Feigning Anger
When Hua Meng saw one of the elderly physicians take out a prescription, Emperor Jing'an and her grandmaster both looked over at him. She immediately stepped forward and volunteered, "Please teach me how to prepare the medicine." Hua Meng paused, then smiled and added, "My husband is busy in his daily affairs. It would be best if I prepared the medicine myself and watched him take it."
As soon as Hua Meng finished speaking, the elderly physician smiled knowingly.
In his eyes, Hua Meng was a young concubine who had volunteered to learn how to prepare the medicine only to compete for favor in the household.
Though he was curious about the identity of a master who could take the legitimate daughter of an official family as a concubine, the elderly physician often visited wealthy households and knew it was not something he should ask about.
After carefully explaining how to prepare the Grass-Insect Decoction to Hua Meng, the elderly physician also offered to take her pulse.
Hua Meng knew she was in excellent health, so she did not refuse.
Once the elderly physician confirmed that Hua Meng was in excellent health, Emperor Jing'an and Lin Ming, who were seated nearby, both breathed involuntary sighs of relief.
They truly had been afraid that something might happen to Hua Meng as well, so soon after she had entered the palace.
Just as the elderly physician was about to discreetly tell Hua Meng about several positions that made conception easier, Wei Fugui and Hua Teng entered the courtyard with the payment Lin Ming had promised the two elderly physicians.
Though the pair had not yet determined why Emperor Jing'an had remained childless for so many years, they had discovered that his semen was excessively thick.
Their school's exclusive prescription for the Two-Winter Glossy Privet Fruit and Grass-Insect Decoction was their pledge of allegiance.
Besides that, taking Hua Meng's pulse and giving the long list of medical instructions had all been so they could better diagnose and treat Emperor Jing'an later.
Along with some banknotes, the payment included a house deed and a land deed for each of them.
The houses were all in good locations in West City, and the land deeds were for estates outside the city with good harvests.
The two elderly physicians put away the house and land deeds, then folded the money and placed it in their medicine chests.
Once everything was packed, the senior physician looked at Imperial Physician Jiang and said, "My junior brother and I intend to go back and study your master's pulse carefully. If you discover anything, you are welcome to visit us and discuss it at any time."
When the senior physician finished, his junior brother nodded in agreement.
Finally, the two thanked Emperor Jing'an and Lin Ming, who had introduced them, once more before Hua Teng escorted them out of the residence.
After the pair left, Emperor Jing'an signaled Imperial Physician Jiang to examine the prescription for the Grass-Insect Decoction they had left behind.
"Do the ingredients in this prescription have other uses?"
As soon as Emperor Jing'an asked, Imperial Physician Jiang understood what he meant.
"Asparagus Root nourishes yin and clears heat, and nourishes the lungs and kidneys; Ophiopogon Root moistens the lungs, clears the heart, nourishes yin and promotes the production of bodily fluids. Glossy Privet Fruit nourishes the liver and kidneys, brightens the eyes and darkens the hair. All of them are medicinal ingredients women can use as well." With that, Imperial Physician Jiang concluded, "Only the grass insects will need to be prepared separately. As for the honey, I imagine the ladies of the palace already consume it regularly."
Emperor Jing'an looked at Lin Ming, who nodded and then turned to Hua Meng.
From Emperor Jing'an's look, Hua Meng knew she would have to continue helping him conceal the matter after she returned to the palace.
"I will do as Your Majesty commands."
No sooner had Hua Meng spoken than Lin Ming, seated at the head, said with a smile, "Your Majesty, Mengmeng is young. This matter will require more care on your part."
Hua Meng was stunned for a moment before she understood what Lin Ming meant.
Presumably, her grandmaster was worried that the responsibility would be too great for her and that, if anything went wrong, she would incur Emperor Jing'an's wrath. That was why he had spoken up in advance.
Touched, Hua Meng rose and went to the table. She poured a cup of warm water herself, letting a drop of Spirit Spring water to nurture his health fall from her fingertip into it, then presented the cup to Lin Ming with both hands.
"Grandmaster, you have been busy all this time. Please take care of your health." With that, Hua Meng naturally returned to the table and poured a cup of water for Emperor Jing'an.
By rank, Hua Meng should naturally have poured the first cup for Emperor Jing'an, but she had just addressed Lin Ming as "Grandmaster," following the Hua Family's etiquette.
Emperor Jing'an said nothing about what Hua Meng had done.
After taking a sip of the warm water Hua Meng had brought him, Emperor Jing'an nodded slightly to Lin Ming and looked at her. "After we return, I will issue a decree to set up a small kitchen in the right side hall of Sparrow Plume Palace. It will be convenient whenever you want something to eat."
Hua Meng breathed a sigh of relief at his words.
