After Discovering The Emperor Was A Woman… - Chapter 14

Not long after Li Nanchu gave the order, several shadow guards leaped out from their hiding places. After saluting the emperor, they turned and sped toward the Imperial Medical Bureau.

In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, the shadow guards reappeared before the emperor, each carrying an imperial physician or female doctor under one arm.

They had moved as swiftly as the wind.

Seeing that they had arrived, Li Nanchu waved aside their greetings and stepped several paces to the side, clearing a path for them.

“Examine her.”

She wanted to know exactly what was wrong with Liu Jiuning.

Could the girl have eaten too many pastries, talked too much, failed to catch her breath, and fainted from being overly full?

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Although the imperial physicians had been carried through the air so quickly that the world was still spinning around them and they were fighting the urge to vomit, they answered in perfect unison.

Once their feet were steady, they hurried in the direction the emperor indicated. They did not forget Li Nanchu’s dislike of people approaching her and carefully maintained as much distance from her as possible.

The physicians quickly surrounded the unconscious Liu Jiuning. Some lifted her eyelids while others checked her pulse, all of them appearing extremely busy.

They were no strangers to the ninth young lady of the Liu family, who had only recently recovered from a grave illness.

After all, when the imperial decree had first been issued, the entire Imperial Medical Bureau had been dispatched to treat her.

Ninth Young Miss Liu had certainly been blessed with extraordinary fortune. Had it been anyone else, she would probably not be lying inside the imperial palace now, but resting permanently in some scenic burial ground.

Still, perhaps even her good fortune had finally run out.

After all, what the emperor wanted was a “sickly” empress.

It did not take the imperial physicians long to reach a general conclusion about Liu Jiuning’s condition.

After silently exchanging glances, the most senior physician slowly spoke.

“Summer has already begun, and the heat is intense. Ninth Young Miss Liu has not yet fully recovered from her illness. Her depleted yin has begun to affect her yang, and the summer heat has invaded the pericardium. Combined with an unsettled mind and excessive fright, this likely caused her qi to collapse, resulting in her present unconscious state.”

Li Nanchu fell silent for a moment.

Then she pointed toward the three large, empty porcelain plates on the stone table.

“Does it have anything to do with her eating all three plates of pastries?”

The weather was already oppressively hot, yet the girl’s appetite had remained that good?

And what was this about an unsettled mind and excessive fright?

Liu Jiuning had been smiling quite cheerfully moments ago. Her tongue had moved so quickly that Li Nanchu could not even find an opportunity to interrupt her!

She had not appeared frightened or distressed in the slightest.

The elderly physician looked toward the place the emperor had indicated.

Three large plates—the standard serving dishes used for palace pastries.

If he remembered correctly, the pastries on those plates should originally have been stacked into three small mountains. They might have looked more plentiful than they truly were, but it was still a considerable amount.

No one was ordinarily allowed near the emperor. Apart from the late emperor and the Empress Dowager, Li Nanchu had never shared food with anyone.

Could it be that…

Had Ninth Young Miss Liu offended and angered the emperor? Because the girl had already been officially named the future empress, perhaps His Majesty had found it inconvenient to draw a sword and execute her directly, and had instead resorted to this roundabout method?

But no matter how many pastries she had eaten, no matter how frail her health was, and no matter how unsuitable rich, sweet food might be for her body…

It should not have killed her!

Even if one could theoretically eat oneself to death, this amount should not have been enough!

After careful consideration, the elderly physician gave a tactful answer.

“Although these pastries were not suitable for Ninth Young Miss Liu’s present condition, the quantity alone would not have caused her to lose consciousness. Naturally, eating too many may have contributed to her fainting, but the summer heat and emotional shock were the primary causes.”

As soon as he finished speaking, every imperial physician respectfully lowered their head to the ground.

They only hoped that telling the truth would not anger the emperor.

Being an imperial physician was difficult enough.

Serving an eccentric emperor who refused to let anyone approach and killed without hesitation made it even harder.

Although Li Nanchu had never harmed any of the obedient imperial physicians so far, more than a few young eunuchs and palace maids had died in the past.

Li Nanchu had no idea what was running through their minds.

She remained somewhat doubtful about the elderly physician’s claim that Liu Jiuning had suffered “emotional shock.” She was about to ask another question when she noticed that every official before her was kneeling obediently, their fear so thick it seemed to fill the entire pavilion.

Meanwhile, the one girl who did not seem particularly afraid of her was lying unconscious.

Her voice turned cold.

“Why are you not treating her? Are you waiting until her condition worsens? Minister Liu, you may rise as well.”

“This subject acknowledges his mistake.”

The elderly physician responded immediately, then searched through the medical chest he carried and removed a small bottle.

He held it beneath Liu Jiuning’s nose, his hand trembling so violently that the bottle shook along with it.

Accompanying the sovereign was like accompanying a tiger.

The emperor’s thoughts were truly impossible to predict.

The physicians had only hesitated because they feared the emperor wanted Ninth Young Miss Liu dead.

Perhaps His Majesty had shown mercy because the highly favored young Lord Liu was present.

After receiving permission to rise, Liu Zhuoyi bowed respectfully once more.

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace.”

“Cough, cough…”

Supported by one of the female physicians, Liu Jiuning gradually regained consciousness.

“What is that smell? It’s so harsh…”

The darkness before her eyes had not yet faded. She stared blankly ahead until her vision slowly cleared.

The only person she could make out was the emperor, who had retreated so far that she was almost standing outside the pavilion.

Still confused, Liu Jiuning said, “Your Majesty, I already came back after buying the oranges. Why did you move? You promised to stand right there and wait for me! And why does it smell so awful here?”

…

Everyone was stunned by Liu Jiuning’s bizarre words.

What nonsense was she saying?

Buying oranges inside the imperial palace?

And that tone—was she giving the emperor an order?

She was outrageously bold!

Liu Zhuoyi, who had only just risen to check on his sister, immediately slammed his forehead against the ground again.

The imperial physicians and female doctors also dropped to their knees, knocking their heads loudly against the floor for fear of being caught in the disaster.

Only Liu Jiuning, whom the female physician had abruptly released in order to kneel, remained bewildered.

Why did it suddenly seem as though so many people were around her?

And why did she appear to be lying on the ground?

Had someone not been supporting her just moments ago?