PNB Chapter 23: The state of madness is kind of wonderful!
Chapter 23: The state of madness is kind of wonderful!
"I had a nosebleed last night. I saw the imperial physician and took medicine, but it started bleeding again around noon. The amount was small, so I just assumed that the medicine hadn't taken effect yet and didn't dare to disturb Your Majesty."
But by nightfall, the bleeding started again, and it was quite heavy; I was terrified.
Shen Shixi followed him in to see that the eldest prince was lying on the bed wearing a snow-white undergarment. His handsome face was even whiter than the undergarment. The imperial physician was kneeling beside him taking his pulse. Two streaks of blood were flowing slowly from below his nostrils, and it seemed that he could not stop them. It was indeed a bit scary.
Finally, the imperial physicians discussed the matter and used needles to barely stop the nosebleed.
Consort De glanced at Shen Shixi, somewhat reluctant to have her there. Who knew if she also harbored ill intentions?
When the Empress arrived, she didn't even let the Empress see the child.
In this palace, she could not trust anyone except the Emperor.
When Shen Shixi came in, she only looked at the walls. She thought of the paint used in the Song Dynasty palace, which contained heavy metals such as cinnabar and lead oxide, which were deadly to infants.
Li Yuanke asked, "What exactly happened?"
Physician Qiu couldn't explain it either. If it was true that children with excessive internal heat were prone to nosebleeds, this was unusual. It was too frequent and impossible to stop.
"We are incompetent and cannot diagnose the problem. We can only discuss treating it as a case of wind-heat in the lung meridian and spleen failing to control blood. Your Highness should eat a light diet and get plenty of rest every day to nourish your Yin. If Yin and Yang are in balance, you may recover."
Shen Shixi didn't know anything about medicine, but she couldn't quite figure it out either. She looked around the palace but still couldn't make sense of it.
Historically, during the Song Dynasty, the paint used in the palace contained large amounts of harmful substances such as mercuric sulfide and cinnabar, leading to heavy metal pollution, which was extremely deadly to infants and young children.
"Your Majesty, perhaps we should ask Imperial Physician Zhang to take a look? The First Prince has been bleeding too much from his nose today. I am truly worried!" Consort De cried.
The imperial physicians looked at each other in surprise. There were three imperial physicians on duty tonight, and they had all come.
The emperor said, "In the dead of night, a child has a nosebleed, is it really worth all this fuss? If you're going to see a doctor, you should come tomorrow. Let's give the medicine first!"
The eldest prince opened his eyes, looked at his father, and his eyes showed a hint of unfamiliarity, and a hint of... blankness.
Li Yuanke was an exceptionally intelligent man, and Consort De should be considered the most shrewd person in the harem, but this child… Shen Shixi turned her head away.
Perhaps the child is sick, which is why he/she is slow to react.
He remained stunned for a while before seemingly remembering to say, "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
As he struggled to get up, the emperor held him down. "Don't move. Take good care of yourself, listen to your mother, and take your medicine properly. You don't need to go to the Imperial Study for the next few days."
Consort De was greatly alarmed. "Your Majesty, it may not be appropriate for you not to go to the Imperial Study. Perhaps you could go for one hour less, or only for half a day."
The emperor didn't pay any attention, simply saying, "You decide what to do!"
He has never really cared about his children; he neither has the time nor the inclination to do so.
The imperial physicians couldn't possibly say anything, just like modern parents who let their children take their homework to the hospital to do, and the doctors wouldn't stop them no matter how unreasonable it seemed.
Li Yuanke stood up.
Consort De was in no mood to keep the Emperor today and only saw him outside.
"Your Majesty, how is the eldest prince?" The Empress had no choice but to ask. According to etiquette, all the children born to the women in the harem belonged to the Emperor and Empress. The concubines were merely tools for venting their desires and bearing children.
"Try taking the medicine first!" The emperor waved his hand impatiently. "Go back now, it's the middle of the night, don't stand here."
The Empress then said, "Thank you for taking care of the Crown Prince, Consort De. I will take my sisters back now."
