Lou Mu smiled and shook his head, not forcing Tang Nian, and ladled her another bowl of chicken soup. The two of them seemed to have passed their dinner peacefully.
But Tang Nian had drunk a lot of chicken soup that night, and Lou Mu wouldn't let her secretly teach Yu Zhaozhao a lesson, so she had no intention of getting along "peacefully" with Lou Mu.
So, around midnight, after Lou Mu pulled another snake from his room, the smile that was always on his face finally crumbled.
For the next three days, Tang Nian did not step out of the Prime Minister's residence. Lou Mu also stayed in the residence except for the daily morning court session, ostensibly to accompany Tang Nian to recuperate.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
"Jingyao, has anything interesting happened outside today?"
Tang Nian sat in the pavilion by the pond and scattered fish food into the pond, and a group of koi swarmed over.
Jingyao placed the fruit she had brought next to Tang Nian and shook her head: "It's still the same old story."
It's nothing more than saying that Lou Mu was bewitched by a witch and had no interest in managing the affairs of the court; or they make Tang Nian sound like a god, and if Tang Nian herself wasn't by her side, Jing Yao would believe it.
To accommodate Lou Mu, Tang Nian spent her days idly in the mansion, only able to pass the time with some interesting gossip brought by Jing Yao.
Tang Nian sighed in boredom, looked up at Jing Yao, and immediately noticed that she was wearing the hairpin she had given her. She raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "This hairpin really suits you."
Jing Yao was startled, not expecting Tang Nian to find out, nor did she expect Tang Nian to say such a thing, and her face instantly turned red.
"By the way, why did you keep staring at Old Zhang's woodpile when you were there?"
Tang Nian looked down at the koi carp after they finished fighting for the food and dispersed. She suddenly remembered what Ming Huan had told her in Muyun County.
Jing Yao was stunned for a long time before she remembered that Tang Nian was talking about that matter.
She felt embarrassed and wanted to scratch her head, but then remembered her carefully styled hair. She tucked the stray strands behind her ear and stammered, "Well... I just saw the spirit of a kitten... and couldn't help but tease it a couple of times..."
Tang Nian sighed, realizing that Jing Yao had discovered some clue, but it turned out to be because of a kitten.
She saw the grapes still covered in water droplets, and just as she picked them up, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Jingyao, how about we do something fun today?"
She calmly put down the grapes, her face instantly turning pale, and leaned weakly against the pavilion railing.
Jingyao instantly understood, immediately bent down, looking anxious, and then quickly looked up at Hongmei who was approaching.
"Hongmei, quickly go and summon Lord Lou!"
Hongmei was taken aback, then quickly responded and ran back.
As Hongmei's footsteps faded into the distance, Tang Nian changed her posture, picked up the grapes she had just put down, popped them into her mouth, and then rested her head on her arm, continuing to stare blankly.
Tang Nian has been able to switch between these modes freely over the past three days.
With her and Jing Yao's hearing, Tang Nian could immediately appear sickly whenever other people were around.
This was one of the few moments of joy she had experienced in the past three days.
She wanted to go all out today and add fuel to the fire for those people outside the mansion.
Hearing footsteps approaching from afar, Tang Nian spat out the grape seeds and returned to her previous state. Jing Yao quickly bent down to pat Tang Nian's back to calm her down.
Lou Mu walked over quickly with a serious expression. Jing Yao quickly made way for him. Just as he bent down, he saw Tang Nian wink at him. He was stunned for a moment, then picked Tang Nian up and carried her towards Huasheng Pavilion. Jing Yao quickly followed.
The physician from the manor was already waiting in Huasheng Pavilion, and the servants in the courtyard were also busy preparing.
Lou Mu gently placed Tang Nian on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and called the doctor in to take her pulse.
The doctor in the manor was obtained by Lou Mu from the Imperial Hospital after Tang Nian came to the manor. Tang Nian had been causing trouble for a while these days, so Lou Mu used this senior imperial physician to convey Tang Nian's condition to the Emperor.
The old doctor hurriedly ran into the room and found the atmosphere inside to be very serious. He quickly stepped forward to take Tang Nian's pulse.
Seeing his increasingly serious expression, Lou Mu glanced at Tang Nian, who was pretending to be unconscious on the bed, with some concern.
He wasn't worried about Tang Nian's health; he was worried that Tang Nian's act would frighten the imperial physician.
After a while, the old doctor frowned, released Tang Nian's hand, and looked at Lou Mu with a serious expression.
"Lord Lou, may I speak to you in private?"
Lou Mu gave Tang Nian another deep look, nodded, and told Jing Yao to take good care of Tang Nian before following the old doctor out of the room.
"Lord Lou, in my humble opinion, Miss Tang's illness..." The imperial physician's eyes flashed with complex emotions, and he looked at Lou Mu standing next to him with some sympathy.
He was sent by the Chu Emperor to the Grand Secretary's residence to treat Tang Nian. He knew the Chu Emperor wanted to test whether Tang Nian's illness was real, but now it seems...
"Physician Chang, please speak freely." Lou Mu's voice remained as indifferent as ever, but Physician Chang could still detect a hint of anxiety in it.
Physician Chang sighed: "Originally, I could only tell from Miss Tang's pulse that she had a cold constitution and weak qi due to her mother's illness, but today's pulse is like... like poisoning."
As a ferocious beast, Xiang Liu, Tang Nian's true form is a venomous snake, so it's perfectly normal for her to have venom in her body. However, she usually doesn't release the venom.
Snakes naturally have low body temperature, and when Physician Chang took her pulse, he could only tell that she was cold-blooded. It seems that she has released the venom hidden inside her body this time.
Lou Mu felt somewhat helpless about Tang Nian's sudden action, but he also greatly admired it.
If something doesn't happen in three days, Lou Mu won't feel at ease letting Imperial Physician Chang go back and report. It's time to give those people in the shadows a chance.
However, he appeared extremely shocked, clenching his fists as if suppressing the unease in his heart.
"Does Physician Chang... have any way to cure him?" As he spoke, he turned to look at the tightly closed door, his eyes filled with undisguised worry.
"This..." Imperial Physician Chang had never seen such a strange poison before. He pondered for a moment and said cautiously, "I need to discuss it with the other imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital before I can confirm it."
Lou Mu remained silent for a long time before saying in a low voice, "I'm sorry to trouble Physician Chang."
Imperial Physician Chang bowed respectfully and said, "This humble subject dares not presume. This humble subject shall take his leave now."
Lou Mu returned the greeting and gestured to the guards waiting nearby to escort Physician Chang away.
Lou Mu stood outside for a long time before gently pushing the door open and going inside.
The room was completely silent, and none of the waiting maids dared to make a sound.
"You can all go down first," Lou Mu said softly. "Jingyao, you wait at the door."
After the last maid left and closed the door, Tang Nian opened her eyes with a "whoosh," sat up, and let out a long sigh.
Lou Mu sat at the table, poured himself a glass of water, and looked helplessly at Tang Nian, who was all smiles.
Why the sudden turn of events?
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