He mustered his courage and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Having said that, he crawled forward on his knees, knelt before the emperor, and took the emperor's pulse.
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; Jiayin and the Third Princess tried to keep their breathing as soft as possible.
But after examining the left hand, Dr. Liu switched to the right, his brows still furrowed. Finally, he kowtowed again and whispered, "Your Majesty, there is nothing seriously wrong with your health. You just have some internal heat. Take a dose of cooling soup and you will be completely cured in three days."
The Emperor's pupils contracted slightly, clearly showing his disbelief, and he asked, "Director Liu, if a person is irritable and restless at noon, and even more so at dusk, until he smells a certain scent or sees a certain person, he will calm down and become happy again."
"Do you think this is normal? Could it be that this person has been affected by some kind of magic?"
Chief Physician Liu was stunned. He pondered deeply for a while, then suddenly seemed to realize something. He quickly took the Emperor's pulse again, then took out a silver needle and pleaded, "Your Majesty, I wish to take a drop of blood from the ring finger of your left hand..."
Without any hesitation, the emperor immediately extended his hand.
Despite his trembling, Chief Physician Liu swiftly inserted the silver needle into the Emperor's ring finger, and soon a drop of blood oozed out.
Dr. Liu took out a small bottle from his medicine box, sprinkled some powder on the blood drop, and the blood drop immediately turned blue.
Under the candlelight, the blue color had an eerie quality, causing the Third Princess to instinctively tighten her grip on Jiayin's hand.
Jiayin gently patted the back of her hand, her heart pounding with anxiety...
Chief Physician Liu's face was deathly pale, as if he were terrified at the thought of his entire family losing their heads.
He was about to speak when the Emperor waved his hand and then instructed the Third Princess and Jiayin, "Go and have some snacks."
The third princess refused and insisted on staying, but Jiayin forcibly pulled her away.
This room is the inner bedroom where the Third Princess usually lives. There is a small door in the corner that connects to a side room where she can bathe.
The side room also has an entrance door for easy water delivery and cleaning.
Jiayin and the Third Princess walked out and arrived at the small garden behind the palace.
At this moment, the moonlight was peaceful, and the small garden was filled with the chirping of insects, but it suddenly fell silent because of the intruder.
The third princess, her face filled with worry, hugged Jiayin and choked out in a low voice, "Jiayin, is Father... poisoned? Is Father going to die?"
Jiayin was also upset, but her feelings were more complicated than anything else.
These days, she sends the little fox out to scout every night.
The little fox wasn't human, so it couldn't understand many of her commands or bring back very detailed information.
But it can still keep up with the emperor's movements.
She then discovered that the Emperor stayed at Ronghua Palace every day, and on the few occasions he did not go there, he would get angry and punish the eunuchs who did not serve him well.
That's such a coincidence.
She vaguely guessed that, in order to win favor and for the Second Prince to be valued by the Emperor, Consort Ronghua Palace might have used some tricks.
But judging from what just happened, things are probably not so simple...
Seeing that Jiayin remained silent, the Third Princess grew even more anxious and turned to go back.
Jiayin snapped out of her daze and quickly advised, "Princess, your royal uncle asked you to stay away because he was worried that if you knew the truth, you wouldn't be able to help and would only worry for nothing. If it involves important state affairs, and you don't understand the gravity of the situation and leak something, it would put your royal uncle in an even more passive position."
"That's my father! Am I just supposed to watch him like this and do nothing about it?" The third princess threw a tantrum.
Jiayin sighed and said nothing more.
If we switch places, if her adoptive father or father were to be poisoned, she would probably be even more anxious than the Third Princess.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Steward Yi came and invited the two of them back.
The Emperor had already left, but Chief Physician Liu stayed behind and prescribed a calming decoction.
Chief Steward Yi personally led the people to brew the medicinal soup, and watched as the Third Princess and Jiayin each drank a bowl before returning to the Imperial Study.
The third princess was extremely anxious, but fearing she might ruin her father's plans, she could only endure it.
Finally, when Zhilan Palace quieted down, just as she was about to discuss things with Jiayin, the calming soup took effect.
She finally succumbed to the call of sleep and fell into a deep sleep.
When Jiayin drank the calming soup, she did something a little trick and only drank one sip.
She pretended to be sleepy, but after returning to the side hall and urging Shui Ling and Shui Yun to go to sleep, she sat by the window, wrote a page, and then rolled it up.
The little fox was lying on the bed, comfortably curled up in the soft blankets, yawning and revealing two sharp teeth.
"San Tiao, come here!" Jia Yin beckoned. The little fox looked up, then closed its eyes and slumped over.
It's been working so hard lately, having to go out every night to gather information.
I'm exhausted!
I absolutely must rest tonight!
Jiayin chuckled and took out a bag of crispy yellow croaker from her spatial storage.
These are snacks I bought at the local market in my hometown in my past life. They weren't expensive, but they are traces left from my past life.
Therefore, she kept it very well hidden, unwilling to eat it herself, and of course, she didn't give it to the little fox either.
At this point, for the sake of something important, we have no choice but to use it as a bribe.
Sure enough, as soon as the packaging bag was torn open, the slightly spicy and fishy smell made the little fox jump up immediately and leap onto the table in a few moments.
Jiayin ate slowly and deliberately, ignoring the impatient little fox.
The little fox made a fuss for a while, but saw that its master was truly unmoved.
It could only lower its head, nibble on its owner's sleeve, and imitate the old dog in the village, wagging its tail like a windmill.
Jiayin couldn't help but laugh. She stuffed the remaining half of the small fish into its mouth, then hugged it and coaxed it, "I know you've been tired lately, but it's inconvenient for me to go in and out. You're the most agile and alert, so you'll have to be my diligent little helper."
"Could you go home for me again later and deliver a message? When you get back, I'll give you a bag of these small yellow croakers, okay?"
The little fox licked its lips, clearly not having had enough, and then chirped twice.
Jiayin rubbed its head vigorously and replied with a smile, "Alright, two bags it is, that's all. After a while, I'll write to Quanzhou and ask my uncle's workshop to specially order several large vats of yellow croaker for you, so you can lie in the vat and eat!"
The little fox was finally satisfied and happily wagged its tail again.
The little fox wore a collar around its neck, about the thickness of a little finger, with a hollow center.
It's very convenient to put a pill or a note in it on a regular basis.
Moreover, the method of opening the collar is unique and only known to the Li family.
If the method is incorrect, the collar cannot be opened at all unless it is thrown into a furnace to be heated.
Needless to say, this bracelet was once again a product of the skilled craftsmen of Zhengjiazhuang.
Jiayin put the scroll she had written on into the fox's collar, patted the little fox's head, and the little fox jumped out of the window.
The palace under the cover of darkness was quiet and somewhat oppressive.
Occasionally, a eunuch with an upset stomach would run to the outhouse and suddenly see a white shadow flash by, startling him so much that he almost relieved himself on the spot.
But he dared not shout, for if he caused a commotion and disturbed his master, he would not be able to withstand the beating even if he had several lives.
Besides, this palace has been passed down for countless years, and countless people have died in its existence.
Some people have a grievance in their hearts, so what's wrong with taking a stroll around at night to clear their heads?
They didn't come out during the day to scare people...
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