Super-Fertile Darling: Forced to Marry the Heirless Tyrant

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: A Potent Tonic, Heart-Baring Words

"Your Majesty has only just begun to recover. Even with a strong constitution, you still need time to rest and recuperate. You are at your most vulnerable right now."

"Taking that kind of medicine will only cause more harm. Haste makes waste. Once you’ve depleted your body’s reserves, it will be difficult to build them back up."

Ji Qingwu explained until her mouth was dry, but she felt she was only making things more confusing the more she spoke.

The veins on Zhao Mingyan’s forehead bulged, and his chest rose and fell slowly as he struggled to suppress the rampant True Qi coursing through his body.

A ringing sound filled his ears, and he couldn’t clearly hear what she was saying.

Seeing the Emperor’s condition, Ji Qingwu knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything to her for the time being. She didn’t want to provoke him any further.

’After all, this is a matter of a man’s pride. It wouldn’t be good if he insisted on acting tough and did something reckless.’

She chose her words carefully. "Actually... any condition is normal, really. You’ve just recovered from a serious illness, after all. There’s no need to take those kinds of questionable medicines. The right way is to accept your body’s current state and recover slowly."

After she finished, Ji Qingwu simply gazed at the man before her, her bright, limpid eyes wide.

Her expression was warm and full of encouragement.

Zhao Mingyan frowned. He picked up a piece of the red gauze she had just been wearing and wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, along with the large beads of sweat on his forehead.

A little color returned to his face, but his deep, heavy breathing had yet to subside.

’To Ji Qingwu’s ears, this low, gasping sound was concrete proof of his flagging vitality.’

Ji Qingwu had taken Emperor Wu Su’s pulse. The reading was a mix of superficial and solid, indicating an internal injury. His qi and blood had all rushed to his lower abdomen.

Simply put, his entire body was weak, yet he had a bizarre overabundance of yang energy.

Emperor Wu Su had been stabbed, injuring the meridians around his heart and causing massive blood loss. This should have resulted in a blood deficiency, and yet his yang qi was unnaturally potent.

’He must have taken some kind of powerful, stimulating tonic.’

Zhao Mingyan, of course, also felt that something was wrong with his body.

When he saw Ji Qingwu, clad in thin gauze, run out of the bridal chamber she shared with Wei Ting and stand before him so alluringly.

Rage had flared in his chest, and the True Qi throughout his body had begun to flow downward, converging in a single spot.

’Thinking of this... could he really have been given some drug without his knowledge?’

Zhao Mingyan asked, "What medicine did I take?"

Ji Qingwu blinked her raven-black lashes.

’Doesn’t Emperor Wu Su know what medicine he took? Why is he asking me?’

’But seeing his expression just now, it really seemed like he didn’t know.’

Ji Qingwu clutched the blanket and sat up. Her eyes drifted toward him against her will. ’He’s so weak he’s coughing up blood, so why is he still so...’

’The drug’s effects are truly potent.’

’He seems even more... formidable than she remembered from that night in the army tent.’

She averted her gaze and, with two slender fingers, picked up the moon-white inner robe he had taken off.

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it over to cover him. Only then did Ji Qingwu look up, a question in her eyes.

"Does Your Majesty also suspect that you’ve been drugged?"

’When he, Emperor Wu Su, had awoken on the Dragon Bed in Zhaoyang Hall, Li Yuzong and two others had been surrounding him. No one should have had the opportunity to poison him while he was unconscious.’

’But the possibility couldn’t be ruled out.’

"Do you know what drug it was?"

Ji Qingwu’s long, dark hair cascaded over her fair chest, partially obscuring her delicate face.

She lightly covered her lips and whispered two words.

Zhao Mingyan’s brow furrowed even deeper. "Why are you whispering?"

Ji Qingwu, ever so considerate, raised her voice slightly and explained, "Your Majesty must have brought many Hidden Guards with you. They’re all listening nearby. I was just afraid they might overhear."

Zhao Mingyan gazed into her bright, crafty eyes, a corner of his thin lips lifting.

"Say it."

’He’s the one who told me to say it.’

Ji Qingwu said in a clear, crisp voice, "An aphrodisiac."

Emperor Wu Su’s gaze flickered, and a dark undercurrent swirled in his eyes.

’Would an enemy assassin really feed an unconscious emperor a pleasure-enhancing aphrodisiac? And here he thought she had figured something out.’

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Mingyan realized the problem must lie with the pills Lu Juan had retrieved from Le Xi.

It was just that... when he was stabbed on the hillside before the temple, he had used the opportunity to make a risky play. But while he had calculated the exact day he should have awoken, he had remained unconscious.

It was still unclear where things had gone wrong.

Zhao Mingyan’s expression soured as he clarified, "No one drugged me, and I have never used that kind of medicine."

Ji Qingwu clutched the blanket with her left hand, preventing it from slipping, and patted her chest with her right.

She declared with utter confidence, "Based on my many years of medical experience, Your Majesty’s pulse and symptoms are a perfect match. There is absolutely no mistake. Your Majesty can’t deny it."

Zhao Mingyan raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

He said nonchalantly, "You have too little confidence in yourself."

’What a strange thing to say,’ Ji Qingwu thought. ’It should be Emperor Wu Su who lacks confidence, hence his need to take such a medicine before coming here.’

Her gaze was filled with blatant disbelief.

"Just seeing you is enough. You have the same effect as any medicine. Why would I need to take something like that?"

As he spoke, Zhao Mingyan spread his arms and pulled her into an embrace, right through the blanket.

A flush crept up Ji Qingwu’s ears.

As if unsatisfied, he moved to lift the blanket, and she raised an arm to stop him.

Zhao Mingyan wrapped his hand around her delicate wrist, coaxing her in a placating tone, "If you don’t struggle, I won’t move."

Hearing his promise, Ji Qingwu obediently stopped struggling.

But in the next instant, she found herself pressed down onto the brocade mattress.

Her eyes widened. "You..."

Emperor Wu Su, however, made no further move.

He simply lay down, his arm wrapping gently but firmly around her waist. His other hand cradled the back of her head, pulling her snugly into his embrace.

His skin was much warmer than hers due to the rampaging True Qi, and the feeling of being held in his arms was simply wonderful.

His comforting and serene presence washed over all of Ji Qingwu’s senses.

She sighed softly. ’If only the object pressing against her soft stomach were as calm as its owner.’

Ji Qingwu said, "Your Majesty’s body needs to recuperate properly. It would be best for you to return..."

"Ouch!"

Before she could finish advising Emperor Wu Su to return to the palace, he pinched the soft flesh at her waist.

He didn’t hold back, either, which showed just how much he disliked what she was saying.

Without even looking, Ji Qingwu knew the spot on her waist must be red. By tomorrow, it would surely be a bruise.

’If the Emperor insists on staying, he’ll leave behind more than just bruises...’

Their bodies were pressed intimately together, but at this moment, their hearts were far apart.

Ji Qingwu looked up at his firm jawline and asked, "Your Majesty isn’t planning on staying in the Wei Manor indefinitely, are you?"

Her sweet breath ghosted across his Adam’s apple. Zhao Mingyan’s dark gaze fell upon her back, her skin as smooth as creamy porcelain.

He didn’t answer.

Ji Qingwu steadied herself, her palms growing damp with nervousness.

After a deep breath, she began to speak her mind in a gentle tone.

"Come morning, everyone in this entire estate will come to gawk at the Wei family’s new bride. On her wedding night, her husband left for the border to lead his troops, while she stayed home and took a lover—and that lover is none other than the reigning Emperor."