The next night, bright lights illuminated the way to Shujing Palace.
The Cold Palace had never been so lively.
Stepping onto the bed, Consort Lan, who had fallen into a coma, had no trace of color on her face, not even a significant rise and fall of her chest. She looked particularly scary.
Under the Emperor’s gaze, Wen Qingci slowly withdrew his hand and repeated yesterday’s diagnosis.
“… So Lady Lan passed out twice because she was pregnant?” The Emperor set down his teacup, frowning.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Wen Qingci replied with a bow.
Upon hearing that Su Qiongmu was pregnant, the Emperor showed no surprise, just nodded lightly. “I understand.” His reaction was too calm.
Wen Qingci had no time to speculate on the Emperor’s intentions now.
He took out silver needles from the medicine box and gently pricked several acupuncture points on Consort Lan’s arm.
After a few needles, the person on the bed finally showed some reaction.
Consort Lan struggled to open her eyes, paused for a moment, and looked dazedly towards the outside of the bed.
Seeing the Emperor, who appeared in Shujing Palace at some point, her eyes suddenly turned red. “Your Majesty… cough… why are you here?”
Consort Lan subconsciously grasped the Emperor’s clothes, trembling slightly as she spoke, “… A-Qiong thought she would never see you again…”
The Emperor slowly sat in front of the bed, gently wiping away the tears from Consort Lan’s eyes.
The atmosphere in Shujing Palace changed accordingly.
Seeing the two of them starting to confide in each other, Wen Qingci immediately bowed and slowly exited from the back hall.
Once out of the gate, standing in the corridor, he finally took a deep breath while leaning against the wall… it worked!
What Consort Lan asked Wen Qingci for yesterday was a poison. After taking it, people will fall into a deep coma.
Consort Lan was thrown into the Cold Palace after a conflict with the Emperor. During this period, the two had been in a cold war.
Directly telling the Emperor that she was pregnant, during this cold war, would not elicit much of a response from him.
… If she wants to maximize her benefits, she must first admit her mistake and find a way out.
People who are sick are fragile and emotional. Who will care about trivial matters when the king of hell walks in front of him?
To Consort Lan, the feigned illness was the best strategy.
Comas could be faked, but true physiological reactions couldn’t deceive people.
So even if she was pregnant, she had to take this risk.
Wen Qingci remembered that in the original work, the Imperial Physicians never paid much attention to Consort Lan, until she accidentally fell and almost miscarried several months later…
Now thinking about it, this might also be her trick!
Wen Qingci tightened his grip on the medicine box handle, fully aware that Consort Lan’s ability to become the ultimate winner of this harem drama relied not only on the so-called “Mary Sue halo.”
“Supporting the Ming Hall” probably had many hidden plots.
The eunuch dressed in purple appeared in Shujing Palace at a trot, holding a fly whisk in his arms.
He stood beside the palace gate, urging, “Your Highness, hurry up and follow, come this way—”
“Zhao Gonggong, wait a moment. Lady Lan has just woken up and is talking to His Majesty inside.” Seeing this, Wen Qingci walked over quickly.
“Oh, I said that the consort will have good luck,” the eunuch finally caught his breath and stood still, clasping his hands together in a large salute to Wen Qingci, “Wen Xiansheng is indeed the divine physician of our world!”
Wen Qingci smiled and shook his head, “I dare not.”
This “Zhao Gonggong” was the eunuch second only to Xian Gonggong, and was responsible for taking care of the emperor’s food and daily life.
Unlike Xian Gonggong, it is written in the novel that he is a man who is blind to money.
This time, the news that Concubine Lan was “seriously ill” came to the emperor’s ears because he was bribed with a lot of money.
As they spoke, Xie Bufeng finally appeared outside Shujing Palace.
Zhao Gonggong pretended to wipe away tears, then turned and led Xie Bufeng in, “Your Highness, wait here for a while, and you’ll go in to see Lady Lan later.”
Seeing that the palace gate was closed again, the young man said “Hmm” without interest.
He ignored Zhao Gonggong and went straight to the pavilion in the corner of the palace.
Xie Bufeng’s clothes were thin, and the back of his hand was bluish from the early spring cold wind. He seemed to have been temporarily brought out from the palace hall, without even having time to put on thicker clothes.
But the lamb in his arms was still tightly held by the young prince.
It seemed to recognize Wen Qingci, even turning its head to bleat softly at him as they left.
Full performance was essential.
As the only son of Consort Lan, Xie Bufeng had also been brought to see her “for the last time”.
The Emperor’s arrival made Shujing Palace crowded, but no one paid attention to him.
Seeing this, Wen Qingci called over a young eunuch, whispered a few words to him, and then the young eunuch hurriedly left Shujing Palace.
Since its construction, Shujing Palace has probably never been so lively.
But in a blink of an eye, another figure in peach blossom color appeared outside the palace, with an unmistakable joy on her face. “Zhao Gonggong is also here.”
After speaking, she led a group of people into the palace.
In addition to eunuchs and palace maids, there were also many concubines.
“Oh, Consort Hui, what wind blew you here?” Zhao Gonggong hurried forward and took Consort Hui’s hand.
The palace lights illuminated her face, along with those eyes that couldn’t hide the joy.
Consort Hui was dressed in colorful robes, adorned with jade hairpins and rings, mixed with a bit of vulgarity amidst her beauty.
“I heard that Lady Lan was ill, so I came to see her.”
The Emperor had not yet established an Empress, and two of the four concubine positions were vacant.
For the past decade, she had always been suppressed by Consort Lan until a few months ago when the latter was banished to the Cold Palace, and Consort Hui finally took over the temporary power of the harem.
The news of Consort Lan’s serious illness was exaggerated. By the time it reached Consort Hui’s ears, it had become “she’s about to die.”
