"Something's wrong with Concubine Xian, Your Majesty!" Xu Xian rushed in hurriedly, knelt on the ground, and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, just now a maid reported that Concubine Xian fainted!"
"What?" Sikong Ting frowned, turned around, stared at Xu Xian fiercely and said, "What's going on?"
"She didn't know the reason. She was sleeping soundly and then suddenly started coughing violently. Before long, she fainted." Xu Xian shook his head. He was still out of breath. It must have been a sudden incident, and he had just found out and rushed here.
Sikong Ting flung his sleeve, gave Qin Huaiqiu a deep look. No one knew what he was thinking. Then he turned around and left, saying, "Let's go to Jude Palace!"
Qin Huaiqiu leaned against the wall, watching Sikong Ting kick open the door that hadn't been closed in time when he left. Although still in a state of uneasiness, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Young Master!" Seeing everyone had left, Qin Lan rushed into the room in a hurry. She put her arm around his shoulder and sized him up and down, saying anxiously, "Young Master, are you okay?"
Qin Huaiqiu shook his head. The confrontation with Sikong Ting just now had really exhausted him physically and mentally. His body went limp, and he almost fell to the ground.
"Young Master!?" Qin Lan was quick - witted and caught him in time.
"I'm fine." Qin Huaiqiu shook his head. He looked at Qin Lan somewhat awkwardly and said, "He didn't find out. Don't worry."
Qin Lan looked at him worriedly and helped Qin Huaiqiu sit on the edge of the bed. Qin Huaiqiu patted her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry. I'm really okay."
Qin Lan asked, "Does the Emperor already suspect something?"
Qin Huaiqiu frowned. He really couldn't figure out where he had left a flaw. He paused and hesitated, "I don't know. I'm not sure either."
Suddenly, Qin Huaiqiu seemed to remember something. He pulled Qin Lan's hand and said, "Qin Lan, you scouted out the paths in the palace last time, right?"
Qin Lan nodded.
Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth and said, "Judging from the current situation, at the latest by tomorrow, the Emperor and the concubines will return to the capital. On the way back, find a way to get some things we need for escaping. When we get back to the palace, if Sikong Ting dares to go any further, we'll have to choose a time to escape."
"Understood." Qin Lan looked at him. The anxiety in her eyes never faded.
Neither of them spoke anymore. After all, if the fact that he had entered the palace in disguise as a woman was exposed, they didn't even dare to think about what would happen to the Qin family far away on the border. This matter was like a huge rock hanging over the Qin family's head. Qin Huaiqiu didn't even know what he would do if Sikong Ting had really discovered his secret just now, if it hadn't been for Concubine Xian's accident.
Come to think of it, why did Concubine Xian suddenly faint?
In Jude Palace.
Sikong Ting stood three feet away from Concubine Xian's bed. Looking at Concubine Xian, who was slowly waking up on the bed not far away, he shouted fiercely at the imperial physician beside him, "What's going on!?"
The imperial physician was just a junior who had just started his rotation in the palace. He was so scared that he knelt down on the spot and stammered, "Your humble servant... Your humble servant has examined Concubine Xian's body and found nothing wrong..."
Sikong Ting was so angry that he kicked the imperial physician over and roared, "Bold! If there's nothing wrong, why did she faint!? You're talking nonsense!"
The junior imperial physician groaned in pain. Shaking all over, he knelt down again and said, "Your humble servant... Your humble servant speculates that it may be due to over - fatigue or acclimatization..."
"What kind of reason is that!?" Sikong Ting was so angry that he was about to kick him again, but was stopped by Concubine Xian's voice.
"Your Majesty." Concubine Xian's voice was soft. She looked at Sikong Ting and said, "My body is inherently weak. The journey to Qishan was long. Please don't make things difficult for him..."
After hearing this, Sikong Ting asked, "How do you feel now, Concubine Xian?"
Concubine Xian smiled softly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I feel better now."
"That's good." After Sikong Ting said this, he got angry at the junior imperial physician again and said, "Concubine Xian is in poor health. Why don't you go prepare the medicinal soup quickly?"
"Yes, yes. Your humble servant will go right away..." The junior imperial physician was so scared that he scurried away.
Sikong Ting turned to look at Concubine Xian and said, "Then you should take good care of yourself. I'll go back first."
After hearing this, Concubine Xian's eyes flashed. Her voice was a bit weak as she said, "Your Majesty, may I be so bold as to ask Your Majesty... to stay in Jude Palace?"
Sikong Ting was stunned.
Seeing this, Yu'er beside them quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Sikong Ting. She cried, "Your Majesty, my mistress has been feeling unwell since she came to Qishan. Afraid of disturbing Your Majesty's mood, she never let this servant report it to Your Majesty. Now that my mistress has fainted again, this servant begs Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." At this point, Yu'er kowtowed a few more times to Sikong Ting.
Concubine Xian said sadly, "Yu'er! What are you doing?"
"Mistress..."
Sikong Ting looked at the two of them and sighed silently.
Although he was afraid of women, it didn't mean he hated them. Concubine Xian was, after all, one of his official concubines. Although he had never touched any of the concubines in the harem, he still let them participate in things when necessary, so he wasn't really neglecting them. Since Concubine De entered the palace, he really hadn't paid much attention to other women.
Looking at Concubine Xian again, he remembered that she had always been very sensible and not as arrogant as Concubine Shu. If Concubine Shu's impression on Sikong Ting was that she wanted to get involved in everything, Concubine Xian gave him the feeling that she tried to avoid things as much as possible.
This was also the reason why he had named her Concubine Xian. In Sikong Ting's memory, during the many years she had been in the palace, she had never asked for anything on her own initiative. She just silently smiled and watched from the side.
Sikong Ting looked at Yu'er kneeling on the ground and Concubine Xian lying sick in bed. His heart softened, and he said, "I understand. You can sleep well. I'll just sit here. If you need anything, just say so."
Concubine Xian said happily, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Sikong Ting let out a soft "hmm", waved his hand, and said to Yu'er, "You can go down first. Ask Xu Xian to send some memorials in. Tell him that I'll be reviewing them tonight."
"Yes." Yu'er stood up, smiled, and retreated.
Before long, Xu Xian ordered someone to bring in the things. He had someone tidy up a mahogany desk in Concubine Xian's room and then placed the memorials, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on it. Then he bowed to Sikong Ting.
"Go down." Sikong Ting rubbed his forehead. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. But he had slept for a long time in the morning to recover from his injury, so he wasn't sleepy now.
He reached out and touched his still slightly painful wound. He looked up at Concubine Xian, who was lying weakly on the bed. He saw that Concubine Xian was also looking at him, with undisguised concern in her eyes.
Sikong Ting smiled at her and gently comforted her, "I'm fine. Go to sleep."
Concubine Xian nodded gently and said, "Okay."
Sikong Ting said no more. He sat down, picked up the pen, and began to review the memorials.
Concubine Xian opened her eyes and stared straight up.
In this way, Huaiqiu should be okay, right? Thinking this way, Concubine Xian gently closed her eyes.