Chapter 19: The Empress’s Righteousness

If Feng Yu had not previously witnessed Jiang Daiyin sprinting and pummeling a sandbag, he might have actually believed her.

With an expression of utter speechlessness, and seeing no sign of her waking, he pursed his lips. "Fu Linhai, summon the imperial physician."

"At once."

"Cough, cough... Your Majesty, why are you here?" Upon hearing that a physician was being summoned, Jiang Daiyin hurriedly opened her eyes and let out two weak coughs.

Fu Linhai’s steps toward the door came to an abrupt halt.

"How did the Empress suddenly become so ill?"

Looking into Feng Yu’s calm, unruffled eyes, Jiang Daiyin felt a chill in her heart, yet she still spoke in a thread of a voice, feeble and frail: "It is merely an old injury that has not yet healed. A period of rest will suffice."

"It is better to have the physician take a look. The Empress’s health is of the utmost importance." Feng Yu raised a hand, signaling for Fu Linhai to proceed.

"Your Majesty—" Jiang Daiyin pressed down on his hand and coughed twice more. "I shall have Chunyu send someone to fetch the physician. Your Majesty is busy with affairs of state; there is no need to trouble yourself."

If Feng Yu had only slightly suspected that Jiang Daiyin was trying to send him away before, he was now fully convinced.

A faint smile touched Feng Yu’s lips as he pressed Jiang Daiyin back down and tucked the quilt around her, his dark pupils deep and unfathomable. "We are husband and wife, one body; speaking of trouble is far too distant."

"Fu Linhai, why haven’t you gone yet?"

"Wait!" Jiang Daiyin’s mind raced. Why wasn't this dog of an emperor taking the hint today? It seemed she had no choice but to use that ultimate ploy.

"The Empress refuses to let me summon a physician—could it be that you are feigning illness? Hmm?" Feng Yu stared at her with an oppressive intensity, as if intent on tearing away her disguise.

Jiang Daiyin gripped Feng Yu’s hand. Though her face was pale, she possessed the delicate, ethereal beauty of a sickly beauty of legend. She blinked her eyes, her voice soft and filled with pleasant surprise.

"Your Majesty is truly too kind to me. To personally send someone to fetch a physician—I am so deeply moved."

"It is just that my heart is ill at ease. When I think of the common people in this bitter winter, hungry and cold, with no money to see a doctor when they fall ill, I cannot find peace!"

"In my heart, Your Majesty is not only my husband, but my heaven—the heaven for all the people under heaven. I beg you, Your Majesty, do not waste your time here. Please, think more of the suffering masses!"

A wave of profound respect filled the room!

Chunyu and Xiamo felt like slapping themselves. Look at the Empress’s breadth of vision! They decided then and there never to urge her to vie for imperial favor again.

Fu Linhai, without realizing it, stood straighter, his eyes burning with a determination as if he were ready to join the army and serve his country.

Feng Yu felt a pang of guilt for his petty suspicions. He was truly a wretch! The Empress’s heart was filled with the common people, yet he had doubted her intentions. Everything she did was for his own good.

"Empress, rest assured, I understand!"

Feng Yu felt his blood boiling with patriotic fervor; he could easily handle another hundred memorials!

Jiang Daiyin held Feng Yu’s hand and nodded solemnly. "Your Majesty, you are an emperor for the ages, a sagacious ruler. I cannot help you with much, but I can only urge and encourage you this way. I hope you do not blame me."

Her gaze was so sincere, it was as if she were saying, "Comrade, you are our savior!"

Feng Yu was moved by her look. "To have such a wife, what more could a husband ask for? I am deeply grateful for your words, Empress!"

"Fu Linhai, prepare the carriage! We return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation!"

"At once!"

"Empress, rest well. I will come to see you when I have time." Feng Yu patted Jiang Daiyin’s hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please go!" Jiang Daiyin struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth, which were twitching upward, and nodded with great gravity.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, it is terrible! Something has happened to the Sixth Princess!"

Just as Feng Yu rose, a eunuch came sprinting in from outside.

"What has happened to the Sixth Princess?" Feng Yu demanded, his face turning cold.

Jiang Daiyin could not help but sit upright. What had happened to that cute little dumpling?

"Returning to Your Majesty, the Noble Consort says that after the Sixth Princess returned from the Phoenix Palace, she began to run a fever and break out in a rash. It seems she must have eaten something she should not have."

As the little eunuch spoke, he glanced at Jiang Daiyin.

Hearing this, Jiang Daiyin realized that the Noble Consort was trying to frame her again.

"Children are greedy; it is common for them to eat something that disagrees with them. Summon a physician—I am not a physician." Feng Yu’s face remained cold. Why couldn't the people in this harem be more like the Empress and save him some trouble? He was the ruler of a nation, not a judge of the inner palace!

"Your Majesty, the Noble Consort requests your presence to seek justice for her." The little eunuch pushed forward, despite his fear.

"Your Majesty, I shall accompany you."

Jiang Daiyin, having changed her clothes at some point, stood gracefully before Feng Yu. Feng Yu opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing and nodded.

Upon reaching the Yikun Palace, before they could even enter, they heard the Noble Consort’s heart-rending sobs.

"Yao’er! It is my miserable fate that I cannot protect you!"

"Your brother is no longer by my side, and if you should suffer any ill fate, I have no reason to live—"

Feng Yu’s brows knitted so tightly he could have crushed a fly between them.

"My Lady! Someone help! The Lady has fainted!"

The room was in total chaos. Feng Yu strode in, shouting with a dark face: "Yao’er is still ill! What kind of decorum is this, making such a scene!"

Only upon hearing Feng Yu’s voice did Consort Wei slowly "revive," her beautiful eyes swimming with tears, her voice mournful.

"Your Majesty, you have come."

Feng Yu ignored her and turned to Imperial Physician Zhang. "How is the Sixth Princess?"

Imperial Physician Zhang bowed. "Returning to Your Majesty, the Sixth Princess had an allergic reaction to peanuts. She is now out of danger."

"So, Yao-yao is allergic to peanuts." Jiang Daiyin felt a twinge of guilt. Had she known, she would have asked beforehand to spare the child such suffering. She had wronged the Noble Consort, as there were indeed peanut crisps in the pastries she had packed today.

"Noble Consort, I truly did not know that Yao’er was allergic to peanuts. But please, rest assured, I never had any intention of harming her." Jiang Daiyin spoke with genuine sincerity.

But to Wei Ranzhu, it sounded like mockery. Having suffered several setbacks, she had learned her lesson and would no longer stupidly attack the Empress, knowing it would cause no real damage.

"Empress, I understand. It was just Yao’er’s own greed that led to this. I did not mean to trouble you." Consort Wei wiped the tears from her eyes, playing the part of a worried, loving mother.

Jiang Daiyin looked at the sleeping Feng Lingyao, whose face and exposed arms were covered in red rashes, her little face flushed. She had truly suffered.

"Your Majesty, this was indeed my oversight. It is not easy for the Noble Consort to care for the Sixth Princess; why not lift her confinement and punishment?"

Wei Ranzhu was surprised that Jiang Daiyin would say this herself; she had expected the Emperor to bring it up. However, she was not about to be grateful—had it not been for Jiang Daiyin, she would never have been confined or subjected to such humiliation!