inspire-indiana Chapter 191 The Empress Dowager Awakens
Chapter 191 The Empress Dowager Awakens
The Emperor slowly stood up and hurried to the Empress Dowager's bedside. He gazed at his mother's bloodless, pale face, as white as paper, and his heart tightened. His hands clenched into fists uncontrollably, as if he needed to use all his strength to suppress the anger and worry in his heart.
Seeing this, the Empress, who was following closely behind, gently advised, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician just said that the poison that the Empress Dowager suffered from has been cured, and she should wake up soon. I am willing to stay here and wait for the Empress Dowager to wake up, but you bear the heavy responsibility of the world and have many more important matters to attend to."
The Emperor nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the Empress Dowager, who was still fast asleep on the bed. He said in a deep voice, "Very well, I do have important matters to attend to at the moment."
Su Nuannuan, who had been standing to the side, suddenly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said softly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, please forgive my impertinence. The Empress Dowager has just been cured of a deadly poison, and I am worried that someone might take advantage of this to harm His Highness the Crown Prince. In my opinion, it would be better if I stayed here to watch over the Empress Dowager until she wakes up. I hope Your Majesty the Empress can return to Anning Palace as soon as possible to take care of the Crown Prince, just in case."
The Emperor turned to look at Su Nuannuan, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, and said slowly, "Hmm, you are quite thoughtful. In that case, I will trouble you to take care of the Empress Dowager here today. You must stay by her side at all times and inform me as soon as she wakes up."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will do my best to fulfill my duties," Su Nuannuan replied, bowing again.
"Empress, you should return to Anning Palace to look after the Crown Prince, lest someone take advantage of the situation," the Emperor said, turning to the Empress.
The Empress bowed gracefully to the Emperor and replied respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will take good care of the Crown Prince and will not allow any treacherous people to take advantage of the situation."
"You two are very thoughtful. The Empress Dowager's poison has been cured. You should go back and see your children," the Emperor said to Consort Qin and Consort Li.
"Yes," Consort Qin and Consort Li replied respectfully, bowing.
"Consort Zhuang, should I send someone to bring the Fifth Prince and the Little Princess here?" The Empress turned to Su Nuannuan and asked softly as she was about to leave.
Su Nuannuan nodded slightly, her face showing gratitude as she bowed to the Empress in response: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have made proper arrangements for the two children. It is most appropriate for them to stay in Cuiwei Palace at this time. If they were to step out of Cuiwei Palace, it would be truly unpredictable what might happen." After speaking, she bowed gracefully to the Empress again.
Upon hearing this, the Empress nodded slightly in agreement and said with a smile, "Very good. Now that you have made the arrangements, I can return to Anning Palace with peace of mind." After speaking, she moved gracefully and slowly walked out of the palace.
"Your Majesty and Empress, I respectfully see you off." Seeing the Emperor and Empress step out, Su Nuannuan quickly bowed along with Consort Qin and Consort Li.
After the Emperor and Empress left, Consort Qin and Consort Li also bid farewell to Su Nuannuan and returned to their respective palaces.
At this moment, the vast palace was quiet, with only Granny Song standing quietly in front of the bed, her eyes fixed on the Empress Dowager who was still in a coma, patiently waiting for her to wake up.
"Granny Song, please sit down and rest for a while!" Seeing Granny Song standing so straight, Su Nuannuan couldn't help but feel sorry for her and gently persuaded her.
However, Granny Song repeatedly shook her head and declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but this old servant is truly unworthy of it. Your Highness, this old servant needs to go out to handle some matters and will not be able to serve you here for the time being. I hope Your Highness will take good care of the Empress Dowager." After speaking, she bowed deeply to Su Nuannuan once again.
"If you have something to do, please go ahead and do it. I'm here, so there won't be any trouble." Su Nuannuan nodded slightly and waved to Song Mama, signaling her to leave without worry.
Upon hearing this, Granny Song quickly bowed respectfully to Su Nuannuan again, then turned and hurriedly went out to run errands. As for what Granny Song was doing, Su Nuannuan didn't ask a single question.
After all, there are some things that she should know, and she would be told even if she didn't ask; but those things that she shouldn't know, even if she asked, the other party might not be willing to tell her the truth, and even if she reluctantly revealed a little, it would probably just be perfunctory words, and might even complain that she was meddling too much.
Time passed quietly, and after about two hours, the Empress Dowager, who had been in a deep sleep, finally opened her eyes slowly and woke up.
"Your Majesty, you've finally woken up!" Su Nuannuan, who had been waiting by the bedside, was overjoyed to see this and hurriedly stepped forward, saying with delight.
"Sigh... I've caused you all so much worry." The Empress Dowager sighed softly as she slowly sat up with Su Nuannuan's help.
"Your Majesty, please don't say that. How could this be your fault? Who in this world would willingly suffer from illness?" Su Nuannuan quickly adjusted the cushions to a comfortable position so that Her Majesty could lean against them more comfortably, while smiling and speaking softly to comfort Her Majesty.
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager shook her head and said with a solemn expression, "Actually, I know that this time it is not because I am sick, but because I have been poisoned."
"Your Majesty, you know?" Su Nuannuan stared at the Empress Dowager in astonishment, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief. She truly hadn't expected the Empress Dowager to know that she had been poisoned.
The Empress Dowager leaned back on the bed, her face calm and composed, revealing no emotion whatsoever. She gently raised her hand, gesturing for Su Nuannuan to sit down, and then asked in a calm, almost indifferent tone, "Who gets sick with such intense pain that they faint? What exactly did the imperial physicians say?"
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's question, Su Nuannuan's heart involuntarily quickened. She composed herself, took a deep breath, and replied, "Your Majesty, after examining you, Imperial Physician Zhang said that you have been poisoned by a very insidious, slow-acting poison. We don't know what you ingested that caused the poison to suddenly take effect. The poison has now been neutralized, but to be on the safe side, you will need to drink herbal decoctions for a period of time to detoxify and completely remove any remaining toxins from your body."
The Empress Dowager nodded slightly, indicating that she understood. Then, her sharp eyes slowly scanned her surroundings, as if searching for something. After a moment, she suddenly frowned and asked, "Where is Granny Song? Why isn't she here serving us?"
Su Nuannuan quickly and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, Granny Song just said she had something to take care of, but judging by the time, she should be back soon."