Chapter 124 Without Favor or Jealousy, Each Relying on Their Own Abilities to Compete for the Emperor's Heart
Women are indeed fickle and easily bored, and Yuan Yan was especially so.
This was the first time Yu'er had suffered a loss, and she couldn't help but feel angry and annoyed. She bit her lip, imagined the bedding in front of her as Yuan Yan, and began to pound on it in a muffled manner.
At the same time, he secretly harbored a grudge and made sure he remembered Lu Lingyue completely.
...
When Yuan Yan met Lu Lingyue, he was lying on his sickbed.
The faint scent of medicine lingered in the hall. When Yuan Yan stepped into the hall, a cool breeze stirred up the air, slightly diluting the medicinal smell.
Lu Lingyue removed her jade hairpin, her dark hair spread out on the pillow, wearing only a moon-white nightgown, her eyes closed, her face slightly pale, and her whole being exuding a fragile and vulnerable aura.
"You were perfectly fine yesterday, how come you suddenly fell ill?" Yuan Yan approached, scrutinizing Lu Lingyue's face, and asked.
"Your Majesty...Why has Your Majesty come?"
Hearing the sound, Lu Lingyue slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Yuan Yan, she tried to struggle to get up and bow to her, but Yuan Yan stopped her by raising her hand.
"Ahem... Your Majesty, I am sorry for your concern. I was careless in my service. I just stayed out a bit too long today and caught a cold. The imperial physician has already come to see me and said that it is nothing serious. I will be fine after taking some medicine and resting for a couple of days."
"I have disturbed Your Majesty; it was truly inappropriate." Lu Lingyue's voice was low and soft, yet slightly hoarse, even though she was ill.
Yuan Yan frowned slightly when he heard the wind blowing. "You shouldn't be like this. You're so old, yet you can't take care of your health. Your palace servants aren't even trying to stop you. What are all the servants in the palace doing?"
Hengwu immediately stepped forward to plead guilty, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. It was the fault of the barbarian servants who failed to serve their master properly and took good care of him, causing him to fall ill... The barbarian servants deserve to die, please punish them severely, Your Majesty!"
Yuan Yan's gaze fell on Heng Wu, recognizing her as Lu Lingyue's capable male servant.
"It's not their fault, it's my own fault for not being careful." Lu Lingyue turned her face away and coughed lightly a few times. Her shoulders trembled slightly, her thin clothes were slightly loosened, and her cheeks looked abnormally flushed.
"It's late, Your Majesty. You have court tomorrow morning, so please go back now. Don't let your illness linger here with me..."
Seeing Lu Lingyue's serious illness, Yuan Yan, who had originally intended to leave, was now unable to move.
She ignored Lu Lingyue's words, sat down beside his bed, and reached out to touch Lu Lingyue's cheek, finding that it was indeed slightly hot.
"You've taken all the medicine, so why hasn't your fever gone down?" Yuan Yan asked the palace servant beside him.
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that His Highness will feel better after taking a nap and sweating it out," the palace servant reported.
As the two spoke, Lu Lingyue's eyes were filled with tears, and she silently gazed at Yuan Yan.
He really is sick.
After all, Yuan Yan was an extremely intelligent person, and Lu Lingyue would never have dared to ask her for help on this basis if she were not seriously ill.
But how did this disease come about... Hengwu thought of the wide-open window from before, and stood aside, sighing inwardly.
Lu Lingyue had always presented a cool and aloof image to the public, like a quiet and elegant plum blossom blooming alone in a corner. Only now, weakened by illness, has she revealed a rare vulnerability.
A barely perceptible reluctance lingered in his eyes, as if he didn't want Yuan Yan to leave, yet he remained silent.
Upon hearing the palace servant's report, Yuan Yan turned around and saw Lu Lingyue's expression, causing him to pause slightly.
"You may all leave. I will review some memorials here tonight and then rest."
After this visit, she had no heart to return to Yu'er's place. She placed Lu Lingyue's cold fingers back into the bedding and ordered someone to bring the memorial.
Meanwhile, Yu'er waited and waited, tossing and turning on the couch, but Yuan Yan did not return, and her heart was filled with even more resentment.
...
Not long after Lu Lingyue recovered from her illness, she and Yu'er unexpectedly met in the Imperial Garden.
Yu'er had been holding back her anger for the past few days, and now that she had met Lu Lingyue in person, she naturally couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.
"Ah, isn't this Minister Lu? I heard you were seriously ill and needed His Majesty's personal visit to recover. How come you've recovered so quickly after only a few days?"
Surrounded by a group of palace servants, Yu'er stepped forward, stared at Lu Lingyue's face, and curled her lips into a sarcastic smile.
Lu Lingyue saw Yu'er walking towards her from afar.
He had no intention of arguing with her and wanted to turn away with Hengwu, but Yu'er called him back and he stopped in his tracks.
"You are too kind, Yu Shiqing. I just caught a cold and was afraid of passing on my illness to my brothers in the palace, so I stayed at home to rest. In fact, I am fine."
"As for Yu Shiqing, she seems tired these days. I wonder if she hasn't rested well these past few days."
Lu Lingyue slowly turned around, her gaze calmly sweeping over Yu'er's face, her voice as cold as ever.
Yu'er noticed Lu Lingyue's gaze falling on the bruise under her eyes, her expression stiffened slightly, and her anger surged uncontrollably.
Pshaw, what are you pretending for!
This Lady Lu appears aloof and arrogant, putting on a calm and detached demeanor, but when it comes to vying for favor, she still resorts to all sorts of tricks.
What's even more infuriating is that Yuan Yan, that woman, falls for this trick.
As Yu'er thought about it, she became increasingly annoyed, and her face darkened.
