activa-t Chapter 92 Relapse of Qi Illness
Chapter 92 Relapse of Qi Illness
Chapter 92 Relapse of Qi Illness
The palace was eerily quiet, with only the occasional heavy breathing of Empress Zhangsun.
The imperial physician placed his fingers on the empress's wrist, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper until they formed a knot.
He switched hands and examined the patient again, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead down his nose and onto the gold-brick floor.
Li Shimin stared at his face, his gaze colder than the autumn wind outside.
"say."
The imperial physician shuddered, withdrew his hand, and kowtowed on the ground: "Your Majesty, Her Majesty, this is—this is an old ailment exacerbated by autumn dryness, causing her lung qi to stagnate."
Adding to these days —
He paused, not daring to say that the Empress was worried about the little princess, "and that's why her condition flared up so badly."
"I don't want to hear this nonsense!"
Li Shimin slammed his hand on the edge of the bed, making the bed curtains swing wildly. "I'm asking you, how do you plan to cure this?!"
The imperial physician lowered his head even further, his voice trembling like a leaf: "Your Majesty—I will prescribe a prescription immediately. It will still be a gentle, nourishing method, with perilla, coltsfoot flower, and fritillaria—take it slowly and carefully, and absolutely avoid getting cold or getting agitated."
It's the same old excuse again.
In recent years, the focus has been on gentle nourishment and slow recovery.
The medicine soup was poured into her bowl one after another, and the smell of medicine in the Lizheng Hall never dissipated. However, Guanyinbi's body became lighter and lighter every day. Now, when she was held in his arms, he could hardly feel her weight.
Li Shimin couldn't suppress the anger in his heart, and just as he was about to lash out, he felt a warmth on the back of his hand.
Empress Zhangsun placed her hand over his and gently shook her head.
"Second Brother, don't make things difficult for the imperial physician."
Her voice was light and airy, "I know my own body best. It's an old ailment, but I'll get through this period."
Li Shimin looked at her pale, almost transparent face, his throat tightened, and all his anger instantly turned into helplessness.
He waved his hand, shooing the imperial physician away like he was shooing away flies.
The imperial physician felt as if he had been granted a pardon and staggered out of the inner palace.
Li Shimin followed them into the outer room.
"How is it going?"
He lowered his voice, his tone chilling, "Tell me your secret."
The Imperial Physician knelt down again with a thud, this time not daring to raise his head: "Your Majesty—I deserve to die. Her Majesty's illness is fundamentally flawed."
If we can get through this winter, that's fine. But if—if there's another cold snap next spring, I'm afraid—"
He didn't dare say what came next, but Li Shimin understood.
A major hurdle!
Li Shimin swayed slightly, and only managed to steady himself by holding onto the corner of the table.
The night watchman's drum struck three times outside, and the night was almost over, but he felt as if everything was pitch black.
Are we just going to watch? Watch the woman who accompanied him from the Qin Prince's Mansion all the way to the Taiji Palace slowly drain away her lifeblood?
"roll!"
The imperial physician scrambled away.
Li Shimin stood still, his hands gripping the corner of the table tightly, his knuckles turning white.
In that instant, many people flashed through his mind. Sun Simiao? He had gone on a journey, his whereabouts unknown. Other famous doctors? He had tried them all.
Who else?
Su Mu's lazy face suddenly popped out.
That cook.
Li Shimin subconsciously rubbed his cheek, which was still throbbing slightly. That damned fruit pit from yesterday had almost broken his front tooth.
But one has to admit, the things that kid produced were indeed strange.
Little Sizi enjoyed the stewed pears and the spicy strips from last time, and Guanyinbi seemed to feel more comfortable smelling them too.
But this is for treating illness, not for satisfying cravings.
That's a matter of life and death. Can that bastard who can only cook and even puts rotten fish and shrimp in the dishes do it?
"Ah Ye————"
A soft, sweet voice interrupted his thoughts.
Li Shimin turned around and saw a small head peeking out from the entrance of the inner palace.
Xiao Sizi was wearing a pink and white nightgown, barefoot on the carpet, tightly hugging something in her arms.
