Chapter 6 Intimate Medicine Feeding
Earlier, inside the main hall of Changxin Palace.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
The moment the eunuch's announcement rang out, Consort Song's heart sank.
What a coincidence, the Emperor has arrived!
She and Consort Yi exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
The two hurriedly got up and led the palace servants to quickly greet them at the palace gate.
In the wind and snow, Consort Yi saw the scene she least wanted to see:
In the center of the courtyard, Emperor Zhaoheng held Narcissus tightly in his arms. The dragon-patterned cloak, unique to emperors, was wrapped around the woman, revealing only her delicate, pale face, which was completely frostbitten.
Consort Yi's expression hardened slightly, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
Consort Song was deeply shocked. She watched as Emperor Zhaoheng, holding Narcissus, stepped out of the gates of Changxin Palace without looking back.
“Consort Yi…” Consort Song’s voice trembled, “His Majesty…he actually took that lowly maid away in broad daylight…!”
Consort Yi slowly withdrew her gaze, her face returning to a gentle smile, but the smile did not reach her eyes, and was chillingly cold.
"What's the panic?" Consort Yi asked calmly.
"Whichever the emperor chooses to favor is the emperor's will, and there are reasons for it."
She turned around and slowly walked back into the hall, and Consort Song could only follow anxiously.
The crackling of the charcoal fire in the stove dispelled the chill, but it couldn't dispel the panic in Song Changzai's eyes.
"It's a pity," Consort Yi said, sitting down in the main seat, picking up her teacup, her tone tinged with regret.
"If it weren't for that wretched maid Shui Xian causing trouble and disturbing His Majesty's presence... I was originally thinking of taking advantage of His Majesty's high spirits tonight to properly introduce my sister. My sister comes from a noble family and has a virtuous appearance. If she wins His Majesty's favor, it would be just around the corner for her to be granted the rank of Consort."
Consort Yi's words were clever, directly diverting Consort Song's resentment towards Narcissus.
Who does she think she is!
Consort Song slammed her hand on the table. “A lowly maid! Just because she’s a little pretty, she dares to put on airs in the snow! She must have known the Emperor would come, so she deliberately knelt there to seduce him! How shameless!”
She didn't mention that it was Consort Yi's punishment, but only believed that Shui Xian had deliberately seduced her.
Consort Song grew angrier as she spoke, "Your Majesty, look at her! Last time, when she served the Emperor, he sent her back untouched, which was already a huge disgrace! Yet she still dares to be so shameless and brazenly try to curry favor with him!"
Consort Yi listened quietly, her smile deepening slightly.
Perhaps, Consort Song was even more useful than she had anticipated.
"Sister, calm down. Why get angry with a mere servant?" Consort Yi said leisurely as she sipped her tea.
"But...you saw His Majesty's state just now. That cloak is an imperial item. I've been in this palace for quite some years, and I've never seen His Majesty so attentive to any other woman."
She gently stroked the teacup. "Narcissus, it seems you'll be serving the emperor. Once you gain favor, according to the rules, you should at least be given the title of Lady."
"Agree?" Consort Song's face showed disdain. "She doesn't even deserve it! A lowly servant born into the family, she's not even worthy to carry the Emperor's shoes! If she really gets a rank, won't she climb all over us and act like a tyrant? Your Majesty, can you really tolerate her being so presumptuous?"
Consort Yi put down her teacup and let out a very soft sigh.
"So what if we can tolerate it? So what if we can't?"
Her voice was light and airy, with a subtle hint of incitement, "She's someone I brought into the palace, and we've known each other for years. What can I possibly do to her?"
Consort Song listened without saying a word.
She thought to herself that Consort Yi was kind-hearted and it would be inconvenient for her to take action.
As someone from a noble family and a breath of fresh air in the harem, I cannot allow that lowly maid to run rampant!
Song Changzai's eyes grew colder and colder, and hatred and disgust for Shui Xian welled up in her heart!
——
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
The stove was burning very brightly, the charcoal glowing red, and the imperial physicians and palace servants coming and going all hurried along with tense expressions.
Narcissus lay on the bright yellow bed, her face pale, her eyes tightly closed, in a deep coma.
In her dream, she seemed to have returned to that snowy night from her past life.
She ran through the dark alleyways, the icy snowflakes scraping her face like knives. Her bare feet trod on the frozen cobblestones, each step feeling like walking on icy ice.
