Before the Zhou family could even make a statement about what to do, Empress Dowager Zhou fell ill in the palace.
Regardless of the circumstances, the Emperor will now have to put aside his duties to attend to the ailing patient.
Not only the emperor, but also the empress and even the concubines in the six palaces.
Otherwise, tomorrow the Censorate will be flooded with memorials impeaching the Emperor for being unfilial and immoral.
The single word "filial piety" can weigh heavily on officials for a long time.
Not only the Empress Dowager, but also the Zhou family, because they are the Empress Dowager's maternal clan, as long as they haven't committed a capital offense, Pei Yuanhui cannot do anything to the Zhou family.
The Zhou family is like weeds; you can never burn them all off.
So it will always be an eyesore, and not only that, it will occasionally stab you hard.
When Pei Yuanhui arrived at Cining Palace, his expression still carried a hint of gloom.
Empress Xue, despite her illness, also arrived earlier than the Emperor. Since the imperial physician was inside taking the Empress Dowager's pulse, Xue Yinjia waited in the outer hall.
Upon hearing that the emperor had arrived, she stood up and went outside to greet him.
Xue Yinjia guessed that the Emperor was not in a good mood at the moment, and saw that the Emperor's face also showed a bit of helplessness.
Pei Yuanhui helped Xue Yinjia up and asked, "How is she? What did the imperial physician say?"
Xue Yinjia shook her head slightly: "Judge Zhao just arrived. Zhu Yu said that the Empress Dowager had a headache this morning, which is probably an old ailment. However, the Empress Dowager did not want to be disturbed and has been dragging it out until now."
If Empress Dowager Zhou truly didn't want to cause a stir, she wouldn't have let the entire palace know that she had fallen ill.
Pei Yuanhui naturally understood the implication. He raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of mockery flashing across his face.
"Empress, come in with me and let's take a look."
Empress Xue nodded, and only when the emperor and empress entered side by side did she speak in a very low voice.
“This morning, Consort Zhou was summoned to Cining Palace. When I arrived, I heard that she was brewing medicine in a side hall.”
Pei Yuanhui waved his hand, not caring that Consort Zhou was such a figure: "Then let her decoct medicine in the side hall."
Clearly, the Emperor didn't really want to see Consort Zhou at this moment.
Seeing this, Xue Yinjia wisely refrained from mentioning Consort Zhou again.
The imperial concubines arrived at Cining Palace around noon.
At that time, the Emperor was personally serving the Empress Dowager her medicine in the Cining Palace.
Huo Qinghe arrived rather late. She was usually too tired to get up, and no one would notice her anyway. Even Consort Meng didn't notice her when she arrived at Cining Palace.
The Cining Palace was bustling with activity. When Huo Qinghe arrived, she happened to run into Consort Xie, who was coming out of the palace.
"Your Majesty finds the tea a bit too hot, so please have the side room replace it with a sweet and refreshing white fungus and lotus seed soup. Your Majesty's mouth tastes bitter after drinking the medicine, so please be careful."
These words were originally spoken by Consort Zhou, so it sounded somewhat unfamiliar coming from Consort Xie.
When Consort Xie saw Huo Qinghe nod slightly to her, she didn't say anything more, but waited for Huo Qinghe to go up the steps so that the two of them could go inside together.
"You've come at the perfect time. The Empress Dowager has just finished her meal and the festivities have ended. The Empress Dowager said she doesn't like crowds and noise, so the Empress has told us we can go back now. The Emperor and the Empress are here to attend to her."
She came out now on the orders of the Empress.
Huo Qinghe always managed to miss out on the excitement whenever something like this happened. She pursed her lips and silently felt sorry for herself.
Last night I was already exhausted from being tormented by the Emperor, and now I'm being tormented by the Empress Dowager.
But she had unspeakable suffering, so she nodded slightly: "I'm late. How is the Empress Dowager's health?"
Consort Xie shook her head cautiously: "The imperial physician said that the Empress Dowager is suffering from emotional distress, but he couldn't explain it clearly and doesn't know the cause. The Empress Dowager has been complaining of chest tightness and discomfort, and His Majesty has been attending to her constantly, without even having time to eat."
Huo Qinghe echoed, "His Majesty is benevolent and filial; he only hopes that the Empress's health will improve."
Consort Xie nodded in agreement: "Madam Zhou is quite diligent, always staying in the side hall to prepare the medicine. Now Madam Zhou is quite adept at taking care of the sick."
She even made a rare joke.
Clearly, Consort Zhou had truly offended everyone in the palace.
Huo Qinghe lowered her eyes, which was understandable. The Empress Dowager was ill, and after the Zhou family's troubles, Consort Zhou naturally had no time to care about Huo Qinghe.
Not only is he too busy to care about Huo Qinghe right now, but he probably won't have time for her for a while to come.
Huo Qinghe had just arrived and followed Consort Xie inside. After standing there for a while, she was dismissed.
However, Huo Qinghe was also taken aback by the scene inside when she entered. The main hall of Cining Palace was crowded with imperial concubines. Huo Qinghe was first captivated by the fragrance of cosmetics inside, with various sweet scents wafting to her nose.
No wonder the Empress Dowager said she disliked the hustle and bustle; however, it was indeed a delightful sight to see all the concubines gathered together.
Huo Yiyun glanced at Huo Qinghe in the crowd. Standing beside her was Ding Guiyi, who seemed to know her well.
Huo Qinghe left Cining Palace and then slowly returned to Yanliang Pavilion.
Since she had nothing to do anyway, she went back and rested for a while.
The maids did take note of when Consort Zhou returned.
Consort Zhou returned to Yanxi Palace late at night; she certainly didn't dare to show her face today.
As soon as the Zhou family got into trouble, she knew that it was probably all the government's doing. She knew her nephew better than anyone.
She had witnessed how foolish and absurd the situation could be back home, and her family doted on her nephew so much that he became completely unruly.
Upon learning that her nephew had cheated in the imperial examinations, Zhou Hengping felt utterly ashamed this morning; she was too embarrassed to face anyone.
She felt ashamed, and while she was angry at her nephew for being so useless, she was also helpless. After all, she was surnamed Zhou, and in this life, she could only follow Empress Dowager Zhou and obey her aunt's orders.
When Consort Zhou returned to Yanxi Palace, she felt weak all over, but she still remembered her aunt's instructions.
"Go to the Imperial Kitchen and order some Three Crispy Soup. I heard the Emperor liked it the other day. You can order it yourself, and I'll deliver it to him personally. The Emperor is still in Cining Palace right now."
Yu Zhi nodded: "Yes, His Majesty is very filial. Today His Majesty stayed at Cining Palace all day, and all the memorials were reviewed there. However, he should have returned to Funing Palace by now."
There is an early court session tomorrow, and the Emperor has been attending to the sick man without taking off his clothes today; his filial piety is already more than enough.
Consort Zhou closed her eyes briefly: "Alright. Then take the Three Crispy Soup to Funing Palace."
"But the officials have probably already made arrangements..."
Zhou Hengping waved his hand impatiently: "If I don't go today, who knows when it will be after the Emperor's morning court session tomorrow? Do you think my aunt can wait? The clan hasn't sent any word back yet. My aunt asked me to go and test the Emperor's attitude. How could I possibly disobey her?"
She was already furious, and after saying that, she irritably overturned the teacup on the table.
The freshly brewed tea spilled all over Yuzhi, who was standing nearby. Even through her palace dress, she could still feel how hot it was.
Yu Zhi dared not complain and gritted her teeth as she apologized.
"This servant is dull-witted."
Consort Zhou was eccentric and it was common for her to beat and scold the palace servants.
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