Upon hearing this, Huo Yiyun flung the handkerchief in her hand. She suppressed her irritation and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Huo Qinghe, but in the end, she launched into her usual tirade in a bad mood.
"Just say that I'm sick and can't visit the Emperor, and that you're going to visit him on my behalf. If you go with that in mind, no matter what, Consort Zhou can't kick you out of Funing Palace. Besides, it's not her turn to attend to the Emperor in Funing Palace today. If she can go, why can't you?"
Heaven knows how Huo Yiyun managed to say those words through gritted teeth, after all, it was tantamount to pushing Huo Qinghe in front of the emperor.
But she had no other choice; she had already thought of this when she asked her mother to arrange for Huo Qinghe to enter the palace.
Huo Qinghe naturally agreed obediently.
After leaving Xianfu Palace, she first said she was going to Funing Palace, and her hand unconsciously went to her lower abdomen.
Huo Qinghe, who was attending to the sick person today, was not very familiar with them, but with Consort Zhou, Noble Lady Xie, and Noble Lady Fu present, they were not strangers.
Consort Fu was summoned by Empress Xue to attend to her when she was ill, and Consort Xie came because she was concerned about the Emperor.
It seemed that Consort Fu had sided with Empress Xue.
Consort Xie greeted Huo Qinghe warmly: "You've come? I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to talk to you. The Emperor has just taken his medicine and gone to sleep. There are people guarding him inside, so we'll stay here and chat while he prepares the medicine."
Huo Qinghe first curtsied to them: "Then I will assist you sisters from the side."
Consort Zhou spent most of her time today watching the palace maids in and out of the Funing Palace, trying to find out if the palace maid Yuzhi mentioned last night was from the Funing Palace.
She wasn't in the mood to pay attention to Huo Qinghe. She simply raised her chin at Huo Qinghe and said, "Some people are quite idle. They come all this way."
These words addressed everyone present. Consort Xie and Consort Fu both looked at Consort Zhou, but neither of them spoke.
Huo Qinghe was pulled by Consort Xie to the corridor to brew medicine. She took the fan handed to her by the maid and slowly fanned herself.
"Is His Majesty feeling any better?"
When Huo Qinghe came last night, she noticed that the Emperor's voice was indeed not very good, and his questions now seem to confirm it.
Consort Xie stopped what she was doing, and placed the round fan in front of her chest, waving it lightly and casually.
"What else can be done? Even when His Majesty is ill, he doesn't forget about state affairs. With the autumn examinations approaching, there are even more things to attend to. His Majesty's cold won't get better anytime soon; in fact, it seems to be getting worse. The imperial physician said this morning that His Majesty has a high fever."
Consort Xie spoke in a low voice, but there was still some worry in her voice.
Huo Qinghe coughed inexplicably after hearing what Consort Xie had said, and covered her lips with her free hand: "Well... Sister Xie has really worked hard."
Hearing her cough, Consort Xie immediately turned to her side with concern: "What's wrong with you? The Emperor's body hasn't fully recovered yet, and you've collapsed again."
Huo Qinghe pursed her lips, feeling slightly guilty. She smiled gratefully at Consort Xie and said, "I was just a little chilly last night, but otherwise I'm fine. The medicine is about to boil, Green Locust, please take a look."
She used the topic of boiling medicine to change the subject. Consort Xie glanced at Huo Qinghe a few more times, but wisely refrained from asking any further questions.
The officials inside had been sleeping for a little over an hour when Huo Qinghe and the others saw several gentlemen approaching from afar under the eaves.
Consort Xie seemed used to it and quickly looked away.
"His Majesty has probably woken up. Would you like to go in and see him?" Consort Xie asked.
Huo Qinghe hesitated for a moment but then nodded: "I'll go with my sister."
Several senior officials waited in the side hall for the Emperor's summons. By this time, Consort Zhou was no longer visible in the corridor, presumably having already gone inside.
Consort Fu remained outside.
After meeting Huo Qinghe and Consort Xie, she didn't say much, but simply followed them into the Funing Palace.
The three of them had barely entered the Funing Palace when they heard the Emperor's hoarse reprimand: "Get out."
The three of them had barely stopped when they saw Consort Zhou come out from inside with her head down. The way she was holding a handkerchief in her hand made it look like she was crying. Looking further down, they could easily see the water stains on Consort Zhou's dress, with some tea leaves stuck to it.
Consort Xie was a shrewd and perceptive person. Seeing this, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She stepped aside and said, "Madam Zhou has worked hard to serve you. Since you have accidentally soiled your clothes, please go and change them."
Huo Qinghe and Consort Fu also moved aside, afraid that Consort Zhou would take her anger out on them and cause trouble for no reason.
Suddenly, the official inside spoke up: "Who's outside?"
Jin Yang, who was guarding the door, hurriedly responded and went inside. When he came in and saw the scene, he couldn't help but exclaim "Oh!" After bowing and paying his respects, he went inside first.
Consort Zhou walked out without looking at anyone. She was feeling dizzy and disoriented, and her face felt like it had been slapped, burning hot.
She didn't know why she asked the Emperor about the palace maid from last night, but judging from the Emperor's attitude just now, she was certain that Yu Zhi hadn't exaggerated what happened last night; the Emperor and that palace maid definitely had an affair.
But given the Emperor's attitude, Consort Zhou naturally dared not say anything more.
She didn't have time to worry about anything, so she just started walking outside.
Consort Xie hesitated for a moment but still walked forward, with Huo Qinghe following behind her.
The Emperor inside had already gotten up. Upon closer inspection, his complexion appeared quite good, even rosy. It was unclear whether this was genuine good health or simply due to anger caused by Consort Zhou.
When she paid her respects, she boldly glanced at the Emperor. Pei Yuanhui, who was already furious because of Consort Zhou's words, happened to be looking at her, and the two made eye contact.
When Pei Yuanhui looked at her, his anger didn't subside, but he suddenly twitched the corner of his mouth.
It was more like a laugh born of extreme anger.
Huo Qinghe blinked, and silently asked, "Are you alright?"
Remembering that the person in front of him was the real culprit, Pei Yuanhui slowly raised his hand, and now he really wanted to laugh.
"Get up, everyone."
What angered him was that Consort Zhou had dared to spy on him. Whether she had planted spies in front of the emperor or had some other reason, it was nonetheless a violation of the emperor's taboos.
Furthermore, Consort Zhou dared to subtly probe him, which was truly audacious.
They're just relying on Empress Dowager Zhou's authority to issue orders, do they really think Pei Yuanhui wouldn't dare to act?
The three of them stood up, but none of them spoke.
Pei Yuanhui waved his hand again: "It's stuffy with so many people. Huo Meiren, stay. You can all leave."
Huo Qinghe looked up at the sound, her eyes filled with delight.
Consort Xie was not surprised to hear this, while Consort Fu glanced at Huo Qinghe but remained silent.
The two bowed respectfully, exchanged a few kind words, and then left.
Huo Qinghe turned to return the greeting before going to scoop up the sweet water.
As for the mess on the ground, it was naturally overlooked by everyone. Jin Yang personally ordered people to clean it up and then mentioned that several senior officials were waiting outside.
Pei Yuanhui said "Oh," and put his hands behind his head: "Then let them wait a little longer, there's no rush."
Upon hearing the sound, Huo Qinghe timidly raised her eyes, hesitating to speak.
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