He was the emperor, and when the emperor asked him a question, Wang Zhong dared not be negligent and quickly replied:
"Yes, Your Highness has always been cared for by this humble servant. Taking your pulse, writing prescriptions, and even getting the medicine ready and brewing it are all done by this humble servant personally!"
Very well, Wang Zhong, go and do it yourself. If I don't get rid of you this time, I, Ye Xiaowei, will write my name backwards!
Ye Xiaowei sneered inwardly, but on the surface she pretended to agree wholeheartedly:
"Mother, the Imperial Physician Wang was personally chosen by Father for me, specifically to treat my illness. Furthermore, during your time in Yunshan, Father frequently visited me, showing me great care and concern. A few days ago, I indulged myself too much and fell ill, and Father rushed over again. During my illness, Father has stayed by my bedside day and night, tending to me. I know I am ashamed that I have caused Father so much trouble and Mother so much worry..."
☆, 015 Lure the snake out of its hole (2)
Ultimately, Ye Xiaowei was just a child under fifteen years old. Children are bound to be somewhat inconsiderate and impatient for quick success, which can be forgiven.
Upon hearing Ye Xiaowei say that Li Changxi had not rested well for days in order to take care of her, and had even specially ordered the imperial physician to take good care of the Crown Princess, completely neglecting his own rest, she was deeply moved.
Over the years, he had been taking care of the Crown Princess. Due to the Empress's poor health, although the Crown Princess was not his biological daughter, he regarded her as more important than his own. For a time, Emperor Mingde couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for Li Changxi.
Moreover, just now, she almost blamed Li Changxi for his poor upbringing, for raising such a disappointing crown princess.
However, upon hearing Ye Xiaowei's explanation, he immediately realized that the Crown Princess wasn't entirely wrong; she was simply too young, too eager for quick success, and lacked thorough consideration.
We are so grateful to Li Changxi that we would never blame him.
Naturally, he wasn't as angry with Ye Xiaowei as he had been before, and quickly reached out to help her up.
"Alright, since you're feeling unwell, stop kneeling and get up to speak!"
Ye Xiaowei stood up, but still kept her head down and looked like she had done something wrong.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Mingde was about to speak, ordering the kneeling imperial physicians to step down. He felt suffocated by the sight of so many people kneeling in the room.
A commotion arose outside the door. Ye Xiaowei smiled faintly, but the smile vanished in an instant, in the blink of an eye.
"Oh dear! My little darling, what's wrong? What's wrong?"
Emperor Mingde frowned, his probing gaze fixed on Ye Xiaowei:
"Who is this, making such a scene in the Eastern Palace? What kind of behavior is this!"
Ye Xiaowei answered awkwardly, "It is your son's servant..." As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Zijin, wearing a floral long robe and holding a snow-white little fox, rushed in from outside the door.
He didn't even look up, his attention solely focused on the little one in his arms, completely unaware of the scene inside the room, shouting as he walked in:
"Your Highness, it's terrible! My little darling has suddenly become listless and lethargic. What would I do if anything happened to her? I've raised her like my own son! I..."
Luo Zijing looked up and was immediately speechless. When he saw Emperor Mingde staring at him with displeasure, he was so frightened that his face turned pale. After a moment of stunned silence, his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty... I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
Luo Zijin held the white fox in her arms, her whole body trembling uncontrollably from fear and tension. She lowered her head as low as she could, her black hair simply tied into a bun with a white jade hairpin.
Ye Xiaowei hurriedly came over to smooth things over, chuckling:
"Mother, Zijing is always like this, a little different from ordinary people. He's impulsive, but he's a very good person. I hope Mother won't take offense!"
Emperor Mingde stared at Luo Zijin for a while:
"You young people these days, I really don't know what's going on in your heads all day long..."
Ye Xiaowei continued with a fawning smile, "Yes, yes, Mother Empress's reprimand is absolutely right..."
"Your Majesty, it is not that I wish to be so impolite, but..."
No one expected that a mere attendant of the Crown Princess would dare to defy the Emperor on the spot. Emperor Mingde's anger, which he had just suppressed, rose again. Just as he was about to explode, Ye Xiaowei spoke up before Emperor Mingde could, angrily shouting at Luo Zijin.
