Chapter 32 Drug-induced

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Empress." Zhen Huan, dressed in the attire of a noblewoman, and accompanied by Huan Bi, who looked somewhat bewildered, knelt respectfully at the lower end of the table and performed three bows and nine kowtows to the Empress.

She learned the rules very well, and she was meticulous and made no mistakes. However, Yixiu's face was stiff.

Logically speaking, seeing a face so similar to her sister kneeling at her feet, respectfully performing the rites of a concubine, she should have felt pleased.

On New Year's Eve, the Emperor should stay overnight in the Empress's palace. This is a rule established by our ancestors. But last night, that same annoying face once again slapped itself in the face in front of everyone.

Just like when her elder sister entered the mansion and took her place as the Fujin (principal wife).

The thought of this made Yixiu lose control of himself, and the deep look in his eyes almost drew people in.

While pondering, Zhen Huan had already bowed and knelt on the spot, waiting for Yi Xiu's reprimand. Seeing that no sound came from above for a long time, she remained expressionless, but inwardly she was cursing. She had known that today would not be so easy, but she did not expect it to come so soon.

This was something that even the usually magnanimous Empress could not tolerate, and she became even more interested.

Consort Hua's gaze was like fire from the moment she entered the hall, staring intently at her as if she wanted to stare two holes through her clothes. She sneered and spoke coldly, "Noble Lady Wan is really good at this. One moment she was so sick that she couldn't get up and attend the banquet, and the next moment she ran to Yimei Garden to seduce the Emperor."

Zhen Huan knew that things wouldn't end well this morning, so she was prepared. She turned slightly and nodded respectfully to Consort Hua, saying, "I was indeed feeling unwell and was afraid of catching my illness, which is why I couldn't attend the banquet. My encounter with the Emperor at Yimei Garden was by chance, and I was unaware of it beforehand. I really cannot bear the word 'seduction'."

"Unworthy of such an honor?" Consort Hua raised her voice—"I think you've done an excellent job. If it weren't for you leading the Emperor away, how could you have abandoned all the concubines and relatives at the New Year's Eve banquet and never returned?"

After saying that, she suddenly remembered something and glanced at Cao Qinmo cryptically. "Besides, you were taught when you entered the palace that the Emperor's destination on such an important day as New Year's Eve was decided by our ancestors. You're showing no respect even to the Empress."

She glanced triumphantly at the Empress, watching with satisfaction as her expression subtly changed.

These words were so clever that Zhen Huan couldn't defend herself. She could only turn to the Empress and say, "Your Majesty, I had no intention of disrespecting you. I hope you will forgive me."

Since things had come to this point, she could no longer remain silent. Yixiu took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face as usual. "Alright, I know that you are young, so it is normal for the Emperor to dote on you more. I will not blame you. Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." With the help of Huanbi behind her, Zhen Huan slowly stood up, supporting herself on her knees.

"Your Majesty, you have been too lenient with her." Consort Qi said to the Empress with heartfelt indignation, "Noble Lady Wan has been claiming to be ill all along. Not to mention us, even Her Majesty the Empress has hardly received any greetings from you. If you can't come to pay your respects, why would you go to the Plum Garden?"

Zhen Huan's heart tightened, and before she could even stand up straight, she hurriedly knelt down and explained, "Your Majesty, please understand, I was truly afraid that the illness would harm Your Majesty's health. In addition, your condition has only started to improve in the last two days, and I was unable to get up before."

These words gave Consort Li a handle to use against her. She was quite resentful of Consort Wan. She herself had only been granted the title of Consort Wan because she came from the Prince's residence, while Consort Wan had become her equal overnight. She thought Consort Wan was unworthy.

"The Empress's body cannot be harmed, but the Emperor's body can be harmed? Consort Wan, what are you up to!"

Zhen Huan knelt in the center, instantly becoming the target of everyone's criticism. She racked her brains for a solution, but being young and inexperienced, she broke out in a cold sweat in a few moments.

Although Shen Meizhuang was one of those who hadn't slept well yesterday, she couldn't help but speak up to help Zhen Huan when she saw her being targeted by such sharp words.

“Your Majesty, I often visited Consort Wan at Suiyu Pavilion. I can attest that Consort Wan is indeed too ill to get out of bed. She did not mean to neglect Your Majesty. The imperial physicians can easily diagnose her condition; there is no way to fake it.”

Upon hearing these words, Zhen Huan's face drained of all color, turning instantly pale and stiff.

From this angle, only Consort Hua and Lü Yingfeng, who were sitting in the first row, could see her face clearly. Lü Yingfeng looked at Consort Wan's hands, which were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and her long eyelashes fluttered slightly. A meaningful smile appeared on her lips, and her originally three-tenths lazy interest suddenly increased to seven-tenths.

She wasn't this nervous even after all that targeting earlier, so why did she react like this just from mentioning calling the imperial physician?

She glanced at Consort Shen, who looked anxious, cleared her throat, sat up straight, and said to the Empress, “Your Majesty, Consort Shen is right. Why don’t we invite an imperial physician to examine Consort Wan? If she is recovering from a serious illness, that would be understandable. We are not concerned about anything else, but we are afraid it might harm His Majesty’s health. We also don’t want to wrong Consort Wan.”

As she finished speaking, she inadvertently turned her head and happened to meet the rather grateful gaze that Consort Shen was casting at her. Lü Yingfeng raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled in response.

The Empress glanced at her thoughtfully, pondered for a moment, and then agreed—"Jianqiu, go and invite Imperial Physician Zhang Mi to examine Consort Wan."

"Your Majesty the Empress!"

Zhen Huan hurriedly spoke up to stop her, crawling two steps on her knees and saying earnestly, "My illness has always been taken care of by Imperial Physician Wen Shichu. If another imperial physician were to take over, he might not know the extent of my illness. Please ask Imperial Physician Wen Shichu to come!"

Upon hearing this, Consort Hua was the first to react. She spoke indifferently, her tone undisguisedly sarcastic: "Noble Lady Wan was a long-term sick and disfavored concubine. What good imperial physicians could she possibly be assigned to? Zhang Mi is the head of the Imperial Hospital, treating the Emperor and Empress. Don't you believe that?"

Jianqiu waited for a moment, and seeing that no one dared to stop her, she turned and left.

"No need for Consort Wan to kneel anymore, sit and wait." The Empress spoke, and Huanbi hurriedly reached out to help her up. She was shocked when she touched Zhen Huan's hands, which were as cold as ice, and immediately sensed something was wrong.

Zhen Huan sat down on the stool in a daze, racking her brains but unable to find a solution that satisfied both sides. Her heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cave. Ever since Sister Mei said she would ask for the imperial physician, she had no way out.

She was now extremely anxious, and could only pray that time would slow down, that the doctor's medicine would not reveal anything, and that she could get through this difficult time smoothly.

But things didn't go as planned.

Zhang Mi knelt before her, placing three fingers together on her wrist. His expression was solemn, and he remained silent for a long time, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Your Majesty, this young lady is not ill, but rather suffering from palpitations and lethargy caused by medication. Such medication has no adverse effects on the body, and she will recover completely once she stops taking it."