The Sickly Emperor Is Only Immune to Me-Chapter 39 - 0: Tragedy
Chapter 39: Chapter 039: Tragedy
No matter what, Sang Yan still agreed to the proposal.
He Ying was very efficient. By the time she had finished her bird’s nest porridge and red bean and silver fungus soup, replenishing her strength, he issued a decree and arranged for her to move into the side hall of Qingning Palace.
“Congratulations, my lady. An Imperial Concubine—that’s an unprecedented favor from the Emperor since his enthronement.”
Pei Muyang followed her into the side hall of Qingning Palace, incessantly showering her with compliments.
His flattery was not without truth; the Emperor, being averse to the company of women, had indeed felt unwell, and there truly were no capable palace maids by his side.
Looking at it this way, Sang Yan was unique in every respect in the Imperial Palace.
“I’d rather this favor had gone to you.”
Sang Yan remained unmoved and retorted sharply before lying down on the bed.
As for the Emperor?
Sang Yan simply said she was tired and barred him from entering.
That’s when Pei Muyang took command in the hall, “This master is the apple of the Emperor’s eye; you all must be cautious. If you displease her, no one will be able to save you.”
“Yes, Mr. Pei.”
The palace maids all responded respectfully.
Sang Yan knew that being an Imperial Concubine was just a title, but she still felt uneasy being served by so many palace maids, and so she sent Pei Muyang away, telling them, “I don’t have many demands, just one—don’t gossip about anything, especially about my private matters. If I find out, you can leave this place.”
Palace maids dismissed by their master would most likely be sent to Xin Zhe’s House.
That was the place palace maids feared the most.
Once sent there, their lives were effectively over.
“Yes, we will heed my lady’s command.”
They all kneed down with a rustling sound.
Seeing this gave Sang Yan a headache, and with a wave of her hand, she sent them out.
Only Qiuzhi remained.
Qiuzhi stayed by the bedside, troubled, “What is the Emperor thinking? He grants Miss many honors, yet withholds any official status. Does he like Miss, or does he just want to play—”
“Don’t speculate needlessly.”
Sang Yan interrupted her, lowering her voice, “The Emperor hasn’t refused to give me a title; it’s I who don’t want it.”
Qiuzhi: “…”
Her eyes went wide in shock, realizing she had misunderstood the Emperor, and unable to comprehend, she asked, “Why? Isn’t it good to be his favored concubine?”
Sang Yan closed her eyes, speaking weakly, “What’s so good about that? Serving someone with your beauty, how long will you be favored? In any case, I don’t want to enter this Imperial Palace and become a caged canary without freedom.”
Qiuzhi seemed to understand but not quite, “What Miss says is true. The Emperor indeed favors you now, but who knows how long his favor will last? Thinking about our situation just days ago still scares me. In this Imperial Palace, fortune and disaster, honor and disgrace, all can change in the blink of an eye.”
Her last words resonated deeply with Sang Yan.
“Indeed. This Imperial Palace is unpredictable, filled with uncertainty.”
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And she despised an unsettled life.
She just wanted to be an idle fish.
She even thought of giving up completely.
But that was so hard.
She was torn between reason and emotion, melancholic and joyless.
He Ying’s kindness toward her also cast a shadow over her heart.
As a result, after she moved into Qingning Palace, her mood remained listless, and her recovery was slow.
At that time, He Ying summoned many Imperial Physicians and even issued decrees inviting Medical Officers from across the nation to come to the palace to cure his illness.
He was thinking that once he was cured, he could hold and be close to Sang Yan properly.
Sang Yan, however, felt that his wish to recover had more to do with wanting to take their relationship further.
Somehow, even though she had the courage to suggest being a one-night stand, the thought of taking things further made her panic.
After all, making her an Imperial Concubine was just his stalling tactic.
Look, isn’t he now eager to cure his illness?
If he were cured, would he honor her, forcefully take her as a concubine? Would he compel her to bear children? Would he like and favor other women?
Such uncertainties unavoidably bred panic.
Love begets worry.
Love begets fear.
At this moment, she was still deluding herself into believing she hadn’t fallen for He Ying.
But He Ying knew nothing of her inner anxieties.
He was concentrating on his treatment.
Qingning Palace was permeated with various medicinal scents all day long.
Bitter, astringent, fishy—they mingled together, creating a strange odor that filled the air.
Sang Yan, having smelled them too much, always had this odd scent stuck in her nose, to the point where she lost her appetite even at mealtime.
Moreover, the weather was hot.
They had used ice extensively at night.
And then she came down with a high fever.
This fever temporarily halted He Ying’s treatment progress, but it also enraged him, “A bunch of quacks! You’re at your wits’ end with my illness, and now you can’t even reduce a fever. What use is there in keeping you?”
The Imperial Physicians knelt on the ground, trembling as they spoke, “Emperor, please forgive us, Miss Sang is frail and cannot take strong medicines; we can only—”
“I don’t want to hear explanations! I’m giving you half a day more; if the fever is not gone by then, you may as well go home and prepare your last words!”
He was harboring murderous intent.
No one dared to plea for mercy.
The whole side hall of Qingning Palace was shrouded in sorrow and despair.
Sang Yan was unaware of all this.
Her fever had clouded her mind, and in her delirium, she found herself back in the modern world—
Her best friend Xuanrao ran into her rented apartment with injuries and cried out, “Yanyan, I can’t go on living. Really, it’s too exhausting to be alive. He hit me again. And he hit the child. He’s not human.”
When he loved you, he was a person, even a deity.
You adored him, loved him, were willing to give your all for him.
But when he didn’t love you, he was an animal, even a devil.
You were afraid of him, wanting to escape, but were already tightly bound.
“There’s no escaping it. He has money and power; I can’t do anything. Yanyan, I really wish I could go back to the days before he made it big. He was so good to me then.”
Men turn bad when they get money.
She didn’t need money, just that poor, gentle, loving man.
“Don’t be foolish anymore.”
“Here’s fifty thousand in my card; take the child and live somewhere else for now.”
“He has another woman, right? I’ll make her deal with him.”
She gave her friend half of her savings from work and took out a few tens of thousands more to disguise herself and get close to the mistress, befriended her, encouraged her to get pregnant and rise to prominence, causing the scumbag to divorce.
Everything was going well.
But the scumbag discovered her scheme.
He just wanted to keep his wife at home while enjoying his affairs on the side.
She ruined his plans.
He was furious and had her fired from her company.
Then he had someone bring her best friend back.
He even broke her friend’s leg.
After that, her friend went mad and stabbed him to death.
The scumbag died.
Her friend also took her own life.
The scumbag’s wealth was squandered by greedy relatives.
Only a child was left, unwanted and considered a burden by everyone.
She arranged her friend’s funeral and adopted the child.
Raising a child was truly expensive.
She, a corporate drone, could only keep working, overtime, non-stop!
At the moment of her death from overwork, she actually felt relieved: the child was sensible, fourteen years old, with those savings, he should be able to survive until adulthood safely.
As for what happened after becoming an adult?
Forgive her limited abilities; this was all the help she could offer.
“Xuanrao… I no longer owe you…”
She mumbled, weeping.
“What?”
“What are you saying?”
“Sang Yan?”
A man’s clamorous voice reached her ears.
Sang Yan woke up startled, opening her eyes to see He Ying, with a dazed expression and at a loss for words: How could she have dreamt something so distantly far away? What was her best friend’s tragic life trying to tell her? Not to fall into the same trap, lest she become unhappy too?
