Chapter 24 A Peaceful Night
Chapter 24 A Peaceful Night
In the evening, Emperor Mingyuan came for the regular greeting. Seeing that the Retired Emperor
getting better, he gladly chatted with him for a while and then left.
Yuan Qingling kept her head down all the time, Emperor Mingyuan barely noticed she was there, so
nothing happened.
After Emperor Mingyuan left, Eunuch Chang helped the Retired Emperor get wiped clean as usual,
while Yuan Qingling moved to the outer hall to leave them alone.
She took the opportunity and give herself an injection, but unfortunately, there was no way to re-dress
the wounds. Now the wounds were wet, and it seemed to be oozing blood.
Once the injection was done, she lay down and rested for a while. When she heard footsteps inside,
she knew Eunuch Chang had finished his work, so she struggled to stand up. But the sudden
movement overburdened her heart and blood soon surged up through her throat to her mouth.
She walked outside, trembling along the way, and then she spat the blood on the roots of a tree.
Hand on the tree, she spent a long while stabilizing herself and catching a breath.
“Your Grace, may I help?”
Eunuch Chang asked her from behind. Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
Yuan Qingling turned around and waved her hand. "It's okay. I’ve eaten too much."
“OK.” Eunuch Chang felt a little strange but he left without a word.
Yuan Qingling kept the doubts in her mind and returned to the palace. The Retired Emperor sat half
upright on the bed, and he looked much more energetic now.
Yuan Qingling said, “Your Majesty, time for an infusion.”
The Retired Emperor reached out his hand and took a look at her. “I’ve dismissed him. You can do
whatever you need to do now.”
Yuan Qingling first listened to his heartbeat and breathing. His breathing was still not smooth, then she
gave an appropriate dose of dopamine before the infusion.
She took out a bottle of Glyceryl Trinitrate and handed it to the Retired Emperor. "This medicine is for
the emergency. If you feel chest pain and suffocation, put a pill under the tongue."
The label and instruction on the bottle were already torn off by her outside just now.
The bottle looked very delicate. The Retired Emperor played it in his hand and took it away.
After a while, the Retired Emperor saw Yuan Qingling coming over with water and a handful of colorful
pills that didn't look like any pills he knew. "What are these?" He was slightly impatient.
“Drugs. Time to take the drugs.”
“No!” He believed that more colors indicated more danger.
"Yes, you have to!" Yuan Qingling now was clearly aware that the Retired Emperor wouldn’t make
things difficult for her, so she became a little bold. "That’s your only way to get better. They aren’t bitter
anyway."
"Alright!" The Retired Emperor gave a disgusted look before he picked up a few of them and put them
in his mouth. Yuan Qingling handed him water right away, but she saw the Retired Emperor chewing
the pills and his face looked twisted.
"Have some water and swallow them now!" Yuan Qingling hurriedly handed him the cup. That was
totally unexpected because even kids knew pills should be swallowed with water. She wondered if
there was no pill in the imperial palace.
After having the whole cup of water, the Retired Emperor finally swallowed the bitter medicines. "Once I
get better, I’ll have you be beheaded!" He said angrily.
“Sure, sure!” Yuan Qingling coaxed. She really wanted to laugh at this moment and was surprised at
her own optimism.
The Retired Emperor murmured a few more words, then he slowly turned his head aside. Yuan
Qingling knew that he was sleepy, so she moved the pillow away and helped him to lie down.
The infusion lasted for about an hour. As soon as it was finished, Yuan Qingling packed it up. In a short
while, Eunuch Chang came, followed by imperial doctors.
Eunuch Chang said to Yuan Qingling, “Your Grace, the Retired Emperor told you to have a rest in the
outer hall. Please come in and take care of His Majesty the next morning.”
Yuan Qingling was exhausted. She knew there wouldn’t be problems tonight, so she walked out after a
nod.
The outer hall was the place where Yu Wenhao had slept today. Yuan Qingling closed the door and lay
on the bed. She fell asleep almost as soon as she touched the bed.
She woke up once at midnight and sneaked into the cella to check the situation. Eunuch Chang was
sitting on the ground, taking a nap, while the Retired Emperor was sleeping peacefully. She rubbed her
eyes and went out. After she took some more drugs, she continued to sleep.
