Super-Fertile Darling: Forced to Marry the Heirless Tyrant

Chapter 271: Chapter 271: An Emperor’s Abyssal Heart, a Real or Fake Assassination

"Of course not, Lady Wei."

He caught sight of the longan shells and red date pits under the bed, and the smile on his face deepened.

Wei Ting walked over to the red-lacquered, rosewood round table in the room, sat down, and gestured for her to join him.

"There’s so much food on the table. Come have some. You should fill your stomach first, or you won’t have any energy later."

How could Ji Qingwu not understand the teasing insinuation in his words?

She asked, "Where is Lan Zhi?"

Wei Ting raised an eyebrow. "You mean that maid of yours?"

Seeing her posture, which suggested she would stand by the window all night if she didn’t see Lan Zhi, Wei Ting good-naturedly called Xuemei in.

"Why isn’t the lady’s maid in the room?"

Xuemei answered respectfully, "Replying to the General, Sister Lan Zhi is halfway through brewing the medicine. There’s just under half an hour left. She didn’t feel comfortable letting someone else watch over it and said she’d be over right away."

Xuemei added, "General, my lady, would you like to bathe now? The hot water has been prepared in the side room’s washroom."

Ji Qingwu’s brow twitched when she heard the word "bathe."

Wei Ting said calmly, "There’s no rush. You may leave."

The night was long. He was in no hurry.

Ji Qingwu had just woken from a deep sleep and was famished. The few dry dates she had eaten had done nothing to sate her hunger.

Seeing Wei Ting pick up his chopsticks and eat a piece of tender, slow-cooked deer tendon, Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together, walked over, and sat down opposite him.

Ji Qingwu picked up a pair of ivory-colored chopsticks and took a dumpling from a shallow, yellow-glazed porcelain dish with a blue-flower pattern.

’No matter how bitter the circumstances, my stomach shouldn’t have to suffer. I have to eat when I have to eat.’

Wei Ting watched in astonishment as she put the dumpling in her mouth, unable to suppress the smile playing on his lips.

Ji Qingwu took a bite and realized something was wrong.

Wei Ting asked with a grin, "Is it raw?"

"My lady is so considerate, wanting to make up for all the rituals we missed."

He picked up the flask of wedding wine and poured it into two jade cups. "Why don’t we make up for the cross-cupped toast as well?"

Ji Qingwu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, spat out the half-raw dumpling, and ignored his wishful thinking.

She picked up her chopsticks and tried other dishes, none of which proved to be unpalatable.

Watching her eat with such focus, taking small bites, Wei Ting, who hadn’t been hungry, felt his own appetite stir.

Inside the nuptial chamber, the two were silent for a time, the only sound being the clinking of their bowls and chopsticks.

*

「Zhaoyang Hall.」

The Black-clothed Guards of the Imperial City Department patrolled diligently around the palace, ensuring that anyone who tried to glean news of Emperor Wu Su would leave empty-handed.

During this time, only the Empress Dowager and Princess Hua Chang had been inside, and only on two occasions.

As night began to fall, Duan Mingfeng led a person wearing a black cloak that concealed their entire face into Zhaoyang Hall.

Li Yuzong glanced warily outside before closing the palace doors.

Having not seen him for two days, the worry lines etched between Duan Mingfeng’s brows had grown even deeper.

He asked, full of anxiety, "The master still hasn’t woken up. Has something gone wrong?"

The person pulled back the hood that concealed their identity, revealing a handsome and distinguished face. It was none other than Lu Juan, the Princely Heir of Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion.

Lu Juan said, "I find it strange as well. Logically, he should have woken up long ago. Why is His Majesty still unconscious?"

Li Yuzong said in confusion, "These past few days, no one besides Doctor Chen and Miss Ji has come near the Holy Emperor. This old slave has been watching the entire time."

Duan Mingfeng stared at the brightly lit candles in the hall.

"The spies from Xijin and the previous dynasty have made contact. The Hidden Guards have also found their meeting point."

