Chapter 215 Coping
Although the Emperor may not necessarily summon Consort Xi to his bedchamber today, according to the usual practice, it should be within the next few days. Now that Consort Xi's body is in such a terrible state, and there is an unpleasant smell if you smell it closely, how can she serve the Emperor?
The old woman wondered why these people hadn't noticed her all the way from the Prime Minister's residence to the palace, and when she met the Emperor and Empress.
After forcing herself to calm down, the nanny peeled off Meng Xiyao's wedding invitation with trembling hands. When she saw that there were many red and swollen spots on that little face, she was even more frightened.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
"Don't be afraid, Granny." Meng Xiyao's maid, Yun'er, said softly, "My young lady has urticaria, a condition she's had since childhood. Today, she must have touched something she shouldn't have, which is why she's like this. Please tell the Emperor the truth and ask him to have a royal physician examine my young lady."
The old woman dared not keep such a big matter a secret, and upon hearing this, she quickly nodded in agreement and ran out to report as if fleeing.
Yun'er then lowered her voice with worry and said, "Your Majesty, what if the Emperor gets angry and just beheads us?"
Meng Xiyao glanced at Yun'er and calmly said, "No, it's not. This is a natural ailment of mine. The Emperor is a reasonable person, so he will naturally understand."
The palace is not like the Meng residence. Apart from her and Yun'er, no one else can be trusted. Every word must be carefully considered before speaking.
Although only she and Yun'er were left in the room, there was no guarantee that someone wasn't secretly watching her.
She felt nauseous looking at her own body in this state, but she had no choice but to endure it for the time being in order to deal with the situation that was about to unfold.
Before leaving home, she applied a thick layer of makeup to the backs of her hands to cover up any unpleasant odor, and also used other fragrances to suppress it, which allowed her to successfully reach Yaojiaoting.
If she had been discovered at other points during her journey to the palace, the Emperor would have lost face and might have taken his anger out on the Meng family. But since she was only discovered at the palace, she would be fine as long as she handled the situation properly.
Upon hearing this, Yun'er quickly covered her mouth with her hand, "This servant is talking nonsense, Your Majesty, please punish me."
The master and servant stood and sat obediently, looking very honest and well-behaved.
The imperial physician arrived in about half an hour.
The maidservant draped a light veil over Meng Xiyao's hand, and the imperial physician carefully examined the injury through the veil, then looked at Meng Xiyao's face for a while.
"Is this a chronic ailment, Your Highness?"
As an imperial physician, he had seen many cases of urticaria, but this was the first time he had ever seen one so severe.
Meng Xiyao said sadly, "I have indeed had this problem since I was a child, but it was never this serious before. I have avoided the foods and things that trigger this disease, so I really don't know why it has recurred now. If the imperial physician can find out what is causing my illness, I will be extremely grateful."
"I just searched Your Majesty's room and didn't find anything that could trigger urticaria. Perhaps it was something someone else brought with them when you entered the palace today," the imperial physician said. "Urticaria usually heals in seven days with medication as long as you don't come into contact with the triggering substance again. Your Majesty doesn't need to worry too much."
"Seven days? That's too long. Does the imperial physician have any other way to help me recover sooner?" Meng Xiyao said anxiously, "By the Emperor's grace, I was granted the title of Noble Consort. My parents repeatedly told me to serve the Emperor well and repay his kindness. But my body is just too uncooperative..."
The imperial physician advised, "Your Majesty will have many more days to serve the Emperor in the future, so don't worry too much. I will prescribe some medicine for you. If you apply it regularly every day, you will recover quickly."
Meng Xiyao's voice was already trembling with tears, "Thank you for your hard work, Imperial Physician."
After prescribing the medicine, the imperial physician left with his medicine box.
Meng Xiyao pulled Yun'er to wipe away her tears again, "Seven more days, that's so long, by then the Emperor won't even remember me..."
Yun'er looked around.
There's no one else in this room, so why is the Empress so engrossed in her role?
She was about to tell Meng Xiyao that the imperial physician had gone far away when she noticed that Meng Xiyao winked at her and pinched her hand.
Yun'er seemed to understand and chimed in, "Your Majesty, there's nothing we can do about being sick. Try to look on the bright side. You're so young and beautiful, there will be other opportunities in the future."
She had barely finished speaking when a shrill voice came from outside: "The Emperor has arrived!"
Meng Xiyao and Yun'er hurriedly kowtowed in a panic.
Before the imperial physician arrived, Meng Xiyao noticed that there were sounds of palace maids moving around and whispering outside. After the imperial physician arrived, there was not a sound outside at all; it was eerily quiet.
She guessed that there must be an important person outside the door, most likely the Emperor, who had heard about her situation and came with the imperial physician to find out what was going on. He didn't come in immediately because he wanted to find out what she had to say.
This will help determine whether her injuries were intentional.
She guessed right.
Although she had guessed that the Emperor was coming, she was still a little scared to see him under these circumstances, so her panic was not feigned.
This natural panic only added to the credibility of what she had just said.
The Emperor looked down at the trembling master and servants, but did not rush to make them stand up. He gave a cold order.
“Raise your head.”
Meng Xiyao shakily lifted her excessively pale face, which was covered with many red and swollen pustules.
No matter how you look at her now, you can't see any trace of the beauty of a stunning woman.
Not only was it completely unrelated to beauty, but even looking at it for another second made the emperor feel nauseous and want to vomit.
As disgust crept into his eyes, his suspicion of Meng Xiyao lessened even further.
How could a young and beautiful girl be so cruel to herself, making her face so ugly?
"I heard that Consort Xi was ill, so I came to see her. Please rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Meng Xiyao and Yun'er got up, Yun'er tactfully retreated to the doorway.
Without the Emperor's orders, Eunuch Chu remained standing behind him, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Meng Xiyao's injuries without flinching.
The Emperor looked away and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Consort Xi was perfectly fine just two days ago, but today, after entering the palace, she inexplicably contracted urticaria. I'm afraid my palace is not suitable for a beauty like Consort Xi, and I can't bear to see her suffer. If you're willing, I'll send you back to the Meng residence so you can be filial to your parents. Are you willing?"
Meng Xiyao, who had just stood up, was so frightened that she knelt down again.
"Your Majesty, please have mercy and do not send me back. I have already entered the palace and will belong to Your Majesty for life. If Your Majesty dislikes me because of my illness, please grant me death."
"It's just a pity that I haven't had a chance to serve Your Majesty yet. If anyone is to blame, it's my body that's not cooperating. The imperial physician said that if I apply the medicine on time, I'll recover in a week. If Your Majesty has pity on me, please give me another week so that I can have the opportunity to serve Your Majesty."
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