Embrace
Sun Yulin acted quickly, sending a message to the palace to explain the situation to Consort Shu. Consort Shu trusted her nephew and agreed to give it a try.
So before dawn that day, Xu Ruoyan covered her face with a veil and prepared to climb over the wall and sneak into the palace.
She had given it a lot of thought before coming. She planned to avoid Qi Feng and Pei Huai's sight as much as possible and not let them know about this. After all, if they knew that she was not only close to Wang Pei An, but also friends with the second young master of the Sun family, it would only bring more trouble.
Although the idea was good, the chances of keeping it from them were still slim. After all, even though Xu Ruoyan had carefully checked the people around her and found no suspicious individuals, she always felt that Qi Feng's spies were watching her subtly.
It's strange, Qi Feng and Pei Huai were strangers to her before, and she, a mere physician, could not possibly pose any threat to their great cause, so why did Qi Feng always give her the feeling that he regarded her as an enemy?
Have they really discovered something?
Xu Ruoyan squatted on the wall, shook her head to wake herself up, and then lightly landed on the ground with a push of her feet. She then headed straight for Consort Shu's Qingyue Palace.
The lamplight inside the hall flickered, casting its light on the paper windows. Xu Ruoyan knelt by the door and knocked three times. Once the door opened, she quickly slipped inside.
Seriously, why is going out for a house call being treated like an assassination?
"Greetings, Your Highness." She strode over to the woman sitting on the edge of the bed and bowed respectfully.
"Get up."
Consort Shu casually raised her hand, which was resting on her crossed legs.
It's a very elegant voice.
Xu Ruoyan straightened up, looked up, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
As expected of the Emperor's favorite concubine, even though she had just gotten up and hadn't dressed up much, her every move still unconsciously revealed an air of arrogance and haughtiness, clearly nurtured by gold, silver, and jewels.
Xu Ruoyan lowered her eyes without showing any emotion, quickly concealing her scrutinizing gaze.
Consort Shu casually examined the fingers of her right hand: "I heard from Yulin that you have a way to cure my illness?"
"This humble woman cannot guarantee anything; Your Majesty must examine her first before making a conclusion."
The woman sitting on the bed gave a soft hum and stretched out her right hand in front of Xu Ruoyan: "Then come on, and remember to hurry, I still have to see the Emperor later."
Xu Ruoyan dared not say more, and only replied, "Yes."
As she stepped forward, a maidservant placed a handkerchief embroidered with peach blossoms on Consort Shu's wrist. Xu Ruoyan placed her hand on it and carefully felt it.
The pulse is tense and labored...
Her brows slowly furrowed together.
Then she asked about Consort Shu's menstrual cycle, examined her tongue coating, and asked some other questions.
Seeing Xu Ruoyan's expression gradually become serious, Consort Shu couldn't help but worry about her own health, and the arrogant look on her face completely disappeared.
"Is there... a problem?"
Xu Ruoyan silently withdrew her hand, distanced herself from Consort Shu, and then bowed and cupped her hands: "Your Highness, your illness is adenomyosis."
"Adenomyosis?" Consort Shu instinctively protected her lower abdomen. "How come I've never heard of this disease before?"
This name is a modern one; you've definitely never heard of it.
Xu Ruoyan replied vaguely, "This disease is rare, so it's normal that Your Majesty doesn't know about it."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "This illness will not only cause Your Majesty unbearable abdominal pain during your monthly menstrual period, but it will also definitely affect Your Majesty's fertility."
The words "affects fertility" pierced Consort Shu's heart. She had suffered a miscarriage during her last pregnancy and had not conceived since, which caused the Emperor to favor her less.
She already lacked the support of her maternal family. If she could not bear children for the emperor, how could she gain a foothold in the palace?
Thinking of this, Consort Shu became even more anxious. She gripped her handkerchief tightly, her body leaning forward unconsciously, her eyes, which were bloodshot and burning as she looked at Xu Ruoyan.
You're definitely lying to me!
Xu Ruoyan said in a deep voice, "This humble servant would not dare to deceive Your Majesty. Moreover, this humble servant is on good terms with Young Master Sun, so naturally I would not speak nonsense to Your Majesty."
"Then tell me, what should I do?"
She yelled at Xu Ruoyan, then seemed to lose all her strength, her whole body went limp, and she collapsed weakly onto the edge of the bed.
"What should I do..." she murmured.
Xu Ruoyan hurriedly went forward with her maid to help her up: "Your Highness, please don't worry. Your illness is not very serious, and there is still hope for a cure."
Upon hearing Xu Ruoyan's words, Consort Shu's dull eyes were instantly ignited again. She gripped Xu Ruoyan's arm tightly, her long nails digging fiercely into Xu Ruoyan's flesh.
"Help me, I'll give you any amount of money you want, as long as you can cure me."
That's exactly what I was waiting for.
"Get up first," Xu Ruoyan said, ignoring the pain in her arm and patiently comforting her. "Get up, I'll go get you some medicine. Take it on time, and it won't be long before it takes effect."
Then Xu Ruoyan acted as both doctor and kindergarten teacher, constantly comforting Consort Shu while preparing her medicine and treating her. By the time she finally finished, the sun had already set.
