Chapter 2 Serving Medicine to the Crown Prince
Late at night, Chengguang Hall was brightly lit.
Wisps of smoke rose from the gilded, openwork incense burner, and the dim red candlelight shone through layers of curtains, faintly revealing a person lying on a rosewood bed.
His eyes were tightly closed, his brows were etched with shadows, and his face was deathly pale. Even though he was still unconscious, the menacing aura he exuded was still chilling and fierce, making people afraid to approach him.
The prince frowned deeply, the pain from the poisoned wound piercing to the bone, his body feeling as if he were in a furnace, or at other times as if he were in an ice cave.
At the same time, a cacophony of voices flooded into my ears like a tide.
"Why isn't he awake yet? We can't get him to take his medicine. Is he really going to die?!"
"The frontier has been able to wear him down for so many years, and even poisoned arrows couldn't kill him. He's really tough."
The Queen's voice.
However, Empress Da Zhao was always all talk and no action, and she was good at putting on airs. Even if she secretly wished for his death, she would never say such words in front of everyone.
Could it be that she no longer wants to pretend when he returns to Beijing this time?
Or was he having some strange dream?
"Retribution! This scoundrel has indiscriminately slaughtered innocent people, incurring the wrath of both heaven and man! This time, even the heavens have had enough!"
"Her Majesty the Empress has asked us to come up with a solution, but what can we possibly do? The Crown Prince has suffered from a chronic illness since childhood, and when his headaches flare up, he's like a madman. Now, he's been struck by several arrows, the poison penetrating to his bones. This time, there's truly nothing we can do..."
"Heaven help us, Your Highness, whether he lives or dies, please, Your Majesty and Your Majesty, do not implicate us. I have elderly parents and young children to care for, and my grandson is waiting at home for me to buy him candied hawthorns..."
It must be the voices of those old scoundrels from the Imperial Hospital.
From a distance of several feet, the Empress's anxious voice rang out: "Any of you who has the ability to feed the Crown Prince the medicine will be rewarded with ten taels of gold!"
Then a group of servants started chattering in his ear, making his head throb with pain.
"Ten taels of gold are not as important as my life. Who would dare to feed that King of Hell medicine?"
"What if I can't get him to eat, and His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly wakes up? He might just kick me out..."
"I'm so suffocating! I should have gone to the outhouse first. It'll take at least an incense stick's time to get back to the annex. When will I be able to leave...? What? Ten taels of gold? I can get ten taels of gold for feeding the Crown Prince medicine? Ten taels of gold can buy a whole courtyard in the capital! That's more than I could earn working in the kitchen my whole life! I can do it! I can do it! Ahhh, I'm rich!"
Noisy.
The crown prince frowned, wishing he could get up immediately and strangle that talkative palace maid.
A moment later, a soft voice came from inside the hall: "Your Majesty, this servant is willing to give it a try."
It was easy to tell that it came from the same person as the noisy voice from before, but it was clearly much more docile and well-behaved.
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the hall gasped.
The Empress stepped forward and looked at the little palace maid lying on the ground. "Do you really have a way?"
Yun Kui replied cautiously, "But... this servant dares to ask Your Highness for another favor? If His Highness the Crown Prince awakens and wants to execute this servant, Your Highness, could you..."
The Empress gazed at her face, which was unparalleled in its allure, and then at her full breasts and slender waist. She never expected that there would be such a beauty among the palace maids.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the Empress sneered inwardly.
I'm afraid he's just another guy trying to climb into someone's bed.
The Empress's expression remained gentle. "Rest assured, you have served your patient duties well, and I will protect you."
"Who is this guy who values money over life!"
"You're not planning to feed His Highness the Crown Prince mouth-to-mouth, are you?"
"This little girl's ambitions are sky-high, but her fate is as fragile as paper. The last guy who tried to climb into her bed is already dead."
Upon hearing these incoherent sounds, the prince's forehead veins bulged and he felt waves of throbbing pain.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Yun Kui pursed her lips and said, "This servant needs to go back to the kitchen to fetch something."
