This Beau is Sick

"I appointed a eunuch to serve me and assist me to lighten up my burden as the emperor." His majesty whispered to himself annoyingly as he looks at the sleeping Xu Zhengming. His complexion is pale and his temperature is quite high. He got a fever.

The emperor whispered to himself once again. "But it seems you just add up to my burden."

He picks the nearly dried towel and soaked it in a lukewarm basin of water. He then squeezed it to remove the excess water then put it on the little eunuch's burning hot forehead.

The court lady informed him that he was found lying on the emperor's bed a few hours ago when they are still away from the palace. She was about to nag him and drag him out of the bed but she found out that he got a really high fever. The court lady felt bad for making him leave the bed, and so she did not wake him up. In exchange, she couldn't stop apologizing to the emperor as she weeps.

"Your majesty..." The court lady is still swallowing her sobs outside the hall, "It is time for you... to go in the Lotus Hall."

The emperor looks at Xu Zhengming for a little longer before he turns his back to leave the hall. Without his eunuch, the emperor, together with his court lady and maids headed to the Lotus Hall to meet the members of an emergency and exclusive conference.

A round table is located in the center of the hall where Princess Yin Xiulan, Zhao Yanguang, Wang Junjie, and another man were already having their seats. This new man isn't really 'new'. In fact, everyone inside the hall knows him. Unfair as it seems, he's not allowed to be seen outside whenever the emperor is around. He only hides in the shadows. He already achieved many and accomplished a lot for the sake of the imperial palace and its respective territories yet no one, except the ones present in the hall, the empress dowager, and the grand empress dowager, knows his name.

This man wears the same gold yellow and black robes, the same black mian hat, and the same black boots as the emperor. He also possessed a face identical to his majesty. He's a little shorter than the emperor but it's unnoticeable.

If they were to stand facing each other, it's like the one is real and the one is only a reflection.

They might be identical in physical appearance but they totally have different personalities. This is why the emperor is always accused of being bipolar or moody.

This man is Prince Yin Wenyan, Emperor Yin Renshu's other twin, and double. In contrary to common knowledge, they're actually triplets. However, for some political reasons, one of the triplets is being kept in the dark.

Prince Yin Wenyan, regardless of acting as the emperor or not, is always wearing a bright and gentle expression on his face. However, this time it's not the same. He looks a little worried and anxious.

"How did those citizens turned into that kind of creature?" Their shizun opened up the matter. "They have even grown a pair of fangs and are blood-thirsty."

"They might have turned into a monstrous state, but we cannot deny the fact that they are still alive." Wang Junjie added.

"That was clearly a genocide." Yin Renshu's head which is a little dizzy becomes more painful as he thought of the idea. "This is clearly our side's fault but..."

Yin Xiulan interrupted him, "There are no buts. We failed to differentiate the living from the dead."

She massaged her temples but it seems it's not helping her to relax even a bit.

"Actually, our choices on what to do next could be narrowed down in just one question." Yin Wenyan speaks. His facial expression looks strange to the others present at the moment. His eyes don't show seriousness but rather low in spirits. However, no one shows concern for it this time since there is a bigger problem to solve. "Should we look at the political side or the righteous side?"

"Wenyan, please enlighten us about the difference between the two." Zhao Yangguang calmly said.

Yin Wenyan then responded and expounds his idea. "By political, I mean to protect Renshu's position as the emperor as well as Xiulan's reputation." He pauses, "The green shall be red. If the emperor says so, the history would be written that way."

That was cruel and full of injustice. But if they take this route, it would be hassle-free. This matter will be kept hidden in the deepest depths of their hearts along with their conscience.

Yin Wenyan continued with sad eyes, "But if we stick to righteousness, our side will face criticism, humiliation, and even heavy punishments for killing lives. But at least, we will be free from guilt."

"Should we really think of how to clear our names first? How about those in the dungeon?" Yin Renshu said.

The remaining monsters were all captured and imprisoned in the palace's dungeon. All thanks to Zhao Yangguang who made the transportation possible using his barrier to trap all the vicious monsters then brought back to the palace. He doesn't specialize in barriers. In fact, he just learned it from one of his sect elders. Fortunately, his barriers are sturdy enough not to let the creatures escape. He only knew some tricks about it and it drained his mana.

