Pan Hai busied himself wiping the filth off Emperor Jingming, feeling immense sympathy for his sovereign.
His Emperor truly had it tough—
Meanwhile, the Virtuous Consort, unable to accept both the cruel reality of her son’s exposed schemes and the horrifying fact that she had spat blood on the Emperor’s face, rolled her eyes back and fainted.
Pan Hai pursed his lips.
Fainting was good—when unconscious, one didn’t have to face anything.
Emperor Jingming allowed Pan Hai to clean his face, glanced at the Virtuous Consort being supported by palace maids, and said sternly, “Summon the Imperial Physician to treat the Virtuous Consort.”
Though he wasn’t angry at the Virtuous Consort’s loss of composure, he didn’t stay either. He hastily left Yuquan Palace for the Hall of Mental Cultivation, only feeling better after bathing and changing clothes.
He had no desire to return to Yuquan Palace.
“Your Majesty, lunch is ready—”
Emperor Jingming glanced at Pan Hai coldly, “I have no appetite.”
Who could have an appetite after being spat on with blood?
Pan Hai understood and didn’t insist.
Emperor Jingming, hungry, watched Jixiang eat dried fish, his mood worsening.
Back in Yuquan Palace, the Virtuous Consort had awakened, her first words being, “Where is the Emperor?”
After a moment of silence, a trusted palace maid replied, “The Emperor has left. The Imperial Physician is preparing medicine for you.”
The Virtuous Consort pressed her lips together, tasting the sweetness of blood. This made her stomach churn again, and she turned her head to vomit.
Seeing the red in the spittoon, everyone in Yuquan Palace turned pale.
The situation didn’t look good for Her Highness—
A trusted palace maid knelt, crying, “Your Highness, let me go request the Emperor’s presence again.”
The Virtuous Consort wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and asked weakly, “When did the Emperor leave?”
No one answered immediately.
“Speak!”
The trusted maid said softly, “After you fainted, the Emperor ordered for the Imperial Physician and then left.”
“So the Emperor left before the Imperial Physician even arrived?” the Virtuous Consort asked, her face pale.
The trusted maid nodded difficultly, tears streaming down her face.
The Virtuous Consort closed her eyes and laughed bitterly, “Then there’s no need to request the Emperor’s presence.”
If the Emperor didn’t even have the patience to wait for the Imperial Physician to examine her condition, what was the point in asking him to come again?
At this moment, the Virtuous Consort realized that Emperor Jingming had completely grown tired of Prince Qi and her as well.
This realization left her disheartened and desperate as if her vitality had been instantly drained, making her look years older.
The news of the Virtuous Consort coughing blood and fainting spread quickly throughout the palace.
Soon, the Empress sent someone to visit.
“Your Highness, someone from Kunning Palace is here to see you.”
The Virtuous Consort initially wanted to indulge in refusing, thinking ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ but her desperation couldn’t overcome her concern for her son.
It wasn’t yet the end for Zhang’er, so she had to hold on.
“Let them in.”
Shortly after, a palace maid entered. It was Aping, the head maid from the Empress’s side.
“This servant was sent by the Empress to check on Your Highness. Are you feeling better?” Aping asked with concern, discreetly observing the Virtuous Consort.
The Virtuous Consort smiled, “I’m fine. Please thank the Empress for me.”
“The Empress will be relieved to hear you’re well. Please rest, and I won’t disturb you further.”
Returning to Kunning Palace, Aping reported the Virtuous Consort’s condition to the Empress: “This servant observed that the Virtuous Consort looked extremely unwell, without a hint of color in her face…”
After listening, the Empress remained silent for a while before instructing, “Tell Chief Eunuch Tao not to neglect the food, clothing, and daily necessities for Yuquan Palace. Without my orders, people from Kunning Palace should not go there, and there must be no kicking someone when they’re down.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As the room quieted, the Empress glanced at the hourglass in the corner and smiled slightly.
This wasn’t the first or second time the Virtuous Consort had coughed up blood. It seemed her life might not last much longer.
The Empress suddenly felt somewhat emotional.
