After hearing the imperial physician’s words, Pei Lian nodded and instructed, “Follow Physician Liang’s orders and go get the medicine.”
“Hurry.”
Following Pei Lian’s command, Qingxue and Qingyu hurriedly took the prescription and left Lanxin Pavilion.
Shen Zhi’s body temperature still hadn’t gone down; Pei Lian reached out to touch her forehead, and it was still scalding to the touch.
“Physician Liang, what must be done for her to lower her fever?”
Upon hearing this, Physician Liang bowed to Pei Lian and said, “Your Highness, you may have the maidservants dampen towels with cold water and wipe Consort Shen’s body repeatedly.”
“At the same time, keep the room ventilated, but ensure Consort Shen is not directly in a draft.”
“Remove excess clothing and cover her with a few more blankets to help her sweat; this will help reduce Consort Shen’s body temperature.”
After listening to Physician Liang’s advice, Pei Lian took a deep breath and said to Suwen and Nanny Zhao, who were waiting to the side, “What are you waiting for? Follow Physician Liang’s instructions.”
“Yes!”
The two of them immediately began to bustle about; some went to open the windows, while others went to fetch blankets.
Pei Lian took a towel, soaked it in the basin, and slowly wrung it out. He then took Shen Zhi’s hand and began to wipe her arms.
The usually noble Crown Prince was actually personally taking care of a woman.
Everyone watching this scene felt a sense of shock.
Is the Prince being too good to her?
He was even putting aside his status to look after her.
Pei Lian lowered his eyes, watching how her fair skin had turned pinkish from the high fever. Shen Zhi’s beautiful eyebrows were tightly knitted; it was evident she was in great pain.
Because of Shen Zhi’s high fever, Lanxin Pavilion remained brightly lit and busy until late into the night before things finally quieted down.
Shen Zhi’s temperature slowly began to drop. When Pei Lian felt her forehead and realized it had cooled down significantly, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
This woman was saved.
She wouldn’t die.
The next day, Shen Zhi groggily opened her eyes. The sky outside was already fully bright.
Her whole body felt incredibly sore and weak, and her head felt heavy.
Everything felt weighed down; she felt as if a large rock were pressing on her, making it difficult for Shen Zhi to catch her breath.
Looking up slightly, she realized it was Suwen, who had fallen asleep at the bedside with one hand resting on her.
The dark circles under her eyes were very prominent; it was clear she hadn’t slept well the night before.
Shen Zhi moved slightly, wanting to sit up, but her movement immediately startled Suwen.
“My Lady, are you awake?” Suwen sat up straight immediately, and upon seeing that Shen Zhi was awake, her eyes widened.
“Does your body feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Suwen stood up and asked anxiously.
“Are you in pain? Are you hungry?”
Seeing her anxious demeanor, Shen Zhi waved her hand. “I am fine.”
But as she spoke, her throat turned out to be hoarse.
Her usually crisp and pleasant voice had turned into something raspy and grating at this moment.
It sounded terrible.
Shen Zhi immediately reached up to cover her throat, her eyes widening slightly as a look of disbelief appeared on her face.
How had her voice become like this!
It sounded so ugly.
“My Lady, your voice…” Suwen was also shocked, not expecting Shen Zhi’s voice to have changed like this.
It was coarse and rugged, sounding very much like a man’s voice.
“Heh…” Shen Zhi was at a loss; she hadn’t expected a fever to turn her into this.
After Shen Zhi finished a bowl of rice porridge, Qingxue appeared before her with a bowl of pitch-black medicine that emitted a bitter scent. “My Lady, please drink your medicine.”
Looking at the medicine in front of her, Shen Zhi pursed her lips slightly and closed her eyes.
“How about I don’t drink it?” Shen Zhi asked, refusing.
“That won’t do. His Highness specifically instructed me to keep a close eye on you to ensure you drink it,” Qingxue said, looking at her with a stern expression.
Shen Zhi pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a bit distressed. Good medicine tastes bitter, but it is beneficial for the sickness.
Drink it!
Once she drank it, her body would get better.
Shen Zhi consoled herself, reached out with her slender hand, opened her mouth, and downed it in one go.
“Sugar—give me sugar! I want sugar!” After finishing it, Shen Zhi could no longer hold back; she placed the bowl on the tray, searched around for the sweets, and called out.
Suwen quickly brought over a box of candied fruits and opened it for her. “My Lady, please eat!”
After eating two candied fruits to suppress the bitterness, Shen Zhi leaned back against the pillows.
“Alright, you two go on ahead. I’ve recovered enough; go get some rest,” Shen Zhi said, waving her hand at them, her voice weak and listless.
“Yes.”
Shen Zhi lay in bed reading a storybook. She didn’t have much, but she had plenty of these stories.
“Tsk, it’s another story about a scholar and a rich girl; this is so boring,” Shen Zhi remarked, flipping a page.
Most of the stories she had asked Suwen to buy were about poor scholars and wealthy daughters.
There was even one about a courtesan who worked to earn money so her poor scholar lover could go to the capital for the imperial examinations.
In the end, after the scholar gained high honors, he returned to the town to marry her in grand fashion.
It was written beautifully, but Shen Zhi, who knew the base nature of men, felt nothing but disdain.
Isn’t this just tricking those naive, sheltered young ladies?
Shen Zhi was so immersed in the storybook that she didn’t even notice someone had entered the room.
Pei Lian stood by the bed watching her, but Shen Zhi’s gaze remained fixed on the book.
She read very quickly, scanning through lines with just a glance before jumping to the next.
A page only took her about six finger-snaps of time to read.
“Do you know what it’s talking about?” Pei Lian asked slowly.
The sudden male voice startled Shen Zhi so much that the book in her hands dropped.
“Ahhh—”
After seeing who it was, Shen Zhi gave him a resentful look with her almond-shaped eyes, but given his noble status, she could only endure it.
“Your Highness, when did you arrive?”
“I have been here for a while; you were just too engrossed in your reading.”
Pei Lian picked up the fallen book, took a look at the title, and his lips couldn’t help but twitch slightly.
The Poor Scholar and the Noble Daughter
It was this kind of storybook again. Did she like reading them that much?
“You… like reading these kinds of stories very much?” Pei Lian handed the book back, frowning slightly as he asked.
The classics for women, poetry anthologies, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—she didn’t learn them and didn’t read them.
She insisted on reading these unrefined storybooks.
“I do.”
They were a great way to pass the time; how could she not like them?
However, after reading them for a while, she found them unoriginal and dull.
As a modern person, the novels she had read covered all sorts of genres; the ones here were too simple and lacked excitement!
While the two were talking, Yuan Qing’s voice came from outside.
“Consort Liu, you cannot go in.”
“Why can’t this consort enter? This consort is here to visit Consort Shen,” Liu Yan said to Yuan Qing standing at the door, questioning him with an ugly expression.
That bitch really had good tactics, using this method to seduce the Crown Prince.