He no longer concealed his intentions and intensified his attack, "Minister Lu, don't be too happy yet. You only used some despicable means of feigning illness to gain His Majesty's pity and get him to visit you. You're jealous of His Majesty's favor because you have none yourself, so you steal it from others. Are you really so pleased with yourself that you think you've won?"
That's really harsh.
This Jade Attendant is, after all, a prince, how can he speak so bluntly and rudely?
Hengwu, eager to protect her master, was about to step forward to argue when Lu Lingyue stopped her.
"My meager skills are far inferior to even a fraction of Yu Shiqing's, how dare I presume to teach Yu Shiqing my humble abilities?"
Lu Lingyue had already heard much harsher words, so she was not angered by Yu'er's few words and her voice remained clear and cold.
Seeing that he remained unmoved, Yu'er raised her voice: "Are you mocking me?"
Lu Lingyue remained composed, nodding slightly, her tone distant: "I dare not."
Yu'er's anger flared even more during the argument. But at this moment, he calmed down and touched a sachet at his waist.
"Fine, I can't argue with you. But if you're so capable of taking people from me, you'd better be capable of keeping them."
Yu'er sneered. As she passed Lu Lingyue, she picked up a pinch of powder, flicked her fingertips, and sprinkled the powder on Lu Lingyue.
Lu Lingyue is good at faking illness, isn't he? Then let him really be sick for a while.
Yuan Yan learned that Lu Lingyue was bedridden the next day at noon.
It is said that he only went to the Imperial Garden, and soon after he returned, he developed many red spots on his body, which have not disappeared to this day.
When Yuan Yan first heard about it, he thought Lu Lingyue was allergic to pollen, so he sent the imperial physician to see and treat her.
But the system mysteriously told her that Lu Lingyue only fell ill after meeting Yu'er.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yan frowned.
Just then, the imperial physician returned and reported that the red spots on Lu Shiqing's body were not urticaria, but a disease caused by a slightly poisonous medicinal plant.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yan understood immediately and ordered someone to summon Yu'er for questioning.
"Did you drug Lu Lingyue?" Yuan Yan asked him.
"It's me."
When Yu'er saw that Yuan Yan had already discovered it, she admitted it directly.
Yuan Yan looked at him, his expression slightly somber: "Why did you do this?"
Yu'er retorted, "Who told him to fight with me... I only drugged Lu Lingyue to make him ashamed to face anyone and stay quietly in the palace for a few days."
After hearing this, Yuan Yan summoned a palace servant to inquire. He learned that the two men had argued because of her the previous day.
It seems that Yu'er held a grudge against Lu Lingyue after the argument, so she secretly poisoned her.
"Where is the antidote? Take it out." Yuan Yan didn't waste any more words with him and gave the order directly.
Looking at Yuan Yan's stern expression, Yu'er couldn't help but bite her lip.
He could sense that Yuan Yan was truly angry this time.
"No antidote is needed... This powder is something I scraped from herbs and prepared myself. The toxicity is negligible, and the red spots will disappear in just two days."
Despite saying this, Yu'er still took out the antidote from another sachet and reluctantly handed it to Yuan Yan.
"I'll settle accounts with you when I get back."
Yuan Yan took the antidote and went to Lu Lingyue's palace.
Because the red spots on her body could not be covered up, and even some had appeared on her cheeks, Lu Lingyue was too embarrassed to be seen and had not stepped out of the palace gates for a whole day.
"Your Majesty, something must have gotten into the food the master ate yesterday. Not long after lunch, he became like this..."
Upon seeing His Majesty, Hengwu grasped at a lifeline and quickly told him the truth about Lu Lingyue's current situation.
The gauze curtains hung down, completely obscuring Lu Lingyue's figure.
The palace servants wanted to inform their mistress that His Majesty had arrived so that Lu Lingyue could come out to greet her, but Yuan Yan stopped them by raising her hand. She herself entered the bedchamber with her attendants.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has come to see you," Hengwu whispered from outside the gauze curtain.
The figure inside the gauze curtain swayed slightly, as if raising its head and trying to get up.
Yuan Yan reached out to lift the gauze curtain, but Lu Lingyue stopped him.
His hand instinctively pressed against the gauze curtain, his voice low, a hint of hoarseness in his usually clear and melodious voice.
"Your Majesty, please don't look. I look very ugly right now," Lu Lingyue said.
Yuan Yan did not persist in his actions, but lowered his hand and looked at him through the curtain: "If you are still considered ugly, how are the men in the capital supposed to live?"
Is this considered a compliment to his appearance?
Lu Lingyue was surprised by Yuan Yan's words. Her lips moved, but her heavy heart felt inexplicably lighter.
But he still lowered his eyelashes. "Your face and body are covered in red rashes. If they don't go away and leave scars, you'll probably become the ugliest man in the capital."
"Don't worry, I won't let your appearance be damaged."
Seeing that Lu Lingyue refused to see anyone, Yuan Yan gave the antidote to Hengwu and asked her to go in and give it to Lu Lingyue.
Not long after taking the medicine, Lu Lingyue felt the itching sensation on her body was relieved, and even the red spots on her arms gradually faded away.
"This medicine..."
Lu Lingyue was slightly surprised. Looking at her skin, which was slowly regaining its smoothness, she couldn't help but look up at Yuan Yan and ask, "Where did Your Majesty get this?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yan paused slightly, but he did not intend to hide anything from Yu'er. He told her what Yu'er had done without any hesitation and asked Lu Lingyue, the victim, what she thought.
I thought that, given Lu Lingyue's personality, he would definitely demand that Yu'er be severely punished.
Unexpectedly, after Yuan Yan finished speaking, Lu Lingyue remained silent for a moment and then sighed softly.
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