The Empress suppressed the impatience in her eyes and nodded, saying, "Go quickly and come back quickly."
Yun Kui got up and agreed, then hurried back to the kitchen. She quickly relieved herself, then found something among the ingredients in the kitchen, carefully washed it, and brought it to Chengguang Hall.
The Empress stared at the strange object in her hand, instinctively covering her face with her sleeve. "What is this? Can it really make the Crown Prince drink the medicine?"
"It looks kind of disgusting."
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince: ...
Yun Kui truthfully replied, "This is a common ingredient in the kitchen, and I have already washed it clean and removed the odor."
As he spoke, the eyes of the imperial physician and everyone else in the hall turned to him.
The palace servants in the kitchen naturally recognized the item, but it was too disrespectful to the Crown Prince to feed him medicine before it was fully cooked.
Most of the imperial physicians recognized the item, but their expressions were quite varied.
The Empress then asked the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, "Is there anything amiss?"
The white-haired Imperial Physician Zhang blushed, but guessing Yun Kui's intention, he hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "It's worth a try."
Yun Kui was finally relieved.
The Empress nodded to her, "In that case, you may give it a try."
"Oh, this..."
"This palace maid is truly audacious, daring to speak to His Highness the Crown Prince..."
Even in his coma, the crown prince could still hear various discussions in the palace, and even some voices that shouldn't be heard in public.
It sounds more like... the thoughts of these people?
Yun Kuizai carefully poured the medicinal soup into the sheep intestine casing, tying both ends tightly. The casing, filled with the soup, bulged and instantly transformed into an indescribable shape. Several imperial physicians in the hall looked away with unnatural expressions.
"Oh dear, don't look at what you shouldn't see, don't look at what you shouldn't see!"
"Hiss, it looks like a giant sausage."
"I used two last night..."
The prince was slightly surprised. What exactly was it, and how should he be given the medicine?
What ingredients are so disgusting, yet Imperial Physician Shen used two of them?
"use"?
Yun Kui asked the physician beside her for a silver needle, made a small hole at the end of the sausage casing, and slowly walked toward the man lying quietly on the sandalwood bed, muttering incantations in her mind.
"Please, please, I must take the medicine! Please don't wake up now! God help me, I must get those ten taels of gold smoothly!"
The prince kept his phoenix eyes tightly closed and his teeth clenched. After the girl finished her rambling, his eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and the faint light that he could feel through the thin eyelids disappeared.
Yun Kui was also terrified, her heart pounding in her chest. She lifted the curtain and immediately used the handkerchief beside her to cover the Crown Prince's face, leaving only his mouth, which was meant to drink the medicine, exposed.
That way, she wouldn't have to face that fierce-looking face. Even if His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly woke up, he wouldn't see her face immediately. She could also ask the Empress for help in time to save her life.
"Little Sunflower, you're so clever!"
Little, sunflower, flower... I've remembered them.
The prince clenched his teeth in secret.
You wait, I will tear you to pieces...
Suddenly, a soft, warm touch came from my chin, and a woman's peaceful and warm breath reached my nose.
The prince's mind went blank for a moment, and while he was unconscious, the veins on his neck bulged slightly.
No one ever dared to touch him.
Yun Kui pinched the prince's chin, her gaze falling on his cool, jade-like skin and his cold, sharp facial features, and she was slightly taken aback.
Just looking at that chin, it was actually quite beautiful, but the lips were excessively pale, and the skin was almost bloodless, feeling colder than snow on a winter night.
If it weren't for the certainty that His Highness was still breathing, he would probably look more like a corpse than a dead body.
Even with his eyes covered and unconscious, the powerful aura emanating from his superior was palpable, sending chills down one's spine.
Yun Kui took a deep breath.
"Wow, her tongue is so pink and tender."
Crown Prince: ? ? ?
Suppressing her inner tension, Yun Kui grasped the prince's thin, pale chin, used her fingertips to force his lips and teeth slightly open, and then, with one burst of energy, shot the medicine from the sheep intestine directly into the prince's throat.
