24 Chapter 24 : The Emperor collapsed

In a bedchamber at Zhongcui Palace, certain someone still wide awake around Zi hours (11-12 pm). Xiu Ying lays on his left, then turns to his right and then lays flatly, looking up the ceiling. Sleepiness still didn't come.

Huang Fei Hong's words keep on lingering in his mind. Wu Zhang Wei does look pitiful. Even though Xiu Ying never knows the real life in the palace, but he is sure it is more or less the same as what he watched in the drama.

Corruption, scandals, full of treacherous officer, envy between concubines, rebellion. Words can never be enough to describe the deviltry inside the palace. It is almost impossible to rule a country without having slimeballs in the ministry departments.

Xiu Ying sighs. It's not that he's not willing to get to know the emperor but how can he does that when he clearly knows the emperor is looking at him in 'that' way.

Xiu Ying is never attracted to boys but not to girls too. Involving in a romantic relationship never crossed his mind. To be friends, maybe Xiu Ying can consider it. But to be more than that, it is a little bit hard.

Xiu Ying fell asleep while thinking whether he should apologize or let the emperor came to him on his own.

Another week passed but Xiu Ying buried himself in curing Wen Qian to distract himself from thinking about the emperor. The poison inside Wen Qian is almost gone. She only needs to drink the concoction for another week and she'll be free from it.

However, Xiu Ying asked Wen Qian to keep pretending she is still sick. He also advised her to keep a distance from her servant. To change to another servant might be too obvious so they can only be extra careful.

......

Meanwhile, in the Yanxi palace, the resident of this palace is having a good time thinking that her plan is going on smoothly. She already imagined herself wearing the red robe, sitting on the throne beside the emperor.

"One down... one more to go..." Yu Li Na mumbles. While continues her knitwork, she calls, "Momo."

The female servant moves closer. "Yes, my lady."

"Can you send an invitation to Consort Li? Tell her I want to invite her for a tea time together." Her corner lips curved into a smirk. Momo bows and quickly carried out the order.

When Momo personally came to Zhongcui Palace to send the invitation, Xiu Ying squinted his eyes. He didn't say anything and let the girl knelt for a while.

Momo is cursing in her heart but she can't do anything as she's still a mere servant and Guo Wei and Chang Ming are still guarding near him. If she dared to do anything, the tiniest punishment will be flogged 100 times. Noticing the female servant starting to tremble a little bit, Xiu Ying asked her to raise. Momo almost falls down back to the ground due to numbness in her knees.

Xiu Ying agreed to come but not without any preparation.

.....

Xiu Ying calmly heads towards Yanxi Palace. Jing Yi who strutted behind him keeps asking him to not meet Yu Li Na. He comes up with various ideas for excuses. Meeting with His Majesty, emergency cases at the imperial pharmacy and the worst is...stomachache.

Xiu Ying rejected all the ideas. He can't believe Jing Yi asked him to pretend to have stomachaches just to avoid meeting Yu Li Na. The male servant lowers his head dejectedly. He said it without thinking as he's too worried about his young master's safety.

And for the nth time, Xiu Ying reassures that he'll be fine. If something did happen to him, Xiu Ying asked him to call the Chief of the physician as Xiu Ying already instructed him what he needed to do.

"Greetings, my lady," said Xiu Ying.

Killing intent glints in Li Na's eyes but it's just for a moment and no one else noticed it. "Please, have a seat, Xiu Ying-meimei."

"Momo, get the pear syrup to make the honeyed tea and bring also some pastries for our guest." She flicks her hand.

When she turns to Xiu Ying, smiles never ceased from her lips. Xiu Ying's eyes twitched. He can't believe the woman in front of him tried to act when she's so bad at it. If it's in the future, she came to the audition to be an actress, for sure she'll be kicked out after saying four or five words.

A fake smile is returned with a fake smile too. But the difference is, Xiu Ying's smiles can melt the heart of all the guys who see it but Li Na's can only make her look like a retard.

Momo came with the honey tea and another servant brings a tray of snacks. The snacks look tempting and appetizing. Xiu Ying is having a hard time holding himself from tasting those mouth-watering snacks.

Jing Yi who noticed his young master glances at those snacks said it inwardly, "Young master, I can get it for you if want later on. Please, don't be tempted." Jing Yi knows his young master has a sweet tooth and he's a glutton one.

Xiu Ying picks up the teacup, staring into the tea. He sniffs it, "Hmm... what a good smell. Li Na-jiejie, what kind of tea you used?" Xiu Ying swirls the cup then puts it back.

Li Na frowns for a second when she saw Xiu Ying didn't drink it. But she continues to smile, stiffly. "Simmer the pear to make pear syrup then put it into tea instead of honey. It will enrich the smell and taste compared to when you only put honey."

Xiu Ying acts like he's astonished, "Wow! No wonder it smells so good. It is such a good idea Li Na-jiejie. Pear contained a lot of good things in it and can help to soothe sore throat and cough."

Xiu Ying rubs his chin, "This is a good idea. Maybe I can use this to create a new concoction. In that way, people won't hate the idea to drink it as it tastes so good!"

Li Na forced another smile but her eyes still glancing at the teacup that Xiu Ying holds. Feeling impatient, she sounds a bit forceful, "Then Xiu Ying-meimei must try it."

She emptied her cup, "See? Even I've finished two cups. It's really good. I can never have enough of it. Luckily, my uncle always brings those sweet pears for me. Come on, try it." Her smiles didn't reach her desperate eyes.

