After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 244 I'm not dead yet!

Li Yuanke snatched the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Then he lay down, pulled up the blanket, covered his head, and ignored her.

After staying up late, Shen Shixi was sleepy but quite hungry. He instructed Caiying, "Tell the East Kitchen to bring me a bowl of millet porridge with some side dishes, and make me a bowl of noodles with bone broth and a few fried dumplings."

After Caiying left, Shen Shixi sat cross-legged next to her, leaning against the bed frame, and dozed off for a while.

Breakfast was served quickly, with a small table placed on the bed.

Shen Shixi nudged him, "Do you want to eat something?"

Li Yuanke didn't have much of an appetite, but if he didn't eat, it would seem like he hadn't done something. "What do you want to eat?"

"Millet porridge, nothing else. You can't eat anything else, but drinking some porridge can soothe your stomach."

"I won't eat it!"

"Eat something! You won't have any energy if you don't eat, and you won't be able to fight off the virus. Come on, listen to me, get up and eat something!"

Li Yuanke had no choice but to sit up again. Shen Shixi took a small blanket and draped it over him. Breakfast was served: a small bowl of millet porridge and a few side dishes, which could be used to feed the donkey.

Shen Shixi's bowl was a steaming bowl of bone broth noodles, topped with several round, plump dumplings.

Li Yuanke: ...

The dietary differences are too great.

He wanted to eat Shen Shixi's food.

But Shen Shixi had already started eating. Seeing him staring at her bowl, she said, "You eat yours, don't look. I won't give you any if you do."

"I want you to feed me!" He leaned against the headboard, feeling dizzy and indeed had no appetite.

Shen Shixi fed him a chopstickful of noodles and a sip of soup. "I really can't give you any more. Just finish this bowl of porridge and go to sleep. Oh, by the way, you're sick. Your women must want to come and take care of you. Are there any you want to see?"

Li Yuanke glared at her but ignored her.

He drank the porridge, cleared away the small table, rinsed his mouth, and lay down.

"If any memorials come, approve them for me!" Li Yuanke instructed.

Shen Shixi had never seen an emperor act like this before. "How about I sit on your dragon throne?"

Li Yuanke said, "Shut up, or I'm not protecting you!"

"Just drag me away and chop me up!"

Shen Shixi asked Caiying to add a blanket to the tatami mat. The window was opened a crack so that fresh air could come in. The floor heating was very warm, so she slept on the tatami mat.

They each slept in their own rooms.

After sleeping for a while, Li Fude came in and called to the Empress, "Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived and wishes to see His Majesty."

"Let her in to see me!" Shen Shixi rolled over, too lazy to move an inch.

The Empress entered, glancing at Shen Shixi first. Shen Shixi had her back to her, looking like a dead person.

She was, after all, the mistress of the house.

But the Empress had no time to pay attention at the moment, and saw the Emperor lying on the bed, fast asleep.

The Empress had a stool brought to the bedside. Looking at the Emperor's back, and thinking of him lying unconscious on the bed, she was overcome with grief and tears streamed down her face.

Shen Shixi was annoyed by the crying. He wasn't dead yet, so why was he crying like that?

After a while, Consort De and the other concubines arrived and waited outside Qian Yuan Palace.

Shen Shixi didn't let them in, and instructed, "Tell them all to go back. Tell them that the Empress and I are attending to the Emperor, and that he is fine, just a little feverish. Don't worry, it's cold. Those in the palaces with children should prioritize the imperial heir."

"yes!"

Li Fude went to deliver the message, and everyone went back.

Consort De was very unwilling, but there was nothing she could do. Shen Shixi held a high position, enjoyed the Emperor's favor, and was shameless. Without complete confidence, she did not want to confront Shen Shixi for the time being.

For now, let her spar with the Empress. When two tigers fight, both will surely be injured. That will be her chance.

The emperor was finally awakened by the crying, and his violent temper flared up instantly.

"Your Majesty, you've finally woken up! I was so worried! What would I have done if anything had happened to you?" The Empress threw herself at the bedside.

Shen Shixi ignored it and went straight out to Li Yuanke's study, where he found a pile of memorials.

During the Lunar New Year, if you open one book, you'll find it's a collection of greetings and New Year's wishes; if you open another, you'll find it's another book. But if you don't look at them, you might find one or two important memorials among ten of them.

She saw her father's greeting letter. The first part was a greeting, which Shen Shixi could only vaguely understand. The rest was a report, which was at least not so literary. It was full of parallel prose, and she probably didn't recognize nine out of ten characters.

