I, the one in the heavens, am here to protect my bottom line in all realms.

Chapter 359 Just Showing Off Acting Skills

It took her a while to calm down. She looked up at the Emperor, her voice filled with grief, as if she were weeping blood: "Your Majesty, I will never have another child in this life. I only wish to burn incense and pray for his well-being. Is that not allowed?"

He had barely finished speaking when he spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

The Empress seemed reluctant to speak, glancing at Consort Liang and then at the Emperor before finally letting out a soft sigh and turning her head away.

The emperor's outstretched hand trembled slightly, and his heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath and lowered his hand, his voice unreadable: "Laifu, go and take a look."

The chief eunuch, Lai Fu, replied "Yes," took a few steps forward, squatted down, checked his breathing, and then stood up, bowing his head respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, you are still breathing."

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief: "Summon the imperial physician."

As soon as the sound faded, a quick-witted little eunuch had already run out.

"Someone, get Cheng Jieyu ready."

After giving his instructions, the Emperor found a place to sit down. Eunuch Laifu ordered tea to be served immediately, and he waited by his side to attend to him.

Upon seeing this, the Empress sat down next to the Emperor, and Consort Liang immediately followed suit.

The Emperor glanced at her displeasedly, but said nothing.

It was because the Empress Dowager doted on this cousin; if it weren't for her strong opposition, the Empress's position would have been given to her.

The imperial physician was quickly brought over. After performing the rites of a subject to a ruler, he was taken to take Zhang Chengyuan's pulse, which had already been prepared and placed on the bed. After taking his pulse for a long time, he opened his eyes and looked at this young life, who was not yet twenty-five years old, with some regret.

Regaining his composure, he respectfully approached and replied, "Your Majesty, Consort Cheng is not in mortal danger. However, she recently suffered a miscarriage, leaving her with depleted blood and qi, and excessive grief has further weakened her constitution. Just now, she suffered a sudden attack of anger, vomited blood, and fainted. I will prescribe some medicine to replenish her blood and qi. She should take it three times a day, and she should recover in half a month. However, Consort Cheng may suffer from weakness in the future and will need to take good care of herself."

The emperor nodded and waved for someone to go and prepare the medicine; as far as he was concerned, it was enough that the person was alive.

At this moment, Consort Liang spoke up, her words full of disdain and malice: "It's just a miscarriage, yet you act like you're going to die. You might as well just die."

The Emperor glared at her coldly: "Shut up, don't touch her again, otherwise even if the Empress Dowager tries to protect you, I will definitely take your life."

Consort Liang was frightened by the Emperor's fierce expression and dared not speak recklessly any longer.

A hint of disappointment flashed in the Empress's eyes. It was the same again. When would this stupid and poisonous thing ever disappear? My son, if you have a spirit in heaven, your mother will make him pay for it. It won't be long.

The emperor waved goodbye and left. The empress gently instructed Jiang Siyou and the others to take good care of Consort Cheng. After the emperor left, Consort Liang resumed her arrogant demeanor, smoothed her hair, rolled her eyes, and left with the words "hypocrite." Then she turned and had her personal maid help her leave.

The Empress was already used to it, and without any change in expression, she continued to give detailed instructions. Only her clenched fists under her sleeves revealed a hint of her true thoughts.

After everyone had left, Jiang Si told everyone to leave, and he stayed by their side.

Zhang Chengyuan opened his eyes and said to him, "I'm going to sleep for a while. You should also find a place to rest."

She couldn't get up right now, so she decided to take a nap.

Jiang Si nodded, then closed her eyes and fell asleep shortly afterward.

A little paper figure sneaked over and was climbing onto the bed when Jiang Siyou, who was about to leave, noticed it. He reached out and pinched it in confusion, but before he could observe it, the little paper figure grabbed his finger. Then, the little paper figure opened and closed its mouth and spoke.

"Father, Father, what's wrong with Mother?" Jiang Si asked hesitantly upon hearing the familiar voice, "Jiang Bao?"

"It's me, Father. You still haven't told me what happened to Mother?"

Having confirmed who it was, Jiang Si relaxed considerably. She examined the little paper figure from all angles, then held it in her palm to watch it move: "Your mother is fine, she's just asleep. How come your voice is coming from the little paper figure? Did your mother set it up for you?"

Zhang Yijiang's cheerful voice came through: "That's right, Father."

Jiang Siyou thought for a moment and then earnestly instructed, "Don't show this to others casually. I suppose your mother gave it to you for self-defense."

"Dad, of course I know, I'm not stupid."

Jiang Si smiled kindly and poked the little paper figure with her finger: "Hmm, put the little paper figure back."

The little paper figure got up after being poked, stomping its feet repeatedly, which gave Jiang Si a strangely cute feeling. He put it down, and the little paper figure ran away angrily, quite fast.

Jiang Si went out and closed the door behind her, telling Lvshan to keep a close watch before returning to her room to catch up on sleep.

As night fell, the emperor arrived again, but this time Zhang Chengyuan did not feign unconsciousness.

He still looked sickly, but the emperor didn't hide it at all. After dinner, he went to wash up and then instructed Zhang Chengyuan to move over to the bed to make room for him. He then undressed and lay down on the bed.

She reached out and hugged Zhang Chengyuan, then closed her eyes, waiting to be lulled to sleep by that special fragrance.

This attitude of not even daring to act is truly speechless. However, Zhang Chengyuan was unwilling to act with him either, so he naturally did as he wished, letting him fall asleep quickly, sleeping like a dead pig, the kind of sleep that wouldn't wake up even if the sky fell.

She removed the emperor's hand, stepped out of his embrace, got out of bed to stretch her limbs, lit a candle and placed it on the table, moved the screen over to block the light, and then began to carve a piece of wood.

First, I'll carve two wooden dolls for each of the three of them. Then, I'll carve some protective formations on some jewelry. Finally, I'll carve one jade amulet for each of them. I'll give them to them when I have time tomorrow.

By the time he finished all that, it was almost dawn. Zhang Chengyuan tidied up and lay down again. Not long after he closed his eyes, the person next to him stirred.

Feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep, the Emperor was in a good mood. He glanced at Consort Cheng, whose face was still pale, then dressed himself and went out. He was welcomed into an empty room next door by Eunuch Laifu, who instructed people to help the Emperor change his clothes and wash up.

A large group of people came in a grand procession, and then left in a grand procession.

Zhang Chengyuan yawned and quickly fell asleep.

Jiang Siyou and Zhang Yijiang came by at noon, but they didn't stay long before going back.

When she woke up, Jiang Si served her a meal. As for the medicine, she put it away. After all, why take medicine if you're not sick? All medicine has some toxicity. Even though she has a divine body and these things didn't harm her at all, she still felt the pain of her own body.

After the meal, it was time for her to put on an act. She sat in the room with a sorrowful expression, carving a faceless wooden puppet with a carving knife. In her palace, apart from those she had chosen herself, none of them were without masters, but she still needed them to spread the news.

Sure enough, in the following days, the news spread throughout the palace that the newly promoted Consort Cheng had been driven mad by the shock and wanted to build a shrine to worship the unborn child.

Unfortunately, none of the high-ranking officials in the palace cared about such rumors, which instead left them with the impression that they were weak and easily bullied.

This was precisely Zhang Chengyuan's goal, but she had to pay a price for it. Every day, she had to copy scriptures and pray for the nonexistent child, and she also had to put on a world-weary act.