Xuanning Palace.
Shen Wei was lying on the bed in a daze, with a burning forehead and an unhealthy blush on her cheeks. Every time she drank the medicine for the common cold sent by the Imperial Hospital, she would vomit it right back up, and her stomach ached terribly.
She lay there in a half - conscious state, and in her daze, she even felt as if her body had become extremely light, as if her soul had left her body.
After lying in bed for three days, Shen Wei's illness still showed no sign of improvement. On the afternoon of the third day, Shen Wei's consciousness became a bit clearer. She leaned weakly against the soft pillow, opened her mouth to take a couple of sips of the bitter Chinese medicine, and asked Cai Lian, "Was this medicine prescribed by Doctor Mo?"
Cai Lian shook her head. "Your Highness, Doctor Mo is also ill. Maybe it's because the weather has suddenly turned cold these days, and Doctor Mo likes to stay overnight in Qiuliang Palace, so she caught a cold."
Shen Wei rubbed the space between her eyebrows and hoarsely gave an order, "You and Cai Ping go to visit Doctor Mo every day... Take good care of her."
Cai Lian said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. The maid and Cai Ping will go to take care of Doctor Mo every day. Nanny Rong and Consort Yu are managing the palace affairs together, and there have been no troubles in the harem. The Empress Dowager and several princesses and princes are very worried about you. They came to visit this morning, but you were asleep at that time."
Shen Wei finished half a bowl of medicine with difficulty and then lay back on the bed to rest. Shen Wei stared at the bed curtain and suddenly noticed something was amiss. "Cai Lian, where is this?"
Cai Lian replied, "Your Highness, this is Xuanning Palace. His Majesty is concerned about your illness and thought Yongning Palace was too far away, so he brought you here to recuperate."
Xuanning Palace was the palace where the emperor slept alone. It was next to Chang'an Palace, where the emperor handled official business. Concubines were not allowed to stay overnight. Li Yuanjing had been busy dealing with the mess of the Xie family recently, and at the same time, he was worried about Shen Wei, so he brought Shen Wei to his side to recover from her illness.
Shen Wei closed her eyes in a daze. "So that's how it is..."
She was too lazy to think about how much true affection was hidden behind Li Yuanjing's actions. She only felt that this illness was extremely strange.
She had always exercised regularly and had excellent physical fitness, rarely getting sick.
How could she suddenly fall ill?
...
In the afternoon, in Chang'an Palace, Li Yuanjing and a group of his trusted advisors were discussing how to deal with the Xie family.
The Xie family had deep roots. Like a centipede that doesn't immediately die even when its body is cut, it was not easy to uproot them in a short time. Li Yuanjing planned to gradually deprive the Xie family of their land properties and tax revenues, then demote Xie Ji to a post in an outer prefecture, and take back several important official positions that the Xie family had monopolized.
As they gradually lost power and money, the Xie family would surely collapse completely within three to five years.
The trusted ministers took their leave.
Li Yuanjing pressed his index finger against his temple and asked De Shun, "Has the Imperial Concubine Chen improved?"
De Shun lowered his head. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine Chen is still the same. She can't keep the medicine down and has a persistent high fever."
Li Yuanjing's heart skipped a beat.
He had been busy dealing with the Xie family these days and had been feeling restless. Whenever he had a moment of free time, he would worry about Shen Wei's condition. Many concubines and princes in the palace had been ill before.
But only Shen Wei's illness this time had made his mind a complete mess, and he even felt an inexplicable sense of panic.
"Go to Xuanning Palace," Li Yuanjing said as he stood up.
Soon, he arrived at Xuanning Palace.
Inside Xuanning Palace, the air was filled with the smell of medicine, and the maids were carefully guarding the room. Shen Wei was still asleep, lying there listlessly in bed, and her face had lost weight.
Li Yuanjing lifted the curtain and entered. At a glance, he saw Shen Wei's obviously sickly face.
Li Yuanjing asked the maid, "Has the imperial concubine taken the decoction?"
The maid replied nervously, "Your Majesty, after waking up today, the imperial concubine drank half a bowl of the decoction but then vomited it out. The imperial doctor came to examine her and only said that the imperial concubine had symptoms of a common cold and was quite seriously ill. The newly - prepared medicine is still being boiled."
Li Yuanjing sat down on the edge of the bed and held Shen Wei's ice - cold hand. He didn't like Shen Wei's cold hands very much. That chill seemed to penetrate his skin and seep into his heart.
So much so that his heart felt cold.
Li Yuanjing's heart ached. He stared at Shen Wei's tightly - closed eyes and whispered, "Weiwei, open your eyes quickly."
