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

Chapter 131 Accompanying
Wang Shiqing kept his head down, avoiding Xie Jiu's eyes.

"You're too kind, Consort. It was His Majesty's order for me to examine Lord Xie. It is my duty to do so. Please rest assured, Consort. Although Lord Xie suffers from a cough, it is not serious. I have written a new prescription. As long as Lord Xie takes the medicine on time, he should recover in less than a month."

"You've gone to so much trouble, my lord." Xie Jiu smiled slightly, then her beautiful eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of worry. "But if it wasn't serious, how could it have gotten so severe? My father's cough has been going on for some time now. Could it be that the doctors outside the palace, and the prescriptions I sent out of the palace before, were completely useless?"

Upon hearing this, an unnatural glint immediately flashed in Wang Shiqing's lowered eyes.

He kept his head down, so Xie Jiu couldn't see him.

"Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much. There are many kinds of coughs, just like there are different kinds of illnesses, such as wind-heat and wind-cold. Sometimes the symptoms are similar, which can easily lead to misdiagnosis by doctors. The reason I changed Your Highness's prescription was after taking your pulse and based on the prescription Your Highness had taken before. The previous prescription may not have been ineffective, but it was just that it was not the right one for your condition, so the effect was minimal. As a result, this minor illness became serious."

His explanation was quite reasonable, leaving Xie Jiu temporarily unable to obtain any useful information.

Even Xie Jiu suspected that Xie Mingshen's illness was indeed just a common cough and nothing unusual.

However, since the person has already come, we can't let him go so easily. So Xie Jiu remained silent for a moment, then suddenly whispered.

"What if my father's illness is to heal more slowly? Could the adult's prescription achieve that?"

As soon as he said this, Xie Jiu keenly noticed that Wang Shiqing's body swayed slightly, and his head drooped even lower.

Clearly, there has been a significant change in their emotions.

"Illness is like pulling silk from a cocoon; a full recovery is a time-consuming process. If you want to recover more slowly, just take a lighter dose of medicine," Wang Shiqing replied cautiously. He was indeed quite nervous because of Xie Jiu's startling words. "However, a cough shouldn't be left untreated for too long, as it can easily damage the internal organs. It's best to take the medicine on time."

"What if we continue with the previous prescription? Is it possible to recover completely?" Xie Jiu pressed.

Wang Shiqing started to stammer.

Just as he was wondering how to answer, Yang Zhian's voice came from the courtyard outside.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Xie Jiu looked up and gazed outside, her eyes darkening for a moment before she stood up and quickly walked out.

"I respectfully welcome the Emperor."

Inside Anqing Hall, everyone bowed, including Wang Shiqing.

Zhao Xingjin waved his hand, "Get up."

Finally, her gaze fell to the side. "Why is Physician Wang here too? Are you feeling unwell?"

The second half of this sentence is directed at Xie Jiu.

"Your Majesty, I am well. I summoned Physician Wang to inquire about my father's condition." Xie Jiu's expression was gentle. "Physician Wang examined my father yesterday, but unfortunately, he returned to the palace late. It was only now that I had time to call Physician Wang to check on him."

In fact, Xie Jiu wasn't sure if Zhao Xingjin's arrival was so coincidental because he also wanted to ask the Imperial Physician Wang questions.

After all, she acted a tiny bit faster, sending someone to summon Physician Wang much earlier, so Zhao Xingjin could just wait until there was no time to see him.

"Oh, what did Physician Wang say?" Zhao Xingjin nodded slightly, then asked casually.

Xie Jiu led him into the house, saying, "They said it's nothing serious. With a different prescription, he should recover in about a month."

"In that case, you can rest assured a bit." Zhao Xingjin nodded.

Seeing this, Wang Shiqing immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Consort, the Imperial Hospital still has matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."

Zhao Xingjin waved his hand, and he immediately picked up his medicine box and quickly left Ninghua Palace.

It was as if they didn't want to stay even a moment longer.

Although Xie Jiu still wanted to get information out of Wang Shiqing, Zhao Xingjin had already sent him away, so she had to give up for the time being.

Chunrong brought out tea at the right time, and Xie Jiu took it and handed it to Zhao Xingjin personally.

"What brings Your Majesty here at this time?"

Usually, after court, the first thing to do is read the memorials; there's so much to do. Zhao Xingjin took the teacup. "I've come to see you. Starting today, aren't you supposed to be helping the Empress manage palace affairs? Are you settling in well?"

"Your Majesty has arrived early. I haven't even started working yet. I wonder if I'm used to it," Xie Jiu joked.

Finally, he sighed again.

"This task assigned by Her Majesty the Empress is not easy. She wants me to manage the Imperial Kitchen. Tsk, I am quite good at eating, but managing the cooking and the people is a bit of a headache for me. Things that are ingested must be handled with utmost care."

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Xingjin's eyes flickered slightly.

He hadn't expected the Empress to assign Xie Jiu this task; even he could tell it wasn't a pleasant one.

Even without anyone sabotaging them, mistakes are easily made in the kitchen.

It may seem like just cooking and making desserts, but it's actually not that simple.

“If you can’t do it, then don’t do it,” Zhao Xingjin said directly.

He never intended for Xie Jiu to be in charge. To him, Xie Jiu was a pawn used to handle affairs in the imperial court, and had little to do with the harem.

But these words made Xie Jiu curl her lips. "Your Majesty makes it sound so easy. It was the Empress Dowager who asked me to help the Empress with palace affairs. If I were to just quit like that, wouldn't that be disrespectful to the Empress Dowager?"

"Then how can I help you relieve your worries?" Zhao Xingjin looked at her with a smile. "Look at your worried face, it breaks my heart to see you like this."

There was a joking tone in those words.

Xie Jiu couldn't help but roll her eyes inwardly, but on the surface she still put on a cute and coquettish act.

"If Your Majesty truly cares for me, then please spend more time with me. If the people below see Your Majesty visiting often, they won't dare to bully me, will they?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhao Xingjin put down his teacup. "I will stay with you in Ninghua Palace today, is that alright?"

Xie Jiu tilted her head slightly to look at him, "Your Majesty still has to go back to review memorials. I dare not delay Your Majesty from handling state affairs, or I would become a wicked concubine."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xingjin waved his hand dismissively.

"Then let's move the memorials here for review. There aren't many memorials to review today."

After speaking, he instructed Yang Zhian to leave.

Xie Jiu was caught off guard and quite surprised.

She immediately became wary, wondering what must have happened in the court today that made Zhao Xingjin suddenly show her such extra 'favor'.

So he immediately seized the opportunity and gave Chunrong a wink.

The latter understood and quietly withdrew, then went to gather information.

Zhongcui Palace.

Inside the Hidden Plum Pavilion, Consort Wei had just received a series of items, including account books and tokens, sent by the Empress.

Just as they were carefully examining the pages, Nianci came in from outside, looking somewhat listless.

"What's wrong?" Wei Jieyu asked, looking at her.

Nianci pursed her lips. "The Emperor has gone to Ninghua Palace."

Upon hearing this, Wei Jieyu's eyes flickered slightly, but she lowered her head again and continued to look through the account books.

"It's nothing new. Everyone in the palace knows that the Emperor dotes on Consort Xie."

“But this time the Emperor had all the memorials moved to Ninghua Palace for review, saying that Consort Xie was handling palace affairs and the Emperor was accompanying her!” Nianci was a little resentful.

She thought to herself, "My master also assists in managing the six palaces, so why doesn't the Emperor come to visit?"

They sent someone to inquire, but there was no such thing.