The veiled consort’s leg had been injured for at least several years. Whatever days of imperial favor she might have enjoyed, they would not have fallen within the past two years.

Given her age as well, when a woman entered the palace in the ordinary way, she was either left in cold neglect from the very beginning, or she found favor while still young.

Some were fortunate enough that their favor, once won, never waned.

But if a woman had passed her youth without a moment of the Emperor’s attention, only to earn his affection in her later years — that, Feng Jiu felt, was a possibility hardly worth considering.

So her conclusion was this: if that woman truly was a consort, the time of her favor at court would have been over a decade ago.

“Over a decade ago…” Xue Gu thought carefully, yet still shook her head. “The most favored person at court was Nanmeng Rong. Though that was not because Emperor Qiwen truly cared for her — it was no more than a fear of the military power held by the Nanmeng clan.”

“As for the consorts within the palace…” She thought again, and shook her head once more. “Emperor Qiwen never seemed to place much weight on matters of passion. There was no consort in his court who stood out as having received any particular or exceptional favor.”

Had that not been the case, when Nanmeng Rong had gone about harming those young and beautiful consorts one by one — even destroying their unborn children — Emperor Qiwen could not have turned a blind eye and let it happen as he did.

If there had truly been someone he cherished, he would have protected her at any cost.

But from what Xue Gu had witnessed in those years, Emperor Qiwen had indeed paid precious little heed to the consorts of his inner court.

There had been one woman in those days toward whom he had shown a certain regard — but… that was done and gone. Better left unmentioned.

Beyond that, among all the consorts and ladies of the rear palace, there had not been a single one who had ever earned even a fragment of his true heart.

The saying went: since ancient times, emperors have been without sentiment. Was that not always so?

“Forget it for now. We can continue looking into this matter gradually. But more pressingly, you will likely need to find me some rather rare medicinal herbs.”

Regardless of who this veiled consort truly was, if Feng Jiu could not produce any visible improvement in the woman’s leg, she feared this time it would bring ruin down upon the entire Tianji Hall.

The imperial family was not to be provoked lightly. She was not the Ninth Imperial Uncle — she did not possess the kind of commanding presence that would allow her to face the imperial family head-on.

With the Emperor’s attention now upon her, she had no choice for the present but to carry out his wishes and serve him faithfully.

But even if she could heal the veiled consort’s leg, she would still need to think carefully about her own means of retreat.

Serving beside the Emperor was like dwelling beside a tiger. Now that she knew of the veiled consort’s existence, without a sound plan in place, she feared she would never escape being silenced in the end.

She looked at Xue Gu, and the gravity in her eyes was plain: “As soon as possible.”

“Understood.” Xue Gu grasped the seriousness of the matter. If that mysterious consort’s condition showed no improvement, every soul here would pay with their life.

So it was that being too renowned was not always a blessing. One misstep, and it invited ruin upon oneself.

“I will go now.” Xue Gu gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

Feng Jiu stifled a yawn and looked up at the sky. Though still quite tired, she had resolved to get on with the day’s affairs.

Tianji Hall employed no small number of physicians, each with their own consultation room. She had one of her own as well.

But today, what surprised her was the sight of two entirely unexpected figures waiting outside her consultation room door.

Leng Yue was pushing Emperor Ji’s wheelchair, and the two of them were standing there with a numbered appointment token — first in line.

An appointment to see Feng Jiu was not cheap. Unless ordinary townspeople came with a serious or urgent condition, they generally did not seek her out.

She typically came in only to oversee the running of Tianji Hall as a whole, or to attend to patients in critical condition. For emergencies transferred to her care, of course, she charged the same as the other physicians.

She had no intention of exploiting ordinary people. But as the head of Tianji Hall, beyond seeing patients, there were a great many other matters to manage.

As a result, she could not remain in the consultation room day after day the way other physicians did. Her room was not open every day — only a handful of days each month, with public notice given in advance.

Tianji Hall had enough physicians for the time being to manage the flow of patients.

Today, Emperor Ji had come in the proper manner, paying a considerable price to obtain a numbered appointment token — evidently with the single purpose of waiting for her.

Whether this was a genuine medical visit or some other purpose, Feng Jiu had no wish to speculate, nor any desire to waste time over it.

Emperor Ji’s eyes betrayed little in the way of shifting feeling or intent. It was Leng Yue whose gaze — fixed on Feng Jiu — looked as though she wished she could strip away every layer and see what lay beneath.

This one she had already defeated, however. Feng Jiu gave her not so much as a second thought.

“Please come in.” She pushed open the consultation room door, stepped inside ahead of them, and settled into her seat behind the examination table, looking at the two as they entered.

Emperor Ji surveyed the surroundings. Her consultation room held only a modest collection of instruments. Some of them he had never seen before. But there was no medicine shelf — in fact, not a single medicinal preparation of any kind.

This was supposed to be… a physician’s practice?

“Does your Tianji Hall not even carry medicine?” Leng Yue had noticed the same thing quickly enough and could not restrain the cutting remark: “A hall of this size, and patients have to take a prescription and fetch their medicine elsewhere? What kind of establishment is this?”

One might overlook such a thing in a small practice, but for Tianji Hall, with all its grandeur, to have no medicine store of its own — was that fitting?

“Have you actually seen any of our patients going to another clinic to collect their medicine?” Feng Jiu raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, and smiled: “Does your eyesight not serve you well?”

“You—”

“Yue’er, go and wait to the side for a moment.” Emperor Ji looked somewhat fatigued — most likely he had not rested well the previous night.

Naturally — Mu Mu had been unaccounted for all night long, and who knew how many people had been searching for him. Emperor Ji and Ye Luosha could not have slept soundly.

But Feng Jiu felt no sympathy for him. That was none of her concern.

“I prefer not to have bystanders present during a consultation. If this young lady also wishes to be seen, she is welcome to wait outside first and collect a numbered token. She will be called in when the time comes.”

Feng Jiu gave Leng Yue a brief glance. If this woman did not leave, there was no telling what disturbance she might cause. This was a consultation room, meant to be a quiet space. She truly had no patience for Leng Yue’s insufferable voice.

“You want to throw me out? What do you intend to do to my adoptive father?” Leng Yue’s eyes were full of sharp suspicion, and she had already assumed a posture that suggested she was ready to move at a moment’s notice.

“If you have not come in good faith for a medical consultation, then kindly leave. Do not waste my time.” Feng Jiu’s voice cooled.

Emperor Ji felt a flicker of awkwardness. This young man truly gave no ground whatsoever.

But the fault was on their side. The girl he had brought along was indeed too noisy and far too rude.

In truth, he had not come with any genuine intention of seeking medical treatment. He had long since resigned himself entirely on the matter of his legs. It was only that Leng Yue had worn him down with her persistent pleading, forcing him to come and “verify” Feng Jiu’s identity for herself.

As a matter of fact, after last night’s exchange between Feng Jiu and Ye Luosha, Emperor Ji had put to rest any remaining doubt that Feng Jiu could be Feng Jiu’er.

She could not possibly be Feng Jiu’er. It had only been half a year — and even if one had consumed a celestial elixir, surely one could not have reached this level.

Emperor Ji truly wished to leave. The manor house was well supplied with physicians. There was no need to come here and endure someone else’s manner.

When all was said and done, Emperor Ji had once been a prince of the previous dynasty. Even now, though he lived as an ordinary citizen, he had never been short of people in his service. Enduring the manner of others was something he had no fondness for.