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

Duanmu Qingyu's gaze slowly swept over the three people beside the bed, his voice slightly hoarse: "...It seems my days are numbered."

"Your Majesty, you are blessed with good fortune, nothing bad will happen to you." Jingxi rushed forward, her voice choked with sobs.

Duanmu Qingyu's lips curved weakly, his gaze lingering on Li De'an and Jingxi's faces before finally settling on Chu Nianci: "Did you... carry me back?"

"I can't carry it; it's Jingxi and the others who have arrived," Chu Nianci replied softly.

Duanmu Qingyu nodded slightly.

Li De'an hurriedly stepped forward: "How does Your Majesty feel right now?"

"I'm having trouble breathing..." He coughed again before he could finish speaking.

The others quickly stepped back a little, but Chu Nianci remained kneeling in front of the bed without moving.

She rubbed her eyes hard, making them red and swollen, and squeezed out a tear. Her voice, trembling like a baby swallow's cry, rang out: "Your Majesty, how are you feeling? Please don't frighten me, I can't live without you..."

Duanmu Qingyu seemed about to laugh, but coughed out. After a short pause, a layer of cold sweat covered his almost jade-colored forehead.

Chu Nianci used a handkerchief to wipe his face, saying softly as she did so, "Your Majesty, I just performed acupuncture on you, but there isn't enough medicine here, so I'm truly unable to continue..."

Li De'an's expression was solemn. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we still need to summon Physician Zhang. Although the palace gates are locked, we can still summon him to the palace if we use the gold token."

Duanmu Qingyu's pale lips moved slightly, and he weakly shook his head: "No... Using the gold medal will surely alarm the Empress Dowager and the Empress. I cannot trouble my mother, nor do I want the Empress to worry."

This is because they didn't want to alert the two of them.

It seems His Majesty still doesn't trust them.

Jingxi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, if you issue a decree, this servant will immediately rush to the palace to fetch someone!"

Duanmu Qingyu shook his head again: "The Inner Guards are my men, so I can be lenient with them. But the outermost guards are all under the Empress Dowager's jurisdiction. I am already so ill. If you continue to use your power to offend people, wouldn't that just make matters worse?"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I do not want to disturb the six palaces and cause a commotion in the court... We can summon Lin Jingrui, the Imperial Physician. He is the Empress's brother-in-law and has the authority to summon people at night. Perhaps he can quietly bring Imperial Physician Zhang in."

At this point, he suddenly glanced at Chu Nianci.

His eyes were deep and sharp.

Then he clutched his chest, his face and neck turning almost translucent white, like a jade sculpture about to lose its temperature. He turned to the side and coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body went limp, and he fainted again.

Li De'an was so frightened he almost fainted, and quickly gestured for Chu Nianci to step forward.

She took his pulse for a moment and said in a low voice, "It's nothing serious. This is just a case of internal heat and blood stasis. Vomiting it out will actually help. The most important thing right now is to immediately invite Imperial Physician Lin over and have him secretly bring Physician Zhang into the palace."

When Chu Nianci heard Lin Jingrui's name, her heart skipped a beat.

Although she was extremely unwilling to have any further involvement with this person, the situation was critical, and she could no longer avoid suspicion.

Li De'an winked at Jingxi, who wiped away her tears and hurriedly left.

About two incense sticks later, Jingxi hurriedly entered the hall with one other person.

The man was dressed in a deep blue official robe, with brocade and jade belt. He had handsome features and was none other than Lin Jingrui. It had been more than a month since I last saw him. He had become much thinner, with faint dark circles under his eyes and a deep cloud of worry between his brows. He looked like he was burdened with many things on his mind.

Chu Nianci immediately turned her face away.

Li De'an stepped forward and said, "Prefect Lin, please allow me a moment to speak."

As Lin Jingrui entered the hall, his gaze immediately fell upon that familiar slender figure…

She was kneeling beside the dragon bed, her profile graceful and her features exquisite and beautiful, making it impossible for him to look away, yet she didn't even glance at him.

Upon hearing Li De'an's words, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He finally withdrew his gaze and silently followed him toward the side hall.

Chu Nianci stared blankly at Duanmu Qingyu, who seemed to be collapsing like a jade mountain, unaware of how the conversation was going next door.

After a long while, the door finally opened with a creak.

Li De'an came out with a strange expression and said in a low voice, "Young Master Hui, Imperial Physician Lin has something to say to you. Please go in. This old servant will stay here and watch over His Majesty."

He just gave a brief overview of tonight's events and hopes that Imperial Physician Zhang can be summoned by Imperial Physician Lin.

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Physician Lin did not say whether he would help or not, but instead requested to meet with Consort Hui.

Li De'an knew that Consort Hui and Imperial Physician Lin had almost gotten married.

Since Consort Hui is now His Majesty's woman, and Lin Jingrui is an outsider, it is in principle that the two should not meet again.

His request seemed inappropriate by any measure, but for His Majesty's sake, he agreed to it nonetheless.

Anyway, since it's in the side hall and I'm keeping an eye on him, I doubt he'll do anything out of line.

Chu Nianci listened to Li De'an's words.

