Chapter 286 All the Rejuvenating Herbs in the Imperial Hospital Have Withered

"Therefore, Sheng Sheng thinks that Her Majesty the Empress must be afraid that after Fourth Prince's leg heals, it might threaten you, Crown Prince, so she instigated Consort Liang."

Sheng Sheng analyzed logically, "As for Consort Liang, knowing that she has no hope of regaining favor, she was easily swayed by the Empress's instigation and the Empress's promise of some benefits."

Xie Yun was taken aback; he had no idea that Empress Zheng and Consort Liang had a secret relationship.

Xie Yunyang clenched her hands, feeling utterly ashamed.

“I’ve never had such a thought. My fourth brother is also my own brother. How could I do that for my own selfish reasons—” Xie Yun paused, finding it hard to finish her sentence, “Besides, I also…”

“Sheng Sheng knows.” Sheng Sheng took Xie Yun Yang’s hand. “Even if Crown Prince Brother doesn’t say it, Sheng Sheng knows. Not only does Sheng Sheng know, everyone knows.”

Sheng Sheng didn't mean anything by it; she just wanted to remind Xie Yun to pay more attention to Empress Zheng's movements.

Sheng Sheng always felt that since the Zheng family had just encountered trouble and then suffered such a blow from Xie Yun, Empress Zheng would definitely take action again.

The Zheng family fell into a trap because of a play put on by Xie Yun-yang and Xie Yun-chuan. Judging from Sheng Sheng's guess, Empress Zheng must now think that Xie Yun-yang was bewitched by Xie Yun-chuan.

Xie Yun-yang himself, besides despising the cold-blooded ruthlessness of the court, also cherished the feelings between his family members.

Therefore, if Empress Zheng wanted to change Xie Yunyang's mind at this critical juncture, she could only think of one other way besides damaging the relationship between the brothers and sisters.

Consort Liang, who had corresponded with Empress Zheng, was the most likely person Empress Zheng, who was full of suspicion, would use to investigate.

Xie Yun frowned, clearly having considered this as well. Just as she was about to speak, Zijuan's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Princess, something terrible has happened! News has come from the Imperial Hospital that all the Rejuvenating Herbs they planted have suddenly withered!"

"What!?"

These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, startling everyone so much that they almost lost their footing and wondered if they had misheard.

Shengsheng ran to the door and opened the study door: "Zijuan, what did you just say?"

Zijuan looked anxious and nodded to confirm that she was right: "Princess, all the Rejuvenating Herbs in the Imperial Hospital have withered!"

The Rejuvenating Herbs in the Imperial Medical Academy have all withered.

Sheng Sheng's heart skipped a beat, because just a second ago they were talking about Empress Zheng, and now Sheng Sheng subconsciously assumed that it was Empress Zheng who did it, and she thought to herself that she was doomed.

We were just discussing this, and now this jinx is coming true?

Xie Yunyang strode out, her expression tense, as if afraid to hear something: "Do you know why?"

Zijuan shook her head and replied, "We still don't know the reason. The medicine boy sent by Physician Li only said something like, 'They were perfectly fine before, nothing happened, but suddenly they all withered.' I didn't have time to ask for details. As soon as I heard something had happened, I rushed to report to the princess. This is very strange!"

"How could this be? Aren't the imperial physicians on duty in shifts every twelve hours? Does this mean the Rejuvenating Herb withered suddenly on its own?"

Sheng Sheng was somewhat anxious. The Imperial Hospital had three or four times more Rejuvenating Grass than she did. Although many of them had died along the way, every single Rejuvenating Grass was extremely important.

Upon hearing that all the Rejuvenating Grasses had withered, Sheng Sheng couldn't help but worry: "Did something happen to them?"

Xie Yunyang's expression turned solemn. He pressed his tongue against his lower jaw, tasting the bitterness in his mouth, before speaking in a deep voice: "It was an accident, but not a natural disaster; it was a man-made one."

The weather in Beijing has been nice lately, and today it's especially sunny. Unless someone did it on purpose, there's really no reason to explain why all the rejuvenating plants suddenly withered.

The group quickly arrived at the Imperial Hospital. Before they even entered, they heard the noisy voices of the imperial physicians, one after another sighing, either heartbroken over the precious Rejuvenating Herb or angry.

Amidst the sighs, several heated arguments could be heard.

"This incident involving Chuncao happened while you were on duty, Physician Zhou. Physician Zhou, shouldn't you give everyone an explanation, and give the Fourth Prince an explanation too!"

“This time, Chuncao was on guard every two hours, with one person on duty every two hours. She was under our watchful eyes every moment. How could she suddenly fall like this!”

"Yes, that's why we both know the value of this Rejuvenating Herb, and we'd love to stick our eyes to it. Physician Zhou is no exception. What good would it do him to destroy the Rejuvenating Herb?"

“That’s right, I agree with Physician Li. Although it is indeed Physician Zhou’s turn to be on duty, everyone has seen how much effort he has put into researching this Rejuvenating Herb. Who would ruin their own hard work?”

"That's right, that makes sense."

Sheng Sheng and Xie Yun listened outside the crowd for a while and then understood what had happened.

When the Rejuvenating Herb withered, it happened to be Physician Zhou's turn to be on duty, so when the other physicians learned of this, their first reaction was to condemn Physician Zhou.

However, the imperial physician Zhou, who had been constantly in the spotlight, did not refute much. He just kept staring at the land where the Rejuvenating Grass was planted, as if he was thinking about something.

She pushed through the crowd and walked over. The imperial physicians, who were somewhat at a loss because of the sudden incident, finally found their pillar of support and rushed to tell her what had happened.

Xie Yunyang pinched the bridge of her nose, not daring to look at that piece of land.

The resurrection grass lay withered and lifeless on the ground, with more than a dozen plants completely dead.

What on earth did Mother Empress do...?

After listening to the whole story, Sheng Sheng didn't rush to say anything. Instead, she asked Physician Zhou, "Physician Zhou, is this what everyone is saying?"

The imperial physician Zhou's pupils flickered, and he said frankly, "Your Highness, it is indeed true what the imperial physicians said. Today, from 11 PM to 3 PM, it was my turn to be on duty."

Physician Zhou took out a thin book and showed it to Sheng Sheng. It was full of Physician Zhou's records about the Rejuvenating Herb.

From the first day it was planted until now, every subtle change in the Rejuvenating Grass has been meticulously recorded.

Sheng Sheng turned to the last page with handwriting. The last character was only half-written before it stopped abruptly, the ink not even completely dry.

It must have been that Physician Zhou was taking notes as usual when he suddenly noticed the abnormality of the Rejuvenating Herb, which is why he stopped writing.

"When the Imperial Medical Academy first started planting the Rejuvenating Herb, it was like a blind man riding a blind horse, approaching a deep place in the middle of the night. They encountered many problems, which caused great losses to the Rejuvenating Herb. Therefore, I wanted to record the situation every day so that I could have some experience to learn from."