Aunt Mei Jiang was also in a huff, tightly pursing her lips. She refused to say a single word to Huo Wei. She would rather take Duchess Dugu Luanyue back to the palace for treatment than accept the slightest bit of charity from Huo Wei.
Seeing that neither the mistress nor the maid answered him, Huo Wei ordered Shen Guilan to come and feel Dugu Luanyue's pulse.
Shen Guilan walked into the room. First, he gave Huo Wei a bewildered look, then he looked at the duchess reclining on the wide chair with a puzzled expression. Immediately, his eyes darkened.
Cold sweat beaded on Dugu Luanyue's forehead. She groaned softly, "Aunt, my stomach hurts so much."
Shen Guilan was originally a military advisor. Before this, he and Huo Wei had learned different things from their master.
Huo Wei had chosen military tactics, strategies, and the art of deception, while Shen Guilan had chosen the art of helping Huo Wei manage his subordinate generals and stabilizing the rear. He had even learned medicine and the art of poisons.
It was all to assist his junior brother during military campaigns, so that Huo Wei could charge into battle without any worries at any time.
Seeing the duchess's pained expression and pale face, Shen Guilan grabbed her wrist without further ado and asked in confusion, "How could your qi and blood be so depleted? Your Majesty lives a life of luxury. This shouldn't be the case. What on earth happened?"
Aunt Mei Jiang said with a solemn expression, "If you want to know, ask the Prince of Yuzhang. Her Majesty is in this state because of him!"
Shen Guilan's gaze fell on Huo Wei. He looked at him seriously and said, "You tell me."
Huo Wei's expression was cold. "Tell you what? I've done nothing wrong."
Aunt Mei Jiang glanced at Shen Guilan in front of her. She noticed that Huo Wei, who was usually so arrogant and unrestrained, seemed to be a bit more subdued in front of Shen Guilan. Presumably, this man had some influence over him. So, she decided to tell the whole story.
She let out a cold snort.
"Her Majesty whole - heartedly negotiated terms with the prince for the sake of Southern Chu. But the prince went crazy and imprisoned and castrated Her Majesty's childhood sweetheart.
What's even more puzzling is that he even forbade Her Majesty from attending the emperor's bedchamber. In order to smoothly advance the cooperation with the prince, Her Majesty had no choice but to swallow her anger and agree to the prince's conditions.
She was forced to secretly take medicine that would disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle to avoid attending the emperor's bedchamber. As a result, her menstruation has been flowing non - stop.
Her Majesty has lost too much blood and is already weak. Today, the prince forced her to drink that strong liquor.
Strong liquor promotes blood circulation. After drinking it, Her Majesty is probably on the verge of a massive hemorrhage. Now she is suffering from unbearable abdominal pain, and her qi and blood must be severely damaged!"
The angrier Aunt Mei Jiang got, the more she said. She reached out and pushed aside the blue hair sticking to Dugu Luanyue's forehead.
"The wound on her forehead hasn't healed yet. It was also caused by the prince that day. What on earth does the prince want to do now?
Does he want to force Her Majesty to death?"
Dugu Luanyue endured the abdominal pain and lay motionless on the table beside the wide chair.
Shen Guilan stared at Huo Wei. The frost between his eyebrows slowly gathered. "My lord, you're becoming more and more muddle - headed."
Huo Wei's breathing became heavy. There was a burning sensation in his stomach, and his whole chest felt uncomfortable.
Regarding the matter of attending the emperor's bedchamber, he really hadn't thought it through.
He originally thought that it would be very easy for Dugu Luanyue to refuse to attend the emperor's bedchamber. He never expected that she would have to rely on medicine to do so.
Aunt Mei Jiang was in tears.
"I can't figure out the prince's motives at all. Her Majesty's bleeding won't stop, so she can't attend the emperor's bedchamber. Once she falls out of favor, her days in the palace will be difficult again.
Her Majesty came alone from Southern Chu. She has never done anything to harm the prince and has always assisted him. But the prince has hurt her again and again. What on earth does the prince want?"
Shen Guilan shook his head and stood up. "For the sake of the fact that Duchess Dugu has indeed helped you achieve something, I'll personally go and boil the medicine."
