Chapter 46 Severe Morning Sickness
Yuwen Che changed out of the black dragon robe that symbolized supreme authority and into a royal blue brocade robe with dark patterns before walking along the cleaned palace path toward Guanju Palace. The blue softened the sharpness between his brows, adding a touch of refined elegance.
When they entered the inner hall, Su Luoxue had just been helped up from the bed by Fuling. She was leaning lazily against the pillow, looking sleepy. Her long, dark hair was loose, making her face look even paler. There were faint dark circles under her eyes, and she was clearly not in good spirits.
Yuwen Che strode forward and naturally took Fuling's place, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out and supported Su Luoxue's thin shoulders, his brows furrowing slightly: "Xue'er, you slept so soundly last night, why is your complexion still so bad?" He gently brushed his fingertips across her slightly cold cheeks, his tone filled with undisguised worry.
Su Luoxue forced a smile, her voice soft and sweet from just waking up: "I just feel tired, like I can't wake up properly."
Seeing this, Fuling, who was standing nearby, quickly bowed and replied anxiously, "Your Majesty, the Empress has been like this lately. She has little energy during the day, and her appetite is poor. She rests shortly after breakfast, and barely eats any at lunch. I can tell that the Empress has lost some weight since before."
Yuwen Che's brows furrowed even more. He knew that pregnancy was hard for women, especially since Xue'er was carrying twins, making the burden even heavier. But this excessive sleepiness and loss of appetite still worried him.
"Did the imperial physician come to take my pulse today?" he asked Fuling, his voice deepening.
"They came and said the pulse is still normal, and the pregnancy is stable, but the Empress is weak and needs careful recuperation. They prescribed some mild tonics and also instructed us to find a way to get the Empress to eat more food," Fuling replied quickly.
Yuwen Che withdrew his gaze and looked at the listless little woman in his arms, feeling a pang of heartache. He softened his voice and coaxed, "Xue'er, you can't go on without eating, your body won't be able to take it. What do you want to eat? I'll have the imperial kitchen prepare it immediately."
Su Luoxue leaned against him dependently, shook her head, and said without much interest, "I don't want to eat anything, my mouth has no taste."
Yuwen Che pondered for a moment, then instructed Fuling, "Go, have the imperial kitchen stew the newly tribute snow frog with fresh milk and a little honey until it's very tender. Also, prepare a few refreshing and appetizing side dishes, and make them quite exquisite."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Fuling accepted the order and quickly withdrew to relay the message.
Yuwen Che pulled Su Luoxue closer to his chest, making her more comfortable, and whispered, "Use a little, even if it's just for me, for the children, hmm?"
His warm breath brushed against her ear, carrying a reassuring strength. Su Luoxue closed her eyes and softly hummed in agreement.
The hall fell silent, save for the soft sounds of the two of them nestled together. Looking at her fragile sleeping face, Yuwen Che's initial coldness, fueled by the events in the Northern Kingdom, quietly melted away, leaving only tenderness and worry. The political turmoil and the undercurrents on the border paled in comparison to the furrowed brow she wore at that moment, which concerned him more.
He knew he had to deal with the trouble in the North as soon as possible, and he absolutely could not let them disturb Xue'er's peace. Anything that might worry her had to be firmly kept outside Guanju Palace.
Fuling returned with the message and quickly led two maids to gently help Su Luoxue change her clothes. Because Su Luoxue had been feeling unwell lately and often needed to rest during the day, Fuling simply styled her hair into a simple bun and secured it with an elegant jade hairpin to avoid making her uncomfortable with elaborate jewelry.
Just as everything was tidied up, the imperial kitchen's meal arrived. Exquisite dishes filled the small table, especially the bowl of crystal-clear snow frog milk soup, which exuded a faint sweet aroma.
Yuwen Che carefully helped Su Luoxue sit down at the table, picked up the bowl of soup himself, stirred it with a jade spoon to cool it down, and coaxed her gently, "Xue'er, it smells delicious, why don't you try a bite?"
However, the steam from the soup, mixed with a sweet aroma, wafted into Su Luoxue's nose. Her previously pale face suddenly changed, and she abruptly covered her mouth, letting out a suppressed gagging sound.
"Hmm..."
Yuwen Che's expression changed slightly, and he immediately put down his bowl: "Xue'er, what's wrong?"
Before he could finish speaking, Su Luoxue lost control and turned to vomit violently. But her stomach was already empty, so what she vomited was just sour water. This ordeal caused her to break out in a cold sweat, and she collapsed backward as if all her strength had left her. Fortunately, Yuwen Che caught her in time.
"Your Majesty!" Fuling exclaimed, and quickly stepped forward to wipe Su Luoxue's mouth with a clean handkerchief, and then brought her water to rinse her mouth.
Looking at her furrowed brows and reddened eyes caused by morning sickness, Yuwen Che, who had never been flustered in his battles and in control of the world, felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness and heartache.
"What's going on?!" He looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over Fuling and the palace maid standing beside him, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "Didn't the imperial physician say that she needed careful recuperation? Why is the reaction still so strong?"
Fu Ling knelt down in fright: "Your Majesty, please calm down! The imperial physician... the imperial physician said this is morning sickness, a common symptom in pregnancy. However, since Your Majesty is carrying twins, the symptoms may be more severe than usual... In the past few days, you only had a poor appetite, but I didn't expect it to be like this today..."
Yuwen Che looked at the bowl of soup on the table, now seeming particularly jarring, then at the weak and frail Su Luoxue in his arms, his face darkening. He took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety, and said in a deep voice, "Take all of this away! Summon the imperial physician immediately!"
