MCSCPM -Chapter 118 She Fainted Again

In the Central Wei Palace, Yin Qingyue sat beside the Empress.

Over the past few days, Yin Qingyue had been tirelessly researching an antidote to eliminate the poison lingering in the Empress’s body. Fortunately, she had succeeded—but as a result, her own body had become extremely weak.

“Divine Physician…” Empress He Minmin said weakly, her face pale, as if she had something she wanted to ask.

“Your Majesty, why have you summoned this humble one?” Yin Qingyue replied. Seeing the Empress’s unfocused, dazed gaze as she spoke, Yin Qingyue couldn’t help feeling puzzled. Her antidote should already have taken effect—there was no reason for the Empress to still look like this.

“I want water… water…” He Minmin said faintly. The hand she had raised in midair dropped again.

“Someone, the Empress wants water! Someone!” Yin Qingyue raised her voice, making sure the palace maids inside the room could hear her.

“Quickly, quickly—the Empress needs water!” The Central Wei Palace instantly became noisy and unsettled.

“This palace really can’t endure much commotion,” Yin Qingyue said calmly.

“Your Majesty, the water is here.” A palace maid hurried over, holding a cup of water.

“Wait.” Yin Qingyue stared at the cup in the maid’s hands, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

“What is it, Divine Physician?” The young maid asked nervously. Being suddenly reprimanded had frightened her, especially since she was only a low-ranking palace maid. Even He Minmin found it strange—why had the Divine Physician suddenly raised her voice like that?

“Give me the Empress’s cup of water,” Yin Qingyue said, her eyes fixed on the cup.

“This…?”

“If the Divine Physician tells you to hand it over, then do it. What are you hesitating for?” He Minmin said impatiently, her voice faint.

Yin Qingyue took the cup from the maid, removed a silver hairpin from her hair, and placed it directly into the water.

“Your Majesty, it’s better to be cautious, in case someone takes advantage of our inattention to poison your water,” Yin Qingyue said. She then took the hairpin out of the cup—it remained white, indicating no poison.

“If the hairpin had turned black, it would mean the water was poisoned. Your Majesty can see—it’s silver-white. You may drink without worry,” Yin Qingyue explained as she put the hairpin away.

“So that’s how it is,” He Minmin said with a smile, inwardly astonished. Her poisoning had made the Divine Physician so vigilant—clearly, the Emperor must be taking this matter very seriously. Otherwise, why would Yin Qingyue be stationed here to watch over her, even living in a nearby courtyard?

Thinking of this, a faint smile slowly appeared on He Minmin’s lips. As the Empress of Xize Kingdom, her illness still weighed heavily on the Emperor’s heart.

Yin Qingyue noticed the smile on the Empress’s face and felt puzzled. Being poisoned was an extremely painful experience—how could He Minmin still be smiling?

Yin Qingyue was about to use her mind-reading technique to probe the Empress’s thoughts, to see what could possibly make her so pleased. But she decided against it. Her body was far too weak right now—using mind-reading in front of the Empress would not only fail, but might also cause backlash against herself.

“Still, the Divine Physician is very thorough,” the Empress said as she slowly drank the water, finally feeling much more comfortable.

“This is what this humble one should do,” Yin Qingyue replied, forcing a smile. She herself was extremely weak, yet still had to stay here watching over the Empress—her body wouldn’t be able to endure much longer.

“Ah, my head hurts so much!” He Minmin suddenly clutched her forehead and cried out, her face contorted in pain.

“Your Majesty, what’s wrong?” Yin Qingyue quickly stood up to check her pulse. Yet she found nothing abnormal—the poison in the Empress’s body had basically been cleared. Logically, this situation should not have occurred.

“My head hurts so much…” He Minmin’s body began to twist restlessly. Seeing this, Yin Qingyue was momentarily at a loss as to what was causing it.

“Hurry and bring me my needles,” Yin Qingyue said weakly. For now, acupuncture was the only way to temporarily stabilize the pain.

“I…” He Minmin’s voice suddenly cut off.

“Oh no—the Empress has fainted!” Yin Qingyue looked at He Minmin’s tightly closed eyes in disbelief. None of this should have happened. What on earth was going on?

“Divine Physician, the needles are here!” The palace maid handed them over nervously. After all, it was she who had given the water to the Empress—and then the Empress had fainted. She couldn’t help but feel implicated.

