Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 129 The Illness Is Strange

"Your Highness, I have something to report."

While helping Xie Jiu tidy his clothes, Chunrong spoke in a low voice.

Xie Jiu lowered her eyes, secretly glanced around, and seeing that no one was around, nodded, "Speak."

“Yesterday afternoon, the Imperial Physician sent someone to the mansion to take the master’s pulse. I went with him, and the master’s pulse seemed to be abnormal.” Chunrong lowered her voice. “However, the Imperial Physician was vague and I was unable to find out the details. I was planning to report to Consort Jieyu when I returned to the palace, but unfortunately, when I returned, Consort Jieyu and Qingfang had already arrived at Chengming Hall.”

Qingfang was on night watch, and Chunrong came to relieve her this morning so she could rest. That's when she met Xie Jiu.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jiu's gaze darkened slightly. "Has my father noticed anything?"

"No, it shouldn't be. After examining the master's pulse, the imperial physician didn't say much. He knew it was just a common cough. Although the prescription from the Imperial Hospital that Consort Jieyu had sent was good, the person who wrote it hadn't diagnosed the master's pulse, so some of the medication wasn't quite right. Now a new prescription has been written," Chunrong recounted truthfully.

She then said, "I noticed something was wrong because after the imperial physician finished taking the master's pulse, he asked the madam to bring over the master's medicine dregs. He examined them closely, and it seemed to me that he wasn't just looking at them, but rather searching for something."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jiu's expression turned serious.

He gestured for Chunrong to continue.

"Later, I asked the imperial physician if there was anything wrong, and he said there was nothing to worry about. But Madam seemed inexplicably nervous, not like she was worried about Master's condition, but more like..."

Chunrong considered her words carefully, but still said, "It seems like you have a guilty conscience."

"Feeling guilty?" Xie Jiu's mind raced, her brows furrowing. "Could it be that the strangeness of Father's illness is related to my mother?"

The master and servant talked as they left Chengming Hall and headed towards Weiyang Palace.

Chunrong held Xie Jiu's hand and said, "This servant is not sure. I also tried to find an opportunity to ask Madam indirectly, but Madam did not say anything."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jiu lowered her eyes and tightened her grip on the handkerchief.

"His Majesty has been with me the whole time and has not summoned the imperial physician. Yang Zhian has not reported anything either. I guess His Majesty is unaware of this matter, or perhaps the imperial physician was unsure whether there was a problem with my father's illness, so he did not rush to report it."

"Please don't overthink it, Consort. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid," Chunrong comforted her.

However, Xie Jiu had already become wary.

Chunrong has been with her for so many years and has always been meticulous and reliable. If Chunrong feels that something is amiss, then it is most likely that something is strange.

But thinking about it now would be pointless, so Xie Jiu could only suppress his thoughts and nod.

Weiyang Palace.

Just as they arrived at the door, they unexpectedly ran into Consort Wei and Consort Liu.

After the three exchanged greetings, Xie Jiu was about to go inside when Wei Jieyu stopped her.

"Thank you for believing me about what happened last time."

Xie Jiu turned her head and said, "No need. I was just telling the truth. I will only believe you if there is evidence. I won't say anything if there is no evidence. You should thank Liu Cairen for collecting the evidence."

You can't see into someone's heart. Unless it's someone you've known for years and can confide in, Xie Jiu won't easily trust anyone these days.

“I have already thanked Consort Liu,” said Consort Wei, her expression slightly awkward. “I just haven’t thanked you yet. You have been ill for many days, and I didn’t want to bother you, so I waited until today. These are my gifts of gratitude, please accept them.”

As she spoke, she instructed the head palace maid, Siwei, to present a beautiful brocade box.

Chunrong immediately stepped forward to take it.

Xie Jiu raised her eyes and looked directly at Wei Jieyu. "This time you've met me. If it were anyone else, someone who wanted to trap you in a difficult situation, you wouldn't be standing here talking to me right now. Be careful and watch out. I'm never the one who wants to harm you."

