571 The Prince Consort’s Probe, He’s Cong’er
When the Queen brought the book back to the room, the medicine bowl was already empty. The Prince Consort was carefully wiping the corners of his lips with a handkerchief.
The Queen smiled gently and walked forward. “It’s so late. Why don’t you read tomorrow?”
The Prince Consort put down his handkerchief that was stained with medicinal juice. “Wouldn’t that be a wasted trip for you?”
“So what?” The Queen sat down beside the Prince Consort and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. “It should be cool in October in the past, but it seems to be especially hot this year.”
“It’s alright,” the Prince Consort said.
The Queen had interacted with him for many years, so how could she not see his abnormality? She put down her handkerchief and looked at him deeply. “Is there something on your mind?”
The Prince Consort hesitated for a while and said, “It’s not a worry. I’m just thinking about what I was like in the past.”
The Queen smiled sweetly and said, “You’re the same as always. In my heart, be it the you from twenty years ago or the current you, you will always be you.”
“How… did we meet? Can you tell me again?” The Prince Consort asked.
The Prince Consort would ask her this question every time he lost his memory. The Queen was used to it and said patiently, “Twenty years ago, you came to Nanzhao with your clansmen. I saw you at the banquet. Not long after, I followed the envoy to your clan. This time, I really spoke to you.”
The Prince Consort lowered his eyes. “I don’t remember.” These things sounded like other people’s stories, but his heart did not waver. This was not the case when he saw Yan Jiuchao.
The Queen patted his hand. “It was many years ago.”
“Rest early.” The Prince Consort retracted his hand and stood up to go to the inner room.
The Queen was slightly stunned by this sudden coldness. She looked at the medicine bowl on the table and did not say anything in the end. She also stood up and entered the room.
The Queen was the Princess of Nanzhao. According to the royal rules, the Prince Consort had his own courtyard. Only when she summoned the Prince Consort to serve her could the Prince Consort enter her courtyard. However, the Queen had never used the royal rules on this man.
Firstly, she had deep feelings for him. Secondly, he was also a member of the royal family. The Queen turned off the lights, lifted the curtain, and lay beside the Prince Consort. The moonlight was dim and the night was quiet and elegant.
The Prince Consort turned his body to the side, facing inwards with his back facing the Queen. The Queen vaguely felt that the two of them were not as close as usual, so she leaned in. Ordinary women might be reserved and couldn’t put down their dignity, but she was the Queen, the future ruler of this world. She would not let herself suffer with worldly standards and rules.
“Prince Consort.” She gently approached him, her tone gentle. “Let’s have another child.”
The Prince Consort did not respond to her. He only said indifferently, “I’m a little tired.”
In the darkness, the Queen’s eyelashes trembled. Her hand paused in midair. After a while, it gently landed. “Alright, rest early. There’s still time.”
The two of them did not say anything that night.
At dawn, the Queen woke up faintly. She did not have to attend court early today, so no servants woke her up. In the past, the Prince Consort would not wake up at this time, but this morning, he was not there.
The Queen touched the cold side of the bed, as if he had been gone for a long time. The Queen frowned and called the maidservant over. “Where’s the Prince Consort?”
The maidservant said, “In the study.”
“When did he wake up?”
“He’s just woken up. Less than an hour.”
The Queen was relieved. She washed up under the service of the maidservant, changed into elegant and unique clothes, and combed her hair into an exquisite bun before turning to the study.
The Prince Consort was reading the “Theory of National Strategies”.
The Queen heaved a sigh of relief. The Prince Consort was a book addict. On days when he did not have to handle state affairs for her, he would always be immersed in the sea of books alone. It was reasonable for him to wake up early to read since he did not do it last night.
However, the Prince Consort’s attitude…
Thinking of the coldness last night, the Queen wondered if she needed to investigate the Prince Consort’s whereabouts.
“You’re here?” The Prince Consort looked up and smiled gently at her. He was wearing a mask, but his eyes were so bright. When he smiled, the entire world seemed to become gentle.
The Queen thought to herself that she was overthinking. The Prince Consort was still her Prince Consort. She was the one who was paranoid.
The Prince Consort put down the book in his hand. “Are you hungry? I’ll get someone to deliver food.”
She smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
Breakfast was ordered by the Prince Consort. There were not many dishes, but they were all exquisite. The Prince Consort picked up a piece of meat shreds that had been poured and placed it in her bowl. “Try it.”
The Queen took a bite.
“How does it taste?” The Prince Consort asked.
The Queen liked it very much and nodded. “The meat is a little strong, but it’s very delicious.”
“Eat more.” The Prince Consort picked up a few more for her.
The Queen’s heart melted from the Prince Consort’s care. She finished the meat on her plate without leaving a single shred. Seeing that the Prince Consort was only concerned about picking up food for her and not eating, she quickly picked up a piece for him.
The Prince Consort said, “I don’t eat snake meat.”
The Queen was stunned. She looked at the half-eaten meat on her plate in disbelief. “You said this is snake-snake meat?”
The Prince Consort said, “Yes, I remembered that you liked it, so I asked the kitchen to make it.”
“Urgh—” The Queen clutched her chest and retched.
