The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Shen Xiaoyi, who fell into the water, was born fragile. She was only breathing her last breath when Concubine Li pulled her out of the water. She hurriedly sent her to an empty palace nearby and called a nanny who knew how to rescue drowning people. She then helped Shen Xiaoyi vomit out most of the water in her stomach.

When the Queen and the imperial physician arrived in a hurry, Shen Xiaoyi's life was temporarily saved.

But the person still couldn't wake up.

After reporting the news, Xie Yuzhen, who was driven back to Shouning Palace by the Queen, picked up a piece of freshly cut honeydew melon with a silver fork and listened leisurely to Xia Zhi's retelling of the situation on the scene.

"...The Imperial Physician said that if Shen Xiaoyi doesn't have a fever in the second half of the night, then it's probably nothing serious. But if she does have a fever, there's a 50% chance that she won't wake up. Even if she survives the high fever, she'll be physically weak and have a cold uterus in the future. What's worse, it's not impossible that her brain will be damaged."

"What did the little palace maid say?" Xie Yuzhen asked.

Xia Zhi thought about it and said, "The maid thought that Shen Xiaoyi had always had the habit of strolling in the Imperial Garden at that time since she entered the palace. This time, the master and servant were just taking a casual walk, and somehow they ended up at Qiu Shuang Pavilion."

"After arriving at Qiu Shuang Pavilion, Shen Xiaoyi sat down by herself on the water side of the pavilion to rest. Perhaps she felt thirsty after walking for too long, so she asked the palace maid to go back to the palace to fetch some honey water. But before the little palace maid had walked far, she heard Shen Xiaoyi fall into the water." The more Xia Zhi spoke, the more scared he became.

She couldn't help but put herself in that situation and thought about it again: "My dear, you must never stay alone in the future!"

Xie Yuzhen was amused by her sudden worry: "Why are you targeting me again? Don't worry, my butler. Have you ever seen me go anywhere without at least four people around me?"

Among all the palace servants in this room, the ones Xie Yuzhen trusted and relied on the most were Chunfen and Xiazhi. Chunfen was taciturn and steady, while Xiazhi was naturally not bad either, but he talked a lot and was always worried about this and that.

Whenever Xie Yuzhen went out, one of them had to follow him, and the other would stay in the palace.

"Alas, that maid was too young and had not learned the rules well. How could she leave her master alone? Now, if something happens to her master, she will have to bear the brunt of the consequences. When I came back, I saw Aunt Ruyi beside Concubine Li, who was having someone hit the little maid with a stick."

Xie Yuzhen had just eaten two pieces of honeydew melon when Chunfen quietly took the melon away and brought a bowl of medicine instead. The smell made Xie Yuzhen frown: "I'm really not scared. Is this pregnancy-preserving medicine going to fall through?"

"No!" Xia Zhi coaxed her gently, "Madam, don't be afraid of a thousand but be prepared for the unexpected. No one can tell how Shen Xiaoyi fell into the water. What if the evildoer left other things in the Imperial Garden, such as some medicine powder or something like that?"

"Old Imperial Physician Bai didn't say that my pregnancy was unstable. He just prescribed a prescription for Taifang." Xie Yuzhen tilted his head back and drank the whole bowl of medicine heroically. "If there really is the powder you mentioned, it must be so magical that even the Imperial Physician couldn't find it."

If there really is such a powder that can harm people silently, I might as well stay in Shouning Palace for the rest of my life.

Xie Yuzhen thought again, who knows what might be among those “weird things” that might target him in the future?

That would be troublesome...

After Xie Yuzhen got the saving system, she only saved twice on the way to the palace. She wanted to use the remaining four saving opportunities in the most critical moments, so she never used it again.

If you can allow yourself to be harmed easily by others because of your own scheming, then you'd better start over.

She thought very singlely.

In the evening, Xie Yuzhen finally heard that Shen Xiaoyi had woken up.

"She's pretty lucky." After muttering to himself for a few words, Xie Yuzhen waved to Xia Zhi and said, "Ask someone to find out how she fell into the water."

Xia Zhi had just responded when he heard the emperor's voice coming from outside the door: "What do you want to know, Mr. Xie?"

Seeing that it was the emperor, Xie Yuzhen stood up, gave Xia Zhi a look to signal her to do as he ordered, and then stepped forward: "Your Majesty, you are asking without knowing the answer. Of course, I am curious about how Shen Xiaoyi fell into the water."

With such a major incident as a concubine falling into the water, the empress must inform the emperor. While Xie Yuzhen was considering his words, he led the emperor to the low couch and asked, "Has your majesty gone to see Shen Xiaoyi?"

"I have checked it." The emperor took away the plate of honeydew melon that originally belonged to Xie Yuzhen, "Mr. Xie, don't walk around in the Imperial Garden for the next period of time. Realgar has been sprinkled inside. Ask Chunfen to lead the palace servants to search Jinghua Tower carefully inside and out."

"Shen Xiaoyi met a snake in Qiu Shuang Pavilion?" Xie Yuzhen understood what happened instantly. She stared at the honeydew melon in the emperor's hand and hated herself for not eating more because she had to take the pregnancy-preserving medicine.

The emperor deliberately ate the honeydew melon in three or two bites, and looked at the slightly resentful expression of the woman opposite him with great enjoyment, and said, "Shen Xiaoyi said that she wanted to sit in the Qiu Shuang Pavilion for a while, but as soon as she sat down, she felt something touching her feet. She looked down and found that it was a snake. She was frightened and hid on the railing of the pavilion in a panic. The railing had been in disrepair for a long time and was directly broken."

The emperor's expression was very calm, but Xie Yuzhen still saw some anger underneath his calmness, and he quickly figured out how to respond: "Has the Construction Department not inspected Qiu Shuang Pavilion this year?"

"Oh, the inspection of the Imperial Garden was completed at the end of April this year. It's been less than three months, and the railings have been eaten away by insects and ants and are like rotten wood... I have punished the Supervisor of the Construction Department for dereliction of duty."

One month before entering the palace, Xie Yuzhen had no idea what the Industrial and Manufacturing Department was. Ever since she decided to enter the palace, she forced herself to memorize the palace rules and the duties of each department as quickly as possible.

She liked the emperor to tell her all kinds of things. She hoped that the emperor would remember to tell her about everything in the future, no matter how big or small, public or private. She wanted to always have something to talk about with the emperor.

But today the emperor's mood seems a little too...

"There are many people coming and going in the Imperial Garden every day. If there are people with bad intentions who want to do something secretly, it is indeed difficult to investigate." Xie Yuzhen blinked and pretended to be enlightened. "Your Majesty did not accompany Shen Xiaoyi, but instead told me these things. Could it be that there is something else involving me?"

"Thank you, Mr. Xie, for your quick thinking." The emperor said approvingly.

Xie Yuzhen thought about this quickly, and said with a disappointed expression: "My belly has attracted the attention of others..."

She acted like she was about to cry, which made the emperor, who was originally thinking of teasing her, feel pity for her. "The queen asked people to keep an eye on the palace servants who entered and left the Imperial Garden today. What a coincidence that they found a sneaky one. He was a eunuch who took care of the flowers and trees. He took money from people and wanted to lead you to Qiu Shuang Pavilion when you went to the Imperial Garden to relax."