The imperial physicians: "..."
"She actually managed to force it down her throat."
"The method is clever, but... the process is really unseemly."
"I'm too embarrassed to look."
The prince felt a bitter, burning sensation in his throat and almost abruptly opened his eyes.
Before he could react, he instinctively swallowed the bitter medicine, rolling his throat down.
Throughout his years in office, he has always been highly vigilant about what he puts in his mouth, and no one has ever dared to feed him anything indiscriminately.
This is the first time.
Yun Kui was unaware that the person beneath her had already woken up. She tried to squeeze more medicine into her body, but someone grabbed her wrist.
She was already making a risky deal, and this time, not only was her wrist pinched painfully, but she was also terrified. She shuddered so hard that she dropped the sheep casing from her hand.
Someone in the hall exclaimed, "His Highness the Crown Prince has awakened!"
The Empress and a group of imperial physicians immediately stepped forward to examine her.
Before the Crown Prince could even tear off the cotton cloth covering her eyes, Yun Kui broke free from the restraints on her wrists, obediently rolled to the ground, and knelt down with her head down.
The Empress glanced at her and instructed the head palace maid, Qingdai, behind her: "Take her away to receive her reward."
Upon hearing this, Yun Kui was deeply grateful. Without even raising her head, she quickly thanked him and left.
The prince lifted the handkerchief and slowly rose.
The pale face under the candlelight was sinister and cold, devoid of any warmth. His bloodshot red eyes sent chills down one's spine with just a glance.
The Empress stiffly raised the corners of her mouth, then gave a kind and concerned smile: "Crown Prince, you're finally awake! Are you still feeling unwell?"
The prince raised his eyes without changing his expression and looked at the gorgeously dressed woman in front of him.
After many years, the Empress had become even more plump and graceful, and when she looked at him, she was still as gentle and loving as ever.
But what the crown prince heard was a voice completely different from her kind face.
"You're awake already?"
"The 'Seven-Ingredient Powder' they made using shoddy ingredients actually had immediate effects?"
"Heavens are blind! Why didn't those arrows kill him?"
The Empress felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze and almost couldn't bear it. She quickly forced a smile and turned to the imperial physician behind her: "Director Zhang."
Imperial Physician Zhang immediately stepped forward to take the Crown Prince's pulse. After a moment's thought, he frowned and said, "His pulse is scattered and disordered, indicating that the poison has invaded his meridians. The remaining poison in His Highness's body has not been cleared. He still needs to continue taking Qili San, supplemented with acupuncture to detoxify, and applying wound medicine externally, so as to prevent the poison from entering the lungs and internal organs and damaging the heart."
"So it hasn't fully recovered yet, that's great!"
The Empress said, "In that case, I urge Imperial Physician Zhang to take extra care. The Crown Prince must not be allowed to suffer any mishap."
Imperial Censor Zhang cupped his hands and said, "It is my duty, and I will do my utmost."
The Crown Prince rose from his bed, his body even taller and more imposing than three years ago, his aura even more sharp and intimidating. His indifferent and sinister gaze was like piercing ice as he casually swept over everyone in the hall.
Everywhere he looked, everyone was silent, no one knew what he was going to do.
Even the Empress felt uneasy. "Crown Prince, you are still recovering from your serious injuries. How can you get out of bed..."
"What is this madman up to now? Who has offended him?"
The Crown Prince glanced at the group of timid imperial physicians. He had seen these people many times before in the capital. He had suffered from headaches since childhood and dealt with the Imperial Hospital every day.
"Imperial Physician Chen." The Crown Prince stopped in front of a middle-aged imperial physician.
His voice was calm, his words were soft, and it carried a faint hint of illness, yet it was enough to inspire fear.
The imperial physician Chen Yi, who was suddenly called out, was startled and stammered a bow, "Your Highness?"
"Why did the Crown Prince suddenly summon me? Could it be that he discovered I was missing three ingredients in that Seven-Ingredient Powder? That's impossible..."
