Sleeping Soundly in Her Bed - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Assassination and Allurement

The sky after the rain was as clear as if it had been washed, and everything remained as it was, yet Rachel had fallen completely ill.

After being brought back by Jiang Zhishui that night, she never returned to her own nest. Instead, she moved into Jiang Zhishui’s private courtyard. Jiang Zhishui seemed to have fully pardoned Rachel’s transgressions, and the servants who had been scouring the manor for her gradually stood down.

Rachel had attempted to resist Jiang Zhishui’s control, but it was ultimately futile. Now, the entire bird was listless and sickly; even drinking water and eating required Jiang Zhishui’s personal care.

She never imagined that this envoy from the East would watch over her day and night, as if she, this golden peacock, were the most precious treasure in the world.

At this moment, Jiang Zhishui sat beside her handling the manor’s affairs. In her daze, Rachel seemed to catch a glimpse of letter paper sent from the Eastern homeland.

Whenever Jiang Zhishui processed her work, she would occasionally reach out to gently stroke Rachel’s dizzy head. Her movements were extremely tender, her voice soft and low, yet Rachel would still instinctively flinch.

She could not forget the cold orders Jiang Zhishui had issued on the night of her escape. She felt the person before her was a female demon who could kill without blinking; her own survival thus far was merely a stroke of luck.

Just why?

Could it be that my charm is so great that even as a peacock, I can drive people to distraction?

“Have those doctors all been invited?”

Jiang Zhishui suddenly spoke, her voice cool.

Behind her, Mu Yanshan bowed and nodded: “They are all waiting in the drawing room.”

Rachel lifted her head groggily, “Chirp?”

“Don’t be afraid, little bird,” Jiang Zhishui scooped her into her arms and walked toward the drawing room. “I have invited famous doctors for you. If they prove useless, I shall personally refine an elixir for you.”

Rachel: “Chirp chirp chirp?”

Refining elixirs? Like those little pills she fed me before? Jiang Zhishui makes them herself?

“Be good.”

Jiang Zhishui carried her into the drawing room. A crowd of doctors had already gathered there, all holding invitations issued by Jiang Zhishui. Before Rachel even got close, she could hear them whispering.

“Mr. Brunton? To think Miss Jiang even invited you—it must have taken quite some effort.”

“This lady sent invitations to every family with a title. Do you see anyone who dared not to come?”

“Then the people from the Palace…”

“They have naturally arrived as well.”

Though groggy, Rachel was still able to capture key information from the conversation—for her sake, Jiang Zhishui had actually sent letters to every prominent family to invite their private physicians.

Private doctors of the nobility were rarely lent out; even if they were persuaded, it would cost staggering wealth and social capital. Jiang Zhishui was willing to go to this extent for her?

Rachel couldn’t help but re-evaluate her weight in Jiang Zhishui’s heart. What was the reason this Eastern envoy valued her so much? Simply because she was a golden peacock?

Before this, she had never heard that Jiang Zhishui liked peacocks. If she had known, she wouldn’t have worried about how to entertain this envoy back then.

At most, she would have just gifted her an entire peacock garden.

“Chirp chirp chirp…”

Jiang Zhishui, do you truly like me this much?

The peacock looked up, her dazed gaze crashing into Jiang Zhishui’s eyes. She discovered that the way Jiang Zhishui looked at her was incredibly tender—almost as if she were looking at a beloved wife or a most pampered child!

Rachel: “!!!”

She felt as if she had glimpsed a secret.

It turned out… her weight in Jiang Zhishui’s heart really was that heavy!

Jiang Zhishui was actually a “pet person”!

“Miss Jiang has arrived.”

The gilded wooden doors opened slowly and silently against the velvet carpet, yet they instantly drew the attention of every doctor.

The crowd rose one after another, bowing to Jiang Zhishui, but their eyes involuntarily landed on Rachel in her arms.

A collective gasp filled the room.

“This… is this really a golden peacock?”

