Chapter 150 Awakening
Bi Sui, having received instructions from Xiao Yuxuan, secretly told Pei Xing'er, who was preparing to brew medicine. Seeing her strong reaction, she quickly covered her mouth.
"This matter must not be revealed to outsiders. The young lady is in great distress right now. She only asked me to ask you one honest question: how reliable is this prescription?"
Pei Xing'er gripped the herbs tightly in her hand, her voice trembling as she whispered:
"At most, 70%."
Although the prescription was missing only two ingredients, the imperial physicians and their team worked day and night, almost without sleep, to create a prescription that combined the properties of hundreds of herbs. They then tested it dozens of times on poultry and patients before finally arriving at this final version.
However, due to the short timeframe and limited testing, they were not yet confident that they could fully match the poison of the Red Beauty Gu.
The Beauty Gu is something unique to the Southern Yue region and has been lost for a long time. To have achieved this much is already doing our best and leaving the rest to fate.
Bi Sui remained silent for a while. She lowered her eyes to look at the herbs that had been spread out on the table and quickly helped to pick them out.
"Aren't you going to tell the girl? There's only a 70% chance, but she still has a very good chance..."
"The girl said that as long as the success rate is above 50%, there's no need to tell her."
"This isn't just a gamble on the princess's life; young lady, you're gambling your own life too!"
Pei Xing'er stared wide-eyed at Bi Sui in disbelief. "No, I'll go talk to the young lady. We can't just ignore this!"
Bi Sui wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, but picked up the medicine with a blank expression, her hands moving faster and faster.
"Aunt Meng, Lanxin, and I have tried to persuade her countless times. You know that once a girl is determined to do something, no one can stop her!"
Pei Xing'er stopped abruptly, concealing the sorrow in her eyes, her voice hoarse:
"So, is it simply a matter of whether Heaven will grant His Highness and the young lady a way out...?"
Before long, the medicine was prepared and brought into the princess's bedchamber. The thick, dark medicine was bitter and pungent. Xiao Yuxuan touched the temperature of the medicine bowl and glanced again at the princess sleeping peacefully on the bed.
“Young lady, why don’t you wait a little longer? In case my grandfather can improve the prescription…”
Pei Xing'er wanted to persuade her again, but seeing the princess's unconscious state, she knew that the princess had indeed reached the final moment, which could last from a few hours to a day.
"It's too late."
Xiao Yuxuan shook her head, picked up the medicine bowl, tilted her head back, and drank it down.
The medicine hit her head with a pungent, fishy taste as soon as it entered her mouth, but Xiao Yuxuan remained calm and swallowed it quickly and urgently.
"Xing'er, if I'm fine after half an hour, does that mean the medicine is at least harmless?"
Pei Xing'er thought to herself, how could she make such a hasty judgment? But seeing the expectant look in Xiao Yuxuan's eyes, she could only furrow her brows, slightly move her lips, and say:
"yes……"
The girl had already taken her medicine, and she couldn't bear to say anything sarcastic at this time. Rather than telling the truth, she would rather say something to reassure the girl.
This was a last resort, but unfortunately, the cost was too high.
Time passed slowly, and Xiao Yuxuan's gaze remained fixed on the eldest princess on the couch, lost in thought.
I thought half an hour would pass quickly, but I didn't expect it to be so unbearable.
The group of people in the room kept glancing at the Princess and then at Xiao Yuxuan. The more anxious they became, the longer the time seemed to drag on.
"Young lady, the time has come!"
Pei Xing'er kept a close eye on the clock and Xiao Yuxuan's reaction. As soon as the time was up, she immediately called out.
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere, young lady?"
Dizziness? Stomach pain?
She moved closer to Xiao Yuxuan and saw her carefully assess her physical condition before slowly shaking her head.
"I will take the young lady's pulse, and then I will use silver needles to test a few of her acupoints to make sure there is no problem."
Xiao Yuxuan did exactly what Pei Xing'er said. She glanced at the still-warming medicine, but her heart grew increasingly uneasy.
I wonder if the princess will recover after taking this medicine...
"Phew—thank goodness, the young lady is alright."
Pei Xing'er wiped the sweat from her forehead and said softly.
"Aunt Meng, please help Her Highness while I feed her the medicine."
Xiao Yuxuan took the initiative to pick up the medicine bowl and looked at Aunt Meng with a smile.
Although she was smiling, the sorrow in her eyes did not lessen much; instead, there was a faint glimmer of tears.
Aunt Meng couldn't refuse at this point. Whether it was a last resort or a desperate measure, this was the final choice.
She pulled the princess's bed curtains aside, carefully supporting the princess's back. The sudden lightness in her hands made her choke up. Aunt Meng suppressed the urge to cry, gently supporting the princess, and using a handkerchief to support the princess's chin with her other hand.
Xiao Yuxuan scooped up the medicine with a spoon and fed it to the princess spoonful by spoonful. However, the princess was still unconscious, and most of the medicine she drank spilled out. It took a full quarter of an hour to feed her the whole bowl of medicine, with half of it spilling out with each spoonful.
Xiao Yuxuan didn't feel tired. Bi Sui took the medicine bowl and used her own handkerchief to wipe the medicine that had accidentally gotten on the princess's lips.
"Miss, it will probably take a while for the medicine to take effect. Why don't you go and rest first? We can stay here and watch over things."
"No, I want to stay here."
Regardless of whether the princess's condition improves, she will stay here and not leave for even a moment.
"Aunt Meng, go and rest. You've been by my side day and night these past few days, it must have been very tiring. I'll take care of things here, Your Highness."
"Xing'er, go back to Doctor Pei's place. They're busy and short-staffed right now. Lanxin, go to the Zhao family and find Young Master Zhao..."
After making sure everyone around her was settled, she sat back down by the princess's bedside.
Only when there was no one else in the room did she dare to hold the princess's hand, press her cheek against the princess's soft but slightly cool hand, and rub it affectionately.
"Your Highness, didn't you say you wanted to adopt Yuxuan as your daughter? You haven't heard Yuxuan call you 'Mother' yet."
"It's all my fault... I shouldn't have cared about Xiao Yuyao's life or death. I thought we had plenty of time, so I refused you. Now I'm staying here without a proper reason. Please don't look down on me..."
As Xiao Yuxuan rambled on, tears finally streamed down her cheeks and into the gaps between the princess's fingers, soaking the bedding.
Her long-held tension gradually eased. She had done everything she could and couldn't do, hoping that fate would have another chance to help the princess through this ordeal...
Xiao Yuxuan didn't know how much time had passed when she heard a faint groan from the person on the bed, but she thought it was just her imagination.
"Your Highness? Your Highness, you're awake?!"
She suddenly raised her head, staring blankly at the princess's face, trying to see if she was awake.
Unfortunately, no, that voice seemed to be just her imagination.
However, the next moment, a metallic taste suddenly rose in Xiao Yuxuan's throat. She only had time to turn her head to the side before she vomited a mouthful of blood with a "whoosh".
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