Xiu Ying clenches on the teacup. He already prepared all kinds of antidotes and cures but still, he didn't know what type of poison that she used. What if, something went wrong? But, he needs to do this to catch her red-handed.

Xiu Ying takes a deep breath and slowly brings the teacup to his mouth...

"His Majesty is here." Announced the eunuch.

The teacup stop right in front of Xiu Ying's lips. Li Na's eyes bulge and she quickly turns to the emperor that approaching them.

Both Xiu Ying and Li Na raise, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Wu Zhang Wei manages to steal a glance at a figure that he didn't meet for weeks. "Rise."

He calmly walks and takes a seat on the wooden stool. He scans everything on the table. "Have a seat with Zhen." The two consorts obeyed.

Li Na somewhat nervous when Wu Zhang Wei suddenly made his appearance. "Zhen was a little bit upset. Why Consort Yu didn't invite Zhen? It will be lonely if it's just the two of you only."

Li Na immediately lowers her head, "Forgive this servant, Your Majesty. I thought Your Majesty is too busy and didn't have time for simple tea time. If I know it earlier, I'll prepare a better and more sweet course. Only then, I dare to invite Your Majesty."

Wu Zhang Wei chuckles. "Well, Zhen didn't really mind. Any kind of delights is fine by Zhen." He glances at the teacup in front of Xiu Ying. The tea was filled to the top and it was still untouched.

In a swift move, he reached out his hand and picks it up. Both consorts were too shocked. Before Yu Li Na could prevent him from drinking it, Wu Zhang Wei already gulps it down. "Hmm... Nice tea. It tastes so sweet."

Cold sweat formed on Li Na's nape. Her hands slightly tremble under the table. She didn't dare to look at the emperor. In contrast, Xiu Ying stares at Zhang Wei, mouth agape. He can't believe the emperor easily drinks the tea when he clearly knows the person who served this had any ill-intention.

Wu Zhang Wei stays until it burns a joss stick (30 - 40 minutes). Then, he quickly excuses himself. After Wu Zhang Wei left, Xiu Ying also left. Li Na already can't think straight has no intention to stop him from leaving.

Under the long sleeves, Wu Zhang Wei clenches his fists tightly. His steps slowly reduced in speed. And when he's already far from Yanxi Palace, he lost his stability. Zhang Wei puts his hand on the wall to keep his balance.

Sweats formed all over his face and back. All the eunuch and guards surround him in a flash. The truth is he already feels pain in his stomach for a while but he has to wait until he's far away from Yanxi Palace.

The situation becomes a bit chaotic when Zhang Wei can no longer support himself and slumps onto the floor. "Move!" A voice shouted from behind. All eunuchs and guards turn around. They quickly clear the path when they saw Xiu Ying walks towards them.

Xiu Ying puts his palm over Zhang Wei's forehead then he takes his wrist to read the pulse. His eyes widen. "Quick! Bring His Majesty to his room!"

Xiu Ying then turns to Chang Ming, "Go and bring my wooden box here." The guard nods. Xiu Ying followed the unconscious emperor to his room. Zhang Wei started to shiver and his face has turned so pale.

Chang Ming came with a wooden box. The wooden box is a first-aid kit. Xiu Ying puts the acupuncture needles and all kinds of antidotes that he has prepared.

Xiu Ying first inserts the acupuncture needles on Zhang Wei's arms, chest and wrist. This is to slow down the poison's effect from reaching the vital parts. Then, he takes out a mini glass bottle that contained dark green liquid. He sits by Zhang Wei's side, supports his head using his hand then pours the liquid into Zhang Wei's mouth. He pours it bit by bit, to avoid choking.

Next, he takes another small pouch from the wooden box and gives it to Jing Yi. "Boil it."

Many people are waiting anxiously outside the room. All the eunuchs and guards were chased out by Fei Hong who also came as fast as he can after he received the news.

Now, inside the room, other than the unconscious emperor, there are Xiu Ying, Fei Hong and Empress Dowager who just came. "Ca- can you save him?" asked Wu Jiaying. She almost fainted when she heard her son collapsed. Fei Hong at the side also shocked as the things happen too sudden, meaning it was a strong poison.

"I'll try my best." Xiu Ying can't promise anything. All he can do is feeding the emperor with all herbs, concoctions, and antidotes that he has.

The three of them started getting worried as Zhang Wei didn't stop shivering. After a burn of three joss sticks, they breathe a sigh of relief when Zhang Wei slowly stopped shivering but his body remains hot.

Empress Dowager Wu Jiaying was escorted back to her palace after Xiu Ying had promised to take care of the emperor.

Looking at the unconscious guy, Xiu Ying has this indescribable feeling. He takes a seat beside him, pushing aside the hair that covering his face, wipes his face using cold water.

Face, neck, chest, and hands. He wipes it all over, trying to lower his body temperature. Jing Yi came with a bowl of concoction. The concoction is so thick because it can give a better and faster effect when it has a high concentration. The concoction is quite a lot so Xiu Ying feeds him using a spoon.

One hand holding the spoon, another hand holding a handkerchief to wipe the liquid that spilled when Zhang Wei suddenly coughs.

Looking at how gentle Xiu Ying tending the emperor, Fei Hong's lips curved. Glancing at the shorter guy beside him, Fei Hong grabs his hand, startling Jing Yi. "Let's go. Let's leave them alone. I think Consort Li can handle this." Ignoring the weird look from Jing Yi, Fei Hong drags him out of the room.