Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Shen Mingxiu?

Qiaoyu immediately tensed up: "What's she doing here?"

I heard that she felt so guilty about Shen Minglan's matter that she fell ill.

Although he didn't know what there was to feel guilty about, Shen Mingxiu always presented herself as weak, so Xiao Heng protected her closely.

In the few months since entering the palace, Shen Mingxiu has always been "sensible and polite," and even when she made mistakes, they were always blamed on Wei Rong.

Wei Rong initially thought that Xiao Heng was treating her as a new lover, and that their three-year marriage was coming to an end.

Only after Shen Mingxiu 'inadvertently' revealed the truth did she piece together a ridiculous truth.

It shattered her self-righteous belief in the ideals of a young couple and mutual respect.

They had known each other for longer than Wei Rong had thought.

Shen Mingxiu was extremely adept at putting on a show.

At first glance, anyone would think she is just an innocent girl who was pampered and raised in a scholarly family.

If there's anything special about them, it's that they've been lucky.

At that time, Xiao Heng was still the third prince who was not favored in the deep palace.

Her father was a proofreader, and he never even had the chance to meet the emperor.

Four years ago, on New Year's Eve, auspicious omens appeared in the sky, and the late emperor granted a general amnesty and held a banquet for all officials inside the Wenchang Gate.

Wei Rong had also heard about it, but at that time she went with her father to the martial arts training ground in the suburbs of Beijing and missed the grand event.

As expected of someone from a scholarly family, Shen Mingxiu used elegant language: "In the snow and plum blossoms of winter, I accompanied my father to a banquet and encountered the eldest prince speaking frivolously. It was His Majesty who stepped in to resolve the situation."

She said that the eldest prince, Xiao Cheng, was banished to a remote area after the struggle for the throne and became a prince with no real power.

"I have feelings for His Majesty, but His Majesty was restrained by the late Emperor and his marriage was not up to him. He told me that as a prince, there are some rights he has to fight for."

At this point, Shen Mingxiu was already in tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice: "So Your Majesty, I don't blame you. I don't care about titles or ranks; being able to stay by His Majesty's side is already a great honor!"

Wei Rong found it laughable at the time.

Xiao Heng was the one who came to propose marriage three times, bowing and scraping, but in the end, she became the third person to break up the couple.

But she couldn't laugh. Shen Mingxiu's radiance contrasted sharply with her own desolation. The one who should be laughing was Shen Mingxiu, who was placed in a secluded room and only promoted to the position of the most favored concubine after the overall situation had settled.

Wei Rong wore a red fox fur cloak, which made her complexion look better.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Shen Mingxiu's etiquette was impeccable. After bowing, she took Wei Rong's hand and said, "It's all my fault. My cousin didn't know his place and caused Your Majesty to be wronged."

She wore rouge on her face, showing no signs of weakness from her illness, and around her neck was a string of fine pearls.

Wei Rong withdrew her hand: "You've just recovered from a serious illness, don't let me taint you with my illness again."

"Your Majesty, are you upset with Xiuxiu?" Tears streamed down her face. "When I first heard about my cousin's matter, I felt extremely guilty. Unfortunately, my body is too weak, and I've been ill for several days, my mind is unclear. His Majesty forbade the servants from disturbing me. This morning, when I learned that His Majesty had moved most of the Imperial Hospital to Chuxiu Palace, I couldn't sit still any longer. I brought Imperial Physician An with me to take Your Majesty's pulse first, is that alright?"

Wei Rong knew her own body was in poor condition; she had been overthinking, and the cold had made her fall seriously ill.

The prescription from Physician Qian was effective. After taking two doses of the medicine, she could clearly feel that the vital energy she had lost over the past three months was rapidly restored.

To be honest, Wei Rong had never heard of this person in the palace, yet his prescriptions were so accurate.

Thinking it over, she ignored the hint of smugness in Shen Mingxiu's tone: "Then take a look for me."

Shen Mingxiu choked for a moment. She hadn't expected Wei Rong to agree so readily. If she, a palace concubine, accompanied the imperial physician to see the patient, the entire palace would know how unfavored Wei Rong was.

Apart from the title of Empress, everything else was subordinate to her.

Who knew that Wei Rong was such a quail, still able to maintain harmony even at this point.

Her smile froze for a moment, then Shen Mingxiu quickly said, "Quickly, invite Physician An in."

Physician An was also an opportunist. When he paid his respects, he first bowed to Shen Mingxiu. Only after Shen Mingxiu slightly raised her chin did he kneel down, take a silk handkerchief, place it on Wei Rong's wrist, and take her pulse.

Wei Rong ignored all of this, resting one hand on the jade pillow as if she were bored.

After a long silence, Physician An stopped and said, "Her Majesty only has a cold; she will recover with rest."

High fever for several days, persistent cough, and chronic headache were all lightly covered up by these four words, which shows how perfunctory the treatment was.

Qiaoyu was furious and was about to step forward to argue when Wei Rong stopped her with a look.

A smile even appeared on her lips.

If she hadn't survived this time and had died, Shen Mingxiu would probably have been most satisfied. But since she didn't die, Shen Mingxiu had other plans.

As expected, Shen Mingxiu frowned slightly: "If there's nothing seriously wrong, why hasn't Your Majesty recovered after so many days? Imperial Physician An, please take a look at the prescription for Her Majesty. If the prescription doesn't work, please prepare one for Her Majesty yourself. The end of the year is approaching, Your Majesty must take good care of your health."

"Yes, Your Highness."

There happened to be a warm medicine pot on the table, which Qiaoyu had specially prepared to keep warm on a small stove so that the medicine wouldn't get cold.

Imperial Physician An opened the medicine pot, glanced at it briefly, and said in a sincere tone but with a perfunctory attitude, "There are a few medicines in here that are not suitable for Your Majesty's health. I will prescribe a new one for Your Majesty to drink."

"Really? Can Imperial Physician An guarantee that my illness will be cured within three days?"

Physician An's expression changed slightly: "Your Majesty is joking. Even if Hua Tuo were alive, he wouldn't dare say that his medicine could cure all diseases."

"Your Majesty is still blaming Xiuxiu for being wary of Physician An," Shen Mingxiu said, her eyes slightly red. "But Physician An is indeed very experienced, and I was taken care of by him."

"Then Physician An will take full care of my sister, so as not to be distracted and delay her health."

Shen Mingxiu looked even more pitiful: "Even if Your Majesty is angry with Xiuxiu, you must not take it to your own health. I heard that Physician Qian has been in the Imperial Hospital for less than three years and usually treats the servants in the palace. How can you treat Your Majesty like this?"

These words, ostensibly meant to express sympathy, were unmistakably sarcastic.

Wei Rong coughed lightly, pressing her fist to her lips, and chuckled, "So, the medicine prescribed by Physician Qian made me feel much better, and it was even more effective than the medicine prescribed by all the imperial physicians in the Consort's palace?"

"Since Your Majesty does not appreciate the Consort's good intentions, then I will not treat her!" Imperial Physician An flicked his sleeve.

Just as Wei Rong was about to speak again, a voice from outside announced, "His Majesty has arrived!"

Wei Rong was ill for five days, and Xiao Heng never stepped into the Phoenix Palace, nor did he send anyone to inquire about her.

Shen Mingxiu arrived less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and he followed closely behind.

They really do cherish it very much.

Even though Wei Rong saw through him, she still couldn't help but feel extremely disheartened.

Xiao Heng had just finished court and was still wearing his dragon robe when he entered the main hall. He glanced around and found Shen Mingxiu, immediately putting his arm around her shoulder.

"What's all the noise about?"