Marrying the Crown Prince

Meanwhile, inside the Phoenix Palace, Wei Yi knocked on the bedroom door.

"Enter." Emperor Chenze's voice rang out.

Wei Yi went in, bowed and greeted them, and then said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Imperial Physician has been summoned from Consort De's side."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chenze and Empress Chu were both stunned.

As the head of the harem, Empress Chu spoke first, "What did the imperial physicians say?"

"The imperial physician has not yet come out. Should I go and inquire?"

The one who spoke was Wei Yi, who was a servant of Emperor Chenze. Therefore, Empress Chu did not answer, but looked at the man beside her.

Emperor Chenze frowned, it was unclear whether he was displeased that Consort De had summoned the imperial physician on this particular day, or whether he was worried that something might have happened to Consort De.

He said in a deep voice, "Go and see what happened."

"Yes."

Wei Yi left.

Empress Chu glanced at Emperor Chenze, whose eyes were deep in thought, and said reassuringly, "Consort De is not someone who doesn't know what's important. Calling the imperial physician at this time is probably no ordinary matter. If Your Majesty is worried, you should go and see him."

Emperor Chenze looked at her suspiciously, noticing that she, as always, wore her heart on her sleeve.

He replied, "No need."

As soon as he finished speaking, probably realizing it wasn't a good idea, he added, "Wei Yi has already gone there. If anything happens, he will come and report back."

Hearing that he didn't want to go, Empress Chu didn't insist anymore. After all, her relationship with Consort De wasn't particularly good, and the fact that she offered such a word of advice was already a great act of kindness from her.

Indeed, although Empress Chu may seem unreliable at times, she is clear-headed when it comes to matters of principle.

Just now, she said that Consort De was not unaware of the gravity of the situation and asked Emperor Chenze to go and take a look. This was from the bottom of her heart and not a deliberate test.

It was almost time, so Empress Chu stood up and rubbed her aching back. "Your Majesty, shall we rest now?"

"Hmm," Emperor Chenze replied calmly.

Otherwise, what can I say now that you've stood up?

Since I'm going to sleep, I naturally won't call anything else to disturb me, so as not to be woken up after I've fallen asleep.

Emperor Chenze wasn't grumpy when he woke up, but being woken up right after falling asleep was still unpleasant.

Thinking of this, he ordered, "When Wei Yi returns, tell him that unless it is an extremely urgent matter, he should report back tomorrow."

Upon hearing Emperor Chenze's words, Ruosong and Ruofu were secretly delighted, "Yes."

So Emperor Chenze and Empress Chu slept until dawn. When they woke up, there were already many concubines waiting in the main hall to pay their respects.

After a while, Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan arrived. Upon hearing the announcement, they learned that Empress Chu and Emperor Chenze had just finished washing up.

Ruosong asked, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, would you like to have a meal?"

I went to bed too late last night, and although I didn't wake up early today, I still don't have much of an appetite. So Empress Chu waved her hand and said, "I'll eat after those people outside have left."

Hearing her say that, Emperor Chenze stopped his fuss and said, "There's no need to prepare a meal."

Let's eat together later.

"Yes."

Since neither of them needed to eat, Empress Chu and Emperor Chenze went to the main hall together.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty and Empress, I pay my respects."

"Wishing His Majesty, Empress/Father, and Mother good health, longevity, and all the best."

As the new year began, everyone dressed festively. Empress Chu and Emperor Chenze watched from above, their moods improving considerably, and smiles appeared on their faces.

"No courtesy, just stay on your own."

"Thank you, Your Majesty and Your Majesty."

Everyone stood up, Emperor Chenze clapped his hands, and palace servants carrying gift boxes filed in, standing one by one beside their masters.

"Since it is the New Year and you have come to pay your respects, the Empress and I will give each of you a New Year's gift."

After she finished speaking, the palace maid beside the concubine took the gift box from the palace servant.

Zhou Zhou was also somewhat surprised, since this segment had never been included before.

Her hand gently touched the lid of the box, wondering whether to open it or not.

Li Ziyan provided the answer to this question.

With a click, he opened the wooden box, revealing a pair of small gold gourds. The gourds were engraved with the character "寿" (longevity), then covered with cinnabar, and decorated with copper coins, lanterns, and other auspicious items, making them both festive and lucky.

The younger generation all wore gourd-shaped hairpins, while the concubines in the harem all wore the same red gold bat hairpins inlaid with rubies.

Both of these things symbolize good fortune.

Consort De looked at the hairpin and said with a smile, "This hairpin is really beautiful. I like it very much. Thank you for the gift from Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."

Hearing her speak, Emperor Chenze suddenly remembered—Consort De had summoned the imperial physician last night.

He looked her up and down and saw that Consort De had a rosy complexion and almond-shaped eyes, and did not look like someone who was sick at all.

and so……

Why would you need to call in a royal physician during the Lunar New Year?

A hint of displeasure flashed in Emperor Chenze's eyes, but he didn't show it on his face, still smiling broadly. "I heard from a palace servant that you summoned the imperial physician last night?"

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes turned to Consort De.

You should know that her palace servants had just stepped into the Imperial Hospital last night, and soon everyone knew that she had summoned the imperial physician.

It was originally thought that Consort De summoned the imperial physician at this time of year in order to vie for favor and try to pull Emperor Chenze from the Empress's palace to her own.

It should be noted that Emperor Chenze has always respected Empress Chu. If Consort De really dared to send someone to Fengyi Palace to invite the Emperor, she would definitely be reprimanded.

Therefore, many people were waiting to see Consort De make a fool of herself last night, just waiting to see when Consort De would send palace servants to Fengyi Palace!

To their surprise, no matter how long they waited, Consort De remained completely silent.

Could it be that he is really sick?

But if she was really sick, how could Consort De still look so beautiful?

Everyone had already guessed this, and they had already had a heated debate early this morning; now that Emperor Chenze had brought it up, how could they not be excited?

On Consort De's side, facing the curious or gloating gazes of the crowd, she remained calm and composed. Her voice, unlike her usual charming tone, was gentle, and a faint smile graced her face.

"I suddenly felt unwell last night. I shouldn't have summoned the imperial physician, but I kept vomiting, which made me feel really uncomfortable."

"I remembered what His Majesty had said before, such as not to hide one's illness from medical treatment, and I thought that if His Majesty knew that I was not feeling well, he would definitely have summoned the imperial physician to take my pulse as soon as possible."

"In that case, I will go and summon the imperial physician. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."

After listening to so much talk, yet not a single word had gotten to the point, the Imperial Concubine scoffed disdainfully, "So, it seems that Consort De is truly ill?"

If you're sick, why did you come to Fengyi Palace to offer New Year's greetings and pay your respects today, all smiles?

How come you look rosy-cheeked and energetic when you're sick?