They had only heard that a peacock in the Eastern Envoy’s manor was ill, but they never expected it to be a golden peacock. The looks they cast at Jiang Zhishui became tinged with a certain strangeness.

Everyone knew the late princess’s title was the Golden Peacock. By keeping a golden peacock in her manor, was Jiang Zhishui planning to go against the King?

“Gentlemen,” Jiang Zhishui spoke flatly. “My little bird is afraid of the cold. I must trouble you to diagnose and treat her quickly.”

She gently placed Rachel onto a pre-prepared velvet cushion. The cushion was warm, though it was unclear what preparations had been made to keep it so.

Rachel fell from Jiang Zhishui’s warm embrace into another warm nest; far from feeling uncomfortable, she actually let out a few satisfied hums.

Come then, examine me. I want to see just how capable these doctors are to make Jiang Zhishui invite them personally.

The doctors looked at each other, momentarily unsure if they should treat this golden peacock. If the King found out they had saved Jiang Zhishui’s golden peacock, it might implicate their families.

“Gentlemen?” Jiang Zhishui scanned them indifferently, her gaze cool. “The ones who came to the door with invitations were you.”

Since they had accepted the invitations, it proved their families intended to stay on good terms with Jiang Zhishui. To shrink back now—did they wish to anger the Eastern Envoy?

Several doctors felt their wigs becoming soaked with cold sweat.

Finally, someone plucked up the courage to speak: “This… Miss Jiang, we are doctors who treat people, not veterinarians. We fear we cannot cure your peacock.”

“Miss Jiang, please forgive our meager knowledge…”

Watching these doctors dodge responsibility one by one, Rachel couldn’t help but feel angry. They had all accepted the invitations, so why act innocent now? Wanting the benefits without the risk—did they really think she was easy to bully?

Thus, Rachel suddenly bolted up, engaging in a “verbal” battle against the scholars: “Chirp chirp chirp!”

You’re all thousand-year-old foxes, so stop playing pure! Hurry up and report your family names so this Princess can turn your houses upside down! You call yourselves nobles? Would a normal noble act like this? You’ve practically thrown the Empire’s face all the way to the East!

No one could understand her long string of chirps. The doctors only felt awkward, while only Jiang Zhishui turned her head away, her shoulders shaking slightly as if she were stifling a laugh.

Rachel suddenly sensed something was off.

“If you truly cannot treat my bird, then please leave,” Jiang Zhishui’s tone was calm when she turned back. “Shortly, I shall enter the Palace to seek assistance from His Majesty the King.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the doctors’ expressions changed drastically. They scrambled forward, wanting to observe Rachel.

“We can, we can! We can perform a diagnosis first!”

What a joke! If Jiang Zhishui truly went to see the King, their lives might be forfeit; they’d be standing on the gallows by tomorrow.

Although this Eastern envoy had always remained neutral, even the valiant old King had been respectful to Miss Jiang, let alone the new King.

It was said that this King and Miss Jiang had once been allies…

Watching the doctors crowd toward her, Rachel leaned back in distaste. She wanted to jump out of the nest, but her limbs were weak; she could only watch as the group approached.

The perfumes they wore, mixed with various spices and sweat, created a stench. Rachel even caught a whiff of something musky—it was utterly disgusting.

“Chirp chirp chirp!!!”

Why didn’t I realize these doctors were so filthy before?

Perhaps the peacock’s sense of smell was too acute; Rachel was made dizzy by the fumes. Those hands reaching toward her felt like tentacles from hell, twisting her stomach into knots.

Help…

I don’t want to be touched by these stinking doctors! They look like they have bad intentions! Jiang Zhishui, save me!

Rachel turned to look at Jiang Zhishui. This was the first time she had ever pleaded with someone like this, yet she found that Jiang Zhishui didn’t seem to be paying attention at all; she was looking down, reading a piece of parchment in her hand.

Jiang Zhishui…

Those disgusting hands were already nearing Rachel’s neck. She suddenly remembered the common treatments these doctors used—if it wasn’t bloodletting, it was injecting strange things into the body.