Everything concerning the previous dynasty was proceeding exactly as Emperor Wu Su had anticipated.

"But His Majesty still hasn’t woken up." Duan Mingfeng’s tone was urgent. "Mr. Lu, could there be something wrong with the Breath Avoiding Elixir that Le Xi provided?"

Emperor Wu Su’s assassination attempt had left him with a truly grievous wound.

Although the assassin sent by the Xijin Faction was a skilled practitioner, Emperor Wu Su’s years on the battlefield had honed his reflexes. The arrow wound was an inch away from his heart meridian.

Moreover, the Emperor had built a foundation in martial arts and was protected by the True Qi in his body; he wouldn’t be so easily felled by such an injury.

The moment the arrow struck him, Emperor Wu Su had already devised his next move.

He absolutely could not let this assassination attempt go to waste.

Le Xi, the divine doctor from Lin’an, had once given Emperor Wu Su a breath-avoiding elixir. After taking it, a person would fall into a coma, and their pulse would become as faint as a silk thread.

However, suspending one’s breath for too long would be harmful to the body.

Therefore, one elixir could only sustain the effect for twenty hours.

What could be more convincing to those Xijin jackals that Beili was on the verge of upheaval than the Emperor of Beili being struck by an arrow and collapsing before his officials and the assassins? Only then would they come out in full force.

After Emperor Wu Su was attacked, as he was returning from the Emperor Temple, Duan Mingfeng and Lu Juan stopped Ji Qingwu from seeing the Emperor at the palace gates precisely because they didn’t want to waste any time.

They wanted the Xijin spies to learn that the Emperor of Beili’s life was in danger as soon as possible, so that they would reveal themselves sooner.

But now, Emperor Wu Su had yet to awaken. He still lay quietly on the Dragon Bed, his handsome face pale and bloodless.

Lu Juan took a yellow paper packet from his robes.

He said in a low voice, "I went to the estate outside the city to get the antidote from Doctor Le. He had to make it fresh."

Duan Mingfeng said urgently, "Mr. Lu, hurry and give it to the master."

"Eunuch Li, bring a cup of water."

Li Yuzong came over with a pitcher and a cup, but Lu Juan clutched the medicine packet and did not hand it to him.

He frowned. "Doctor Le said he hasn’t used this elixir in a very long time and has long forgotten how to counteract it."

Hearing this, Duan Mingfeng was dumbfounded. "Then this antidote... can it even be used...?"

Li Yuzong’s hand trembled, and he nearly dropped the cup on the floor.

"The Holy Emperor’s body is priceless. We can’t just try any random medicine on him, especially at a critical time like this."

Lu Juan had asked Le Xi about this in detail. He continued, "It can be used. It’s just that after using this antidote, there might be some... side effects."

Duan Mingfeng pressed, "What kind of side effects?"

Lu Juan said, "Doctor Le said this antidote will definitely counteract the effects of the Avoidance Pill. He used several potent ingredients, so His Majesty will certainly wake up. It’s just..."

He repeated Le Xi’s original words, which had been spoken while the doctor was lying on a rocking chair, fanning himself with a cattail fan, and munching on a melon.

"’The overly aggressive nature of the medicine has to be expelled from the body somewhere. It’s highly likely to cause his True Qi to fall into disarray. The True Qi will rampage through his body, and there’s no telling which part of him will end up injured.’"

The three of them—Duan Mingfeng, Lu Juan, and Li Yuzong—stood before the Dragon Bed, their gazes fixed in unison on Emperor Wu Su’s pale face.

For a moment, no one could decide whether or not to give the Emperor the antidote now.

All three sighed at the same time.

His brow furrowed with worry, Li Yuzong said, "Should we give Doctor Le another day to develop a more reliable antidote?"

Just then, there was a forceful knock on the hall doors.

A messenger from the courier station had brought more news from the Northern Border.

After hearing the news, they looked at each other and immediately made a decision.