, "It's alright. His Majesty is very happy as long as His Highness is by his side."

Qi Yu was truly speechless.

"His Majesty has encountered such a great calamity, it is my duty to take care of him personally, so that His Majesty will not be left without anyone by his side. Please rest assured, Eunuch."

Upon hearing this, Tian Wenshan immediately burst into laughter and became even more respectful to Qi Yu.

In the past, when the poison flared up, he would stand outside, waiting for His Majesty to recover before stepping forward as instructed. Now that the Imperial Concubine had stayed behind, he naturally slipped out, creating an opportunity for her.

Qi Yu fell silent after seeing the palace servants leave and hearing the palace doors close.

They really trusted her.

Of course, it's possible that the leader of the secret guards was still crouching on the beam, which is why they felt so at ease.

However, she would never hurt Wu Shiyan and would hope that he would be alright.

After all, with Wu Shiyan perfectly healthy, her title of Imperial Concubine is more fitting.

Qi Yu took a close look at Wu Shiyan and saw beads of sweat on his forehead, so she took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiped them for him.

Strangely enough, Wu Shiyan's sweat was actually cold.

You have to understand, this is a greenhouse palace that still has an underground heating system running in May, and even at midnight, it can feel unbearably hot.

However, Wu Shiyan was covered with a thick brocade quilt, but his forehead was very cold.

Xiao Cong, who had been peeking out from the beam, quietly withdrew his gaze upon seeing Qi Yu's actions.

After Qi Yu bent down to wipe Wu Shiyan's sweat, she sat on the edge of the bed, propped her cheek up, and silently lost in thought.

She was wearing thick clothes and felt very hot.

Having stayed in the greenhouse for so long, only Wu Shiyan felt the temperature was comfortable. Oh, no, there was also a bodyguard.

However, Qi Yu couldn't take off any of her clothes. She had already taken off her outer robe when she was sleeping in her palace, and she didn't add or remove any clothes when she came to the Greenhouse Palace.

The waistband was fastened tightly around the waist, and not a single garment could be removed.

She didn't have her nightgown in the Greenhouse Palace either, and even if she did, she wouldn't change into it and lie in bed with Wu Shiyan at a time like this.

Because Wu Shiyan is now like a human-shaped block of ice, you can feel the chill just by getting close to him.

She was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself.

Qi Yu rolled up her sleeves, generously revealing her fair skin, which looked even smoother in this environment.

Since Wu Shiyan is unconscious, she can cool off a little bit.

However, she had a clear plan: aside from wiping Wu Shiyan's sweat, she would not touch him tonight.

Just get through tonight...

After wiping Wu Shiyan's sweat twice more, perhaps because the palace was too quiet, she unknowingly fell asleep by the bedside.

She was hunched over, her waist slumped, her upper body slightly twisted, her face buried in her arms, beads of sweat glistening on the tip of her nose, and her hair appearing even blacker and shinier.

I slept soundly, feeling hot and refreshed.

A moment later, Xiao Cong landed gently, took a fan, placed it beside Qi Yu, and brought in the cool water that the palace servants had prepared outside.

After placing the copper basin, he subconsciously glanced towards the bed.

But His Majesty had already opened his eyes.

Xiao Congyu remained silent, avoiding Wu Shiyan's gaze before disappearing again.

Wu Shiyan was still not fully conscious. When he opened his eyes, he saw Qi Yu's profile as she lay sleeping next to him. He didn't react and just stared at her for a while.

In fact, he was conscious every time the poison took effect. Some people thought that he was unconscious and unaware of his surroundings, so they sent palace servants to assassinate him. In the end, he was beheaded by his bedside. Of course, he also suffered a backlash and was bedridden for a long time.

From then on, everyone else believed that the secret information they had received—that he was poisoned—was a smokescreen, using himself as bait to lure the remaining traitors to assassinate him wave after wave, and dared not make any rash moves.

Only Wu Shiyan knew how much he was bluffing.

His gaze fell on Qi Yu, and when it touched her snow-white arm that she was resting on, he quickly moved it to her face.

Qi Yu's face is naturally flawless; all the beautiful words used to describe her would be perfectly appropriate to praise her.

Her lips were tightly pursed and curved downwards, but because they were full, they looked more like an upturned arc.

Even when she's unhappy, she's still so pretty and adorable.

Wu Shiyan was naturally aware of her dissatisfaction. It wasn't her business, but Tian Wenshan had managed to get her involved with just a few words, forcing her to stay and keep him company.

She endured the heat of the greenhouse and performed the duties of a palace maid.

Even so, she only kept her grievances to herself and didn't utter a single complaint. Instead, she carefully and considerately wiped his sweat.

Do not overstep the bounds or exceed the limits.

When he finally got sleepy, he would just lie on the edge of the bed and curl up into a ball.

Wu Shiyan knew, of course, that he shouldn't use the word "pitiful" to describe a concubine, but his mind was blank and he couldn't come up with any other adjectives.

He lacked experience and naturally didn't know that pity was a prerequisite for favoritism.

Wu Shiyan looked at Qi Yu gently. As he was wondering whether to wake her up and put her to bed, just like in Zhaoyang Palace, a bead of sweat the size of a bean slid from Qi Yu's cheek to her chin, and was about to fall into her clothes.

For some reason, Wu Shiyan reached out and caught the drop of sweat.

Warm beads of sweat fell onto his fingertips, no longer as round as beads, covering his fingertips.

Wu Shiyan's fingers were icy cold, making the drop of heat seem unusually warm, so hot it made his heartstrings tremble.

The sensation was so slight that it wouldn't stir any ripples in anyone's heart. But then, an unexpected bead of sweat appeared on Qi Yu's face, not following the previous path, but instead disappearing into her collarbone.

Fair and delicate, with smooth collarbones.

Upon witnessing this scene clearly, Wu Shiyan's heartstrings snapped instantly.

He patted Qi Yu awake, her eyelids half-closed: "Go to bed."

Qi Yu was utterly bewildered when she was woken up. She showed no joy at seeing Wu Shiyan awake and put her reddened hand on her waist.

She felt weak all over, especially in her lower back.

It's all Tian Wenshan's fault.

Fortunately, Wu Shiyan woke her up; otherwise, sleeping like that all night would have ruined her back.

Even so, Qi Yu still held a grudge against Wu Shiyan, urging him to drink excessively.

She didn't respond listlessly. She stood up, put down her sleeves, and saw the copper basin next to her. Her brows immediately relaxed. Ignoring Wu Shiyan's presence, she used a handkerchief dipped in water to wash her exposed skin through the curtain.

Then he went around to the bed from the other side.

If there's a bed, might as well sleep in it.

A note from the author:

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