Chapter 214 - 215: Missing
After Li Ji finished his noodles, he waited and waited, but Hua Manman didn’t return.
He noticed his physical condition had improved significantly; he could even stand steady without anyone’s help.
So he got up and walked out. A look inside the small kitchen revealed it was already completely empty, without a soul in sight.
Li Ji then questioned the guards on patrol, but he still couldn’t get any news of Hua Manman.
What he found even stranger was that after walking such a long way, his breathing remained steady, and he felt no discomfort at all.
It was as if he had never been poisoned.
’But how is that possible?’
Even the Chief Imperial Doctor had said he was deeply poisoned and his life was in grave danger. It couldn’t have been a misdiagnosis.
Li Ji thought it over and soon his mind went to the bowl of Yangchun Noodles that Hua Manman had someone deliver.
Hua Manman was hiding many secrets.
For example, that expert named System.
And for another, the wondrous elixirs she occasionally produced.
And also her foreknowledge of the future.
’Perhaps she really does have a way to completely neutralize the poison in my body.’
To find the answer, he had to find Hua Manman.
Li Ji gave the order for his men to search everywhere for Hua Manman.
But they turned all of Hanzhang Hall upside down and still couldn’t find a trace of her.
’But if Hua Manman isn’t in Hanzhang Hall, where else could she have gone?’
’She’s a stranger in a strange place here. What if she runs into danger?’
The more Li Ji thought about it, the more worried he became. Ignoring everyone’s attempts to stop him, he took his men and prepared to charge outside.
The Emperor, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, called out to stop him.
"You should be in your room resting. What are you doing out here?"
For the time being, Li Ji didn’t want to announce his recovery to everyone, lest it attract unnecessary suspicion.
He said anxiously, "Manman is missing. I am very worried about her. Could Your Majesty send people to look for her?"
The Emperor frowned. "It’s the middle of the night. Why isn’t she properly staying by your side? What could she be doing out?"
Although he was privately displeased with the troublesome Lady Hua, he ultimately granted Li Ji’s request and ordered men to search for her throughout the palace.
The guards carried lanterns and searched one palace after another.
The commotion they caused was considerable.
Soon, everyone in the palace learned that Lady Hua had gone missing.
The Fourth Prince, Li Ying, had just finished his book and was about to get into bed when he heard a little eunuch muttering.
"I heard Lady Hua is missing. She’s only been in the palace for such a short time, how could something like this happen?
She must have been dragged down by Prince Zhao.
Everyone says Prince Zhao is a jinx. No one who gets close to him comes to a good end."
Li Ying looked at him. "Lady Hua is missing?"
The little eunuch thought the Fourth Prince was interested in Lady Hua’s situation and hurriedly told him everything he knew.
He even ended with a sigh.
"Lady Hua has it so rough. She was a perfectly fine young lady of an Uncle’s Mansion, yet she was forced to marry the infamous Prince Zhao.
She hasn’t even had many good days, and now this happens to her.
I wonder if she’ll be able to make it back in one piece this time."
Disappearances were a frequent occurrence in the palace.
Usually, it was palace maids, eunuchs, or guards who went missing.
As for their fate after they disappeared, everyone knew, but no one spoke of it.
Li Ying recalled that when he saw Lady Hua, she was near Hanzhang Hall.
’How did she go missing?’
’Oh well, it has nothing to do with me. No need for me to worry about it.’
Li Ying got into bed and went to sleep.
When the guards found Hua Manman, she was standing outside Chaoyang Palace, lantern in hand, shivering uncontrollably.
After being thrown out of Chaoyang Palace by that nameless palace maid, she had stood by the gate without moving.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go back; she simply had no idea which way to go.
She had never been to this godforsaken place, and with the sky so dark, she couldn’t tell north from south, east from west. She had no clue where she was.
If she wandered off, she would definitely get lost.
Rather than risk that, she figured it was better to stay put and see if she could run into a kind soul who could give her directions.
Her clothes were soaked through, her wet hair was plastered to her face, and the wound on her forehead throbbed with a dull pain.
As the night wind blew, a single advertising slogan filled her mind—
’Chillingly cool, soaringly free.’
Seeing her face was blue from the cold, the guards hurriedly escorted her back to Hanzhang Hall.
At this point, neither the Emperor nor Prince Zhao had gone to sleep.
When he saw Hua Manman being brought back, the Emperor was about to reprimand her and tell her to focus on serving Prince Zhao instead of running around.
But upon seeing her wretched and miserable state, he found he couldn’t bring himself to scold her. He could only say with a stern face,
"Go summon an Imperial Physician!"
Seeing Hua Manman trembling all over, Li Ji immediately took off his outer robe and draped it over her. He took her hands and found they were as cold as ice.
He held her hands tightly in his own and ordered the person beside him,
"Go prepare hot water and clean clothes."
"Yes, sir."
Soon, the hot water and clothes were ready.
Li Ji didn’t feel at ease letting Hua Manman bathe alone and wanted to help her personally, but she refused with a shake of her head.
Although her brain felt numb from the cold, she still had her basic principles.
’Are you kidding me? How could I let a grown man help me bathe?’
’Not even if he’s my husband in name only!’
Hua Manman took off her clothes and stepped into the bathtub.
As her body sank completely into the warm water, she felt as if she had come back to life and couldn’t help but let out a comfortable sigh.
’It’s so good to be alive!’
After her bath, Hua Manman changed into clean clothes.
After such an ordeal of a night, Hua Manman was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally.
She didn’t even have the strength to move. She flopped onto the bed and immediately fell fast asleep.
Li Ji had originally wanted the Imperial Physician to look at the wound on her forehead, but seeing her like this, he couldn’t bear to wake her.
He had the Imperial Physician apply medicine to her wound and then sent him away, planning to have the doctor check her for any other injuries the next day.
However, in the middle of the night, Hua Manman suddenly started running a fever.
She unconsciously kicked off the blanket, muttering unintelligibly.
"Hurts..."
Li Ji had always been a light sleeper. He woke up immediately upon hearing her voice.
He got up and walked over to the low couch. By the dim candlelight, he saw her eyes were closed, her brow was tightly furrowed, and an unnatural, feverish flush colored her cheeks. The blanket that had been covering her was kicked to the side.
Li Ji reached for the blanket to cover her again, then touched her cheek and found it was alarmingly hot.
His heart sank, and he immediately ordered someone to summon the Imperial Physician.
The Imperial Physician hurried over after being summoned.
He examined Hua Manman, and his expression became very strange.
He said to Prince Zhao,
"Lady Hua’s condition is rather strange. It appears to be a fever caused by a severe chill.
However, she keeps clutching her chest and crying out in pain, as if her heart hurts, but her pulse indicates there is nothing wrong with her heart.
I suspect she may have a heart ailment, but we will have to wait until she wakes up to confirm the specifics of her condition."
Li Ji said in a low voice, "First, find a way to bring down her fever."
"Yes, sir."