Jiang Tian covered her mouth and coughed lightly, then smiled bitterly: "Anyone can hurt me."

Xiao Fuzi fell silent; it was indeed the truth.

"What can I do to help you, young lady?"

Jiang Tian had long noticed that Xiao Fuzi was very clever, so she got straight to the point.

She took out a piece of gold that she had hidden and placed it in his hand: "I still want to live, but I don't know if I can continue to live. If you can help me, please get the next meal from the imperial kitchen and send it to me instead."

Xiao Fuzi understood what she meant; for him, it wasn't too difficult.

It was just a matter of sharing some food with her.

He took the gold and nodded: "Okay, I promise you."

But they both knew that no one would call a royal physician for Jiang Tian, ​​and whether she could pull through was up to her own discretion.

The odds are against us.

Jiang Tian wanted to live, but she was in a foreign land and did not know any imperial physicians.

Driven by her will to survive, Jiang Tian decided to take a gamble.

Despite her illness, she would go to the gates of her palace every night to wait for someone to come.

Xuanyuan Ye doesn't usually go to that place, but he's been feeling uneasy these past few days.

That night, he went there.

Everything belonging to his old friend was undamaged. Just as Xuanyuan Ye was about to leave, he heard a familiar voice.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Her voice was still pleasant to hear, but it sounded very weak.

Xuanyuan Ye paused, turned around, and finally saw Jiang Tian.

Seeing her thin, pale, and haggard appearance, Xuan Yuan Ye's pupils shrank: "How did you become like this?"

Jiang Tian forced a smile at him: "This servant has finally waited for you..."

Immediately, her body went limp and collapsed.

Xuanyuan Ye was startled and subconsciously took two steps forward to catch her.

…………

When Jiang Tian woke up again, she was somewhat disoriented and didn't know what day it was.

"You've been poisoned?"

Jiang Tian trembled and looked in the direction of the voice. She didn't even have the strength to sit up, and could only answer softly, "Yes."

A cold glint flashed in Xuan Yuan Ye's eyes. Since he hadn't said he would touch Jiang Tian, ​​someone must be disobeying him.

"Your Majesty, please save me," Jiang Tian said, tears welling in her eyes. "I know I'm just a useless pawn, but I really don't want to die."

Xuanyuan Ye could naturally see how strong her will to survive was.

"Have you been waiting at the door these past few days?"

Jiang Tian lowered her eyes and nodded: "I don't know anyone else, so I can only ask you for help."

If he doesn't come, she'll eventually burn out of energy and go hungry by the end of the night.

Xuanyuan Ye stared at her intently, without speaking immediately.

"Your Majesty, please save me. Whatever you wish me to do, I will do it if I can. In the Southern Kingdom, I am nothing more than a lowly princess; otherwise, they wouldn't have married me off here... I only wish to eke out a living, and I certainly won't make things difficult for you..."

After saying such a long thing, Jiang Tian coughed several times.

Xuanyuan Ye finally spoke: "I will save you. Since I have no intention of taking your life, you will not die."

In the middle of the night, Imperial Physician Liu Wensheng was summoned to the palace. His bodyguards led him through many twists and turns until they stopped at a dilapidated palace.

Upon seeing the person standing at the door, he immediately knelt down and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Go in and treat her. See if you can cure her. If you can't, you can forget about having your head either."

Liu Wensheng knew that Xuanyuan Ye never joked.

He was on edge as he checked Jiang Tian's pulse.

"This young lady discovered it early on, so the poisoning wasn't too severe. After taking a few doses of medicine, the poisoning was neutralized."

Liu Wensheng breathed a sigh of relief and reported while wiping his sweat.

"Then go and prepare the medicine for her."

"yes."

Liu Wensheng didn't dare say another word, let alone ask who the woman was.

Those who serve as imperial physicians are the most adept at protecting themselves.

After being given a bowl of medicine, Jiang Tian fell into a deep sleep.

There wasn't a single servant girl here, so Liu Wensheng had no choice but to ask, "Your Majesty, who will prepare the medicine for this young lady from now on?"

Xuanyuan Ye glanced at the sleeping person and said indifferently, "Leave the prescription and medicine to her."

Liu Wensheng understood.

Although he didn't understand why Xuanyuan Ye wanted to do this, he still obediently wrote down the prescription and left the medicinal materials.

After Liu Wensheng was taken away by the guards, Xuanyuan Ye did not linger.

He had only acted out of kindness and saved the woman's life; to him, Jiang Tian was still insignificant.

He had so many interactions with a nobody.

Xuanyuan Ye did not think this was correct.

Since then, the two haven't seen each other for almost half a month.

After returning, Xuanyuan Ye had someone investigate the whole story.

Only then did he realize that some people had already reached into the palace before they even entered it.

Xuanyuan Ye could not tolerate the idea of ​​someone spying on the palace, so he crossed out the name of the young lady who had the best chance of becoming empress.

The eunuch who poisoned Jiang Tian was also sentenced to death.

Because of this incident, Eunuch Chen became even more cautious.

The emperor's mind is hard to fathom, and for those who serve him, if they make a mistake, they deserve to be crushed to pieces.

Xuanyuan Ye deliberately ignored Jiang Tian's presence.

Even if the arrogance of the Southern Kingdom cannot be attributed to a princess sent for a political marriage.

Xuanyuan Ye, however, did not need her to be his woman.

But when he finished reviewing the memorials, he would occasionally drift off into thought, remembering that frail woman, her pitiful appearance as she collapsed into his arms…

Not long after, Qin Shaoqing, who was stationed on the frontier, sent back a report of victory, saying that he had used a scheme to break a trap set by the Southern Kingdom, and that the Southern Kingdom had suffered heavy losses.

Xuanyuan Ye was in a great mood.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!