Chapter 65: This isn't right!

Lin Jiaojiao looked at the reigning Emperor with trepidation, terrified that he would punish her!

Who could withstand that kick, and furthermore, this was the Son of Heaven!

Her knees went weak, and she plopped down onto the floor, prostrating herself, nearly kowtowing to beg for forgiveness: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I didn't know you were by my side, I was just having a nightmare..."

"It is of no consequence." Qin Yuan did not mind, and helped her up from the floor, "I know you did not intend it."

Lin Jiaojiao did not know what to say next; for a moment, the air seemed to freeze. Qin Yuan broke the awkwardness, "I brought some lunch over. You must be hungry, right?"

Lin Jiaojiao touched her shriveled abdomen and squeezed out an embarrassed smile, "I am a little hungry."

She got off the bed and walked to the table. The food had been sitting there for a while; there were a few plates of attractively arranged duck parts, as well as some vibrant green vegetables. Neither dish stirred her appetite; at this very moment, she only wanted to eat soy-braised pork knuckle.

But this was the Imperial Palace; how could she order food so casually? Thinking of this, she missed the good times of eating big fish and meat at the Lu General's Mansion.

"Sit, eat some meat quickly. Eating will help the burns on your face heal faster." Qin Yuan said, personally rolling up his sleeves to pick up food for her.

Lin Jiaojiao dared not move her chopsticks; she really dared not move them at all!

But this was duck meat picked up by the Emperor for her! If she didn't eat it, would she be punished?

Thus, she could only bite the bullet, take a small bite of the duck meat in her bowl, and eat it as if chewing wax.

She truly did not understand why Qin Yuan, a dignified Emperor of the Dakang Dynasty, would guard her bedside waiting for her to wake up, only to eat lunch together.

Lin Jiaojiao sat on pins and needles during this lunch, whereas Qin Yuan ate very naturally.

"Are you afraid of me?" Qin Yuan asked with a smile, "When we first met at the Lu General's Mansion, you weren't this reserved. And last time at the Dali Temple, your behavior was very fiery. Why are you so unable to let go when alone with me this time?"

Lin Jiaojiao took a deep breath, and only then did she speak the words in her heart, "As the saying goes, accompanying the Emperor is like accompanying a tiger. This commoner does not want to lose her head before the case is cleared."

"Rest assured, I will not have your head chopped off so easily." Qin Yuan looked at her earnestly.

Yet the more he looked at Lin Jiaojiao like this, the more an inexplicable impulse surged in his heart, wanting to go up and pounce on her!

Lin Jiaojiao also felt increasingly feverish, so she stood up and went to open the window to get some air.

A fresh jasmine fragrance blew in with the gusts of autumn wind, and she felt a little better.

When she turned to look at Qin Yuan again, he had followed her at some point and was leaning closer and closer, his eyes slightly narrowed, his black pupils revealing traces of infatuation.

A gust of autumn wind blew, and Lin Jiaojiao sobered up a bit more. When she turned her head, she found Qin Yuan with his eyes half-closed, about to kiss her—

In her desperation, she immediately stepped back two paces to put distance between herself and Qin Yuan, then with lightning speed, grabbed his hand to take his pulse. Within two seconds, she exclaimed, "Your Majesty! You have been drugged!!"

But as she spoke, she also felt her whole body feverish beyond reason, her cheeks flushed. She immediately took her own pulse, discovered her pulse was floating and chaotic, and realized, "I've been hit too!"

Under Qin Yuan's shocked gaze, Lin Jiaojiao pointed at the food, took a deep breath, and shouted to the guards guarding the door, "Someone drugged the food! Guards! Eunuchs! Come quickly to protect the Emperor!!!"

In an instant, all the guards guarding the Qingju Pavilion looked over. The head guard rushed in with a single bound, headed straight for the food, and took out a silver needle to test for poison!

Eunuch Gao trotted into the room. Seeing Qin Yuan's cheeks slightly flushed, looking as if he were tipsy from wine, he hurriedly went over to support him so he could sit on a stool.

Seeing the head guard pull the silver needle out of the food, Eunuch Gao stared nervously at the needle, but there was no obvious discoloration on it.

"Your Majesty, there is no poison in this food." The head guard reported, bowing.

"This...?" Eunuch Gao's face showed confusion. He looked at the Emperor; the Emperor's expression was clearly not right, as if... as if he had been drugged!

Hearing this, Qin Yuan sat there holding his forehead, looking at Lin Jiaojiao from the corner of his eye. He saw that her cheeks were also slightly flushed, and she looked dizzy and unstable on her feet.

Yet for some reason, the more he looked at Lin Jiaojiao, the more restless his heart became. He suddenly understood: he had clearly developed feelings for her!

Lin Jiaojiao, besides feeling some heat in her body, also felt dizzy and weak. She called for Qingdai, and with Qingdai's support, walked to the bed and lay half-reclined against the bedside.

She knew the food was not right, because the Qingdai in front of her would turn into the appearance of Lu Zhenting in her daze!

She shook her head vigorously, only then seeing clearly that the person in front of her was Qingdai, not someone else. But wasn't that Lu Zhenting sitting at the table, holding his forehead?

No! This isn't right! It's not him!

Lin Jiaojiao shook her head vigorously again, her gaze turning to the food: if there was no poison in this food, then what was it!

"Aphrodisiac... you all call that an aphrodisiac..." Lin Jiaojiao figured out the reason. She stretched out her finger to point at the food, but her entire arm felt numb and weak.

Even when speaking, she felt her voice was floating and weak, and inexplicably coquettish: "The food, there, there is an aphrodisiac... the dose, the dose is small, and it's not a sulfide, so the silver needle, the silver needle of course, wouldn't change color..."

"Aphrodisiac?" Eunuch Gao's eyes narrowed, his gaze shifting to the dining table: these dishes were all prepared and sent over not long ago. They had gone through rounds of poison testing and were only presented to the Emperor after being confirmed problem-free.

Who would have the guts to drug the Emperor!

"You mean... the duck...?" Qin Yuan was a clear-headed person. He supported his forehead; although he was dizzy, he still retained some ability to think.

It was just that he didn't know why, but he didn't want to consider this problem now; he just wanted everyone to leave, and then have a good time alone with Lin Jiaojiao on the bed.

"Yes! Yes!" Lin Jiaojiao pointed at the eaten duck meat and nodded vigorously.

She slapped her own face hard to keep herself awake, "You, you all, hurry and find an Imperial Physician, give, give the antidote..."

Eunuch Gao suddenly understood: the food sent by Imperial Concubine Yu had a problem!

Seeing the Emperor's strange state, he hurriedly shouted with a shrill voice toward the door: "Summon the Imperial Physician—!"

Before Qin Yuan could stop Eunuch Gao's shouting, the little eunuch outside had already passed the order down.

"Hurry and fetch a basin of cold water, we, we both need to calm down, yes, calm down." Lin Jiaojiao felt her brain was about to become a bucket of pink, bubbling, sticky mush.

"Hurry, what are you all standing there for, hurry and fetch a basin of cold water!" Eunuch Gao gestured with his orchid fingers and shouted at the guards, "Hurry! Be careful, if anything happens to the Emperor! Watch out for your heads!"

Lin Jiaojiao looked at Qin Yuan in a trance, wanting to go over more and more. Her legs were already out of control and about to get off the bed!