At the same moment.
The capital city was in an uproar.
The incident of Emperor Chu falling into the water alarmed both Empress Chu and Concubine An, but the empress knew a bit more about the inside story than Concubine An.
Although Emperor Chu was personally brought back by the Third Prince, Chu Heye.
He Fulin knelt at the empress's feet the moment he arrived. "Your Majesty, please save this humble servant."
On the surface, Emperor Chu was kind - hearted and tolerant, but only those who had served him for a long time knew his true nature.
He was cruel, ruthless, and extremely decisive.
If he woke up, considering He Fulin's failure to protect him well, his life would surely be in jeopardy.
"What on earth happened?"
The wound on the empress's forehead had long since healed, leaving only a faint scar.
But women always cherished their looks. Whenever facing outsiders, she would always place a hand on her forehead to hide the faint scar.
He Fulin swallowed hard and stammered, "Your Majesty heard that the Princess of De had gone to Fangshan, so..."
"So he secretly went to Fangshan?"
The empress had been married to Emperor Chu for many years. She knew he was a scoundrel, but she didn't know he was this much of one!
She knew about Chu Nian'an's invitation to the young people in the capital to Fangshan for a gathering.
It wasn't entirely unexpected that Yan Zhao and Ning Yuwan would go. After all, it was a good thing for young people to get together.
However, Emperor Chu was so bold as to follow Ning Yuwan secretly and even drug her?
His lust for Ning Yuwan couldn't even wait for proper planning.
He had to do such a thing outside. If anyone were to catch him, his actions would surely shock the entire Chu Dynasty and lose him the people's hearts.
It was all harm and no benefit.
He Fulin felt the cold aura behind the empress and shivered as he told the whole story of what had happened on Fangshan.
He slapped his mouth while begging for mercy. "Your Majesty, the emperor refused to let us servants follow. It was only when I went to look for him that I found he had fallen into the water."
Emperor Chu came out of the tunnel alone.
So He Fulin didn't think it was the unconscious Ning Yuwan who had done it.
Even though the emperor was in a daze at that time, laughing and scolding, He Fulin just thought he was too excited.
After all, facing a beauty like the Princess of De, even he would be excited!
"This humble servant really doesn't know what exactly happened in that short moment."
When he mentioned "that short moment", his tone was hesitant and a bit heavy. He was worried that if he said too much, the empress would think he was neglecting his duty, and if he said too little, she would think he was deliberately being negligent.
"Enough!"
The empress interrupted He Fulin. She leaned halfway on the phoenix chair, her carefully - drawn eyebrows knitted tightly. "Has Imperial Physician Song said anything about the emperor's condition?"
When Chu Heye brought Emperor Chu back to the palace, he immediately informed Concubine An and the Imperial Hospital.
Presumably, Chief Physician Song must have examined the emperor's body for any serious problems right away.
If He Fulin hadn't come to plead guilty, the empress wouldn't have known that the emperor had fallen into the water and been brought back to the palace.
He Fulin bowed his head and said, "Imperial Physician Song said that the water was cold in winter. If the emperor's legs weren't treated in time, he might develop some problems."
At that time, Imperial Physician Song frowned seriously, as if hiding some secret.
But He Fulin was too scared to think much about it.
After all, when he heard that the emperor might develop problems, he almost hanged himself out of panic.
If Emperor Chu's legs really had problems, where would the dignity of a king lie?
By then, the first one to be punished would be him for failing to protect the emperor!
So, He Fulin immediately came to the empress to plead for mercy.
The empress pinched the bridge of her nose with her right hand. Obviously, she also thought of the same consequence. "Has the emperor woken up?"
"No."
"Prepare the palanquin. I'm going to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
Qiaohui immediately motioned for the maids to get ready. She helped up the empress, whose face showed annoyance. "It's cold in winter, Your Majesty. Put on an extra robe."
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation at this moment.
Concubine An was sitting halfway on the edge of the bed, looking worriedly at the unconscious Emperor Chu.
Her beautiful and charming face was full of cold anger. "Why hasn't the emperor woken up yet?"
