Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 74
The figure stopped beside a man in a blue robe. This man's phoenix eyes were bloodshot, his hair was disheveled, and his blue robe was stained with numerous marks. He anxiously examined the person in his arms, and when he touched Zi Jin's shoulder, Zi Jin groaned in pain. His pupils contracted slightly, and he said to the shadowy figure behind him, "Qi Yongyue! Seize everyone! Kill anyone who resists!"
A lifetime of love and hate, hard to understand, reincarnation begins again. The bamboo grower is heartless, the past is but a dream. (Part 7)
The Past is but a Dream (Part 7) Zi Jin felt as if she were in a furnace, the extinguishing heat making her forget to breathe. A blazing fireball flew towards her from afar, and she screamed in surprise, suddenly opening her eyes.
Before her eyes came unfamiliar bright yellow gauze curtains. Zi Jin slowly got up. Seeing the two people in the room, for some reason, Zi Jin knew very well that they couldn't see her. She quietly got out of bed and walked towards the two people, trying to get a better look.
That night, the glass palace lanterns inside the room emitted a dim, yellowish light. The full moon outside the window shone exceptionally bright. A girl dressed in a black robe with nine dragons and wearing an imperial golden crown leaned against the window, playing with a small, shimmering white flower in her hand. Her figure looked incredibly slender, no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.
Behind her stood a boy dressed in black, who looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old. His narrow eyes were fixed intently on the girl's back, his gaze filled with deep affection and restraint.
"The hibiscus flowers are blooming very sparsely this year," the girl sighed, playing with the pale white flower in her hand.
"Your Majesty need not worry. It is only the beginning of summer, not the season when hibiscus is in full bloom." The boy's voice seemed to have a soothing magic.
Zi Jin couldn't help but be captivated by the sound.
Empress Yanzai slowly turned her face, revealing a pair of dark, phoenix-shaped eyes, a round, oval face, a complexion as red as cinnabar, and lips like a touch of vermilion. Unlike the gentle beauty of other women, her beauty carried a hint of domineering heroism. She looked at the boy indifferently, a smile playing on her lips: "Jun Xiaosan, tell me, isn't my Weiyang Palace beautiful?"
Jun Ying slowly lowered his eyes, a hint of sadness appearing in them: "Beautiful."
Upon seeing the Empress's face, Zi Jin was so shocked that she took two steps back. No wonder the woman looked so familiar; she bore a striking resemblance to Empress Yanzai, about seventy percent. No wonder... no wonder...
"Do you want to know how my brother reacted when he saw Weiyang Palace today?" Empress Yanzai turned her head, her phoenix eyes full of girlish smugness. "Hehe... He stood there, mesmerized. He clearly liked it, but he scolded me. Didn't you see? My brother's expression was absolutely adorable." Empress Yanzai threw down the flower in her hand, stepped on it, and walked over, continuing her story.
"Your Majesty really doesn't need to do this. Even without Weiyang Palace, he was still..."
"Yes, the cost of Weiyang Palace really pains me. But considering that my brother is known as the greatest talent in the world, unparalleled in the land, exchanging Weiyang Palace for his entire life is not an insult to him, is it?" A faint pity and reluctance flashed in Empress Yanzai's eyes.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Fu Lai from Xia Yang Palace requests an audience." The distinctive voice of a eunuch rang out from outside the door.
Empress Yeonjae frowned, thought for a moment, and then replied, "I will not see you."
The outside suddenly fell silent. Empress Yanzai seemed to be deep in thought, her face showing less ease and more worry as she paced anxiously back and forth in the room.
"Your Majesty, very few people from Xiayang Palace are requesting an audience. Something serious must have happened," Jun Ying's reassuring voice rang out at the opportune moment.
Empress Yanzai looked at Jun Ying, a hint of struggle flashing in her eyes, but she still couldn't make up her mind: "I just sent my brother to Weiyang Palace today, if I go to Xiayang Palace now..."
"The concubine is still young... Given his personality, he certainly won't mind. Besides, it's only natural for His Majesty to go and show concern for the concubine if he has something to do."
"I know my brother won't do anything, but I'm afraid the Prime Minister will make a big deal out of this... My uncle's health is deteriorating day by day, and he has gradually handed over the power he holds to me. Now, it's already good enough that my uncle can protect himself, how can he have the energy to take care of Hui'er... Besides, my uncle compromised with me back then, and I promised my uncle that I would take care of Hui'er, but I... placed Hui'er in Xia Yang Palace, which is worse than the Cold Palace. Neither my uncle nor Hui'er has complained at all, how can I allow my uncle and Hui'er to be suppressed by the Prime Minister's family again?" Empress Yanzai slowly sat down in her chair, closed her phoenix eyes, and spoke slowly.
"Prince Dugu is still young. Although His Majesty has feelings for him, his treatment of him is appalling..."
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This old servant begs you to go... to see the young master... sob sob... sob..." Fu Lai's mournful cries came from outside the door, but his mouth was covered halfway through.
Empress Yanzai strode towards the door, flung it open, and shouted sharply, "Stop!"
