Chapter 53 Past Events
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the Xuanzheng Hall was silent.
The bodies in the yard had been carried away, and the blood on the stone slabs had been washed clean with clean water, but a slight smell of blood still lingered in the air.
Ji Ming and Chu Yi stared at the closed palace door anxiously, fearing that Concubine Yu would come out sideways from inside the next moment.
Ji Ming wiped the sweat from his head and said, "Commander Chu, why did you bring Concubine Yu here?"
If she died at such a young age, it would be a sin.
Chu Yi's throat moved, and he couldn't tell for a moment whether it was regret or not: "Your Majesty treats Concubine Yu differently..."
"No matter how different it is, it's not the same as before."
As the two men sighed and groaned, the palace door was pushed open from the inside.
Everyone held their breath.
Then Yue Li was standing by the door. "Eunuch Ji, go get the imperial physician and the Saintess."
Ji Ming: “Ah?”
He rubbed his eyes and scratched his ears, wondering if it was an illusion.
Yueli smiled at him and said, "Your Majesty has a headache, Eunuch Ji should go quickly."
Chu Yi was the first to react: "I'll go right away!"
The Xuan Zheng Hall seemed to have regained some of its human energy in an instant.
The bedroom was very quiet. When Ji Ming brought Xiao Yuanpan and Le Yue in, he sent everyone else away.
Behind the soft satin door curtain, He Yanchen was sitting on the soft couch wearing only a bright yellow pajamas, with Yue Li beside him, leaning on his arm.
Ji Ming couldn't help but smack his lips in amazement. Concubine Yu was indeed quite capable.
"Your Majesty, Judge Xiao and the Saint have arrived."
Le Yue raised her eyes and looked at the two of them inconspicuously. She had heard that something was not right with He Yanchen recently, but her requests to see him were rejected by Chu Yi several times.
Xiao Yuanpan stepped into the hall and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"Your Majesty, please extend your hand. I will take your pulse."
Judge Xiao's voice was a little shaky. He Yanchen looked at everyone who looked trembling with fear, and suddenly felt annoyed. He subconsciously wanted them all to get out.
But before he could say anything, a soft little hand covered the back of his hand.
Yueli just looked at him tenderly.
He Yanchen closed his eyes and stretched out his arms.
Judge Xiao swallowed his saliva and quickly put his fingers on the patient to start taking his pulse.
"The poison in your Majesty's body has been suppressed, but the insect has been in your body for a long time. It will probably take some time to completely eliminate it."
"Your Majesty, I and the Saint can first give you acupuncture to inhibit the growth of the poisonous insects."
He Yanchen nodded lazily.
Then Yueli saw them busying themselves with skill, and it was obviously not their first time to give acupuncture.
Xiao Yuanpan and Le Yue both came over and took the seats next to He Yanchen, so Yue Li had to stand up and make way.
Ji Ming was carrying hot water in and out, Chu Yi was standing by the door, closely watching what was happening outside, Xiao Yuanpan and a medicine boy were preparing the medicine, and Le Yue was using acupuncture to insert needles into the man's acupuncture points.
Only Yueli stood idly by the door curtain and watched.
She felt a little redundant.
He Yanchen looked a little tired while giving acupuncture. He closed his eyes and leaned on the soft pillow as if he was asleep.
Le Yue glanced at Yue Li out of the corner of his eye, then turned around to block Yue Li's view.
She bent down slightly, and from Yueli's perspective, the two of them looked particularly intimate.
Yueli clenched her fists and took a deep breath.
She endured it.
When Le Yue cures He Yanchen, she will definitely kill her.
Yue Li was annoyed. Since no one cared about her anyway, she simply turned around and left Linde Hall.
*
Yeonbokgung Palace.
Only a gauze lantern was left in the dim palace, and the dim candlelight illuminated the empress dowager's pale and haggard face.
The Queen Mother turned the Buddhist beads in her hand and muttered something until Nanny Yang came in, then she opened her eyes.
"Empress Dowager, it's already three quarters past midnight."
The Queen Mother's heart was beating fast. "Is there any news from Linde Palace?"
Nanny Yang smiled, a rare smile. "Yu Jieyu went to the Imperial Court at 11:00 PM. I heard that Chu Yi later invited Court Judge Xiao and Saintess Xijue to the palace. Now things have quieted down in Linde Hall."
"Really?" The Queen Mother's eyes lit up. "I really did misjudge Concubine Yu."
Because He Yanchen was not interested in state affairs, she never liked women who were too charming. She always felt that such women could only seduce the emperor, not to mention that Yue Li was born a skinny girl from Yangzhou.
Now it seems that no one in the palace is as useful as Concubine Yu.
It is indeed wrong to judge people by their appearance.
"Although Concubine Yu is usually a bit spoiled, she's young and has only been in the palace for a short time, so it's normal." Nanny Yang couldn't help but speak well of Yue Li. "Besides, Yang and Concubine Zheng were also troublemakers before. It's not clear whose fault it is that Concubine Yu had conflicts with them."
"Yes, yes." The Queen Mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Send some more gifts to the Jade Palace tomorrow and tell them that Concubine Yu has worked hard to take care of His Majesty these days."
"Let her come before the Emperor more often in the future."
"Yes, I understand." Nanny Yang helped the Queen Mother to her feet. "Your Majesty, you should rest assured now. Have a good rest."
Nanny Yang turned off the lights and left.
The Queen Mother lay on the bed, looking at the curtains above her head, but she couldn't fall asleep.
As soon as she closed her eyes, memories of the past came flooding back.
On the day the eighth prince died, she had just returned from the Queen's Palace and saw her youngest son bleeding from all seven orifices and dying with his eyes open.
Beside him was a broken navy blue enamel tea set and the panicked and helpless He Yanchen.
The Queen Mother was almost going crazy.
When He Yanchen was born, she was of low status and could not raise the child herself, but she raised the Eighth Prince by herself, and he was only five years old!
Even though the origin of this tea set was later discovered, it was discovered that the Crown Prince had used it to suppress the emerging He Yanchen, but he accidentally injured the Eighth Prince.
But the Queen Mother still hated him.
She hated He Yanchen for letting the Eighth Prince use that tea set, even though her child shouldn't have died.
During that time, she beat and scolded He Yanchen, but he accepted it submissively and never resisted.
Until the prince could no longer hold back and attacked He Yanchen again.
The Queen Mother looked at the injured and poisoned He Yanchen and saw his eyes begging for help, but she seemed to have lost her mind and turned away.
She didn't know how He Yanchen managed to get through that night, but she didn't sleep all night. When dawn was about to break, she rushed to the prince's residence like a madman, but never saw He Yanchen again.
The next time they met was several months later, when he was about to set out on an expedition against the Western Rong.
The Queen Mother came to her senses. She knew she had done something wrong and shouldn't have taken her anger out on him.
From then on, she fasted and chanted Buddhist scriptures every day for the six months that He Yanchen was away on the expedition to the Western Rong, praying for his safe return.
But even if he came back, the relationship between mother and son was eventually broken.
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