"As of now, we do not have much information yet. We need to investigate." Wang Junjie speaks, "Like what do they have in common before turning to beasts and how did this happen."

"About how did it happen..." Yin Xiulan said, "It's like a contagious illness. Once a normal person got bitten by this creature, that one will turn into a vicious blood-thirsty monster as well."

She paused before adding in a low voice, "I saw it with my own eyes. Have you noticed it too?"

"That must be the reason why we can't lessen their count even after taking them down for quite a while!" Yin Renshu came into realization.

"Then the big question here is..." Zhao Yangguang put the back of his hand under his chin. "How did the first blood-thirsty creature got this illness? This didn't just happen to exist, right?"

"That's the point where the dark method of cultivation comes in." Said Wang Junjie. "Wenyan, Renshu, Xiulan. Think of someone who would benefit the most from this chaos. Why the town square of all places? This incident happened near the imperial palace. The person behind all of this might have some grudges against you or the royal family."

"Wang Junjie, don't make hasty conclusions. This might be a trap or just to cause confusion. We still have only a little information regarding this matter." Zhao Yangguang said.

"Shizun, I think what Wang-shifu said makes sense. We must find out who will get benefits the most." Yin Wenyan said. "I will think about it."

"Mn. It's not that bad to give this idea a thought." His shizun smiles.

"But I cannot disregard my thoughts earlier. How should we handle the fact that many lives got severed in their hands?" Yin Wenyan said. "What if we are not the only ones who knew they are not walking corpses but actually living persons? We will be held responsible for their lives!"

"I don't think so. The citizens are too distracted." Yin Renshu says. "If things come to worst, we need to secure the throne."

The hall fell into a deep silence after his majesty's words for quite some time.

Both Yin Wenyan and Yin Xiulan's spaces between their eyebrows wrinkled. They don't want to settle this thing this way but the other option isn't good either.

On the other hand, Zhao Yangguang and Wang Junjie think of this as injustice but they choose to stay away from the politics and kept their mouths shut.

"If the emperor says so." Yin Xiulan leaned on the backrest of her chair and crossed her hands on top of her chest. Her face wears an indifferent expression.

Yin Wenyan also speaks with a hint of sarcasm, "Then his majesty choose the political side. Not bad. Actually either way is not that bad if it's the emperor who chooses."

Yin Renshu felt insulted and wronged. His face turn ashen but remained silent. It seems he got something to say but he's holding it back.

Zhao Yangguang noticed the dark cloud surrounding them. He laughs softly, trying to lighten up the mood. "It's getting late. Why don't we all take some rest first? I'm worried, we must be all exhausted. We will continue this matter the next day."

"Shizun is right. And besides, it's shizun who used too much spiritual powers today. There is no need for you to worry." Yin Wenyan finally smiled but for some reason, his eyes are still a little sad.

Yin Xiulan raised from her seat. "I will order the maids to escort Shizun and Wang-shifu to their rooms. Shizun, Wang-shifu, this way please." The three of them left the hall first. Only the two identical men left at the round table.

"What happened? You act strange." Yin Renshu couldn't keep the matter to himself. "The incident at the town square didn't make you all gloomy, did it?"

Yin Wenyan looks at his twin with a pair of phoenix eyes that seem to glitter the moment the moonlight reflected on them. His face is unusually dead serious.

"Are you making things hard for Xu Zhengming?"

Yin Renshu got taken aback. "That eunuch?" He thought, so that eunuch being sick actually made his brother upset and anxious?

"He didn't do much in the first day serving the emperor. In fact, he leisurely strolled around the palace with our wife. Wenyan, eunuchs don't have that much time in their hands but look at him. Now he's lying on the bed in the emperor's hall. Isn't he getting too much privilege?"

The usually collected Yin Wenyan gritted his teeth. "How could you say that? He's sick!"

Yin Renshu, "I was the one who hired him, why are you acting as if your old nanny got mistreated by me?" He massaged his temples. "Now you're giving me a headache." The tension building up between the two makes him feel the dizziness again. He also noticed that tonight is too cold for him. He slightly shivered.

"You got a headache?" Yin Wenyan seems to have something in mind. He put his palm on his twin brother's forehead. Yin Renshu got a fever too. "Your temperature is higher than normal."

