Chapter 287: Thrown into the Cold Palace (1)

In the middle of the night, this announcement sounded even sharper than usual. The servants knelt on the ground, "Long live the Emperor, long live..." Before they could finish, those bright yellow boots had stepped into the courtyard and strode toward the inner room.

He really came? Qingfeng's brows furrowed involuntarily. She had only intended for Lan'er to bring the message to the Zhengyang Palace; she didn't expect Yan Hongtian to come over in the middle of the night.

"What's going on?" Qingfeng was still secretly surprised when Yan Hongtian's deep voice sounded in her ear.

Qingfeng looked up and saw the familiar figure pulling aside the gauze curtain of the inner room, standing in front of her bed. He must have been in a hurry; his hair wasn't combed, and he wasn't wearing a hair crown, his hair tied loosely behind his head with a dark black ribbon. His black eyes stared coldly at her, and it was impossible to tell if he was worried or angry, only that his cold voice carried a bit of urgency. Qingfeng lowered her head slightly, not looking into his deep eyes, and replied softly, "This concubine has a stomachache."

Stomachache? Qingfeng was curled up in the thick quilt, only her head exposed, her face gray and blue. Yan Hongtian reached out and gently touched her forehead. Qingfeng shrank back, but finally didn't dodge. The cold touch from his fingertips made Yan Hongtian feel a burst of irritation. There was a room full of servants, but not a single imperial physician. Yan Hongtian scolded impatiently, "Where is the imperial physician?"

Xia Yin hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "Returning to the Emperor, Fuling has already gone to invite one."

Hearing Xia Yin's words, Yan Hongtian's expression grew even colder. He had arrived, but the imperial physician was harder to invite than him, the Emperor?! "Gao Jin, summon Huang Jiao!"

"Yes." Gao Jin had just reached the door when he saw Fuling dragging Huang Jiao into the Qingfeng Palace.

Huang Jiao entered the inner room and wasn't surprised to see Yan Hongtian in the room. He panted and saluted: "This official Huang Jiao greets the Emperor." If it weren't for his old bones being well-maintained, being dragged by that Fuling girl all the way, his old life would have been gone.

"No need for formalities, hurry and take a look at her."

Huang Jiao's hand had just touched Qingfeng's wrist when his expression changed suddenly, becoming cautious and solemn. Being able to make the old imperial physician show such an expression, Qingfeng had already guessed that Fuling was right—she was pregnant.

Huang Jiao's expression was unusual, not only Qingfeng saw it, but Yan Hongtian also saw it clearly: "How is she?"

Huang Jiao released her hand, stood up, bowed deeply to Yan Hongtian, and replied in a deep voice, "Congratulations, Emperor, Concubine Qing is pregnant."

"What?" Yan Hongtian was also startled. Before coming to the Qingfeng Palace, he guessed that Qingfeng was making a scene in the middle of the night again. Given her personality, if she were really ill, she would absolutely not let anyone beg him. Curious about what tricks she had, he was interested in coming to see. Seeing her face gray and cold with sweat, he was really worried if she had been poisoned, but he never expected that she... was actually pregnant?

Huang Jiao confirmed, "Concubine Qing is pregnant."

Qingfeng looked at Huang Jiao in feigned shock, not daring to look at Yan Hongtian, naturally not seeing the faint smile that curled up at the corners of his mouth after his surprise.

A room full of servants suddenly knelt down, shouting in unison: "Great joy for the Emperor, great joy for the Concubine." The Emperor had few heirs, not to mention princes, even princesses were only a few. This time, Concubine Qing was pregnant; if she could give birth to a prince, she would definitely be honored by her son, and even if it were a princess, it was still royal blood, and her status would be completely different.

Amidst the shouts of the crowd, Qingfeng looked up slightly and glanced at Xia Yin, who was kneeling by the bed. She was prostrate on the ground, head lowered, and her expression couldn't be seen, only her hands supporting her on the ground were trembling slightly.

