allendalepharm Chapter 47 Going Mad
Chapter 47 Going Mad
Shen Shixi couldn't care less about anything else; her eyelids were heavy, and she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Li Yuanke stared at her with his eyes open, his mind inevitably wandering. When she was little, she had played too much in the snow and caught a cold. She had a fever for a day and a night and talked a lot of nonsense, some of which he couldn't understand. At one point, he thought she was going to die, which terrified him.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, please have some food!"
Li Fude watched as the emperor held Consort Zhao in his arms and thought to himself, "It would be more comfortable for Consort Zhao to lie in bed like this," but he dared not say it.
He had never seen the emperor so distraught and helpless.
Shen Shixi felt much more refreshed when she woke up.
She opened her eyes and saw Li Yuanke, his face haggard, his stubble dark, looking at her anxiously.
But at this moment, she couldn't care less about anything else. She pushed Li Yuanke aside, stood up, and called to Bai Ping, "Help me change my clothes and do my makeup!"
Li Yuanke was terrified and grabbed her tightly, asking, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to find Yang Tingyue, I'll teach her a lesson!" She had never been defeated before, but this time, not only did she not gain the upper hand in the fight with Yang Tingyue, she also made herself sick.
Admittedly, after the two of them fell into the water, she had the idea of swimming in the lake. But ultimately, if she hadn't fought with Yang Tingyue, she wouldn't have gone into the water, and if she hadn't fallen into the lake, she wouldn't have had the idea of swimming.
Then you won't get sick from the cold lake water.
Therefore, Yang Tingyue is the culprit.
This logic is perfect!
Li Yuanke was stunned. He held down her struggling limbs. "Are you crazy? You've only just recovered from your illness, and you went and fought with her again. Do you even have the strength now?"
Shen Shixi said angrily, "Is this a matter of strength? Li Yuanke, what do you mean? Are you protecting her? Fine, you two are the blood-related cousins, and I'm an outsider, right?"
You tricked me into coming to the palace, and now your whole family is bullying me, aren't you? Humph, I knew you weren't a good person. You were so pleased that she liked you, so you started protecting her. Now that you have me, you're not appreciating me at all!
Li Yuanke was speechless and unable to defend himself!
Is he someone who lacks people who like him?
No one had ever dared to argue with him like this before; on the contrary, they found it novel.
"I...I...Shut up!" Li Yuanke didn't know what to say. Seeing her eyes were red, his tone softened. "When have I ever protected her?"
"That's just how you are!" Shen Shixi exclaimed angrily, raising her hand to slap Li Yuanke. Li Yuanke quickly grabbed her wrist. "You bastard, you dare to hit my face? Don't you want to die?"
"Then let me go! I'm going, I'm going! If the Empress Dowager has the guts, she can wipe out my entire family! Why should she bully me?" Shen Shixi was like a frog jumping around.
"How did she bully you? Didn't she fall into the water too? When has she ever beaten you? You were sick, and even Mother punished her, and you're still not satisfied!"
"Fine, so you actually say I'm ungrateful? You dare say you didn't protect her? The Empress Dowager punished her, did she hit her? You even hit me! You protect her, you keep protecting her, let's see if I dare to kill her!"
"I already said I didn't... ugh... you bastard, open your mouth and let go!"
Li Yuanke held her by the back of her neck, not daring to use force, even though it hurt him so much he grimaced.
Li Fude and Bai Ping were so scared they almost lost their souls.
She bit Li Yuanke with all her might, and even through two layers of clothing, with the taste of rust in her mouth, she still wouldn't let go.
Li Fude and Bai Ping rushed over, one pulling and the other persuading, but Shen Shixi wouldn't budge.
Li Yuanke was also made of flesh and blood, and he got angry. "Go now! I'm telling you to go! Go! Let's see if you can beat her after you've been sick! You're such a wimp, you won't even suffer a single loss! Go ahead and bite me to death!"
Li Fude advised, "Young Master Shen, you mustn't harm the Emperor's body! If people find out, it's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family!"
"Destroy it, then, hurry up and destroy it!" She was just trying to have some fun, so she had to give in. Li Yuanke quickly stepped back, feeling a sharp pain in his shoulder. He looked down and saw that it was already bleeding.
Shen Shixi breathed a sigh of relief and felt much better.
"I really wanted to beat you? You heartless bastard, you can't tell right from wrong, you fool!"
"Have you ever hit me before? Before I entered the palace, did you ever hit me? This is domestic violence! You won't let me confront her, which means you're protecting her!" Shen Shixi grabbed a pillow and started hitting him.
Li Fude rushed over to protect the emperor, getting hit several times in the process. "Ouch, Your Highness, please calm down! While you were ill, His Majesty was the one taking care of you. He was so worried about you!"
"I don't want him to worry! Go away, go away, I don't want you here!"
Shen Shixi just wanted to make a scene; she would only feel comfortable after she had done so.
Yang Tingyue will definitely pull many more stunts in the future, so she needs to give Li Yuanke a heads-up in advance.
There are countless examples of men who are extremely attentive to their girlfriends before marriage, only to reveal their true colors after marriage.
Her status is different now. If Li Yuanke dares to side with the Empress Dowager and favor Yang Tingyue, then neither of them should live.
Li Yuanke didn't dare to provoke her anymore. As long as she didn't go to fight Yang Tingyue, didn't go out, and could recover well, that was fine.
"Alright, alright, stop making a scene. I'll leave now. Calm down first." He stood at the door and ordered, "Summon Imperial Physician Jiang to come and take her pulse!"
"No! You're up to no good, like a weasel paying respects to a chicken!" Shen Shixi grabbed a vase and smashed it towards the door. Li Yuanke dodged quickly and wasn't hurt.
