Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: The Imperial Physician

Yun Si retched twice. She wasn’t clear-headed, but she was far more sensitive. A faint sense of unease rose in her, and when she smelled something indescribably unpleasant, she suddenly began to sob.

She pouted, her voice choked with tears.

“It… smells so bad…”

Tan Yuanchu was both angry and amused. He forced a smile with difficulty—he was the one covered in vomit, and she was the one crying because it smelled bad?

The warm mess dripped down his neck, spreading quickly, soaking into his robes, and even hitting the floor…

Tan Yuanchu’s mind was on the verge of exploding. He didn’t even want to imagine it.

Xu Shunfu and the rest of the palace attendants were all stunned. Qiu Yuan nearly collapsed to her knees—this was a grave offense. Everyone held their breath, terrified the Emperor would suddenly fly into a rage.

But Tan Yuanchu only shouted angrily.

“What are you all standing around for?!”

Standing in the breeze—what, hoping to spread the stench more?

Tan Yuanchu felt like he’d die of anger from this brainless bunch. Yun Si was drunk—had they all gotten drunk with her?

Only then did Xu Shunfu and the others hurry into action. Someone moved to take Yun Si from him, but Tan Yuanchu didn’t let go. He curled his lips in cold disdain and scoffed.

She threw up all over him and now wanted to just walk away clean?

Xu Shunfu looked at the Emperor with a complicated expression. What kind of self-destructive tactic was this—wounding the enemy by eight hundred while injuring yourself by a thousand?

Tan Yuanchu carried Yun Si all the way back to the Yangxin Hall. The attendants there blocked the curious onlookers, shielding the scene completely.

Once they arrived, Tan Yuanchu pulled Yun Si into the inner hall, bypassed the screen, and went straight into the bathing room.

He couldn’t tolerate the sour smell on himself, and even less on Yun Si. This was the first time he’d lost composure like this—his face was grim and cold, making Xu Shunfu feel uneasy just looking at him.

Basins of hot water were brought into the inner hall. Since the young lady was inside, Xu Shunfu didn’t go in—Qiu Yuan led a group of palace maids to serve instead.

Qiu Yuan stole a glance at the emperor, then quickly withdrew her gaze in fear.

Tan Yuanchu didn’t allow anyone to touch Yun Si. He undressed her himself, thoroughly, and submerged her entirely in the water. It wasn’t the first time he’d helped her bathe, but it was the first time he did it with such force, almost like he wanted to scrub her clean from head to toe—his teeth clenched in anger.

Steam filled the bathing room. Yun Si’s head drooped low, and she sobbed and whimpered.

The bathwater was changed several times before Tan Yuanchu’s expression finally eased a little. He pinched her cheek irritably and said.

“Stop pretending.”

Who could be more cunning than her?

Crying right after vomiting—anyone would doubt whether she was actually drunk.

Her body was tinged with a rosy hue—marks left by his scrubbing with soap. She smelled fragrant to the bone, but as soon as Tan Yuanchu recalled what had happened at Zhaiyue Tower, all trace of desire vanished.

She lay against his chest. Though the crying had stopped, she continued to whimper softly.

Tan Yuanchu threw on an outer robe, dried her off, then picked her up. After settling her into bed, he reached out and touched her cheek and neck—she felt a little warm. He couldn’t tell if it was just the heat of the bath.

Still uneasy, Tan Yuanchu said, “Summon the imperial physician.”

It was already getting late, and the physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau had gone off duty. After Lu Yuan made a trip, he returned looking troubled. Xu Shunfu frowned and asked, “Where is the physician?”

Lu Yuan lowered his voice as he spoke.

“When this servant went to the Imperial Medical Bureau, all the physicians were already off duty. Only Physician Chang was still on duty, but he’s at the Changchun Palace and hasn’t returned yet.”

Of course, he hadn’t been able to bring anyone.

Xu Shunfu’s eyes widened. From the time they left Zhaiyue Tower to now, nearly a full hour had been spent just washing up, not to mention the time on the road. Physician Chang had already been at Changchun Palace for nearly two hours—what kind of illness did the little princess have that required treatment for so long?

Xu Shunfu, with a headache, reported the news to Tan Yuanchu.

