Sheng Li brought Ying Lili to the bed. He had given her the medicine, an herbal pill, and told her to take rest for some time. "You are also tired. Your eyes are so red. You did not sleep the entire night, right?" Ying Lili moved her eyes on his face.
"I forgot to sleep," Sheng Li replied. "When I was bedridden, how did you spend your night in prison?" Sheng Li muttered.
"It was tough, but General Wang and Xiao kept informing me. That was past. Come here, let's sleep together," Ying Lili stated. Sheng Li nodded and removed his overcoat. Placing it aside, he pulled the blanket and first helped Ying Lili to lie down on the bed. She laid on her left while Sheng Li pulled the curtains down.
He then laid beside her and tucked the hair strands behind her ear. With his fingers, he kept stroking her cheek. "I can sleep peacefully now," he said in a low voice. Keeping his hand down, he caught her hand and leaned towards her. Planting a kiss on her forehead, he told her to close her eyes.
Ying Lili did so and shut her eyes. Sheng Li kept gazing at her. "Sheng Li," she whispered and again opened her eyes.
"Hmm?"
"Forgive me. I worried about you so much. You cried for me, shouted for me, and even forgot that the status of Empress is bigger than you. You raised your hand to her! Indeed, the Crown Prince was going to burn this Palace for me. You have a lovely and warm heart, Sheng Li. I am blessed to have you as my husband." She moved closer to him as she buried her face in his chest. Sheng Li placed his hand on her hair and patted it.
"For you, I will go to any limit, Lili. Only you can control the cruel beast inside me, so just keep in mind not to let yourself be hurt. My heart was restless. She harmed you – whom I love more than my own life," pronounced Sheng Li, stroking her hair. He closed his eyes gradually. "Let's sleep," he softly said, and soon he drifted off to sleep.
"So, this was the prediction that the Royal Astrologer was talking about! I am glad that nothing big happened, otherwise it would have been difficult to tackle the situation. Now, Hu Jingguo is here, so he will cure the Emperor. The Empress is going to be dethroned. Now, I wonder who will be the next Empress? Will there be a fight for the position among the Consorts?" Ying Lili was contemplating deeply.
Her eyes were getting heavy because of the pill she had taken a few minutes ago. She closed them and fell asleep.
~~~~~
Hu Jingguo was conversing with the Royal Physician regarding the illness of the Emperor, upon the request of Ying Lili. Han Wenji was lying on the bed, closing his eyes but was not asleep.
"Your majesty, allow me to check your pulse," Hu Jingguo said. Han Wenji nodded, thus permitting him. Hu Jingguo gently grabbed the hand of Han Wenji and placed his fingers on the wrist to check the pulse.
'His majesty's health is not so good,' Hu Jingguo thought and placed the Emperor's hand on the bed. He furrowed his brows and checked the eyes of Han Wenji. Eunuch Jin was anxiously looking at the Emperor when he started coughing. Eunuch Jin offered a clean handkerchief in his hand and gave that to the Emperor.
Han Wenji stopped coughing after a while. Hu Jingguo saw the blood coming from the cough. So, he took the handkerchief and examined it.
"What happened, Master Hu?" Eunuch Jin queried.
"His majesty is indeed terminally ill. It's a miracle that he is alive this long. The Royal Physician is right. His majesty has a few days left or at most a month," Hu Jingguo replied in a low voice.
Eunuch Jin's eyes filled with tears.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Hu Jingguo lowered his eyes.
Han Wenji passed a tiny smile to him. "What are you sorry about? It is not your fault. I have become old, so I need to leave this body soon. Hu Jingguo, because of your exceptional medical skills I would like to give you a special rank. You have proven yourself loyal to this Han Family. From today onward, you will be called the Second Royal Physician. A residence is given to you in the Eastern Palace," Han Wenji announced.
Hu Jingguo was dumbfounded to hear about that. "Your Majesty, I never intended for such a position. I am happy to serve the Regal Family anytime. But, because His Majesty thought of me capable of this position, I will gladly accept it," Hu Jingguo humbly replied, bowing ninety degrees.
Eunuch Jin brought the Royal Medical Robes with a Royal Decree for Hu Jingguo and handed the robes to him. The robes were white. Hu Jingguo accepted them and looked at Han Wenji. "I will still try to find a cure for your illness, Your Majesty. We still have some time," Hu Jingguo assured the Emperor, who smiled.
After a while, he left the manor of the Emperor and met Lei Wanxi, who was eagerly waiting for him.
Lei Wanxi smiled seeing the Royal Medical Robes presented to Hu Jingguo. He picked the scroll and looked at it. "Congratulations, Second Royal Physician Hu," Lei Wanxi hugged Hu Jingguo, who thanked him.
Pulling away from each other, Lei Wanxi said, "First Brother appealed for your appointment as the Second Royal Physician. You shall thank him."
"Prince Jian asked for my appointment?" Hu Jingguo was stunned to hear. He was the one who brutally tortured him when he got caught sneaking into the Palace.
"The First Brother is no longer an evil person. He was evil because of his mother," Lei Wanxi stated as the two started walking. "Brother Jian was never happy with the acts of the Empress, but what could the First Brother do? He fed with this thought that he should have been the Crown Prince. I am glad that my mother never forced me to focus on such things. I guess I would have definitely run away from the Palace if she had tried to impose this on me," Hu Jingguo affirmed.
The two soon arrived outside the chamber of Jian Guozhi. Lei Wanxi handed the Royal Physician Robes to the Palace maid, "Send them to the Residence of Royal Physician Hu," he commanded and walked in with Hu Jingguo.
Jian Guozhi was having a conversation with Nianzu when Lei Wanxi interrupted them. "Brother, Hu Jingguo wants to thank you," Lei Wanxi said with a broad smile.
Jian Guozhi shifted his gaze to Hu Jingguo, who had lowered his head. "Thank you for helping me there. You saved my life so, this Hu Jingguo will serve you till his last breath. Also, I thank the First Prince for recommending my name to the Emperor," Hu Jingguo expressed his gratitude.
"I only rectified the mistake that I made two months ago," Jian Guozhi replied.
Hu Jingguo smiled when Nianzu told them to take their seats.
"Thank you, Brother, but we two need to go outside," Lei Wanxi stated.
"Take soldiers with you. Do not go alone," Jian Guozhi suggested.
"Okay. We will take General Xiao with us," asserted Lei Wanxi and looked at Hu Jingguo. "Let's go. We will have our lunch in the market," Lei Wanxi excitedly said.
~~~~~
Hello Dear Readers!
Hope you all have updated your apps. As you know that the power ranking no longer important. From now on, Golden Ticket Ranking will be important. It means from now on, whoever will be in Golden ranks will be given more exposure compare to the others.
I hope you readers will vote through golden tickets and help me getting into the ranks. Some even voted for me and I am thankful to them. Earlier, whenever I achieved the PS vote targets, I gave the mass release and sometimes I tried to release more than 2 chapters in a day.
So, for Golden Tickets target will be- '25 Golden Tickets in a week.' If I achieve this target then in the upcoming week there will be a mass release of 5 chapters.
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