Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

After the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Bao Zhong finally emerged from the bottom of the pool, grabbing the edge with one hand and tightly wrapping his other arm around Jiang Shuoning's waist, lifting her out of the water.

The guards quickly helped the two people up.

Bao Zhong was helped up to the edge of the pool. As soon as his feet touched the ground, his knees slumped down. He braced himself on the brick floor, head down, panting heavily.

Water streamed down his dark hair, chin, and cuffs, soaking the ground in a large patch.

The guards laid Jiang Shuo Ningping on the ground. She was wrapped in Bao Zhong's black outer robe, which covered her completely from head to toe.

Bao Zhong crawled to her side, brushed the wet hair from her face, and his knuckles trembled as he reached out.

The moment he felt the breath, his Adam's apple bobbed violently. He looked up at the Emperor and Consort Rong, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible.

"Your Majesty, the Empress... she's still breathing."

Consort Rong immediately stepped forward: "Carry the person back to Yihua Palace and summon the imperial physician immediately!"

The guards lifted Jiang Shuoning and quickly walked out of the palace.

The Emperor stood there the entire time, his face ashen. Finally, he withdrew his gaze from Consort Wei, his voice as calm as ice:

"Wei Xuanshi, do you have anything else to say?"

Wei Xuanshi shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face:

"Your Majesty, I was confused for a moment... I only wanted to teach her a lesson..."

"A lesson?" The Emperor looked down at her. "Stripping someone naked, locking them in an iron cage, and sinking them in a pond—that's a lesson? Then tell me, what do you call murder?"

Wei Xuanshi suddenly crawled to his feet, weeping and trembling all over:

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time..."

Consort Rong reprimanded her sternly:

"Wei Xuanshi, you, a mere palace maid, have climbed to the position of a concubine. I thought you would be careful with your words and actions because of your background, but I never expected you to dare to lay your hands on my head."

She paused, took half a step forward, and stared at Wei Xuanshi with her phoenix eyes.

"There's something I've been wondering about. How could a palace maid like you, working in the Imperial Garden, so easily bump into the Emperor there?"

"Don't you spend all your time doing your job properly, but instead trying to find out where the Emperor is? But how did you get that information?"

Consort Wei froze, "Your Majesty, please understand, this concubine did not..."

Before she could finish speaking, the Emperor's voice was as cold as a knife:

"Wei is a vicious woman who plotted to harm Jiang Shuoning, a palace maid serving Consort Rong. Effective immediately, she is stripped of her title as a Consort and demoted to a palace maid."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Wei Xuanshi's belly. "The child, do not keep."

Wei Xuanshi let out a heart-wrenching cry and collapsed to the ground.

The Emperor looked at Consort Rong: "You handle the rest."

After saying that, he took two steps forward, paused as he passed Bao Zhong, and said, "Give me an answer regarding the assassin by tomorrow evening."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Bao Zhong bowed his head.

The Emperor did not linger and stepped out of Yanxi Palace.

Seeing Baozhong still kneeling on the ground, Consort Rong said, "Get up. If it weren't for you tonight, Shuoning's fate would be unknown. Go back and change your clothes, then go see her."

Bao Zhong knelt there for a couple of breaths before finally replying in a hoarse voice, "...Thank you, Your Majesty."

Consort Rong turned her gaze to Lady Wei, her voice heavy and somber:

"Anyone who dares to touch my people is disrespecting me. Send them to the Censorate for thorough questioning. I want to see who's really backing them up."

Upon hearing this, the guards immediately dragged Lady Wei out, and her cries faded into the distance.

(under)

Inside the house in the backyard of Yihua Palace.

Imperial Physician Qin sat on a stool, his fingertips resting on Jiang Shuoning's wrist, and groaned for a long time, his face growing increasingly grim.

He then raised his hand to pry open Jiang Shuoning's eyelids and looked at him, his brows furrowed. He stood up and bowed to Consort Rong, saying:

"Your Highness, Miss Shuoning has been in the water for too long, and her chest cavity has accumulated a lot of water. She was also forced to drink a lot of crushed ice, and the cold has entered her internal organs. She is now suffering from both internal cold and external dampness, and her life is in danger."

Consort Rong's face darkened: "Can she be saved?"

Imperial Physician Qin hurriedly replied, "I will do my best to treat you."

Having said that, he immediately bowed and stepped aside, picked up a pen, wrote out a prescription, and handed it to Chun Chan: "Go and decoct the medicine quickly. Modify the Ten Jujube Decoction, add aconite and dried ginger, and decoct over high heat. Boil three bowls of water down to one bowl, quickly."

