After Yuwen Lan left, Yanshu ate another bowl of osmanthus yogurt, two white jade cakes, and a bowl of bone marrow soup.
This breakfast was truly nourishing, leaving her feeling warm from the inside out.
Unexpectedly, she felt especially energized to write her novel, and wrote steadily until noon without feeling hungry.
After a short nap in the afternoon, she continued writing. Recently, the words had been flowing smoothly, and she found herself writing until dusk.
As the sky gradually darkened, Rendong came to the desk to light the lamps. Seeing Yanshu rubbing her eyes, she quickly advised, "You've been writing all day, you should rest your eyes now."
Yanshu made a sound of agreement and blinked, saying, "I am feeling a bit tired."
Rendong said, "Then continue writing tomorrow. What would you like for dinner?"
Yanshu rubbed her stomach, feeling as if the morning meal hadn't fully digested yet, and replied, "I'm not very hungry. Just a bowl of soup will do."
Rendong agreed and sent someone to the kitchen with the request. Soon after, a hot chicken soup was brought.
The soup was made with black-bone chicken, with added longan, red dates, and goji berries. It was delicious with a hint of sweetness, and Yanshu felt comforted after drinking a bowl.
However, her eyes were still uncomfortable, so she rubbed them again, feeling they might be a bit swollen.
Tsk, it seems she really had overused her eyes today.
She thought for a moment, then decided to take a bath to relax.
But after bathing, her eyes still felt uncomfortable, so she rubbed them again.
Then, she saw Rendong looking at her with a shocked expression, "My lady, your eyes!"
Startled, she hurried to look in the mirror, only to discover a small, red, swollen bump on her right eyelid.
Rendong was even more anxious than her, "How did this happen so suddenly? Could it be someone's evil doing?"
Evil doing?
Yanshu thought, "...Surely not."
If anything were wrong, the system would have alerted her.
So she called out to the system, [System, why is there a bump on my eyelid?]
The system replied, [Not within this system's scope of service. It is recommended you see a doctor yourself.]
Yanshu, "..."
It seemed no one was trying to harm her after all.
She had no choice but to instruct, "Go find a doctor to take a look."
Rendong agreed and hurried to the Imperial Pharmacy to find someone.
At this hour, the Imperial Medical Academy had already closed, so only that place would have doctors available.
Not long after, she returned with someone, but looked a bit uncomfortable.
Yanshu glanced at her and asked, "What's the matter?"
Rendong leaned close to her ear and whispered, "There's only one imperial physician on duty tonight, and he happens to be at the Empress Dowager's palace taking her pulse. We only have this medical apprentice."
— It should be noted that imperial physicians are ranked, such as Chief Physician, Academy Director, Imperial Physician, Registrar, and so on. This medical apprentice was of the lowest rank, usually only treating palace servants.
However, Yanshu didn't care about this. True skill was never about rank; even in the jianghu there were plenty of miracle doctors!
She looked over the newcomer again, seeing he was about thirty years old, thin, and though his eyes were downcast, there seemed to be a hint of pride in his demeanor.
Someone like this shouldn't make mistakes, right?
So she said, "Thank you for your trouble, doctor. This thing suddenly appeared on my eyelid, and it's a bit painful. Do you know what it could be?"
He agreed and came closer, first examining her eyelid, then taking her pulse. He asked, "What has the Noble Consort eaten recently?"
Rendong quickly replied, "Yesterday during the day, the Noble Consort ate some roast pork and lamb. In the evening, she had a bowl of sweet porridge. This morning, she dined with His Majesty and had deer tendon and bamboo shoot stewed chicken, bird's nest stewed duck, venison buns, smoked goose, fish in wine lees, and crispy white jade cakes with bone marrow soup. She didn't eat much at noon, and in the evening only had a bowl of black chicken soup with goji berries and longan."
As she finished speaking, they saw the doctor frown.
Rendong immediately became nervous and asked, "What's wrong? Has the Noble Consort been poisoned?"
The doctor, "...The Noble Consort has internal heat."
"Ah?"
Rendong was stunned.
They heard the doctor explain, "Bird's nest, venison, bone marrow, and black chicken are all very nourishing foods. The Noble Consort ate so much in one meal, and yesterday she also had roast pork and lamb, which are hot and dry foods. Her body couldn't handle it, so naturally, she developed internal heat. The bump on your eyelid is commonly called a stye."
Yanshu, "..."
Well, no wonder the system told her to see a doctor. It turned out she had eaten too many heaty foods.
She felt a bit embarrassed and asked, "So what should I do?"
The doctor said matter-of-factly, "You just need to drink two doses of heat-clearing medicine and apply some ointment. There's no need for the Noble Consort to worry."
With that, he quickly wrote out a prescription and advised, "The Noble Consort should remember not to eat any more heaty foods for the next few days. Keep your diet as bland as possible."
Yanshu could only agree and instructed Rendong, "Give the doctor a reward."
Rendong agreed and was about to fetch some silver.
However, the doctor didn't accept it, saying, "The Noble Consort's illness is not yet cured. I dare not accept this. Please take it back."
Rendong glanced at Yanshu, greatly surprised. Was there really someone in this world who didn't like money?
Yanshu was also surprised, but since he wouldn't accept it, she couldn't force him. So she said, "If that's the case, I'll reward you after I've recovered."
The man replied neither humbly nor proudly, "Thank you, Noble Consort."
