You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Looking at Duanmu Qingyu, who was lying motionless in Li De'an's arms, Chu Nianci's mind went blank.

If something were to happen to the emperor, these close attendants and palace servants would certainly not escape being buried with him.

She forced herself to calm down.

He took the key from Li De'an and strode towards the dragon bed behind the screen.

Beside the bed stood a shiny black wooden cabinet. When opened, the middle layer was piled high with memorials, and at the bottom were two small wooden boxes side by side: one made of black walnut wood and the other of mahogany.

"The medicine is in the black box!" came Li De'an's urgent reminder from outside.

Chu Nianci bent down to take the black box, but her gaze involuntarily fell on the mahogany box.

She leaned closer and took a gentle sniff, and was immediately startled... Even through the wooden box, she could still smell a trace of the Illusion Flower.

Master Sun Zhenren repeatedly warned that this was a forbidden drug and should never be touched, as it would cause people to fall into a state of lustful illusion and damage their very essence.

Just from that one sniff, her heart began to race. She immediately dared not touch it again and quickly retreated with the black box in her hand.

Unaware of her panic, Li De'an opened the black box, took out a pill, put it into Duanmu Qingyu's mouth, and then slowly swallowed it with the warm water handed to her by Chu Nianci.

But after a dozen or so breaths, the emperor's eyes remained closed, showing no sign of waking up.

"How could it be useless..." Li De'an's voice trembled as he abruptly turned to the stunned palace maid beside him and said, "Quickly, go and fetch Physician Zhang!"

"Remember to bring him here quietly, without alerting anyone else," he added in a low voice.

The young palace maid then woke up with a start, nodded repeatedly, and ran away in a panic with trembling hands.

Chu Nianci secretly breathed a sigh of relief... It seemed that Li De'an genuinely protected the emperor while also considering the palace servants in the hall, and did not intend to escalate the matter.

Otherwise, once the news gets out, even if the emperor wakes up afterward, those who were present will still be held accountable.

Soon after, Physician Zhang was quietly led in.

At this moment, Duanmu Qingyu had been moved to the couch, his face pale, silent like a jade ice sculpture.

Li De'an waved away the terrified palace maid: "Go and guard the door. Don't let anyone in without my permission."

The young palace maid responded and stood trembling at the door.

Physician Zhang stepped forward to take the pulse, but his brows furrowed more and more, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"How is His Majesty?" Li De'an leaned down to look at the still unconscious emperor, his voice filled with anxiety.

"Your Majesty's tuberculosis is an old ailment, but it has not recurred for a long time. This relapse is severe, and the pulse is very dangerous. It is really not optimistic." Imperial Physician Zhang raised his hand to wipe the fine sweat seeping from his forehead.

"The situation had stabilized a few days ago, how could it suddenly deteriorate to this extent?" Li De'an asked hurriedly.

Imperial Physician Zhang glanced back at the imperial bed and lowered his voice: "This illness is half physical and half emotional. His Majesty was very agitated just now, and the anger overwhelmed him, which caused the sudden attack."

Li De'an's face darkened... The emperor was indeed furious just now, and even smashed a teacup.

He hurriedly asked, "So what should we do now?"

"Perhaps we could try acupuncture at the Tianjue acupoint to forcibly awaken His Majesty; he might be able to revive."

"Didn't you say before that this disease should be treated slowly and that strong acupuncture should be avoided the most?" Li De'an hesitated.

Physician Zhang was speechless for a moment.

He couldn't afford the risk, and after a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, "If we don't know the exact cause of the illness and can't perform acupuncture... then we can only report to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager."

Although she had expected it, Chu Nianci's heart skipped a beat when she heard these words.

The emperor's sudden illness was no ordinary cold; if it reached the empress's ears, she would surely investigate it thoroughly.

At that time, the entire palace will be implicated, and I myself will probably not be able to escape the consequences either.

She had just secretly taken his pulse and confirmed that it was indeed a sign of tuberculosis. However, tuberculosis is a chronic disease, and there should be a high fever before it flares up. Logically, it shouldn't have started so suddenly.