Inside the hall, the young woman burrowed herself into his arms. Tan Yuanchu held her close. His robe had come slightly undone, and her own clothes, which hadn’t been properly worn to begin with, now hung messily on her. Yet despite that, heat continued to radiate from her body.

Hearing Xu Shunfu’s words, Tan Yuanchu’s face turned cold.

“Then go to the Changchun Palace and fetch him! Do I need to teach you everything?!”

She lay against his chest, her cheeks burning hot, clutching lightly at his robe, choking back sobs as she said, “I feel awful…”

Tears dripped down one after another—she looked truly pitiful, scared and miserable.

“…Am I going to die…”

Tan Yuanchu furrowed his brows. He lowered his head to touch his forehead to hers, confirming that she really was a bit feverish. His heart sank. He wasn’t sure whether this was just a drunken reaction or if she’d caught a chill during the bath.

She had worn him down completely, and any frustration he had couldn’t be directed at her in this state. He scolded softly, “Just from drinking, and now you’ve lost your mind too?”

She’d still had some sense of decorum earlier, but now she was talking about dying so casually—who had taught her manners like this?

The girl pouted, feeling utterly miserable, and a fat tear fell with a splat. “I’m already feeling this awful, and you’re still scolding me…”

Tan Yuanchu was at his wit’s end with her crying. He couldn’t help but say,

“Who raised you to be this delicate?”

Though she often acted spoiled with him, Tan Yuanchu had to admit to himself—this kind of temperament wasn’t something he had raised into her.

She had always acted spoiled toward him with clear intent—when had it ever been like this?

Tan Yuanchu’s gaze fell on the girl’s delicate brows and eyes, and for a moment, there was a hint of gentleness. She must have once been cherished and doted on in someone’s hands; otherwise, in her current dazed state, she wouldn’t be acting like this.

She was still fussing, and Tan Yuanchu could only say, “I wasn’t scolding you.”

Yun Ni looked at him with wide almond-shaped eyes, still choking back sobs. Tan Yuanchu couldn’t help himself—he lowered his head and kissed her. He kissed her forehead, her nose tip, then followed down to the corner of her lips.

As he became aware of what he was doing, Tan Yuanchu suddenly froze.

The girl in his arms seemed to notice something too. Her almond eyes welled up with tears again, filled with disbelief.

“…You’re disgusted by me?”

Tan Yuanchu immediately denied it. “No!”

The denial came too quickly—so fast that it exposed his real emotions.

Tan Yuanchu let out a light cough. It wasn’t that he was disgusted by her; he just couldn’t help but recall what had happened at Zhaiyue Tower.

Though the atmosphere in the hall was a bit awkward, it could still be described as warm.

But Changchun Palace, in contrast, was cold and tense.

Having received Tan Yuanchu’s order, Xu Shunfu thought for a moment and decided to personally make a trip to Changchun Palace.

When he arrived, the palace was in chaos.

Everyone inside had gathered in the side hall. Xu Shunfu recognized it as the place where the little princess lived. His heart suddenly sank—could the little princess really be sick?

As he got closer, Xu Shunfu heard the little princess crying—soft, sobbing wails that tugged at the heartstrings.

He stood on tiptoe, craning his neck to peek inside.

The little princess’s face was flushed from crying, and she kept shrinking into the arms of her nursemaid. Rong Zhaoyi was also in tears, trying to reach out to hold the princess, but the girl instinctively pulled back further into the nursemaid’s embrace.

Rong Zhaoyi froze completely in place.

Seeing this, Xu Shunfu was a bit surprised. From what he knew, Rong Zhaoyi always doted on the little princess dearly. Although the princess was close to her nursemaid, it had never outweighed Rong Zhaoyi’s favor.

He stood there for a moment until finally someone spotted him and called out loudly,

“Eunuch Xu is here!”

Rong Zhaoyi turned around in haste. When she saw Xu Shunfu, she instinctively glanced behind him—unfortunately, there was nothing behind him but empty space. The person she had hoped to see was not there.

Xu Shunfu could sense that in that moment, Rong Zhaoyi seemed to lose all strength; even the light in her eyes dimmed.

He couldn’t help being stunned.

What had happened?

He made his way through the crowd and bowed to Rong Zhaoyi. “Your Ladyship Rong Zhaoyi.”

