Chapter 57: Your Majesty! You Must Exercise Restraint!

The two of them chatted idly as they made their way back to the bedchamber.

Luo Wushuang helped Shangguan Liqian sit carefully on the couch and said softly, “Sister, why don’t you lie down for a while? I’ll massage your legs for you, alright?”

It was only on the way back that she realized how overboard she had gone the previous night. She was also annoyed with her own carelessness; she hadn’t even noticed Sister’s discomfort earlier. Luo Wushuang knew that Liqian’s waist and legs must be aching, which was why she made the offer.

Leaning against a soft pillow, Shangguan Liqian looked at the cautious Emperor before her and replied without much gratitude, “There is no need. If others see this, it will damage Your Majesty’s imperial dignity.”

Luo Wushuang froze. In front of Sister, when had she ever had any “imperial dignity”? It had long since been slapped away by Sister’s hands.

However, the formal address of “Your Majesty” made her realize that Sister was truly a bit upset this time. Luo Wushuang began to reflect on her actions last night. The more she reflected, the more she felt something was off.

Last night… hadn’t Sister been the one who took the initiative? Why was the blame being pinned on her again?

Luo Wushuang looked up, about to protest her innocence, only to meet Shangguan Liqian’s warning gaze.

Clearly, Sister remembered as well.

Luo Wushuang lowered her head, muffling a laugh. An unreasonable Sister was also quite adorable!

Shangguan Liqian’s gaze swept over Luo Wushuang’s trembling shoulders. “What are you laughing at?” she asked expressionlessly.

“I’m… I’m not laughing. I’m crying.”

Luo Wushuang, who was laughing so hard her eyes were watering, tilted her face up to show Shangguan Liqian the tear hanging at the corner of her eye. She was indeed crying—but from laughter.

Insulted by the mockery, Shangguan Liqian glanced at the teary-eyed Luo Wushuang, turned away, and closed her eyes, refusing to acknowledge her further.

Realizing she might have truly pushed her luck, Luo Wushuang quickly reined in the mirth bubbling in her eyes. She poked the curve of Shangguan Liqian’s waist and called out softly, “Sister…”

Lying on her side, Shangguan Liqian brushed her hand away and remained silent.

Luo Wushuang stared at the back turned toward her for a moment before reaching out to gently touch the beauty’s jade-like legs.

Shangguan Liqian’s body stiffened. Once she realized that the Empress genuinely just wanted to give her a massage to ease the discomfort, her tense nerves relaxed slightly.

Sensing that Sister wasn’t resisting, Luo Wushuang’s courage grew. Her hands moved along those long, slender legs, traveling all the way up to that willow-thin waist that one could almost wrap a single hand around.

Shangguan Liqian’s relaxed mood tightened again. Seeing this, Luo Wushuang suppressed a chuckle and offered a reassuring whisper, “I won’t be reckless. Rest a while longer, Sister.”

“Mhm,” Shangguan Liqian hummed softly. She closed her eyes again and drifted into a deep sleep before long.

Hearing the steady, rhythmic breathing, Luo Wushuang knew that Sister had fallen asleep. However, she didn’t stop her movements. She continued to gently massage and knead Shangguan Liqian’s waist and legs until she felt the muscles were no longer tense. Only then did she stop.

Glancing at the screen that obscured the low table, Luo Wushuang sighed softly.

She hadn’t held the morning court session today. Before Sister woke up, she had been practicing her swordplay in the courtyard and hadn’t had time to read the memorials yet.

Now that Sister was asleep and there was nothing else to do, she might as well go review the reports. That way, when Sister woke up, wouldn’t she be free to spend more time together?

With that thought, Luo Wushuang easily convinced herself to head to the low table in the outer hall.

The stack of memorials beside her dwindled one by one. The setting sun gradually slanted, and by the time the sun dipped below the mountains, she finally finished the last report on the table.

Luo Wushuang stretched her limbs and let out a long breath, her gaze instinctively drifting toward the inner hall.

It had been nearly four hours. There wasn’t a sound from the inner hall. Could Sister still be sleeping?

Luo Wushuang stood up and walked toward the inner hall, her mind busy calculating: Sister slept for so long during the day, so she should have plenty of energy tonight. We should have dinner early, and after dinner, we can…

Her mind, filled with lewd thoughts, suddenly froze as her gaze fell upon the still-slumbering Shangguan Liqian.

Why did Sister’s face look so pale? It seemed she had looked this way in the morning, too. At the time, Wushuang assumed she just hadn’t rested well. But now, after sleeping through the entire afternoon, her face was still devoid of color. Could she be ill?

Luo Wushuang placed her hand gently on Shangguan Liqian’s forehead and neck. Sensing her temperature was normal and she wasn’t running a fever, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Still uneasy, she commanded the palace servants to summon the imperial physicians for a routine health check.

Perhaps she was truly exhausted, for even the commotion of the physicians entering failed to wake the sleeping Shangguan Liqian.

Luo Wushuang waved off the physicians’ bows and briefly explained the situation. Following the doctor’s instructions, she tied a golden silk thread around Sister’s wrist.

Aware of how much the Empress cared for this Lady Shangguan, the physicians dared not be careless. They held their breath, taking turns to diagnose her pulse through the thread.

However, as the diagnosis continued, the physicians’ expressions grew increasingly strange.

Seeing this, Luo Wushuang’s brow furrowed deeper, fearing that Sister really had some hidden ailment. As soon as the physicians stood up, she asked impatiently, “Well? Is there something wrong with Sister’s body?”

Meeting the Empress’s solemn expression, the physicians looked at one another, none of them knowing how to speak.

Finally, under the expectant gazes of his colleagues, the Chief Physician stepped forward slowly. “The lady’s complexion lacks vitality, and her pulse is thin and floating. This is a sign of a deficiency of vital essence.”

Luo Wushuang was stunned, her expression turning anxious. “How could that be?”

Just as Luo Wushuang began to suspect someone had poisoned Sister or something else had happened behind her back, the Chief Physician carefully observed the Empress’s face before speaking cautiously.

“We believe the lady may be overthinking and exhausting her spirit in daily life…” After another glance at his sovereign’s darkening face, the Chief Physician finally got to the point. “…Or perhaps there has been a lack of restraint in bedroom activities.”

Shangguan Liqian woke up at that exact moment. Before she even opened her eyes, she heard the Chief Physician’s low-voiced warning.

Shangguan Liqian: “…”

What did she just hear?

Why on earth did that idiot call so many imperial physicians over?!

She desperately wished she hadn’t woken up so she wouldn’t have to face this awkwardness.

The Chief Physician’s advice continued, “The kidneys are the foundation of one’s innate nature. The lady’s essence within her kidneys is currently insufficient, much like a spring whose source is drying up. If this continues, it may cause many ailments, such as dizziness, tinnitus, intolerance to cold, weakness in the waist and knees, and restless sleep. In more severe cases…”

Shangguan Liqian’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, but in the end, she didn’t have the courage to open her eyes.

If “social death” had a face, it was hers right now.