Chapter 149 Coma
The smile on Xiao Yuxuan's face vanished instantly.
"What did you say? Unconscious?!"
As she read those words, she recalled how people who contracted the plague in her past life were like that. In the end, they were completely powerless, their bodies devoured by the Red Beauty Gu until they were just skin and bones, with no chance of survival. At that point, there was basically no cure.
A tremendous fear welled up in her heart, as if the heavens were playing a cruel joke on her.
Mingming had been spending a lot of time with the Princess every day through the gauze curtain these past few days, telling her about the progress of the patients outside being settled, and about the recent situation of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Occasionally, she would receive a few joking remarks from the Princess with a smile.
The prescription was clearly ready, and the princess would soon be able to take the medicine and recover quickly. She would then be the same bright, vibrant, and unparalleled Princess Ningyang.
How could he fall into a coma so quickly?
"Young lady! Please take care of yourself!"
When Aunt Meng saw Xiao Yuxuan running towards the palace in a daze, so fast that even Lanxin and Bihui couldn't keep up with her, she called out anxiously.
"Bang--"
As she ran up the steps, Xiao Yuxuan was so fast that she didn't pay attention to her steps and tripped and fell. She quickly got up, disregarding all decorum, and headed towards the palace.
"girl!"
The palace servants around her were quite frightened by her appearance. Seeing that she seemed unharmed and did not stop even after falling, they quickly followed her.
The princess's bedchamber was quiet. A palace maid was sobbing, but she only wiped away her tears silently, not daring to make a sound to disturb her mistress.
Xiao Yuxuan abruptly lifted the gauze curtain. The palace servants tried to stop her, but were frightened by her reddened eyes and stood rooted to the spot.
"Your Highness—"
When she got closer, she slowed down and called out softly.
This was the first time I had looked at the eldest princess so closely since she was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The woman behind the bed curtains was graceful and beautiful. It seemed that even the passing of time had been kind to her, as it had not added many signs of aging to her face. She lay quietly on the bed, and she was much more gentle and kind than she had been before, when she was dignified and noble.
She was wearing soft, comfortable undergarments and covered with a thin blanket, obscuring her figure. Her hands were folded over her abdomen, and one could tell from her thin fingers and protruding wrist joints that she had lost a lot of weight recently.
"Your Highness, wake up..."
She tried to shake the princess's hand, but was grabbed by Aunt Meng who rushed over.
“Miss, I hope you will take care of yourself. After all, His Highness has contracted a seasonal epidemic and it is not advisable to be in contact with him. Moreover, if His Highness were to wake up, he would certainly not want to see you in this state.”
In just a short time, Xiao Yuxuan had changed completely. From hearing that the prescription might be developed to hearing that the princess was unconscious, most of her vitality visibly disappeared.
Aunt Meng didn't want to see her like this, but the princess had been unconscious since last night and it was almost noon now, and she still couldn't be woken up. Just to be on the safe side, she wanted the young lady to be prepared.
Xiao Yuxuan looked at Aunt Meng, her words almost dripping with tears: "Aunt Meng, the prescription is almost ready, and some people have already tried it. By the way, the trial..."
She murmured those two words in a daze, then suddenly looked up and said:
"Bihui, quickly go and get the medicine from Doctor Pei. I want to try it myself!"
"Young lady, this won't do!"
Bihui instinctively refused.
They weren't unaware that the chances of saving the princess were extremely slim. All they could do now was see if they could wake her up, talk to her a little longer, and let her pass away peacefully.
But Xiao Yuxuan actually said she wanted to test the medicine herself, which means she still wanted to give the medicine to the princess.
Even so, she shouldn't have tried it herself. If something goes wrong, who can bear the responsibility!
"Young lady, you absolutely mustn't! Drug trials are extremely dangerous. You're perfectly healthy; why would you want to participate in a drug trial?!"
"There are too few people to test the medicine. It's because I'm healthy and have no problems. If I'm fine after drinking it, then even if the medicine can't save Your Highness, it won't cause any harm."
"What kind of logic is that? You can't just try anything when you're desperate!"
Seeing that she couldn't stop her, Aunt Meng tried to bring up the Princess: "Miss, Her Highness said last night that if she really couldn't save you... she would absolutely not want to see you ruin your body like this. I hope you will think it over!"
"Aunt Meng, just this once, just this once, let me do something for the Princess one more time. I... I can't just stand by and watch her..."
Xiao Yuxuan choked back tears, her eyes dry and sore, but she didn't shed a single tear.
"Good Bihui, good Lanxin, I beg you, please go and get medicine for me from Doctor Pei."
Bi Sui and Lan Xin had never seen Xiao Yuxuan like this before. They were already extremely saddened upon hearing the news of the princess's death, and now they were even more heartbroken, nodding repeatedly. Ignoring Aunt Meng's instructions, they resolutely went out to find Doctor Pei.
The two rushed to the courtyard where Doctor Pei was. After hearing their purpose, Doctor Pei hesitated.
The fact that the epidemic was caused by the Red Beauty Gu had not yet been widely publicized, so apart from those present at the autopsy, only a few high-ranking nobles and imperial physicians knew about it.
Therefore, they got it wrong from the start, whether to target infectious diseases or poisonous creatures. Now, by preparing medicine in the right direction, they have quickly developed a new prescription. However, correspondingly, the prescription that targets the symptoms is much more dangerous than the others.
Although many patients volunteered for the drug trial, only two were willing to participate this time after hearing that several people had died as a result.
“Miss Xiao is very righteous, but why is she in such a hurry? She could have waited for the patients to be observed for a couple more days before seeing the results. Why did Miss Xiao have to put herself in such danger?”
The fact that the eldest princess was critically ill was kept a secret. The two exchanged a glance, suppressing their grief, and said only that Miss Xiao wanted to do her part in the medicine trial, without revealing the truth.
Pei Xing'er walked out from the side. She felt that there was something wrong with the expressions of Sister Lanxin and Sister Bihui, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Grandpa, let me take the medicine. I can also record Miss Xiao's symptoms after she takes the medicine. Aren't you busy preparing the medicine? I can go!"
She volunteered, and after thinking for a moment, Doctor Pei finally nodded. "Alright, remember what your grandfather told you: if anything goes wrong within half a moment, induce vomiting immediately. Don't delay. And also..."
"I know, I know! You can go ahead and do your work without worry, I know what I'm doing."
Pei Xing'er followed the two to the Princess's bedchamber with the medicine, only to find out why Xiao Yuxuan was testing the medicine.
"His Highness is unconscious? When did this happen?"
"Shh, keep your voice down! Do you want the girl to hear and get upset again?!"
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