“Oh, Your Highness, what brings you here? It’s so cold this late at night. You haven’t dressed warmly enough. What are you standing there for? Hurry and fetch a fox-fur coat for Her Highness.”
Eunuch Li, waiting outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, noticed two familiar figures slowly approaching from afar.
He looked closer and realized it was the Grand Princess and her maid Xiao Tao, so he quickly hurried over.
“Your Highness, your body is worth a thousand gold—you must be careful not to catch a cold. Her Majesty is also suffering from a fever due to a cold right now.”
Eunuch Li’s voice carried a hint of flattery and caution.
In the entire Imperial Palace, there were few people Eunuch Li truly feared, but the Grand Princess before him was an exception.
Young as she was, no one could see through her thoughts.
“How is Empress Mother’s health?”
Xiao Yue’s tone was cool.
She showed no reaction to Eunuch Li’s attentiveness and brushed it off with a single casual sentence.
“In reply, Your Highness, Physician Attendant Shen is here. It’s nothing serious.”
Eunuch Li’s meaning was clear: by not going through the Imperial Academy of Medicine, it meant the Noble Families wouldn’t have a hand in it.
And Shen Yu was the physician Her Majesty trusted most; entrusting it to her would be no problem.
The Eunuchs, as a faction absolutely dependent on Imperial Power, held a different attitude toward the Emperor than the Noble Families.
Only when the Emperor was well did they have good days; an emperor in trouble was absolutely not a good thing for them.
Thus they were natural opposites of the Noble Families, fighting openly and covertly.
It was common knowledge in the palace that the Imperial Academy of Medicine had been infiltrated by the Noble Families.
The Emperor had to be cautious even when falling ill.
The imperial physicians all looked kind and benevolent, but who knew which one might stab in the back?
Controlling the Emperor’s health was often a method of controlling Imperial Power.
For example, if the Emperor wanted to implement a decree opposed by the Noble Families and the scholar-officials, when all other means failed to stop it, the Imperial Academy of Medicine’s role would come into play.
They could administer a little medicine to keep the Emperor bedridden for days, or even have the Emperor die suddenly without a trace, and then have the officials support a more obedient royal descendant to become the Emperor—it was not impossible.
Everyone knew that pushing the Noble Families too far could lead to such actions, but without concrete evidence, this was merely speculation that had to be hidden deep in one’s heart…
Perhaps even at the moment the Emperor was actually harmed, this matter could never be brought to light.
As eunuchs absolutely dependent on Imperial Power, they naturally had to guard against this situation, and Shen Yu was their best firewall.
“Physician Attendant Shen has come?”
Hearing the words “Physician Attendant Shen,” Xiao Yue’s usually cool, beautiful face suddenly brightened.
“Yes, she is currently diagnosing Her Majesty. How about I go inform them, and you can go in and see?”
“No need. I cannot see her right now.”
Xiao Yue shook her head.
Currently, the Imperial Palace was under curfew.
Her persona was that of a young lady from a Noble Family; appearing in the palace at night, especially at an important place like the Hall of Mental Cultivation, would not make sense.
“You may withdraw. I’ll go to the Side Hall, listen to what they’re saying, and inquire about Empress Mother’s condition.”
Having said that, Xiao Yue walked on her own toward the door of the Side Hall.
Eavesdropping on the Son of Heaven’s conversation with a trusted subject—throughout the entire history of the dynasty, probably only Xiao Yue, Her Majesty’s precious treasure, would dare do such a thing.
The Side Hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation stored some books and was separated by just one wall from the place where the Empress usually stayed.
Ancient buildings were mostly wooden structures with average soundproofing, and with paper-covered windows, so if one sat by the wall in the Side Hall, one could naturally hear what the Empress and Shen Yu were discussing.
“Shen Yu! You… what exactly did you do? My butt hurts so much! How dare you treat me so roughly? You…”
“And just now, what was that frivolous talk you said to me? Something about ‘I’m going in,’ and when you went in… you didn’t even say ‘your subject.’ Such disregard for the sovereign—what crime should you be charged with?”
“Your Majesty, please calm down. I just felt that saying ‘your subject’ would have been a bit distant in that atmosphere. Besides… there’s no way around the pain—anyone would feel it.”
“And afterward, didn’t I give you a massage? Didn’t you find it comfortable?”
At this moment, Xiao Yue, listening to the conversation in the main hall, was completely petrified on the spot.