Rong Zhaoyi hadn’t seen the person she was hoping for, and combined with everything that had happened today exhausting her completely, she couldn’t even muster the energy to be courteous to Xu Shunfu. Her tone grew cold, her face emotionless.

“Why has Eunuch Xu come to Changchun Palace?”

Xu Shunfu found it hard to speak directly. He glanced toward Imperial Physician Chang.

Rong Zhaoyi noticed his gaze and frowned sharply. Xu Shunfu did not immediately explain his reason for coming. Instead, he tactfully asked,

“His Majesty was worried about the little princess and sent this servant to inquire after her condition.”

At that, Rong Zhaoyi curled her lips in a mocking smile.

Worried about the little princess? The news that she wasn’t feeling well had spread for two hours already, and His Majesty hadn’t even come to take a look!

Imperial Physician Chang, who had been treating the princess, cupped his hands and said, “The little princess has caught a cold. It’s not serious, but since she’s still young, she’ll need to rest and be carefully tended for some time.”

Xu Shunfu nodded in understanding. He glanced at the little princess again, then gave a light cough and said,

“Then shouldn’t we prepare medicine for the little princess now?”

His intentions were clearly not about the princess, and Rong Zhaoyi’s expression turned cold.
“Eunuch Xu, what exactly have you come for?”

Xu Shunfu fell silent for a moment, then let out an awkward laugh. Knowing he couldn’t keep it hidden, he had no choice but to speak the truth.
“His Majesty sent this servant to request Imperial Physician Chang to come over.”

Rong Zhaoyi looked at him in disbelief.
“What did you say?!”

The little princess was unwell, and not only did His Majesty not come to see her personally, but he also wanted to take the physician away?

Xu Shunfu didn’t dare meet her gaze. But the truth was, Imperial Physician Chang had already taken the princess’s pulse and prescribed her medicine. There wasn’t much more for him to do. The rest would naturally be handled by the attendants of Changchun Palace.

Though he thought this in his heart, Xu Shunfu dared not let it show.

An imperial order—no one could defy it.

Rong Zhaoyi had no choice but to allow Imperial Physician Chang to leave with Xu Shunfu. But as soon as the two of them left, the sharp sound of jade shattering suddenly rang through the hall, followed by the startled crying of the little princess.

The nursemaid instinctively hugged the princess and took a step back.

Tong Yun quickly knelt down and pleaded,
“Your Ladyship, the little princess is young—she mustn’t be frightened!”

Rong Zhaoyi was jolted awake by this. She turned back to look at the little princess, who was curled in the nursemaid’s arms, crying nonstop, her eyes looking at Rong Zhaoyi with a trace of fear.

Rong Zhaoyi froze in place, her rationality slowly returning. She involuntarily took a step back.

What had she done today?

She had let the little princess catch a chill, and in the end, all she accomplished was making her daughter afraid of her.

Suddenly, Rong Zhaoyi collapsed to the floor, completely weak. Tong Yun rushed to support her. With tears in her eyes, Rong Zhaoyi looked toward the little princess. The nursemaid, catching Tong Yun’s signal, carried the child over. The little princess tried to pull away, but Rong Zhaoyi gently reached out to embrace her.

“It’s Mother Consort’s fault. I won’t act like this again. Darling, look at Mother Consort.”

The little princess clung to the nursemaid’s neck, crying louder and louder, causing Rong Zhaoyi to flinch and withdraw her hand, no longer daring to touch her.

Outside of Changchun Palace, Xu Shunfu couldn’t help but ask in more detail about the little princess’s condition.

“How did the little princess catch a cold?”

Imperial Physician Chang, head of the Imperial Medical Bureau and also one of Tan Yuanchu’s trusted aides, fell silent for a moment before saying, “When I arrived, the little princess had a fever and headache, but her whole body was ice-cold.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Shunfu, no fool, immediately realized something. No matter how tactfully Imperial Physician Chang had phrased it, he had conveyed one thing clearly—
the little princess’s cold was not an accident.

Xu Shunfu’s expression changed. He shook his head and sighed.

“This… this is utter foolishness.”

There are no walls in the palace that don’t leak secrets. Of all things, Rong Zhaoyi should never have used the little princess’s health to vie for favor.