Chapter 154 Musk
After Shen Meizhuang and An Lingrong had a heart-to-heart talk, their relationship became much closer again. They smiled at each other and felt that life in the palace wasn't so unbearable after all.
The palace maids serving in the hall also breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully their mistress had not suffered any miscarriage.
"My lady, it's time to take your medicine."
Fangruo carried the medicine for preventing miscarriage and walked in from outside the hall. As an experienced nanny, she had been highly valued by Shen Meizhuang since she was assigned to Cunjutang, and all the work of preventing miscarriage and taking care of the baby was entrusted to her.
"Sister, you're almost three months along, why are you still taking pregnancy-preserving medicine?" An Lingrong frowned slightly. She knew the saying that all medicines have some toxicity. Her sister's complexion looked quite rosy, so why was she still taking pregnancy-preserving medicine after a month of rest?
Mentioning this, Shen Meizhuang also expressed some concern, "I don't know what's going on, the pregnancy is often unstable, and I can only keep taking medication to prevent miscarriage."
"Sister, has the imperial physician been consulted?" An Lingrong asked, her heart filled with suspicion.
Shen Meizhuang nodded, understanding her nervousness, and quickly explained, "Sister, don't worry. The imperial physician comes to check my pulse every three days, and I can call him anytime if I feel unwell. It's nothing serious; it's just that my body is too weak, which is why my fetal breathing is unstable. However, the imperial physician also said that it should gradually stabilize after three months. I do feel better than before recently."
After hearing Shen Meizhuang's explanation, An Lingrong felt relieved. When she saw Aunt Fangruo, she felt a little embarrassed. It wasn't that she suspected the palace servants of being negligent.
"Consort Zhuang is truly devoted to you, and I am grateful for your kindness on your behalf." The astute Fang Ruo noticed An Lingrong's discomfort at a glance and took the initiative to express her stance.
An Lingrong breathed a sigh of relief. After all, her aunt came from the imperial court, and her way of dealing with people never made anyone feel uncomfortable. "With Aunt Fangruo here, I don't need to worry about my sister anymore."
"Lingrong is right, Aunt Fangruo has really helped me a lot."
"You're too kind, ladies." Fang Ruo smiled slightly, turned around, took a bowl of dark, pregnancy-stabilizing medicine from the tray carried by the maid, and placed it in front of Shen Meizhuang.
"My lady, the medicine to prevent miscarriage is ready to be taken."
Shen Meizhuang smiled and nodded, picked up the medicine bowl that was at a suitable temperature, and stirred it a couple of times with a spoon. She didn't mind drinking medicine, but the taste of this medicine was really hard to swallow.
The sun was shining brightly today. A corner of the collapsed window was propped up, and a gentle breeze blew in, brushing against the medicine bowl and carrying a bitter smell that entered An Lingrong's nose.
As a master of incense making, An Lingrong's nose was more sensitive than that of ordinary people. Amidst the mixed bitterness of Chinese medicine, she suddenly smelled a familiar spiciness.
Seeing that Shen Meizhuang was about to put the medicine into her mouth, An Lingrong couldn't care less about anything else and quickly stopped her, saying, "Wait!"
"What's wrong?" Shen Meizhuang put down her spoon, looking at the agitated and nervous An Lingrong with great confusion.
An Lingrong wasn't really sure about her guess, but thinking of Shen Meizhuang's past kindness to her, she could only bite the bullet and voice her opinion. "Sister Mei, could you let me smell this pregnancy-stabilizing medicine first?"
"Is there something wrong with this medicine?" Shen Meizhuang was quite surprised, and the palace servants serving nearby couldn't help but stare at her intently.
"I've been familiar with the smell of these spices since I was a child..."
Before An Lingrong could finish explaining, Shen Meizhuang pushed the medicine bowl over without hesitation, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sister."
Seeing the trust in her eyes, An Lingrong felt a warmth in her heart. She immediately picked up the medicine and began to carefully smell and identify it, while everyone else watched with trepidation.
After a while, An Lingrong put down her bowl and looked at Shen Meizhuang with a grim expression. "Sister, I didn't smell it wrong, it's the smell of musk. Musk promotes blood circulation and menstruation, so it's absolutely forbidden to touch it during pregnancy, especially before three months."
Shen Meizhuang was shocked. If Lingrong hadn't stopped her, she would have drunk it. She touched her stomach, still feeling lingering fear.
"Who exactly wants to harm me?"
"The servant didn't leave the room the whole time the medicine was being prepared. How did the musk end up in there?" Fangruo was also very puzzled. She prepared the medicine exactly as it was prepared, and she even checked it beforehand to make sure there was nothing extra. How could musk suddenly appear?
“The medicine to prevent miscarriage was taken by me and kept by me. It was never opened.” Cai Xing, who was standing next to her, also stepped forward to explain.
“From the moment it was cooked until it was served to you, Aunt Fangruo and I watched the whole process. No one else had a chance to do anything,” Caiyue explained.
Now that's a problem. From getting the medicine packet to boiling the medicine and then applying it, the entire process is strictly managed. So how did the person administering the medicine manage to do it? Everyone was completely baffled.
"Your Highness, we should ask the imperial physician to take a look," Fang Ruo suggested. It wasn't that she doubted An Lingrong, but with their current abilities, they couldn't trace the source of the problem. It would be best to have a professional examine her.
