Empress, Can I? [Transmigration + GL] - Chapter 69

A thousand miles away in the imperial capital, Lin Zaifu had just received an urgent secret letter discreetly delivered by the Governor of Yanzhou.

After reading the letter by lamplight, he suddenly slammed it onto the table in anger!

Idiots!

Who is Meng Wan? A trusted confidant of the Emperor! How could she possibly be so easily bribed?

Perhaps she’s merely biding her time on the surface while secretly gathering evidence of crimes, waiting to strike them all down in one fell swoop!

Sending people disguised as bandits to kill the imperial envoy—not only did they fail, but the leader escaped!

Useless! A bunch of useless fools!

And that girl collecting petitions in Yunzhou—who could she be?

Wearing a mask, her accent not local, casually handing out a thousand taels in silver notes.

Who could she be?

Years of holding high office had given him an extraordinary sensitivity beyond ordinary people. His intuition told him that this girl was the key figure who must not be overlooked.

Lin Zaifu frowned, staring into the distant darkness, his gaze growing profound. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, his expression changed dramatically.

Could it be…?!

*

“Your Majesty, it’s time to rest,” Xiao Rong gently reminded.

In the side hall of Chenyuan Palace, Xiao Yueli finished reviewing the last memorial, set down her brush, and looked up. “What time is it?”

“Your Majesty, it’s already the hour of Hai.”

Xiao Yueli nodded and rose to return to her bedchamber.

Xiao Rong said, “Your Majesty, let this servant assist you with your bath.”

Xiao Yueli gave a soft hum, lowering her head to touch the openwork gold sachet at her waist. As she disliked incense, the scent pouch inside contained no fragrance at all.

Since the day of the divine selection when she first wore it, she had never taken it off.

To her, some things, once worn, would never be removed in this lifetime.

She remembered Xuan Jingchi later telling her, “Yueli, do you know why I gave this to you? I saw this in a museum while traveling. A museum—well, think of it as a place that displays ancient treasures from previous dynasties for people to see.”

“Among all those treasures, this was the one that caught my eye immediately!”

“It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Haha, I never thought one day I’d actually own it!”

“I’m giving it to you! I don’t know what you like, so I’m giving you the thing I love most!”

Xiao Yueli suddenly said, “It’s been thirty-seven days since Her Majesty left the palace.”

Xiao Rong smiled. “Your Majesty’s memory is excellent. Her Majesty departed on the fifth day of last month—exactly thirty-seven days today.”

After her bath, Xiao Yueli returned to her bedchamber and dismissed all the attendants.

The vast bedchamber fell silent. Though candles illuminated the room brightly and their warm light flickered gently in the breeze, she still felt a faint chill of loneliness.

With this person gone, the world had suddenly become so quiet.

No one spoke those shameless words, no one provoked her anger, no one made her laugh, and no one gazed at her with tender, affectionate eyes while softly calling her name.

She suddenly felt a pang of loneliness.

Back when she was still an unmarried maiden confined to the inner chambers, she had never felt this way despite spending long periods alone at home.

The candlelight cast its glow upon Xiao Yueli’s refined and ethereal beauty, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyes. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

After a long while, she sighed and lay down on the bed, gazing at the canopy above as she murmured, “Jingchi, are you doing well out there?”

*

The next day, Prime Minister Lin Zaifu suddenly submitted a memorial. He claimed to have heard that Her Majesty had fallen ill and was bedridden. As a loyal minister, he was deeply concerned and had specially recommended a renowned physician to examine the emperor.

Upon reading the memorial, Xiao Yueli’s delicate brows arched slightly. She understood—Lin Zaifu had grown suspicious.

He suspected the emperor was not in the palace.

What worried Xiao Yueli was that something must have happened to alert Lin Zaifu and prompt such suspicions.

Her Majesty was currently in Yanzhou—undoubtedly, something had occurred there…

“Prime Minister Lin wishes to recommend a physician to treat Her Majesty. What do you all think?”

Xiao Yueli smiled as she looked at Chenxiang, Nuanxiang, Xiao Rong, and Xiao Fu by her side.

Xiao Fu was the first to speak: “Aren’t there imperial physicians in the palace? Why go through the trouble of bringing in an outsider?”

Xiao Yueli replied, “Since it’s Prime Minister Lin’s recommendation, the physician must possess exceptional medical skills.”

“Your Majesty, you mustn’t let him enter the palace!” Xiao Fu grew anxious.

Xiao Yueli gave a faint smile. “Why not?”

“Your Majesty?” Xiao Fu blinked, seeing the empress looking at her with an expression reserved for fools. “Her Majesty isn’t here—who would the physician examine?!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Xiao Yueli asked leisurely, watching them.