"How dare you! Don't you know who you're talking to? It's one thing to be disrespectful to me normally, but how can you speak to the Empress Dowager like this? Are you out of your mind?!"
Luo Zijing hurriedly shook his head, his phoenix eyes quickly gathering into glistening tears. Against his already devilishly handsome face, his extremely aggrieved and tearful expression was enough to make not only women unable to bear it, but even men would be instantly captivated.
Ye Xiaowei secretly admired him, thinking, "A prodigy is a prodigy indeed, he really saved me a lot of trouble!"
Even if someone is ugly and cries their heart out, no one will feel any pity. But a demon only needs a glance or a gesture to completely captivate people and make them unable to bear to harm them in the slightest.
Ye Xiaowei used to look down on Luo Zijin for his devilishly handsome face and his tendency to feign grievances to gain sympathy, but now she is extremely satisfied with his innate talent.
At least sometimes, prodigies are more effective than ordinary people.
Emperor Mingde glanced at the listless white fox in Luo Zijin's arms and asked a question with a puzzled expression.
What's wrong with this white fox?
Upon hearing this, Luo Zijin's tears, which he had been holding back for so long, rolled down his bright golden pupils like pearls, each one like a golden bead.
He was shedding tears; his heart was bleeding. Ye Xiaowei couldn't help but sigh once again, for a prodigy is truly extraordinary.
Luo Zijin sobbed and said:
"I don't know what happened either. Earlier, I took it for a walk in the back garden, but this little darling got playful and ran out of my arms. And that was it! It ran around everywhere, finally ending up in the backyard of the pharmacy. This little thing is usually so lazy, but I don't know why it was running so fast just now. I was panting as I chased after it, and finally caught up with it. But then I saw it eating the dregs of medicine that had fallen on the ground. I was afraid it was some bad medicine, and I rushed to stop it. Just then, the maid in charge of brewing the medicine came over and told me that it was a tonic for His Highness, and that it was nothing to worry about. My heart was finally at ease, but now… now my little darling is like this, and I am truly heartbroken…"
As she spoke, she shed a few more tears while holding the little white fox.
At this moment, no one spoke. Wang Zhong, who was kneeling to the side, suddenly changed his expression drastically, and large beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Luo Zijing seemed to suddenly remember something, and suddenly exclaimed:
"By the way, this little one has become so weak after eating the dregs of Your Highness's usual tonic. Are you alright, Your Highness?"
Emperor Mingde suddenly realized what was happening and looked at Ye Xiaowei. Ye Xiaowei was unsteady on her feet and swayed as if she was about to fall. Fortunately, Emperor Mingde reacted quickly and caught her.
"My son, are you alright?"
Immediately, a maid came up and helped Ye Xiaowei sit down on a chair. She then carefully handed her a cup of hot tea. After taking a sip of the hot tea and catching her breath, Ye Xiaowei finally calmed down.
"Your Majesty, I am fine. I will be alright after sitting for a while. This has been happening quite often lately, so Your Majesty need not worry!"
However, she did not look well and her voice sounded very weak, yet she forced a smile and endured it, which made Emperor Mingde feel even more distressed.
Emperor Mingde glared angrily at Wang Zhong, who was kneeling on the ground, and shouted at him:
"Wang Zhong, didn't you just swear that you personally caught and brewed the Crown Princess's medicine, without delegating any tasks to anyone else? Then why did the little white fox become listless and weak after accidentally eating the dregs of the medicine, and why is the Crown Princess so weak? I'd like to hear your brilliant ideas!"
Wang Zhong kowtowed several times on the floor, each time with great force, making a loud thud.
"This matter... Your humble servant... Your humble servant..."
☆、016 Kill the chicken to scare the monkey
"You audacious Wang Zhong, how dare you harbor such treacherous intentions and commit insubordination! Do you know that plotting to harm the Crown Princess is a crime punishable by death!"
Li Changxi, who had been helped out to rest, was helped back in by two eunuchs.
He didn't look well; his face was pale, and his once bright eyes were now filled with fatigue. There were also dark circles around his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't had enough rest.