Shen Meizhuang nodded; not being able to find the person who had harmed her was making her uneasy. So, Caiyue went to fetch the imperial physician, Caixing went to collect the dregs and remaining medicine packets, and Fangruo was in charge of supervising all the palace staff in Cunju Hall, forbidding anyone from going out to talk. Inside the hall, only An Lingrong remained by Shen Meizhuang's side, comforting her.
Soon, Imperial Physician Wang, who was in charge of ensuring Shen Meizhuang's pregnancy, and Imperial Physician Wen, who was on duty that day, arrived together. After their examination, it was confirmed that musk had indeed been added to the pregnancy-preserving medicine. The amount was not large, and Shen Meizhuang would not experience immediate effects after drinking it; it would only begin to take effect late at night. For a pregnant woman like her, who was less than three months along, it was undoubtedly a slow-acting abortion drug.
The young imperial physician's explanation sent a chill down everyone's spine, leaving them all marveling at the ruthlessness of the person behind it all. Shen Meizhuang was to have her pulse checked every three days; today was only the second day, not a scheduled time. Furthermore, according to the physician, she wouldn't feel unwell immediately, so he wouldn't call for a doctor. By the time she truly had an attack, it would be too late to summon a physician.
The person behind the scenes had perfect control over both the dosage and timing of the medication; how could anyone not be afraid? At this moment, after inspecting the medicine packet and the dregs, Physician Wang brought bad news: there was absolutely nothing wrong with either of them.
If the musk wasn't in the medicine, then where was it put? Not only were Shen Meizhuang and the others uneasy, but Imperial Physician Wang was also very uneasy. He was so worried that he almost pulled out his beard. He was responsible for protecting Consort Hui's pregnancy. What could he do if he couldn't find the source of the danger?
"Your Highness, may I take a look at the medicine pot used to boil the medicine for preventing miscarriage?" Just when everyone was at a loss, the young Imperial Physician Wen suddenly stepped forward.
Having a breakthrough is better than having none. Shen Meizhuang nodded to Fang Ruo, who then brought in a clean medicine pot, followed by Fu Ling, who was responsible for cleaning the pot.
"Imperial Physician Wen, this is the pot our young mistress uses to boil the medicine to prevent miscarriage. It has already been cleaned."
Fangruo handed the medicine pot to Physician Wen, not holding out much hope. After all, the pot had been cleaned, and even if there was something wrong, it wouldn't be detected.
Physician Wen nodded politely, took the medicine jar, and carefully examined it from the inside out. Under the watchful eyes of countless anxious people, he put down the jar, picked up the lid, and sniffed it closely. He then sniffed it uncertainly, and suddenly noticed a bit of white powder in the crevices. He picked it out with his finger and brought it to his nose to sniff it gently.
"Imperial Physician Wang..."
The young imperial physician, with a solemn expression, handed over the lid and the powder on his fingers to the older imperial physician for examination.
After smelling it, Physician Wang's face darkened. He exchanged a glance with Physician Wen, then stepped forward to report to Shen Meizhuang and the others, "Your Highness, the musk was indeed placed on the lid of this medicine jar."
——
Regarding the issue of scenes involving the imperial harem and the imperial court—(I can't write all of this here, so I'll leave it here)
I've seen many comments from fans saying they'd rather see scenes of the brothers from the previous dynasty interacting than the harem, so let me explain.
Because it's based on "Empresses in the Palace," it's hard to resist writing about the harem. Also, the last ten chapters have all been about the harem, actually revolving around Zhen Huan and those around her. I wonder if everyone remembers the chapter about plot awareness, where Yinzhen, to appease the plot's little sweetener, promised to keep Zhen Huan, the main character, until the end of the story.
But! Let me reiterate, the protagonist is not a good person! Don't take what he says seriously!
The beginning even states that he was bored and wanted to run away, so why would he stay for a bite to eat? Well, he did stay for a bite to eat. But it's impossible for him to have the patience to watch over Zhen Huan until the end. So his chosen method was to quickly dispose of her protagonist aura, or rather, to change the main female lead into an ensemble cast, distributing the main role to characters like Shen Meizhuang and An Lingrong. When Zhen Huan was no longer the main character, naturally Yinzhen no longer had to be responsible for her, which could be considered a way of not breaking his promise.
However, my writing style did have a problem. I portrayed Yinzhen, the mastermind behind everything, as too indirect, making him feel like he had little involvement (灬灬). Leaving it unsaid made me forget about the main character, which is disheartening. I'll pay attention to this in future chapters, so please rest assured (if I forget again later, feel free to criticize me).
Furthermore, I wonder if you've noticed that all the turmoil in the harem began after the crown prince was appointed. Now, Yinzhen's harem is completely different from the one in the drama. Aside from Zhen Huan and a few others getting involved in romance, most people in the court and harem are focused on their careers. When a monarch is too wise, where do opportunists start? Of course, it's in the struggle for the throne in the next generation!
However, I only subtly planted some clues in this part; the harem element in this section is mainly to exploit the female lead's plot armor. With my limited brain capacity, it's not easy for me to come up with any schemes, so I won't reveal them to you here. A simple hint: every character who has dialogue isn't just there for show.
Soon, the part about Meizhuang's danger came to an end, and the harem storyline temporarily concluded. The next scene is previewed with six words: "Promote national prestige and pacify the northwest." Here, a "Great General King" will randomly drop ヾ(°°).
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