Chapter 26
When she woke up again, a cold handkerchief was placed on Qi Yu's forehead, and her hand was pulled out from under the covers so that an old doctor could take her pulse.
The old doctor said, "Madam fell into the water and the cold invaded her body. Although she was given medicine last night, it couldn't prevent it. The high fever came on fiercely. Madam is weak and needs to be carefully cared for."
"I will first prescribe medicine for the lady, and she should drink it for five days to temporarily reduce her fever."
Pei Jin's voice rang out: "Thank you for your trouble."
Qi Yu was confused. Why was she hearing Pei Jin's voice?
She blinked gently, woke up, and subconsciously touched her cheek; it was very hot.
Perhaps realizing she was sick, Qi Yu began to feel that her breath was hot, her consciousness was unclear, and her mind was muddled until her fingers touched the damp handkerchief, which brought her some clarity.
At this moment, a concerned gaze fell on her face. Qi Yu looked up and saw Yue Lu, who looked haggard and worried. When she saw that she had woken up, tears welled up in her eyes.
Yuelu exclaimed excitedly, "Madam is awake!"
The old doctor was tidying up his pulse-taking tools, his face serious. Seeing that the patient had woken up, he reminded him, "You must take your medicine on time, not even once, otherwise the effect will be greatly reduced."
He knew the lady's resistance to taking medicine because he had been there the previous night.
Yuelu helped Qiyu sit up, tucked her in, and held her hand with expectant eyes.
As a maid, she naturally couldn't be harsh on her mistress, but she also couldn't indulge her mistress's temper and neglect her health. Presumably, if the master and mistress knew, they would advise the mistress to take care of her health and take her medicine properly.
The girl had never suffered such a great ordeal before. She never needed anyone to persuade her to drink her medicine; she would simply drink it all in one go and then have someone take the bowl away.
Unexpectedly, his lack of consciousness last night revealed such a childlike side of him.
Qi Yu nodded stiffly.
She realized that the old doctor was referring to her.
The maids inside the room exchanged smiles, and the worried atmosphere eased.
Pei Jin did not stand very close, but rather stood at the foot of the bed, separated from Qi Yu by a moonlit egret.
He watched as the woman's blank eyes gradually brightened with a smile as the maids around her began to smile. She curled her fingers, feeling slightly uncomfortable with Yuelu's enthusiasm.
It also carried a sense of caution and vigilance.
Pei Jin was momentarily stunned.
Qi Yu tried her best to remain calm and think things through, unaffected by her illness.
Even Yuelu, who serves Zhao Wanyi closely, mistook her for someone else. What about Pei Jin?
It's not hard to guess that she's currently in the Pei residence, at the Yuzhao Courtyard, the courtyard Zhao Wanyi mentioned in her letter. The chirping outside the window is from Zhao Wanyi's birds, and perhaps also from that parrot named Yuge.
Among the maids in the room, besides Yuelu, there were four senior maids named Mulian, Handan, Yaozheng, and Yuqin. They wore brocade clothes, earrings, gold hairpins, and jade bracelets, and each had a unique appearance. The four of them were in charge of the affairs of Yuzhao Courtyard. Yuelu was of slightly higher rank and spent most of her time by Zhao Wanyi's side.
The maids at Yuzhao Courtyard wore lighter-colored clothes, making the difference immediately apparent.
She lowered her eyes slightly. The old doctor was writing a prescription. Pei Jin stood to the side, touching the ring on her hand, tapping it again and again, as if striking her heart.
Yuelu looked delighted, and the other maids also smiled.
They were happy about her awakening.
But it's absurd.
Qi Yu didn't know how to bring this up.
Pei Jin rescued her from the water and mistook her for Zhao Wanyi, taking her back to the Pei residence. However, until now, neither her husband nor her maid has realized that she is not their wife.
What's even more intriguing is that the sun is high in the sky, it's already noon, yet no news has come from the palace.
Pei Jin and Yue Lu were completely unaware, assuming that she had been unconscious until now and hadn't said a word since waking up, which is why they didn't suspect anything.
But Wu Shiyan would never fail to recognize the two of them.
There is only one possibility: the palace wants to make the best of a bad situation.
