Chapter 153 - 133: Exposed
Xie Che hadn’t wanted her to look at the memorials.
It wasn’t that he was wary of her. If letting a concubine glance at a few memorials could throw the empire into chaos, it would only mean the nation was already on the verge of collapse, merely waiting for the last straw. No, it was because he had learned from Song Yuanzheng that Jiang Xian had been attending to him tirelessly these past days, not even taking the time to change her clothes. She meticulously disinfected and washed everything he handled or came into contact with, while for herself, she would only wipe her body down with a hot towel, terrified of leaving his side for even a second.
Under the Emperor’s authority, everything in the world existed to serve him.
Xie Che was very conscious of his status as the Emperor and was rarely moved by the efforts of others.
It was like turning on a faucet; when water flowed out, no one would think to thank the faucet.
To a man in his position, other people were merely faucets.
But without him realizing it, Xian’er had transformed from "just another one of his concubines" into a tangible, flesh-and-blood person. The Blame Template had once educated Jiang Xian that people always fall in love with their own idealizations, not with a real person. But there ought to be a second half to that statement—it is only after falling in love with a real person that one can truly empathize with them as a unique individual.
That was why Xie Che wanted her to get some proper rest.
"Emperor, if only the Imperial Hospital could invent an elixir that would let one work energetically without ever needing to sleep. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!"
’...and not be here actively sorting memorials for me,’ he thought.
"Aren’t you tired at all?" Xie Che asked, mystified.
Jiang Xian shook her head.
He reached out to caress her face. Her long, thick eyelashes fluttered as her glistening eyes turned to him. Looking at her now with the benefit of hindsight, Xie Che realized she was simply born with eyes that brimmed with affection. They were so dewy they seemed to hold a deep tenderness even when she was wronged, but today, they were as clear and pure as a mountain spring. Jiang Xian assumed the Emperor was about to flirt with her, and she didn’t mind. But his fingertips quickly moved to press gently beneath her eyes. "You say you’re not tired," he murmured, "but look at these dark circles. It’s clear your body feels the fatigue."
Jiang Xian opened her status panel.
Sure enough, she saw her status was indeed [Tired], but she couldn’t perceive it at all. On the contrary, she felt like she had an endless supply of energy. If she were a reservoir, it was as if she had already run dry yet constantly felt like she was about to overflow. "But I feel perfectly energetic."
Xie Che said, "Perhaps it’s a final burst of life."
Jiang Xian replied, "I’m honored by your auspicious words, Your Majesty. My dying wish is to do work for you until my last breath... or just to do you..."
Before she could finish her outrageous remark, he clamped a hand over her mouth.
Seeing that his advice had no effect, Xie Che sighed. "Fine. You can stay and help me finish these memorials."
Jiang Xian happily accepted.
The memorials on the desk were piled mountain-high, looking like a stack of homework accumulated in the final days before the end of a long holiday. It was an overwhelming sight, and it was hard to know where to even begin.
Xie Che had initially thought that having an extra person wouldn’t help speed things up.
After all, he had to personally read every memorial. With two people, it would just mean everything was read twice. At best, she could help double-check for anything he missed.
Jiang Xian slid a small portion of the memorials in front of him. "Your Majesty, please read these first. I will sort through the rest and then present them for your review."
...
In no time, Xie Che finished with the stack he’d been given. He looked up and saw that Jiang Xian had already sorted the remaining memorials into three neat piles.
He had just set down the last memorial from his stack when Jiang Xian started to explain. "This pile here is for routine greetings and well-wishes. That pile over there contains matters requiring your approval or veto. And this last pile... these are the ones I believe you should read in detail, the more important ones. I’ve also placed memorials related to the same issue next to each other, arranged in chronological order."
The once chaotic jumble of memorials was now perfectly organized.
For instance, a memorial requesting funds for flood relief in the south was placed right next to another one accusing a local official there of colluding with rebels. If he had been going through them in his usual random order, he would have read the accusation and then had to waste time digging through the pile to find the related documents. These trivial, tedious tasks didn’t take much effort on their own, but they constantly broke his concentration and killed his motivation.