Consort De also offered polite words, "It is my fault. I failed to take good care of the Crown Prince and disturbed Her Majesty the Empress and all my sisters. I will drink three cups of wine as punishment at the banquet tomorrow to apologize to my sisters!"
"You flatter me, Consort De. You are the mother of the First Prince. How could you possibly want the First Prince to be uneasy?" Consort Qing said.
Shen Shixi couldn't help but yawn. She was about to leave, drowsy, following behind the Empress, when the Emperor called her back.
"Lady Shen, wait for me. I will escort you back to Zhaoyang Palace!"
His words caused everyone to pause in their tracks.
Pan Zhiheng was gazing expectantly at the Emperor. Consort De was definitely not in the mood to serve him tonight. If the Emperor could stay, he could only rest in her side palace.
Upon hearing this, she was struck dumb. She quickly recovered and bowed to Shen Shixi. "Sister Shen has a ceremonial staff, so the journey back should be smooth. It is late at night and the dew is heavy. I'm sure Consort Shen would not want His Majesty to travel back and forth. Why don't you let His Majesty rest at Baoci Palace?"
As she spoke, she looked expectantly at the emperor.
She must have dressed up carefully; Pan Zhiheng was indeed beautiful in the candlelight. Her eyebrows were like emerald feathers, and she wore a high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a tender yellow peony embroidered on her bodice. Her exposed skin was as white as snow.
Even the Empress was stunned. This was the first time she had ever encountered someone so brazenly intercepting the Emperor's favor. This Consort Pan was truly courageous!
She looked up at the emperor, whose expression was inscrutable.
The concubines were also a little confused by the situation, but they were not stupid. The main reason was that Pan Zhiheng's desire to serve the emperor was obvious.
Shen Shixi glanced at her, then sneered, "If I said no, would Pan Baolin still be 'weeping and unable to dream tonight,' 'sitting by the incense burner until dawn'?"
Can't you sleep without a man?
Under normal circumstances, when faced with this situation, the concubines should tactfully agree, since it is indeed late at night, and even if they are unhappy, the Emperor's health is the most important thing.
Pan Zhiheng had calculated this point perfectly; even when she tried to steal the emperor's favor, she did so under the guise of doing it for the emperor's own good.
However, Shen Shixi ruthlessly tore off her fig leaf.
"What are you saying, Consort Shen? How can you insult me with such words? I was only concerned for His Majesty, and thinking of the Dragon Boat Festival banquet tomorrow, I wanted His Majesty to rest early. It wasn't what you meant, Consort Shen. You are clearly judging others by your own standards!"
Shen Shixi was furious when she heard this. How dare they turn the tables on her!
She kicked Pan Zhiheng, striking her directly in the chest and sending her sprawling into the air.
Pan Zhiheng rolled twice on the ground, looking extremely disheveled.
No one was prepared for Shen Shixi's sudden attack, but before she could even vent her anger, Pan Zhiheng scrambled to her feet and knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, "Your Majesty, Consort Shen has gone too far! How dare she hit a concubine in front of the Emperor and Empress!"
Shen Shixi, still furious, stepped forward to give him another kick, but Li Yuanke grabbed her and said, "Alright, alright, don't be angry. I said I'd send you back!"
She struggled to kick him forward, angrily saying, "Stop pretending to be some innocent little flower! Who are you trying to seduce? Judging others by your own standards? If I hadn't seen the Crown Prince's nosebleed with my own eyes, I would have suspected that the nosebleeds were just to help you win favor!"
The eldest prince is practically your cousin, isn't he? He's so sick, and instead of showing any concern, you're thinking about men! Shameless thing, and you even have the nerve to talk about judging others by your own standards!
She was driven mad by the phrase "judging others by one's own standards".
"The Shen family!" Li Yuanke was so annoyed he wanted to hit someone!
Shen Shixi jumped around like a frog, his shoe flew off and hit Pan Zhiheng's face.
Pan Zhiheng was both ashamed and furious. How could she possibly have any face left? Her heart was shattered into eight hundred pieces. She knelt on the ground, crying, "Your Majesty, Consort Shen has beaten me! Please, Your Majesty, do justice for me!"