Imperial Physician Song had just prescribed a decoction for the emperor and fed it to him. Hearing this, he led the other imperial physicians and knelt down. "Your Highness, please forgive us. The emperor has caught a chill. He won't wake up until the chill is completely forced out of his body."
Although Fangshan wasn't far from the capital, and Chu Heye had rushed back on horseback.
But it still took an hour and a half.
Moreover, the journey was bumpy all the way, and the cold air had completely penetrated the emperor's body.
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have been unable to bear it long ago.
Fortunately, Emperor Chu was good at martial arts when he was young, and his body was stronger than ordinary people, so he could still hold on.
He had just prescribed a "hot decoction" and fed it to the emperor. After the emperor broke out in a sweat, he would soak him in hot water.
If the emperor still didn't wake up, he would have to think of other ways.
Chu Heye comforted Concubine An. "Mother, don't be anxious. Father has boundless good fortune and will surely be fine."
On the way back, he had privately asked the accompanying imperial physician and knew that the emperor's condition was critical.
There was no major threat to his life, but his legs might leave some root causes of illness.
However, there were too many people around at the moment, so he just kept it in his heart.
When there was no one around, he would tell Concubine An about the situation in detail.
If Emperor Chu really left with root causes of illness, his body would surely not be as good as before, and the position of the crown prince should be established.
Concubine An clenched and then loosened her fists. She carefully tucked in the brocade quilt for the emperor and took out a brocade handkerchief to wipe the emperor's hot sweat.
But the emperor's face was pale, his lips were blue - black, and he would occasionally mutter that he was cold.
But there were already several warm stoves burning in the room, making people's faces burn red.
"Your Majesty."
Concubine An's almond eyes were filled with tears. She gently wiped her cheeks, full of deep affection. "Your servant will always be with you."
Imperial Physician Gao and the others were still kneeling on the ground, not daring to say much.
Everyone was waiting for Emperor Chu to wake up.
The empress saw this scene as soon as she entered. She half - squinted her phoenix eyes. "The emperor is in a coma, yet the Third Prince dares not to report to this palace. Does he want to hide it secretly?"
The empress was gentle and kind - hearted, but Chu Heye had always been in awe of her since childhood.
Seeing her now, he immediately knelt down. "Mother, I didn't mean to deceive you. It's just that the situation was urgent, and I was worried that Father's illness would get worse."
His gaze swept over He Fulin, who was cowering behind the empress, with a cold threat.
The empress snorted heavily. "You are really considerate and sensible."
She let Qiaohui help her sit down on one side. "Have you found out the truth about the emperor's fall into the water?"
Chu Heye shook his head. "I didn't know that Father had gone to Fangshan before, so I have no way to investigate."
He was telling the truth.
After all, when he went to Fangshan, his original intention was to respond to his sister's invitation and reconcile with An Xingzhi.
The incident of Emperor Chu falling into the water was completely unexpected.
"So you just let it go?"
The empress slammed the teacup down, venting her anger.
Chu Heye's gaze secretly met Concubine An's. The latter immediately snorted. "Your Majesty the Empress is used to ordering Ye'er around."
She looked lovingly at the mud on Chu Heye's boots. "Ye'er rushed back from Fangshan and hasn't slept all night. He's extremely tired. Yet you're willing to order him around."
The empress ignored her. But Concubine An became even more insistent and asked, "The Second Prince is so filial. Why haven't we seen him come back to take care of the emperor?"
Chu Heyao had long been sent by Emperor Chu to Xiaoshan for training. It had almost been three months now.
The empress naturally missed him, but she didn't want to hear it from Concubine An's mouth. "How dare you!"
But Concubine An curled her lips slightly. "If Your Majesty the Empress doesn't want me to be so bold, then don't do things that make people want to be bold."
The power of the An family was gradually rising, while the Wen family had long since withdrawn from the court.
Concubine An had a stronger backbone than the empress.
A few words immediately made the atmosphere in the room freeze. The people below didn't even dare to raise their heads, fearing that they would be implicated.