Chun Chan took the prescription and jogged outside. As she passed the door, she caught a glimpse of Bao Zhong standing there, soaking wet, but he didn't step inside.

She whispered, "If you're so worried about her, you might as well go inside. She can't see you standing here."

After saying that, he left.

Bao Zhong did not respond, his gaze remaining fixed on the couch.

Imperial Physician Qin then turned to Consort Rong: "Your Majesty, I still need to use moxibustion to warm and invigorate her Yang energy, and help dissipate the dampness."

After speaking, he took out moxa wool, lit a stick, and steadily applied it to the Guanyuan acupoint, three inches below Jiang Shuoning's navel.

The room was filled with the scent of mugwort, both bitter and warm.

Consort Rong looked up at Bao Zhong at the door, said nothing, stepped out of the room, and left only one sentence as she passed by him: "Come with me."

Bao Zhong's gaze lingered on Jiang Shuoning's face for a moment before he finally turned and followed him out.

The soaked hem of his clothes dragged on the ground, leaving a winding trail of water.

Inside the palace. Consort Rong had dismissed everyone, leaving only herself and Bao Zhong.

Bao Zhong knelt down before Consort Rong, who was sitting in a chair, and kowtowed three times heavily, his voice hoarse and almost dissipating into the air:

"This servant thanks Your Majesty for saving my life."

Consort Rong leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on him, her voice calm and measured:

"I saved Shuoning because she was originally my person. If anyone is to thank someone, it's not your place to thank them on her behalf."

She paused, her red lips slightly upturned:

"However, you've certainly set a good stage for this play tonight. I never really cared about Wei Shi's meager abilities. But who's standing behind her is what I really want to see."

Bao Zhong didn't look up, his voice hoarse: "Your Majesty already knows, so why test this servant?"

Consort Rong scoffed coldly:

"I underestimated Feng Xi. He manages all the affairs in the palace, from top to bottom, and even takes care of the people around the Emperor. He's really doing his job very diligently."

He thinks that a mere member of the Wei clan can overpower me? He must be senile.

Bao Zhong then raised his eyes: "The death of Wei Shi doesn't mean that Feng Xi can be implicated. He always keeps something in reserve, and Wei Shi's mouth probably won't reveal anything."

Consort Rong turned her head to look at him, her gaze slowly and deliberately landing on his face.

"Are you speaking up for Feng Xi, or for my sake?"

Just as Bao Zhong was about to speak, his throat suddenly itched, and he clenched his fist and coughed a few times. When he recovered, his face turned even paler.

He didn't respond to her words, but truthfully said, "What this servant means is that bringing down Feng Xi is not something that can be done overnight."

Consort Rong looked at him for a moment, a fleeting, almost imperceptible glint in her eyes, but her tone softened:

"That's enough. Although you work for me in private, you are still his godson on the surface. Today's operation rescued Shuoning and eliminated the Wei family, which can be considered a warning to him. Be careful around him."

She paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "How do you plan to explain the assassination to the Emperor?"

Bao Zhong lowered his eyes: "This servant already has a plan."

Upon hearing this, Consort Rong pondered for a moment, then picked up her teacup, took a sip, waited a while, and then put it down, saying in a gentle voice, "It's good that you have a plan."

After saying that, she raised her chin and said, "Go change your clothes. Once Shuoning's condition improves, I will have Fengchun inform you."

Bao Zhong's lips twitched slightly, and he bowed his head, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty."

As Consort Rong watched Bao Zhong turn to leave, she suddenly spoke: "Bao Zhong."

Baozhong stopped in his tracks without turning around.

"I can see your feelings for Shuoning. I won't stop you, but you should be aware of your own feelings. There are many eunuchs and maids in the palace who have relationships, but they are usually two people who can't stand each other anymore and just live together."

"Shuoning is different. I promised her I would marry her a bodyguard someday. She's going to get married eventually, what can you give her?"

Bao Zhong's back visibly stiffened, his silhouette frozen for a moment in the candlelight. He didn't turn around, but only whispered:

"Your Majesty, rest assured. This servant understands perfectly well."

Consort Rong did not speak again.

Bao Zhong stepped out of the threshold, the curtain fell, swayed gently twice, and then came to rest.

Consort Rong sat in the palace, picked up the cup of tea on the table that had gone cold, and took a sip.

As I set down my teacup, I murmured something, as if to myself:

"I know perfectly well. So many people in the palace have perished because of these three words."