20demayo Chapter 220
Chapter 220
no one knew that the emperor wanted the empress to die, so no one would believe that the dignified mother of the nation would sacrifice her own life just to help senior concubine xian eliminate consort rong.
"take the empress away for treatment."
in reality, everyone understood that the empress was beyond saving. she had not only inhaled an excessive amount of thick smoke but had also been crushed by burning roof beams. the burns on her face were the least of her injuries; the truly fatal wounds covered her entire body.
there wasn't a single patch of undamaged skin on her back, and in some places, the burns were so severe that bones were exposed. if it weren't for the curtain that the guards who carried her out had used to cover her, the gruesome sight of her injuries would have terrified these delicate ladies.
fen yun followed closely behind the stretcher. before leaving, she cast a deep glance at jiang xinyue.
she was just a lowly maid who had been serving by the empress's side since she was still just the daughter of the grand commandant of chang'an.
her feelings for the empress ran deep, but she was only a small maid.
she didn't know whether she should hate senior concubine xian for the empress's current state, or if she should hate the emperor for breaking her mistress's heart.
her hatred was insignificant and couldn't harm anyone.
she had to follow the empress's orders: to survive, to stay in the palace, to remain by senior concubine xian's side, to watch over her on behalf of the empress, and to take care of the fifth prince for her.
"no!"
consort rong shook her head frantically. "your majesty, it wasn't me, truly it wasn't!"
with both witness testimony and physical evidence present, and having been caught at the scene - the hairpin that stabbed fen yun and the fire starter that caused the blaze had both fallen from her hands - how could it not have been her?
was it possible that the empress had set the fire to burn herself to death? had fen yun carved a bone-deep gash on her own face?
women value their appearance above all else, yet both the empress and fen yun had their faces ruined, and even senior concubine xian had nearly died inside.
if not her, then who?
the empress dowager narrowed her eyes and moved to jiang xinyue's side. "senior concubine xian is usually so quick-witted and talkative. why are you so quiet today? did you also see consort rong start the fire?"
the fire had almost been extinguished, with only a few stubborn flames still flickering here and there.
pei wu, supporting the empress dowager's hand, shook her head slightly, signaling her not to act rashly. "empress dowager, this humble servant will plead for leniency on consort rong's behalf."
of course! the emperor treated pei wu differently.
since their last intimate encounter, pei wu had frequently visited the chengqian palace to keep the emperor company. although the emperor was currently mindful of senior concubine xian and hadn't given pei wu an official title, this was only temporary.
pei wu could be the key to driving a wedge between the emperor and senior concubine xian.
the empress dowager suppressed her impulses, shot a vicious glare at senior concubine xian, and stormed off.
meanwhile, the xuanwu emperor carried jiang xinyue to the imperial carriage and hurriedly returned to hexi palace.
he summoned yan the imperial physician for a thorough examination. only after confirming that her injuries were superficial and not life-threatening did the emperor's anxiety subside.
"your majesty is injured too, here..." jiang xinyue, now dressed in a light white undergarment with her long black hair loose, sat up in bed and pointed at the bleeding scratch on his cheek. "xi que, ask yan the imperial physician to treat the emperor's wound as well."
yan the imperial physician was behind the screen writing a prescription. he had intended to apply some medicine to the emperor's wound before leaving, but the xuanwu emperor said, "i'm fine. there's no need for the physician. xinyue can apply some medicine for me."
yan thought to himself: we can't let senior concubine xian miss this opportunity to be close to the emperor.
he quickly put away his brush and handed the prescription to xi que. "brew two packets of medicine in one bowl of water for the concubine to drink. the imperial hospital is very busy, so i must take my leave now."
he hurried off with his medical kit.
xi que assumed that yan the imperial physician meant that the empress's condition was critical, and that's why all the physicians at the imperial hospital were busy treating her. she didn't think anything else of it.
jiang xinyue held up her hands, wrapped like dumplings, and waved them in front of the xuanwu emperor's eyes. "how can this concubine apply medicine for your majesty in this state?"
she blinked her large, innocent eyes, looking as soft and adorable as a fluffy, docile animal.
he had forgotten about the injuries to her hands.
in the end, it was wang dequan who, with trembling fingers and trepidation, applied the medicine as if walking on thin ice.
every time wang dequan touched the wound, the emperor would hiss in pain, nearly stopping wang dequan's fragile heart.