For so many years, the Virtuous Consort had been an undeniable force in the harem. Who would have thought her downfall would come so easily?
It seemed everything had become smoother since Prince Yan was registered under her name.
Thinking of this, the Empress felt more certain that she had chosen the right son.
If she had chosen Prince Xiang, who had killed Cui Mingyue— The Empress shook her head, not wanting to entertain such a hypothesis.
Following Kunning Palace’s visit to the Virtuous Consort, Yuquan Palace experienced a brief period of activity.
High-ranking consorts like Consort Zhuang and Consort Ning all sent gifts of tonics. However, lower-ranking consorts found it inappropriate to send gifts and were unsure of the situation, so they dared not act rashly, leaving no one to take the lead.
The Virtuous Consort couldn’t help but laugh coldly, feeling more acutely the coldness of human nature and the fickleness of the world.
When she was in her prime, those little hussies had rushed to flatter her, even at the cost of offending the Empress. But now that she was ill and coughing blood, they didn’t even come to visit.
As for Consort Zhuang and the others, sending tonics wasn’t meant as comfort but clearly to mock her.
Looking around the desolate Yuquan Palace, the Virtuous Consort closed her eyes and laughed bitterly.
How did it come to this? She couldn’t accept it, truly couldn’t accept it!
The Virtuous Consort opened her eyes and lowered her gaze to her hands.
The nail on her right pinky finger was broken, looking bare and unsightly.
She repeatedly pondered why Prince Qi’s actions had been exposed, but couldn’t figure it out. As she grew more agitated, her throat began to itch again.
She struggled to control the urge to cough up blood, her heart gradually turning cold: her body was failing, and she feared she couldn’t hold on as she wished.
Was she to leave this world with endless worry for Zhangr?
She truly couldn’t accept this!
The Virtuous Consort gripped the bed curtains tightly, her expression contorted.
At this moment, a palace maid hurried in: “Your Highness, someone from Cining Palace is here.”
The Virtuous Consort thought she had misheard: “Cining Palace?”
“It’s Mama Chang from Cining Palace,” the maid quickly added.
“Quickly, show her in.”
Soon, Mama Chang entered and bowed to the Virtuous Consort: “This servant was sent by the Empress Dowager to check on Your Highness.”
The Virtuous Consort’s eyes reddened as she murmured, “I’m ashamed that the Empress Dowager is concerned about me…”
“Your Highness shouldn’t think that way. The Empress Dowager said she hopes all those who have been with His Majesty from early on are doing well.”
The Virtuous Consort suppressed her confusion and feigned being moved.
Zhang had angered the Emperor by scheming against the Empress Dowager, so why would she send someone to check on her? Could it be that the Empress Dowager was unaware?
Mama Chang continued, “Your Highness should rest well. When you’ve recovered, you can pay your respects to the Empress Dowager.”
After seeing Mama Chang off, the Virtuous Consort pondered for a long time, increasingly feeling that the Empress Dowager’s gesture held deep meaning.
It seemed she should visit Cining Palace once she felt better.
The news of Cining Palace sending someone to visit the Virtuous Consort quickly reached Emperor Jingming’s ears.
The next day, when Emperor Jingming went to visit the Empress Dowager, he brought up the matter.
“Mother, did you send someone to Yuquan Palace yesterday?”
The Empress Dowager nodded: “I heard the Virtuous Consort was seriously ill, so I sent someone to check on her. The Virtuous Consort has been with you for many years. If not meritorious, she at least has endured hardships.”
Emperor Jingming fell silent for a moment, ultimately deciding not to mention Prince Qi’s schemes against the Empress Dowager. He sat with her for a while longer before taking his leave.
The Empress Dowager picked up her teacup, gently blowing on the tea leaves floating on the surface, and casually asked Mama Chang beside her, “How long do you think it will take for the Virtuous Consort to recover enough to move about?”
Mama Chang replied, “With your concern, I believe the Virtuous Consort will recover quickly.”
The Empress Dowager smiled slightly and lowered her gaze to drink her tea.