She closed her eyes in despair.

The moment before a doctor was about to touch Rachel, a cold female voice tore through the gloom: “Wait. Gentlemen, did I give you permission to touch the bird?”

Rachel opened her eyes to find she had fallen into a warm, dry embrace. Jiang Zhishui held her, spinning gracefully to distance her from the doctors.

The doctors looked at each other, confused by the envoy’s sudden change in tune. They asked in bewilderment: “Miss Jiang, if you won’t let us examine her, how can we treat her?”

Jiang Zhishui looked at them coldly: “If you gentlemen lack even this much skill, I fear your degrees were purchased.”

“Miss Jiang, you cannot slander us! This is a matter for the courts!”

In this era, a doctor’s degree was the one thing that could not be questioned. A single certificate could ensure a family was fed and clothed for a lifetime. If questioned as a forgery, the person would be ruined and might even face the gallows for fraud.

“Then prove it to Her Ladyship!”

Mu Yanshan blocked the doctors. Once they saw the silver blade at her waist, they instantly calmed down, stammering and unsure of what to do.

Not allowed to examine, yet expected to cure—where was the logic in that?

While everyone was silent, a blond-haired, blue-eyed old doctor stepped forward, saying resolutely: “I will do it.”

The other doctors cast admiring glances. Jiang Zhishui also raised an eyebrow, placing Rachel back into the nest. Her narrow, sharp brows were fixed intently on the old doctor.

The old doctor stepped forward. Rachel, seeing no ill intent and noting his kind face, did not resist. Just as everyone was staring at Rachel, the old doctor’s right hand flipped, and he pulled a gem-encrusted dagger from his lace sleeve, lunging straight at Rachel!

“Chirp chirp chirp!”

“Protect Lord Peacock!!!”

The room fell into chaos. Jiang Zhishui reacted with lightning speed, pulling Rachel into her arms and delivering a flying kick that sent the old doctor crashing into the wall.

Maids quickly converged, separating the old doctor from Jiang Zhishui. Mu Yanshan drew her long sword, the tip pointing directly at the old doctor’s nose.

“Who sent you?!”

The old doctor actually let out a loud laugh, then bled from his eyes, nose, and mouth, dying on the spot. The surrounding doctors screamed in terror. Fortunately, Jiang Zhishui was there to barely maintain order.

“Gentlemen, listen to me,” Jiang Zhishui’s voice carried the unique authority of a ruler, instantly calming the doctors. “I shall have you escorted safely back to your residences. As for today’s matter, it will not be settled easily!”

The doctors’ faces turned pale.

They were all sent by various nobles; on the surface, they belonged to the nobility, but in reality, they had long since submitted to the King. If a rift between the King and Jiang Zhishui were caused because of them, they would be in serious trouble.

But under Mu Yanshan’s watch, no one dared to speak. Under the well-trained guidance of the maids, they left the manor. The old doctor’s body was also dragged out.

From beginning to end, Rachel watched this scene coldly.

She was the most favored princess of the Empire, so she naturally felt no fear. That old doctor had been suspicious from the start; she didn’t believe Jiang Zhishui hadn’t noticed.

Once the crowd dispersed, Jiang Zhishui carried Rachel back to her own courtyard. Mu Yanshan followed behind, asking softly: “What is Your Ladyship’s intention with this move?”

“Someone is using the King’s name to anger me,” Jiang Zhishui’s tone was cold. “For what reason?”

The peacock in her arms was still burning with fever, and Jiang Zhishui’s mood wasn’t great. Mu Yanshan lowered her head.

“To cause a rift between you and the King.”

“As long as you know. Investigate using the clues from that doctor. He knows the whereabouts of the First Prince.”

Mu Yanshan and Rachel both widened their eyes.

W-what? How did this get connected to the Eldest Brother?

Rachel was utterly confused, but Jiang Zhishui offered no explanation. She simply said: “Go and prepare. I am going to open the furnace to refine elixirs.”