She woke up before dawn. She slept soundly with no dreams. When she woke up, she vomited blood
again. What was worse, her internal organs ached for quite a few minutes. She quickly took a few anti-
inflammatory drugs and waited for the pain to pass. Then he went to take care of the Retired Emperor
in the cella.
Eunuch Chang was already awake, and he was busy telling the imperial servants to get warm water.
Yuan Qingling was served with some, too.
Having washed her face, she felt much more refreshed.
The Retired Emperor opened his eyes, and Eunuch Chang was helping him.
The day got brighter. They were told that the Queen Mother was coming.
Yuan Qingling patted her face to make herself more clear-headed.
The Queen Mother came in. She looked particularly pale in that cyan silk and satin embroidered
clothes with patterns of longevity symbols.
Chu Mingcui accompanied the Queen Mother. When Yuan Qingling greeted the Queen Mother, Chu
Mingcui came over and held her hand, then she said gently, "Thank you so much, Qingling."
Yuan Qingling lowered her head to look at her hands. They looked whiter under her wide scarlet
sleeves. She wore floral armors and a few delicate rings on her fingers.
No needles or blades were found.
However, the armor on her right-hand little finger was a bit strange. It shone cold lights.
When Yuan Qingling withdrew her hand, she touched it stealthily and suddenly felt a sharp pain at her
finger pulp. It was a thin blade!
It was Chu Mingcui!
An imperial servant came in from outside. He bowed to the Retired Emperor. “Your Majesty, Prince
Wenhao is in the outer hall now. His Grace is waiting for your permission to walk in.”
“Let him in.” The Retired Emperor got rid of Eunuch Chang’s hand. “Where is Lucky? Send him in!”
The Queen Mother stepped ahead with a smile.
“You just got better. Couldn’t you leave the dog alone for a while?”
The Retired Emperor was displeased. “The dog? He has a name!”
The Queen Mother sat on the edge of the bed. She took a towel and carefully wiped the Retired
Emperor’s forehead. Tears welled up a little in her eyes. "Right, he’s called Lucky. You want him to be a
lucky dog."
Yu Wenhao strode inside. He was moving so fast that the curtain had hardly fallen when he got in the
cella.
In the past, as long as Chu Mingcui was present, he would always search for her first. But today, when
he entered the hall, he looked for Yuan Qingling at once. After he found her, his eyes had been fixed on
her face for a long while before he went to do the greeting.
Chu Mingcui stepped aside. She lowered her head, and her anger covered the faint sadness she
pretended to have.
He didn’t even glance at her!
“There is no morning meeting today. Why did you come so early?” The Retired Emperor seemed to be
in a bad mood, but his tone softened a little towards Yu Wenhao.
“Grandfather, I’m worried about you, so I came as early as I can.” Yu Wenhao had stayed up for a
whole night, so there were dark circles under his eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” The Retired Emperor said to comfort his grandson.
In a short while, Emperor Mingyuan and the Queen also came. Prince Rui didn’t leave the imperial
palace last night, so he showed up too.
Yuan Qingling moved aside, watching them chatting.
Chu Mingcui went to stand by her side. She looked at Yuan Qingling with a gentle and friendly smile on
her face. "You must be exhausted last night."
“It’s alright.” Yuan Qingling don’t want to talk to her, so her reply was perfunctory.
An imperial doctor came to serve the medicine soup, but the Retired Emperor was unwilling to take it.
He lost his temper and yelled, “Take it away! I don’t want it.”
No matter how hard other people, including Emperor Mingyuan and the Queen Mother, tried to
persuade him, he refused to yield. The Queen Mother was anxious and cried in worry.
Emperor Mingyuan knew his father very well. If his father got mad, nobody got to get him to do
anything. Just when he was about to have the medicine taken out, he heard Yuan Qingling speaking at
the corner. “Your Majesty, I think you should take the medicine.”
The others didn’t notice she was in the room until now. They looked at him, and Emperor Mingyuan
seemed annoyed. He was afraid the Retired Emperor might be angry with her words.
Chu Mingcui was standing by. She couldn't help but smile. She thought Yuan Qingling was stupid and
didn’t know when to shut her mouth, which may cause the Supreme Emperor to lose his temper.
Neither the Queen Mother nor the Emperor Mingyuan could make the Retired Emperor take the
medicine. Chu Mingcui was curious about why Yuan Qingling believed the Retired Emperor would
listen to her. That would only offend him.