Inside the Jade Essence Palace, Consort Wen had only been lying on her couch for a short while when she felt completely drained of energy.
At first, she thought it was because she had been too worried and tired today, which was why she was tired so quickly. But when she tried to turn over, she found that it wasn't just that she was tired, she really couldn't move at all.
"ma……"
Consort Wen tried to call Granny Yu over, but when she opened her mouth, she found that her tongue had been pulled out, and she could not exert any strength at all, and she could not pronounce the words clearly.
Fortunately, Yu Mama, the wet nurse, always cared about her the most and quickly noticed something was wrong. She went forward to try to wake the Consort, but found that although her eyes were open, her mouth was twitching and she couldn't speak.
Granny Yu was in a panic, but she remained calm and decisive, immediately ordering, "It seems that the Imperial Concubine has suffered a stroke. Ruyi, quickly go and fetch the imperial physician. Baihe, go and inform His Majesty!"
"yes!"
After the two most capable female officials of the Jade Palace agreed in unison, they went off to carry out their tasks separately.
Before long, the imperial physician arrived in a hurry with his medicine chest on his back and bumped into Emperor Pingjia, Zhu Xian, in front of the palace gate.
The old imperial physician immediately bowed and cried out, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Zhu Xian waved his hand angrily: "What time is it for these formalities? Hurry up and go in to see how the Imperial Concubine is doing!"
"Yes!" The old imperial physician hurriedly got up and went in to take the pulse of the Imperial Concubine.
After a thorough examination, the imperial physician finally reached a conclusion and reported to the anxiously waiting emperor: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine does not have a stroke."
"Then why can't you move at all?" Zhu Xian looked at the imperial concubine on the phoenix bed again, who was still as beautiful as an ice sculpture.
"Well... I can't say for sure right now, but it's probably caused by catching a cold. We need to use warm water fumigation to promote recovery."
Zhu Xian sighed deeply: "It's good that it's not a stroke. Then let's do as you say and quickly have someone prepare warm water."
The old imperial physician prescribed a remedy, and the servants of Yu Cui Palace busied themselves, some tending the fire, others stirring the water, as pot after pot of bath water was continuously delivered to Consort Wen's bedroom.
The large bath tub was filled with medicinal soup. Several female officials carefully helped Consort Wen into the tub and then lowered the curtains layer by layer to prevent the medicinal mist from dissipating.
The inner room was filled with the lingering smell of medicine, which Zhu Xian couldn't stand, so he moved to the outer room to wait. During this time, some female officials wanted to come and serve him, but he waved them away, telling them to focus on serving Consort Wen. He sat alone in his chair, his thoughts gradually drifting away.
Over the years, new people have been sent into the palace, and old people have left him.
The Empress and Consort Hui died in childbirth; Consort Mei and Consort Wan were expelled from the palace for their offenses; there were also Consort Cao and Consort Yu who died of illness, and Consort Li who committed suicide...
The people in the palace have changed batch after batch. Of those who have been with him since his time as a prince, only Consort Wen remains.
When Consort Wen entered the Prince's mansion at the age of fifteen, she was the youngest and most beautiful among them. But in the blink of an eye, she is now thirty-six. After tonight's shock, he realized that Consort Wen was no longer young. No matter how well she took care of her appearance, her natural beauty was not what it used to be.
Thinking of all this, Zhu Xian let out a long sigh.
Just then, light footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Zhu Xian looked up and saw a young and beautiful woman walking in under the dim candlelight. Her features were reminiscent of the imperial concubine in her prime.
Her eyes were brimming with tears, and as she approached, she seemed afraid of causing a disturbance, so she quickly wiped her eyes with a handkerchief before gracefully bowing: "This humble woman greets Your Majesty."
"You are..." Zhu Xian frowned as he looked at her. She looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember when or where he had seen her before.
"This humble woman, Wen Chan, is the niece of the Imperial Concubine."
"Oh, so you also went to the palace today to attend the plum blossom viewing banquet... But the palace gates are already locked, why haven't you left the palace yet?"
Feng Wan, disguised as Wen Chan, sobbed twice and kowtowed heavily to the ground: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. When I left the palace, I happened to hear that my aunt was seriously ill. I disregarded the rules of the palace and rushed back..."
"Oh, I see. But your aunt should be fine. The imperial physician has prepared a medicinal bath for her. Since you are worried about your aunt and want to stay, then stay here with me and wait."
After saying this, Zhu Xian realized that he had not yet told her to rise, so he stepped forward to help Wen Chan up with his own hands, and gently advised, "Don't worry, your aunt will be fine."
"Does Your Majesty truly mean this?" Wen Chan raised her misty eyes and looked earnestly at Zhu Xian.
Looking into her eyes up close, Zhu Xian felt even more strongly that her eyes resembled those of the Imperial Concubine, and his tone became increasingly kind and gentle: "Since I am the Emperor, my words are as good as gold and there will be no falsehoods."
Wen Chan finally smiled; her tearful eyes curved into a smile.
She then truly acted as if she were one of the guests, sitting down with Zhu Xian on the same daybed, separated only by a small table. However, the table was empty, with neither tea set nor tea.
Wen Chan said with remorse, "My aunt suddenly fell ill, and the palace servants in Yu Cui Palace were all in a flurry of activity, leaving no one to attend to His Majesty. I know where my aunt's tea set and tea leaves are kept. Perhaps I could go and brew His Majesty a cup of tea?"
Thinking that she had just finished crying and might be thirsty herself, Zhu Xian did not refuse and said, "Alright, then go and make two cups."
Wen Chan obediently got up to make tea, and soon returned with a saucer, offering a cup of tea to Zhu Xian on the couch beside him. She then placed the other cup on her side and returned to her seat.
Zhu Xian hadn't felt thirsty before, but now that the tea was beside him, he was indeed a little thirsty. So he picked up the teacup and took a small sip, but it was too hot to swallow, so he had to spit it back into the cup.
If this tea had been brewed by a palace maid or eunuch, the cup and bowl would have been smashed by now. But Wen Chan was the niece of the Imperial Concubine and also his junior, so she couldn't make a scene over such a trivial matter. She simply put the cup back in its place silently.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from the other side, followed by the sound of cups and bowls falling to the ground. It turned out that Wen Chan had also burned her mouth with the tea while drinking it, and in her panic, she spilled the tea all over herself!
Wen Chan jumped up as she was scalded by the water, stomping her feet and desperately patting the water off her clothes. Seeing this, Zhu Xian also got up and asked, "Are you burned? Should I call the imperial physician over to take a look?"
Wen Chan finally stopped using her hands and feet. After a flurry of activity, her breathing became heavier, her chest heaving violently. Her dress was soaked, and the thin, snow-white satin clung to her body, accentuating her alluring curves.
Zhu Xian had always prided himself on being an emperor who did not care about lust since he was young, but now, for some reason, his gaze was fixed on the young man in front of him who was nearly thirty years younger than him, staring at places he shouldn't be looking at.
Wen Chan was the first to notice and felt uncomfortable. She subconsciously crossed her arms in front of her and turned her back to Zhu Xian.
"This humble woman...this humble woman has been disrespectful before Your Majesty..." Her voice was unsteady, but every slight tremor was like a small hook, tugging at Zhu Xian's heart.
Zhu Xian took off his cloak and silently draped it over Wen Chan's shoulders. However, the hand that was lightly pressing on Wen Chan's shoulder did not withdraw. Instead, it wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her into his arms...
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