Physician, Not A Consort

"Welcome back, General Chen!" said Lin Haihai with a smile, as she watched General Chen open his eyes.

General Chen squinted his eyes, trying his very best to make out the features of the person before him, but the presence of light was now hurting his vision due to the prolonged lack of it.

"Don't push it. Take it easy. Slowly open your eyes, bit by bit. Yes, that's right!" Lin Haihai guided him.

The silhouette standing before General Chen started to take form, and a woman with a sweet smile stood before him. "Physician Lin?" General Chen's voice was rough and husky, filled with uncertainty too. In his comatose state, there had been a gentle voice that constantly encouraged him. Several times as he stood before Hell's gates, he had gritted his teeth and pressed on.

The woman standing before him was too young to match up to the image from his imagination. He had thought that such a skilled doctor would at least be in the forties or fifties.

"My name is Lin Haihai, your physician-in-charge. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Without a thermometer, Lin Haihai could only touch his forehead with the back of her hand. He seems to be running a low fever, but that's normal. Luckily, there were antibiotics in Li Junyue's medical box. In such circumstances, antibiotics were the best anti-inflammatory medicine!

"I'm fine, I want to see His Majesty!" General Chen struggled to get up, his handsome face contorted with pain.

"Don't move. Lie down. I will ask His Majesty to come over if you want to see him. Have a good rest." Lin Haihai promptly pressed him back down onto the bed.

"No, it is too dangerous for His Majesty to leave the palace. I want to enter the palace!" General Chen instantly turned down her suggestion.

"How do you plan to enter the palace when you can't even get out of bed at all?" Lin Haihai was getting infuriated.

"I can, I…" No sooner had General Chen tried to stand, a wave of dizziness struck him and his legs gave way.

Lin Haihai swiftly held him up and scolded, "I'm the physician. I said no means no. Lie down now and I will send someone to get His Majesty." She then turned to Ming Yue and instructed, "Watch him, don't let him get out of bed." Ming Yue answered with an affirmative.

Lin Haihai took a glance at General Chen and said, "Rest assured, everything will be alright." General Chen blinked with a pained expression. He was inexplicably convinced by her.

"Zheng Feng, great to see you!" Just as Lin Haihai stepped out of the hospital entrance, she was approached by Zheng Feng with a group of guards trailing behind him.

"Paying respects to Sixth Princess Consort!" Zheng Feng bowed respectfully and the guards behind him followed suit.

"No need for the formalities. General Chen has woken up; he wants to see His Majesty."

"Sixth Princess Consort is indeed a god of miracles!" Zheng Feng was elated and promptly bowed again.

"The credit isn't all mine to take. He has a strong will to live as well. I will have to trouble you to inform His Majesty," Lin Haihai replied humbly.

"This subordinate will report to him now. Farewell." Zheng Feng then turned to his guards and ordered, "Keep watch of General Chen and kill any intruders on sight!"

"Understood!" The guards answered.

"Zheng Feng, protect His Majesty well!" Lin Haihai suddenly voiced out.

"This subordinate understands." Zheng Feng lowered his head, a strange gaze flickering across his eyes.

———

"This subordinate pays respect to Your Majesty." Zheng Feng knelt down on one knee.

Yang Shaolun raised his head and replied indifferently, "What's the matter?"

"General Chen has woken up. Consort Lin is seeking Your Majesty to make a trip over, as General Chen wants to see you desperately." Zheng Feng relayed Lin Haihai's words.

"Really? That's great!" Yang Shaolun was overjoyed and immediately stood up from his seat. "Xiao Yuan, prepare the carriage."

Xiao Yuan's voice travelled from outside the hall as he replied, "Understood."

"Imperial Elder Brother, let me go with you." Yang Hanlun happened to overhear Zheng Feng's report when he arrived after visiting his Imperial Mother at Ci'an Palace.

"Alright, let's head there together." Yang Shaolun patted Yang Hanlun's shoulder. There were no traces of any hard feelings in his eyes.

When they arrived at Linhai Hospital, they were shocked by the scene presented before them. Yang Hanlun was the first to recover from it. He immediately grabbed onto Lin Haihai, who tried unsuccessfully to escape. He hollered, "You promised me that you would close for today! You lied!"

Lin Haihai cunningly answered, "I promised you I would close the doors today, didn't I? See, I kept my word!"

"You greedy woman! Are you that desperate? Look at your neck, the scar's still there! Is money that important?" Yang Hanlun was filled with fury. Though he had already known for a long while that this was how she was, it couldn't negate the disappointment in him.

Yang Shaolun turned away, unwilling to see their flirtatious banter for fear that he would be hurt by the sight of it.

"Master, General Chen insists on getting out of bed." The timely appearance of Qing Feng saved Lin Haihai from her circumstances. Yang Shaolun voiced out, "Let's go see General Chen first. Other matters can be discussed later."

Yang Hanlun glared at Lin Haihai furiously and harshly remarked, "Are you still not going to open the doors? Do you expect us to climb in through the windows?"

Lin Haihai immediately plastered a pretentious smile on her face, replying, "Yes, yes, I will open them immediately!" As the saying went - money is king; whoever gives money is the boss; he is the law.

