Tending the sick

To her surprise, Wen Yunmian said with perfect sincerity, "I had never met Your Highness before, nor had I ever seen what you looked like. Seeing you today, I was truly stunned by your heavenly beauty. I stared so hard I lost my wits. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

The anger on Consort Hui's face silently melted away. Her expression stiffened for a moment as she nearly failed to suppress a smile, then she touched her coiffure, looking secretly delighted.

All thoughts of making things difficult for Wen Yunmian or punishing her flew out of her mind. "Do you mean that? Am I really so beautiful?"

"Yes. Your Highness deserves to be called the greatest beauty in the imperial harem." Wen Yunmian answered without hesitation, her smile gentle and sincere.

Yun Fei's eyes flickered, and she whispered to Yun Yang, "So this is Consort Hui. Why does she look even younger than me?"

Catching her meaning, Yun Yang lightly nudged Yun Fei's arm. "Don't talk nonsense. Her Highness is not someone you may gossip about."

Consort Hui overheard their whispers, and her expression grew even more radiant. She gave a light cough and looked at Wen Yunmian. "Enough. It's terribly cold in this snow, and I have no wish to stand here wasting words with you. Hurry back yourself."

Wen Yunmian smiled in assent. "Farewell, Your Highness."

Yun Yang drew close to Wen Yunmian. "My lady, I never expected Consort Hui to be so different from the others. She seems quite simplehearted."

Holding the umbrella over her, Yun Fei smiled as she adjusted Wen Yunmian's cloak. "As long as she didn't give you any trouble, my lady."

Wen Yunmian's gaze cooled slightly. Consort Hui was nothing to fear. Instead, it was time to give some thought to Consort Shu.

After returning to the Peony Pavilion, Wen Yunmian spent the next two days keeping to herself.

Knowing that Consort Shu harbored ill intentions, Yun Yang remained anxious and distracted. Every time she came in to speak with Wen Yunmian, she found her mistress quietly practicing calligraphy alone.

Yun Yang could not help feeling that, no matter what happened, her mistress could always calm her mind and attend to her own affairs.

"My lady, aren't you worried about tending His Majesty?"

Wen Yunmian smiled as she studied her handwriting. "What is there to worry about? However wildly I let my thoughts run now, it still isn't my turn to tend him. Without seeing His Majesty or touching him, how could I know what tricks they intend to use against me?"

Yun Yang thought that made sense. Watching the increasingly elegant characters Wen Yunmian wrote with her left hand, she could not help praising her. "Your handwriting is so beautiful, my lady. It truly is no worse than when you use your right hand. But I don't understand why you're going to all this trouble to practice."

Wen Yunmian's expression was gentle. "Because it will be of great use."

When Wen Yunmian's turn to tend the emperor arrived, he still showed no signs of waking. The imperial physicians were run off their feet, and even the Empress Dowager, who habitually prayed for blessings outside the palace, sent someone to inquire.

The Empress had also dragged her ailing body to Chanyang Palace several times. The court officials were even more worried, while even the consorts who wished to visit the emperor were stopped outside by Consort Shu's people.

Consort Shu emerged from Chanyang Palace with faint bluish shadows beneath her eyes. Supported by a palace maid, she walked with unsteady steps and looked utterly exhausted.

Seeing Wen Yunmian approach, Consort Shu said only coolly, "Noble Lady Yan, since I have honored you with the task of caring for His Majesty, serve him attentively. Do not let me discover that you have been negligent."

Wen Yunmian bowed respectfully. "Yes. I will remember your instructions."

Before entering, Wen Yunmian failed to notice the sinister curl of Consort Shu's lips.

Wen Yunmian had always disliked tending the sick. When she had been Empress Dowager, she had excused the emperor from attending her whenever she suffered a minor ailment.

After all, tending the sick meant forcing hardship upon oneself where none was necessary. Besides remaining fully dressed and watching the emperor's condition at every moment, she also had to stay here.

To keep watch over the emperor's condition, she had to have the servants lay her bedding on the floor.

The emperor had yet to regain consciousness, but the imperial physicians had already brought over the decoctions. Wen Yunmian was required to taste every one herself to check its temperature and bitterness.

After spending only an afternoon there, Wen Yunmian already felt that her mouth had gone numb.

She also had to feed the emperor his medicine slowly while the servants carefully propped him up.

But how could it be easy to make an unconscious person swallow medicine? She could only feed it to him little by little, painstakingly and cautiously.

By evening, Wen Yunmian's arms ached terribly. The imperial physicians withdrew to the outer hall after preparing everything they needed.

Wen Yunmian was about to lie down and rest when she noticed a faint bluish cast on the emperor's handsome face. Feeling that something was wrong, she hurriedly rose to check his pulse again.

His pulse alone revealed nothing amiss. Puzzled, Wen Yunmian noticed some silver needles nearby and inserted them into Jun Chenyu's acupuncture points.

Only when she checked Jun Chenyu's pulse again did she discover something wrong!

There really was a problem!

It was not that the imperial physicians had failed to detect the emperor's condition. The poison had only just taken effect.

Countless threads of thought twisted through Wen Yunmian's mind. A moment later, she rose with a pale face and summoned Yun Yang. "Quickly. We need to go to the rear hall and change clothes."

Yun Yang stared in bewilderment. Before she could understand what Wen Yunmian intended, she had already been pulled behind the screen. "My lady, do you mean to exchange clothes with me?"

Wen Yunmian's breathing was uneven. She was so tense that she did not realize how tightly she was gripping Yun Yang's hand. "There's no time to explain. If I don't hurry back, everyone in our Peony Pavilion will die without even a place to be buried!"

At those words, all color drained from Yun Yang's small face. Not daring to delay any longer, she quickly exchanged clothes with Wen Yunmian.

After Wen Yunmian left, Yun Yang pretended to be her and stayed on the bedding.

For a consort to leave without permission while tending the emperor was an offense. An imperial physician would come in every half hour, and there was only half an hour left before this plot unfolded. Wen Yunmian therefore mustered every last ounce of strength and rushed toward the Peony Pavilion.

Meanwhile, in the Palace of Prolonged Happiness, Consort Shu stood in agitation and looked at Noble Lady Yu. "Tell me, will this endanger His Majesty's health or not?"

Noble Lady Yu hastened to reassure her. "Rest assured, Your Highness. Imperial Physician Rong has already said that this medicine will not harm His Majesty's imperial person."

Consort Shu wept with heartache. "To rid myself of that wretch Wen Yunmian, I can only wrong His Majesty."

She turned and asked, "When will Imperial Physician Rong return?"

"According to our planned timing, Imperial Physician Rong should be returning shortly from his consultation at the Duke of State Protection's Residence."

"Good."

When the appointed time arrived, Consort Shu took Imperial Physician Rong to Chanyang Palace. Just then, word came from inside the hall. "Something's wrong! His Majesty is in danger!"

Consort Shu's eyelid twitched. She hurried inside with Imperial Physician Rong. The physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau were already in utter chaos, but fortunately, they turned and saw Imperial Physician Rong approaching.

At last, their director had returned from treating the duke's wife outside the palace. Everyone hurried to make way. "Quickly, let Imperial Physician Rong examine His Majesty."

Consort Shu noticed a figure trembling in the corner. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Noble Lady Yan?"

She called out, but the figure did not answer.

Surprise appeared in Consort Shu's eyes, and she stepped toward the figure.