klisemfg Chapter 200: What exactly is Consort Liang's injury?
Chapter 200: What exactly is Consort Liang's injury?
"If it were just a dream, I wouldn't be so afraid."
Empress Wang shook her head with a wry smile: "Consort Liang, you don't know, ever since I fell ill, strange things have been happening frequently in Fengyi Palace. At night, we often hear strange noises, like someone crying..."
Perhaps due to the tension of the past few days, even the usually composed Empress Wang couldn't help but say a few more words to her.
Chu Qingyin responded calmly, and only after Empress Wang finished speaking did she ask softly, "Your Majesty, could it be that some palace servants are plotting behind this?"
"This... I don't know either."
Even as the Empress, she dared not casually doubt such a matter.
Moreover, His Majesty has ordered an investigation into this matter, but there has been no result yet.
The Empress frowned. She could clearly hear the crying, but the palace servants in the hall said they had never heard it.
Each time she screamed in terror at the strange noises, the palace servants attending her remained unmoved and unresponsive.
It was as if no one but her could hear the sounds in her ears.
Therefore, after these days of torment, Empress Wang had come to believe some of what the sorceress had said.
Could it be that my illness is truly related to the late Imperial Concubine?
Before I knew it, it was already late at night.
The candlelight flickered inside the hall, and Chu Qingyin lay half-reclined on a soft couch on one side of the Empress's bedroom.
She casually picked up a Buddhist scripture and silently read it in her heart by the light of the lamp, praying for the Empress's well-being.
The palace maids inside the palace had all gone outside to wait, leaving only the two of them in the entire bedchamber. It was extremely quiet, with only the sound of her turning pages and the crackling of the candlelight.
Chu Qingyin appeared focused on the Buddhist scriptures, but in reality, she kept an eye on Empress Wang's movements out of the corner of her eye.
Empress Wang lay on the bed, tossing and turning, her sleep restless and hazy.
As if she had fallen into a nightmare again, her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, her hands were tightly gripping the quilt, her knuckles were white from the force, and half of the quilt had slipped off her body, leaving most of her body exposed.
Chu Qingyin's eyes flickered slightly. She put down the Buddhist scripture in her hand and slowly stood up.
When she reached the bedside, she quietly looked at the Empress's haggard and sickly face.
It's truly frustrating to have your enemy right in front of you, yet be powerless to do anything about it.
Taking a deep breath, Chu Qingyin calmed herself down a bit before going forward to pull up the fallen blanket and carefully covering herself with it.
Empress Wang was having an extremely unsettling nightmare when she suddenly felt something moving and woke up with a start.
When she looked up, she saw a face that looked remarkably like that of the late Consort Gui.
"what!"
She was terrified, sat up abruptly, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Don't come any closer!"
"Get out of my way, Chu Qingyin! You're already dead, why do you still haunt me like a ghost!"
Chu Qingyin was startled by this change and before she could do anything, she saw the Empress grab the porcelain pillow under her and smash it heavily at her!
Her pupils contracted slightly, and she quickly dodged to the side.
However, the porcelain pillow still hit her forehead, and almost instantly, her eyes were covered with blood.
"Your Majesty, I am not the late Consort Gui, you have mistaken me for someone else..."
Fearing that the other party might take further drastic action, Chu Qingyin stumbled and hurriedly retreated.
The commotion inside the bedchamber quickly attracted the attention of the palace servants outside, who hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed in.
As soon as I entered the house, I saw Chu Qingyin sitting on the ground, her face covered in blood, looking utterly disheveled.
Xianglan was terrified by this scene. Her eyes widened, and her voice was trembling with tears: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you!"
She rushed over, helped Chu Qingyin up, and frantically took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her face.
But she couldn't stop it, so she had to shout at the top of her lungs, "Imperial Physician! Quickly, go and fetch the Imperial Physician!"
The hall instantly descended into chaos.
Empress Wang gradually came to her senses.
Looking at the chaotic scene before him and Chu Qingyin's injured appearance, he was momentarily at a loss.
When she came to her senses, a surge of resentment flashed through her mind. Was this bitch waiting for her right here?
"Your Majesty, you're having another nightmare."
Chu Qingyin's voice trembled slightly as she said aggrievedly, "I saw that your blanket had fallen off, and I wanted to cover you up, but I didn't expect..."
Empress Wang's face turned pale and then flushed. "I didn't mean to, I just..."
I mistook you for the late Imperial Concubine.
However, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the imperial physicians rushed over and began to examine Chu Qingyin's wounds.
Fortunately, she dodged in time and was not seriously injured; however, the amount of bleeding was so great that it looked rather frightening at first glance.
Before long, Pei Yuanling, having heard the news, also arrived.
Looking at Chu Qingyin, whose face was deathly pale, he gasped for breath.
Without even glancing at Empress Wang, he strode forward and pulled her into his arms.
"Yinyin! How are you?"
Seeing the faint seepage of blood from the white gauze pressed against her forehead, and the bloodstains on her face and clothes, Pei Yuanling was even more furious: "Where are the palace maids on night duty! Why didn't they keep an eye on the Empress!"
Upon hearing this, Xianglan and the others knelt down with a thud.
The head maid of Fengyi Palace also said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, ever since the ladies of the harem came to Fengyi Palace to attend to the sick, I have only been guarding the gate for several nights and have not entered the main hall."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yuanling's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
He held Chu Qingyin in his arms, his gaze sweeping over Empress Wang like a knife, his voice so cold it seemed to freeze: "Empress, is this how you treat the concubines who are attending to you when you are ill?"
Empress Wang felt extremely uncomfortable under the questioning gaze. Although she was angry, she could not vent her anger and could only suppress her grievances and say, "Your Majesty, I had a nightmare just now and was confused for a moment. I did not mean to hurt Consort Liang."
"Is the Empress ill? I find you quite strong!"
Pei Yuanling scoffed coldly, clearly not buying it.
Seeing this, Empress Wang also felt somewhat guilty.
She hadn't expected that she had such strength, almost crushing the person to death.
But seeing Pei Yuanling protecting Chu Qingyin like this, the guilt in her heart turned into bitterness.
Even though she was his wife and had been sick for so long, he brazenly protected another woman right in front of her.
After years of marriage, had he ever considered her feelings?
Pei Yuanling was completely oblivious to Empress Wang's emotions. He lowered his head, wiped the bloodstains from Chu Qingyin's forehead, and gently coaxed her, "Don't be afraid, Yinyin, I'm here."
If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have agreed to let the concubines attend to him when he was ill.
Nestled in the man's arms, Chu Qingyin frowned involuntarily due to the pain in her forehead, her voice tinged with grievance: "Your Majesty, I'm in pain..."
Seeing her like this, Pei Yuanling felt his heart was breaking.
He lowered his eyes, blew two breaths on her forehead with an air of seriousness, and then turned to look at the imperial physician, "How bad is Consort Liang's injury?"