She suspected that Li Yuanke probably didn't recognize these characters very well either, and didn't know how he used to read folded books.

In Bingzhou, wool textile factories have already opened, and canneries have also started operating. This winter, they sold a lot of canned goods to the capital, and business was booming. The knitting technique is also being passed on to the capital, and the sales channels for wool yarn will become wider and wider.

The discussions were very lively, and the tax revenue was considerable. This year, we plan to promote the planting of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn on a small scale and request the Ministry of Works to provide seed support. In the future, we plan to repair the highway from Bingzhou to Youzhou and then to Shangjing, which also requires the support of the Ministry of Works.

Shen Shixi's reply: I am well! Your work is commendable; the Ministry of Works is hereby ordered to provide support!

Shen Shixi learned calligraphy from Li Yuanke since he was a child.

He wasn't good at studying, but his handwriting was decent. As the saying goes, "You can tell a lot about a person by their handwriting," but his scrawled handwriting was really not presentable.

If she deliberately imitates, even a few simple words can be written in a way that is indistinguishable from the real thing.

This is also why Li Yuanke dared to ask her to revise the memorials.

On the folding document, Shen Shixi copied his handwriting and wrote the two characters "朕安" (Zhen An, meaning "I am at peace"). As he wrote, the habit kicked in, and he accidentally wrote "朕安" on another folding document containing a memorial. By the time he realized it, it was too late.

After some thought, she wrote, "I am relieved that you ministers are able to serve diligently, which pleases me greatly. At the beginning of spring, the work of digging ditches and canals can be put on the agenda, and the labor burden on the people should not be too heavy; you governors, as local officials, should work for the benefit of the people, and must not act arrogantly or forget your roots!"

After taking a look, it seems to make a lot of sense!

After approving more than thirty memorials, Shen Shixi didn't want to approve anymore; it was too tiring!

Seeing the empress wailing like a mourner, the emperor couldn't hold back his anger and shouted, "I'm not dead yet! What are you crying for? Get out!"

The Empress was shocked. She was the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty! How could the Emperor treat her so disrespectfully? "Your Majesty, I was only worried about you! Your Majesty's life is of paramount importance, and the safety of the Great Zhou Dynasty rests on your shoulders. How could you say such a thing?"

"I merely caught a cold, what's the big deal? It's the first month of the lunar year, why are you coming to my palace to wail like a mourner? Get out!" The Emperor finished speaking, turned over, and, fearing the Empress wouldn't leave, said, "Li Fude, escort the Empress out!"

Li Yuanke's illness came on suddenly, with a high fever right away. He was quite scared himself; who isn't afraid of death?

When Shen Shixi arrived, he joked around, acted spoiled and unreasonable, and didn't take his illness seriously. He felt much more relaxed. However, when the Empress came and cried, he felt that he was terminally ill and didn't have much time left.

How could I not be annoyed?

The Empress was heartbroken and said, "I will come to see Your Majesty again tomorrow."

She interpreted it as the Emperor being ill and in pain, which was why he treated her this way.

At this moment, all she needs to do is be considerate and tolerant.

Li Fude also felt that the Empress's actions were really inappropriate. The Emperor was fine, but you didn't say a word of comfort, just sat down and cried pitifully, making everyone below feel uneasy. Who wouldn't be annoyed?

In the afternoon, Li Yuanke developed a fever again. Fortunately, it was the dead of winter, so it was easy to get ice or ice water.

Shen Shixi then had someone give him another round of physical cooling.

Li Yuanke's condition deteriorated due to the continuous fever.

Shen Shixi stopped bothering him and obediently fed him the medicine. "Having a fever is not a bad thing. When there is a virus in your body, fever is a natural stress response. A high fever will kill the virus in your body, which is a good thing."

It's normal to feel tired and exhausted. Just like after fighting a powerful enemy, you'll definitely feel fatigued and drained. A good night's sleep will do the trick. Relax.

Li Yuanke looked listless, holding her hand. "Don't go, stay here with me!"

"Okay, go to sleep. I'll watch over you. Don't be afraid! Nothing will happen, and I won't let anything happen to you!" Shen Shixi touched his forehead; his temperature was alright.

After Li Yuanke lay down, he held her hand and felt at ease.

Aunt Qingruo arrived. "The Empress Dowager heard that the Emperor is ill and is extremely worried. How is he? Where are the imperial physicians?"

The imperial physicians never left. Shen Shixi had them settled in. This time, treating the Emperor was easier than usual. The main reason was that the Imperial Noble Consort didn't panic like others did, and instead transferred all the pressure onto the imperial physicians.