Behind her, the thugs were getting closer and closer.
Narcissus ran desperately, but the darkness engulfed her like a surging tide, seemingly without end...
......
"Help me..."
A warm hand suddenly grasped her cold, trembling shoulder.
Emperor Zhaoheng sat on the edge of the dragon bed, his handsome, sword-like eyebrows furrowed.
Narcissus's slender fingers were gripping his sleeve tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, as if it were the only piece of driftwood for a drowning person.
Her pale face was devoid of color, her thick eyelashes trembled uneasily, and a barely perceptible moisture seeped from the corners of her tightly closed eyes. She kept uttering weak murmurs.
"Save me...please..."
Her voice, filled with a deep-seated fear, struck Emperor Zhaoheng's heart again and again.
He had never seen her so vulnerable and helpless, and Emperor Zhaoheng couldn't help but feel pity for her.
Emperor Zhaoheng slowly tightened his large hand, completely enveloping her cold, slender hand in his warm palm.
“Don’t be afraid,” the man’s deep voice echoed in the inner palace, carrying a tenderness he himself was unaware of. “I am here. No one can hurt you.”
Grand Eunuch Feng Shunxiang carried the cold-dispelling medicine that the imperial physician had just brewed and walked silently to the bedside.
He bowed and presented the warm bowl of medicine with both hands.
Emperor Zhaoheng finally shifted his gaze from Shuixian's face to the medicine bowl, and nodded slightly.
Feng Shunxiang was extremely shrewd. He immediately placed the medicine bowl gently on the low table next to the emperor, then held his breath and quietly led all the palace servants out, gently closing the palace door behind them.
The heavy palace doors shut out all outside sounds, leaving only the crackling of burning charcoal and the suppressed murmurs of pain from the person on the bed inside the warm chamber.
Emperor Zhaoheng released his grip on the narcissus and picked up the medicine bowl.
He personally scooped up a spoonful of dark brown medicinal juice and carefully brought it to Narcissus's lips.
However, her tightly closed lips showed no sign of opening, and the medicine slid down her pale lips.
He tried several more times, all to no avail.
Looking at her body trembling slightly from the cold, a resolute look flashed in Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes.
He put down the medicine bowl, leaned closer, and steadily supported the back of Narcissus's neck with one hand, making her tilt her head back slightly, while using the other hand to pry open her delicate chin.
He took a mouthful of warm medicine, leaned down, and used his thin lips as a medium to slowly transfer the bitter liquid into her mouth.
Their lips touched, and the bitter medicine slowly flowed in. The unconscious Narcissus seemed to sense the warmth, letting out a muffled whimper, and unconsciously swallowed.
The medicine was fed to him spoonful by spoonful by Emperor Zhaoheng in the most intimate way.
The bitter yet unique aroma of the medicine lingered between their breaths, creating an indescribable intimacy.
After feeding her the medicine, he straightened up and carefully wiped away the traces from the corner of her lips with a silk handkerchief.
However, the woman's body still trembled slightly under the brocade quilt, and the chill emanating from her bones did not immediately dissipate due to the effects of the medicine.
Emperor Zhaoheng's gaze fell on her still pale face, and his memory flashed back to the frozen soldiers in the harsh northern lands.
He no longer hesitated.
The man's slender fingers reached towards her neckline, and Emperor Zhaoheng personally peeled away her clothes, which were soaked through with snow water, layer by layer.
Then, he unbuttoned his own clothes, revealing his well-defined, smooth-lined honey-colored chest.
He lifted a corner of the brocade quilt and lay down inside.
He stretched out his long arm and carefully pulled that cold, trembling body into his embrace.
As if finding its only source of warmth, the unconscious Narcissus instinctively let out a satisfied sigh, curling up and snuggling closer to him, her cool cheeks unconsciously rubbing against his burning chest, seeking every inch of warmth.
The man's body tensed instantly!
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and his arms around her tightened slightly, as if he wanted to transfer all his warmth to her.
Beneath the brocade quilt, their bodies pressed tightly together, their temperatures mingling. His burning chest pressed against her slightly cool body, and his strong arms encircled her slender waist.
Emperor Zhaoheng used this most primitive method to try to dispel the chill from her bones.
The flickering candlelight cast the silhouettes of the two people embracing tightly onto the gauze curtains, their shadows indistinct, their breaths mingling.
Just then, Narcissus's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes...
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