"Go and summon the imperial physician! My head is throbbing terribly!" The Empress lay down on the bed, holding her head with both hands, her brows furrowed, looking as if she could not bear it.
The palace maid paused for a moment, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes. "Yes, Your Highness, I will send someone to the Imperial Hospital immediately."
The Empress waved her hand and said nothing more.
The palace maid quickly backed away, letting out a sigh of relief.
Regardless of whether her master's feigned illness tactic works or not, as long as she isn't taken out on him and beaten...
Unfortunately, the imperial physicians on duty at the Imperial Hospital were not so lucky.
For some time now, the Empress has been complaining of headaches every day, but tests have failed to find the cause, and they can't say that she isn't sick either.
In the end, all they could do was prescribe mild tonics each time, hoping that one day the Empress would have a change of heart and stop using their medical visits as an excuse...
Logically, the procedure should involve observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, followed by prescription and decoction.
When the Empress lost her temper, she splashed tea all over the imperial physician and berated him for almost half an hour before finally calming down...
In the dead of night, the Kunning Palace was bustling with activity, lanterns lit everywhere, making it as bright as a target in the vast palace, hard to miss.
In the palace, not to mention people, even a wisp of wind is a skilled messenger carrying moon silver and information.
Within the palace walls, not even an inconspicuous rat hole could hide any secrets.
Therefore, before the Empress of Kunning Palace could even cool the medicine, the masters of the various palaces had already heard the whole story clearly.
Some concubines lay in bed, quietly cursing at the palace maids who served them.
"Our Empress Dowager, I don't know where she's lost her mind, she's getting dumber every day!"
"Before, she was at most a bit arrogant, but now she's also been labeled 'stupid.' She's obsessed with having a prince, and she's making such a fuss that she wants even the old dogs on the street to know."
"As a result, she keeps complaining about being sick and drinks herbal medicine like water every day... How can she possibly have a child if she keeps ruining her good health like this?"
"Your Majesty is right. Kunning Palace is filled with the smell of medicine. Anyone who goes there would rather take a detour!" The personal maid laughed. "But it's a good thing that she's a little stupid. That way, the Emperor can discover that His Majesty is intelligent and virtuous, and will come to spend more time with His Majesty. Perhaps, by this time next year, His Majesty will already be holding a little prince."
"Hehe, that makes perfect sense. Go to sleep. I heard the Emperor has been coughing lately, I'll stew a pot of snow pears and send it to him tomorrow." The concubine happily made her plans and went to sleep contentedly.
But in the imperial study in front, the emperor was wearing a bright yellow nightgown, holding a book in his hand, but his brows were tightly furrowed.
"The Empress has summoned the imperial physician again? What's the reason this time?" The Emperor was very impatient.
After all, instead of enjoying a good life, constantly seeking medical treatment and medicine sounds unlucky to anyone.
Chief Steward Yi carefully poured the Emperor a calming tea and said, "I heard that he still has a headache. The imperial physician prescribed a medicine, and I suppose the Empress has already taken the medicine and gone to sleep."
"Hmph!" The Emperor snorted coldly, threw down the book in his hand, and muttered, "Every medicine has some poison in it. She's been drinking it for months. Is she trying to poison herself to death?"
There are now frequent signs in the court of establishing a crown prince, which he can suppress for the time being.
A simple statement like "You are in good health and in the prime of your life" is enough to shut everyone up.
But if the empress were to die from her own misery, then people would definitely start clamoring for a new empress.
The new empress's child is the legitimate heir, the only choice for crown prince...
Another bloody storm and turmoil in the court are inevitable!
The Emperor grew increasingly agitated and ordered, "Tomorrow, summon the chief physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy to Kunning Palace to give the Empress a thorough examination. It would be best to find the true cause of her illness and prevent her from taking medicine indiscriminately!"
Chief Steward Yi quickly agreed, served the Emperor some calming tea, and then the Emperor rested.
Neither the mistress nor the servant expected that the very next morning, before the chief physician even stepped into Kunning Palace, the root cause of the Empress's illness would be found...
The Emperor, seated behind his desk, was delighted to see Li Lao Er and Jia Yin arrive to pay their respects. He greeted them, "Fu Niu'er, it's been a long time since you've come to see me. Rise up!"
Jiayin lowered her head and said cautiously, "I also want to come and see Uncle Huang, but my family won't let me go out."
Today she wore a light blue brocade jacket, paired with a moon-white pleated skirt, and her hair was styled in two braids with two simple pearl ribbons tied around her head.
Moreover, her ears and wrists were bare, making her small face look even smaller. Her eyes were also dark and her lips were slightly pale, making her look much more haggard.
This is so different from her usual festive and elegant attire!
If you're usually a little sun, today you're like a withered wildflower swaying in the cold wind...
The Emperor felt increasingly distressed as he looked at her, and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Fu Niu'er recover from her illness? Is she not fully recovered yet?"
"There's still an old ginseng in the storeroom. I'll have Steward Yi find it and bring it back for you in a bit..."
Jiayin's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she choked out, "Uncle, I'm not sick, I'm just scared!"
"I want to find my godfather, I want to find my father! Uncle Emperor, could you send someone to take me there?"
The Emperor was completely bewildered, and seeing Jiayin crying with tears streaming down her face, he felt even more heartbroken.
After all, this was the little girl he had watched grow up, and he had promised to take good care of her when his cousin went to war.
He quickly said, "Fu Niu'er, don't cry. Why do you want to go find your godfather?"
"Didn't you say when you were little that your royal uncle is the biggest in the world, even more powerful than your godfather?"
"If anyone bullies you, tell your royal uncle, and he'll back you up!"
Jiayin lowered her head and just wiped away her tears, not saying a word.
Upon seeing this, Steward Yi quickly asked Li Lao Er, "Lord Li, what grievance has the princess suffered?"
"Princess, you are a girl and are timid. Please speak quickly, so as not to worry the Emperor!"
Unexpectedly, Li Lao Er lifted his robe and knelt down on the ground.
"Your Majesty, Fu Niu'er has been sensible since she was a child. She didn't want to put Your Majesty in a difficult position, so she thought of going to the Marquis and her father to avoid disaster."
"But she's still young and doesn't think too much. This world belongs to the Emperor. No matter how powerful or lawless anyone is, they can't surpass the Emperor!"
The Emperor nodded. He had guessed that the Li family had been bullied, but what Li Lao Er said resonated with him.
Tianwu is his domain; there's nothing he can't control.
He asked with a stern face, "Lord Zhongshan, tell me, what exactly happened? Don't hide anything! I want to hear who has acted lawlessly!"
Jiayin was a little anxious. She stepped forward and tugged at the Emperor's sleeve, her face full of worry, "Uncle Emperor..."
The Emperor patted her back and comforted her, saying, "Don't be afraid, your uncle is not angry."
"You are a princess personally appointed by me. I want to see who dares to bully you, who has such audacity!"
Li Lao Er took a deep breath, as if trying his best to suppress the grievances and resentment in his heart.
He began to recount his story from the beginning, “Your Majesty, there were rumors in the capital that Fu Niu’er was very fortunate. Our family felt it was inappropriate for a girl to be talked about like that. So, Fu Niu’er pretended to be sick to avoid the limelight. I even went to the palace to ask for an old ginseng root to smooth things over. You must remember that, right?”
The Emperor nodded and replied, "I remember. I wanted to send an imperial physician, but you said it was just a temporary measure for the family, so I let it go."
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