Chapter 20 False Pregnancy Exposure (Part 2)
"what is going on?"
The mystery surrounding the false pregnancy hadn't been resolved yet, and now it involved the Fourth Prince, causing Yongzheng's face to darken. Not only him, but Yixiu and Nian Shilan, who had been watching the show, also looked grim, staring intently at Caiyue kneeling on the ground, making Caiyue involuntarily shrink back.
“Picking the moon…”
Shen Meizhuang wanted to protect her, her face paled slightly, and she said with a hint of shame, "Let me, your concubine, handle this matter."
"After I became pregnant, I followed the imperial physician's advice and went out for walks from time to time. I happened to run into the Fourth Prince before. Because I was pregnant, the Fourth Prince was concerned about his younger siblings, so we chatted for a bit. I never expected... I never expected that just this one time would arouse evil intentions in Fuling, who was with me..."
Three days ago, Wang Ren, who served the Fourth Prince, came to the concubine's courtyard in private and returned a purse, saying that the Fourth Prince had found it while taking a walk and that it was now being returned to its rightful owner.
Shen Meizhuang bit her lip, looking extremely embarrassed. "At the time, I didn't understand what was going on. I thought the Fourth Prince wouldn't make things up without reason. Although it wasn't my purse, I still had Caiyue check it... That's how I discovered that Fuling had ulterior motives..."
"The Fourth Prince was concerned about my reputation, and I didn't want to tarnish his name because of this. So I was thinking of finding another reason to deal with Fuling, but who knew this would happen again."
Shen Meizhuang's brows were filled with regret. She should have understood the Fourth Prince's hidden warning when he sent someone to deliver the purse, and dealt with the restless Fuling. Then none of this would have happened today.
"What wicked thoughts are you harboring?" Consort Qi asked bluntly, unaware of the situation, and was immediately met with angry glares from Emperor Yongzheng, the Empress, and Consort Hua.
"Consort Qi, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak!" Consort Hua scolded angrily. Li Jingyan really has no brains at all.
Yongzheng gripped the beaded string in his hand tightly and said in a deep voice, "Where is the purse?"
Shen Meizhuang gestured for Caiyue to fetch it, and carefully handed it to Yongzheng. She glanced at the mandarin ducks embroidered on the purse and gave Fuling a cold look.
"A pair of mandarin ducks with intertwined necks? This... Fourth Prince is only ten years old..."
Still fearless, Consort Qi glanced at the purse and exclaimed in surprise as everyone held their breath. She really hadn't expected this. Hongshi was already seventeen, and she still thought of him as a baby who was growing taller. How could she have thought of something like this?
"Consort Qi!" Yi Xiu couldn't help but turn cold, and sternly reprimanded Consort Qi. Consort Qi, who was slow to react, realized that something was wrong and shrank back in embarrassment and fear.
Ever since Caiyue stood up to accuse Fuling of having improper intentions towards the Fourth Prince, Fuling was gagged by Su Peisheng, who was good at reading people, and she couldn't break free.
Now, Yongzheng glanced at the terrified Fuling and coldly ordered, "Drag her out and beat her to death!"
"Yes, sir."
Su Peisheng responded. Having long disliked Fuling, he swiftly ordered the eunuch to drag her out for execution.
"This matter..." He gestured for Su Peisheng to dispose of the purse, then Yongzheng's cold gaze swept over everyone present. "I do not wish to hear a single word about this outside."
"Yes." Everyone quickly bowed and assured him that no one would dare to speak of the palace maids' coveting of the prince unless the emperor gave the order.
Just then, Zhang Mi, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, arrived.
Preoccupied with Hongli's affairs, Yongzheng had no time to waste on Shen Meizhuang's matter and directly ordered, "Zhang Mi, take Consort Hui's pulse."
"yes."
Zhang Mi didn't think much of it. He could clearly sense that the atmosphere was tense. The more he said, the more mistakes he would make. As a royal physician, he shouldn't get involved. He should just do his job.
As a result, when he took Shen Meizhuang's pulse and examined her repeatedly, he couldn't help but change his expression drastically. He knelt down tremblingly, not daring to look up at Yongzheng, "Your Majesty, Empress, please forgive me, Consort Hui... she doesn't have any signs of pregnancy!"
"You're talking nonsense! How could a perfectly healthy baby suddenly disappear?" Shen Meizhuang clutched her stomach, trembling with anger.
Zhen Huan quickly reassured her, "Sister, please calm down. Perhaps the imperial physician's diagnosis is wrong."
