Chapter 530: Imagining Scenes

Chapter 530: The Scene Playing Out in Their Heads

The moment those words left her mouth, Ji Yuntang nonchalantly reached over and yanked down the collar of Empress Dowager Yuan's robe.

In an instant, a large patch of red marks was exposed on her neck—thick and impossible to miss, leaving the ministers standing there completely dumbfounded!

Everyone shot each other looks, their faces a mix of awkward and weirded out.

The National Master's heart dropped when he saw that. He hurried forward, whipping off his Taoist robe and throwing it over Empress Dowager Yuan.

As he covered the marks, he spun around and glared at Ji Yuntang. "How bold of you! The Empress Dowager obviously fainted because she was heartbroken over the Crown Prince leaving. What kind of nonsense is this physician spouting?"

"Do you have any idea how much damage your twisted words could do to the Empress Dowager's reputation?"

The National Master already knew from Empress Dowager Yuan that Ji Yuntang was the lady doctor who'd cured her migraines.

He'd figured this woman was sharp and knew when to keep her mouth shut.

He never expected her to blurt it out in front of every civil and military official that the Empress Dowager was worn out from overexertion and suffering from an excess of yang and a deficiency of yin, and even yank her clothes down in front of everyone.

With words like that and those red marks on her neck, it was impossible not to let your mind go there.

The National Master's face scrunched up. The wilder last night had been with Empress Dowager Yuan, the angrier he was now.

If he'd known this would happen, he never would've left so many hickeys on her. This was all that clueless girl's fault.

Ji Yuntang knew exactly why he was pissed. She still had that photo of him hugging and kissing Empress Dowager Yuan saved in her camera.

He was just scared of being humiliated and was throwing a tantrum out of embarrassment.

Ji Yuntang was a drama queen herself. Seeing the National Master's face turn green, she put on a show of trembling and spoke with a quiver in her voice:

"Please calm down, National Master. I'm just a lowly doctor. Ever since I was a kid, my master taught me to be honest and keep my word, never lie, and never talk nonsense in front of a patient."

"I don't know which of my words upset you, National Master. Please tell me, and I swear I'll fix it and never say it again."

The National Master: "..."

The National Master: "!!!"

Ji Yuntang's words, combined with her pitiful expression, made him seem like a heinous villain.

He had a lump of anger stuck in his throat that wouldn't go up or down, but he couldn't exactly blame her.

After all, Empress Dowager Yuan was the one who fainted, and the marks were on her body for everyone to see.

Ji Yuntang had only come to treat the Empress Dowager, and everything she said was just doctor talk. She hadn't technically said anything wrong.

If anyone dug deeper into this, it would only embarrass Empress Dowager Yuan and him, her secret lover.

With this in mind, the National Master quickly shot Nanny An a look, telling her to step in and smooth things over.

The second Nanny An heard Ji Yuntang say the Empress Dowager had been overworked last night and was completely drained, she knew things had gone sideways.

She'd asked Ji Yuntang to say the Empress Dowager was tired, but not tired like that!

The way she said it made it sound completely different.

Especially those red marks on Empress Dowager Yuan's neck. Every minister there had a house full of wives and concubines and a bunch of kids. They all knew exactly what those marks meant.

When the National Master shot her a dirty look, Nanny An's heart lurched, and she hurried out to say, "Doctor Yun, the National Master isn't scolding you. You've got it wrong!"

"The Empress Dowager had some lobster and abalone last night and had an allergic reaction. That's why she's got all those rashes on her neck. I was just about to ask if you have any allergy medicine!"

Ji Yuntang blinked, playing dumb. "I do have medicine, but looking at the Empress Dowager's neck, it doesn't really look like a seafood allergy."

"I've been practicing medicine for years and treated all kinds of allergies, big and small. I've never seen rashes like these. What if I give her the wrong meds?"

Nanny An: "..."

Her mouth twitched hard, and she wished she could strangle Ji Yuntang on the spot.

Why hadn't she noticed how bad this girl was at reading the room these past two days?

If Nanny An didn't know the girl genuinely had no clue about palace rules, she'd have thought Ji Yuntang was doing this on purpose!

But what really drove Nanny An up the wall was still coming.

When Nanny An didn't answer, Ji Yuntang spoke up again.

"Nanny An, this morning at breakfast, I wanted a bowl of mutton soup, but the eunuch who brought the food said I couldn't have any."

"I asked why, and he gave me this look of disgust and said that for the three days before the Crown Prince's burial, everyone in the palace had to avoid meat and fish, including the Empress Dowager."

"I'm just some doctor from outside the palace, so why would I deserve mutton soup? I figured he was right, so I just ate a few plain buns and a bowl of rice porridge."

"So now I'm wondering—was that eunuch lying to me, or did the Empress Dowager not follow the rule?"

"Nanny An, maybe you should think harder about what the Empress Dowager ate last night, or where she went, or what kind of nasty thing she might've touched?"

"Because when I did acupuncture on her yesterday afternoon, she didn't have these marks. Once you figure it out, let me know, so I can give her the right treatment."

As she said this, Ji Yuntang caught from the corner of her eye that Empress Dowager Yuan's eyelids twitched, and her fingers curled into fists under her sleeve.

She laughed coldly inside. Even now, the old hag was still faking it!

Her nerves were seriously something else.

Nanny An was about to explode. Ji Yuntang was poking right at the sore spot. She'd barely managed to cook up a lie to sweep this under the rug.

And now this girl had called her out and left her with zero face.

And the rule about no meat or fish for the three days before the Crown Prince's burial was an order Empress Dowager Yuan herself had given.

She had no idea what had gotten into her—she'd meant to say some kind of fruit, but her brain short-circuited and she blurted out lobster and abalone.

By the time she realized the mistake, it was already too late.

Swallowing her anger, Nanny An said stiffly, "Oh, silly me and my memory. There was no lobster or abalone. Last night, the Empress Dowager took a walk and had a cup of milk tea before bed. She must be allergic to the milk in it."

Anyone with half a brain could see that explanation was flimsy.

If the servants who'd worked in the palace for years didn't know what the Empress Dowager was allergic to, that would be a huge failure on their part!

Especially since the ministers there were all sly old foxes. At first, they might not have let their minds go there.

But after the National Master and Nanny An both jumped in to explain one after another, some people started letting their imaginations run wild!

Someone noticed the National Master seemed way too concerned about Empress Dowager Yuan!

That kind of concern went way past the line between ruler and subject, straight into ridiculous territory!

Thinking back, Empress Dowager Yuan seemed to actually enjoy this shady relationship with the National Master.

Even when he crossed the line, she never held it against him.

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