When Dongfang Yi woke up the next day, she felt extremely sore all over. When she lifted the quilt and saw her naked body, she blushed with shyness. But the bed beside her was already cold, and a sense of loss welled up in her heart.
Before she could think further, the palace door creaked open. Xiaoxin came in carefully with a basin of water and said, "Your Highness, it's time to wash up."
Then she took out a small bottle from her bosom and said, "This is a new medicine from the Imperial Hospital. I'll change it for you, Your Highness." Xiaoxin said with her head down.
Dongfang Yi was suspicious. Why wasn't the medicine from the Imperial Hospital delivered by Doctor Li? So she asked, "Isn't Doctor Li in charge of my medicine personally?"
"Oh - I met Doctor Li on the way. He asked me to give it to Your Highness," Xiaoxin stammered.
Dongfang Yi narrowed her eyes and stared at Xiaoxin. She felt that Xiaoxin was very suspicious. Not to mention whether Doctor Li would easily give her the medicine for herself, and Xiaoxin had been with her for such a long time that she shouldn't suddenly become so cautious.
"You may step back first. I want to apply the medicine myself," Dongfang Yi ordered.
Xiaoxin hesitated and wanted to say something, but finally didn't dare. She could only silently back out of the palace door.
In the room, Dongfang Yi tightly held the bottle of medicine in her hand. She wondered what was in the bottle. If it was poison, then who had bribed Xiaoxin? Thinking of this, her heart sank, and the face of a woman appeared in her mind.
The next day, Dongfang Yi took Xiaoxin to Concubine Chu's palace. After the last incident, Concubine Chu's attitude had improved a lot on the surface. When she saw Dongfang Yi, she quickly welcomed her out and said, "My dear sister, what wind has blown you here?"
Dongfang Yi didn't respond and strode forward into the inner palace. She sat on the seat belonging to the host.
Seeing Concubine Chu looking a bit embarrassed, but still pretending to smile obsequiously, Dongfang Yi thought it was very ridiculous.
"I heard that sister was injured some time ago. I wonder how the wound... is now?" Concubine Chu asked again, and glanced at Xiaoxin beside Dongfang Yi. Xiaoxin lowered her head even more.
Dongfang Yi just pretended not to see their interaction. She also pretended to be unwell and said, "It was almost healed. But I don't know why recently, the wound has become more and more serious..."
In fact, she had already sent the medicine to the Imperial Hospital and asked Doctor Li to find out its ingredients. She also knew that if the medicine was applied to the wound, it would not only fail to heal the wound but also worsen the injury.
Thinking of this, her heart sank. They were trying to kill her. They even bribed the closest maid beside her.
"The wound has become deeper and deeper. It seems to start from that bottle of medicine. Am I right, Xiaoxin?" Dongfang Yi suddenly turned to Xiaoxin.
Xiaoxin's body stiffened suddenly. She knelt down and said, "I don't know..."
Dongfang Yi leaned down and helped her up, saying, "Why did you kneel down again? I'm not blaming you. How could the medicine prescribed by Doctor Li be wrong?"
After saying that, she stroked her sleeves and prepared to leave. Xiaoxin quickly followed behind and couldn't help but look back at Concubine Chu.
"I feel a bit dizzy. I'm going back to rest," Dongfang Yi said and left Concubine Chu's palace.
After Dongfang Yi left, Concubine Chu sighed. Somehow, she always felt an inexplicable pressure when facing her. She seemed to have changed completely, from being weak and timid to being domineering and even intelligent...
Thinking of this, Concubine Chu shook her head vigorously. She drank a cup of tea to calm her nerves. The hatred in her eyes was obvious to everyone.
"Anyway, she's going to die. So what if she's intelligent? You can take your so - called intelligence to the coffin, Dongfang Yi!"
On the way back, Xiaoxin behind Dongfang Yi still looked submissive.
"Xiaoxin, do you think I'm good to you?" Dongfang Yi asked.
"Your Highness is very kind to Xiaoxin," Xiaoxin replied.
Dongfang Yi rolled her eyes in her heart. She was glad that she had watched hundreds of episodes of palace - intrigue dramas. Otherwise, she would really have died at their hands. Now that she knew their tricks, she had to follow the clues and expose the mastermind.
"That's good. I was afraid I might have treated you badly," Dongfang Yi said with a kind smile that anyone would say was gentle.
Xiaoxin quickly denied it, saying, "No, no, no. Your Highness has treated me extremely well..."
If I'm so good to you, why did you betray me? People's hearts are really hard to fathom.
When they got back to the palace, Dongfang Yi saw Helian Qi in her palace. He was bending over the desk, reviewing official documents.
Since that day, Helian Qi had moved all his official documents to her palace, saying that he wanted to be with her all the time.
Thinking of this, Dongfang Yi's heart skipped a beat. She walked lightly behind him and covered his eyes with both hands, saying, "Guess who I am!"
She could clearly hear the man in front of her chuckle softly. Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air. When she came to her senses, she was already in Helian Qi's arms.
"Is your injury getting better?" he asked softly.
"It's much better. Thanks to Doctor Li's good medicine. But there will surely be a scar," Dongfang Yi said with a disappointed tone.
"It doesn't matter. I'll find the best medicine in the world to treat the scar for you. Even if it can't be cured, I still like you the most," Helian Qi said with a firm look in his eyes.
Dongfang Yi looked at his serious expression and felt her heart flutter. She lowered her head and kissed him.
As their saliva intertwined, Dongfang Yi closed her eyes silently, feeling the warmth from the man in front of her.
Helian Qi's hand gradually slipped into her clothes and stroked her soft breasts. He could clearly feel Dongfang Yi's rapid breathing.
"Xiaodong..." Helian Qi called out in a hoarse voice.
"I want..."
"Um..." Dongfang Yi responded with a soft moan, half - closing her eyes.
The next moment, Helian Qi picked her up and put her on the bed. Then he lowered his head and kissed her tenderly.
The red candles flickered behind the silk curtains, filling the room with an atmosphere of passion.
After making love, Dongfang Yi snuggled tightly against the man's chest and played with his hair with her fingers. Her chest was still heaving. Suddenly, she heard Helian Qi ask, "Will you leave me?"
Such a somewhat desolate question deeply pierced Dongfang Yi's heart. She could imagine that as an emperor, the people around Helian Qi either coveted power or lusted for money. How lonely he must be sometimes.
"I will never leave you," she said firmly. She arched her body, lowered her head and kissed between Helian Qi's eyebrows. Then she leaned over to his ear and said, "Until the end of my life."