Chapter 22 - Play Dead (1/2)
Lei Xing looked down at the cup in annoyance, she reached for it and touched it, and then covertly scanned the faces of the other consorts and concubines.
...Which of them would do this...wait, they shouldn't even have the capacity to do this YET, it's only been 1 day!! To be able to get someone to poison me so quickly, especially to be daring enough to do it in the empress dowager's palace...especially, in a tea blend she made he-...Shit! ...
Lei Xing covertly looked up at the dowager, who was expectantly looking at them with a small smile, seemingly waiting for them to drink.
...Why would she wanna poison me?! What did I do? T_T)...I don't know, maybe she took offense to you rejecting her son, IN PUBLIC!!...but he wasn't serious!! How do you know?!... So did he make me stay just so they can personally end me? T_T)...No, no, probably not, he said he's great friends with my brother, right? He should have forgiven me, right?!...yeah, he should have...
Lei Xing saw the others had picked up their cups and so also slowly picked hers up to not look suspicious.
...Okay so maybe she's poisoning all of us? but why would she do that?!!...Maybe it's not actually toxic, maybe birth control? That involves some type of poison, right?..but she just said to have kids, plus why would she DO that?!... Okay, I don't know, maybe she just hates my face! -_-)...Either way, I'm not drinking it to find out!!... But I can't NOT drink it! T_T)... What to do? Spill it? There's more in the pot...hmm...
Lei Xing looked at the others, who were already sipping theirs and they seemed fine. She held hers out in front of her and pretended to be taking in the scent of the tea.
...Orange, nice...Not now!... Ah think, think, think...okay, okay...how good is my acting? I'd say 8, some would say 4, average 6...whatever, let's just go with this...
Lei Xing used her other hand to touch the side of her head and then closed her eyes and frowned, and then her hand holding the cup quickly went down on the table, spilling the contents. The noise of the cup alerted the others in the room and they looked towards her. Lei Xing breathed in heavily and swayed a bit from side to side, opened her eyes a little and was shaking her head a bit as if trying to clear up something.
Xiao Ruo propped up beside Lei Xing and asked her, ”Your highness, are you okay?”
Lei Xing weakly glanced at Xiao Ruo, swayed a bit more and fell onto Xiao Ruo's body with her eyes closed and body limp, Xiao Ruo managed to stretch out her arms and catch Lei Xing and steady herself.
...I'm sorry, I am afraid of pain...lots of accidents could happen with the floor...
Xiao Ruo shook Lei Xing, ”Your highness, your highness, what's wrong?!”
The empress dowager frowned and got up, ”What happened?”
”I don't know, she was just sitting here... was about to drink....when she...” Xiao Ruo stammered out confused.
”Hurry, summon the imperial doctor.” The empress dowager ordered, ”Move her to a side room.”
Lei Xing listened to all this and maintained her limp state as she was picked up and moved, she could tell that from the number of footsteps she could hear behind her that there was a cl.u.s.ter of people following, so she guessed that everyone from the hall were following along.
...Are all of you that bored?...because it's definitely not that you're concerned -_-)...
Shortly after Lei Xing was placed on a bed and the others filed into the room. Lei Xing could feel their stares and tried her best to remain completely motionless.
...This is so awkward...
After a little while, the doors opened and an Imperial doctor entered the room and bowed to the empress dowager and then to the noble consorts and concubines.
”Hurry up and check her, what is wrong with her?” The empress dowager spoke.
The Imperial doctor came over to the bed, knelt down and then Lei Xing's wrist was put on a pillow and then he felt for her pulse.
...Okay, here we go...breathe...stop...breathe...stop...breathe...stop...
The Imperial doctor wrinkled his eyebrows, ”This...”
”What is it?” The empress dowager asked.
He removed his hand and then bowed to the empress dowager, ”The noble consort's pulse is very irregular. She seems healthy but the rate of her heartbeat is...I haven't come across this sort of situation...It's...”
”Was she maybe poisoned?” A concubine whispered and everyone in the room froze. Lei Xing inwardly shook her head.
...Who's this idiot who apparently sucks at whispering -_-)'...
”What are you trying to say?” Song mama faced the concubine who ”whispered”.
”I...I didn't mean anything...” The concubine stuttered.
”Was she poisoned?” The dowager coldly looked down at the Imperial doctor.
The Imperial doctor glanced at the dowager and then bowed and said, ”She wasn't poisoned.”
”So what is wrong with her then?” The dowager asked.
”This...this lowly one is incompetent and cannot...”
”If you're incompetent, then what is the point of you being alive then?”
”This...the noble consort's body is healthy...except the irregularity with her pulse...she...she” The Imperial doctor started cold sweating.
...haah the life of an Imperial doctor is quite hard...probably one of the worst jobs in here...these entitled freaking royals must think they're God or something -_-)'...
Lei Xing sighed in her head and weakly fluttered her eyes open and moved her hands.
”She's awake!” Xiao Ruo shouted beside her, then she went to Lei Xing to help her sit up.
The Imperial doctor rushed her side and took her pulse again and looked astonished, ”It's normal now.”
Lei Xing looked at him, his forehead was covered in sweat and he was obviously panicked and relieved. Lei Xing smiled at him a little, remembering to maintain her weak demeanor.
...I'm so sorry, old man...you must have been so scared...
Lei Xing looked at the empress dowager and then bowed her head and explained, ”Your majesty, I am so sorry to have worried you...I...I...it seems I developed a strange illness recently...I was gravely ill a little while ago after a drowning incident...and so had taken all sorts of medication during that period...since then, when I smell certain herbs...I feel dizzy and faint and so I normally avoid them when I feel these symptoms...I am so sorry to have caused you to worry...Since the tea was something your majesty personally prepared for us, I tried my best to restrain the symptoms, as being able to drink your tea is an immense grace...but it seems I had overestimated myself.” Lei Xing finished and then glanced up at the empress dowager with weak tearful eyes.
The empress dowager coldly looked at Lei Xing, ”What herbs cause these symptoms?”