He appeared extremely weak and was helped in. Before he even entered, he shouted at Wang Zhong.
The words that Wang Zhong was about to say were almost stuck in his throat!
His crime deserves to be punished. The meaning is crystal clear: not only should he die, but his children should die, and everyone connected with him should die!
Li Changxi appeared to be reprimanding Wang Zhong, but in reality, he was warning Wang Zhong that if he dared to speak out of turn, he would wipe out his entire family!
Wang Zhong's face was deathly pale, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his clothes. He was so frightened that his whole body trembled uncontrollably, and he pressed his head to the floor.
After Li Changxi walked in, he pushed aside the two eunuchs who were supporting him and knelt down on the ground, his face filled with remorse and guilt.
"Your Majesty, I have failed to live up to your grace and have not taken good care of Her Highness the Crown Princess, allowing some treacherous people with ulterior motives to take advantage of the situation, which has led to the Crown Princess's health problems. I was confused for a moment and failed to notice in time, and I misjudged people, which has resulted in today's outcome. Everything is my fault, and I deserve to die. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
Li Changxi's words were spoken with tears streaming down his face, full of genuine emotion, which made Emperor Mingde feel quite sorry for him.
The palm of the hand is flesh, and the back of the hand is flesh too. For the moment, Emperor Mingde was truly hesitant and did not know what to do.
Ye Xiaowei sneered inwardly. Li Changxi was a master at reading people and his acting skills were also superb.
Although it wouldn't be impossible for her to subtly inquire about his situation at this moment, say something detrimental to him, embellish the story, or fabricate something out of thin air, given the current circumstances.
However, Li Changxi wielded considerable power in the harem, and this trivial matter was not enough to prevent him from turning his life around. Since they couldn't eliminate him completely, and given their current strength, they couldn't afford to turn against him so quickly.
Of course, that wasn't the whole reason I was afraid of him.
Another very important reason is that Emperor Mingde has always been an extremely loyal and filial person. If Ye Xiaowei not only fails to speak well of Li Changxi, his father, and plead for him, but instead takes advantage of his misfortune, then...
Emperor Mingde might not say anything on the surface, and he might punish Li Changxi to maintain harmony in the harem and to be fair. However, he certainly wouldn't approve of Ye Xiaowei's behavior of turning her back on people now that she's become independent.
They might even think she was disloyal and unfilial, and completely unsuitable to be the future ruler. In this case, she would truly have lost more than she gained.
Just as he was at a loss for what to do, Ye Xiaowei, who was swaying and leaning on someone for support, suddenly knelt down next to Li Changxi.
Emperor Mingde looked bewildered and hurriedly reached out to help Ye Xiaowei up.
"Wei'er, what are you doing now?"
Ye Xiaowei respectfully kowtowed to Emperor Mingde, then spoke earnestly:
"Mother, these past few days, Father has been so busy taking care of me that he has lost his appetite and sleep, staying by my side day and night. Father's health is so weak now because of his constant care for me."
She looked up and glanced at Li Changxi kneeling beside her. Li Changxi stared at Ye Xiaowei with the extremely kind look a father has for his children, his eyes glistening and shining brightly.
What a harmonious picture of a loving father and filial daughter! Even the most hard-hearted person would be deeply deceived by this pair of actors and be moved to tears.
Ye Xiaowei's eyes were clear and filled with determination. Her actions and words were undoubtedly a sincere attempt to help Li Changxi.
Li Changxi was both surprised and delighted, and was filled with emotion. He realized that all his efforts over the years, even if they were just for show, had not been in vain.
Of course, he thought Ye Xiaowei was genuinely pleading for him, but he didn't know that it was just a temporary measure by Ye Xiaowei.
Ye Xiaowei continued:
"Recently, your son has unfortunately caught a cold. In addition to taking care of me day and night, Father has been kneeling and praying devoutly in front of the Buddhist hall, begging the Buddha for mercy and to bless your son's speedy recovery. He is willing to give up ten years of his lifespan in exchange for your son's good health!"
Li Changxi lowered his eyes, and the tears that had been welling up finally burst forth, flowing down his pale face and staining his long, curled eyelashes.