Before leaving, he glanced back at Huo Wei. It was really a rare sight. After being shouted at so many times, Huo Wei hadn't retorted yet.
Huo Wei was silent for a long time. He looked at the frail figure, and his throat went dry. He didn't know what to say.
He stayed in the room, sitting silently at the other end of the wide chair with a cold expression, like a child who had done something wrong. He neither spoke nor left.
His eyes were always on Dugu Luanyue. Aunt Mei Jiang walked over and blocked his sight.
Yes, she did it on purpose.
There was a medicinal material store in the prince's mansion for preparing dinner. Shen Guilan quickly boiled the medicine and personally brought it in.
Huo Wei stood up and reached out his arm to take it. "Let me do it."
Aunt Mei Jiang snatched the medicine bowl away and put it on the table. She took out a small medicine packet from her sleeve and asked, "After Her Majesty takes the military advisor's medicine, can she still take this medicine for promoting menstruation?"
Huo Wei snatched the medicine packet away and threw it on the ground. "Take what? Drink the medicine quickly!"
Shen Guilan looked down at the medicine powder on the ground, then glanced at Huo Wei. "My lord, won't you come out with me?"
Huo Wei's long and deep eyes still stayed on Dugu Luanyue, who was in so much pain that she couldn't say a word. After his dark gaze lingered on her for a moment, he silently walked out of the room.
The hand behind his back was clenched into a tight fist and never loosened.
Shen Guilan dragged him into the study of the prince's mansion and scolded him, "She clearly has a sweetheart. She doesn't have any feelings for you at all. Why are you acting jealous like a madman?"
Huo Wei's waist hit the side of the desk. The veins on his forehead were bulging. He grunted, "Who's jealous?"
Shen Guilan walked to the side of the desk and propped his hands on the edge. "Then why did you castrate the duchess's sweetheart and forbid her from attending the emperor's bedchamber? What does that mean?"
Huo Wei's eyes turned cold. "Senior brother was kind enough to help me see her true face. Can't I vent my anger?"
Shen Guilan didn't want to keep talking about these matters between men and women. His expression became solemn. "Have you submitted the memorial for conscription?"
As soon as Huo Wei heard this, his expression became a bit strange. He stood up and walked outside. This was his usual way of avoiding things.
"The foundation in the court has just been laid. If we start conscripting soldiers now, won't all our recent efforts go to waste?
The silver that the prince's mansion used to build official residences for these people was earned with my life on the battlefield, wasn't it?"
Shen Guilan lowered his eyes. Huo Wei's words made sense. The court was just another kind of battlefield, and it was also very important.
The duchess's plan had indeed helped Huo Wei gain a foothold in the court, which he admitted in his heart.
He stepped forward and grabbed Huo Wei's arm. "The duchess has really hurt her body this time. Do you want me to go and grab a few more doses of medicine and you send them to her?"
Huo Wei glared at him. "Do you even need to ask?"
Half an hour later, Huo Wei held the medicine in his hand and walked into the room where Dugu Luanyue was resting.
At this moment, Emperor Murong Min was still drunk and half - asleep, which allowed Dugu Luanyue to rest for a while.
Huo Wei put the medicine on the table. "His Majesty just sent a verbal edict, saying that he's going back to the palace. This is..."
Dugu Luanyue glanced at him, then shifted her gaze away. She stood up and said,
"Aunt, help me out. Let's get ready to go back to the palace."
Huo Wei's heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle. Dugu Luanyue had never been so cold to him before.
Like a fierce beast with its tough bones still intact, he couldn't completely get over the deception in his heart.
Dugu Luanyue and Murong Min left for the palace before and after dusk. Huo Wei stood in front of the mansion gate, his black eyes heavy. The dull feeling in his chest seemed to never go away.
Shen Guilan saw the medicine in Huo Wei's hand behind his back. His junior brother hadn't even managed to give the things away.
But he thought it was good. His junior brother had been even more ruthless than him, making sure that the duchess would never try to seduce his junior brother again. Everything would finally return to the right track, which would save a lot of trouble.
Three days later, a major event happened in the harem. Duchess Dugu was unexpectedly sent to the Cold Palace.