Chapter 165: Good, We Have Been Waiting for This News
Not long after, Li Zhen noticed something was wrong with Liu Qianqian. Her eyes were tightly shut and her entire body convulsed violently before she began to foam at the mouth. Greatly alarmed, Li Zhen patted her cheeks and asked what was wrong.
Seeing that she remained in this state, he immediately got up, threw on his robe, and shouted for someone to enter, "Someone come here! Quickly, come in!"
"What are Your Majesty's orders?" An alert eunuch pushed the door open, knelt on the floor, and asked what the emperor required.
"Hurry and summon the imperial physician. Lady Liu has taken ill. Have people come in to look after her," the Emperor Li Zhen ordered with a stern expression as he stepped out from behind the gauze curtains.
"By your decree! Someone, quickly summon the physician on duty! You all, go inside and tend to her."
The eunuch who had entered to take orders shuddered upon hearing the emperor's words. He quickly acknowledged the command, got up, and rushed off to fetch the physician.
Palace maids and eunuchs crowded into the room. The maids rushed to the bedside and were shocked to see Lady Liu lying completely naked on the bed, still convulsing and foaming at the mouth. They hurriedly pulled the quilt over her to cover her body, and fearing she might bite her tongue, wedged a piece of cloth into her mouth.
"What a complete ruin of the mood. How could someone with an illness even be allowed to enter the palace?"
By this time, the emperor had finished dressing with the help of his attendants. He glanced at her once more, and a deep sense of disgust welled up within him.
Just moments ago, she had claimed to have learned the art of serving in the bedchamber, and before he could even fully enjoy himself, such a thing had to happen. If word of this got out, what would people think of the emperor? They might assume he had abused her!
"May Your Majesty please calm your wrath!" The close attendant hurriedly sought to pacify him, terrified that the emperor's foul mood would bring disaster upon them all.
In his heart, the eunuch also blamed Lady Liu for falling ill at such an inopportune time, unaware of how many people would suffer because of her.
"Prepare the carriage to return to the inner court." The emperor still wore a displeased expression and ordered his immediate return, not bothering to offer another word of concern.
"By your decree! Prepare the carriage for the return to the inner court!"
Amidst a throng of attendants guarding him, the emperor returned to his quarters. After such an incident, everyone walked on thin ice, trembling with fear.
Not long after the emperor's departure, the imperial physician on duty arrived. After a brief examination, he had a fairly good idea of the situation. She had simply inhaled a certain type of aphrodisiac fragrance. While it posed no immediate threat to her life, prolonged inhalation was harmful to the body. Combined with the intense agitation of her vital energy and blood just moments before, her constitution could not bear it, which triggered the attack.
Meanwhile, Fu Yan had not yet retired for the night in her own palace. She sat upright on her bed with a contemplative look on her face. She was secretly worrying, knowing that Liu Qianqian was serving the emperor tonight, and wondering whether she had 'fallen ill' just as she had anticipated.
The day she handed her the dragon-saliva incense, she had told her that the Emperor was extremely fond of it, and that she must burn it on her body every day so that the fragrance would emanate from her entire person, just as she herself did.
She simply did not know if Liu Qianqian had followed her instructions. If she truly had done as she was told, tonight's bedchamber service would certainly not pass peacefully. And so, unable to sleep, she waited for news.
"Noble Lady Fu, I hear that Lady Liu fell ill while serving His Majesty. The imperial physician is currently examining her. But will they discover that there is something wrong with that dragon-saliva incense?"
This palace maid was a personal servant who had followed her from her maiden family since childhood, which was why she spoke without reservation. All of them knew a thing or two about Fu Yan's true temper and her past deeds.
"Good, that is precisely the news I have been waiting for. Rest assured, the physician on duty at the Imperial Hospital tonight is Doctor Liu. I have already bribed him."
The moment Fu Yan heard the maid's report, a sinister and triumphant smile bloomed across her face—a stark contrast to the gentle and demure persona she usually put on in front of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
As for that dragon-saliva incense, it was merely an ordinary aromatic blend. However, she had secretly mixed another formulation into it that caused blood to surge and the mind to wander. As long as it wasn't burned in excess, it would cause no harm. But no doubt Liu Qianqian had been burning it daily to scent her body, which was why this disaster had struck her tonight.