"Someone, bring some of that wine! And invite Consort Ling here."
After speaking, Shirley sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Emperor Qianlong, silently shedding tears.
Upon hearing this, the servants' faces turned even uglier.
Wang Jinbao hurriedly went ahead to fetch the wine.
Chen Jinzhong stared in disbelief at the eunuchs and then at Hailancha standing to the side.
Hailancha paused for a moment, then stepped forward.
"His Majesty has surrounded the Misty Rain Pavilion today because he was angry with Consort Ling."
Upon hearing this, the servants below all lowered their heads.
"What did she do?" Sherry asked, her face blank.
"This is an order from His Majesty, and this servant dares not disobey." Hailancha cupped his hands in greeting without saying anything more.
Sherry's face was filled with panic, but she still managed to calm herself down.
The servants and imperial physicians below were caught up in all sorts of speculation.
"You may all step back. Let's discuss how to treat this patient!" came a somewhat aged voice.
Sherry knew that the Empress Dowager had arrived.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. Your Majesty—" Xue Li greeted the Empress Dowager with teary eyes, but was interrupted by the Empress Dowager.
"Alright, enough with the formalities! What exactly happened? Did Lady Wei damage the Emperor's health?" The Empress Dowager's expression was kind, but her tone was full of hatred.
Looking at the Emperor lying there, seemingly oblivious, I see...
The Empress Dowager burst into tears instantly.
Hailancha was still hesitating when Xueli considerately told Zhuling to step back.
The aunt beside the Empress Dowager glanced at it and then withdrew as well.
Seeing that only Xue Li and the Empress Dowager were left in the hall, Hailancha knelt down to pay his respects, his face showing a look of grim determination: "The Consort Ling was caught red-handed by the Emperor for having an affair with a villain."
"What did you say? That wretched servant!" The Empress Dowager's fingers trembled with anger. "Is it true?"
As she spoke, the Empress Dowager glanced at Shirley, seemingly casually.
Sherry covered her mouth and looked terrified the whole time!
"Yes, it's true. Perhaps that servant has been with Consort Ling for some time, and His Majesty saw and heard it with his own eyes and ears!" Hailancha lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.
Sherry looked at Hailancha and the Empress Dowager with disbelief, speechless.
"What you saw and heard with your own eyes and ears?"
The Empress Dowager was so angry that she swayed as she stood there. After hearing this, there was nothing she didn't understand, not even about those imperial grandsons... Shirley hurriedly stepped forward to support her.
"Your Majesty, you absolutely cannot be harmed! The Emperor has fainted; we can't afford to lose you as our pillar of support!"
Sherry spoke with tears welling up in her eyes.
I was so moved. Her acting skills are definitely award-winning.
The Empress Dowager seemed somewhat relieved by what Shirley said and patted Shirley's hand.
"You're such a grown man. Hailancha, convey my imperial decree: Consort Ling is demoted to commoner status. Begin kneeling in the Misty Rain Pavilion and slapping yourself. We'll deal with her further when the Emperor wakes up. As for that unruly servant, castrate him. Treat him well; as long as he doesn't die, that's fine!"
Hailancha's back stiffened: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty the Empress, Consort Ling and that villain have been killed by His Majesty himself..."
Sherry gasped, clutching her handkerchief as she hesitated before glancing at the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was speechless for a long time, then nodded and stood guard.
After all, to have gone this far, it's clear that the vile woman must have angered her son.
Wang Jinbao, who went to the dragon boat, asked his sons about the wine the emperor had used.
A bright-looking little boy looked up and said he knew, then went to get it.
When Wang Jinbao delivered the wine pot to Shuimoxuan.
The imperial physicians examined each other and tasted the food.
When Ye Tianshi smelled one of the bottles, his expression changed drastically. Xue Li also took it to heart and looked at it intently.
"Doctor Ye, is there a problem?"
Ye Tianshi stroked his beard and handed the document to several colleagues for inspection.
Physician Huang's expression also changed, and he and Physician Ye exchanged bewildered glances...
"We need to observe them further!" Doctor Huang said nothing, fearing that he might upset the Empress Dowager and Shirley.
Besides, the emperor might not want others to know...
Sherry seemed to sense something was wrong, and looked at them with suspicion.
However, upon seeing Xue Li's pale face, the imperial physicians suddenly recalled the word "prostitute" that Xue Li had blurted out earlier...
Then I thought of the rumors and gossip circulating recently.
The imperial physicians seemed to have figured something out.
The problem of the emperor's weak body was automatically attributed to several prostitutes.
The Empress Dowager's mind was entirely focused on her son at this moment.
I didn't even think about dealing with those prostitutes.
But she was getting old, and her body couldn't take it anymore.
Shirley then urged the Empress Dowager to rest in the side hall, while she accompanied the Emperor.
The Empress Dowager was satisfied, but still somewhat uneasy.
She was persuaded to leave by her aunt.
Sherry took Qianlong's pulse, then rummaged through her own supplies to feed him a pill, even though he was covered in pus.
Sherry sat to the side eating and drinking, and occasionally looked at Emperor Qianlong's paintings.
Everything else is fine, but there are a bit too many seals on this painting.
The next day, everyone in the court and the palace knew that the emperor had fainted during the night.
Consort Qing (née Lu), Consort Rong (née Zhuo), Consort Yong, Consort Ning, and several newly favored concubines from Jiangnan all arrived.
Their faces were filled with worry!
Several people inquired about Consort Ling, after all, she had always been the sole recipient of the emperor's favor.
It's quite surprising that I haven't seen anyone yet.
However, the group still found themselves embroiled in a dispute.
After all, they might not know anything else, but surely they knew that Yanyu Pavilion was besieged?
"His Majesty is alright. Sisters, go back and transcribe scriptures to pray for His Majesty!" Xue Li said as she came out, then continued to keep watch.
What a joke! She's been guarding him all night. If she leaves now, won't she be able to get what she wanted?
She's already being kind by not stealing other people's credit, how could she let others steal it from her?
As expected, Emperor Qianlong woke up in the middle of the morning.
Sherry had already put on a haggard makeup.
Looking haggard is fine, looking pale is fine, but you must be beautiful!
Humans are visual creatures.
One should always be gentle with beautiful women.
Regardless of gender.
When Shirley saw Qianlong wake up, she burst into tears of joy.
She held Qianlong's hand and cried uncontrollably.
"Someone come quick! The Emperor has awakened!"
Emperor Qianlong was probably feeling distressed because of the betrayal by his favorite concubine.
Seeing that Sherry was worried about him, she even cried.
Emperor Qianlong felt a sense of relief, which he hadn't felt in a long time. He patted Xue Li's hand and said gently, "I'm fine, Jing Tan, don't worry!"
"Si Lang, what should I do if something happens to you?"
Shirley perfectly portrayed a delicate and frail woman.
As expected, Emperor Qianlong was heartbroken.
She struggled to sit up and wiped away Shirley's tears.
Don't even mention it, with hands this big, if one slapped her, it would stun her little face.
"Jingtan, how old are you? Stop crying like a little girl!"
As Qianlong spoke, the two exchanged a long-lost tender moment.
"So you really do think I'm too old!" Sherry said, her eyes red and her nose brimming with tears. She then turned away, refusing to acknowledge him.
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