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
Li Shimin quickly went over, picked her up, and tenderly touched her cold little feet. "Why are you running around barefoot? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"
Xiao Sizi didn't say anything, but simply handed the things in her arms to Li Shimin.
It's a string of candied hawthorns.
That was the biggest and reddest bunch from the bundle Su Mu gave her yesterday. The sugar coating on it glistened in the candlelight, looking incredibly tempting.
"For Mother."
Little Sizi blinked her big eyes, looking very serious. "Mommy coughs, it hurts. Guoguo said this is sweet, it has red bean paste in it, and it will stop hurting after a while."
Li Shimin looked at the string of candied hawthorns, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
He wanted to say that this thing couldn't cure the illness, and that it almost broke his father's tooth yesterday. But looking into his daughter's hopeful eyes, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Let's go and take it to Mother."
Li Shimin carried the baby into the inner palace.
Empress Zhangsun was resting with her eyes closed, leaning against a soft pillow. When she heard the noise, she opened her eyes and saw the father and daughter. She managed a weak smile.
"Mother!"
Little Sizi struggled to get out of bed, ran to the bedside, and held the candied hawthorn high, "Cheer this! It's a magic fruit made by the master! Cheer it up and you'll get better!"
Empress Zhangsun looked at the string of bright red fruits, but she didn't actually have much of an appetite.
When my qi stagnation flares up, I feel a tightness in my chest and can't eat anything, especially when I see something hard and cold.
But she couldn't bear to go against the child's wishes.
"Okay, Mother, have a taste."
She reached out her thin hand and took the string of candied hawthorns.
Li Shimin watched nervously from the side, his lips moving as if he wanted to remind Xiaoxinya, but he was afraid of ruining the atmosphere.
Empress Zhangsun brought the candied hawthorn to her lips and took a small bite.
The sugar coating was indeed crisp, crumbling between your teeth. Next came the soft, chewy red bean paste and hawthorn pulp inside.
But at that very moment, the distinctive sour taste of hawthorn wafted out.
Normally, this sweet and sour flavor would be a good appetizer, but for the weak and frail Empress Zhangsun, the sourness was like a sharp knife, stabbing into her already sensitive and fragile throat.
"Cough cough cough—!"
Before she could even swallow a mouthful, Empress Zhangsun suddenly began to cough violently.
This cough was even more violent than before, and he curled up like a shrimp, unable to hold onto the candied hawthorn in his hand, which fell to the brocade quilt with a thud.
The bright red sugar coating crumbled into crumbs, sticking to the embroidered phoenix quilt cover, looking particularly glaring.
"Mother!"
Little Sizi was terrified and burst into tears, crying, "Mother, don't die! I was wrong! I won't give Mother any more random things!"
Li Shimin rushed forward, patting Empress Zhangsun's back as his heart ached.
Looking at the mess on the bed, at his wife coughing so hard she was almost suffocating, and at his daughter trembling with fear, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.
The imperial physician was useless.
The medicinal soup was useless. Even this so-called "miracle fruit" was useless.
Is this destiny?
As dawn broke, a thin layer of frost formed on the stone slabs in the backyard of the imperial kitchen.
Su Mu threw the unwashed dishes and chopsticks from last night into the wooden basin. The well water was icy cold, making his knuckles turn red.
The courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open.
There were no cheerful knocks at the door as usual, only stumbling footsteps and suppressed sobs.
Su Mu shook the water droplets off his hands and turned around.
Little Sizi stood at the door, her pale yellow dress all wrinkled.
Her two hair buns were disheveled, with stray hairs clinging to her tear-streaked cheeks.
Those big eyes that used to always curve into crescent moons were now so swollen they were barely slits, and the whites of their eyes were full of bloodshot veins.
"Pork, pork—"
Su Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he rushed over before he could even wipe his hands.
Little Sizi threw herself into his arms, her little hands gripping his apron, which was covered in the smell of cooking oil, her body trembling like a leaf.
"Mother—Mother is going to die— Waaaaaah—"
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