“Why are you so nervous?” Yin Qingyue noticed the maid’s trembling hands.

“In reply to the Divine Physician… this servant is afraid you’ll blame me. I was the one who served the water to Her Majesty, and then she fainted,” the maid said, suddenly kneeling down. In the inner palace, life and death could change in an instant.

“Get up first. You saw it yourself—I tested the water. There was no poison. This has nothing to do with you,” Yin Qingyue said with a smile.

“Thank you, Divine Physician. Thank you, Divine Physician!”

“Get up. The Empress needs a quiet environment. Have everyone leave. You stay and help me prepare some hot water,” Yin Qingyue said, looking at the Empress lying pale on the bed. She seemed poisoned again—yet her pulse showed nothing at all.

“Yes, Divine Physician. This servant will prepare it right away. If you need anything, just call me,” the maid said, hurrying off.

Yin Qingyue took a silver needle and inserted it directly into He Minmin’s neck. Still, the Empress showed no reaction at all.

“How is this possible?” Yin Qingyue couldn’t understand it. The point she had pierced was similar to the philtrum—normally, stimulation there would definitely provoke a response. If even this caused nothing, then where was the problem?

“Divine Physician, the hot water is ready. I’ll place it here,” the maid said.

“You may leave. Without my instructions, do not let anyone enter,” Yin Qingyue said without turning back, her brows tightly furrowed.

“The Empress’s condition doesn’t resemble poisoning at all. So what exactly caused her to fall unconscious?” Yin Qingyue carefully examined He Minmin’s skin—it showed no signs of deterioration. In fact, it looked even better. According to reason, once all the poison had been cleared, the Empress should not have fainted at all.

Suddenly, Yin Qingyue felt her vision darken. Only then did she realize she had been overworking herself for days, leaving her with little energy to diagnose the Empress properly. If she continued treating the Empress in this state, not only would it be counterproductive—she herself would collapse from the strain.

A figure suddenly flashed through her mind—Prince Jing. If he hadn’t discovered her in time back then, she might already have lost consciousness.

A warm feeling surged in Yin Qingyue’s heart—she wasn’t sure whether it was gratitude or something else.

“Someone—call the imperial physician,” Yin Qingyue forced herself to shout.

“Yes—” She hadn’t yet seen the maid respond when everything went black, and she lost all sensation.

“Divine Physician? Divine Physician?” The maid called out repeatedly, but Yin Qingyue had already fainted and could no longer hear her.

“The Divine Physician is fine. She’s only overworked—proper rest will resolve the issue,” the imperial physician said in a side chamber of Xiyang Courtyard.

“Is there any way for the Divine Physician to recover more quickly?” the maid asked anxiously. After all, the Empress still needed the Divine Physician’s treatment. If the Divine Physician fell ill like this, then the Empress’s condition… The maid dared not think further—the consequences would be more than she could bear.

“Please accompany me to the Imperial Medical Institute,” the physician said slowly, glancing at Yin Qingyue lying weakly on the bed. He couldn’t help but wonder—did this so-called Divine Physician not even understand her own physical condition? She had already been extremely weak before, and now this had happened again.

“Wait… Imperial Physician.” Yin Qingyue slowly opened her eyes and spoke weakly.

“Divine Physician, you’re awake? I thought something serious had happened to you just now!” The maid’s face lit up with relief.

“I’m fine,” Yin Qingyue said helplessly. She knew her own body well—after a period of recuperation, she shouldn’t have collapsed so soon.

“Follow me to fetch some medicinal ingredients so the Divine Physician can recover as soon as possible,” the physician said.

“Imperial Physician, please wait—this servant will come at once,” the maid said, unable to hide her anxiety, and hurried after him to the Imperial Medical Institute.

“Divine Physician, this servant will go with the physician to fetch the medicine. Please rest here for now,” the maid explained before leaving the Central Wei Palace.

In the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, Nangong Lin felt an inexplicable sense of unease, though he couldn’t say why.

With He Minmin fainting once again, Yin Qingyue could not help but feel deeply anxious.

The Empress being poisoned time and again—on the surface, it seemed simple, but the conspiracies lurking beneath were beyond anything Yin Qingyue could imagine.

“If this time I can’t find the cause of Her Majesty’s unconsciousness, then when the Emperor holds people accountable, not only will I be implicated—Mei’er might be as well,” Yin Qingyue thought, her heart filling with worry.