Zhang Mi knew there was something strange about this matter. "Better to sacrifice my friend than myself," he quickly said, "This humble subject is not a master of the Imperial Examination. If we are to be on the safe side, we should ask Physician Jiang Cheng to examine this matter together."
"Go and invite them." The atmosphere around Yongzheng became even more tense, and he gave the order with a stern face.
Jiang Cheng arrived quickly, examined Shen Meizhuang's pulse, and reported, "Your Majesty, Your Highness is not pregnant. I wonder which imperial physician diagnosed you as pregnant?"
“That’s not right. Your Highness clearly has trouble feeling the pulse, is vomiting and craving sour foods. Isn’t that the sign of pregnancy?” Caiyue quickly stepped forward to defend Shen Meizhuang.
Jiang Cheng looked righteous. "But in my humble opinion, Your Highness should have had your period a few days ago. However, your period is irregular and there are signs of late arrival, which should be due to the medication you are taking."
This statement caused a pause among both the person involved and the onlookers; it sounded reasonable at first glance. However, when combined with Fuling's actions, the problem became much more serious.
Consort Hua didn't realize it, but Cao Qinmo had already sensed the danger behind her. Her expression turned somewhat ugly, revealing some clues that Zhen Huan happened to notice.
Over here, Jiang Cheng was still talking eloquently: "Several months ago, Consort Hui asked me for a prescription to delay menstruation, saying that irregular menstruation makes it difficult to conceive. Although I felt it was inappropriate, Your Highness kept saying that it was for the sake of the imperial offspring, so I had no choice but to give Your Highness the prescription. As for why Your Highness vomits and craves sour foods, I have no idea."
If it hadn't been revealed that Fuling coveted the Fourth Prince, with this series of interconnected schemes, Shen Meizhuang might have actually become so anxious that she took the bait.
However, because the matter of Fuling was dealt with midway, everyone realized that Fuling was untrustworthy. After all, Shen Meizhuang didn't dare to lie about the prince. Since she had intended to get rid of Fuling three days ago, she couldn't possibly let Fuling handle such a serious matter as a false pregnancy.
Fuling's behavior is problematic. Jiang Cheng, whose seemingly righteous words correspond to Fuling's actions, has a very clear nature in Shen Meizhuang's eyes.
Having calmed down considerably, Shen Meizhuang sneered and said, "Your Majesty, I did ask Physician Jiang for a prescription in private. At the time, I was anxious to have a child, so I asked Physician Jiang for a prescription to help me conceive. But later, considering that all medicines have some toxicity, in order to have a healthy offspring, I did not use that prescription."
Jiang Cheng was somewhat shocked upon hearing this. Although he quickly concealed it, Shen Meizhuang still caught the change in his expression for that instant.
The clear-headed Shen Meizhuang knew that she might have truly fallen for a trap and was not pregnant. But at this moment, the most important thing was to make the Emperor believe in her innocence.
Shen Meizhuang knelt down facing Yongzheng: "Your Majesty, if I really used that prescription, I would have had to go to the Imperial Hospital to get the medicine. You can send someone to investigate, and they will surely be able to prove my innocence."
Shen Meizhuang respectfully kowtowed to Emperor Yongzheng: "I was wrong. I violated the palace rules by having privately exchanged favors. I am willing to accept the punishment. I was foolish and fell into someone else's trap because of my eagerness to have a child. But Physician Jiang and Fuling must be accomplices in this matter. I beg Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate Jiang Cheng and clear my name."
Yongzheng had already sent people to check the records of the Imperial Medical Academy. He glanced at Shen Meizhuang's figure, then turned to Jiang Cheng: "Jiang Cheng, do you have anything to say?"
Jiang Cheng was very flustered, completely bewildered. He knew nothing about Fuling and couldn't understand why the Emperor believed what Consort Hui said but not what he said.
He didn't understand, and he decided to try again: "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Even if Consort Hui didn't use my prescription, the false pregnancy is real. This matter must be related to the imperial physician who takes care of Consort Hui's pregnancy!"
Who was it that protected Consort Hui's unborn child?
In an instant, Zhen Huan realized what was wrong with Cao Qinmo when Shen Meizhuang was diagnosed with pregnancy at the small banquet. She immediately stepped forward and said, "The imperial physician who protected Mei-jie's pregnancy was none other than Physician Liu Ben, who diagnosed her pregnancy that day. It was Consort Xiang who invited him. Sister Cao, am I right?"
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