He left those words behind, and without pausing any longer, turned and entered Weiyang Palace first.

Consort Liu followed closely behind. Consort Wei was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, she followed her in without saying a word.

What she was thinking was unknown to others.

However, no one in Weiyang Palace cared about Wei Jieyu's thoughts at this moment. What was more important today was that the Empress regained control of the palace.

"Everyone, please sit down. There's no need to be so formal."

The Empress waved to the concubines to dispense with their formalities, but her smile wasn't very strong.

That's true. It's true that the power of the palace has been regained, but it's not complete. There are still two separate powers.

"Consort Xie, Consort Wei." The Empress said with a polite, fake smile, "The Emperor and the Empress Dowager dote on you, so they have asked you two to learn how to manage some palace affairs. You will have to put in a lot of effort from now on. Learn well, both to help me and to learn your own skills."

"Your Majesty, I will obey your command and do my utmost to assist you."

Xie Jiu and Wei Jieyu stood up and bowed.

There are many examples, such as the Empress Dowager and the Emperor feeling sorry for the Empress, but none of them.

One is too lazy to talk, and the other is unable to talk.

So when the Empress didn't return the favor, her expression grew even colder.

It was Consort Chen again who, noticing the awkward atmosphere, immediately said, "Your Majesty has to take care of the two princesses, which is already quite demanding and tiring. Now that it's the end of the year, everyone is even busier. The Emperor and Empress Dowager asked Consort Xie and Consort Wei to help Your Majesty with palace affairs because they care about Your Majesty."

With her support, the Empress's expression improved slightly.

Then he continued, "Yes, there are many things to do at the end of the year. Since you two are going to learn how to manage palace affairs, you will have to spend more time on this. As for serving the Emperor, you will have to put it aside for a while. During this time, Consort Zhuang, Consort Chen, and Consort Liu will have to take extra care of the Emperor."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will serve His Majesty with all my heart!" Consort Chen replied immediately.

She looked so happy, as if Xie Jiu and Wei Jieyu had been kicked out of the game and she was about to enjoy the emperor's favor all to herself.

However, the Empress's words were not without reason.

When he got busy with other things, he naturally had less energy to serve Zhao Xingjin.

Xie Jiu thought that this was probably why the Empress Dowager had suggested that she handle palace affairs with the Empress. She guessed that she was trying to get rid of her and give other concubines more opportunities.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xingjin insisted on bringing Wei Jieyu into the discussion as well.

This is the difference in how Zhao Xingjin and the Empress Dowager consider things.

The Empress Dowager only considered the favor of the harem, but Zhao Xingjin took the affairs of the court into account.

After all, from the outside perspective, being the assistant in charge of the six palaces is also a sign of power and being valued. If this honor is only given to Xie Jiu and not to Consort Wei, it will inevitably make people feel that Consort Wei is far inferior to Xie Jiu.

In terms of court politics, Wei Zhang would inevitably be inferior to Xie Mingshen.

This is not what Zhao Xingjin wants to see at this stage. He still needs Wei Zhang to stand firm and give Xie Mingshen a strong sense of crisis so that Xie Mingshen can rely on his favored daughter Xie Jiu and he can slowly lead Xie Mingshen by the nose.

The Empress hadn't expected any of these things.

She was simply unhappy that her power had been divided up, and at that moment she wished she could cut Xie Jiu and Wei Jieyu, those two eyesores, off one by one.

Unfortunately not.

So the only option was to find a way to get rid of the person who was in the way.

"Consort Xie, you have always been the most meticulous. I'll entrust the management of the palace meals to you. I trust you with that." The Empress spoke softly, assigning tasks. "Consort Wei is the most familiar with palace rules and I've heard she's very good at divination. I'll entrust the distribution of the palace servants' monthly allowances and expenses to you."