Even if one is extremely angry, one should not faint immediately; instead, one should cough, wheeze, and produce phlegm.

The only explanation is that the emperor had just taken something that would exacerbate his illness.

There is no turning back now... If we don't take the risk, the outcome of this situation may be uncertain.

"Imperial Physician Zhang," Chu Nianci whispered, "His Majesty was perfectly fine before. Even if he was exhausted and upset, he shouldn't have suddenly fainted. Could it be... that he used something he shouldn't have, which might have harmed his health?"

"Obstruction?" Imperial Physician Zhang glanced at her, stroking his long beard. "If His Majesty has dietary restrictions, then of course this will happen."

The old imperial physician remembered that this stunningly beautiful young woman had just helped Consort Shu with acupuncture in the Empress's palace. She seemed to be quite knowledgeable in medicine, and her suggestions were reasonable.

"This..." Li De'an frowned, "Dinner was prepared under Jingxi's supervision, there will be absolutely no problem."

Jingxi had taken care of the emperor since childhood and was well aware of his dietary restrictions. Every imperial meal was supervised and never went wrong.

"His Majesty had just eaten osmanthus lotus root starch cake before he fainted," Chu Nianci reminded him.

The young palace maid on night duty was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud: "This servant would never dare to poison anything! There was absolutely nothing foreign in those pastries!"

"It didn't say it was poison," Chu Nianci walked to the table and brought over the plate of cakes. "I'm afraid there might be something in it that clashes with His Majesty's illness. Don't panic, think about it slowly."

"It's all...it's all made by the imperial kitchen, just ordinary osmanthus, lotus root starch, and flour..." To prove her innocence, the young palace maid even picked up a crumb from the ground and put it in her mouth. "See, it's really non-toxic!"

Li De'an also said, "There should be nothing forbidden here."

Physician Zhang frowned, took out a gold needle from his needle pouch, and carefully poked at the remaining cake: "What ingredients were used in this dessert?"

"If we want to find out the truth, we'll have to summon the Imperial Kitchen staff for questioning," Physician Zhang said thoughtfully.

In this way, the news will surely spread and everyone in the palace will know.

No, we mustn't disturb so many people.

"Imperial Physician Zhang," Chu Nianci bowed and said, "I may have a way."

She turned to Li De'an, who was standing to the side, and said, "Please send someone to quietly invite my maid, Tuanyuan, here."

Li De'an glanced at her, asked no further questions, and turned to leave quickly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Tuanyuan walked in with her little face down, rubbing her eyes with both hands, as if she had just woken up. Her chubby, round little face still looked a little confused.

Upon entering the hall and seeing this situation, he was so frightened that he shrank behind Chu Nianci.

"Reunion, don't be afraid," Chu Nianci picked up a piece of sweet cake and handed it to her. "Try it, what ingredients are used in it?"

She was well aware of her maid's abilities...

Although this girl was destined to be a maid, she possessed the tongue of an emperor, able to discern the ingredients of any food she ate.

"There's lotus root starch, osmanthus sugar, wheat flour, taro starch, glutinous rice flour..." Tuanyuan said, savoring the food while looking at everyone with a puzzled expression. Finally, she slowly added, "And a little bit of... crab roe."

"Crab roe!" Li De'an's expression changed drastically. "His Majesty has been averse to seafood since childhood. How could this have ended up in the imperial cuisine!"

Once the root cause is found, things become much easier.

"I clearly instructed His Majesty that he must not touch seafood!" Li De'an grabbed the young palace maid and said, "Didn't you explain these things to the Imperial Kitchen?"

"This servant has just entered the palace and doesn't know these things..." The little palace maid was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Nonsense! Every palace servant who enters the Hall of Mental Cultivation receives a list of prohibited items. How could you not know that? You clearly overlooked it." Li De'an said, ordering Jingxi, who was standing at the door, to drag her away for questioning.

The palace maid cried out her innocence repeatedly, but her voice faded into the distance.