Qi Yu felt a bit tricky. If she spent more time with Zhao Wanyi, she would naturally be able to know Zhao Wanyi's habits very well.
But now it's like forcing her to fight a monster in the early stages. Her experience is only a tiny fraction of what it used to be, pitifully little. Let alone Pei Jinyuelu, she might not even be able to fool the four head maids.
Adhering to the principle that the more you say, the more mistakes you make, and the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make, Qi Yu only showed a faint smile.
The fact that Zhao Wanyi mentioned these maids in her letter suggests that she was very tolerant and doting towards them.
Of course, there was another factor contributing to her behavior: the high fever throughout her body no longer allowed her to think too much.
The old doctor put down his pen, handed the prescription to the maid so she could get the medicine, and gave her some instructions on the details of preparing the medicine.
Mulan took the prescription and led her people to the Pei family's pharmacy to get the medicine.
The old doctor said to Pei Jin that he was taking his leave: "Lord Pei, my clinic still needs me to be in charge, so I will not stay here any longer."
Pei Jin nodded and personally saw the old doctor out the door.
In the courtyard, Pei Jin seemed lost in thought. After a while, he handed the gold hairpin he was holding to his attendant: "Put this hairpin back in the study."
Although the attendant had doubts, he still accepted the hairpin and agreed.
This hairpin belongs to the lady. Late at night, the master returned to his study in the front courtyard from Yuzhao Courtyard and sat there for an hour with the hairpin in his hand.
If His Majesty hadn't been assassinated last night and the morning court session hadn't been cancelled, Your Excellency would have gone to court with those dark circles under your eyes.
Before coming to Yuzhao Courtyard, the master specifically asked him to fetch the hairpin from the study, presumably to return it to the madam, but now he has abandoned the idea…
When Pei Jin returned to the room, half of the maids had already left, leaving only a few to serve him.
Even so, Qi Yu still felt that there were too many maids.
Yuelu thoughtfully handed her warm water and took the handkerchief off her forehead, replacing it with a new one.
Qi Yu held a water glass to moisten her throat. Because she was sick, her voice was hoarse, but this just masked the difference between her voice and Zhao Wanyi's.
No wonder she chose to die of illness at the end of the story; it's understandable that a sick person would be somewhat different from before.
When Pei Jin came back in, Qi Yu became wary. Who would have thought that in just one day, she would feel guilty when she saw Pei Jin?
Although Pei Jin did not recognize the woman he shared a bed with, there was no denying that she was deceiving him.
As Qi Yu watched the maid step aside and Pei Jin approach, with only an arm's length between them, a hint of wariness finally surfaced in her eyes.
She hadn't openly looked at Pei Jin since she woke up, but now there was no way to avoid it.
Upon seeing this, Pei Jin suddenly stopped. He sighed inwardly, thinking that it was because he had only slept for two hours. Otherwise, why would he have suspected that she was not Zhao Wanyi?
But seeing the familiar wariness in her eyes, Pei Jin relaxed. Who else could it be but Zhao Wanyi?
It couldn't possibly be a concubine.
Pei Jin said, "You should get some rest."
Qi Yu nodded.
Watching Pei Jin leave, Qi Yu's anxious heart finally settled down.
The maid, Handan, then entered: "Madam, the manager of Qiluofang brought some seasonal clothes to the mansion this morning. I checked them and found no problems, so I accepted them. Would you like to take a look?"
Zhao Wanyi was a regular at Qiluofang, which explained why their clothes were mostly the same yesterday, but upon closer inspection, there were significant differences.
However, to a man, these differences might seem identical.
Qi Yu shook her head, meaning there was no need to look: "Take one of the clothes that were sent and help me get up."
Han Dan showed no suspicion. Although the lady usually disliked people getting close to her, it was perfectly normal for her to rely on her maid when she was sick.
To put it bluntly, they were originally maids in the Pei household, serving the mistress for only half a year. Yet, the mistress entrusted them with the important task of mediating between superiors and subordinates. They probably knew less about the mistress than the maids did.
Han Dan went to fetch a white dress with pear blossoms.
After Qi Yu changed her clothes and washed up, she began to eat. After the food was taken away, the medicine was also prepared and the temperature was just right.
