Why is he still hung up on that matter?
Could it be that he’s savoring the aftertaste?
But thinking about it, it’s not surprising. With his temperament, once he sets his mind on something, he won’t let it go for a long time.
Gao Yuexing squinted at him and asked, “Do you want to fall down?”
Li Fuxiang touched the back of his ear with his finger.
He probably didn’t really want to fall, but he was naïvely certain that he wouldn’t fall.
If he could endure the pain of heavy punishment, how could he not withstand a little blow to his ear?
Gao Yuexing knew him best—he wouldn’t give up until he’d tasted the bitterness himself.
She could only agree, “You carry me down first, and then blow as much as you want.”
Li Fuxiang could only tolerate her bargaining. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he brought her down to the ground.
Gao Yuexing eagerly began flipping through the sealed medical records.
The late Empress Dowager held a prestigious status, so her medical and pulse records were stored differently than others’. Gao Yuexing, with a clear purpose, searched the more dignified-looking areas. Soon, by the light of a pearl, she spotted two gilded boxes.
They were placed side by side in the most secure spot on the shelf. Their surfaces showed no trace of dust, clearly indicating they were regularly wiped.
Gao Yuexing guessed one belonged to the Emperor and the other to the Empress Dowager.
Weighing them in her hands, she found them heavy—the records inside must be substantial. So, she said to Li Fuxiang, “Take them all.”
Li Fuxiang replied, “They’ll find out soon enough.”
Gao Yuexing smiled indifferently and said, “So what? We’ve already taken them. Unless they have the guts to search Qianqing Palace.”
Her demeanor suddenly became quite subtle.
Seeing Li Fuxiang’s puzzled look, Gao Yuexing explained further, “In truth, not everything in the palace is flawless. As for Consort Hui, as long as she doesn’t want to tear off the facade, even if she knows, she’ll pretend not to.”
Li Fuxiang said, “But this will alert the snake in the grass.”
Gao Yuexing replied, “I’m not afraid of her making a move—I’m afraid of her not making one.”
Her calculated suspicion followed by baiting was second nature to her, so much so that it seemed eerily familiar. With her cunning and ruthlessness, if she ever gained power, she would likely be cut from the same cloth as the current Emperor.
People like them often had the clearest understanding of their own flaws.
Their scheming was painstakingly meticulous.
Gao Yuexing asked Li Fuxiang, “Are you afraid of me?”
Li Fuxiang simply shook his head.
He said, “I know you’re doing this for me…”
“No.”
Gao Yuexing interrupted him, “I won’t lie to you, and don’t lie to yourself either… I’m not doing this for you. I was born this way.”
Li Fuxiang: “Then I’m not afraid either. Whatever you are, that’s exactly what I love. If you ever want to kill someone, just remember to turn back and look at me—I’ll hand you the knife.”
Gao Yuexing’s heart shook violently.
No amount of perfunctory promises could settle her heart as much as this rebellious statement from Li Fuxiang.
The dark shadows in Gao Yuexing’s heart were instantly swept away. She smiled and said, “Alright.”
When she smiled, the brilliance of it was probably something even she didn’t realize. It was a dazzling radiance that could make countless young men in the capital lose themselves for her, as long as she willed it.
Li Fuxiang, however, dared not look too much. Lowering his head once, twice, he held the two gilded boxes in his arms and, under the cover of night, helped Gao Yuexing climb over the wall and leave the Imperial Medical Institute.
Prince XinLi Fuxiang:Prince Xin “Back to Qianqing Palace?”
Gao Yuexing nodded. “Of course.”
Their greatest source of confidence in roaming freely through the palace was the Emperor.
So, whatever they did, it was always best to inform the Emperor first to put his mind at ease.
Gao Yuexing also wanted to take the opportunity to check the Emperor’s medical records for any hidden clues.
When the two of them sneaked back to Qianqing Palace, a few scattered lamps were still lit in the grand hall.
The Emperor had already returned to the palace.
It was unclear whether anyone had informed him of Consort Wen’s pregnancy.