Though she had the Spirit Spring, she did not have many connections in the palace. Having Emperor Jing'an make the arrangements himself could not have been better.
Emperor Jing'an took Hua Meng to the Hua Family residence under the pretext that she was homesick. They were then delayed for several hours by the illness of Madam Hua, Lu Shi, before returning to the palace.
During the hours they were away, quite a few rumors spread through the palace about Emperor Jing'an's excessive affection for Hua Meng.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry over this. You are now the highest-ranking mistress in the palace, not someone from a petty household."
The palace maid at Consort Qi's side had just finished saying this to her when Consort Qi raised a hand and glanced at her freshly dyed nails. Then she said indifferently, "I am not jealous that His Majesty favors Consort Hua. What I mind is that he actually broke the palace rules for this woman."
As someone who had been with Emperor Jing'an for more than a decade, she had seen through him at the Crown Prince's Residence: he was a man who cared deeply about rules.
Because he valued rules, from the crown prince's former inner household to today's imperial harem, every woman who entered had followed the rules he had set, no matter whose daughter she was.
Yet those rules had been broken again and again because of this one woman.
In Consort Qi's view, Emperor Jing'an favored Hua Meng because her maternal family had many children, and she herself looked well suited to bearing them.
For in Emperor Jing'an's heart, Consort Qi was the most important person. Otherwise, His Majesty would not have given her the title "Qi."
Everyone spoke of husbands and wives "raising the tray level with their brows." Had she not failed to bear a child all these years, she would have ascended to the empress's seat long ago.
The palace maid did not reply to Consort Qi. She understood that Consort Qi did not need her answer; what the maid had deliberately said earlier had already drawn her mistress's thoughts elsewhere.
The empress dowager was likely the only person in the entire harem who knew why Emperor Jing'an had left the palace that day. There was no empress in the harem, so now that such rumors had surfaced, she would naturally step in to deal with them.
In midafternoon, Hua Meng returned to the palace with Emperor Jing'an.
As soon as she returned to Sparrow Plume Palace, she saw Consort Wan waiting anxiously at the side hall entrance.
Seeing Consort Wan's concern and thinking of what she needed to do next, Hua Meng hurriedly put on a worried expression.
"You're back, little sister." Consort Wan looked at Hua Meng and was just about to tell her about the rumors in the palace that day when she noticed something was wrong with her expression.
Before she could ask, Hua Meng shook her head. "Elder sister, I'm in no mood to talk right now. I just want to rest." After speaking, Hua Meng curtsied to Consort Wan, then went past her toward the sleeping chamber.
Consort Wan did not know why Hua Meng was acting this way, but thinking of the rumors in the palace in recent days, she still stopped Qiu Die and instructed her to find an opportunity to tell Hua Meng about them.
Hua Meng had not taken a maid with her when she left the palace that day. Besides the inconvenience of bringing a maid along while accompanying Emperor Jing'an, she also had not wanted too many people to know the truth behind the trip.
Ling Cui was now inside helping Hua Meng wash up, while Qiu Die, outside, curtsied to Consort Wan and prepared to enter.
"Mistress, you went out of the palace today. Is everything well at home?"
Although the Hua Family had promised Ling Cui that she could leave the palace and marry when she turned twenty, she was still worried about how her family was doing.
Hua Meng had not seen Ling Cui's family that day, but before leaving, she had made a point of asking her eldest sister-in-law and learned that they were all well.
Hua Meng told Ling Cui this, and when she saw that Ling Cui wanted to say more, she shook her head. "I'm tired. I want to rest for a while."
She and the emperor had gone too far the night before, and she had spent most of the day rushing about. Now her whole body felt weak, and all she wanted was a good sleep.
Seeing how exhausted Hua Meng was, Ling Cui felt sorry for her but was also puzzled. The young lady she had grown up with seemed a little strange today.
Before Ling Cui could speak again, Qiu Die quietly entered the room, went to Hua Meng's side, and briefly repeated the rumors circulating in the palace that day.
"Your Highness, have you drawn too much attention to yourself this time?"
Hua Meng, who had nearly fallen asleep, immediately widened her eyes at Qiu Die's words. In an instant, tears spilled from her eyes.
"His Majesty took me out of the palace because my mother suddenly fell gravely ill. Fortunately, Grandmaster found two highly skilled physicians to treat her. Though my mother's rank is not high, she is the one who gave birth to me and raised me. As her daughter, am I to be envied even for leaving the palace to visit her?" As she spoke, Hua Meng sat up straight on the couch and wiped the tears from her cheeks before continuing, "His Majesty is a wise ruler. This time, he helped me fulfill my filial duty. If anyone cannot bear to see me be filial, I would like to ask her whether she has no mother of her own!"