The crown prince stared at him, a half-smile on his face: "How have you been?"
Chen Yi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling particularly uneasy about the Crown Prince's treacherous smile. Why was he talking to him like this out of the blue? What was his relationship with the Crown Prince?
The Crown Prince then looked at Imperial Physician Zhang: "If I remember correctly, Imperial Physician Zhang's grandson is already five years old, isn't he?"
When Academician Zhang was suddenly questioned, especially when his grandson was mentioned, he broke out in a cold sweat and answered in a trembling voice.
The Crown Prince said, "Academician Zhang is getting on in years. He should go home and enjoy his grandchildren. I think Physician Chen is capable of taking on the position of academy head."
This Crown Prince has always been autocratic and unpredictable, and his decisions regarding promotion and dismissal are made in the blink of an eye.
With just a few words, one of the imperial physicians was promoted to head of the academy, while the other was forced to retire and return to his hometown. The two stood there, stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment.
The Empress exchanged a glance with Chen Yi and said, "Let's do as the Crown Prince suggests. I will inform His Majesty tomorrow."
Chen Yi snapped out of her daze and hurriedly stepped forward to express her gratitude.
The Crown Prince smiled faintly: "In that case, I will hand over these arrow wounds to Imperial Physician Chen."
"Your humble servant will certainly do his utmost."
Chen Yi was naturally delighted by his unexpected promotion. After all, the position of Director of the Imperial Medical Academy was the top position in the Imperial Medical Academy, something many people could only dream of. With his qualifications, he would have to work hard for at least another ten years. Now, it had fallen into his lap so easily, which was truly a great joy.
But he always felt a chill down his back, something was wrong.
really.
The next moment, a cold and sinister voice rang out: "Simply trying your best is not enough."
"I have always been fair in my rewards and punishments. If you can cure him, I will reward you with a hundred taels of gold. If you cannot cure him, I will have no choice but to... sentence you to death for dereliction of duty, confiscating your property and beheading you. What do you say?"
Chen Yi's legs went weak, and he knelt down immediately. "Your Highness, spare my life! This humble subject..."
"Spare my life?" The Crown Prince chuckled. "Could it be that Imperial Physician Chen calculated that my poison was incurable and that I wouldn't live more than a month, and had already prepared to confiscate my property and execute me?"
Chen Yi's face turned pale, and he trembled all over. "Your Majesty... that was not what I meant."
The Queen took a deep breath and secretly clenched her fists.
"Could this madman have discovered something? Impossible. He's been away from the capital for years and has been unconscious for the past few days. How could he know that Physician Chen is one of my men?"
The Crown Prince heard the Empress's thoughts and dismissed them with a cold laugh.
He scanned the terrified crowd in the hall one by one. As expected, most of them were unfamiliar faces, and some he might have served by his side three years ago, but he had no recollection of them.
The Empress, seeing what he was thinking, quickly explained, "During your years of fighting abroad, some of the palace staff have been transferred elsewhere, and others have been released from the palace due to age. These are the new staff that have been brought in in the last two years. You can use them for now, and if you are not satisfied..."
The crown prince said bluntly, "I'm not satisfied."
The Empress's expression changed slightly, but she still maintained her smile.
"This Empress's position is so incredibly frustrating! The sons of those lowly concubines all address me respectfully as 'Mother Empress,' but this bastard of the late Emperor is not only disrespectful, he acts like an ancestor, throwing his weight around like a madman. Just die already! I'm not serving him anymore!"
The Empress glanced coldly at the trembling palace maids on the ground and forced a smile: "Indeed, some are useless. Tomorrow, I will order the Imperial Household Department to select a few steady and reliable ones to serve you."
The prince remained noncommittal, his deep gaze falling on the milky-white, sausage-like object on the carpet.
Realizing what it was, the crown prince's face slowly darkened, and he even became somewhat angry.
His gaze swept over the people in the hall, but he saw no one suspicious.
The palace maid who just fed him medicine... ran away?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