Shen Wei couldn't open her eyes. Her head felt like it was floating in the sea, and she was suffering from the illness. She mumbled something in her sleep. Li Yuanjing bent down and leaned close to Shen Wei's lips to listen carefully.
Shen Wei was mumbling, "Go home" and "Go home".
Li Yuanjing's heart skipped a beat. He didn't quite understand where Shen Wei meant by "going home". Maybe it was Shen Wei's hometown in the south, but that place had been devastated by war and floods and could no longer be returned to.
He could only hold Shen Wei's cold hand and say, "I'm here."
Half an hour later, the medicine for the common cold was ready. The maid wanted to feed Shen Wei the medicine, but Li Yuanjing picked Shen Wei up in his arms.
Outside the curtain, Eunuch De Shun said, "Your Majesty, the Lady Shu—"
Li Yuanjing interrupted him. "Shut up."
Eunuch De Shun had no choice but to shut up resentfully.
Behind the pearl curtain, Li Yuanjing picked up the medicine bowl. First, he tested the temperature with a spoon, then he brought a spoonful of the warm and bitter liquid to Shen Wei's lips. Shen Wei took a few sips in her daze, but her stomach felt uncomfortable, and she vomited it out again.
The medicine stained Li Yuanjing's black dragon - embroidered robe.
Li Yuanjing patted Shen Wei's back, coaxing her like a child to take medicine, his voice softening. "Drink some more."
Shen Wei's head was tilted in Li Yuanjing's arms. She subconsciously opened her mouth and slowly drank half a bowl of the medicine.
Shen Wei was awakened by the bitterness of the medicine, but her consciousness still hadn't fully returned.
She impatiently pushed away the medicine bowl and mumbled, "I won't drink it... My head hurts so much... I feel like I'm burning up..."
The medicine bowl fell to the ground, soaking a large part of Li Yuanjing's robe.
Shen Wei was sickly, with a pair of red - rimmed eyes fixed on Li Yuanjing. Li Yuanjing stroked her face and said, "Be a good girl. When you recover from your illness, I'll take you horse - riding."
Shen Wei slumped in Li Yuanjing's arms and said weakly, "No... I don't want to go horse - riding..."
Her voice was feeble and uneven, and every word revealed her frailty. Li Yuanjing patiently asked, "If you don't want to go horse - riding, then what do you want, Weiwei?"
Shen Wei opened her mouth. Her pupils were unfocused. It seemed as if she was looking at Li Yuanjing, yet also as if she was peering into another world. Two scalding tears rolled down her face as she said, "I miss home..."
Li Yuanjing replied, "After you get better, I'll let your mother enter the palace to accompany you."
Then Shen Wei fell silent.
A maid brought in another bowl of medicine. Li Yuanjing was extremely patient. He used a spoon to feed the medicine to Shen Wei bit by bit. Shen Wei endured the churning nausea in her stomach and reluctantly drank the medicine.
The room was quiet, with only the crisp sound of the jade spoon touching the medicine bowl and Shen Wei's occasional indistinct muttering.
Outside the beaded curtain.
Consort Shu Lu Xuan had been standing there for a long time.
The beaded curtain couldn't block much. The scene of Li Yuanjing carefully taking care of Shen Wei was imprinted in Lu Xuan's pupils.
Eunuch De Shun softly reminded, "Your Ladyship, the Imperial Noble Consort Chen is still ill. Why don't you come to visit another day?"
After De Shun finished speaking, he waited for Consort Shu's response.
But Lu Xuan seemed to be nailed to the spot and was in a daze for a long time.
De Shun had to say again, "Your Ladyship, how about coming another day?"
This time, Lu Xuan heard clearly. She forced a smile and said, "Alright, I'll come another day..."
Lu Xuan leaned on the maid's arm and walked out of the inner chamber of Xuanming Hall in a daze.
With each step she took, her thoughts spread, and her heart ached as if being cut by a knife.
These days, the Imperial Noble Consort Chen suddenly caught a cold and showed no sign of improvement. Lu Xuan planned to use the pretext of "visiting the sick" to find out the situation.
However, she learned that the emperor had moved the Imperial Noble Consort Chen to Xuanming Hall to recuperate.
When Lu Xuan arrived at Xuanming Hall, what she saw was this eye - stinging scene. There were many concubines in the harem who had been ill, but the emperor had never taken such meticulous care of any of them.
He fed Shen Wei medicine mouthful by mouthful. Even when his clothes were soiled by the medicine juice, he didn't mind at all.
Even an ordinary couple in the civilian world couldn't be so considerate.
Even during the days when Lu Xuan was most favored, she had never received such care from the emperor.
Lu Xuan's emotions were in turmoil. All the past events that she had deliberately ignored and didn't want to think about in detail were now revealed in their true and bloody form -
It turned out that the emperor treated Shen Wei differently.