"Why does she have a stomachache?" Yan Hongtian's icy voice suddenly sounded, and Xia Yin's hands trembled even more violently.

Huang Jiao stroked his beard and replied calmly, "The Emperor doesn't need to worry too much. Concubine Qing hasn't fully recovered from her injury last time, and her body was already not very good. Long-term worry combined with the fetus being in an incorrect position caused the abdominal pain. This official will prescribe some fetal-calming medicine and assist with acupuncture, and the pain will be relieved."

"Hmm, go prepare."

"Yes." Huang Jiao walked to the outer room to write the prescription. When passing by Fuling, he suddenly said, "You come with me." Fuling was stunned, thought for a moment, and followed Huang Jiao out of the inner room.

Hearing Huang Jiao's words, Qingfeng's hanging heart settled, but the pain in her body didn't ease at all; she just kept shaking, her teeth chattering slightly. Yan Hongtian sat on the edge of the bed, leaned over, and asked in a low voice, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Nonsense! Qingfeng took a deep breath, closed her eyes stubbornly, and replied, "It's alright!"

Her teeth were almost broken, and she still said it was alright. Seeing her stubborn appearance, Yan Hongtian smiled softly. Leaning against the head of the bed, Yan Hongtian gently lifted Qingfeng's neck, letting her rest on his lap, holding her cold fingers with one hand and gently stroking her back with the other.

Yan Hongtian's rare gentleness was seen by Gao Jin, whose complex eyes didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

The warm hand comforted her body, which was trembling and stiff from pain. At this time, his embrace was warm enough that she didn't want to think too much. Qingfeng leaned lightly in Yan Hongtian's arms and closed her eyes. It should be about 5:00 AM now, right?

Fuling ran to the Imperial Medical Garden in the middle of the night, waking almost everyone up, and even dragged Huang Jiao to the Qingfeng Palace. Lan'er even broke into the Zhengyang

Slap!

At the first quarter of the Mao hour, a crisp sound rang out from the inner chamber of the Empress's sleeping quarters. Under the dim candlelight, a figure was pacing back and forth in agitation. Shui Xin stood quietly beside the soft couch, her eyes lowered, staring at her feet. On her cheek, the faint imprint of five fingers was visible, the red marks spreading from the root of her ear all the way to her neck.

Xin Yuening's complexion had turned red and then white with rage, but she could not shout loudly. Holding back her breath, she cursed, "Qingfeng is pregnant! She actually carries the dragon seed! What on earth are you doing?" Shui Xin rarely failed in her tasks, yet she had let Qingfeng escape repeatedly, and now she had even conceived the dragon seed. The more Xin Yuening thought about it, the angrier she became. The women of the Qing family were all demons!

Shui Xin remained silent as usual. Xin Yuening, even more impatient, asked in a low voice, "Has tonight's matter been taken care of?"

Taking a deep, secret breath, Shui Xin replied calmly, "It has been taken care of. It is too coincidental that Qingfeng has announced her pregnancy at this time; it is very suspicious. Would it be better to wait a while longer...?"

"Wait longer?!" Before Shui Xin could finish, Xin Yuening interrupted her impatiently, glaring fiercely at Shui Xin as she scolded, "I should never have listened to you from the start. Wait, wait, wait—if we wait any longer, the child will be born." She would absolutely not allow anyone the chance to shake the status of Crown Prince Jing'er; even if there were a one-in-ten-thousand chance, she would not allow it!

"You will act according to the plan. As long as the charge of plotting against the Empress is substantiated, even if she has the child to protect her, I can still have her thrown into the Heavenly Prison again!" This time, Qingfeng would not be so lucky as to get out.

