Chapter 38: Feeding Medicine part 1
Wisps of smoke rose from the bronze sparrow incense burner in the bedchamber. The wind moaned outside, and the single slit left open in the window was enough for a draft to bypass the screen and make the bed curtains flutter slightly.
As the shark-silk curtains swayed, several female officials sat around the bed, taking turns wringing out towels to place on the Empress’s smooth, jade-like forehead.
Her almond eyes were tightly closed, and her cherry lips, usually full and rosy, had lost their color. Her chapped lips were slightly parted, and her chest, covered by the brocade quilt, rose and fell rapidly as she breathed in urgent gasps.
“This won’t do. As soon as the towel is removed, her temperature goes back up,” Yunzhu frowned and turned to instruct, “Go check quickly, has the imperial physician been summoned?”
Zhao Yiyi woke up once in the middle, murmuring hazily that she felt terrible and fussing for water: “Thirsty…”
This single cry was extremely aggrieved, her voice laced with the huskiness of just waking up. She even tried to cover her face and turn over, hoping to relieve the discomfort.
A female official poured a cup of warm water and, fearing the Empress might choke, supported her head and fed her small sips.
Zhao Yiyi was much more awake now, and having water poured into her bit by bit made her feel even worse. She opened her eyes blearily, gripped the female official’s hand, and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
“How did Her Highness get so sick?” Yunzhu bent down again to check her temperature. Feeling the scorching heat, her brow furrowed.
A vague image surfaced in her mind: the scene by the study window, with the slanted wind and fine rain drifting in. At that time, the Empress wasn’t wearing much, just a thin, lotus-root-colored long coat with a hidden floral pattern.
When the wind blew in, it seemed to pierce straight through her clothes.
Yesterday, being blown by the wind felt cool and pleasant, but who would have thought she would catch a chill because of it?
Zhao Yiyi held her forehead and murmured, “I don’t know, probably caught a cold.”
Pressing her lips together, Yunzhu whispered, “Since Your Highness is so ill, should this slave go to Zichen Palace and inform them?”
Zhao Yiyi’s face suddenly darkened, a hint of impatience in her eyes. She grabbed Yunzhu’s arm and said coldly, “You are not allowed to go!”
What for? To have him come and see me as a joke?
He would probably just despise me for being useless while mocking me for being careless, getting sick so easily.
Before her words fell, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from outside. In a flash, a man in a green robe entered with a palace maid, bowing from behind the screen to offer greetings.
Mancao went out and dragged the man inside. “Stop with the greetings! Her Highness is sick like this, who has the time to listen to your greetings? Hurry up and come in to see how Her Highness is doing!”
The green-robed physician hadn’t come alone; he brought several medical women and apprentices with him. The group of female officials moved aside, leaving the space by the bed for them.
A medical woman lifted the bed curtains, checked the Empress’s temperature, and glanced at the two flushes of red on her cheeks. She retreated and said to the physician, “Her Highness has a high fever.”
“It’s not too serious yet. After taking a dose of medicine, if the fever breaks tonight, she should be mostly recovered.” The physician placed two fingers on the jade-like wrist and, after hearing the medical woman’s report, spoke in a low voice.
While they were diagnosing and treating her, Yunzhu looked around, quietly retreated outside the screen, and pulled aside the two female officials who had been sent to fetch the physician.
“What happened?” She glanced at the inner room and lowered her voice. “Didn’t I tell you to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and ask for Physician Lin, who is best at treating wind-cold? Why did you bring Physician Song instead?”
The female official lowered her head and replied, “We intended to invite Physician Lin, but he had already been summoned to Shicui Palace. It was an emergency, so we had to call Physician Song instead.”
Yunzhu rubbed her brow, knowing there was nothing they could have done. She frowned and asked, “When did Shicui Palace take him?”
“The people at the Imperial Medical Bureau said he was summoned yesterday, and went to Shicui Palace again this morning,” the female official replied gently.
Yunzhu paced with her hands behind her back, her voice sinking. “Since he was summoned yesterday, it’s been a full day. Consort Dowager He should be feeling better by now. Take some people to Shicui Palace and ask.”
Thinking for a moment, staring at the official’s back, she instructed again, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t bring him. Physician Song just said Her Highness isn’t seriously ill. Although Physician Lin is best at treating wind-cold, the treatment for wind-cold is mostly similar, and the medicine is about the same.”
Shicui Palace.
Consort Dowager He sat by the couch in the side hall, watching a palace maid feed He Xunling medicine with a silver spoon.
As the bowl was nearly empty, He Xunling asked, “Second Aunt, I should be almost recovered, right?”
Looking at the lush vegetation outside the window, Consort Dowager He smiled. “Yes, you are almost well. It is late spring now; a moment of carelessness can easily lead to a wind-cold. When you are fully recovered, you can boil some pear paste and send it to His Majesty.”
Hearing Consort Dowager He tell her to send things to His Majesty again, He Xunling couldn’t help but shrink back, recalling the previous incident. The Emperor’s angry face was vivid in her memory; now, she didn’t dare go to Zichen Palace again.
Sensing her strangeness, Consort Dowager He raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice, “What’s wrong? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?” As she spoke, she reached out to check her forehead.
“No.” Sweat had already broken out on her back, but He Xunling didn’t dare tell the truth. She hadn’t dared to tell anyone about what happened at Zichen Palace last time. Facing Consort Dowager He’s piercing gaze, she nodded gently. “Xunling will listen to Aunt.”
A moment later, a palace maid entered and whispered a few words in Consort Dowager He’s ear.
“Since it’s the Empress’s people asking, then send Physician Lin quickly.”
Saying this, Consort Dowager He stood up and walked out, personally receiving the female official from Jiaofang Palace, and ordered Physician Lin to rush to Jiaofang Palace immediately.
She spoke warmly to the female official, “It was originally because my niece fell ill that I hurriedly invited Physician Lin over. I didn’t expect Her Majesty the Empress to also fall ill; I truly deserve death for this. Her Highness’s condition is important; please convey my greetings to Her Majesty the Empress.”
The female official said it was fine, then led Physician Lin away.
Returning to the side hall, Consort Dowager He looked at He Xunling and said, “I’m afraid you will have to be sick for a few more days.”
He Xunling stared at her blankly, a hint of confusion in her eyes, and whispered, “Second Aunt, I actually feel strong enough to get out of bed and walk around.”
Consort Dowager He smiled, gently reaching out to hold her down, and said softly, “No rush.”
Physician Lin was getting on in years. Although an apprentice carried his medicine chest, running to Jiaofang Palace with the female official left him panting and nearly unable to walk.
After examining the Empress, his diagnosis was the same as Physician Song’s. He said the Empress had a wind-cold trapped in her exterior and needed a few doses of medicine. As long as the illness didn’t recur, she would be fine.
Yunzhu brewed the medicine and brought it over. Zhao Yiyi didn’t want to drink it. She wrapped herself in the brocade quilt and rolled to the inner side of the bed, revealing only a fuzzy head. Covering her nose, she said, “I don’t want to take it.”
The Empress was usually dignified; when had she ever acted so girlishly? The female officials all covered their faces and laughed a few times, coaxing and pleading until she finally drank the dose of medicine.
“So bitter.” Zhao Yiyi’s head was already dizzy from the fever. After drinking the whole bowl in one go, her face scrunched up, and she couldn’t help muttering, “Don’t want to drink anymore.”
The female official comforted her, “If you recover tomorrow, you won’t have to take it anymore, just some tonic soup will do.”
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