Chapter 37: Completely Lost Consciousness
Gan Qiongying’s hand was reddened, her expression stunned. She had just tried to steady the Emperor but was harshly pushed away.
The Emperor’s extreme reaction left her frozen. Just before the midday meal, their affection had flowed like water, yet his sudden shift in attitude now left her at a loss. However, the emotion in the Emperor’s eyes was clearly not disgust.
“Escort the Princess back to her residence immediately,” the Emperor said toward the outside of the sedan chair.
To restrain himself from showing the effects of the drug, he had bitten his tongue. “Without my summons henceforth, she is not to enter the palace.”
Gan Qiongying: “Your Majesty…”
She swallowed the rest of her words, noticing blood at the corner of the Emperor’s mouth. Had he coughed up blood?
Panicked, she leaned closer, but before she could speak, the Emperor reached out and pulled her from the sedan chair.
In the struggle, the Emperor grasped her shoulders, his eyes filled with an overwhelming, restrained sorrow. With that one look, Gan Qiongying stopped resisting and allowed herself to be pushed out of the sedan chair.
Outside, the palace attendants saw the curtain sway. Eunuch Li immediately stepped forward, just in time to support Gan Qiongying as she was pushed out. The moment her feet touched the ground, the bearers resumed their march without pause.
The setting sun cast a warm, gentle light upon the palace walls. The hot summer breeze brushed past, yet Gan Qiongying felt only a chill throughout her body. The dampness on her back had not yet dried, and a dull ache once again rose from her chest, causing her to furrow her brows.
Eunuch Li remained by Gan Qiongying’s side, several times attempting to assist her, but she raised a hand to stop him each time.
Gan Qiongying endured the pain, her face growing increasingly pale. She thought of how the Emperor had risked everything to drink that suspicious Yibu Decoction for her, and of Li Quan’s panicked expression upon seeing the Emperor leave the Empress Dowager’s chambers. Setting aside caution, she was determined to get an answer.
“Eunuch Li,” Gan Qiongying continued walking without pause, “what kind of decoction is the Yibu Decoction?”
Eunuch Li visibly faltered, thinking he had concealed his reaction, and gave the prepared answer: “It replenishes qi and calms the spirit.”
“Do you take me for a fool?” Gan Qiongying stopped and turned to face him.
Eunuch Li naturally dared not proceed either, bowing as he waited and repeating, “The Yibu Decoction has the effect of replenishing qi and calming the spirit.”
Dismissed so casually, Gan Qiongying’s gaze sharpened. Yet, she now resembled a patient, her lips devoid of color. She asked once more, “What kind of decoction is the Yibu Decoction?”
Eunuch Li’s lips trembled violently, but he remained silent.
As the two stood at an impasse, he suddenly fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing heavily several times. When he looked up again, Gan Qiongying saw his reddened forehead and tear-streaked face.
“Princess, please ask no more…” Eunuch Li pleaded through tears.
“His Majesty…” Eunuch Li shook his head repeatedly, tears streaming down. “When you have time, you must visit the palace often. Your visits bring His Majesty the greatest joy.”
“You are flesh and blood, closest kin. Princess, you must not become distant from His Majesty,” Eunuch Li sobbed, tears falling in streams.
Finally, he could not hold back and uttered: “His Majesty… if even you, Princess, were to drift apart while His Majesty treads such a difficult path…”
I fear His Majesty would lose even the will to live.
Gan Qiongying watched Eunuch Li, waiting for him to continue, but his mouth clamped shut like a clam, refusing to say another word.
The piercing pain intensified. Gan Qiongying could not help but clutch her chest, feeling her heart wrench with every breath.
Today’s events had left Gan Qiongying utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. She didn’t even have the strength to help Eunuch Li, who was kneeling on the ground. “Please rise, Eunuch. I understand now.”
“It is good that the Princess understands that His Majesty has always acted in your best interest,” Eunuch Li said, kowtowing once more before wiping away his tears with his sleeve. He tried to assist Gan Qiongying but was again refused.
“There is no need to see me off,” Gan Qiongying raised her hand to stop him, then turned away, her palm already damp with sweat. “I remember the way from here.”
“If the Princess’s heart pain flares up again,” Eunuch Li said, “you may summon an Imperial Physician to the Princess Manor at any time. However, do not take the prescription prescribed by Physician Fu.”
Eunuch Li dared not disobey the Emperor’s orders, yet he could not defy the Princess either. He followed at a distance behind Gan Qiongying.
