Chapter 231
**Chapter 229: Concealment**
Mo Xun forced a smile, gazing earnestly at Shen Wei. “Your Highness, the Consort, we have known each other for years. I share a brotherly bond with your brother—could you lend me a hand?”
Cai Lian quickly lowered her head and stepped to the entrance of the palace, leaving space for Shen Wei and the esteemed physician, Mo.
Inside the room, smoke curled from the bronze incense burner, a faint fragrance wafting through the air. Shen Wei gestured for Mo Xun to take a seat.
Mo Xun was not one to stand on ceremony; she plopped down onto a nearby huanghuali chair and got straight to the point. “I won’t hide it from you. I’ve been imprisoned in Yue for the past few years. This time, I managed to sneak into the Yue envoy’s delegation to Yan Jing. Now that they’ve left, I’ve stayed behind in secret.”
“I offended the national master of Yue, and he’s been hunting me down relentlessly. I had no choice but to temporarily hide in the palace’s Tai Hospital. Today, when Miss Cai Lian came to see the physician, I took the opportunity to come to Yong Ning Palace.”
“I’ve thought it through; hiding in the palace of Qing is the safest option. No matter how far the national master’s reach extends, he wouldn’t dare intrude upon the Qing royal palace. Your Highness, please help me stay in the Tai Hospital. If I can hide there for a year or two, I’ll finally get some peace.”
Mo Xun was truly at her wit's end. No matter where she hid, no matter how secretive the location, the national master, skilled in divination, would always find her.
She could only turn to Consort Shen Wei for help.
Shen Wei took a sip of warm spring tea and smiled. “Our acquaintance is a kind of fate. I will help you stay in the Tai Hospital.”
Shen Wei had been worried about the lack of personnel in the Tai Hospital. What a stroke of luck! Just when she needed someone, the renowned Mo Xun had come knocking. Shen Wei wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
Mo Xun clasped her hands in gratitude, deeply moved. “I can’t thank you enough! From now on, I’ll take care of your health, Your Highness. I can’t promise you’ll live to a hundred, but I can guarantee you’ll live safely to eighty.”
Shen Wei’s lips curled into a smile, her mood lifting.
Mo Xun continued, “I’ll head back to the Tai Hospital shortly to prepare a special antidote. I guarantee it will eliminate the toxins in your body within ten days, without letting the Emperor know you’ve been poisoned.”
Shen Wei set down her teacup and replied leisurely, “I want the Emperor to know I was poisoned. In fact, I want him to investigate who’s behind it.”
Mo Xun’s eyes widened in disbelief. Could it be done that way?
...
...
In Chang'an Palace, Li Yuanjing was reviewing memorials when a Tiger Guard quietly entered the hall, kneeling on one knee. “Your Majesty, among the Yue envoy, there’s a minister named Mo Xun who has separated from the group and infiltrated the Tai Hospital.”
Li Yuanjing paused in his reading.
He knew Mo Xun, the famous physician. Over the years, the national master of Yue had expended considerable resources to capture her.
But Mo Xun was clever and cunning; each time the national master caught her, she would manage to escape without a trace after a while.
“Your Majesty, should we capture Mo Xun?” the Tiger Guard asked.
Li Yuanjing shook his head. “Not for now. Let’s wait until the national master of Yue brings something to the table.”
Setting down the memorial, Li Yuanjing picked up a cup of tea from the table and took a couple of sips. The Tiger Guard continued, “Several individuals have been spreading rumors. After rigorous interrogation, they confessed. The identity of the instigator behind the slander against General Shen Mie, claiming he is ‘too accomplished for his own good,’ remains unknown, but they have a Yunzhou accent.”
Li Yuanjing’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Yunzhou... the territory of the Duke of Lu.
After ascending the throne, Li Yuanjing had to rely on prominent families from remote areas to suppress the entrenched aristocracy in Yan Jing, inciting internal strife among them.
The Lu family had been a prestigious family for a century, but in recent decades, they had fallen into decline. After Consort Shu, Lu Xuan, entered the palace, the Lu family began to rise again, flourishing.
While the Lu family sought to regain their former glory, they also began to reveal their arrogance—colluding with Consort Shu Lu Xuan to buy and sell official positions, placing their less capable offspring in important roles, and sowing discord between the Emperor and his new ministers.
