Chapter 662 - 665: Everything is Going Smoothly

Chapter 662: Chapter 665: Everything is Going Smoothly

After Princess Consort Zhen left, Hua Manman was the only one left in the room.

It was already late, but she had no desire to sleep. Her mind was filled with what Princess Consort Zhen had just said.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

Just then, a familiar meow sounded from outside the window.

Hua Manman immediately ran over, leaned against the window, and called out.

"System."

The meow sounded again, and as it reached Hua Manman’s ears, it automatically switched to the System’s voice.

"Manman, are you all right?"

Hua Manman lowered her voice. "I’m fine. Can you do something for me right now?"

System: "Go ahead."

Hua Manman: "I suspect Hua Qingqing is planning something big. I need you to keep an eye on her and see what she’s up to."

The System said it was no problem.

It could change into any form, making it difficult for humans to guard against it. Gathering information was a piece of cake for it.

It secretly lurked near Princess Consort Zhen, observing her every move.

At first, it didn’t notice anything unusual. But five days later, it saw Princess Consort Zhen receive a secret letter.

It transformed into a bat and hung upside down from a ceiling beam, getting a clear view of the letter’s contents.

There were only four words on the paper—

Everything is going smoothly.

The System reported this to Hua Manman.

Hua Manman: "So she really is plotting something in secret. Can you find out where that letter came from?"

The System said it would be very difficult.

Princess Consort Zhen was meticulous. After reading the letter, she immediately burned it to ash.

As for the messenger, they were carefully selected by her—honest, reliable, and would never breathe a word of it.

Hua Manman didn’t give up and pressed further.

"Tell me Hua Qingqing’s detailed schedule for the past few days. What did she do each day? Who did she meet? Tell me everything, the more detailed the better."

So, the System recounted everything it had seen and heard in great detail.

Princess Consort Zhen’s life was simple. She spent most of her time in Yufu Palace, either accompanying her younger sister or blending incense.

Besides that, she would go to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager every day and also attend to the Emperor when he took his medicine.

Hua Manman: "Does she feed the Emperor his medicine personally?"

System: "Not always. Sometimes she feeds him personally, and other times a eunuch by the Emperor’s side does it while she just watches."

Hua Manman made a bold guess. "Could she be poisoning his medicine?"

System: "That should be impossible.

The Emperor has a little eunuch specifically for tasting his medicine.

Before the Emperor drinks any medicine, a small portion is ladled out for the little eunuch to try first.

Only after confirming there’s no problem with the medicine will the Emperor drink it."

The Emperor had always been cautious, and he became even more so after his paralysis.

Anything he ate or drank—anything that passed his lips—had to be tasted by someone else first.

Hua Manman stroked her chin. "’If it’s not poison, then what could it be?’"

System: "You think Hua Qingqing wants to harm the Emperor? Surely she wouldn’t be that audacious, would she?"

Hua Manman: "The Hua Qingqing of the past certainly wouldn’t do something like this. But the Princess Consort Zhen of today... it’s hard to say."

The Hua Qingqing of today had already shed her innocent white lotus persona and completely transformed into a black-hearted one.

If she wanted to achieve her goals, she would stop at nothing.

System: "What good would the Emperor’s death do her? Don’t forget, her stable position in the palace is entirely built on the Emperor’s favor and trust."

Hua Manman: "It’s simple. If the Emperor lives, she can only be an Imperial Concubine. But if the Emperor dies, she can become an Empress Dowager. If it were you, which would you choose?"

No matter how respected an Imperial Concubine is, she’s still just a concubine. To put it bluntly, a mere consort.

But if she becomes the Empress Dowager, she would be the most honored woman in the world, second only to the Grand Empress Dowager.

The difference between the two is like that between the clouds and the mud.

The System was still skeptical.

"Don’t you humans have an old saying, ’A single night as husband and wife creates a bond of a hundred days’? The Emperor is her husband. Surely she couldn’t be so heartless, could she?"

Hua Manman: "We humans also have a saying: ’A couple is like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.’"

The System was at a loss for words.

...

After breakfast, Princess Consort Zhen went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager as usual.

The Empress Dowager looked quite haggard.

Even the thick layer of powder on her face couldn’t hide her exhaustion.

She rubbed her temples and frowned.

"The Emperor’s condition has been getting worse and worse these past few days. That bunch of incompetents at the Imperial Hospital, what are they good for? Utterly useless."

Princess Consort Zhen also wore a worried expression. "I have been so worried. I can’t eat or sleep well these days. Every time I think of the Saint’s illness, I feel terribly upset."

As she spoke, her eyes couldn’t help but turn red, and her voice grew choked with emotion.

She was already exquisitely beautiful, and now, with such a pitiful and moving expression, even the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but soften a little.

The Empress Dowager sighed. "I know how devoted you are to the Emperor. Don’t grieve too much, lest you damage your own health. The Emperor is still waiting for you to take care of him."

Princess Consort Zhen dabbed the corner of her eye with a silk handkerchief, her voice trembling.

"I will go to Hanzhang Hall shortly to attend to the Saint as he takes his medicine."

The Empress Dowager thought for a moment, then said, "It just so happens that I haven’t seen the Emperor in two days. I’ll go with you to see him today."

Princess Consort Zhen quickly replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

The two departed Biquan Palace and took a carriage to Hanzhang Hall.

As soon as they entered the bedchamber, a thick medicinal smell assaulted their senses.

Two Imperial Physicians were in the middle of examining the Emperor.

When they saw the Empress Dowager and Princess Consort Zhen arrive, they hastily clasped their hands in greeting.

The Empress Dowager looked at her sickly son, her heart aching with distress.

She first held the Emperor’s hand and soothed him for a while, then turned to glare at the two Imperial Physicians and demanded coldly.

"Didn’t you say before that the Emperor’s condition would gradually improve? Why has it not only failed to improve but actually gotten worse?"

The two Imperial Physicians broke out in a cold sweat from the questioning.

They hurriedly began to explain, spouting a heap of technical terms.

The Empress Dowager didn’t understand a single word, and her expression grew even uglier.

She interrupted them impatiently.

"Don’t give me this nonsense! I just want a straight answer: can the Emperor’s illness be cured or not?"

How could the Imperial Physicians dare to say no?

If they really said he couldn’t be cured, their lives would be forfeit on the spot.

They could only bite the bullet and say.

"Your humble servants will do everything in our power to cure the Saint’s illness!"

The Empress Dowager said gravely, "I am giving you three more days. If the Emperor’s condition has not improved by then, I will have your official hats removed and let you spend the rest of your lives in prison!"

The two Imperial Physicians lamented their bitter fate. They still hadn’t even figured out why the Emperor’s condition was worsening, so how could they possibly make it improve in three days?!

But they didn’t dare say anything. They could only prostrate themselves on the floor and answer obediently.

"Yes!"