Page 179

"This humble official understands."

The Imperial Doctors responded in unison, and then took turns to check Lady Shen’s pulse.

After both had finished their examinations, it only took a moment.

Then, the two of them reported to the Empress one by one.

"Your Majesty, Lady Shen is not pregnant."

"Your Majesty, Lady Shen does not have a pregnancy pulse."

As Shen Chuwei yawned incessantly, the Imperial Doctors finished their reports.

Fen Yueyue, upon seeing this, displayed a look of disbelief; this was impossible, Shen Chuwei clearly had a pregnancy pulse, how could it go undetected?

After hearing the report from the Imperial Doctors, the Empress inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, deep down she still hoped that Shen Chuwei was innocent.

She turned her gaze to Fen Yueyue and asked coldly, "Fen Zhaoshun, do you have anything else to say?"

"Your Majesty, this concubine has not lied. Lady Shen clearly has been indecent in her conduct and has had an affair with a Guard," Fen Yueyue insisted stubbornly, still adamant that Shen Chuwei had an affair.

The voice of the Empress grew heavier, "Without evidence, you are simply slandering others, do you understand?"

Fen Yueyue, unwilling to give up, said, "Your Majesty, please have the Imperial Doctors check Lady Shen’s pulse again."

The Empress, tired of listening to Fen Yueyue’s nonsense, commanded coldly, "Do you think I have nothing better to do than listen to your ramblings? Guards, drag Fen Zhaoshun out and slap her a hundred times, see if she dares to speak recklessly in the future."

Eunuch Ren stepped forward, directing two eunuchs to drag Fen Yueyue away.

"Your Majesty, spare me!!"

Ignoring Fen Yueyue’s cries and sobs, the two junior eunuchs took her away.

They only stopped when they reached the door.

Eunuch Ren looked down at Fen Yueyue and said in his sharp, thin voice, "Fen Zhaoshun, although we are eunuchs and cannot compare to the preciousness of your face, it’s a pity that our hands are not just for show; they are quite strong."

After speaking, Eunuch Ren instructed the two junior eunuchs, "You two, make sure Fen Zhaoshun understands that the strength of our eunuch hands is not inferior to that of normal men, understand?"

The two junior eunuchs replied in unison, "Eunuch Ren, we understand."

The two eunuchs, having overheard what Fen Yueyue said in the Hall and feeling their pride wounded, naturally felt disgruntled.

They saw this as a good opportunity for revenge.

The two eunuchs exchanged glances; one held Fen Yueyue’s head, lifting her chin to force her to look up.

The other eunuch raised his hand and brought it down hard.

The sound of slaps rang out incessantly.

*

Shen Chuwei was extremely sleepy, but with the Empress sitting there, she couldn’t go to sleep, and not being able to sleep when there’s a bed was the ultimate torture.

When the Empress arrived, she immediately noticed that Shen Chuwei seemed ill and expressed her concern, "Lady Shen, are you feeling unwell?"

Shen Chuwei, as if afraid the Empress wasn’t aware, nodded vigorously, "Replying to Your Majesty, this concubine indeed feels somewhat unwell."

Just let me sleep, I’m dying of fatigue!

The Empress didn’t catch the hint in Shen Chuwei’s words. She turned to the three Imperial Doctors in the room, "The three of you just checked Lady Shen’s pulse; did you notice anything amiss?"

The Imperial Doctor replied, "Your Majesty, Lady Shen’s health is fine."

The Empress turned to another Imperial Doctor, who gave the same answer, "Your Majesty, Lady Shen’s body shows no problems."

On her way to see Shen Chuwei, the Empress had learned that the Crown Prince had spent the night in Hehuan Hall. She teasingly said, "Lady Shen is tired, and so is the Crown Prince. You should learn to moderate yourselves."

It wouldn’t have mattered if they weren’t moderate, but to go through all that effort for nothing.

Shen Chuwei: "..." How am I tired? That statement could easily be misunderstood.

Fortunately, the Empress did not stay long. She showed her concern with a few words and then left.

Xiao Jinyan, upon hearing that the Empress had come to inquire about the matter, immediately went to Hehuan Hall.

When he arrived, Shen Chuwei was sleeping.

Normally, Xiao Jinyan wouldn’t have woken her up, but the current situation was extraordinary.

Xiao Jinyan approached to call her, but no matter how he called, she would not wake up, which made him somewhat anxious.

"Little rabbit, go and call Warm Imperial Doctor here."

He then asked Chun Xi, "What did the Empress come for?"

Chun Xi briefly described the events, then indignantly said, "Your Highness may not know this, but Fen Zhaoshun slandered the mistress with lies. If it weren’t for the mistress’s quick thinking to hide the pregnancy pulse, she would have been defenseless and punished by now."

Xiao Jinyan felt that Fen Zhaoshun was somewhat suspicious after hearing Chun Xi’s recount.

The Warm Imperial Doctor arrived quickly and woke Shen Chuwei using acupuncture needles.

The first thing Shen Chuwei said upon waking up was, "Warm Imperial Doctor, don’t use needles next time; it hurts too much."

It was that sharp, jabbing pain that had jolted her awake.

The Warm Imperial Doctor felt somewhat wronged—it wasn’t his idea to wake her; Xiao Jinyan had insisted, and without the stimulus of the needles, she wouldn’t have woken up.

Xiao Jinyan didn’t know that the Warm Imperial Doctor had used needles to painfully wake Shen Chuwei; he was just scared.

"If I didn’t wake you, what if you..."

He dared not think of what might have happened.

Shen Chuwei asked, "Have you found a solution, Your Highness?"

Shen Chuwei had been asleep when Lu Zhaoyan came, so she didn’t know what was going on with herself.

Xiao Jinyan said, "Lu Zhaoyan said you’ve recently encountered danger and someone has been using witchcraft to curse you. Your unexplained sleepiness and nightmares are all because of this witchcraft."

Shen Chuwei had never heard of witchcraft before; just the name sounded bizarre to her.

"No wonder my own pulse examination revealed nothing."

"I find Fen Zhaoshun very suspicious. I punished her before because of you, and she likely harbors resentment and a desire for revenge," Xiao Jinyan concluded, and then ordered, "Weichi, take people to search Fen Zhaoshun’s residence thoroughly."

"This subordinate obeys." Weichi left with a stride.

When they were alone, Xiao Jinyan gazed at Shen Chuwei for a while, noticing she had lost a noticeable amount of weight these past few days and her complexion was worse than usual.

"Do you resent me in your heart?"

Shen Chuwei asked in confusion, "Why should this concubine resent Your Highness?"

"Yesterday, I almost misunderstood you," Xiao Jinyan admitted, still regretting that he had doubted her fidelity because of what the Warm Imperial Doctor said.

It was then that he realized how much he cared for Shen Chuwei—the more he cared, the more afraid he was that it might be true.

Shen Chuwei slowly spoke, "Your Highness is not a saint. Hearing the trusted Imperial Doctor say it was a pregnancy pulse, it’s natural to have doubts.

But Your Highness didn’t rush to punish me without proof; instead, you gave me a chance to explain and trusted me.

This already exceeds what ninety-nine percent of the men in this world would do. "

"More importantly, You still remember the grace of my saving your life." Shen Chuwei was indeed somewhat moved by Xiao Jinyan’s last words from the previous night.

Xiao Jinyan said, "You risked your life to save me; of course, I remember it. Thankfully, you didn’t disappoint me."

Shen Chuwei playfully retorted, "Your Highness hasn’t disappointed me either."

Xiao Jinyan was noncommittal, "When you’ve recovered, attend to my bedchamber. I don’t want to wait any longer."