She was slightly taken aback... Why was Lin Jingrui looking for her at this time?

Seeing Li De'an's solemn expression, she didn't ask any more questions, but simply straightened her skirt and stood up.

At this moment, Lin Jingrui stood in the side hall, his gaze fixed intently on the begonia wood carving on the window lattice...

A sinister sneer appeared on his slightly tired, handsome face.

Finally, my chance has come.

He had the chance to win her back.

Gazing at the flickering candlelight, his thoughts suddenly drifted back to the days after Chu Nianci left.

He's a complete joke.

Chu Nian's departure from the wedding hall and his entry into the palace made him a laughing stock in the capital. The noble families didn't say anything to his face, but he knew that everyone was laughing at him behind his back for having his fiancée taken away by His Majesty.

Even in the hospital, he felt that everyone looked at him with mockery in their eyes.

He could only grit his teeth and bear it, pretending not to notice.

Fortunately, the hospital is especially busy at the end of the year, so I went straight to sleep when I got back to Wei Rui Xuan that night, which helped me forget about all of this.

That's why he didn't even notice Chu Shunqing's face.

Later, I overheard the servants gossiping behind my back.

He then noticed that Chu Shunqing wore a veil all day, even during sex, and at first he thought it was just a little romance between husband and wife...

Only after inquiring did I learn that she had almost caused a disaster by misdiagnosing Consort Bai. She was slapped by Consort Shu, and her face was so swollen that she had to cover it with a veil.

That night he went to question her, but she gave him a sour look and made sarcastic remarks... He really couldn't understand how someone who was so intelligent in Nanzhao could have such poor medical skills.

When asked too many questions, Chu Shunqing started crying and making a scene. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he used the excuse of taking care of his sick mother and stayed in the study.

Chu Shunqing simply stopped caring about family matters altogether.

Lady Xie had no choice but to force herself to stay healthy and use the silver bestowed upon her by the Empress to put Steward Hu in charge of all affairs, which was the only way she could manage the situation.

This strained her health, and Xie's condition worsened. She consulted several itinerant doctors, but their treatments only provided temporary relief.

I thought Chu Shunqing would have a few days of peace, but she was depressed for two days. Before her face had even recovered from the swelling, she cheered up and went to the palace to complain to the Empress about the humiliation she suffered at the hands of Consort Shu. She even managed to persuade the Empress to let her take charge of conditioning the body of the emperor and preparing for the heir.

Upon returning, she excitedly ran over and clung to him, saying, "Jingrui, the Empress is going to give me an important position. Once I help her conceive a legitimate son, we'll definitely enjoy all the honors and privileges in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jingrui frowned, unsure whether he should believe her.

But considering that she was better than a midwife and that her sister would need her in the future, she just nodded coldly.

"Jingrui," Chu Shunqing stared at his cold face, then suddenly raised an eyebrow, "Are you regretting it?"

"Regret what?" Lin Jingrui glanced at her sideways.

"You regret marrying me."

"No," he said calmly.

Chu Shunqing hugged him from behind, her eyes red and her voice choked with sobs: "My sister has always been superior to me since we were little because of her good family background. Her master is a famous teacher, and no matter what happens, her uncle protects her. Now that she sees that I have become an imperial physician, she is jealous of me. She gave up being the principal wife and insisted on entering the palace, just to make trouble for the Empress and me, and to make you regret it... You must not do as she wishes and fall into her evil scheme."

Lin Jingrui really wanted to shout something at her face.

Isn't all of this something you earned through your hard work?

But looking at her scabbed face, he swallowed his anger, planning to settle accounts with her later when his sister no longer needed her.

Looking at her heavily made-up face, I felt a chill and gloom in my heart.

I remember the day Chu Nianci left, I said some harsh words to her, telling her not to regret it.

I remember saying to myself, "You'll regret this," and now, looking back, I regret it so much I almost want to strangle myself, and strangle Chu Shunqing...

Just then, I heard the hinges of the door behind me click...

The candlelight flickered in the wind, and Chu Nianci stepped in with light, graceful steps. The flickering candlelight illuminated her still beautiful face.

He just stared at her like that.

I remember when we first met, she was standing under the crabapple tree, petals fluttering down on her. She gently raised her head, her shy and bashful appearance more beautiful than the flowers. At that moment, her bright eyes illuminated the entire sky.

Suddenly, the regret and annoyance that had been weighing on my heart for so long surged up, making my throat tight.

The inexplicable emotion in my heart clearly transformed into longing.

"What do you want?" Chu Nianci asked calmly, still not seeing him.

Lin Jingrui's Adam's apple bobbed, as if he wanted to say, "Can't we really go back to the past?"

But what came out of her mouth was: "Nianci, you must be having a hard time too?"

He took a sudden step forward, grasped her hand, and whispered in a low, hoarse voice, "His Majesty's fate is uncertain this time. If he dies prematurely, everyone around him will be forced to commit suicide. Nianci... I'll take you out of the palace. You should hide in a secluded place first. Once things have calmed down, I'll bring you back. I swear, the position of your principal wife will still be yours. If you don't like Shunqing, I'll send her to a nunnery and never see her again. Okay? Come with me..."