Chapter 288 Vomiting on Consort Li’s Face

While Xie Liuzheng was still deep in thought, Ji Yuntang had already found a square handkerchief and signaled him with her eyes to sit down.

Xie Liuzheng stood still, still trying to find an excuse to refuse, but Ji Yuntang blinked at him.

“You’re my brother. Don’t you trust me?”

Xie Liuzheng: “…”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but once that nauseous feeling hit, he couldn’t control himself.

Not to mention, the handkerchief Ji Yuntang was holding was so thin—could it really keep him from vomiting?

“Young Master Xie, please hurry up. His Majesty is waiting!” Consort Li urged from the side.

A glint of malicious delight flashed in her eyes.

The more Xie Liuzheng resisted letting Ji Yuntang take his pulse, the more she wanted to see his reaction when he touched her.

That little handkerchief—did Ji Yuntang really think it could block the contact between their skin?

At this moment, Consort Li had already formed a plan in her mind, waiting only for the moment when they would take the pulse.

Xie Liuzheng had no choice. He had long anticipated that when his secret was exposed, it would arouse suspicion.

But he never expected that the first time his condition would be revealed would be in the imperial council hall of the palace, right in front of Emperor Jingyang and Consort Li.

And those two were clearly not easy to handle. Who knew how they’d scheme against him later.

Xie Liuzheng sat down, pulled up his sleeve a bit, and laid his arm on the table before Ji Yuntang.

At the same time, he turned his head away, afraid he might accidentally throw up on Ji Yuntang.

Seeing this, Consort Li was instantly displeased!

If Xie Liuzheng turned his head away, how would her plan work?

She complained, “What’s the meaning of this, Young Master Xie? I am not a doctor, but I’ve heard diagnosis involves looking, listening, asking, and feeling the pulse.”

“Princess Ye taking your pulse is just one part. But more importantly, she needs to see your face and tongue to diagnose you. Am I right, Princess Ye?”

Ji Yuntang sensed Consort Li was up to no good. It was bad enough she suggested pulse-taking, but now she insisted he face her.

Clearly Consort Li had an agenda, so Ji Yuntang stayed on guard.

She folded the handkerchief double and set it on Xie Liuzheng’s arm, curious what Consort Li was plotting.

“Brother, please turn your head back.”

Xie Liuzheng reluctantly obeyed.

But while she took his pulse, he kept his mouth clamped shut for fear of vomiting on her.

Ji Yuntang gently placed her fingertips on Xie Liuzheng’s wrist, and the more she felt his pulse, the more amazed she grew.

Xie Liuzheng’s pulse was an extremely rare intermittent pulse—floating and tight, deep and slow, wiry and rough, slippery and quick, with blocked pathogenic heat, stagnant qi, and yin-yang imbalance.

Logically, with these symptoms, he shouldn’t be able to practice martial arts—it would damage his body, lead to blood deficiency, and gradually drain his strength.

But the amazing thing was that not only was Xie Liuzheng highly skilled in martial arts, his intermittent pulse also carried a spark of vitality.

From a previous severe aversion to cold to a current burning heat in his body, with a calm and steady pulse—in less than half a year, a huge transformation had taken place.

And this change couldn’t be fixed with medicine or acupuncture.

It was most likely because someone or something had filled the void in his heart and changed everything.

Xie Liuzheng watched Ji Yuntang’s expressions shift from troubled to smiling to frowning.

A feeling of unease rose in his heart. What was up with his sister’s expression? Was he suffering from some incurable disease?

Just then, a hand reached out from the side.

Consort Li seized her chance and moved to snatch the handkerchief off Xie Liuzheng’s arm.

This way, Ji Yuntang’s hand would inevitably touch Xie Liuzheng’s skin.

And since Xie Liuzheng was facing her, he would surely vomit all over Ji Yuntang.

The plan was perfect in theory but failed in practice. Before Consort Li’s hand even got near the handkerchief, Xie Liuzheng grabbed her arm.

Almost instantly, the nausea surged up again, even stronger.

With a loud “Ugh,” he vomited straight onto Consort Li’s face.

Consort Li: “…”

Consort Li: “!!!”

It happened so fast she didn’t have time to react, missing her perfect chance to dodge.

When she came to, she was nearly hysterical. She quickly flung Xie Liuzheng’s hand off.

“How dare you touch me with your filthy hands!”

Consort Li frantically wiped the filth off her face with her sleeve, but the more she wiped, the messier it got, soon smearing everywhere.

Feeling extremely wronged, she turned to Emperor Jingyang, tears welling up in her eyes as if she was about to cry.

“Your Majesty, you must avenge me! Young Master Xie actually dared to lay his hands on me right in front of you. He has evil intentions!”

In the past, when Consort Li put on such a delicate and pitiful expression, Emperor Jingyang would definitely want to hold her in his arms and comfort her.

But now, her face was covered in filth, with bits of leek leaves stuck to it, and water dripping from her hair. Not only did she stink all over, but her carefully done makeup was also ruined!

In Emperor Jingyang’s eyes, Consort Li’s current appearance was no different from a female ghost that had just crawled out of the water.

He barely suppressed the bile rising in his throat to avoid vomiting on the spot.

Emperor Jingyang felt disgusted even looking at Consort Li now, so he could only say, “My dear Consort, go back to your palace quickly to wash up and change into clean clothes and then come back.”

Hearing this, Consort Li’s heart sank.

The man who had just been so attentive now spoke only with disdain.

Consort Li was furious. How dare he look down on her? Shouldn’t she be the one disgusted?

Emperor Jingyang himself is so filthy, how is he any better than those who frequent brothels?

She thought so, but she still couldn't give up the benefits she deserved.

Otherwise, she would have been vomited on by Xie Liuzheng for nothing today.

"Your Majesty, I was bullied right in front of you. I am the victim. Won't you seek justice for me?"

"If my grievances cannot be redressed today, how can the other consorts believe that Your Majesty can protect them in the future?"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to uphold justice for me!"

Consort Li knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.

Xie Liuzheng rolled his eyes and sneered, "Consort Li, if I, the Heir, didn't see wrongly, it was you yourself who reached out to take away the handkerchief, wasn't it?"

"I haven't even suspected you of ill intentions or trying to harm me, yet you are crying thief and turning around to accuse me?"

Ji Yuntang also said in a sinister tone, "Exactly, my brother was sitting here without making a single move. If you hadn't reached out yourself, how could he have grabbed you and vomited all over you?"

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