Chapter 81
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“The Empress has always been frail and weak, with chronic illnesses deep in her bones. Many changes have occurred in the past year, and her body cannot withstand such severe punishment. Later, without proper care and recuperation, there should be a knife wound near her heart. Fortunately, it didn’t damage her lungs, but it caused congestion in her organs…”
The imperial physician spoke a lot, but Jiang Yanchi felt the voice becoming more distant as a buzzing sound echoed in his head. “This shouldn’t be the case. His body was stable a few months ago, even if…” The Emperor lifted the pearl curtain, sat on the bedside, pulled out the hand that had just been examined, and carefully explored it himself. “Even if he was a bit deficient a while ago, he could have been well-nurtured and supplemented in the future. How could it be…”
“The Empress has always had a poor foundation since childhood, and he cannot be replenished, Your Majesty. This was already a sign of exhaustion, resembling a lamp running out of oil. He was regularly attended to by a skilled doctor at home, who used medicines to nourish his vitality and spirit regularly, allowing his blood vessels to flow smoothly like an ordinary person… Recently, there were no signs of any issues. However, these medicinal baths have a fierce nature, beneficial to blood vessels but detrimental to internal organs. Therefore, once an incident occurs, it’s like a dam breaking…”
Jiang Yanchi seemed to recall something suddenly, stood up abruptly, and shouted, “Go, go and bring that doctor from the Chu residence, the one surnamed Zhu!”
As if he had risen too quickly, his steps staggered a few times, and he couldn’t stand firmly.
“Your Majesty, that doctor heard rumors early on before the Chu residence was sealed and he probably ran out of the capital by now…” A eunuch from outside reported.
Jiang Yanchi’s anger seemed to have been pent up to the extreme. He raised his foot and kicked the eunuch’s chest, sending him out of the gate. He couldn’t get up for a while.
Little Xizi hurriedly went up to help, signaled him to stay away, and said, “Your Majesty, I’ll go and post a notice to find that Doctor Zhu. The city gates are closely monitored, and he might not have left the city. But Your Majesty should issue an edict first, lifting the sealing of the Chu residence. Otherwise, the people will be in panic, and that person may not dare to show up.”
Jiang Yanchi nodded in a hurry. Looking at the person on the bed, whose complexion was pale and lips still stained with uncleaned blood, he was devoid of vitality.
That person seemed lifeless.
Much like the day he tried to commit suicide in the Eastern Palace.
Why did it end up like this after all the twists and turns?
Jiang Yanchi took the medicine from the imperial physician and put it into Chu Xie’s mouth, hoping to sustain his breath and survive this dangerous moment.
But his lips were cold, even showing a faint hint of purple, the appearance of a dead person.
The imperial physician guarded for more than an hour, watching the sun now leaning towards the west, nearly evening. Chu Xie’s body became colder and colder.
The imperial physician was somewhat hesitant to remind His Majesty to prepare for the worst. On one hand, he was worried that the Empress might not survive the night, but he abruptly stopped speaking. If he didn’t mention it first, considering the temperament of the current Emperor, he might not be able to keep his head.
“Your Majesty…” Just as he began to speak, as if the Emperor had heard something from the earnest and sorrowful tone, he immediately interrupted.
“Shut up.”
As the night gradually fell, a charcoal fire burned in the room. Several golden-threaded hand warmers were placed under the quilt. Jiang Yanchi held Chu Xie’s hand, and it seemed to finally have some warmth.
He supported the person to lean against his shoulder, but the medicine couldn’t be fed at all.
Jiang Yanchi’s hand holding the medicine bowl trembled violently. He spilled half the bowl from the corner of his mouth, and none went down. The person’s pure white clothes were wet, full of the scent of medicine. His eyes were red with anxiety, and he instructed someone to bring another bowl and forcibly poured it into his mouth.
“Ah Xie, Ah Xie…”
“Be obedient, swallow it, hmm?”
Although the medicine entered the mouth, it couldn’t go down the throat.
Jiang Yanchi suddenly smashed the bowl and grabbed the person’s shoulders. “You don’t want to live, do you? You planned it long ago, never considering living long! How can you be so ruthless? Is your heart made of stone?”
The imperial physician was shocked and immediately stepped forward. He realized that although His Majesty’s words were fierce, his actions were extremely gentle. After not getting any response, he carefully placed him back on the bed.
