The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 44

Worsening Condition

A group of people surrounded Shen Lingyan, busy until the afternoon, but she showed no signs of waking up. In the evening, the warm setting sun scattered across the steps. Dai Sulan sat alone in front of Chaohui Hall, resting her chin in her hand, lost in thought. She gazed at the distant sunset, and when her eyes grew tired, she closed them to rest.

Even with her eyes closed, Dai Sulan remained attentive to the movements within the hall. The hurried footsteps of the imperial physicians still echoed in her ears. Those fetching and decocting herbs moved in an orderly fashion, in and out of the room. Dai Sulan appeared completely spiritless.

How could it suddenly become this serious? Dai Sulan was utterly perplexed. She seemed to have no significant emotional changes, so how did it turn into this? After pondering for a while, she slowly raised her eyes and looked at the few lingering clouds in the sky: “Counting the time, the Regent and the others should have arrived at their destination…”

The originally long journey was shortened drastically by Zhou Jin’s urgent travel. Just as darkness began to fall, the core group of people had arrived, with only a portion of the troops still on the road.

Zhou Jin immediately penned a letter and sent it to the capital as soon as he reached the location. Meanwhile, Shen Lingyan still had not woken up.

Dai Sulan stood by Shen Lingyan’s bedside, holding the medicine with a look of distress. She looked at the unconscious person, truly unsure how to feed the medicine to her. Yet, she was the one who insisted on staying behind to take care of Shen Lingyan, and seeking help now would be too embarrassing.

So, she simply sat by Shen Lingyan’s bed. Unable to bear looking at that pale face any longer, she called for Yun zhu to gently pry open Shen Lingyan’s mouth. She then fed the medicine in spoonfuls. The intensely bitter Chinese medicine seemed to have an unexpected effect. Before Shen Lingyan could swallow, she coughed loudly. Dai Sulan and Yun zhu exchanged glances. They hadn’t expected the imperial physicians’ work all afternoon, which even included acupuncture, to be in vain.

And the reason Shen Lingyan finally woke up was due to the strong stimulus of the bitter medicine. However, before Dai Sulan and Yun zhu could celebrate, they grew worried because Shen Lingyan started coughing immediately after waking up. The coughing was rapid, and as soon as a white handkerchief was offered, it was instantly stained with flecks of blood.

“Your Majesty! Should we call the imperial physician!” Yun zhu could only rely on Dai Sulan as her backbone now, asking her about everything.

Dai Sulan appeared calm, but she was panicking internally. She stood up, walked to the door, and instructed the imperial physicians waiting in the other side halls. Upon hearing the noise, the physicians rushed out and ran towards the main hall. As soon as they entered, they heard Shen Lingyan’s coughing. The elderly imperial physician’s face changed, and he rushed over first to take her pulse.

This time, he didn’t even bother with the symbolic cloth layer, indicating the urgency of the situation. The old physician’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper, eventually sighing. He withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and reported his pulse-reading results: “I repeatedly warned against major emotional fluctuations. Why won’t you listen? The condition has not alleviated at all; instead, it has worsened.”

Dai Sulan nearly stumbled upon hearing this. She racked her brain but couldn’t recall when Shen Lingyan had experienced a major emotional fluctuation.

The old physician turned around and instructed the eunuchs to prepare new medicine, increasing the dosage. By this time, Shen Lingyan had gradually calmed down. She slowly spoke: “I wonder if the Regent and the others have reached their destination.”

Shen Lingyan’s voice was too hoarse. She was completely exhausted from the coughing, weakly leaning against the headboard cabinet. These days, the coughing had left her with headaches and dizziness, and her gaze had become somewhat hazy.

This feeling of discomfort constantly made Shen Lingyan feel like she wouldn’t survive the next moment.

Dai Sulan could see Shen Lingyan’s suffering, but she hadn’t expected that even in this critical moment, Shen Lingyan’s first words upon waking would still be a concern for the Regent. Although this concern also sounded like a concern for state affairs, Dai Sulan felt uneasy.

“Someone just reported that the Regent and his group rushed and have already arrived at the location with a portion of the troops. The remaining people are still on their way there,” Dai Sulan’s reply this time didn’t even include the words “Your Majesty.” She was genuinely upset, looking at the weak Shen Lingyan, yet she couldn’t bring herself to be harsh.

Shen Lingyan’s eyes were somewhat vacant. She glanced outside at the moon that had gradually risen. The moonlight was soft, and some of the sunset’s afterglow hadn’t faded. Her mind, however, was filled with images of Zhou Jin being pestered and played with by some minor princess from an enemy state.

The more Shen Lingyan thought, the angrier she felt, and with anger came the urge to cough again. She quickly stopped the images in her mind, wanting to say something to Dai Sulan to distract herself. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she realized the tearing pain in her throat made her reluctant to speak. Thus, Dai Sulan, seeing her hesitant look, didn’t know what to ask either.

The entire Chaohui Hall was filled with an awkward atmosphere.