The fact that the Emperor was not staying at Mifei Palace tonight seemed somewhat unusual.
Li Fuxiang didn’t need permission to come and go from Qianqing Palace—he ate and lived there, and it would be absurd to wait for permission to enter his own quarters.
But Gao Yuexing was different.
Eunuch Xu Xiude saw them outside and hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t dare to stop them. He was reassured, however, by Gao Yuexing’s sense of decorum. She stopped at the entrance, gave a bow, and said, “I trouble Eunuch Xu to announce our presence.”
Xu Xiude immediately smiled, let out a soft “Ah,” and went back inside to inform the Emperor.
Li Fuxiang, who had already stepped half a foot inside, retreated to wait for her.
Xu Xiude soon returned with the Emperor’s decree, inviting her in.
The Emperor was waiting in the main hall. When the two young people entered one after the other, he immediately noticed the bulging black cloth bundle in Li Fuxiang’s arms.
The Emperor paused, squinted slightly, and asked, “Where have you been wandering this time? What are you hiding?”
Li Fuxiang carefully placed the two gilded boxes onto the Emperor’s desk.
Gao Yuexing stood behind Li Fuxiang, a few steps below him, in the position where ordinary subjects stood when meeting the Emperor.
She said, “These are the medical and pulse records of Your Majesty and the late Empress Dowager, stored at the Imperial Medical Institute. We borrowed them for a look.”
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. “Borrowed?”
Because Li Fuxiang was standing in front of her, the Emperor had to tilt his body slightly to speak to Gao Yuexing.
Li Fuxiang, however, was acting oddly today, stubbornly blocking the Emperor’s line of sight. The more the Emperor leaned to the side, the more he moved to block, shielding her completely.
The Emperor finally noticed his mood, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Are you throwing a tantrum again?”
When Li Fuxiang didn’t sleep well, he used to go out of his way to cause trouble for others, but that was when he was much younger.
The Emperor’s blunt and unapologetic teasing made Gao Yuexing laugh.
It wasn’t clear what exactly was so funny, but her mood suddenly lightened.
Li Fuxiang: “…..”
He turned around and gave Gao Yuexing a warning glance, silently raising his hand to point behind his ear.
Li Fuxiang deliberately made the gesture subtle, so the Emperor didn’t notice.
Returning to the matter at hand, the Emperor looked at the two boxes before him, his expression growing serious. “What do you suspect?”
Gao Yuexing replied, “This humble subject’s daughter does not dare to speak rashly. Only after looking will I know.”
The locks on the boxes were extremely intricate, nearly impossible to open without the keys.
However, they weren’t the least bit worried. The Jinyiwei was full of capable individuals, and the Imperial Guards were equally skilled. Upon the Emperor’s command, within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Ding Wenfu arrived with another man.
That man knelt before the Emperor, then stepped forward and, under the Emperor’s watchful gaze, deftly picked the locks on both boxes in just a few moves. He didn’t utter a single unnecessary word, nor did his eyes stray toward anything he wasn’t supposed to see.
After opening the locks, he withdrew alongside Ding Wenfu to the doorway.
The Emperor uttered one word: “Reward.”
The man knelt at the threshold to express his gratitude.
The Emperor glanced at the two boxes and gestured toward Gao Yuexing. “Go ahead, little miracle doctor.”
From the two boxes, Gao Yuexing selected the one belonging to the late Empress Dowager. Xu Xiude brought over a chair and placed it beside the Emperor, adding two lamps to provide more light. Gao Yuexing sat upright, calm and composed, and began flipping through the records at a steady pace.
When she settled down to work, she could truly stay focused.
The Emperor was equally patient.
Only Li Fuxiang felt out of place. Seeing there was no seat for him, he didn’t want to waste his time and decided to go handle something else.
As he stepped out, Xu Xiude followed to observe where he was heading.
The Emperor watched his retreating figure with a hint of confusion.
