CMWKSD -Chapter 139 The Living Emperor!

After happily finishing the meal prepared by the imperial kitchen, Jiu Yue started dozing off again—she had worked hard all night…

Well, that was a bit unfair to say; to be precise, she had been watching others work hard all night.

For instance, Li Feng, who had summoned her, hadn’t slept a wink, and the person with the eagle eyes who had been monitoring her all night as well.

No matter how you looked at it, Jiu Yue didn’t feel anything—after all, conscience was clearly not her strong suit.

Now that she knew nothing bad would happen, Jiu Yue slept very soundly, with complete peace of mind.

Meanwhile, Emperor Fengyuan had finished the morning court session and discussed several decrees with his ministers.

By now, he had already started the tedious daily task of approving memorials.

Looking at the countless formulaic, flattering reports, the emperor didn’t even feel like signing a single character.

He had no choice—if he signed them, they would think it was encouragement, and next time they would write even more and flatter even more!

He had said countless times: simplify! Keep it brief!

Yet still, it was all nonsense after nonsense!

With a sharp gesture, Emperor Fengyuan threw the memorials onto the table.

Li Feng and the attending eunuchs and palace maids immediately knelt and kowtowed: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”

The emperor furrowed his brow slightly. “Still not awake?”

Li Feng immediately realized who the emperor was referring to.

“Your servant will go summon Doctor Jiu Yue right away.”

State affairs were important. For a moment, Li Feng forgot that Jiu Yue was still sleeping in a side hall of the Yangxin Palace.

Emperor Fengyuan waved his hand, and Li Feng hurriedly got up and left the imperial study.

At this moment, Jiu Yue was having her second meal prepared by the imperial kitchen—again, just as she had ordered.

Tsk tsk, the imperial kitchen was truly the imperial kitchen, very different from ordinary cooks.

After all, Jiu Yue had eaten imperial meals before.

Her trip across time and space to the past was not in vain.

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Li Feng rushed in.

At a glance, he saw the table filled with food.

Jiu Yue, her belly full, was looking at the fruits after the meal.

In this era, many fruits were rare and precious.

Li Feng: …

This madam’s appetite really knows no bounds.

But thinking about having Jiu Yue meet Emperor Fengyuan, Li Feng said nothing further.

Jiu Yue clapped her hands. “Alright, finally time for some real work.”

If no one told her what to do, she might just end up turning the entire palace upside down.

Want to lock her away? Not a chance!

To prevent anyone from noticing Jiu Yue’s identity, Li Feng had her change into a eunuch’s uniform.

Jiu Yue: …

In all her life, she never imagined she would wear a eunuch’s outfit.

Twisting and turning through the corridors, everyone who saw Li Feng looked terrified, bowing so low it was as if their heads would hit the ground.

Jiu Yue once again realized the absolute power of the emperor.

This was a time when a single word could determine life or death.

One wrong move, and you could lose your head.

Finally, Li Feng led her to the imperial study.

Jiu Yue blinked and was about to look up at the emperor when Li Feng reminded her: “Quick, pay respects.”

Jiu Yue responded with an “Oh” and, having learned some etiquette, quickly knelt and performed the formal court greeting to Emperor Fengyuan.

If she could get a reward from the emperor, Jiu Yue thought, it would be: no more kneeling at anyone.

Kneeling all the time was really too much trouble.

But the moment she knelt, Jiu Yue forgot how to address herself.

Should she call herself a commoner or a subject’s wife?

In a feudal society dominated by imperial authority, first-person terms were a no-go.

So Jiu Yue improvised: “Jiu Yue pays respects to Your Majesty! Long live, long live, long, long live!”

That was probably close enough, right?

After speaking, she prostrated fully on the cold floor, which made her forehead ache a little.

Emperor Fengyuan chuckled. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be angry or amused.

“Fine, fine, let’s just say Jiu Yue is a bit foolish.”

“Rise.”

“Sir!”

This made Li Feng burst out laughing.

Jiu Yue froze—oh no, too many years of TV dramas had ruined her brain.

She remembered nothing except the eunuch-style “Sir!” when receiving orders.

Emperor Fengyuan laughed outright, and Jiu Yue felt unusually embarrassed.

She did have some sense, after all. When the Shen family had taught her etiquette, the nanny had repeatedly warned her:

Never stare directly at the emperor’s face!

What was the “imperial face”?

Simply put: don’t look straight at the emperor.

But sneaking a glance was probably fine.

You really couldn’t blame Jiu Yue—this was a living emperor!

Alive!

Seeing a living emperor in person, rather than in history books or museum portraits, was completely different.

Even someone as indifferent as Jiu Yue couldn’t help being a little excited.

Moreover, being in this palace, facing this man, she truly understood what it meant to be emperor, what real authority felt like, and what the anger of a sovereign could bring—floating corpses for miles…

Emperor Fengyuan noticed Jiu Yue stealing glances at him and curled his lips: “Do you know why I summoned you?”

Jiu Yue didn’t think it had anything to do with medicine.

After all, the emperor had the best of everything, including doctors.

So she wondered: had she accidentally beaten the crown prince, who went home to complain?

But that didn’t seem likely—the crown prince wasn’t a fool like Ling Mo.

Could it be that Emperor Fengyuan wanted revenge for Ling Mo?

But that was long past. Too late for revenge. Ling Mo’s injuries had healed.

Sticking to her principle of “even if it were me, I wouldn’t admit it,” Jiu Yue shook her head.

Emperor Fengyuan didn’t keep up appearances either. According to the eagle-eyed report, the best way to speak with Jiu Yue was straight and direct.

She hated beating around the bush. If annoyed, she would get angry.

Though Emperor Fengyuan wasn’t afraid of her anger, he liked her straightforwardness.

Listening to the endless roundabout politeness of ministers every day was exhausting.

“I heard that Shen Zongsheng of General Shen’s household can now stand up. This is all thanks to you.”

Jiu Yue froze for a moment. Could it be that Emperor Fengyuan saw her as a capable talent and wanted to recruit her into the Imperial Medical Institute?

No! She didn’t want to work, let alone the dreaded 996.

In this era, being an imperial doctor was extremely dangerous.

The books had already said it: fail to cure the emperor, and your entire family would be buried with him.

This wasn’t a high-risk job—it was a nine-tribe elimination game!

Yet, seeing the obvious, Jiu Yue could only answer honestly.

Emperor Fengyuan nodded frequently as Jiu Yue explained the surgery on Shen Zongsheng’s leg in detail.

Secretly, Jiu Yue thought: if I explain thoroughly and this technique spreads, I won’t have to do 996.

Heh, she was clever!

So she hoped Emperor Fengyuan would be perceptive, like Ji Yiqing: just by her words, he would understand her meaning.

Listening intently, Emperor Fengyuan realized that the previous reports had been biased. The head eunuch’s report had been subjective, and the eagle-eyed spies had little understanding of medicine.

Now, hearing Jiu Yue explain why surgery was necessary, how she reconnected tendons, reassembled shattered bones, he could tell she knew her stuff.

Emperor Fengyuan unconsciously gained confidence.

Though Jiu Yue’s treatment was shocking, the events in the Chu family were also shocking.

Even the word “curse” had been mentioned.

Not to mention that the Chu family had once unified the chaotic world and brought stability to the people.

Several generations of Chu emperors, aside from short lifespans, had done nothing blameworthy.

True, the founding emperor had destroyed a few cities, but at that time…

If you didn’t kill, you’d be the one killed.