Nuanxiang and Xiao Rong exchanged glances, their faces showing worry and urgency. When Xiao Yueli turned to them, Xiao Rong said, “Your Majesty, Xiao Fu is right. We shouldn’t allow that physician to come. Otherwise, Her Majesty’s absence will be exposed.”

Nuanxiang nodded in agreement. “We need to find a plausible excuse.”

Seeing that both Xiao Rong and Nuanxiang supported her, Xiao Fu lifted her chin proudly. Today, she had finally outsmarted everyone else for once.

Noticing Chenxiang’s silence, Xiao Yueli asked, “Chenxiang, what do you think?”

Chenxiang hesitated before speaking. “Your Majesty, this servant believes that refusing would only deepen Prime Minister Lin’s suspicions. It might even put Her Majesty in greater danger outside the palace. Perhaps it would be better to allow the physician to come.”

Xiao Yueli observed her, thinking to herself: Chenxiang, who often assisted Her Majesty with external affairs and attended to him in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, indeed had a more far-sighted perspective.

Xiao Fu widened her eyes. “Sister Chenxiang, where would we find Her Majesty if the physician comes? Even if Her Majesty rushed back on horseback now, it would be too late.”

Chenxiang faltered. “Well…”

Xiao Yueli chuckled. “In that case, we’ll simply have to find someone to impersonate Her Majesty.”

She looked at Chenxiang and smiled. “I recall that whenever Her Majesty eats golden fruit, his cheeks swell up, becoming unrecognizable, and the swelling takes a long time to subside.”

At first, Chenxiang and Nuanxiang didn’t understand why the empress had suddenly brought this up. But after exchanging a glance, they immediately grasped her intention and nodded in unison. “Yes, that’s absolutely true.”

Chenxiang bowed. “The moment Her Majesty consumes anything made from that fruit, the swelling persists for months before fully disappearing.”

Xiao Yueli looked at her with approval in her eyes.

Seeing their coordinated act, Xiao Rong quickly understood as well, silently admiring how clever her mistress was.

“Does Her Majesty have this condition?” Xiao Fu quietly asked Nuanxiang as Xiao Yueli went to the side hall. “Sister Nuanxiang, how come I’ve never heard of it?”

Nuanxiang shook her head and smiled. “You never asked, so I forgot to mention it.”

“Oh, I see,” Xiao Fu nodded, still kindly reminding, “Then we must be careful. When Her Majesty returns, we mustn’t give her golden fruits.”

Chenxiang, Nuanxiang, and Xiao Rong: “…”

The next day, the physician recommended by Prime Minister Lin entered the palace. Upon seeing the woman on the bed with a head swollen larger than a pig’s, he was startled.

The Empress sighed. “This is precisely why Her Majesty refuses to hold court and has to claim an odd illness to the outside world. Please, after you leave, help conceal this matter for Her Majesty. Surely, you understand how important appearance is to a woman.”

The physician repeatedly assured, “Yes, yes, Your Majesty need not worry. This humble physician understands.”

After taking the Emperor’s pulse, he prescribed a topical remedy for swelling. “Your Majesty need not worry. Apply this ointment morning and night. At best, within half a month; at worst, a little over a month, Her Majesty’s imperial countenance will be restored to its youthful beauty.”

The Empress nodded in gratitude, her demeanor dignified and graceful, her smile gentle and generous. Not only did she reward the physician handsomely, but she also had Nuanxiang personally escort him out of the palace.

After the physician left, Xiao Yueli’s smile faded. “Chenxiang, you may rise now. Quickly take the antidote Imperial Physician Liu gave you. If you really swell up like this, Her Majesty will blame me when she returns.”

Chenxiang climbed out of bed with a face resembling a pig’s head, her swollen lips like sausages, mumbling indistinctly, “Your Majesty need not worry. Imperial Physician Liu’s medicine always works quickly—swells fast, subsides fast.”

Upon hearing the physician’s explanation that the Emperor couldn’t hold court because she had accidentally consumed something that disfigured her, Lin Zaifu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought to himself, Xuan Jingchi, who was exceptionally beautiful and vain, would rather die than appear in court with a pig-like face to be mocked by the officials.

But then, if the masked girl in Yanzhou who accepted the petition wasn’t Xuan Jingchi, who could it be?

Xuan Jingning? Shangguan Wei? No, they were currently fighting Shao Kingdom in the south.

Who could it be?

Lin Zaifu’s gaze suddenly turned icy. Whoever it was, this masked girl must disappear!