Gan Qiongying’s steps were unsteady, her mind in a fog.
One hand pressed tightly against her chest, the other clenched into a fist, her shoes made rhythmic sounds against the stone pavement. Yet her heart was in turmoil, unable to make sense of it all.
For the first time, she realized how insignificant she was within the deep palace walls.
A few figures flashed by the palace gate, but Gan Qiongying paid no attention. She stared at the stone path beneath her feet, moving forward slowly.
Eunuch Li stopped at this point, silently bowed, and watched as Gan Qiongying exited the palace gate and was supported by the people from the Princess Manor. Only then did he turn away, wiping his tears before hurrying toward the direction of Jing’an Hall.
“Princess!” Manyue noticed something was wrong with Gan Qiongying and immediately stepped forward, supporting her with one hand and holding her waist with the other. “Is your heart hurting again?”
With some support for her body, Gan Qiongying seemed unable to hold on any longer. The pain intensified, her vision flickered between light and dark, and her eyelids grew heavier.
Seeing this, the maidservants rushed forward, bringing a small stool and lifting the carriage curtain. Two or three of them worked together to help Gan Qiongying into the carriage.
Sweat beaded on Gan Qiongying’s temples, but the piercing pain refused to subside. Covered in cold sweat, she crawled into the carriage, only to doubt her own senses.
Gan Qiongying suddenly saw Lihua sitting upright inside the carriage. She was visibly startled, while Lihua, seeing her pale face, was briefly taken aback as well.
The two looked at each other in silence. After sitting down, Gan Qiongying leaned against the carriage wall, continuously rubbing her chest to ease the pain. Her vision darkened slightly as she asked the person beside her, “Did you come to pick me up, husband?”
“What happened?” Lihua skipped the question, his brow furrowing at the sight of blood on her wrist before asking again, “Are you unwell?”
For a moment, Gan Qiongying felt the urge to pour out her grievances. When wronged, nothing is more disarming than a simple inquiry. Yet she held back the desire to confide—not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t know where to begin.
She wanted to say she had nearly drunk poison, to speak of the Emperor’s ever-changing attitude, to admit she had never anticipated today’s events, to express her regret for coming to the palace.
But how could she say it?
She didn’t even understand it all herself.
All she wanted now was to go home, lie down, and sleep.
The intense pain forced Gan Qiongying to bend over. She felt her vision darken. “My heart hurts so much…”
Her face was drained of color, and she lacked the strength to utter another word. The swaying of the carriage felt like the world spinning around her. Unable to even lift her head to look at Lihua, she collapsed straight down.
Lihua hurriedly caught Gan Qiongying, his voice urgent as he called out toward the carriage door, “Return to the manor immediately, hurry!”
Gan Qiongying struggled to keep her eyes open, but she could see nothing clearly.
Her mind was in chaos—the Emperor’s broken, agonized expression, Eunuch Li’s strange words—images overlapping and rapidly switching, almost bursting through her skull.
The carriage sped up. Lihua supported Gan Qiongying, who was limp and weak all over. Seeing her in an extremely poor state, he knew that if he loosened his grip even slightly, she would collapse immediately. He had no choice but to hold her protectively in his arms.
He pressed the back of his hand against Gan Qiongying’s forehead to check her temperature, then examined the bloodstains on her wrist. Finding no wounds, he visibly sighed in relief.
“San Jiu,” Lihua called toward the window, “the Princess is unwell. Hurry back to the residence. Have someone go to the estate to pick fruit and invite the divine physician from Zhongliu Mountain to the manor.”
The surrounding sounds were muffled and indistinct, the shadows before her eyes swayed incessantly. Gan Qiongying felt as if water had been poured into her ears, flooding her entire body, submerging her. She only felt icy cold all over, as if plummeting into a frigid cavern.
Her hands groped, searching for a source of warmth nearby. Like clutching a lifeline, she wrapped her arms around Lihua’s arm, curling into his embrace, desperately seeking to draw a bit of warmth to alleviate her condition even slightly.
The sounds grew farther away, her vision gradually blurred. Gan Qiongying’s eyelids felt as if weighed down by a thousand pounds. The only thing she could still perceive was the warmth emanating from behind her, which inexplicably brought her a strange sense of peace.
Yet the pain in her chest remained intense. Drowsy and muddled, she no longer had the strength to open her eyes, completely losing consciousness.