And so, the consultation was over. Rendong went with the doctor to get the medicine and personally brewed it. Yanshu endured the bitter taste and drank a large bowl, then carefully applied the ointment to her eyelid.
After doing all this, she suddenly remembered an important matter and quickly said to Rendong, "Send someone to Qianming Palace to inform His Majesty that I'm unwell, and ask him not to come over."
Tsk, this stye was affecting her appearance a bit, and she didn't want to frighten the emperor.
Rendong agreed and sent Little Dong to Qianming Palace with the message.
Soon after, the emperor in his study received the news.
Yuwen Lan found it strange. This morning she had eaten more than him, how had she suddenly fallen ill?
Could it be... someone had harmed her again?
After sending the message, Yanshu lay down on her bed.
She was tired from writing all day, and sleepiness quickly overcame her.
However, just as she was about to fall asleep, a voice suddenly announced from outside, "His Majesty has arrived..."
Yanshu, "???"
The emperor had come?
Indeed, the emperor had arrived. Before she could get out of bed, he was already by her side.
She was startled and quickly covered the stye on her eye with one hand, hurriedly getting up from under the covers, somewhat flustered as she said, "This concubine greets Your Maj-"
Before she could finish, she accidentally stepped on the hem of her skirt and stumbled forward.
Quick as lightning, Yuwen Lan reached out to steady her, frowning as he asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Was she so ill she couldn't even stand up?
Yanshu, still covering her eye, stammered, "This concubine is fine, just... my eye is a little uncomfortable..."
Yuwen Lan became even more convinced that she was seriously ill and urgently said, "Let me see."
Yanshu could only try to deflect, "Your Majesty, it's better not to look, lest you catch my illness... This concubine has already taken medicine, I'll be fine soon..."
Yuwen Lan simply took hold of the hand covering her face.
He saw that her right eyelid was red and swollen like a bell.
He was taken aback again, "What happened?"
Yanshu was a bit annoyed and quickly covered her eye again, saying, "This concubine is fine, it's just a stye."
"A stye?"
Yuwen Lan was still confused, "Why did you get this?"
Yanshu's face darkened, "This concubine has eaten too many nourishing foods recently and developed internal heat."
How annoying, didn't she have any face left? Did she have to say it out loud in front of so many people?
Yuwen Lan, "...From eating?"
Yanshu felt like killing someone, "...Yes."
It was just from being greedy and eating too much, what could he do about it!
Tsk, but come to think of it, this was from eating meals with him, shouldn't it count as a work injury?
Yuwen Lan, "???"
Work injury?
He couldn't help but laugh a little.
Seeing her dissatisfied glance, [Still laughing!]
He had to compose himself and said, "Even the most delicious food should be eaten in moderation. There's no good in indulging in momentary pleasures."
Yanshu replied woodenly, "...This concubine obeys."
But in her heart, she felt a bit unbalanced and couldn't help saying, "This concubine only ate like this once and got internal heat. Your Majesty eats like this every day, how come you don't get internal heat?"
Yuwen Lan raised an eyebrow, "I have a good constitution, and besides, I'm not greedy."
Yanshu "..."
She couldn't help but pout and mutter softly, "Then isn't it a bit wasteful for Your Majesty to have so much prepared for just one person every day?"
Logically, these words were a bit presumptuous, but Yuwen Lan wasn't angered. After thinking for a moment, he actually nodded and said, "Indeed, it is."
He then instructed Fu Hai, "Starting tomorrow, reduce my meals by half."
Fu Hai agreed, and he asked Yanshu, "What did the imperial physician say?"
Yanshu said, "The doctor said I'll be fine after taking the medicine and resting a bit. It's nothing serious."
Yuwen Lan nodded, "Then you should rest."
After speaking, he instructed Fu Hai, "Go prepare some water."
Prepare water?
Yanshu was startled and quickly asked, "Is Your Majesty planning to stay here tonight?"
Yuwen Lan, who had already removed his outer robe, nodded and said, "Of course."
Yanshu was shocked, "But this subject is ill."
He glanced at her and said, "I don't mind."
Yanshu: "???"
Is this really about minding or not minding? Couldn't he just let her sleep properly on her own?
She hastily added, "This subject fears passing the illness to Your Majesty..."
Yuwen Lan, now dressed only in his nightclothes, replied with a puzzled expression, "I've never heard that one could pass on a fever."
With that, he went straight into the bathroom.
Yanshu: "???"
Was he expecting her to perform her duties even when she was ill?
Where was the justice in this?
In truth, Yuwen Lan simply found it comfortable to sleep there. For instance, last night he had such a pleasant dream, and he merely wanted to relax again tonight.
He wasn't unreasonable. Mindful of her discomfort, after bathing he lay quietly beside her, not even reaching out to touch her.
Perhaps because she had let her guard down, before long, the young woman drifted off to sleep.
Lulled by the sound of her quiet, steady breathing, he too gradually fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, something suddenly burrowed into his embrace, startling him awake.
Upon waking, he realized it was her. Like a fish, she was pressed tightly against him, even hugging his neck.
He wanted to ask her about it, but noticed her eyes were closed and her breathing was rapid and shallow, as if she were having a nightmare.
So he reached out and gently stroked her back, then drifted back to sleep.
That night, while the cold wind howled outside the palace, inside the chamber it was as warm as spring.
The next day, Yuwen Lan awoke in the hazy morning light.
There was another court session today, and he was about to get up when he suddenly noticed something unusual about his body.
A certain part of him, long numb, seemed different from before.