Today, unusually, there was candied fruit placed next to it.
Qi Yu didn't notice this unusual smell; the bitter aroma wafting over caused the smile on her lips to vanish.
Mulan smiled gently and said, "Madam, medicine should be drunk while it's hot for it to be most effective."
Qi Yu guessed that Zhao Wanyi was not afraid of hardship, so when she mentioned her illness and medicine to her, she used plain words and did not complain.
Qi Yu composed herself, picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, then pushed away the plate of candied fruit, saying, "No need to serve it next time."
Mulan understood; the lady, upon waking, had no intention of letting anyone know that she was afraid of bitterness.
Qi Yu felt that Mu Lian seemed to have a reasonable explanation in her heart, so she did not say anything to fill in the gaps.
Mu Lian took the bowl away, and Qi Yu leaned against the chaise lounge to calm down.
The maidservant, fearing that she would be bored and remembering that the mistress would play with the parrot every afternoon without fail, decided to bring the parrot in.
Qi Yu had just begun to smile when she saw Yu Ge when Yu Ge exclaimed in a chattering voice, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The parrot tilted its head, its black, beady eyes full of intelligence, and even the tuft of hair on its head seemed to be the embodiment of wisdom.
Qi Yu: "..."
There is nothing smarter than it.
In the palace.
The news that His Majesty had collapsed last night was immediately suppressed.
The imperial physician went to the palace to treat Wu Shiyan, and told the outside world that he had been attacked and injured the night before.
"How is it?" Tian Wenshan asked anxiously.
Meng She summarized the imperial physicians' experience: "The poison has flared up again, but this time it has aggravated the hidden injuries. He will not be able to endure it on his own. The imperial physicians have temporarily stabilized His Majesty's condition with medicine, but at most eight days. If the medicine does not arrive, his life may be in danger."
Meng She asked Xiao Cong, "Where is the medicine?"
Xiao Congdao said, "We should arrive in the capital tonight."
Meng She: "Alright, there's no need to send it to the palace. It's too much of a waste of time. After I go out of the palace to check and confirm that everything is correct, you can have someone hand it over to Wei Si and have him act according to the situation to get Madam Pei to drink it."
Tian Wenshan said, "Then you should leave the palace immediately. With me by His Majesty's side, no one else can get in."
Meng She paused for a moment: "But there is one more thing. Although we have drunk the water boiled with the Po'e flower, we still need to wait three to five days for the medicine to enter the body before it will be effective."
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" The two looked at him at the same time.
Meng She scratched his head: "I only found out yesterday."
Tian Wenshan looked at Xiao Cong and assured him, "There will be no trouble in the palace within three to five days."
Xiao Cong, who was not only the leader of the secret guards but also commanded the Imperial Guards, said: "I will investigate the traitor from yesterday in His Majesty's name."
Tian Wenshan understood his meaning; he was trying to feint and divert the attention of those with ulterior motives from the Emperor's bedchamber.
Fortunately, His Majesty was never very enthusiastic about attending court in the first place, and it is understandable that he is not attending court now that he is recovering from his injury.
After the three finished talking, Meng She and Xiao Cong left the palace separately, while Tian Wenshan returned to the emperor's bedside and offered some words of comfort to the imperial physicians with a forced smile.
The gist of it is that no one can leave before His Majesty wakes up.
The imperial physicians had already guessed this outcome, and they were even more shocked that His Majesty had been poisoned so early on!
The poison is highly potent, with rapid onset, causing great pain, and is difficult to remove.
The thought of the pulse diagnosis they had just received made them want to faint. Even if a miracle were to happen, they would surely die in eight days. Their only hope was to peruse medical books during this time to find a way to save them, something that would be better than nothing.
After all, His Majesty is unwilling to trouble them even when he is poisoned, so there is really no better emperor than His Majesty.
Of course, a more likely reason is that His Majesty has a more skilled physician by his side—as evidenced by the fact that he was able to stabilize the poison in His Majesty's body for five years—and they also do not want the news to leak out and cause turmoil in the court.
No one noticed that Wu Shiyan on the dragon bed clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
I woke up and went to find Ayu.
Wu Shiyan's lips moved slightly.
A note from the author:
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