The two eunuchs who were holding onto Eunuch Fulai immediately released him as instructed. Eunuch Fulai broke free of his restraints, knelt down abruptly, and took a few steps forward: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The imperial physician says that if the young master doesn't survive tonight... then..." Eunuch Fulai broke down in tears before he could finish speaking.
Empress Yanzai's expression changed drastically, her phoenix eyes filled with disbelief, and she strode towards the direction of the Chaoxia Palace. Eunuch Fulai hurriedly got up and followed closely behind, sobbing.
"How could Hui'er suddenly fall seriously ill?!" Empress Yanzai seemed to be ignoring Dugu Xihui, but that wasn't really the case. The three most elite secret agents in the palace had long been placed by the Empress beside Dugu Xihui, and they would report on her condition every three days.
“This morning, the young master went to the newly built Weiyang Palace. When he returned, he stayed in the Imperial Garden until the afternoon. Later, he locked himself in his room and wouldn’t let me in. When it was time for dinner, I thought that even if the young master was very angry, he should have calmed down by now. Who knew that he drank some wine and triggered his chronic illness…” Eunuch Fu Lai said hesitantly.
"You bastards! How can you be such slaves!" Empress Yanzai was furious. She wished she could fly to see what was wrong with Dugu Xihui.
He suffered from a chronic illness, and the imperial garden was filled with hibiscus flowers. It was the season for them to bloom, and pollen and petals were flying everywhere. He had also been drinking recklessly. What was he planning? The Empress, filled with rage and unsure how to vent it, quickened her pace.
Empress Yanzai stormed into Xiayang Palace, and upon entering her bedroom, she found a royal physician kneeling alone and trembling beside her.
Dugu Xihui's thin body was curled up on the large bed. His moon-white robe was already soaked with sweat. He was breathing heavily, his hands tightly gripping the bedding beside him, his eyes wide open, and his lips a strange blood red, indicating that he was in extreme pain and had bitten them hard.
Empress Yanzai's pent-up anger vanished in an instant. She strode forward and stared blankly at the tormented Dugu Xihui.
The Empress's image was reflected in Dugu Xihui's round eyes, and her eyes were instantly filled with joy, her breathing becoming even more rapid.
"What's going on?!" Empress Yeonjae's question was almost shouted.
"The concubine refuses to be helped up, and cannot be fed any medicine... If he doesn't make it through the night... I fear the worst is yet to come." The imperial physician looked up and replied with worry.
"Useless! In this vast Imperial Hospital, are you the only useless one?!...Where is Physician Zhong? Physician Su? Physician Huang? Where are the others?!" Empress Yanzai glared at the young and unfamiliar imperial physician before her, speaking with hatred.
"...A few days ago, the young heir of the Ministry of Justice fell seriously ill. The other colleagues were sent to the Ministry of Justice by the Emperor and Empress to guard it every day...I was left alone to guard the Imperial Hospital." The imperial physician's voice was neither humble nor arrogant, and he dared not hide anything.
Empress Yanzai's face instantly darkened, and she laughed angrily: "Sikou Xunxiang! Good! Very good! This world still belongs to me, but you've forgotten whose slaves you are! Good! Very good! Truly obedient slaves, then tell me, what should we do now?! If anything happens to the Consort... you won't have to stay at the Imperial Hospital to suffer!"
"Please help the concubine sit up, Your Majesty," the imperial physician said boldly.
Dugu Xihui was no longer breathing heavily; he seemed to be suffocating, his whole body trembling, his face turning bluish-purple. His fox-like eyes gradually lost their luster. Empress Yanzai quickly sat down and gently helped Dugu Xihui up. Dugu Xihui, utterly powerless, leaned limply against Empress Yanzai's chest.
"Oh no! The concubine has stopped breathing!" In his panic, the imperial physician forgot all etiquette and quickly stood up to pinch Dugu Xihui's philtrum. The physician applied pressure little by little, but Dugu Xihui did not react at all. Blood was drawn from the pinch, but Dugu Xihui's small body remained limp, showing no signs of breathing.
Empress Yanzai looked anxiously at the imperial physician, only to see his face grow increasingly gloomy. Her heart sank deeper and deeper; she felt an unbearable pain, as if a gaping hole had collapsed within her, making it hard to breathe. Her phoenix eyes turned bloodshot.
"Hui'er, Hui'er, get up... get up, your wife was wrong, your wife shouldn't have left you in Xiayang Palace... your wife shouldn't have ignored you, get up... get up, whatever you want, your wife will agree to it... please get up?"
The imperial physician lowered his eyes, gritted his teeth, picked up the thickest silver needle beside him, and thrust it into Dugu Xihui's Baihui acupoint.
Dugu Xihui screamed in pain, slightly opened her eyes, and began to breathe heavily.
"Quick! Use your hands to soothe the concubine's breathing." The imperial physician had long forgotten that the person he was ordering around was the Empress.
The panicked Empress Yanzai, not having time to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, gently stroked Dugu Xihui's chest. Dugu Xihui's heavy breathing and weak moans were like thorns, deeply piercing the softest part of her heart, causing her unbearable pain.