The Fearless Empress - Chapter 15

The young Empress lay curled up on the dragon bed, her face pale and her eyes sunken, making them appear unusually large. Her soft, dark hair fell gently beside her neck as she stared wide-eyed at Cheng Sangyi across from her.

She was puzzled. “We had an agreement. Why are you going back on your word?”

The newly awakened Empress was disoriented. A plate of pastries had sent her on a near-death journey to the underworld. When the poison took effect, the pain was so intense she almost believed she was dying.

Repaying a favor was far too difficult. She wanted to go home.

The young Empress wore a mournful expression, her body weak and limp. Despite this, she did not forget to glare fiercely at the female Emperor, who had stayed up all night.

With the Empress occupying the bed, Cheng Sangyi had no choice but to sit on a stool. Her profile could not conceal her cold demeanor, yet she felt unnerved under the Empress’s gaze and could only speak honestly: “I did not intend to kill you. The pastries were meant for me.”

The young Empress hugged the soft quilt, thought for a moment, and then mocked her: “Your bedchamber is truly remarkable haunted, even. Why don’t you move to the Pepper Room Hall and live with me?”

Cheng Sangyi remained silent, her long, thick eyelashes trembling slightly. “I will give you an explanation.”

“That won’t be necessary. I can’t run away, but you won’t be able to clean this up thoroughly. You’ll be next.” The young Empress’s eyes flickered with unease as she spoke slowly, “Think it through yourself.”

Indeed, explanations could wait. If the matter wasn’t resolved completely, such incidents would surely recur.

The previously guilt-ridden Emperor suddenly looked up, meeting Gu Chuyun’s gaze, momentarily at a loss for words.

Just then, a court lady brought in the antidote broth, breaking the awkward silence.

The young Empress boldly took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, her face contorting into a pained expression from the bitterness.

The court lady reached out to take the empty bowl, but before she could step back, the Empress spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, staining the bowl crimson.

A pair of hands pushed the court lady aside and instinctively embraced the Empress’s body. The Emperor’s face turned deathly pale as she ordered, “Summon the imperial physician!”

The stunned court lady snapped back to reality, dropped the bowl, and hurried off to fetch help.

Gu Chuyun clutched the quilt beneath her, cold sweat beading on her forehead from the pain. Cheng Sangyi suddenly grew frantic, gripping her waist so tightly her fingertips turned white. “Gu Chuyun, Gu Chuyun, Gu Chuyun!”

The imperial physician rushed in almost immediately. A brand-new quilt was now splattered with blood, and he dared not delay, quickly stepping forward to check her pulse.

Cheng Sangyi’s anxious heart finally eased slightly. “How did you administer the medicine? A perfectly healthy person is now on the brink of death because of your treatment.”

The physician was terrified, his face ashen, but he dared not speak.

“Her Highness may not be suited for this medication,” the physician stammered, both panicked and fearful. The prescription had been developed by so many experts, it shouldn’t have caused such a severe reaction.

He then asked the Empress, “Your Highness, are you allergic to any particular ingredient or medicine.”

The young Empress lay nestled in Cheng Sangyi’s arms, her face drenched in sweat, strands of hair clinging messily to her temples. Her pale lips moved slightly as she whispered, “I don’t know.”

How could she possibly know? This body was far too weak. She nearly died from poisoned pastries, and now she was vomiting blood from medicine.

Cheng Sangyi’s expression darkened, and she grew more convinced of Gu Chuyun’s amnesia. Frowning, she commanded, “Bring the Empress’s maids here. Ask them if she has any adverse reactions to specific medicines.”

In the midst of her orders, the person in her arms closed her eyes. Cheng Sangyi felt an inexplicable surge of panic. “Why didn’t any of you ask about this before administering the medicine?”

“Your Majesty, it’s rare for anyone to.”

“It’s your fault,” Cheng Sangyi interrupted him, unwilling to listen to their excuses. “What are you standing there for? Hurry and save her!”

The imperial physician, having been shouted at, quickly retreated.