Very quickly, Xie Che was reminded of the benefits of having a good secretary.
A task that would have originally taken a full hour was finished in just half that time, leaving him with enough leisure to eat his meal and take his medicine.
...
Outside the main hall, Doctor Sun asked, "Song Yuanzheng, what is the Emperor’s condition, really?"
More than a dozen Imperial Physicians had been assembled at Weiyang Palace, but only the top five were permitted to take the Emperor’s pulse.
Doctor Sun was a skilled physician, but he specialized in gynecology.
They couldn’t very well send him in to diagnose a pregnancy pulse or regulate the Emperor’s menstruation, could they!
Although he wasn’t senior enough to take the Emperor’s pulse, he would certainly be first in line for beheading if things went wrong. Therefore, he was extremely concerned about the Emperor’s case.
"Doctor Sun, you’re just the man I was looking for!"
Song Yuanzheng seized the initiative, grabbing him with a joyful expression. "I need your help with something, and you’re the only one who can do it."
"You’re too kind, Song Yuanzheng. Please, tell me."
Song Yuanzheng beckoned him closer. "Lady Gu is with child. From her pulse, I’d say it’s been less than two months. Her Ladyship is worried that in his current state, the Emperor isn’t ready for any major emotional shocks, good or bad, so she motioned for me to keep it quiet for now. But this is the Emperor’s first child! We absolutely must have you, Doctor Sun, to oversee her care."
A delighted look spread across Doctor Sun’s face. "She’s pregnant? Wonderful! That’s wonderful!"
He’d honestly thought he should start preparing his own coffin.
He never would have expected it. Talk about a reversal of fortune! Once he saw Lady Gu safely through her pregnancy, the credit for this child would be his. However, Doctor Sun quickly snapped out of his happy thoughts of promotion, his brow knitting in a frown. "Hold on. Not telling the Emperor is one thing, but since Her Ladyship is pregnant, she absolutely cannot continue attending the sick. First, it’s mentally and physically exhausting. Second, what if she catches his illness? Treating a pregnant woman with medicine is incredibly risky! By the way, what is the Emperor doing in there?"
Song Yuanzheng replied, "He’s reviewing memorials."
"If he has the energy for memorials, then His Majesty must be well on his way to recovery. He shouldn’t need Her Ladyship attending him anymore... What is she doing?"
Song Yuanzheng averted his gaze. "She’s helping the Emperor review memorials."
"..."
Doctor Sun could still remember the last time he’d been this shocked. It had been in Jianzhang Palace.
But their entire conversation was overheard by Consort Zhang, who had been standing unnoticed in the shadows. Her eyes flashed with disbelieving jealousy and a crazed light.
※
Over the next several days, the Emperor’s condition fluctuated, but ultimately, he pulled through.
On the day the quarantine of Weiyang Palace was lifted, every face shone with pure joy. The Empress Dowager came personally to see her son. The anxiety and worry of the past days had aged her considerably, and two stress pimples had broken out at the corners of her mouth.
"I have already heard how perilous your ordeal was, Your Majesty."
After a touching display of motherly affection and filial piety, the Empress Dowager, surprisingly, did not mention her niece at all. "Now that the Emperor has recovered, the Imperial Hospital and the Palace Attendants of Weiyang Palace will all be handsomely rewarded. And... Gu Pin has earned great merit for attending the sick. She, too, must be rewarded."
’It’s time for the promotion and pay raise I’ve been waiting for!’ Jiang Xian thought excitedly.
Jiang Xian was about to step forward to offer some modest words when she suddenly felt a sharp push from behind.
...
But she didn’t budge.
After all, she knew martial arts. Her assailant, wary of the crowd, hadn’t dared to put their full weight into it. The strength of a typical, delicate woman of the harem was only enough to shove another equally frail concubine.
But in that split second, Jiang Xian decided to play along with her attacker’s malicious intent.
She let out a cry of alarm and pretended to stumble forward from the force of the push.