Zhen Zhen and Qingfeng had become thorns in Xin Yuening's heart. Having a chance to kill two birds with one stone, she could not possibly miss it. Shui Xin knew full well that whatever she said now, Xin Yuening would not listen, and the items had already been placed in the Qingfeng Palace. The arrow was on the string and had to be fired. Looking at the sky, it was the third quarter of the Mao hour. Shui Xin replied in a low voice, "This servant understands."

"Ah—"

At the break of dawn, a shrill scream came from the Empress's room, and the Yilan Palace instantly fell into chaos.

After Huang Jiao treated her with acupuncture, the pain in her abdomen eased significantly, and the medicine was soon brought in. Yan Hongtian took the medicine bowl from Fuling's hand, sat on the edge of the bed, scooped up a spoonful of the decoction, and gently blew it cool before handing it to Qingfeng's lips, his face wearing a faint smile that could be called pleasant. The servants who had served the Emperor for years could not help but sigh inwardly; when had they ever seen the Emperor so considerate, letting Concubine Qing sleep on his lap for an hour and even feeding her medicine himself? It was the height of favor. Concubine Qing had also proven her worth by conceiving the dragon seed; being named a Consort was likely only a matter of time.

With a room full of servants and so many eyes watching, Qingfeng felt she could not bear Yan Hongtian's sudden tenderness. She coughed lightly and said, "I will do it myself."

She wanted to take the bowl, but as soon as she touched the rim, she felt how hot it was. Qingfeng withdrew her hand, letting Yan Hongtian continue to hold the bowl while she took the spoon, drinking the medicine slowly and in small sips. Although it was very bitter, the thought of someone else holding such a hot bowl made the medicine seem less bitter. Yan Hongtian caught the smugness in Qingfeng's eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily; it seemed that as long as he suffered a little, she could be very happy.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Outside the courtyard, several loud cries came from afar. The person shouted all the way as they rushed into the Qingfeng Palace. Yan Hongtian's expression darkened, and Gao Jin hurried out of the room, shouting sternly, "Presumptuous! How dare you shout like this before the Emperor."

The little eunuch knelt down before the door with a thud, panting as he replied, "It's... it's the Empress! Something has happened to her!"

Gao Jin sensed something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "How is the Empress?"

The little eunuch looked cautiously toward the inner chamber, and as if afraid the Emperor might not hear, he replied loudly, "Before dawn today, for some reason, the Empress let out a miserable scream and suddenly went into a frenzy, smashing up the Yilan Palace. It looks like... like she's been possessed by an evil spirit! Both Empresses Dowager have been alarmed, and the Eastern Empress Dowager has ordered this servant to come and request that the Emperor go over immediately."

Possessed by an evil spirit?

The shrill voice easily crossed the screen and reached the inner chamber clearly. Qingfeng and Yan Hongtian looked at each other. From his deep, dark eyes, she saw a glimmer of darkness and inquiry. With Yan Hongtian's sharp and profound mind, after so many things happened last night, he should have sensed that something was wrong too. Qingfeng averted her gaze, took out the silk handkerchief from beside her pillow to pad the bowl, took the medicine bowl from Yan Hongtian's hand, and while drinking the medicine with her head lowered, replied, "Your Majesty, you should go and take a look. Your concubine is already out of danger; I will be fine after resting for a while."

Yan Hongtian watched quietly as Qingfeng drank the medicine on her own. She did not meet his gaze as she usually did. Yan Hongtian rose slowly, smoothed his slightly wrinkled robe, and without leaving a word, strode out of the Qingfeng Palace.

Qingfeng held the medicine bowl, still spooning it into her mouth as if she were not drinking medicine at all. The quiet, oppressive atmosphere made the room full of maids and eunuchs afraid to even breathe loudly. Only after finishing the decoction did Qingfeng say in a low voice, "Fuling, stay. You may all withdraw."

"Yes." Everyone let out a secret sigh of relief and quickly retreated. The room returned to peace. Fuling stepped forward to take the medicine bowl from Qingfeng's hand and asked, "Master, how are you feeling?"

(End of chapter)