The room fell utterly silent.
Shen Nian was the first to react. He looked toward the Emperor.
Qi Junmu gazed at A Duo, her face covered in blood, dead in a manner both tragic and fierce. His expression was calm. Shen Nian's lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
After a long moment, the Emperor spoke: "Bury her."
Leaving the western side chamber, Qi Junmu walked slowly, with Shen Nian half a step behind him.
When they reached the front hall, Qi Junmu casually found a step and sat down. Shen Nian sat beside him. He had not anticipated the assassin matter, much less that there was still an assassin hidden by Qi Junzhuo's side.
Even so, Shen Nian spoke up, "Your Majesty, she was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between you and Prince Jin."
Qi Junmu grunted in acknowledgement. "Putting aside Ah Zhuo for now," he said, "how much of what she said do you think was true?"
Shen Nian answered without hesitation: "Not a shred."
Qi Junmu turned to look at him.
Shen Nian said: "She said those things deliberately, hoping to turn brothers against each other. I have seen many like her. To me, her words are full of holes. She had no will to live; her only purpose was to speak those words before Your Majesty, plant a thorn in Your Majesty's heart, and make Your Majesty and your brothers tear each other apart."
"All can plainly see how Your Majesty and Prince Jin regard one another. As for the assassin, I believe Prince Jin has his reasons—reasons he cannot yet speak aloud." For a moment, Shen Nian did not even notice he had forgotten to call himself "this humble subject."
Qi Junmu noticed but did not dwell on it at the moment. He gave an "oh" and said: "That makes sense."
Shen Nian said this because he did not want the Emperor to casually suspect his brothers. But Qi Junmu had lived one life before.
There were several things he had always wanted to clarify.
In his previous life, why had Qi Junzhuo disappeared at the West Frontier? Had he left willingly or been forced? And whose child had Wen Wan been carrying? Had his brothers truly given up all ambition for the throne?
A Duo's words might have contained elements meant to mislead him, and there was certainly deliberate intent, but there had to be something else as well. He needed to sit quietly and carefully sift through A Duo's testimony to see if anything had slipped past his notice.
Fortunately, Qi Junmu was not one to obsess over a single point. If these matters could not be uncovered right away, that was all right—he would slowly get to the bottom of them.
With that thought, he rose and said: "It is getting late. Let us return to the palace."
He had been out of the palace for over one shichen now. If he delayed any longer, Ruan Jiqing would likely be in tears.
Shen Nian saw how quickly the Emperor's spirits had recovered, yet he still felt a flicker of worry.
The first time he had seen death, he had not slept well for days. Later, it took Shen Yi dragging him directly onto the battlefield, where the bloody scenes forced him to fight for his life, and after that, he feared nothing.
Then Shen Nian found his own thought somewhat ridiculous. Qi Junmu was born in the imperial palace—and that was a place where people tore each other apart to survive.
Not long after returning to the capital, he had even heard someone say the Emperor had beaten a eunuch to death, and that the Emperor had watched the living man be slowly beaten to pulp before his eyes.
Qi Junmu stood and saw Shen Nian still lost in thought. He reached out and pulled him along. "Let's go."
Shen Nian quickly rose and left the small courtyard.
He knew well that after they departed, the imperial guards would clean the courtyard thoroughly, leaving no trace behind.
When they returned to the palace, they were met by Ruan Jiqing's tearful, grief-stricken face.
Qi Junmu gave him a kick, which stopped his crying at once.
Shen Nian had been about to take up his duty when he was told that the Shen family had sent word: Old Madam Shen had suffered a stroke, and Imperial Physician Wang had already been summoned to examine her.
Upon hearing this, Qi Junmu said to Ruan Jiqing: "Go to the Imperial Hospital and have Bai Feng go with Marquis Zhenbei."
Ruan Jiqing forgot his reddened eyes and scurried off to the Imperial Hospital.
Qi Junmu looked at Shen Nian and said: "Bai Feng is a highly skilled physician. Do not worry too much."
Shen Nian glanced at him and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
He did feel some affection for Old Madam Shen—but only a sliver more than he felt for Wen shi.
Old Madam Shen had never had him in her eyes, and he had no desire to force his way into her heart.
They were barely more than strangers to each other. So when he heard she had suffered a stroke, Shen Nian felt a moment of surprise and a faint flicker of concern—but if anyone asked whether he was truly frightened or deeply upset, the answer was no.
After Bai Feng arrived, Shen Nian left the palace with him.
When they reached the Shen residence, the maids and servants were still going about their duties. There was some fluster, but they remained passably composed.
When Shen Nian brought Bai Feng to the Old Madam's courtyard, Wen shi and Shen Qing were both already there.
Shen Qing knelt on the ground, his face numb and his eyes red and swollen, as if he had wept until he had no strength left.
Wen shi was dabbing the corners of her eyes, but compared to the others, she didn’t look all that heartbroken.
Hearing that Bai Feng was an imperial physician, Wen shi hurriedly said: "So you are an imperial physician! Please, take a look at the Old Madam at once."
Old Madam Shen could not move her hands or feet. She lay with her eyes wide open, glaring at Wen shi with undisguised hatred.
When she saw Shen Nian, tears filled her eyes and she made sounds from her throat, as though she had suffered some great injustice.
Shen Nian frowned at the sight. Wen shi gritted her teeth, gave him a guilty glance, and said: "This is all my fault. Last night, the Old Madam was already feeling unwell, but I thought it was nothing and did not take it seriously. Who knew it would turn into this today? It was your second brother who reminded me—I realized that our family's status is no longer what it used to be, and now we are qualified to summon an imperial physician."
When Old Madam Shen heard this, her tears fell even harder, and her hatred for Wen shi deepened.
In the end, she fixed her faint, hopeful gaze on Bai Feng, her eyes carrying a plea she could not bring herself to speak aloud.
Bai Feng was the physician who attended the Emperor and the Empress Dowager; the only reason he was seeing Old Madam Shen was because the Emperor himself had given the order.
He took her pulse with great care, then glanced at Shen Nian.
That one look told Shen Nian the outcome was not good. Wen shi stepped forward and asked, "Physician, how is she?"
Bai Feng replied gently, "The old madam's attack came on too suddenly, and treatment began a little late. For now, she can only be nursed back slowly. I will write a prescription shortly; after taking it for a while, she should improve somewhat."
"Will she be able to return to how she was before?" Wen shi asked.
Bai Feng smiled and said, "Perhaps."
Wen shi let out a breath of relief. "Then we are grateful for your trouble, Physician."
Shen Qing suddenly scrambled up from the ground and walked over to Shen Nian. Wen shi immediately grabbed his sleeve and demanded, "What are you doing?"
She looked as if she was shielding Shen Qing from harm.
Shen Qing flinched, instinctively afraid of Shen Nian.
He pulled free from Wen shi's grip, shifted his gaze from Shen Nian to Bai Feng, and said in a hoarse voice, "My lord, I beg you to save my grandmother. Tell me how to prepare the medicine—I will brew it for her myself."
Bai Feng nodded and went out to write the prescription.
Shen Nian took the prescription in hand and said, "Lord Bai, let me see you out."
Bai Feng acknowledged with a smile.
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