“It’s late, and it’s chilly at night. Your Majesty is still inside the hall. Please rest in the side hall first, Your Highness.”
“No need,” Consort Hui waved her hand with a smile. “I’ll wait here.” With that, she walked towards the beautiful woman leaning against the courtyard wall.
Shujing Palace was small, so as soon as they entered, there was a sudden “squeak” sound.
The figure of Xian Gonggong appeared in front of them, “Wen Xiansheng, His Majesty invites you in.”
The expressions on everyone’s faces instantly became excited.
They thought that the Emperor’s summons of Wen Qingci meant that Consort Lan was on her deathbed.
Consort Hui and her personal maid looked at each other and simply stood still.
The door of the front hall of Shujing Palace was closed again, dividing the inside and outside into two different worlds.
The Emperor gently set down his teacup and asked casually, “Will Lady Lan give birth to a prince or a princess this time?”
Experienced doctors could indeed determine the gender based on the pulse, but Consort Lan’s pregnancy was still in its early stages, so it couldn’t be discerned yet.
Fortunately, there was already an answer to this question in the original work.
“Your Majesty, it will be a princess,” Wen Qingci’s tone was very firm.
As the Imperial Physician, he knew what his words meant.
Not sure if he was mistaken, but upon hearing his answer, the Emperor seemed to relax a bit. “Good, I’ll leave Lady Lan’s matters to you from now on.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Half a cup of tea later, with a light “squeak” sound, the door of the front hall was once again opened from inside.
Everyone in the courtyard turned their gazes towards it.
The lights illuminated Shujing Palace’s courtyard in an instant, and Xian Gonggong suddenly knelt down in front of the hall.
However, what he recited was not a mourning text for Lady Lan’s passing—
“Lady Lan is pregnant, and His Majesty is overjoyed. As of today, Lady Lan’s position will be restored, and she will be rewarded with a pair of golden hairpins, three spring silks, and the Imperial Physician Wen Qingci will be specially appointed to regularly check on her and ensure her safety.”
Then, Ming Liu helped that familiar figure kneel in front of the hall and receive the order of grace.
The next moment, she was helped up by the Emperor himself.
Lady Lan wore a water-green palace dress, exceptionally graceful.
Although there were not many magnificent decorations, they set off her elegance perfectly.
Under the cover of the night, the concubines in the courtyard secretly exchanged glances.
Only Consort Hui remained silent, biting her lips, wishing she could crush the silk handkerchief in her hand.
…Su Qiongmu, this vile woman, wasn’t she supposed to be dying?
In less than a second, Consort Hui realized… Su Qiongmu was pretending to be ill, this was a ploy!
Moisture seeped into the knees along the bluestones, and Consort Hui wished she could grind her silver teeth to pieces.
After Xian Gonggong finished announcing the decree, she threw the handkerchief down.
A concubine in pink stepped forward to help Consort Hui up and whispered softly in her ear, “Consort Hui, don’t get angry.”
“Don’t get angry?” Consort Hui sneered, “Su Qiongmu not only became Consort Lan again but even got pregnant with the Emperor’s child. You tell me not to get angry?”
“No, no, Consort Hui, don’t forget… although she has become Consort Lan again, the power of the harem is still in your hands!” The concubine smiled and continued, “Moreover, Consort Lan has been in poor health recently, so there’s even less reason for her to worry about harem affairs.”
Hearing this, Consort Hui finally calmed down.
She coldly dropped a “go” and left with a group of people.
When the excitement in Shujing Palace subsided, it was late at night.
Xie Bufeng was about to leave when he was suddenly stopped by a young eunuch.
“Your Highness, wait—”
Xie Bufeng recognized the young eunuch in front of him, he was from the Imperial Medical Bureau. “What is it?”
The young eunuch stopped panting and suddenly lifted a cloak.
“Wen Xiansheng asked me to bring this to you,” he added at the end, “He has never worn this cloak.”
Since Su Qiongmu resumed her position as a Consort, the young eunuch’s attitude towards Xie Bufeng had also become slightly more polite.
It was a cloak of dark blue, almost black, embroidered with magnolia in dark thread.
Because the color was too dark, Wen Qing had never worn it.
But after being left in the closet for a long time, it unknowingly acquired a bitter fragrance.
Xie Bufeng hesitated for a moment, but the young eunuch’s hand was already tired of shaking, and he was somewhat scared in his heart.
He gritted his teeth and reminded again: “Oh, by the way… Wen Xiansheng also said that he will go back to the Imperial Medical Bureau to boil the medicine first and cannot send you back. You must remember to be careful when you return to Yuguang Palace later.”
He added, “If anything happens, it may delay important matters.”
After speaking, he raised the cloak a little higher, almost wanting to stuff it into Xie Bufeng’s eyes.
The young prince finally reached out his hand and slowly took the thing.
Careful?
Xie Bufeng couldn’t help but sneer.
It’s always been others’ responsibility to be careful around him. When did he ever need to be careful about anything else?
The moonlight illuminated the magnolia embroidered with dark thread on the hem of the clothes.
Xie Bufeng couldn’t help but think viciously that one day, he would see fear in Wen Qing’s eyes…
I like how WQC is trying to be nice as possible while still remaining in character, but XBF in this AU is still fantasizing about WQC’s demise. I much prefer this kind of misunderstanding! Maybe it’ll end up as some kind of twisted love-hate thing from XBF.
XBF years later: Am I still just a rabbit to you?!!
WQC: ?!
WQC is just trying to survive lol. But yeah the rabbit thing is probably gonna come bite him later 😉
The plot thickens! I wonder what it would take for Xie Bufeng to believe Wen Qingci’s sincerity? We’re probably many chapters away from finding out though lol