Chapter 0055 Honestly Waiting

Chapter 0055 Honestly Waiting

"Have you been honestly waiting for me?"

This question from He Jinli was rhetorical.

"So, should I do nothing at all? Not eat, not sleep, not bathe, just wait? Would I still be human?" Yun Li retorted playfully.

He Jinli sat down and glanced at the flowers in her room, "Have you asked them in all this time?"

Yun Li first served tea, then playfully sat on his lap, "Not yet. I planned to have Your Majesty ask them personally. As the Emperor, they wouldn’t dare not to answer you."

He Jinli pinched her playfully, "Yun'er is becoming more mischievous."

"Your Majesty, don't be silly. It's just that I’ve become more familiar and close to you. How is that mischievous?" Yun Li replied with a smile.

He Jinli continued to drink his tea.

"Is Yun'er all prepared?" He Jinli inquired.

"All set. My dresses and jewelry are ready. As a mere Lesser Beauty, I don’t need to be too nervous. Both the Empress Dowager and the Empress have bestowed gifts on me," Yun Li explained.

"I was thinking, if you weren’t ready, I could have given you something. But since you are, I don’t need to worry anymore," He Jinli said teasingly.

Yun Li sighed, "Your Majesty is really bad now. We have a long future ahead. Even if you don't give anything now, you will in the future. But you just had to say it now."

He Jinli raised an eyebrow, surprised by her response. She always had something unexpected to say, making her hard to figure out.

"Your Majesty," Meng Chang called from outside.

"What is it?" He Jinli asked.

"Your Majesty, it's Jia Meiren. She has sent someone to invite you over, saying she feels a tightness in her chest," Meng Chang reported.

Yun Li chuckled, and He Jinli looked at her, "What is my consort laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at Jia Meiren. Your Majesty, you really do play favorites," Yun Li stamped her foot in mock frustration.

"Tsk, how did we get onto this topic?" He Jinli was genuinely struggling to keep up with her train of thought.

"Every time I see Your Majesty, I feel such longing. When you're not here, I can only think about you. I even dream about you. Your Majesty, so majestic and powerful. My heart breaks looking at you. But Your Majesty only dotes on Jia Meiren," Yun Li said with feigned sorrow, "Jia Meiren feels unwell and doesn't seek the imperial physician but turns to Your Majesty instead. With so many sisters in the harem, who doesn't have a headache or a fever?"

"Just like that, she treats you as her personal physician."

Meng Chang outside...

He Jinli was at a loss for words.

Yun Li's acting was a bit too over the top.

Yet she continued to put on this exaggerated act for him.

He Jinli tapped her lightly.

"Alright, stop it now. Meng Chang, have the imperial physician check on her."

Meng Chang promptly complied, which meant the Emperor wouldn’t visit.

Jia Meiren obviously tried to intercept him. She currently found Yun Li quite displeasing, but her first attempt at interception had failed. How embarrassing.

He Jinli not going made Yun Li happy, and she clung to him, "Your Majesty is the best. If you had left, they would all mock me tomorrow morning. How sad I would be."

He Jinli, amused, pinched her face, thinking, but won’t you all be mocking Jia Meiren tomorrow?

Indeed, this was the case.

The next morning, during the greeting ceremony, Jia Meiren was the first to be mocked.

Consort Lan, having disliked her for years, seized the opportunity and taunted, "I heard Jia Meiren had chest discomfort yesterday? Are you feeling better? Such symptoms can be trivial or serious."

Before Jia Meiren could respond, Ye Zhao Yi commented, "How could she feel better, missing the Emperor's presence? Jia Meiren, you should have considered that Yun Xiaoyi, being young, rarely sees His Majesty. Why did you insist on summoning him?"

Jia Meiren, biting her lip, restrained her anger, "Thank you for your concern, sisters. I am fine now."

Yun Li chimed in, "That's good to hear. Jia Meiren, you must take care. Yesterday, as soon as you mentioned chest discomfort, His Majesty rushed to find the imperial physician for you. Fortunately, it was nothing serious."

"Don't trouble yourself over me," Jia Meiren huffed.

"Don't be so harsh, Jia Meiren. Who knows if your chest pain was due to being too fierce? Yun Xiaoyi might not understand, but others aren't foolish. Some people who plot too much might just ruin their own fortune," Wu Zhao Rong said coolly.

"I might lack fortune, but Wu Zhao Rong isn’t much better. Even if she had it once, she couldn’t keep it. Better to have none at all," Jia Meiren said through gritted teeth.

This escalated into an argument, and the Empress intervened, "Alright, since it's nothing, let's not dwell on it."

Wu Zhao Rong glared fiercely at Jia Meiren. Clearly, the animosity between them ran deep and wasn’t just from today’s verbal sparring.

Wu Zhao Rong implied that Jia Meiren, having schemed for favor, would eventually lose it.

Jia Meiren mocked Wu Zhao Rong for once being favored and pregnant, yet ended up with nothing.

Indeed, Wu Zhao Rong had been favored and pregnant twice, but tragically, she lost both pregnancies, and it was unknown who was behind it.

By the time she lost her second child, Jia Meiren had already begun to gain favor.

Since then, Wu Zhao Rong had never managed to regain her standing.

Although it wasn't just Jia Meiren, at that time, a woman wouldn't blame a man; they could only resent each other.

Mutual resentment was the only option.

Yun Li, having served the Emperor the previous night, managed to avoid the morning's verbal sparring, feeling fortunate.

However, her luck didn't last long.

After the morning greeting dispersed at the Fengyi Palace, everyone returned to their respective residences.

Yun Li had just finished her breakfast at Le'an Palace when she was summoned to the Noble Consort's residence.

Reluctant to go but without a choice, as the messenger was from the Empress, Yun Li sensed trouble.

Without changing her attire, she followed the messenger.

In the Yuzhi Palace, the Empress had also arrived directly.

Some had already gathered, while others were still on their way. Xu Baolin looked at Yun Li with a hint of schadenfreude. Yun Li raised an eyebrow, clueless about the unfolding situation.

The Noble Consort sat with downcast eyes, showing no intention to speak.

Only when everyone had arrived did the Empress gesture, "Bring it here."

Two eunuchs approached, each carrying a tray.

As they drew near and lifted the covering cloth, gasps of shock filled the room.

On the trays lay two small figurines.

The figurines, dressed in luxurious pink dresses and bearing names, had needles stuck in their heads.

The implication was clear without words.

Yun Li looked at the names on the two figurines, Qi Qingluan and Xu Jingying.

Qi Qingluan is the Noble Consort, so Xu Jingying must be Xu Baolin.

Yun Li's mouth twitched.

"What is this? With the state banquet imminent, how can such a thing be present?" Consort Jin De frowned.

"This morning, upon my return, I found this under the bed. So I asked Xu Baolin to check, and she found something similar under hers," said the consort indifferently.

"This matter is of great importance. I have already sent for His Majesty, who will arrive shortly," the Empress said, frowning and visibly irritated.

She longed for the consort's misfortune, but any incident at this critical moment was also her responsibility.

When He Jinli entered, everyone kneeled to greet him, his face dark with anger.

The art of sorcery has always been dreaded by emperors through the ages.

Whenever it has been implicated, hasn't it always led to bloodshed and turmoil, shaking the court and the country?

Countless lives would be lost.

This year alone, two rebellious princes have been dealt with, and the turmoil in the southwest just quelled. Now, sorcery rears its head within the palace.