Jiang Yanchi waved his hand, and no one dared to linger in this place.
“Ah Xie, how can you treat me like this.”
Seeing that the person showed no signs of awakening, his eyes gradually revealed an unbearable gloominess. “I haven’t settled the score with you. You haven’t given me an explanation… Right, right…”
He pointed up, leaned close to his ear, and lowered his voice, “And that Xu Chunmu, if you die, I will execute him slowly, one hundred and eight cuts, not letting him die until the last cut! You… did you hear that clearly!”
“Oh, and your Shen family tomb, your father—”
Shen Qianan died on the battlefield, a crime of treason. There wasn’t even a grave for him. The ancestral tomb of the Shen family had long been moved out of the imperial city, buried in their hometown in Xiling, and the Shen family lineage had long been extinguished.
Jiang Yanchi then realized that besides Xu Chunmu, he couldn’t find anyone or anything that Chu Xie truly cared about.
It seemed like he was a rootless plant in this world.
There was nothing to bind him.
“Ah Xie…” Jiang Yanchi’s stern voice suddenly softened. He bent down and held the person in his arms, but as he got closer, he couldn’t smell the familiar scent of cypress.
The strong fragrance that permeated from him now was only the bitter smell of medicine.
After the imperial physician left, Little Xizi approached to seek some reliable information. He only heard the imperial physician looking around, shaking his head with regret, and saying in a low voice, “Tonight, someone must be on duty by the funeral bell.”
The meaning of this statement was already very clear. Little Xizi’s expression panicked, and he quickly pulled the imperial physician away from the palace gate before showing a troubled expression and asking, “Has it really come to this?”
“His Majesty is unwilling to listen, and I can’t say much. The Empress has long had a collapse of organs, and her life is in grave danger. This time, the stagnation of Qi and blood disrupted the normal flow and affected the organs, causing her to spit up blood. It’s life-threatening, life-threatening!” The imperial physician lowered his voice again, “I’m afraid it’s going to be precarious. Please prepare in advance.”
Little Xizi was suddenly at a loss. He couldn’t believe that the empress, who seemed fine just a few days ago, had become so weak and frail.
Just as he was worrying and anxious, he saw someone coming to report from outside the palace, saying that the doctor from the Chu residence had been found.
Like a drowning person grasping the last straw, Little Xizi quickly instructed someone to bring the doctor in.
Zhu Qi had been waiting for news in another courtyard, never expecting that he wouldn’t see the lord until dawn. Moreover, Lord Xu was also missing.
Only from Zhao Shizi’s mouth did he learn that things had changed.
The lord was now in the palace, coughing up blood from anger, and the imperial physicians said his body was too weak to use medicine casually, so they were looking for the old doctor from the Chu residence throughout the capital.
Zhu Qi quickly followed them into the imperial city, instructing Tao Li and several servants to rush to the residence to fetch the medicine.
When he saw Chu Xie, it was already the third watch, and the person seemed to be gasping for breath. Zhu Qi didn’t dare to delay. He first applied acupuncture to his chest and hands to stabilize his breath, then ordered someone to prepare a medicinal bath.
Jiang Yanchi immediately said, “Isn’t that medicinal bath harmful to his organs!”
“What does it matter to harm his organs now? If we don’t use this method, the lord may not survive tonight!” Zhu Qi had fewer reservations than the imperial physicians in the palace. He spoke clearly and even took the initiative to pull Chu Xie up from the bed.
Jiang Yanchi tried to stop him but ended up holding Chu Xie’s body himself, taking off his heavy outer clothes, and placing him in the medicinal bath.
Zhu Qi then applied a few more needles to his head and loosened his fingers, and then he inserted needles into his hands.
For a person who was afraid of pain like him, he did not struggle at all now.
After a while, it seemed as if he had breathed out another breath. Zhu Qi quickly removed a few needles, handed the brewed medicinal soup to Chu Xie, and called out to his chest, “My lord, take a few sips.”
Chu Xie, in a daze, managed to drink two sips.
After a while, he vomited another mouthful of blood, supported by the edge of the tub.
Jiang Yanchi was shocked. “What did you just give him to drink!”
