Emperor Shang Xiche persisted at the hunting grounds for three more days. Finally, after the Empress Dowager's leg ailment flared up and medicine proved ineffective, he announced that he would be staying away from the Summer Palace, leaving only half of the Imperial Guards to continue searching for the missing Chen Shiyu and Chen Xiaoyi in the mountains.
After the emperor returned to the manor, the atmosphere at the Mountain Resort was unusually somber.
That night, the Empress herself came to Qingyuan.
"The Empress Dowager has been unable to sleep at night and has lost her appetite recently. She has lost a lot of weight and her spirits are not as good as before. Does the Ninth Prince really have no way to contact Doctor Xiao?" Chen Ziyun's expression remained as indifferent as ever.
She wasn't genuinely asking for a favor; it was just that the Empress Dowager was seriously ill, the Emperor was worried, and as the Empress, she had to maintain order.
"No," Shang Xiye's expression grew even colder.
A meeting devoid of sincerity was about to end in such a bland and unremarkable manner.
"In that case..." The Empress straightened her clothes and prepared to get up and leave.
"Why must we seek out Physician Xiao?" Ji Fengyao, who had been sitting by the window gazing at the moon, suddenly turned around, her smile bright and cheerful: "Physician Xiao isn't here, but I am still here."
"You?" The Empress looked up at her with disbelief and contempt.
"I have a connection with Physician Xiao's master and have received some guidance from him. Although I haven't mastered his true teachings, I can still treat minor ailments like headaches, fevers, leg aches, and foot pains without any problem," Ji Fengyao boasted, spouting nonsense and appearing extremely unserious.
Is this even possible?
The Empress looked at Shang Xiye with a puzzled expression.
Shang Xiye lowered his eyelids, giving off an expression that said, "Don't look at me, I know nothing."
He was secretly thinking to himself: Doesn't this little thing know that the Empress Dowager is racking her brains to find a way to punish her? Why is she rushing to her side now? Does she dare to openly seek revenge?
The Empress narrowed her eyes: "You ignorant and vulgar bandits!"
Unfortunately, the patient being treated this time is the Empress Dowager. If the illness is worsened, she will also be implicated.
Otherwise, I really wanted to drag this bandit out, make her make a mistake, and then punish her openly and justly, or even cut off her head!
Ji Fengyao clicked her tongue inwardly: No wonder she climbed to the throne of Empress.
He clearly hated her so much he wanted to kill her, yet he could still conceal such a heavy murderous aura beneath a calm exterior.
This skill is something that not everyone can do.
"Since Physician Xiao is not here, it is inappropriate for me to stay any longer." The Empress ignored Ji Fengyao and got up to leave with her maids and eunuchs without looking back.
Seeing that there was no hope with the Empress, Ji Fengyao turned her gaze to the expressionless Shang Xiye.
Her bright, watery eyes blinked as if to say: Your Highness, since the Empress won't take me with her, why don't you take me instead?
Shang Xiye: "..." Taking you to get into trouble?
Ji Fengyao bit her lower lip and pretended to be pitiful. She leaned closer to Shang Xiye, her expression becoming even more pitiful and innocent, as if silently accusing him of not trusting her medical skills.
Shang Xiye: "...You really want to go?"
Ji Fengyao knew he had given in, and her bright eyes shone even brighter: "Yes!"
Of course we have to go. How can we control that old hag and turn the tables if we don't go?
Shang Xiye sighed inwardly. Oh well, he could just take her back to the Northwest tomorrow. "Wuying, make the arrangements. The Queen and I are going to visit the Empress Dowager."
Half an incense stick later, Shang Xiye and his party arrived outside the courtyard where the Empress Dowager resided.
As she entered, Ji Fengyao felt Shang Xiye give her a barely perceptible tug.
She subconsciously looked down and seemed to see a hint of regret and resistance on his face.
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