Chapter 784: Feeding Medicine, Second Update _2 Chapter 784: Feeding Medicine, Second Update _2 “… Yes.” Eunuch Wei reluctantly agreed, personally fetching a stack of memorandums from the Imperial Study Room.
The Emperor rubbed his throbbing forehead, and started to review a memorandum.
Eunuch Wei noticed that the Emperor seemed weary, and quietly sent for the imperial physician.
It was a good thing he did, because the Emperor fainted dead away after reviewing the third memorandum.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty…”
The voice of Eunuch Wei grew further and further away as the Emperor closed his eyes and blacked out completely.
The sound of a tinkling wind chime woke the Emperor. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was blinded by a dazzling ray of sunlight. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes and only when they adjusted to the light did he realize that he wasn’t lying in his bed in Huaqing Palace.
“Where is this…?” he asked, sitting up. “Calling someone!”
The person that arrived was not Eunuch Wei, it was Empress Dowager Jing.
Empress Dowager Jing had changed from her nun’s attire to splendid palace robes. Her hair was now long and elaborately coiffed, adorned with ornate hairpins and an elegant headdress.
“Your Majesty, you’re awake.” Empress Dowager Jing sat down by the edge of the bed, looking at him with concern.
“Empress Mother Jing…” the Emperor stared at her blankly, “Where is this?”
Empress Dowager Jing smiled softly, and said, “Your Majesty, you’ve been unconscious for so long, you must be confused. This is Huaqing Palace.”
How can Huaqing Palace have become ?
The Emperor looked at Empress Dowager Jing in puzzlement. Empress Dowager Jing beckoned a palace maid, who handed her a bowl of soup medicine.
Empress Dowager Jing picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, and fed it to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, it’s time to take your medicine.”
The emperor looked at the murky black bowl of medicine. Suddenly, it seemed as if something was wriggling within it!
The emperor felt a sudden wave of terror!
“What is it? Your Majesty, take your medicine.” Empress Dowager Jing looked at him, puzzled.
The Emperor looked at Empress Dowager Jing, then back at the squirming medicine in the bowl, feeling sick to his stomach. He knocked the bowl over, threw off his blanket and got out of bed.
However, he didn’t have much strength, and his legs gave out causing him to collapse on the floor.
Empress Dowager Jing looked down at him from above, grabbed his jaw, took the terrible bowl of medicine and poured it into his mouth——
The Emperor jolted awake, eyes wide with terror!
He was drenched in cold sweat as he took in the familiar ceiling and his familiar bed.
This was his Dragon Bed.
This was the Huaqing Palace.
He sat up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He had had another nightmare…
But how did he end up in his Dragon Bed when he was supposed to be reviewing memorandums?
“Your Majesty!” Eunuch Wei pulled back the bright yellow curtain, secured it with a hook, and said to the emperor, “You fainted while reviewing the memorandums, it scared me to death.”
The Emperor rubbed his chest, his heart still pounding.
Eunuch Wei gave him a complex look, “Your Majesty, did you have another nightmare?”
The Emperor said calmly: “I’m fine, what time is it? Shouldn’t it be time for the morning court session?”
What on earth does he mean by ‘fine’? His body was soaked in cold sweat.
“Your Majesty, you can’t keep taxing your body ,” Eunuch Wei said with concern. “The imperial doctor told you that your royal body has been overdrawn greatly, and you need to rest more. Please don’t worry about the morning court session.”
“That’s not acceptable… cough, cough, cough!” The Emperor was cut off mid-sentence by a severe bout of coughing.
“Where’s the medicine? Is it ready yet?” Eunuch Wei hastily urged the palace eunuch.
“I’ll go and check immediately!b the small eunuch hurriedly replied.
“Here comes the medicine!”
Alongside a familiar voice, a steaming bowl of medicine was presented to the Emperor.
The Emperor was coughing violently as he reached out for the medicine. But when he saw the hand holding the medicine bowl, he paused.
He followed the hand to see the face attached; the concerned expression was identical to what he saw in his dream.
The dark black medicine in the bowl seemed to stir slightly.
The Emperor’s face turned pale, just as it did in his dream, and he slapped the bowl out of the hands holding it!
Every last drop of hot medicine sprayed onto Empress Dowager Jing. The scalding hot liquid made her cry out, her hands and wrists quickly turned red.
“Your Highness, Empress Dowager—” Eunuch Cai exclaimed in shock!
The Emperor jumped out of bed dramatically as if he was avoiding some kind of plague, retreating until he was at least ten steps away from Empress Dowager Jing.
Empress Dowager Jing touched her swollen hand and looked at the Emperor, her eyes were filled with hurt, “Your Majesty, it’s me…”
The Emperor, confused between reality and dream, stood panting heavily, looking at Empress Dowager Jing with a mix of fear and suspicion.