"Ah? It is? I think I'll be fine after a good night's sleep." Yin Renshu was about to leave but Yin Wenyan stopped him.

"You two got a fever at the same time. Was it because of the rain earlier?" Yin Wenyan almost whispering in the air. "Or did you two consume something? A fever will occur whenever a person's antibodies are having a hard time."

"Shut up, you speak like an old physician. You make me feel even dizzier." Yin Renshu offhandedly said.

"Which one is it?" Yin Wenyan asked, completely ignoring the other's complaints.

"Well, he got rained earlier but it must be not enough to make him sick like that. But he ate my unfinished lunch. I bet he ate a lot. I left him more than a half of the whole portion." Yin Renshu replied.

Yin Wenyan grabs both Yin Renshu's shoulders and shakes them. "There's something in the food? It might be poison! You didn't have it tested by the court lady beforehand?"

"She did have a spoonful. What the hell Wenyan! Don't shake me, I'm going to throw up!"

Yin Wenyan indeed stopped.

He thinks deeply. He secretly peeps outside where Court Lady Han is. The court lady is completely fine. She only got a spoonful to taste the food. Yin Renshu on the other hand got less than a half and he got a fever. Meanwhile. Xu Zhengming fell really sick after eating more than a half.

Yin Wenyan rise from his seat and headed to the door. "I'll be staying at the emperor's hall tonight. You stay here."

Yin Renshu is leaning on the round table. His head was buried in his arms and didn't bother to rise. "Fine, fine. I don't feel like walking around anyway."

Yin Wenyan didn't bother to look back at his sick brother. He immediately left the hall and headed to the emperor's hall together with a set of maids following behind him.

There is a bed in the hall. Although the one present in the place isn't as big as the one in the emperor's hall. One of them sleeps here every three nights after the other's scheduled time. Yesterday was the third day for Yin Wenyan but the two agreed that he'll have the hall for the fourth night.

When Yin Wenyan arrived at the hall, Xu Zhengming is still deeply asleep. His eyes shut tightly, making his discomfort obvious. His forehead is still too hot to the touch and is shivering. Yin Wenyan pulls the thick blanket up to the eunuch's shoulder. This made him eventually stop trembling.

The court lady announces from the outside of the wall. "Your majesty, the royal physician has come."

"Please let him in." Yin Wenyan responds.

The doors slide open and the royal physician walks in.

"Greetings, your majesty. This physician has come." The royal physician bows his head to pay his respects.

"Mn. Please take a look at him."

"Yes, your majesty." The royal physician headed to where Xu Zhengming is lying down.

However, he pauses when he sees his face. He looks familiar to him.

Another moment passed and he finally recalled where he saw this man. This is the man who ran away from the royal infirmary yesterday! He actually became his majesty's eunuch!

The royal physician got a cold sweat. It was him who will most probably have to take the responsibility if ever the emperor knows that this man didn't get castrated.

Yin Wenyan noticed the fear in the old physician's face. He became even more anxious. "Royal physician, is his condition really bad? I assume, my eunuch consumed poison. When will he get better?"

The royal physician got his composure intact again. He then feels Xu Zhengming's pulse and checked his temperature. He said, trying not to let his voice tremble, "Your majesty, his life is not in danger however, he isn't in good shape at all." The old man opened his box and took some long and slender needles. "I will apply acupuncture on him. This should help him feel better by tomorrow."

Yin Wenyan walks back and forth, "Tomorrow? He's not getting better any time soon?"

The physician replies, "It seems he consumed a lot of poison, your majesty. Please give him some time to recover."

"I understand. Please do everything you can."

"Yes, your majesty."

The old physician started to put needles on Xu Zhengming's specific parts. The process didn't take too long and the old man leaves as soon as he finished it, leaving the needles on Xu Zhengming's body.

Yin Wenyan sat on the edge of the bed. He stared at the man's face. He looks like he's feeling better now and his facial muscles are finally relaxed. He brushes the tips of his fingers across Xu Zhengming's forehead to sweep off some strands of his hair that somehow cover his face.

Yin Wenyan thought... someone tried to poison the emperor. This incident isn't new to the imperial palace. But the timing is a little suspicious. Is it just a coincidence that someone wants to poison the emperor today? Or is it a part of a plan of someone who knows that chaos was about to break out?

Is he thinking too much or do the two incidents really connect to each other?