Although Chu Nianci felt a pang of reluctance, there was nothing she could do.

In the depths of the palace, even carelessness often comes at a price.

Having determined the cause of the illness, Physician Zhang quickly located the acupuncture points and began to administer the needles.

In just over ten breaths, Chu Nianci suddenly saw Duanmu Qingyu's jade-like right hand, which was resting on the edge of the bed, move slightly.

She immediately knelt down in front of his bed.

Li De'an noticed it too and quickly went over.

Although the emperor's face was still pale, his eyelids were already trembling slightly.

A moment later, Duanmu Qingyu weakly opened his eyes and looked at Li De'an and Chu Nianci: "What... what's wrong with me?"

"We were negligent and allowed Your Majesty to accidentally ingest seafood in your meal, which is why you fainted. It is our fault," Li De'an said, then knelt down and recounted what had just happened.

Everyone else also bent down.

Duanmu Qingyu's cold and sharp eyes suddenly darkened, and he remained silent for a moment, as if he were thinking.

Then he waved his hand, signaling Physician Zhang and Tuanyuan to leave.

After Physician Zhang kowtowed, he slowly withdrew, and Tuanyuan followed suit.

In the vast and magnificent hall, only Chu Nianci and Li De'an remained.

The copper water clock on the side was dripping.

"Your Majesty is unwell, so perhaps we shouldn't choose a concubine tonight?" Li De'an asked in a low voice, while also explaining the matter of the crab roe in detail.

Soon Jingxi also came in to report, and he whispered a few words in the emperor's ear.

Chu Nianci was kneeling far away and couldn't hear anything at all.

After a long while, Duanmu Qingyu finally let out a slow sigh, glanced at the tea set, and seemed to want to drink some water.

Chu Nianci quickly poured a cup of tea and served it to him.

"How could there be crab roe in the food?" Duanmu Qingyu's senses returned, his eyes sharpening as he asked, "Who would plot against me?"

I recall that some time ago, when the Empress had an audience with the Emperor, she wanted someone to explore her anus.

Chu Nianci pursed her lips, kowtowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that whoever benefits the most is the one who should receive the most benefits."

Now that Consort Shu is unable to serve the Emperor, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and the Grand Commandant's mansion are locked in a stalemate.

The emperor would inevitably choose a third party to achieve the goal of balancing the court.

The best candidate would be the Empress, but the Empress would need a formal title to enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The fact that the emperor came to serve him when he was ill was the best cover-up.

Duanmu Qingyu's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a calm and clear voice, "I have caught a cold and summoned the Empress to attend to me."

Chu Nianci's heart skipped a beat.

As expected, His Majesty thought the same thing.

I suspect the Queen was behind the crab roe delicacy!

A chill ran down her spine. The Empress had put crab roe in the osmanthus lotus root starch cake. She had only suspected it, but His Majesty's actions were certainly not just suspicion; he must have solid evidence.

The Empress was indeed meticulous.

Unfortunately, no matter how meticulous she was, she underestimated the young emperor.

The young emperor was able to secure his throne within three years; his insight had reached the point of being all-seeing.

Moreover, the emperor, knowing full well who the instigator was, remained silent.

By having the Empress enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation under the pretext of attending to the sick, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was appeased, the Grand Commandant's arrogance was suppressed, and the criticism from Consort Shu's side was redirected back to the Empress.

Three birds with one stone.

Chu Nianci recalled the fragrance of the Illusionary Flower that she had smelled by the mahogany box earlier, and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

After taking this medicine, without actually consummating the marriage, one will have images of sexual intercourse with a man appearing in their mind.

The most interesting thing is that when they wake up in the morning, because they were in a daze and acted roughly, they often still have scratch marks on their bodies.

This makes people even more convinced.

The Empress would not allow anyone else to serve her in bed first, so she had Consort Qiao plot against Consort Shu, and even tricked the Emperor into putting crab roe in his food.

The Empress was so scheming, but little did she know that His Majesty had already prepared the Illusion Flower.

The so-called enjoyment of rain and dew is nothing but an illusion.