"Yes, yes!" The palace servants hurriedly moved to clear the food off the table and open the windows to ventilate the room, trying to dispel the nauseating smell.
Yuwen Che picked up Su Luoxue and carefully placed her back on the bed, covering her with a brocade quilt. He sat by the bed, holding her hand, feeling the coldness of her fingertips, and his anger turned into a deeper pity.
"Are you feeling unwell?" he asked softly, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips.
Su Luoxue nodded weakly, too exhausted to even speak. She simply closed her eyes and breathed heavily.
The imperial physician arrived quickly, panting. After taking her pulse, he reported nervously, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine's morning sickness is worsening. Because she is carrying twins, the changes in her blood and qi are drastic, hence the strong reaction. This condition... may be difficult to cure with medicine. The only thing we can do is try to find some food that the Imperial Concubine can tolerate, and have her eat small meals frequently. She will get better after this period."
Yuwen Che frowned: "Have her endure it? Just let her suffer like this?"
The imperial physician was sweating profusely: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty may prescribe some mild antiemetic decoction, which may alleviate the nausea somewhat. Furthermore, you may try some sour or bland foods, which may be palatable."
“Sour taste…” Yuwen Che pondered for a moment, then immediately instructed Li Dehai, “Go, send all kinds of plum, sour apricot, hawthorn products, and various refreshing fruits from the palace to Guanju Palace so that the Consort can try them one by one.”
"Your servant obeys!" Li Dehai quickly went to carry out the order.
Yuwen Che turned back to look at the fragile woman on the bed, and made a silent resolution. Since she couldn't handle the finest delicacies, he would search the world to find something she could eat. He couldn't take away her severe morning sickness, but he would do everything in his power to help her get through it.
Li Dehai was extremely efficient. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a feast was set up in the main hall of Guanju Palace. All sorts of sour dishes were on display, almost emptying the imperial kitchen of all the sour foods available.
There were crystal-clear hawthorn cakes with rock sugar, perfectly pickled plum preserves, crisp and sour green plums, and specialty dried fruits from various regions, as well as several bowls of sour soup made from fresh hawthorn, steaming slightly. The air was filled with a complex and rich sour aroma that would make most people's mouths water.
Yuwen Che supported the weak and powerless Su Luoxue, letting her lean against his chest. He gestured for Fuling to bring the food closer one by one, and coaxed her softly, "Xue'er, look, is there anything you want to try? Even just a sip would be nice."
Fuling first served the bowl of tempting-looking rock sugar hawthorn cake.
Su Luoxue merely lifted her eyelids slightly, and the sweet-and-sour smell entered her nostrils. Her throat immediately churned, and she abruptly turned her head away, gagging, but nothing came out. "Take it away..."
"Take her away!" Yuwen Che quickly and gently patted her back.
Next came the pickled plums. The purer sourness hit her, and Su Luoxue reacted even more violently. Her stomach churned, cold sweat instantly beaded on her forehead, and her fingers gripped Yuwen Che's clothes tightly until her knuckles turned white.
"Take it away!" Yuwen Che's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of anxiety.
She tried everything: crisp, sour plums, various dried fruits, sour soup… but the result was always the same. Any hint of sourness was like a poison fuse to her sensitive sense of smell and digestive system, instantly triggering even stronger nausea and discomfort.
In the end, Su Luoxue barely had the strength to open her eyes. She slumped softly in Yuwen Che's arms, her slightly heaving chest and furrowed brows revealing her extreme discomfort.
"It's all useless...it's all useless!" Yuwen Che looked at his beloved in his arms, who was in such a terrible state, and then glanced at the table full of useless antidotes. A nameless anger mixed with deep heartache and helplessness surged to his head. Never before had he felt that he possessed this vast empire, yet he couldn't even find a way to make her feel a little better.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Li Dehai, Fuling, and a group of palace servants were so frightened that they knelt down on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
"Calm down? How can I calm down!" Yuwen Che's voice suppressed his anger. He carefully laid Su Luoxue down, covered her with a blanket, and looked at her pale face, his heart felt heavy.
He whirled around, his gaze like a sharp sword piercing the kneeling imperial physician: "This is the method you were talking about? Hmm? Look at the Imperial Concubine's appearance!"
The imperial physician prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty... the Imperial Concubine's illness has come on fiercely, it's not ordinary morning sickness. I... I'll think of something else. Perhaps we could try acupuncture to alleviate it, or... or perhaps we could find some food with an extremely bland, even tasteless, aroma, maybe..."
“Perhaps?” Yuwen Che interrupted him, his tone icy. “I don’t want to hear ‘perhaps’! What I want is for the Consort to be comfortable and able to eat right now!”
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down; now was not the time to lose his temper. He looked at Li Dehai and ordered in a deep voice, "Issue my decree: post imperial edicts to search the entire land for renowned physicians, and reward anyone who has a miraculous remedy for this severe case of morning sickness! At the same time, find me ingredients that are almost odorless yet nourishing!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do it immediately!" Li Dehai scrambled to his feet and hurriedly left.
Yuwen Che sat back down on the edge of the bed, took Su Luoxue's cold hand, and pressed it against his cheek, trying to give her some warmth. Looking at her still restless expression in her sleep, he silently vowed that no matter the cost, he would find a way to make her feel better.
This minor morning sickness felt more troublesome and anxious to him than a thousand armies or court intrigues. It turned out that there truly were problems in this world that even he, Yuwen Che, couldn't immediately solve with all his power and wealth. And this problem, ironically, fell upon the person he most wanted to protect.
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