Chapter 502 Who said I have the heart of a bodhisattva?

"What? He's not breathing?!"

Qin Xin blurted out a cry, then quickly covered her mouth.

She looked at Du Juan and saw that Du Juan was just as shocked as she was. Then she looked at Shen Wantang and saw that her fair face was calm and expressionless.

She knew then that Shen Wantang had probably anticipated this outcome.

Shen Wantang had expected this, just by looking at Huayi's belly, she knew that the child must have been born with congenital deficiencies. Although the child was born with difficulty, the child was too weak to survive.

Moreover, Princess Ning's subsequent excessive tonics for her were a grave mistake. Tonics given at this time would only have the opposite effect, causing harm to both the mother and the child.

She asked calmly, "The child is gone, but what about the adults? How are they?"

Granny Chai whispered, "Huayi's condition is not good; the bleeding hasn't stopped. And the Princess Consort, she took the baby away as soon as it was born, but the baby stopped breathing right after she took it away. The Princess Consort watched helplessly as the baby died, and then she couldn't catch her breath and fainted."

Shen Wantang stood up: "Let's go take a look."

Qin Xin couldn't help but ask, "Princess Consort, are you going to treat the Princess? Have you forgotten that the Princess now trusts the imperial physicians more?"

“I haven’t forgotten. Of course, I didn’t go to treat the princess. She had fainted, and the prince’s unborn child was gone. It wouldn’t be right for me not to go and see her.”

Of course, she mainly wanted to see what her mother-in-law looked like now, whether she was still as domineering as before, and whether she was still as protective of Huayi as before.

Shen Wantang, accompanied by her maid, went to Shaoguang Courtyard.

Inside the room, Princess Ning had already woken up.

She lay half-reclined on the chaise longue, her face pale and her expression pained.

Granny Quan was holding a bowl of ginseng soup and feeding her spoonful by spoonful.

Shen Wantang stepped forward and curtsied: "I heard that Mother fainted. How are you feeling now? Is anything bothering you?"

Princess Ning looked at her, her tone much gentler than a few days ago: "Tang'er, you've come at the right time. Please take a look at me and see what's wrong. Not only is my head throbbing, but my chest is also starting to hurt, and sometimes I can't breathe. I was thinking, if you give me a couple of acupuncture needles to clear my blood and qi, maybe I'll feel better."

Shen Wantang's tone was even gentler than her mother-in-law's, as if the previous unpleasantness had never existed: "I won't embarrass myself by showing off my little skills to Mother, lest it delay your treatment. Wasn't the imperial physician's treatment of Mother quite good before? Mother, do you remember which imperial physician had the best skills? Why don't we ask him to treat Mother?"

Princess Ning's expression froze, and then she sighed with red eyes: "Tang'er, were you angry with me for praising Huayi earlier? But I spoke carelessly and said some things you didn't like to hear, and you hold a grudge against me, so now you won't even let me see a doctor?"

"Mother, what are you saying? We've always gotten along well, how could we hold a grudge overnight? Huayi is carrying the prince's child, she's incredibly precious, it's only right that you honor her, how could I possibly hold a grudge against you?"

"Then why are you unwilling to treat me anymore?"

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to treat Mother, but this time her illness is quite different, and my skills are no longer sufficient. It would be safer to have an experienced imperial physician treat you. If Mother is worried that one imperial physician is not enough, then we can invite several more. I remember last time Father invited more than a dozen for you. Let’s invite that many this time as well. What do you think?”

When Princess Ning saw that she was determined not to treat her illness, she felt a chill in her heart. After all, she wasn't her own daughter, and a few harsh words were all it took for her to become distant from her.

She felt a pang of regret. If she had known this would happen, she would have been more restrained in her words. She had only been venting her anger on Shen Wantang and had inadvertently let out all the resentment in her heart.

These past few days, when Shen Wantang came to pay his respects, she hadn't given him a kind look.

It's all that good-for-nothing Huayi's fault. She couldn't even raise the child she gave birth to. She has no hope left. In the future, she won't have a great-grandson to take care of her in her old age. She will still have to rely on her daughter-in-law to adopt a child to come to the Prince's mansion, inherit the family business, and take care of her and the Prince in their old age.

She lay listlessly on the chaise longue: "Fine, then let's call the imperial physician. It would be best if he could give me a few acupuncture needles, so I won't have to drink medicine. Those medicines make me nauseous."

"Then I will send someone to fetch the imperial physician. Mother, please rest well."

Shen Wantang didn't care about her mother-in-law's requests. How the imperial physician treated her mother-in-law was none of her concern. All she needed to do was invite the imperial physician to the Prince's residence.

After leaving her mother-in-law's courtyard, Shen Wantang took her maid to Huayi's courtyard.

Since Huayi was promoted by the princess to be the crown prince's concubine, she was given a large, separate courtyard and was assigned four maids and two nannies to serve her.

A few days ago, this courtyard of Huayi was the liveliest place, with a constant stream of good things being delivered, filling it to the brim.

At this moment, the picturesque courtyard was deathly silent. The several arrogant maids were now as wilted as frost-bitten eggplants. When they saw Shen Wantang arrive, they immediately knelt down.

"Princess Consort, help!"

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort thinks we haven't taken good care of the concubine and the young prince, and she wants to sell us off! Please have mercy and plead with the Princess Consort on our behalf!"

"Your Highness, you have always been kind-hearted and never easily sell out your servants. I have served you with all my heart and soul. Please, for the sake of my hard work, even if I have not made any great contributions, please keep me!"

"Please, Your Highness, have mercy! This servant will serve you like a slave from now on!"

Shen Wantang looked at the maids kneeling on the ground with a cold expression.

A few days ago, they didn't have this attitude.

They were all the princess's maids. After being assigned to serve Huayi, they all considered themselves superior and looked down on everyone else.

Qin Xin liked to inquire about news, but every time she came to Huayi Courtyard, she would be driven away by the sarcastic remarks of the girls from a distance.

Qin Xin had gone back to complain to her about this several times.

As the saying goes, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog. In addition, Qin Xin is her most trusted confidante and her right-hand woman. Scolding Qin Xin is tantamount to slapping Shen Wantang in the face.

In the quiet room, Shen Wantang's voice sounded particularly cold: "Who said I have the heart of a bodhisattva?"

A maid raised her head somewhat fearfully: "Princess Consort, yes, it was this servant who said it."

Shen Wantang looked at her indifferently: "Granny Chai, drag her out and sell her off immediately!"

"Yes, Princess Consort."

The maid was terrified and hurriedly begged for forgiveness: "This servant knows she was wrong. Please forgive this servant this time, Your Highness. I will listen to Your Highness in everything from now on!"

Unfortunately, Shen Wantang remained unmoved.

Two old women stepped forward, dragged the begging maid out, and soon there was no more movement.

The remaining maids trembled in fear, realizing that no amount of flattery could win over Shen Wantang's decisive and efficient manner.