Consort Shu's maidservant saw her out of the palace gate. Xu Ruoyan stood at the foot of the wall, twisted her sore neck and stretched her shoulders, then stepped on a large wooden box next to her, grabbed the edge of the wall with both hands and pulled hard, throwing herself onto the top of the wall.
She didn't rush to jump down. Instead, she sat on the wall, squinted at the clouds that had been dyed orange by the sunrise, and then sighed contentedly before pulling her legs up and jumping down.
However, she was caught safely halfway through her freefall.
In an instant, many possibilities flashed through her mind.
Pei An? But I never told him about this operation.
Could it be Sun Yulin? But he's out on business these days, isn't he out of Beijing?
It couldn't be Qi Feng, could it...?
She turned her head shakily and saw a familiar face.
"Pei Jue?!"
She stayed in Pei Jue's arms, forgetting to even blink.
"Yes, it's me," Pei Jue said with a smile, gently placing the person on the ground. "I'm back."
Xu Ruoyan hadn't recovered from this huge surprise yet; her mouth was agape and she couldn't close it.
"It's only mid-February, why are you back already? Weren't you supposed to be back at the end of February?"
Pei Jue smiled gently at her: "I wanted to see you, so I rushed back on horseback."
Xu Ruoyan immediately sensed something was wrong: "But, your eyes..."
She blinked, looked again more closely, and suddenly exclaimed, "Your eyes!"
Pei Jue smiled and nodded: "Yes, my eyes have healed and I can see clearly again."
Xu Ruoyan was overjoyed. She grabbed Pei Jue's hand and jumped up and down several times, exclaiming, "That's wonderful! This is the best news!"
Pei Jue's lips hadn't left his mouth since he saw Xu Ruoyan. He held Xu Ruoyan's hand in his own, his thumb nervously rubbing against her palm.
"Can I have a hug?" he asked.
The next second, Xu Ruoyan cheered and pounced on him.
Pei Jue was clearly taken aback by Xu Ruoyan's unhesitating embrace. He paused for a moment, then carefully wrapped his arms around Xu Ruoyan's back, his other hand gently stroking the back of her head, his fingers silently slipping into her soft black hair.
As her excitement subsided, Xu Ruoyan's restless heart gradually calmed down. Her chin rested against Pei Jue's chest, the smell of dust lingering in her nostrils; Pei Jue had probably come to find her before even going home after returning.
Strangely enough, despite being in such close contact with Pei Jue, she felt no discomfort or difficulty accepting it; at most, she felt a little embarrassed.
How did you know I was here?
Xu Ruoyan felt as if there was an impenetrable wall in front of her, which made her voice sound muffled.
Where she couldn't see, Pei Jue's eyes gleamed with an indescribable light. His lips brushed against Xu Ruoyan's soft hair, tickling her slightly.
"My Shadowless Pavilion can help me monitor the movements of all people and things."
It wasn't hard to detect a hint of pride in his words.
Xu Ruoyan pulled away from his embrace, pouted, and said, "This isn't a good place to talk. Let's go home first."
Pei Jue took her hand, slipped his fingers between hers, and held her hand firmly.
"Okay, let's go home."
When the two returned home, it was already broad daylight, and the three little ones were already busy. They were all quite surprised to see Pei Jue.
"Welcome home, Master!" they shouted in unison.
Xu Ruoyan tossed them the candy balls she had bought on her way back: "Here, have some."
So the three little ones ran off happily.
Upon entering the house, the first thing Xu Ruoyan wanted to do was to examine Pei Jue. After all, it didn't matter if he said he was cured; only a doctor's opinion mattered.
Beneath his fingertips, Pei Jue's pulse beat strongly and steadily.
After a long while, Xu Ruoyan let out a long breath and said, "It can only be called a medical miracle. You recovered too quickly."
Pei Jue said with a smile, "Because your husband is very capable."
Xu Ruoyan pouted again and almost rolled her eyes at him.
“However,” she changed the subject, “you still need to take care of your health and not do anything reckless.”
"I will follow Dr. Xu's medical advice."
Xu Ruoyan nodded in satisfaction.
"You're in such a hurry to come back, what about all that salt?"
“Don’t worry, Madam,” Pei Jue said. “The salt will be transported by water, which will be a little slower. It should arrive after the imperial examination.”
Seeing that Pei Jue was alright, Xu Ruoyan thought it over and over again, and finally decided to tell Pei Jue about her entry into the Imperial Hospital.
She briefly explained the whole story to Pei Jue. As expected, Pei Jue was also very worried about this matter.
"Don't worry," Xu Ruoyan comforted him. "I'll be careful. As of now, they don't seem to have any intention of harming me."
Pei Jue slowly shook his head, his tone heavy: "That's not what I'm most worried about. I'm wondering why Qi Feng, who has no grudge against you, would target you?"
We were thinking the same thing.
Xu Ruoyan was determined to figure this out.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind. It was the glance she exchanged with Qi Feng on the roadside a month ago.
That one glance was unforgettable. That strange sense of unease kept assaulting her mind. She knew something was wrong, but what exactly was it?
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