Consort Li glanced at the Emperor’s expression and wiped her face with her handkerchief.
“If you have any evidence, just speak it all out. Why hide and keep things to yourself?”
“Your Majesty is busied with myriad state affairs. You don’t have time for games.”
Duoduo shot a look at Consort Li, then kowtowed to the Emperor.
“Grandfather, the cloth on this doll is tribute silk, brocade satin.”
“Changle once heard Nanny Li talk about this kind of fabric. It is extremely rare.”
“Anyone who possesses this fabric can be found out at once if Grandfather investigates.”
All tribute items in the palace were recorded in ledgers.
As for such rare silk brocade, it would be quite easy to check whom the Emperor had bestowed it upon.
Consort Li’s face shifted color as she looked at the doll in Eunuch Li’s hands.
Indeed, the fabric on the doll was no ordinary cloth.
Consort Li signaled to her attendant maid with a glance.
The maid quietly stepped back, preparing to leave.
“Where are you going?” Duoduo suddenly turned her head and looked straight at the maid.
Seeing the Emperor’s stern gaze fall upon her, the maid trembled in fear and dropped to her knees at once.
“Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant was just going to fetch a chair for Your Majesty!”
Eunuch Li hastily ordered the guards to bring a chair. The Emperor waved his hand. The maid scrambled to her feet and stood behind Consort Li.
“Xiao Lizi, have someone investigate! Find out exactly who possesses this brocade satin!”
The Emperor’s voice was dark with anger.
His birthday was approaching, and someone dared to practice sorcery to curse him.
This infuriated the Emperor.
“This old servant will obey at once!” Eunuch Li quickly departed.
The noonday sun blazed down, making one dizzy with heat.
Duoduo knelt on the ground, head bowed, waiting for Eunuch Li’s findings.
Perhaps because the Emperor was vexed, and combined with the scorching heat, he felt a tightness in his chest.
He couldn’t help rubbing his chest, but still felt unwell.
The Emperor tried to stand and walk a few steps.
The moment he rose, he suddenly collapsed toward the ground.
“Ah! Your Majesty!” Consort Li let out a piercing scream.
Duoduo, who had been lost in thought with her head down, suddenly felt a shadow loom over her.
Before she could react, she heard Consort Li’s shrill cry.
By instinct, Duoduo reached out and caught the falling Emperor.
The Emperor was a grown man, and Duoduo was only four years old—an ordinary child would never have been able to catch him.
But because she had trained in martial arts with Li Jin, Duoduo had gained considerable strength.
She gritted her teeth and caught the Emperor’s head, letting him fall onto her body.
In the distance, Eunuch Li, clutching the registry, saw this and dashed over, his legs practically flying.
“Your Majesty!” Eunuch Li’s shrill voice cracked as he screamed.
“Quick! Summon the imperial physician!”
A young eunuch took off running and vanished from sight in an instant.
Consort Li rushed over and threw herself onto the Emperor, weeping.
“Your Majesty, wake up! What has happened to you?”
Eunuch Li reached the Emperor’s side, panicked and frantic.
In that brief moment, the Emperor had collapsed. The sky within the palace might be about to change!
Consort Li wiped away her tears and pointed at Nanny Li, Lüdou, and the others.
“Guards! Arrest them at once!”
“They dared to practice sorcery and harm His Majesty!”
“Send them to the Censorate of Punishment. We must find out who is behind them!”
Nanny Li and Lüdou were both from the Prince of Pingyang’s mansion.
Consort Li’s intention in this move was obvious.
Duoduo, lying beneath the Emperor, grew extremely anxious.
“How dare you!”
“This is absolutely not our doing! On what grounds are you accusing us?”
With the Emperor’s fate unknown, Eunuch Li dared not defy Consort Li’s orders.
Because if the Emperor met with any mishap, the most likely successor would be Prince Ling.
After all, Consort Li now held authority over the harem.
She had Nanny Li and Lüdou tied up and taken away.
“This Princess Changle is also implicated. Take her as well!” Consort Li commanded.
Eunuch Li hesitated for a moment before approaching Duoduo and bowing.
“Princess Changle, forgive my rudeness,” he said.
He stepped forward carefully, intending to help the Emperor up.
“Don’t move him!” Duoduo grabbed Eunuch Li’s hand urgently.
Eunuch Li looked surprised.
“Why not?”
Duoduo nimbly crawled out from beneath the Emperor.
She pulled a cloth bundle from her robe, took out a silver needle, and swiftly inserted it into the Hegu acupuncture point on the Emperor’s hand.
“You! How dare you!”
Consort Li raised her hand in fury and struck at Duoduo.
Duoduo wanted to dodge, but seeing the Emperor lying unconscious, his face turning blue, she gritted her teeth and held still.
“Slap!”
Consort Li’s palm landed hard on Duoduo’s face, snapping her head to the side.
Yet Duoduo’s hands remained steady as she continued to apply the needles.
“Not only do you practice sorcery on His Majesty, but you now dare to pierce him with needles!”
“Guards! Take this Changle to the Punishment Court! Torture her until she confesses!”
Consort Li’s eyes were venomous, her tone fierce, as if she wished to tear Duoduo apart.
Immediately, guards seized Duoduo.
But Duoduo noticed that the Emperor’s complexion had eased. She did not resist. Instead, she turned and gave Eunuch Li a sweet smile.
“Eunuch Li, don’t worry. Grandfather will be fine.”
Eunuch Li, who was holding the Emperor, was taken aback. He wondered why Duoduo was so certain.
As Duoduo was led away by the guards, her cloth bundle fell to the ground.
Just then, Imperial Physician Li arrived in a rush, carrying his medicine chest.
He hurried over, not even pausing to wipe his sweat, and reached for the Emperor’s wrist to take his pulse.
But then he noticed the silver needles inserted in both of the Emperor’s hands.
Imperial Physician Li froze.
“Imperial Physician Li, why are you standing there? Attend to His Majesty at once!” Consort Li urged anxiously.
Carefully avoiding the needles, Imperial Physician Li began to feel the Emperor’s pulse.
As the Emperor’s personal physician, he knew his constitution well.
Upon sensing the pulse, he immediately noticed a change.
“Hmm?” He let out a surprised exclamation.
“What is it? Has His Majesty taken a turn for the worse?” Consort Li’s face changed.
“Surely His Majesty has been bewitched! Someone, tell the Punishment Court to use severe torture and force the culprit to reveal how to save His Majesty!”
“Yes, my lady.” A maid quickly ran off.
Imperial Physician Li looked surprised and turned to Eunuch Li, who also appeared anxious.
“Imperial Physician Li, how is His Majesty?” Eunuch Li asked.
Imperial Physician Li gazed at the silver needles in the Emperor’s hands and paused thoughtfully.
“His Majesty has been suffering from excessive worry, which has weakened his heart meridian,” he said.
“With the heat today, he became overwhelmed with anger, causing a blockage of blood and energy, which led to his collapse.”
“However, thanks to timely and proper treatment, His Majesty is now out of danger.”
"Not serious? His Majesty is still unconscious! How can you say it's not serious!"
"Tell me, are you in league with the Prince of Pingyang?" Consort Li’s face darkened.
