By the time Ning Chen woke up, it was mid-morning of the next day again!

He opened his eyes and was halfway through a stretch when he got a fright.

There was a row of people standing beside the bed.

This time the woman emperor was among them.

She'd skipped court today for Ning Chen's sake.

But Ning Chen seemed to have forgotten this was the second time. The exact same scene had played out yesterday.

He pulled his little quilt tight around himself, small, pitiful and helpless. The looks on these people's faces were too strange. It was downright creepy.

"Are you... are you all perverts? What are you doing crowded around my bed?"

Ning Chen said exactly what he'd said yesterday.

Xiao Yanxi and the others looked very worried.

Last night, the woman emperor had summoned a dozen-odd imperial physicians to examine him in turn... But they'd all come to the same conclusion: there was nothing wrong with Ning Chen's body. He was sleeping so much because he was exhausted.

But the woman emperor and Xiao Yanxi both knew that couldn't be it.

When it came to just how good Ning Chen's body was, the two of them were best placed to say.

So they were sure: something was badly wrong with Ning Chen's body.

The woman emperor had originally meant to send for the High Priestess.

But Xiao Yanxi had stopped her, because the High Priestess had said she'd come see Ning Chen today.

Xiao Yanxi asked anxiously, "Ning, dear, do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Ning Chen shook his head. "No. I feel great... Why are you all acting so weird?"

With that, Ning Chen suddenly looked at the woman emperor, puzzled. "I slept in my clothes last night?"

He'd presumably slept with the woman emperor last night. So why hadn't he gotten undressed?

The woman emperor's delicate brows knit with worry. It looked as though Xiao Yanxi had been right.

Ning Chen was in serious trouble.

First, the sleeping. Last night, if not for sheer luck, he might have drowned himself in a bathtub.

The illustrious…