Chapter 20 Starting tomorrow, please have the Crown Princess take charge of the household.

Shen Wantang didn't care what Xiao Qingyuan thought of her; she was more concerned about her mother-in-law's condition. She took a silk handkerchief and wiped the blood from her mother-in-law's mouth, then asked softly, "Mother, are you feeling any better now?"

The princess nodded slightly, looked around, and quickly understood what had happened: "Did you save me?"

Shen Wantang, however, did not take credit. As she finished removing the needles, she said, "I performed acupuncture on Mother, which woke you up. Your condition was too critical just now, so I had no choice but to try. Fortunately, you woke up. Don't worry, Father has already sent someone to fetch the imperial physician, and he will be here soon."

The princess reacted the same way as everyone else: "You know acupuncture?"

Shen Wantang cautiously replied, "I've studied some."

After she finished collecting all the needles, she stood up and stood aside. Granny Quan helped the princess rinse her mouth and drink a bowl of ginseng soup.

At this moment, the chief steward of the Prince's mansion hurriedly arrived with the imperial physician.

The person who came was not the Imperial Physician Zhou, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, whom Xiao Qingyuan most wanted to see. Instead, it was another Imperial Physician Qin, who usually treated Prince Ning and his wife. He was not good at gynecology, but rather at internal medicine.

Imperial Physician Qin felt the princess's pulse, his expression becoming solemn: "May I ask Your Highness, before I came, did you have another imperial physician examine the princess?"

Prince Ning glanced at Shen Wantang and said, "Indeed, someone has already treated the Princess Consort and performed acupuncture, which is why she woke up."

Imperial Physician Qin nodded solemnly: "Indeed! Fortunately, the treatment was timely, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable. The princess has now awakened, but her pulse is so weak. If she had not received timely treatment, she would probably have been left with serious health problems, and it might have been difficult for her to wake up again."

Prince Ning was startled and looked at Shen Wantang once again.

The rest of the people in the room also looked at Shen Wantang. Only then did they finally understand how timely and important Shen Wantang's treatment had been.

When Physician Qin noticed that they were all looking at Shen Wantang, he felt a little strange, but he knew that she was the newlywed princess consort of the Prince's mansion, so he didn't look at her too much.

After taking his pulse again, he went out, wrote a prescription, and then left.

Before leaving, he said, "Your Highness, I dare not conceal the truth. My medical skills may not be as good as those of the imperial physician you previously invited for the Princess. I cannot cure the Princess's illness completely. You will probably have to ask that imperial physician to continue treating the Princess. Perhaps he can cure it completely and make the Princess truly recover. Otherwise, the Princess can only rest and recuperate quietly. She must not overexert herself, and even more so, she must not get angry again."

After Physician Qin left, everyone looked at Shen Wantang with newfound respect.

Although Physician Qin was not as famous as Physician Zhou, his medical skills were quite good; otherwise, he would not have been able to treat Prince Ning for so long.

However, even he said that his medical skills were not as good as Shen Wantang's. How amazing must Shen Wantang's medical skills be?

The Prince's Mansion has really struck gold this time. They originally thought she was just a concubine's daughter from a minor official's family, but they never expected her to be a hidden medical expert.

The princess even took Shen Wantang's hand and said in a friendly tone, "Good child, I owe you so much this time. Otherwise, I don't know if I would have survived. Don't worry, Tang'er, as long as I'm here, no one will dare to bully you again."

Shen Wantang smiled at her: "Thank you for your care, Mother. It is only right that I treat you. In fact, it is because Father trusts me that I dare to do it. I am young and a girl. If I suddenly offered to give you acupuncture, anyone would think I was crazy."

Prince Ning hadn't expected to be praised by his daughter-in-law. He didn't necessarily trust her completely, but his wife was in critical condition, her breathing frighteningly weak. He dared not delay, so he gritted his teeth and allowed Shen Wantang to perform acupuncture.

He saw the princess looking at him and nodded to her: "I didn't think much of it. You looked really bad just now, and Yuan'er was against the Crown Princess giving you acupuncture. I thought that anything he opposed must be good, so I quickly had the Crown Princess do it."

The princess found her husband's reason rather ridiculous, but she couldn't laugh.

This is a tacit understanding she has reached with the prince over the past two years: anything her son opposes is generally a good thing, while anything her son likes is a bad thing.

She looked at her son, her eyes slightly cold: "Yuan'er, I believe I have given birth to you and raised you, and I have never owed you anything. Why are you so determined to kill me? Do you think that your father, the entire royal palace, and I are all less important than Chu Yanluo?"

Xiao Qingyuan's face turned pale: "Mother, I never wanted you to die, and I never expected it to turn out like this. I just like Yanluo and feel sorry for her, so I wanted to bring her home. I thought that you look cold but are actually soft-hearted, and that you would allow her to stay in the Prince's mansion for my sake."

Upon hearing this, the princess felt a chill run down her spine.

She really doesn't know what the point of raising a son is; he's not as sensible and filial as her daughter-in-law.

She waved her hand wearily: "I almost lost my life because of her. If it weren't for Tang'er, I would probably be in the underworld by now. So, I don't care how you get along with that Chu Yanluo. Anyway, in my Ningwang Mansion, Tang'er is the only princess consort, and she will be the only mistress in the future."

"Imperial Physician Qin told me to rest, so starting tomorrow, I will hand over the management of the household to Tang'er. From now on, I will entrust this household to her. Anyone who dares to disobey her can get out of the palace."

Xiao Qingyuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing his mother's pale, bloodless face and her trembling hands, he swallowed his words.

He did love Chu Yanluo very much, but he wasn't a spoiled brat without any filial piety, and it was impossible for him to be completely indifferent to his mother's health.

He was looking for a balance, a balance that would allow his mother and Chu Yanluo to get along well, rather than a balance that would make them fight to the death.

Soon, the princess lay down, exhausted: "Everyone, get out. I'm tired."

Shen Wantang curtsied to her and then left with Dujuan and Granny Chai.

When she passed Xiao Qingyuan, she didn't even look at him and walked straight past him.

No sooner had she returned to her courtyard than Granny Quan arrived.

She held up a box and respectfully handed it over: "Your Highness, this is the steward's key and account book that the Princess asked me to deliver. Starting tomorrow, Your Highness will be in charge of the household."

Shen Wantang hesitated for a moment: "Granny, I can help my mother recover from her illness. As for managing the household... let my mother handle it. After all, I've only recently joined the family and I'm still too young..."

Granny Quan smiled at her: "Princess Consort, don't worry. Granny Chai will do her best to assist you. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask her. She was originally the Princess Consort's right-hand woman, otherwise she wouldn't have been sent to teach the Prince as he grew up. There's nothing in this Prince's mansion that she doesn't understand. With her here, you can rest assured to manage the household."

"If you are still worried, the princess also said that you can ask the princess for help if you encounter any difficulties."