Li Fude dared not dodge, fearing that the flying porcelain shards would injure the emperor. As a result, one of the shards flew and hit his face, leaving him injured.
Fortunately, it was just a minor cut, but it still bled.
The two dared not linger any longer and quickly left the Lok Sin Tong.
Standing at the doorway, Li Yuanke breathed a sigh of relief, looked back, and then glanced at Li Fude's face. "You have rendered meritorious service in protecting me today; you are hereby awarded half a year's salary!"
"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your kindness, but this is just a minor injury, nothing to mention. This servant dares not take credit!"
Li Fude thought to himself, this is the first time he has ever seen anyone so openly attack the emperor. And in all the dynasties, this is probably the first time such a fight has been held in the inner palace!
Judging from the Emperor's expression, he didn't seem to intend to punish anyone.
The emperor didn't leave either; he just waited outside.
Jiang Lingyou arrived quickly. After taking Shen Shixi's pulse, he found that she was perfectly healthy and in good spirits, as if she had never had a high fever.
"You're in good health, so you don't need any medicine. All medicine has side effects; just eat well and rest," Jiang Lingyou said. "I saw His Majesty is still waiting at the door. You didn't chase him away, did you?"
Bai Ping advised, "Your Majesty, even if you're angry with the Emperor, you can't act so recklessly. People will say bad things about you. There's still a long road ahead!"
"Mind your own business! Let him go, I don't want to see him!" Shen Shixi turned over and lay facing inward.
The idea of finding Yang Tingyue to fight again was just a spur-of-the-moment decision; he couldn't swallow his anger, but it was also true that he was still a bit weak.
Oh well, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
As she was thinking, she fell asleep.
She didn't know when Li Yuange went to bed with her.
In her sleep, her body was honest; she spontaneously wrapped herself around Li Yuanke with both hands and feet, like a beautiful snake.
It was nearly midnight when the gates of Qifeng Palace were knocked on. The Empress, still awake, received a message: "Your Majesty, news has come from Peach Blossom Village that Consort Zhao has awakened. The imperial physician has examined her pulse and she is out of danger!"
The Empress said, "I understand. You may leave."
She turned to Granny Qu and said, "How can she be so lucky to have survived? She actually recovered!"
Granny Qu said, "Countless people have drowned in that lake. People don't usually go to the lakeside. She and Miss Yang rolled in together. Miss Yang was rescued quickly, but Consort Zhao sank underwater for so long. According to the imperial physician, she was frightened. We should hold a ritual to calm Consort Zhao down."
The Empress's eyes lit up, but after thinking for a moment, she shook her head. "His Majesty has never believed in ghosts and gods. Look at how he treats Consort Zhao. If he becomes suspicious of me, it would be bad."
The emperor was cunning and shrewd, and the empress, having learned her lesson, never dared to do it again.
Granny Qu was extremely worried. "But the Emperor has never favored anyone like this before! He has already punished several concubines because of her! I heard that the Emperor was discussing important matters with his ministers, but when he learned that Consort Zhao was ill, he couldn't even attend to state affairs."
"I will absolutely not allow her to replace me. The Emperor has no such intention at the moment, so I will remain still for now. The most important thing is that I must get pregnant first."
The Emperor is ruthless. If I anger him, I will have no place to stand. Only if I have a child will I have confidence. In the future, even if he is ruthless towards me, he will have to be more tolerant of me for the sake of the child.
"Your Majesty is right. That Consort Zhao is merely a fifth-rank beauty; she is indeed nothing to fear!"
The next day, being the fifth day of the month, was for paying respects to the Empress. When Shen Shixi woke up, Li Yuanke had already gone to court.
She had no idea that she and Li Yuanke had slept in each other's arms for half the night.
Li Fude came to deliver the imperial decree. Shen Shixi noticed the scars on his face and said, "Bai Ping, give Eunuch Li a box of the medicine that the Emperor bestowed upon him."
"Oh dear, Consort Zhao, this is unacceptable! His Majesty has already rewarded me. Besides, this little injury is hardly worth using the imperial tribute white jade ointment!"
"Eunuch Li has rendered meritorious service in protecting the Emperor and should be rewarded. However, since you are a person close to the Emperor, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't dare. Please take this white jade ointment; I hope you will never need it," Shen Shixi said.
Li Fude announced the imperial decree, and Shen Shixi was promoted to the rank of Zhao Meiren. To be honest, she thought the title of "Meiren" was really unpleasant.
The rewards were plentiful, but Shen Shixi was too lazy to look at them. He had Bai Ping register them and put them away.
When Li Fude returned, Li Yuanke asked, "How is she? Is she still angry?"
Li Fude thought for a moment, "This servant can't tell either. He doesn't look angry."
"That bastard's temper has always been like that—it comes on fast and goes on fast!"
What can Li Fude say?
His facial injuries hadn't healed yet, and everyone around him was terrified. The concubines in the harem were all so fierce these days; they even dared to lay a hand on Eunuch Li, and the Emperor didn't punish them.
"His Majesty has given instructions that Your Highness is well. There is no need to pay respects to the Empress today. Your Highness should rest more and recharge your energy," Lan Tan said.
"I still need to express my gratitude. Besides, I need to go to the Empress Dowager's place later, so it wouldn't be right not to pay my respects to the Empress."
Shen Shixi also felt that there were too many rules.
"There will be rewards for everyone in Zhaoyang Palace. Those of you who served me closely this time will each receive thirty taels of silver, and the rest will receive the same!"
Last time she fell, Li Yuanke punished Bai Ping by deducting three months' worth of her monthly allowance, and this time she is making up for it.
After everyone came in to express their gratitude, Shen Shixi was to go and pay her respects to the Empress.