Lu Yuan entered the inner hall and bowed to the Supre Emperor. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
The Supre Emperor cast ng Qianqian a glance.
Understanding his intent, ng Qianqian helped him sit up and took a cushion from Jiang Dehai’s hands to place it behind his back.
The Supre Emperor rarely smiled but managed a faint one at Lu Yuan. "Your overly submissive deanor is a bit unsettling to ."
Lu Yuan remained expressionless and feigned ignorance. "This subject doesn’t understand what Your Majesty is implying."
The Supre Emperor laughed again, his gaze profoundly inspecting Lu Yuan. After a lingering mont, he said, "Recent events—Jiang Dehai and Dean Yang have already explained them to . Return to court, Lu Yuan. The Imperial Guard will belong to you, and henceforth, my Imperial Guard will serve as my trusted aides."
The Supre Emperor’s trusted aides—wouldn’t that place them above the Jinyi Guard and the regular Imperial Guard?
ng Qianqian: "Wow."
Lu Yuan’s lips twitched; he suddenly thought of the little brat. Indeed, you are influenced by the company you keep, aren’t you?
The Supre Emperor noted Lu Yuan’s silence. "Unwilling?"
"Willing, absolutely willing!" ng Qianqian nodded vigorously, as if worried another second of hesitation might make the Supre Emperor change his mind. "Little Nine thanks the Supre Emperor on behalf of her husband—"
Lu Yuan raised a hand to stop her from kneeling. He adjusted his robes and knelt, formally expressing his gratitude. "This subject thanks the Supre Emperor for the generous favor."
Though the Supre Emperor spoke sparingly due to his illness, each word was deliberate and to the point, leaving no room for excess.
ng Qianqian had anticipated that the Supre Emperor might reward Lu Yuan, but she hadn’t expected his decision to be so resolute.
Those who accomplish great things must possess both decisiveness and wisdom.
Ordinary individuals might need more rounds of testing to gauge Lu Yuan’s loyalty and resolve, but for the Supre Emperor, one test was enough.
"Speaking of which, you were very daring. What if you hadn’t been able to cure ..."
ng Qianqian escorted him to the corridor.
Lu Yuan replied calmly, "But wasn’t he cured in the end?"
ng Qianqian found herself at a loss for words. She opted not to argue and instead curved her lips into a smile. Bowing slightly, she said, "Congratulations, my lord husband, on making such a triumphant return!"
Lu Yuan cleared his throat coolly.
ng Qianqian stared at him brazenly. "You should thank , you know."
Lu Yuan’s lashes trembled slightly. Dodging her intense gaze, he said evenly, "Thank you... wife."
It was the first ti ng Qianqian had heard him call her that. She muttered, "Wife? Sounds oddly nice."
The Supre Emperor had passed through the critical phase of his illness and even regained so appetite that very night.
From the dicinal broth to food preparations, ng Qianqian refused to delegate tasks to anyone else.
Water and ingredients were all brought into the palace by Lu Yuan from outside, ensuring no secondary contamination.
She prepared a simple pot of vegetable porridge.
Imperial Physician Li glanced at the porridge in her hands and muttered softly, "Can this even be eaten?"
ng Qianqian, sitting by the dragon bed, shot him a glare. "You aren’t the one eating it."
Imperial Physician Li snorted. "I’d say it’s not fit for anyone to eat."
ng Qianqian raised an eyebrow. "My porridge isn’t ant for people—it’s ant for dragons! Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?"
The Supre Emperor looked helpless yet amused. To the physicians, he said, "That’s enough. You all may leave, except for Madam Lu and Dean Yang."
None dared to defy him and retreated respectfully.
The Supre Emperor looked at ng Qianqian and smiled wryly. "They tried to stop you—let’s call it their fault. Why don’t you, with your abundant magnanimity, let this go?"
ng Qianqian thought for a mont. "For the sake of Your Majesty and Dean Yang, fine!"
Dean Yang was stunned.
The Supre Emperor chuckled. "She’s angling for credit from you now. This girl certainly resolves grudges decisively."
Dean Yang had lent ng Qianqian a helping hand at a critical juncture, aligning himself with her in sharing the risk of potentially failing to heal the Supre Emperor.
ng Qianqian wasn’t known for much else, but when it ca to backing people up, she was unmatched.
Dean Yang stood and cupped his hands in salute to ng Qianqian. "Madam Lu’s dical skills are unparalleled, and her generosity is humbling. We... are undeserving."
