Chapter 44 Doctor Chen
Birdsong filled the trees outside the hall, and the sky in the distance gradually brightened—it was already morning.
Inside the hall, Chu Mingheng propped himself up and sat up from the bed.
Perhaps because he had just woken up, his expression still held a hint of indifference and languor.
He glanced at the window where birdsong was incessant; through the gauze curtains, the sunlight from outside seeped in little by little.
Then he turned his head slightly, lowered his gaze, and saw Lan Wu sleeping peacefully beside him.
As the night passed, her complexion had improved considerably. He knew she had woken up once during the night, but she was easy to coax and soon fell back asleep.
Last night I had another dream about Lanwu.
Now, he doesn't know whether those dreams were just figments of his imagination or something else entirely.
That's very strange.
He turned to the side, reached out and pinched Lan Wu's ear, and sure enough, he saw her frown, as if struggling not to wake up.
This lazybones, he's really bad at learning palace rules.
Chu Mingheng didn't wake her up, and went to get off the bed on his own.
Lan Wu slept for another hour or so before waking up.
She summoned Lianxi into the palace.
"What time is it?" Lan Wu asked her as she got off the bed to wash up.
Lianxi replied, "Your Majesty, it's almost the end of Chenshi (7-9 AM)."
Lan Wu nodded, and then heard her say:
"Your Majesty, His Majesty said that a female physician from the Imperial Hospital has been arranged to take care of your health. She will be here shortly."
Lan Wu had already taken care of her health in her previous life, so she had no reason to be unhappy about starting over again.
Lan Wu hummed in agreement, and the palace maids laid out several more garments for her to choose from for the day.
"That light blue one, I suppose."
She changed her clothes when she came back yesterday. The green dress she had only worn once was stained with blood, and since Rong Meiren had miscarried yesterday, she couldn't stay any longer, so she had someone take care of it.
She was beautiful and charming, but she didn't usually dress up much in her bedchamber. Even when she did put her hair up, it was only in a simple style. As a result, she had a dignified and gentle beauty.
After breakfast, the female doctor that Lianxi had mentioned to her arrived shortly afterward.
The female doctor looked to be in her mid-thirties, but she had a gentle demeanor and spoke in a natural manner. More importantly, she was a familiar face.
Upon seeing the face, Lanwu forgot all her leisurely tea-drinking time, only to find her mouth filled with bitterness.
"Your humble servant greets Consort Jieyu, may Your Majesty be blessed." The female physician knelt down and bowed.
Lan Wu's lips twitched, signaling her to hurry up.
"What's your name?" she asked the female doctor with a smile.
"Your Majesty, my name is Chen Li. His Majesty has specially ordered me to come and help Your Majesty recuperate."
It's been so long since I've seen Dr. Chen Li.
Lan Wu smiled gently, swallowing hard. In her previous life, she had been thoroughly fooled by Physician Chen's gentle demeanor. The medicine she concocted was increasingly bitter, and Lan Wu, who disliked bitter medicine, would only slowly drink half of it after it had cooled down. Once the rest was cold, she refused to drink it. Physician Chen, being dutiful, simply watched her drink it...
But the medicine she prescribed was effective. More than half a year later, her lower abdomen no longer hurt. Although she still felt some pain, it was no longer as painful as before, to the point that she couldn't speak.
Now we have to start all over again.
Lan Wu looked at Physician Chen's gentle smile and decided not to fall for it. She said, "Then I'll have to trouble Physician Chen. But I can't stand bitter medicine. Sometimes I feel nauseous after taking it. I hope the medicine won't be too bitter."
Physician Chen was taken aback. All medicines are bitter, so it's as if the Empress is afraid of taking medicine.
She found it amusing, but then she remembered the words His Majesty had specifically instructed her before she came: that Consort Zhen was young and a little mischievous, and that it was all for her own good; that she didn't need to listen to her whining and talking, and that she should just do as she pleased.
Looking back now, His Majesty had already guessed that Consort Zhen would beg her not to prepare any bitter medicine.
That won't do.
Physician Chen looked flattered and said, "Your Majesty, please don't trouble yourself. I received His Majesty's order when I came, and I will certainly take good care of Your Majesty's health."
Lan Wu was speechless for a moment.
When Physician Chen took her pulse, Lan Wu's mind stirred slightly. After waiting a while, she answered all of Chen's questions one by one, and then asked what was on her mind.
"Physician Chen, who is currently taking care of Consort Rong's health at the Imperial Hospital?"
Chu Mingheng told her not to overthink it, but from yesterday to today, she still felt something was off, so she took advantage of Chen Yinu's presence to ask a few more questions.
When Physician Chen heard her ask about the Consort Shuyi who had miscarried, her expression remained unchanged. She answered the question, saying, "Your Majesty, it is Physician Xu. Physician Xu is highly skilled and will surely take good care of Consort Shuyi."
Lan Wu didn't actually know many imperial physicians, so she nodded in agreement when she heard what she said.
"Do you know how many months pregnant Rong Shuyi is?"
"It should be more than two and a half months, but Consort Shuyi's pregnancy is unstable, so the imperial physician did not diagnose it by examining her pulse."
Logically, these words should not be spoken. His Majesty had ordered that no one should talk about Rong Shuyi's miscarriage. However, Physician Chen probably guessed what Lan Wu wanted to know, so she lowered her voice and whispered this to her.
Lan Wu blinked. Two and a half months. Although everyone's early pregnancy reactions are different, it is rare to see someone like Rong Shuyi who did not even realize it herself and the imperial physician could not diagnose her.
This incident caused a huge uproar when it happened, but it has now subsided and become peaceful.
Lan Wu knew that Rong Shuyi held a grudge against her, and it wasn't just Rong Shuyi; if she counted, she probably couldn't count them all on one hand.
She wasn't afraid of being resented or schemed against; she was all alone, and she had already seen through the dirty tricks of the concubines.
Summer is approaching and the weather is getting hot. The hotter it gets, the lazier Lanwu becomes, and she doesn't like to go anywhere else.
Although Chu Mingheng no longer stopped her from reading those storybooks, Lan Wu felt a little guilty about reading them in front of him. Most of the time, she pretended to be well-behaved in front of him, and occasionally went to the Imperial Study to practice calligraphy and draw flowers, birds, insects and fish.
However, she couldn't paint anything good with her paintbrush; she couldn't even capture the essence, let alone the form.
The first time Chu Mingheng saw her paint, she painted a grapevine, which looked messy and resembled a bird's nest.
He saw Lan Wu excitedly drawing all afternoon, and finally came over with a thin sheet of drawing paper to ask for a reward.
She didn't receive a reward and was even punished because Lan Wu blurted out that the painting depicted grapevines from the summer scene hanging on the wall of the Imperial Study.
The paintings that could be hung in the Imperial Study were naturally of high quality. It was unfair that Lan Wu had tarnished their reputation. Chu Mingheng punished her by making her write thirty calligraphy pieces, and she was not allowed to go back until she finished.
Lan Wu wrote angrily until dusk, and when she finished, she said she was going back to Longyu Pavilion, leaving the grapevine painting behind.
In her previous life, Chu Mingheng clearly said that her painting had improved a lot. Although it was her first time painting grapevines, it was not bad at all.
She would no longer go to the Imperial Study to annoy people.
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