When Xu Xiude returned, he leaned in and whispered to the Emperor, “It seems he’s headed toward the Imperial Medical Bureau .”
Tonight’s events indeed had a few loose ends yet to be tied up.
Li Fuxiang returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau by himself. He vaulted over the wall with practiced ease and navigated the familiar grounds toward the duty room of the on-call imperial physicians. Each night, two imperial physicians were assigned to be on duty, and tonight, Physician Zhou was one of them. Li Fuxiang had already received word that Zhou had returned to the institute.
Zhou was exactly the person Li Fuxiang needed to find.
Tonight, Physician Zhou had detected the pregnancy pulse in Consort Wen and would undoubtedly record it in her medical files.
There was no guarantee he wouldn’t, on a whim, decide to examine the Emperor and the late Empress Dowager’s boxes.
Sticking close to the walls, Li Fuxiang crept under the window and happened to overhear a conversation between the just-returned Physician Zhou and the other on-duty physician.
The other physician asked, “You were in the spotlight today. There hasn’t been good news like this in the palace for over a decade. Did you report it to the Emperor? Did he reward you?”
Physician Zhou loosened his collar and sighed, looking rather dejected. “Don’t even bring it up. What limelight? I’ve just had the worst luck tonight.”
The other on-duty physician was puzzled. “What happened?”
Physician Zhou replied, “When I went to Qianqing Palace to request an audience, I didn’t see His Majesty. After inquiring about Eunuch Xu’s whereabouts, I found out His Majesty had gone to Fengning Palace tonight. I waited outside Fengning Palace, but His Majesty didn’t look pleased when he came out. When I told him about Consort Wen’s pregnancy, his expression didn’t even change. You tell me, how could I dare ask for a reward after that?”
The other physician gave a sympathetic sigh. “Ah, I see. It makes sense… His Majesty must have been in a bad mood, thinking about her tonight. Even the news of Consort Wen’s pregnancy couldn’t make him smile. It seems Consort Wen isn’t as favored as the rumors say.”
Physician Zhou rolled his eyes. “When has Consort Wen ever been favored?”
The other physician disagreed. “What do you mean? Just recently, His Majesty punished Prince Xiang all because of her!”
Physician Zhou scoffed. “Where are you hearing this nonsense? That had nothing to do with her. Prince Xiang was punished because he was hiding illicit books in the Wen Yuan Pavilion library—” He stopped abruptly, cutting himself off.
The other physician was intrigued. “What? What illicit books? What are you talking about? I never heard about this. How do you know?”
Outside the window, Li Fuxiang heard every word.
The incident about him hiding books in Wen Yuan Pavilion had never been leaked. From the moment those books were delivered to Qianqing Palace by Tutor Liu, there was no chance for the matter to spread further.
Aside from the few people present at the time, who else could possibly know the truth?
Faced with his colleague’s persistent questioning, Physician Zhou stammered. “N-no… I drank too much tonight. Just forget what I said. I need to go record something in Consort Wen’s medical file. You should get some rest.”
The other physician grumbled about his lack of camaraderie. “What kind of person stops a story halfway? Seriously.” As Physician Zhou walked away, he called after him. “By the way, be careful when you go to the medical archive. There might be a stray cat hiding there. Don’t get startled.”
Physician Zhou paused, confused. “A cat in the medical archive? How could there be a cat?”
“I heard it meowing,” the other physician explained. “When I went in to check, it had already made a mess of the shelves and files. Unfortunately, it jumped up to the beams and escaped before I could catch it.”
Physician Zhou’s expression grew suspicious. “Prince Xiang has asthma. Years ago, His Majesty issued an order forbidding the keeping of cats or dogs in the palace. Any stray cats or dogs near the imperial city were either driven away or killed…”
The other physician froze. “Oh, right. That did happen. But I swear I heard a cat meowing.”
Physician Zhou turned and quickened his pace, hurrying toward the medical archive.
Under the window where Li Fuxiang had been hiding, the spot was now completely empty. Only a half-withered flower branch swayed gently in the night breeze.