"Dean Yang, please don’t!"
This was just how ng Qianqian was—if soone was rude to her, she could counter them without hesitation. But when treated courteously, she found herself flustered and unsure how to respond.
After finishing his porridge, the Supre Emperor said to ng Qianqian, "Go check on Fu Dequan for ."
ng Qianqian went to the eunuch’s quarters.
Eunuch Fu was awake, with Lady Yan seated nearby, absentmindedly munching on lon seeds. On the table sat a bowl of herbal dicine.
"Where did this co from?"
ng Qianqian asked.
Lady Yan spat out a seed shell. "Leftovers from your dicine pot."
Eunuch Fu weakly propped himself up. "Madam Lu..."
"Eunuch Fu, lie down first." ng Qianqian stepped forward to examine him. Like the Supre Emperor, his condition was due to the epidemic.
He had contracted it while caring for the Supre Emperor. His symptoms were slightly milder, and the sa decoction should prove effective for him as well.
ng Qianqian picked up the bowl. "Eunuch Fu, drink the dicine first."
Eunuch Fu glanced at Lady Yan, then back at ng Qianqian. "Is... is it really dicine? She said it might... poison , claiming... either I or the illness must die."
ng Qianqian: Well, that’s not untrue.
ng Qianqian smiled. "Rest assured, the Supre Emperor has already taken it. There’s only a fifty percent chance it’ll kill you."
Eunuch Fu: "..."
-
After three days and nights of investigation, Lu Yuan finally traced the source of the epidemic in the Imperial Palace to a chef in the Imperial Kitchen.
A month prior, the chef had taken a day off. On his way ho, he encountered a girl selling herself to fund her father’s burial.
Sympathetic, he purchased the girl to serve as a maid.
However, the girl fell ill and passed away within a few days of arriving at his ho.
Shortly after, the chef also fell ill and eventually succumbed to the disease.
He had no children and was buried by his nephew, who fortunately, along with the pallbearers, avoided infection.
The chef had seniority in the Imperial Kitchen and rarely cooked personally, except when preparing vegetarian dishes favored by the Supre Emperor.
Lu Yuan reported his findings to the Supre Emperor.
"Has the epidemic spread among the common people?" the Supre Emperor asked.
"No," Lu Yuan replied.
This was a sche targeted at the Supre Emperor. Those infected appeared to have been closely monitored, with no direct interactions outside the chef.
Upon hearing this, the Supre Emperor sighed in relief. "As long as the people are unhard. Lu Yuan, I’ll need to borrow your wife for a few more days. Once the epidemic in the palace is entirely eradicated, I’ll return her to you."
Lu Yuan: "Please return her quickly, then."
The Supre Emperor: "Oh? Are you unwilling to part with her?"
Lu Yuan said blandly, "Her family misses her. The matriarch longs for her great-granddaughter, and the child seeks her mother."
The Supre Emperor took a sip of dicine and teased, "Sounds more like you miss your wife."
Lu Yuan: "I do not."
The Supre Emperor chuckled triumphantly.
Lu Yuan turned quickly to see ng Qianqian standing at the doorway, holding a bowl of lean pork porridge.
Lu Yuan opened his mouth to speak but glanced at the Supre Emperor instead.
The Supre Emperor wore an expression suggesting he was enjoying the unfolding drama.
ng Qianqian: What do I do now? Fake marriage with Lu Yuan, so of course, he doesn’t miss . But the Supre Emperor doesn’t know that, so I should—
"Waaaah..."
She burst into mournful tears, appearing heartbroken as she turned and left.
Lu Yuan quickly rushed after her.
Under a large tree, ng Qianqian stood with her back to him.
"I..."
Lu Yuan started to speak, but ng Qianqian abruptly turned around with a grin. "Fooled the Supre Emperor, didn’t I?"
Lu Yuan was montarily stunned.
ng Qianqian said, "The Supre Emperor must’ve made another bet with Eunuch Fu, though he probably didn’t expect this ti to involve both you and . I’ll head off now, and you can tend to your tasks."
She had barely walked two steps when Lu Yuan suddenly pulled her back. "Yu Zichuan and Qing Shuang made a bet as well."
ng Qianqian had never seen him like this before. His gaze was both deep and blazing.
She stamred, "Bet on... what?"
Lu Yuan fixed his eyes on her, took the porridge bowl from her hands, and said, "On whether I’d kiss you."
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