“The Lu family...” A flash of murderous intent crossed Li Yuanjing’s eyes.
He needed to gradually uproot the decaying aristocracy that hindered Qing’s flourishing development, and the Lu family was no exception.
The Tiger Guard quietly withdrew.
After a while, Gong De Shun entered to report, “Your Majesty, Consort Shu requests an audience.”
Li Yuanjing frowned slightly. “Send her back.”
Just as De Shun was about to relay the message, Li Yuanjing suddenly changed his mind. “Let her in.”
Moments later, Consort Shu Lu Xuan gracefully entered the hall. Today, she was dressed splendidly in a light pink cloud robe, overlaid with a thin brocade jacket. Her dark hair was styled in a cascading cloud bun, adorned with floral hairpins.
Like a peony blooming in spring, she was stunningly beautiful.
She knelt gently to pay her respects, her lovely eyes lifting slightly, a radiant smile on her face. “With summer approaching, my father sent me a box of three-sleep silk. I had the embroiderers in the clothing bureau make a plain gauze meditation robe, especially for you, Your Majesty.”
The gauze robe was light and breathable, perfect for summer wear.
Li Yuanjing nodded. “You’re very thoughtful, Consort.”
Lu Xuan felt a pang in her heart.
She didn’t see joy on Li Yuanjing’s face—no happiness, no sadness, just an indifferent emotional distance.
She realized that at some point, Li Yuanjing had stopped calling her “Xuan’er” and had begun to refer to her as the emotionless “Consort.” It was as if the harmonious days they once shared were merely a dream of Lu Xuan’s.
She forced a smile. “Your Majesty, tonight, the chess game is prepared in Changxin Palace. Will you be joining us?”
Li Yuanjing did not respond, only said coolly, “You may return to the palace.”
Disappointment was hard to conceal in Lu Xuan’s heart. She could guess that tonight, the Emperor would most likely be at Consort Shen’s Yong Ning Palace.
Ever since Consort Shen returned to the palace, the Emperor had spent most nights with her, only occasionally visiting Changxin Palace or Kun Ning Palace.
Changxin Palace was growing increasingly desolate.
Lu Xuan knelt to bow, her eyes betraying her sadness and bitterness. “I take my leave.”
Consort Shen had not been back long, and the Emperor still found her refreshing. This novelty, she thought, would last at most two or three months.
Lu Xuan still believed that no woman in the palace could hold the Emperor’s heart for long.
With a heavy heart, Lu Xuan left, her hand resting on her still-flat abdomen, planning to announce her pregnancy at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration.
She intended to use the child in her womb to reclaim the Emperor’s favor from Shen Wei.
...
After Consort Shu departed, Li Yuanjing lost interest in the memorials. He headed to the training grounds in the palace, asking De Shun to summon his two sons, Cheng Tai and Cheng You.
Li Yuanjing taught his sons how to shoot arrows.
The bows and targets for young children were small, and after some practice, Li Cheng Tai and Li Cheng You had made significant progress in their archery skills.
Li Yuanjing felt a sense of pride as he ruffled his sons’ hair, praising them warmly.
Li Cheng You puffed out his chest proudly. “It’s all thanks to Father! Father is the greatest hero in the world!”
The heartfelt admiration from his son made Li Yuanjing chuckle.
After an hour of training, night fell. Li Yuanjing sent his sons back to Ci Ning Palace and made his way to Yong Ning Palace to accompany Shen Wei.
As darkness deepened, lanterns lit up along the palace paths. As the Emperor’s palanquin passed, palace servants bowed and paid their respects.
Passing a certain path, Li Yuanjing suddenly caught a whiff of a faint medicinal scent and spotted Cai Ping, the head maid of Yong Ning Palace.
Cai Ping knelt on the ground, trembling, holding a medicine pouch from the Tai Hospital.
Li Yuanjing narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off. “Is Consort Shen unwell?”
Cai Ping shook her head, her expression flustered. Suddenly, she stubbornly gritted her teeth, her body shaking. “No... no, Consort Shen is in good health. This medicine is for me; I had a sudden high fever last night and went to the Tai Hospital for medicine.”
That lie was painfully obvious.
Li Yuanjing’s voice turned cold. “Speak the truth.”
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