A palace maid stepped forward to remove the bloodstained quilt and, noticing the emperor’s presence, reminded her, “Your Majesty, Her Highness needs a change of clothes.”

She had just vomited blood, staining the brocade quilt and her sleeping garments, which could no longer be used.

Cheng Sangyi frowned slightly. “You change them.”

The palace maid glanced at the empress, feeling both flustered and uncertain. She exchanged a look with her companion, who said, “Your Majesty, could you help lift Her Highness’s body?”

Her body?

Cheng Sangyi recoiled as if she had seen a ghost, a complex expression flickering in her eyes.

The palace maids noticed the empress’s disgust. After exchanging another glance, they stepped forward to handle it themselves.

Just as the maid’s hand touched Gu Yunzhu’s shoulder, Cheng Sangyi’s eyes flashed with deeper revulsion. The maids serving in close quarters did no rough work their hands were fair and delicate.

Even so, those hands could not compare to the softness of Gu Yunzhu’s cheeks.

Almost instinctively, Cheng Sangyi brushed the maid aside and said, “Don’t touch her.”

The palace maids were already terrified by the severity of the situation. Startled by the sudden reprimand, they knelt in fear, pleading, “Your Majesty, spare us!”

After her outburst, Cheng Sangyi felt a pang of regret. Whether out of guilt or something else, the memory of that intimate night resurfaced in her mind.

“Leave. I will change the empress’s clothes myself,” she said, unsure what had compelled her to utter such words, so unlike her status.

The palace maids scurried out as if granted a pardon.

The hall fell into sudden silence. Cheng Sangyi stood stiffly to the side, frowning and at a loss.

Just then, the imperial physician returned with a medicine box, requesting permission to perform acupuncture.

Cheng Sangyi stepped forward, lifted the figure from under the quilt, and signaled for the physician to proceed.

Intimidated by the empress’s presence, the physician trembled nervously as he prepared the needles.

Already uneasy, Cheng Sangyi grew displeased at the sight. “If you don’t know how, fetch the head physician instead.”

The physician hastily withdrew the needles and fled in panic.

The head physician, Lu Zhining, hurried in and immediately saw the empress supporting Empress Gu. The young empress lay limp and boneless in Cheng Sangyi’s arms, while Cheng Sangyi’s face remained cold and stern.

Lu Zhining, a woman nearing forty, had been a folk doctor before Cheng Sangyi exceptionally brought her into the palace. With the palace mostly populated by women, a female physician was naturally more suitable.

Frowning, Lu Zhining looked at the woman in the empress’s arms and murmured, “I never expected Her Highness to wake up.”

The poisoning had been severe the day before, and it was a miracle the empress had survived, an event worthy of medical records.

The empress did not care for pastries. When they were served, she would only take one piece. A single pastry contained a mild dose of poison, but the young empress had eaten nearly an entire platter, causing her to succumb immediately. The perpetrator had calculated the empress’s habits, intending a slow approach, but they had not anticipated the empress’s fondness for pastries.

The plot was exposed instantly.

In just one day, the young empress had grown noticeably thinner. Her once-plump cheeks were now sallow, her eyes sunken, and she had lost her usual vitality.

Mentioning it only deepened the gloom on Cheng Sangyi’s face.

“Don’t mock me,” she said.

Lu Zhining opened her acupuncture case and cautiously explained, “There is still poison in Her Highness’s system that needs to be gradually expelled. It’s just that the empress’s constitution is rather peculiar to have endured such a vicious toxin is remarkable.”

Cheng Sangyi did not respond. Through the thin fabric of the nightgown, her fingers brushed against the soft flesh at the queen’s waist. She wanted to withdraw her hand, but the young girl leaned against her, making her the girl’s greatest support.

She could not pull away.

For some reason, her palm gradually grew warmer.

Imperial Physician Lu stepped forward to administer the acupuncture. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the empress’s flushed cheeks and couldn’t help but let a smile curl at the corners of her lips.

“What are you smiling at?” Cheng Sangyi asked, utterly exasperated.