“Why did Your Majesty’s emotions fluctuate greatly again? Your condition can’t withstand any more stress,” Yun zhu couldn’t help but ask, seeing that Dai Sulan didn’t. After all, she was the one serving by her side every day. If Shen Lingyan’s mood had changed or fluctuated, she shouldn’t have been unaware.

Shen Lingyan’s mood swings had directly affected her condition, so Yun zhu, as a palace maid, felt she had to inquire.

Shen Lingyan silently recalled her most recent major emotional fluctuation: on the way she ran to see Zhou Jin off, her heart had been constantly churning with emotion. Shen Lingyan had forced herself to hold back her cough then, but the emotional fluctuation was undeniable.

Now, being asked by Yun zhu, Shen Lingyan was hesitant to reveal the true reason. Instead, she smiled and tried to change the subject with another topic. However, as Shen Lingyan opened her mouth, her already pale and cracked lips split open, bleeding and merging with the fresh blood she had just coughed up.

“Your Majesty, please don’t talk anymore. Lie down properly. This servant will bring you a cup of water.” With that, Yun zhu turned to go out and prepare warm tea. Just as she pushed open the main hall door of Chaohui Hall, she bumped into the attendant of the Minister of Rites coming towards her. The attendant breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yun zhu.

He hurriedly and mysteriously pulled Yun zhu aside, while simultaneously taking out a silver ingot from his sleeve, insisting on pressing it into Yun zhu’s hand.

Yun zhu immediately sensed something was wrong. She looked up suspiciously at the attendant: “What are you doing? Don’t harbor any ill intentions!”

What kind of good news could involve bribery? Yun zhu thought.

To her surprise, the attendant shook his head and offered an apologetic smile: “Actually, I’m just afraid the question I’m about to ask will anger you.” The attendant’s words only made Yun zhu more curious about his question. She stood there with her arms crossed, her eyes full of probing suspicion, waiting for him to speak.

“Now, everyone in the palace knows about His Majesty’s illness. People are discussing it widely. Since His Majesty hasn’t held court recently, everyone is wondering if it’s time to prepare for the selection of the next monarch. Does the Ministry of Rites also need to start preparing…” Before the attendant could finish, Yun zhu slammed the silver ingot fiercely onto the ground, her eyes blazing with anger as she glared at him: “You’re all a bunch of ingrates! Has His Majesty ever mistreated you? Simply getting sick causes you all to stab her in the back like this. Fine, is this how much you wish for a change of dynasty?”

Being scolded by Yun zhu, the man also felt embarrassed. He forced a smile, picked up the silver from the ground, and offered it to Yun zhu again, even reaching out to try and soothe her. Unfortunately, Yun zhu turned and walked away directly, not even sparing a glance at the silver: “I’ll put it right here: His Majesty’s condition is not serious, and she may even resume court soon. Dispel all your wicked intentions as soon as possible.”

The attendant was actually relieved to hear Yun zhu say this. After all, who truly wants to change the ruler? A change in monarch might very well stir up another wave of turmoil. With the answer he sought, he could go back and report, but he kept the silver for himself.

Yun zhu seemed to be going to prepare tea, but her thoughts had drifted far away. She stared absent-mindedly at the boiling water, pondering the words the attendant had spoken today. Although his words were crude, the principle behind them was not. She knew best whether Shen Lingyan’s illness was light or severe.

In that case, the matter of the Crown Prince should indeed be considered. But regardless of personal feelings or propriety, she didn’t want to think about this matter. Whether as a palace maid who grew up with Shen Lingyan or as an observer, she hoped Shen Lingyan’s illness would quickly recover, rather than contemplating who should become the emperor.

While still deep in thought, Yun zhu felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up in surprise and met Dai Sulan’s eyes. Dai Sulan looked at Yun zhu’s reaction with amusement and asked playfully: “You said you were coming out for water quite a while ago. Why haven’t you brought the teacup back to the room? His Majesty is already thirsty…”

At this, Yun zhu suddenly remembered what she had come out for. Seeing the kettle of boiling water, she quickly took it down, brewed a pot of tea for Shen Lingyan, placed it on a tray, and carried it back to the main hall.

Yun zhu carefully pushed the door open, only to hear a repressed cough from inside. This caused the tears she had held back for so long to finally roll down. After thinking it over, Yun zhu wiped her tears with her sleeve. It wasn’t as if there was absolutely no solution; she couldn’t cry now and invite misfortune.

So, after drying her tears, Yun zhu put on a smile, carried the tea to Shen Lingyan’s side, gently helped her sit up, and brought the tea to Shen Lingyan’s lips. After Shen Lingyan finished the tea, she set the cup down. Looking at the vacant-eyed Shen Lingyan, everyone’s mood was low, especially Dai Sulan and Yun zhu.

These days, many officials had come to visit, but they merely left their gifts, sat far away, bowed in greeting, and left after a few words of inquiry. Today, someone even came to ask if they should start preparing for the next monarch. This deeply saddened Yun zhu. Another day had passed as darkness fell, but how many more days like this could Shen Lingyan possibly have?

No one knew.