Chapter 344.1: Rising Suspicion
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S T E L L A R C L O U D
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T H E S U N
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The servants at Huaqing Palace did not have the courage to let Qin Chuyu eat anything randomly.
Empress Xiao looked at the Emperor, who looked more unaware of the situation than she was. It didn't seem like he was the one who gave Qin Chuyu the food.
That only left one person.
Empress Xiao bit her lip and didn't say anything. She walked over to the bed and silently held her son, who was tortured by stomach pain, in her arms.
The Emperor pinched his sore eyebrows and sighed helplessly.
By the time the Emperor returned to Huaqing Palace, it was already very late. Qin Chuyu had tossed and turned in Empress Xiao's arms for half the night before falling asleep. Even in his sleep, he muttered about not wanting to be punished by his imperial father and how he knew he was wrong.
Empress Xiao was heartbroken and tears streamed down her face.
"Your Majesty, watch your step." Eunuch Wei said while holding a lantern.
The Emperor's footsteps paused for a moment, then lifted again as he ascended the steps.
At the end of the corridor stood a slender figure. It wasn't until he approached that he recognized it was Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing. He said, "It's so late. Why isn't imperial concubine mother resting?"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing held a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, her eyes revealing a hint of worry. "I heard Little Seven was sick."
The Emperor nodded, "Ah, he ate too much at night and upset his stomach. He's fine now."
"It’s my fault." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing said as she squeezed the beads and closed her eyes. "If I had known he ate so much at night, I wouldn't have given him snacks and sour plum juice."
The Emperor let out a sigh as he said, "Don't blame yourself, imperial concubine mother. You didn't know what he had for dinner. This child has a sweet tooth and always wants to eat more, which is why he's so chubby."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing looked at him and said, "Then I'll pay more attention in the future."
Her eyes were full of guilt. Even though the Emperor was a bit angry at first, now he only felt sorry for her. He didn't bring her back to the palace to make her suffer.
She was his own imperial concubine mother, and Qin Chuyu was her grandson. What was wrong with giving her grandson a few bites to eat?
It couldn't be that she intentionally wanted to harm him, right? It was just that she loved him too much.
The Emperor said, "Imperial concubine mother hasn’t yet fully recovered from her injuries. It's better for you to go back and rest early. When Little Seven gets better, Zhen will let him come to pay his respects to you."
"All right." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing nodded.
The Emperor went back to the imperial study to review the memorandums for a while before resting.
Perhaps due to too many worries, he didn't sleep well that night. In a daze, he felt like someone was pushing open his door.
His eyelids felt heavy, and he couldn't open them. He tried to call for a palace maid, but he found that he couldn't make a sound.
He tried to sit up, but his body felt powerless, as if he was frozen.
He used all his strength, but he could only barely open a small gap in his eyes. He saw that a person was slowly walking towards him.
Because he was unable to move, he felt like a fish on a chopping board. The person's approach made him uneasy and he felt in danger.
As the person got closer, he saw that they were holding a dagger in their hand.
The cold light of the dagger pierced his eyes.
Who are you?
He desperately tried to ask, but his throat was completely numb.
He felt a wave of panic in his heart.
Finally, the person sat down beside his bed and raised the dagger high, stabbing it fiercely towards his heart!
At that moment, he saw the face of the other person clearly.
"Imperial concubine mother——"
With a scream, the Emperor woke up from his nightmare.
His whole body was soaked in cold sweat, with large drops of sweat falling from his forehead. His heartbeat was rapid, his breathing was irregular, and his eyes still showed the fear from the nightmare.
Eunuch Wei got up from the couch nearby and walked over to the Emperor's side. Lifting the bright yellow curtain, he asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, is something the matter?"
He was frightened by the look on the Emperor's face.
He quickly hung the curtain on the hook, adjusted the wick of the candlestick to make it brighter, and returned to the bed to ask, "Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?"
The Emperor sat up, panting heavily. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said, "Zhen is fine, it was just a nightmare."
He had dreamt that his Imperial Concubine Mother Jing was coming to kill him, which was simply absurd.
It was said that one would have thoughts during the day and dreams during the night. Was it because the recent events made him dissatisfied with Imperial Concubine Mother Jing or did he harbor some other suspicions against her?
If that was the case, then he was a jerk.
Anyone in the world could harm him, except for his Imperial Concubine Mother Jing.
Eunuch Wei said with great concern, "Your Majesty has been busy with state affairs recently, and there are many matters going on in the harem. It seems that the pressure is too great. State affairs cannot be completed in a day. Your Majesty must take care of yourself. This servant does not know how many years this servant can accompany Your Majesty. Your Majesty must cherish yourself."
The Emperor responded irritably, "How old are you? Why can't you accompany Zhen for a few more years? Even that fellow surnamed Qin didn't say he couldn't accompany the Empress Dowager for a few more years!"
The Emperor was a sentimental person. Eunuch Wei had followed him during his most difficult times, and he remembered his loyalty deeply.
Eunuch Wei smiled and said, "Yes."
But in his heart, he thought, you often mention the Empress Dowager nowadays.
The nightmare had left the Emperor sleepless, and he was too lazy to go to the imperial study, so he had Eunuch Wei bring the documents to his bedchamber to review.
Eunuch Wei brought two clever young eunuchs to bring the documents and placed them on the desk, then he lit a lamp for the Emperor.
The Emperor took a bath and changed into dry clothes. He sat at the desk and began reviewing the documents.
"You can go back to sleep." The Emperor said to Eunuch Wei.
Eunuch Wei wasn’t as old as Eunuch Qin, but he was still a few years older than the Emperor. After the Emperor heard his words earlier, he couldn’t help but worry that if he continued like this, he would really wear down his body.
How could Eunuch Wei not understand the Emperor's intentions? He said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this servant just said that casually. Please don't take it to heart. This servant is fine and isn’t sleepy right now."
The Emperor knew that even if he forcibly sent him to sleep, he would not be able to sleep well, so he no longer insisted.
After reviewing several memorandums, the fear brought on by the nightmare had dissipated somewhat, but he still couldn't sleep. So he continued reviewing more documents.
……
After the heavy rain, the number of patients increased again, and the medical hall became busy again. Gu Jiao had to make two house visits, which were both located on the same street.
When she left the first patient's house and went to the second, she passed by a chess club.
Normally, a chess club was a relatively quiet place, but this one was particularly lively today, with people crowded inside and outside. From time to time, sounds of gasping could also be heard.
Gu Jiao looked at it strangely, but because her patient was still waiting, she didn't go in.
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