Chapter 143 The Unspoken Truth
The flavors of loquat syrup and fruit swirled and shifted in the two people's mouths.
Meng Yanzhi gently wrapped her arms around Xiao Xingyuan's neck, slightly out of breath: "Your Majesty, this is the Imperial Study, and it's broad daylight."
"So what?"
Xiao Xingyuan became domineering and simply put his arm around Meng Yanzhi's waist.
Do you like me?
Xiao Xingyuan suddenly nuzzled Meng Yanzhi's nose and couldn't help but ask this question.
Originally, the atmosphere between the two was very harmonious, but the moment the question was raised, all the romance turned into awkwardness, and even Meng Yanzhi's body stiffened.
But all this changed in an instant. Meng Yanzhi immediately nodded and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is so kind, how could I not like you?"
In fact, Xiao Xingyuan knew very well that Meng Yanzhi was just trying to appease him. He didn't want to see Meng Yanzhi's fawning eyes, so he pinned her down on the table and just did whatever he wanted.
Meng Yanzhi delivered a loquat syrup and then spent the entire afternoon there. When she came out of the Imperial Study, her legs were trembling, and she was unsteady on her feet.
In fact, Meng Yanzhi had long been used to Xiao Xingyuan's physical strength, but she really couldn't understand why he was so fierce today.
Wang Huanhai, an old man in the palace, hurriedly came over and helped Meng Yanzhi up: "Miss Meng, are you alright?"
Meng Yanzhi glanced at Wang Huanhai, and for a moment she didn't even know what to say. What should she say?
Should I say my legs are weak, or my back aches?
Meng Yanzhi could only force a helpless smile and said, "It's nothing, thank you, Eunuch Wang. I'll go back by myself."
After saying that, Meng Yanzhi walked towards her small courtyard and collapsed onto the bed as soon as she entered.
"Miss, what's wrong? Why do you look so tired?"
Mingchu walked over and looked at Meng Yanzhi with some confusion. She had almost recovered and could now do some simple things.
Seeing Meng Yanzhi like this, Mingchu felt extremely distressed. She stepped forward, gently touched Meng Yanzhi's forehead, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was alright.
"It's nothing, I'm just very tired and want to rest for a bit." Meng Yanzhi smiled at Ming Chu and pulled the blanket up to cover herself.
Seeing her like this, Mingchu didn't say much. He simply tucked her in, turned around, and walked outside, gently closing the door behind him.
Tired...so tired...
Meng Yanzhi had never felt so tired. Her eyebrows were tightly furrowed, her eyes were closed, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.
The unbearable scenes from her previous life kept flashing before her eyes: the men's faces, their vicious words, their shameless methods, and the torment that made her wish she were dead. They were like maggots clinging to her bones, impossible to shake off.
"No, no, don't come any closer!"
"Don't touch me! No!"
Meng Yanzhi screamed and struggled, but it seemed that everything was in vain.
"Miss? Miss!"
Mingchu heard the sound and came over, gently touching Meng Yanzhi's forehead, which was indeed burning hot.
"Eunuch Wang, my young lady has a fever, what should we do?"
In the early Ming Dynasty, they quickly found Wang Huanhai and knelt on the ground, weeping incessantly.
Wang Huanhai didn't say anything more. He quickly sent his eunuch to summon the imperial physician, while he went to find Xiao Xingyuan to report the news.
The imperial physician arrived at Meng Yanzhi's courtyard quickly and, after carefully examining her pulse, discovered that Meng Yanzhi's body was terribly depleted.
He immediately wrote out a prescription and handed it directly to Mingchu: "Take three doses a day, and make sure to take them properly."
"Miss Meng has a persistent high fever, so the most important thing right now is to bring the fever down. Let's prepare the fever-reducing medicine first." The imperial physician sighed, "With such a weak body and so much hard work, how could she not fall ill?"
This was the sentence Xiao Xingyuan heard when he rushed over.
"what is going on?"
Xiao Xingyuan's expression was indifferent. He lifted his clothes, sat down on the edge of Meng Yanzhi's bed, and frowned as he looked at the imperial physician beside him.
The imperial physician never expected that a mere Meng Yanzhi could alarm the Emperor.
He hurriedly knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Miss Meng's health is not good, and she has been overworked lately, which is why she fainted. However, as long as she takes her medicine on time and takes good care of her health, she will be fine."
"How could you be overworked?" Xiao Xingyuan frowned.
Meng Yanzhi is now a third-rank female official. Logically speaking, she doesn't need to do many things in the small kitchen herself. Even if she is to manage the imperial kitchen, she should only need to talk to people. Why is she overworked?
The imperial physician didn't say much, but his eyes showed some difficulty. The main reason was that Meng Yanzhi was an unmarried young lady, and the imperial physician really couldn't say whether it was because of the frequent occurrence of that kind of thing. The first requirement for imperial physicians in the palace was to see through things but not say them. They should be very clear about what should and shouldn't be said.
Otherwise, you might get into trouble for what you say, and you might not even know how you died.
"Fine, use the best medicine!"
"Get out!"
Seeing that the imperial physician was stammering and unable to give a coherent explanation, Xiao Xingyuan could only impatiently wave his hand and send him away.
After everyone left, Xiao Xingyuan reached out and gently touched Meng Yanzhi's forehead; it was still burning hot.
"Do not touch me!"
"Get out of my way!"
"Please...please...don't touch me."
Meng Yanzhi suddenly screamed, and frantically slapped Xiao Xingyuan's hand away, struggling incessantly, tears streaming down her face.
"Rouge, what's wrong?"
"Who, who bullied you? I'll kill him!"
Xiao Xingyuan hugged Meng Yanzhi tightly, trying to comfort her.
Meng Yanzhi suddenly felt a warm embrace, filled with the familiar scent of ambergris. She clung tightly to this hard-won warmth, sobbing uncontrollably.
When Mingchu walked in with the medicine bowl, she saw Xiao Xingyuan sitting by the bed, holding Meng Yanzhi very gently in his arms. She was stunned for a moment, holding the medicine bowl, hesitant, not knowing whether she should go in or not. But the imperial physician said that reducing the fever was very important.
Xiao Xingyuan looked up and saw Ming Chu, and said calmly, "Come in."
"Yes." Ming Chu nodded immediately and walked in with the medicine bowl: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the fever reducer should be used as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will." Xiao Xingyuan nodded, took the medicine bowl, and fed it to Meng Yanzhi little by little.
Ming Chu, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. She had never imagined that the emperor would serve people so patiently. Looking at Xiao Xingyuan's gentle manner, Ming Chu even wondered if he really liked Meng Yanzhi.
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