Rong Fei is not honored

Upon hearing this, the Empress secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as His Majesty would not pursue her mistake.

The empress, whose mind was in turmoil, could never have imagined that Kangxi's dissatisfaction stemmed from her failure to step in and help his beloved in a timely manner.

Consort Hui, who had been patiently watching the situation unfold, was getting increasingly anxious. They were just one step away from achieving their goal.

By using Consort Rong's words, she was "forced" to interfere with the Empress's diet, thus gaining immediate insight into the Empress's true health condition.

Now things have completely gone astray. It's all Kangxi's fault. Why did he have to come to Kunning Palace? Of all times, why did he have to come now and cause trouble?

"The Empress's illness is no small matter, yet I was unaware of it. If I hadn't happened to witness it today, how long would the Empress have kept it from me?"

"Your Majesty, I am perfectly healthy and did not want to worry you, so I deliberately kept it from you."

Emperor Kangxi did not believe this at all. Just looking at Niohuru's face, it didn't seem like she was alright.

"Pass on the royal doctor."

It was an honor for the imperial physician, who was specifically assigned to treat the Emperor, to come and treat her. The Empress, having nothing to hide, naturally would not refuse.

Moreover, even though she knew that the Emperor didn't actually have much affection for her, she was happy to let the concubines misunderstand. Compared to an unfavored and invisible person, an empress who was valued by the Emperor was more likely to establish authority in the palace.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Consort Yi smiled and said, "His Majesty is so focused on the Empress that he has forgotten about us."

Kangxi glanced at the kneeling crowd and said calmly, "Get up, all of you." He couldn't possibly have really forgotten; he had done it on purpose.

Although it was Lady Tongjia who stirred up trouble, the others weren't exactly innocent either; they were all people who loved to watch the drama unfold. How many underhanded schemes had they been up to over the years? It was only because Lady Tongjia was so disruptive that these people hadn't been exposed.

It would take some time for Imperial Physician Liu to arrive from the Imperial Hospital. The Emperor and Empress did not allow everyone to leave, so the group just sat there, watching the Emperor and Empress speak at the head of the table.

However, they were not willing to leave either. For most of them, this was a rare opportunity to get close to the Emperor, and even the few who were still considered favored were unwilling to let the Empress enjoy the benefits all by herself.

However, to everyone's surprise, they did stay, but they remained merely decorations.

It wasn't that they didn't want to talk and express themselves, but the Emperor's attitude was too cold, clearly indicating that he didn't want to pay attention to them.

Consort Gui remained silent, Consort Rong was cautious, and the seven concubines looked at each other, none of them wanting to be the first to stick their neck out.

"Her Majesty the Empress's illness is not serious, but her diet is a major problem," Imperial Physician Liu said truthfully after carefully examining the Empress's pulse.

The Empress's heart tightened. The imperial physician who had examined her before had not said that. He had only said that her illness was not serious. Since he was trained by the Niohuru family, the Empress had never doubted his diagnosis.

Although Imperial Physician Liu's primary duty was to care for the Emperor's health, he was not oblivious to matters of the palace and naturally understood the reason behind the Empress's subtle change in expression.

He explained, "The imperial physician who examined you before made the correct diagnosis, and the prescription he gave was just right. Your condition has shown signs of improvement. Perhaps... perhaps the imperial physician didn't know that you had reached the point where you couldn't eat, so he..." He had overlooked it.

Regardless, it was his responsibility that his colleague failed to notice this. Saying a few words to exonerate him was the best Imperial Physician Liu could do.

Knowing that the imperial physician had not betrayed her, Empress Niohuru breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I always thought that my inability to eat was due to my own fault, so I never told Imperial Physician Zhang."

"The Empress is not a delicate person, so how could she not eat because the medicine is bitter? The imperial physician should be more meticulous in his diagnosis, but he has not noticed for so long. If it weren't for Consort Rong and others pointing it out, who knows how long the illness would have been delayed."

"I deliberately kept it a secret because I was afraid of being called spoiled."

Emperor Kangxi knew that Empress Niohuru wanted to protect Physician Zhang, so he didn't intend to pursue the matter further. After all, Physician Zhang was a member of the Niohuru family, and it was Empress Niohuru who had almost been harmed.

"If the Empress's condition is not serious, why can't she eat? And how could it be a big problem?"

"The pathogenic qi gathers in the middle jiao, and since the empress is in charge of the harem, she always has to worry about things. The pathogenic qi cannot be released, and over time it will damage the spleen and stomach."

Even a healthy person whose spleen and stomach are damaged will become weaker if they cannot take nourishing foods, let alone the Empress who is already ill. If this is not addressed, it will eventually wear her down.

Empress Niohuru's face turned pale. She had only caught a cold and her cough just wouldn't get better, so how did it get to this point?

The wet nurse beside the Empress hurriedly asked, "But Your Majesty has only been ill for a short time, how could your spleen and stomach be damaged?" If the other person was not the imperial physician who treated His Majesty, she would have liked to ask: Are you sure you're not mistaken?

Physician Liu sighed. Many people think that they are healthy because they are usually free from illness, but in fact, hidden dangers have long been buried in their bodies. Once the pathogenic factors enter the body and cause these lesions, they will become uncontrollable.

Just like the Empress, even though her condition was so bad, she still thought she was just having a minor illness.

The imperial physician who treated the empress was probably inexperienced, only treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, and even if he noticed something was wrong, he carelessly ignored it.

"Your Majesty the Empress didn't have a big appetite before, did she? Although she ate on time, she couldn't eat much."

“That’s true, but…” But which noble lady doesn’t do it this way?

Even if one doesn't excessively pursue a tiny waist, one still needs to pay attention to their figure at all times. Moreover, princesses have seen all sorts of good things, and even if they genuinely like something, they must restrain themselves for the sake of their status.

Imperial Physician Liu shook his head, saying that eating like this was like doing a task; even the best food wouldn't nourish the body.

Furthermore, excessive thinking damages the spleen, and if the spleen cannot function properly, the stomach will naturally be affected as well.

Why do most patients suffer from loss of appetite? Isn't it because their spleen and stomach are affected by the illness? If this is the case for healthy people, what about those whose spleen and stomach are already damaged?

If someone refuses to eat or drink, even if you force them to eat, they will vomit it up. In the long run, before they are defeated by the disease, they will starve to death.

Apart from Emperor Kangxi, who was energetic and had studied medicine, the masters and servants in the palace were all taken aback by what Imperial Physician Liu said.

So the spleen and stomach are really that important? Many people secretly decided that they would never diet again and would eat properly from now on.

Even Ji Nai subconsciously touched her stomach. So, it was that pill that damaged her spleen and stomach that caused her to not see much effect even now when she uses spiritual liquid to regulate it?