The Prince Consort’s gaze darkened bit by bit. It was not easy to suspect the person beside him, especially since this person was extremely good to him. However, hiding the fact that he had seen Yan Jiuchao, drugged him with the Soul Devouring Grass, and the fact that her faint memories with him were different… All of these made his heart feel like it had stabbed a thorn.
If he remembered wrongly that she liked to eat snake meat, then the first two pieces of evidence were irrefutable. Could she be innocent? Other than her, who could tamper with his medicine? Other than her, who could make the entire Queen Manor hide it from him?
The Prince Consort felt a chill run up his spine! He looked at his wife again and suddenly felt that she was a little unfamiliar. He did not know if it was because he was venting his anger, but when he looked at this manor again, he seemed to feel unfamiliar.
Who exactly was he? Was she his Zijun? Cong’er… Was it his Cong’er?
It was as if an awl had entered the Prince Consort’s head that kept spinning, and it was so painful that his entire face turned pale.
The Queen finally suppressed the churning in her stomach. She did not understand if this morning was a test or a coincidence. She looked at the Prince Consort and saw that his face was pale. Her eyes trembled and she reached out to hold his arm. “Prince Consort, why did you…”
Before she could finish speaking, the Prince Consort instinctively stood up and shook off her arm.
The Prince Consort looked at her with an indescribable unfamiliarity. If one were to distinguish carefully, there seemed to be a trace of coldness in the unfamiliarity.
She was his wife. Why should he be afraid of her?!
The Queen was not stupid after all. Coupled with the abnormality of this person after returning to the manor last night and the bowl of snake meat on the table, she understood everything.
He was testing her! He was fine during the day, but he became suspicious of her after going out. Did he meet someone else? Was it that child?!
The Queen’s nails bit into her flesh bit by bit. She said with tears in her eyes, “Prince Consort… Let me explain… I…”
The Prince Consort spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.
The Queen turned pale. “Prince Consort, Prince Consort, Prince Consort! Someone! Call the imperial physician—”
… .
The entire Queen Manor was in an uproar. Other than the fact that the Prince Consort’s body seemed to be a little sickly in the two years when he first came to the Queen Manor, he had been quite healthy after that. But this morning, he vomited blood and fainted during breakfast—
The imperial physician came quickly. He was even missing one shoe.
The Prince Consort had already been sent back to his room. He entered with the first aid kit. “I’ll…”
The Queen interrupted him coldly. “What are you dawdling for? Quickly treat the Prince Consort! If anything happens to the Prince Consort, I want your entire Imperial Physician Bureau to die with him!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The imperial physician trembled in fear. He didn’t even bother to kowtow and quickly took the Prince Consort’s pulse. “Your Highness, the Prince Consort was furious and his phlegm blocked his breathing. His lungs couldn’t circulate properly, so he vomited blood and fainted.”
“How long will it take to treat it?” The Queen did not ask if it could be treated at all.
The imperial doctor wiped his cold sweat and said, “I-I can’t say.”
The Queen sent a cold gaze over.
The imperial physician hurriedly said, “At the very least, a day, at most three to five days. I will definitely wake the Prince Consort up.”
The Queen said in a deep voice, “He can wake up, but there are some things he doesn’t have to remember.”
The imperial physician said in surprise, “Your Highness!”
“Why? Don’t you understand?” The Queen asked indifferently.
“Your Highness, it’s not good to overdose the Soul Devouring Grass. Otherwise, it will damage his mind,” the imperial doctor said earnestly.
The Queen looked at him coldly. “Is one more bowl too much today?”
The imperial physician paused. “That’s not true.”
The Queen waved her hand impatiently.
The imperial physician left to brew medicine for the Prince Consort. The brewing of the medicine was usually done by the medicine boy, but the Prince Consort of the Queen Manor was noble, so everything had to be done by the imperial physicians themselves.
After the medicine was brewed, while waiting for the medicine to cool down, the imperial physician administered acupuncture to the Prince Consort.
The Prince Consort’s consciousness woke up slightly, but he was powerless. Even his eyelids could only open a narrow gap.
“Prince Consort.” The Queen helped the Prince Consort sit up and let him lean against the head of the bed. She brought over a bowl of medicine and fed him carefully. “After drinking this bowl of medicine, you won’t have any worries.”
“Enough has happened tonight. Let him be alone for now. You both live in the Capital, so there will be plenty of chances in the future. But you… don’t forget him anymore.”
Don’t forget him anymore.
Don’t forget his Cong’er anymore…
The Prince Consort looked at the Queen weakly and used what little strength he had to knock away the medicine bowl in her hand! The medicine bowl fell to the floor with a bang.
The maidservants knelt on the ground.
The Queen looked at the medicine that splashed all over her body, and her gentle expression turned cold bit by bit. “Go get another bowl of medicine!”
“Yes!” A maidservant slipped away and soon brought over a bowl of steaming medicine.
The Prince Consort reached out to knock it over again.
The Queen said seriously, “If you hit it again, I can brew it again. See if you’re stronger or if I have more medicine!”
The Prince Consort looked at the Queen in hatred. The Queen grabbed his chin and poured the medicine into him.
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