"Qing Feng, open the door. We will go through the main entrance." Qing Feng promptly opened the door. Yang Shaolun looked at Lin Haihai. Her appearance was extremely lovely. She only shows this different side of her when she is interacting with Imperial Brother. On the other hand, she always puts on a distant and indifferent front before me. Her feelings for me were probably momentary confusion. Yang Shaolun let out a sigh. I told myself to not think of her. Why am I always unable to control my thoughts?

"You took the thousand taels, didn’t you?" Yang Hanlun lowered his voice and asked. Lin Haihai pretended to not hear him and hastened her footsteps. This dude is really too stingy, to keep harping on the silvers!

"Shaolun, you're finally here!" General Chen exclaimed as he struggled to get up. "Did you run into any ambush on your way here?"

Lin Haihai raised an eyebrow. He actually addressed him by name. They must have a really good relationship!

"Luoqing, I'm here. Don't move, lie down." Yang Shaolun stretched out his hand to press Chen Luoqing back down onto the bed. However, he accidentally tugged at his own wound and gritted his teeth in pain.

"You were injured?" Chen Luoqing's heart sank. They have started to take action!

"It's nothing, just a minor injury. Luoqing, who ambushed you?" Yang Shaolun asked eagerly.

"Did anyone follow you on your way here?" Chen Luoqing replied with another question.

"Replying to General Chen, there were no traces of anyone following us on our way here," Zheng Feng standing at the back replied.

"Luoqing, what's going on?" Yang Shaolun couldn't suppress the anxiety in his heart.

"Commander Zheng, please slice the hem of my robe." A grave expression appeared on Chen Luoqing's face.

Zheng Feng brandished his sword and easily sliced through the inner lining of the hem; a piece of paper fell to the ground. He picked it up and passed it to Yang Shaolun.

Yang Shaolun was startled when he looked through it and asked in disbelief, "Who gave this to you?"

"A eunuch I have never seen before," replied Chen Luoqing.

"I have never sent such a secret decree," Yang Shaolun said with certainty.

"But the imprint of the imperial seal is genuine." Cough. Chen Luoqing explained weakly.

"Imperial Elder Brother, is it a genuine imprint?" Yang Hanlun went forward and examined the imprint in detail.

"It is," Yang Shaolun answered.

Everyone was thrown into shock. Is there a spy in the palace?

"Zheng Feng, this Emperor will entrust this matter to you. Be sure to find out the mastermind behind this!" Yang Shaolun instructed icily; his gaze was like the calm before the storm.

"This subordinate understands!" A trace of doubt flickered across Zheng Feng's eyes as his gaze landed on Lin Haihai briefly. Lin Haihai naturally caught onto it and a faint smile appeared on her face. She knew long ago that she wouldn't be able to fool the brilliant imperial army commander. Only that silly Yang Hanlun would really believe that she was saved by some unknown hero. She really had no idea if she should consider him silly or gullible.

Would Brother Yang believe it? Lin Haihai gently turned her head towards Yang Shaolun; the latter was deep in thought. His sharply defined countenance was emitting a charming brilliance. She watched him in admiration, her heart throbbing inexplicably. Like telepathy, Yang Shaolun turned and met her gaze. Their eyes were filled with indescribable complex feelings.

"By the way, do you know who attacked you?" Yang Shaolun came back to his senses and questioned.

"It was a man. Also, I met a woman on the way. She took the empress dowager of Rong hostage." A hint of killing intent flickered across Chen Qingluo's eyes, but he maintained a calm expression.

"What?" Everyone was surprised. Yang Hanlun promptly followed up with another question. "Someone mentioned that he saw you with an old woman and a young lady in the woods in the outskirts of the city. So that's true too?"

"Someone saw me? Who was it?" The killing intent in Chen Luoqing's eyes became increasingly evident, but his expression remained placid. Lin Haihai was secretly impressed with Chen Luoqing. What a crafty fox!

"Minister Chen's steward," Yang Hanlun said truthfully.

"It's indeed him!" Chen Qingluo let out a chuckle, the killing intent in his eyes dissipating. A thick sense of mockery took its place. That man wasn't much of a threat; neither was the man behind him. But for them to have exposed themselves so blatantly, they must have already fostered a comprehensive plot.

"You mean…" Yang Hanlun's heart sank. Minister Chen was Birou's father. If he was involved in this matter, it would be a heinous crime. What would become of Birou then?

"It's all just speculation now. Luoqing, nurse your health back first. We will just wait for Zheng Feng to get back with the investigation results," Yang Shaolun said in conclusion, effectively ending the discussion. This wasn't a suitable place nor occasion to discuss this matter. Now that they already knew how the series of events unfolded, they could make further discussion after the first round of investigations.

"This subordinate will try his best to unveil the truth!" Zheng Feng remarked.

"Xiao'hai! The old man agreed to it! He agreed to…" Li Junyue entered the room between deep pants. He halted in his tracks when he was unexpectedly welcomed by a room full of people.

"Really? He agreed to it? That's awesome!" Lin Haihai said happily. Yang Shaolun glanced at Li Junyue coldly. Who is he?

"Why are there so many people? Who are they?" Li Junyue asked, confused. Everyone had a strange look on their face, especially that man in golden yellow robes. His gaze was like piercing ice arrows.

"How brazen! How dare you not kneel when you see His Majesty!" a guard hollered.