“Your Majesty, don’t worry. He just hasn’t finished spitting out a mouthful of blood. It was stuck in his chest, and now that he vomited it out, it’s good. Feed him a few sips of clear water, and the lord will wake up in a while.”
Zhu Qi watched as the little emperor picked up the person again, changed into dry clothes, and carefully placed him on the bedding. Chu Xie started to make breathing sounds, and his complexion was not as pale as before. The little emperor also seemed to have regained some spirit.
Oh, what a mess.
Zhu Qi looked at the young emperor, who had not yet come of age, and couldn’t figure out his thoughts. However, he had followed Chu Xie for many years and was not afraid of death.
The little emperor had almost killed Chu Xie tonight in anger. He didn’t know how to face him in the future.
If he truly favored Lord Chu, why force him onto such a dead-end path?
“If Your Majesty has fulfilled his affection to Lord Chu, please let him go.” Zhu Qi knew that Chu Xie now only wanted to leave the capital with Xu Chunmu. Seeing that the little emperor didn’t seem genuinely intent on taking his life, he dared to speak up.
“Leave?” Jiang Yanchi knew that he had just saved Chu Xie’s life, but now that he heard these words, his face turned unpleasant. “Where do you want to go after leaving?”
To be united with Xu Chunmu and live together for a lifetime?
Even if Chu Xie and Xu Chunmu were willing to abandon wealth and luxury, willingly become ordinary people, with Chu Xie’s current status, once he left the capital and stayed outside, exposed to the wind and sleeping rough, how many days could he survive?
Jiang Yanchi had just experienced a great danger and fright, but now he could still suppress his anger. He said coldly, “Go down, live in the side hall. Let Little Xizi prepare.”
Zhu Qi sighed and, under Little Xizi’s signal, left together.
The palace, which had been bustling with people coming and going, was now empty.
Jiang Yanchi fed him half a bowl of medicine and laid down beside him, listening to the even breathing sounds nearby, finally feeling relieved and closed his eyes to rest.
Zhu Qi’s calculation was accurate. Chu Xie really woke up in the middle of the night.
This time, he had been quite angry with Jiang Yanchi, but he didn’t expect his body to be so fragile. A slight anger caused him to cough up blood and faint. After careful thought, he realized that he had never been so angry before.
Waking up in the middle of the night, only a candle was lit in the room. The window closest to the bed was half-open, letting in some cold wind. However, there were several stoves burning in the room, and it was not cold at all.
Chu Xie moved slightly and saw someone lying next to him.
It was Jiang Yanchi.
He seemed to be sleeping soundly, completely motionless. Presumably, he had been extremely busy these past few days, and finally, he could take a break.
Chu Xie suddenly thought of the plot. Actually, this plot was not difficult to follow. Since he and Jiang Yanchi got married, they saw each other every day.
As long as he exchanged some sleeping pills, it would be quite easy to assassinate him.
Would Jiang Yanchi wake up tomorrow morning and then brutally kill Xu Chunmu?
This ruthless man had never shown mercy in anything. If he didn’t take the initiative now, he might regret it tomorrow morning, but it would be too late.
Chu Xie contemplated, considering the worst possible outcome if he really assassinated Jiang Yanchi.
The worst-case scenario would be chaos in the palace after the assassination, and under Zhao Xuan’s arrangement, Xu Chunmu could take advantage of the chaos to escape from the capital. Even if he was captured, what did it matter? As long as it allowed Xu Chunmu to leave the capital, he could be as elusive as a fish leaping in the vast sky, and no one would catch him again.
Without a foolproof plan, information was the most important. A single strike could surely unravel the mysterious plot surrounding Xu Chunmu.
Chu Xie had previously exchanged a small blade for suicide, and he now took it out, hiding it in his sleeve.
He turned his head as gently as possible, exchanged a packet of sleeping pills, held his breath, and sprinkled just over half of it on Jiang Yanchi’s nose.
With another push, Jiang Yanchi turned over like a corpse, completely vulnerable.
Chu Xie was well aware that continuing like this would only lead to a dead end. He had to break this cycle.
Moreover, he was confident that even if pushed to a desperate situation, he could adapt and find a way out.
He got up and wrote the letter, sending it out.
Taking out the small blade, he straddled Jiang Yanchi. The blade pressed against Jiang Yanchi’s chest, slightly moving downward, positioned slightly away from the heart.
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