“I’m smiling because Your Majesty is so flustered just from touching your own queen,” Imperial Physician Lu replied bluntly.

Cheng Sangyi was left speechless.

Imperial Physician Lu worked swiftly, finishing the acupuncture in no time. As she put away the needles, she added, “Her clothes should be changed.”

The front of the nightgown was stained with blood.

The empress, known for her fastidiousness, had actually endured it.

She continued, “Her Highness will be fine. Vomiting the stagnant blood was actually a good sign. Your Majesty need not worry. However, Her Highness’s constitution is unlike that of ordinary people. Your Majesty must cherish her.”

Gu Yunzhu’s body was truly a treasure even such a potent poison had failed to kill her. It was remarkable.

Cheng Sangyi remained silent, her brows like pristine snow on a mountain peak, her eyes cold as frost. Her expression carried a hint of ruthlessness. She understood the lethality of this poison better than anyone.

The poison was Qianji. Those who ingested it rarely survived.

In her previous life, she herself had died from consuming Qianji.

The agony of the poison’s onset was unbearable, a searing pain as if a knife were twisting in her abdomen. The helplessness she had felt then still haunted her, a memory she found terrifying even now.

Yet Gu Yunzhu had survived. Cheng Sangyi lowered her gaze to the girl in her arms, whose eyes were tightly shut, and a cold smile tugged at her lips. “The physician is right. She is a treasure.”

“In that case, it’s understandable that certain medicines should not be taken lightly. I will record the details after questioning the palace maids attending Her Highness,” Imperial Physician Lu said tactfully before packing her medical kit and withdrawing.

Cheng Sangyi laid the person in her arms down, her eyes falling on the fresh nightgown meant for changing. She frowned slightly, reached for the garment, and placed it at the foot of the bed.

The nightgown had just been brought from the Pepper Chamber Palace by the palace attendants, tailored to fit the queen’s figure perfectly.

Cheng Sangyi grew increasingly restless, her gaze cold as she lifted the brocade quilt. Her eyes lingered on the queen, and she reached out to untie the silk sash at her waist.

Once the sash was loosened, Cheng Sangyi froze. Before her eyes was a slender, snow-white waist and an exceptionally flat abdomen.

She was stunned. The luminous fairness of the skin reminded her once again of that night, and she instinctively covered the queen with the quilt again.

Having been reborn into this life, she found herself unsettled by a fifteen-year-old girl.

Cheng Sangyi took a deep breath, forcing down the surge of embarrassment rising in her chest. Her fingers clenched until they ached, and the commanding presence she wielded in the court seemed to vanish.

She regretted it. She didn’t want to stay a moment longer.

The girl’s pale face was etched with weakness, looking utterly pitiful after her brush with death.

Cheng Sangyi took another deep breath, her expression shifting between pale and flushed. After a moment of hesitation, she finally lifted the quilt again and removed the nightgown.

Beneath the nightgown, the skin was fair and smooth, a testament to the girl’s privileged upbringing and exquisite care.

Cheng Sangyi acted as if she saw nothing, supporting the slender shoulders with both hands, her palms brushing against the girl’s delicate skin.

The chamber was warm, with a charcoal brazier burning brightly near the bed. Cheng Sangyi was drenched in sweat from the heat, her palms slick with moisture.

As she lifted the girl’s shoulders, the girl’s head rested naturally against her own shoulder. Strands of hair brushed lightly against her cheek, sending faint shivers through her.

Cheng Sangyi furrowed her brow, thinking that once the person woke up, she would immediately send them away to avoid the annoyance.

Though she thought so, she still had to change her clothes, and there was no one to help her!

Carefully, she removed the soiled garment, panting heavily from the exertion.

Changing a single piece of clothing felt more exhausting than riding ten laps outside on horseback. An emperor of a dynasty, reduced to such humility.

With the old clothes gone, she still needed to put on fresh ones.

After tossing the garment onto the footrest, she stared in disbelief at the sleeping robe just two arm’s lengths away.

They were at the head of the bed, while the clothes lay at the foot!

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