The Crazy Emperor's Pampered Cousin

"You two stay outside and keep watch," Shen Tinghe instructed.

"I'll go in and take a look."

Qinglan and Qingdai exchanged a glance, then bowed and replied, "Yes."

Shen Tinghe pushed open the door and walked to the bedside. She lifted the gauze curtain and saw Ji Yunzhan lying unconscious on the bed.

Her fine ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) was torn to shreds and scattered carelessly beside the couch. She was barely covered by a light red bodice, exposing her snow-white skin and delicate collarbones.

Du Yixian was ruthless.

Shen Tinghe casually grabbed an outer robe draped over her shoulders and gently covered Ji Yunzhan with it.

She sat down by the bed and placed her hand on Ji Yunzhan's wrist. Her pulse was weak and slow, a clear sign that she had been drugged.

Shen Tinghe was no stranger to this.

In her past life, she was frail and sickly, abandoned by her family, and spent twenty years of her life in the hospital.

Through long-term illness, she became a doctor herself. With her tenacity, she taught herself superb medical skills, even surpassing many formally trained doctors.

After transmigrating to this world, she thoroughly studied the medical books treasured in her family and, combined with her knowledge from her previous life, her medical skills became comparable to those of the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy.

She picked up the seemingly ordinary silk sachet tied at her waist and gently shook it in front of Ji Yunzhan's nose.

This sachet was made by her own hand, filled with various medicinal herbs that refresh the mind, detoxify, and calm the nerves. It was an essential item for her when she traveled.

Sure enough, after only a moment, Ji Yunzhan's eyelashes began to tremble slightly, a faint groan escaped her throat, and she opened her eyes.

The moment consciousness returned, Ji Yunzhan looked around blankly, then looked down and saw her disheveled clothes.

She suddenly screamed, "Ah—!"

Ji Yunzhan struggled to sit up, but found her whole body weak and sore, and she didn't even have the strength to lift her arms.

He could only writhe in vain, his eyes filled with terror and humiliation.

Shen Tinghe didn't look at her, but turned and walked to the table, pouring some of the herbs from the sachet into a teacup.

Her voice was cold: "You've been drugged, and the effects haven't worn off yet, so naturally you're weak and can't get up."

Ji Yunzhan lay on the bed, her gaze fixed on Shen Tinghe's back, her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness, almost burning with rage.

Of course she knew that it wasn't Shen Tinghe who had harmed her.

She even knew clearly that it was Shen Tinghe who saved her.

But the more this happened, the more intense the hatred in Ji Yunzhan's heart became. Why? Why did Shen Tinghe get to have everything?

With a prestigious family background and stunning beauty, even the Crown Prince, whom she had secretly loved since childhood, became Shen Tinghe's fiancé.

Ji Yunzhan believed she was no less capable than Shen Tinghe.

Yet, she couldn't get anything. Shen Tinghe, on the other hand, effortlessly possessed everything she dreamed of!

Now, in such a sorry state, in such a wretched state, it was Shen Tinghe who ultimately saved her.

An indescribable surge of jealousy and madness instantly seized Ji Yunzhan's mind.

She felt as if all the blood in her body was boiling, burning her to the point of losing her reason.

As long as Shen Tinghe disappears... as long as Shen Tinghe is gone...

She, Ji Yunzhan, will be the foremost noble lady in the capital.

At that time, everything Shen Tinghe possesses, including His Highness the Crown Prince, may belong to her.

Once this idea arises, it grows wildly like weeds.

She didn't know where the strength came from, but with a fierce determination, she pushed herself up from the bed, grabbed something handy, and walked behind Shen Tinghe.

Shen Tinghe had just prepared a cup of warm water to alleviate the effects of the medicine and was turning around to hand it to Ji Yunzhan.

Just then, a ruthless glint flashed in Ji Yunzhan's eyes, and he smashed the heavy brass candlestick down on the back of Shen Tinghe's head.

But because it wasn't strong enough, it only hit the back of her neck.

A muffled thud

Shen Tinghe didn't even have time to react; she only felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck before her vision went black and she collapsed limply to the ground.

The water glass in her hand crashed to the ground with a clatter, splashing warm water onto her skirt.

Qinglan and Qingdai, who were guarding outside the door, kept a close eye on the movements inside.

Upon hearing the muffled thud and the sound of the cup shattering, the two men's expressions changed drastically, and they burst through the door almost simultaneously.

He immediately saw his young mistress lying on the ground, unconscious.

Ji Yunzhan, who should have been unconscious, stood there blankly to the side, holding a brass candlestick, with a lingering murderous intent in his eyes.

Qinglan felt a surge of anger rush to her head, and she delivered a fierce whip kick, striking Ji Yunzhan hard in the chest.

"Well--"

Ji Yunzhan screamed and was kicked away like a rag doll, crashing heavily into the bedpost before losing consciousness. The candlestick in her hand clattered to the ground.

"Miss!"

Qingdai quickly squatted down, carefully helped Shen Tinghe's upper body up, stretched out her finger to check under her nose, and then quickly pinched her philtrum.

After a long while, Shen Tinghe managed to open her eyelids a crack, her consciousness still hazy.

She instinctively raised her hand and touched her throbbing neck, gasping for breath: "Hiss—"

Shen Tinghe's gaze slowly focused, landing on Ji Yunzhan, who lay unconscious not far away. Her eyes instantly turned cold.

There was no pity left, only icy coldness.

I really shouldn't have had any kindness towards this kind of person.

Shen Tinghe will show no more leniency towards those who have hurt her or her family.

A fierce glint flashed in her eyes. Supporting her throbbing head, she ordered Qinglan, "Strip Ji Yunzhan of his clothes and put him back on the bed."

"Qinglan will stay here and watch Li Ke come in. Then she will go to her mother and tell her everything so that her mother can handle it."

Qinglan and Qingdai exchanged a glance, understanding their young mistress's meaning.

They moved swiftly, dragging Ji Yunzhan back to the bed.

Qinglan stayed behind, while Qingdai carefully helped Shen Tinghe: "Miss, let's go out through the back door."

Shen Tinghe nodded, and with Qingdai's support, staggered out of the room through the back door.

As soon as I sat in the waiting carriage, the dizziness and pain from the heavy blow washed over me.

She leaned against the soft car wall, her vision went black, and she fainted again.

Qinglan stood guard outside the room. Before long, a series of unsteady footsteps approached from afar.

Li Ke, reeking of alcohol, staggered over and pushed open the half-closed door. Through his blurry vision, he could only vaguely glimpse a figure on the bed.

But at that moment, his head was spinning, he was unable to think, and he collapsed to the floor before even reaching the bedside.

Qinglan, expressionless, dragged and carried the unconscious Li Ke onto the bed, then casually covered him with a thin blanket.

She examined it carefully for a moment, making sure she couldn't find any flaws, then quietly closed the door and quickly walked towards the front hall.

In the warm pavilion of the front hall, Madam Shen was chatting with several noblewomen, her fingers twirling a string of pearl prayer beads, her expression calm and undisturbed.

Qinglan explained the whole story to Madam Shen's personal maid, Yanshu.

Yan Shu's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and knelt down to report to Madam Shen.

Madam Shen's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, showing no sign of anything amiss, but a hint of sternness flashed across her usually gentle eyes.