What happened to the third prince?
The emperor was so anxious after finally having a child that he even forgot to call himself "I".
Wu Qing turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, didn't you tell me to go back to the palace for dinner as soon as possible? Why won't you let me go now?"
The emperor pretended to be enlightened and said, "I neglected to ask you about the situation of the third prince. Please don't leave yet."
"But the imperial concubine has already prepared dinner and is waiting for me to come over." Wu Qing refused with difficulty.
"It's just an ordinary dinner." The emperor said nonchalantly, "She has always been generous and will definitely understand my feelings at the moment. I don't think she will..."
[You won’t be angry about this? ]
Wu Qing smiled on the surface, but despised him in his heart, "Yes, your matter is the most important. It's nothing for the imperial concubine to be anxious for a while. Sending a palace maid to deliver a message is already a great gift."
[Even the Imperial Concubine, the Emperor's attitude is so perfunctory. It is conceivable that the maids and concubines in the palace are probably just dust in the Emperor's heart.]
The emperor had no choice but to change his words: "I will immediately order my servants to report this matter. I will personally apologize to the imperial concubine another day. Do you think this is a good idea?"
In order to learn the news about the third prince from Concubine Ji, the emperor did not care about his own majestic image.
The queen pursed her lips and was no longer angry.
Wu Qing was still thinking about his dinner.
She declined, "Miss Zhu also knows about the Third Prince's situation, and she understands it more carefully than I do. Your Majesty, you can ask her."
"I trust you more. I feel more at ease hearing you say it yourself," said the emperor.
Wu Qing laughed in his heart: [I dare to tell the truth, Your Majesty, do you dare to listen? ]
The emperor seemed to see through her thoughts and said directly: "There is no need to hide anything between you and me. Tell me the truth, what is the situation of the third prince? I promise that I will never blame you for this."
“Is this true or false?”
Wu Qingcai didn't believe the emperor's verbal promise.
She said in an exaggerated tone: "I am a timid concubine. I hope the emperor can give me a 'golden medal of immunity from death' to reassure me."
The emperor's mouth twitched unconsciously, "...How can there be such a thing? What kind of storybook have you read?"
"No?" Wu Qing pretended to be frightened. "Then I dare not speak rashly. What if I offend the emperor?"
The emperor looked at her like this, feeling both angry and amused.
"...I am completely defeated by you."
The emperor shook his head and smiled bitterly, then stood up and walked to the dragon table. He searched the shelf carefully and finally found a dragon plaque.
There are words on one side of the dragon plate and carvings on the other side, with a total of nine dragons.
The emperor handed the token to Wu Qing and said, "Take this as payment."
[…What brand is this? Did the emperor just pick up a piece of iron to fool me?] Wu Qing stared at the emperor suspiciously.
The Queen helped the Emperor explain: "Lady Ji, this is the Golden Dragon Order. With this order, you can mobilize all the guards in the palace. In a sense, this has the same function as the 'Golden Medal of Immunity from Death'."
After Wu Qing heard this, she took the gold medal from the emperor's hand and smiled sweetly, "Your Majesty, please ask. I will tell you everything I know."
The emperor felt a little pain as the token's cold touch passed through his hand in an instant.
"You..." The emperor hesitated, but couldn't help but remind her, "Although I have given you the Golden Dragon Order, you should not rely on it to act recklessly in the palace."
Wu Qing smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please be at ease. I know my limits. Although the Golden Dragon Order is in my hands, the guards will definitely respect you the most."
"As long as you are still in power, I cannot use this sign. How could I use it?"
The emperor was nodding halfway when he suddenly felt something was wrong.
He can’t use it while he’s in power… What does Lady Ji mean?
The queen coughed at the right time and said, "Okay, stop talking nonsense. You've got the benefit, so hurry up and be serious and answer the emperor's questions."
Wu Qing's expression changed quickly.
She lowered her voice and said nervously, "Your Majesty, do you still remember what I said, that there is too much resentment in the palace?"
The emperor naturally remembered that it was on this ground that Concubine Ji obtained the right to build Nanshan Garden.
What is she going to use this excuse for this time?
Wu Qing lied with her eyes open: "When Miss Zhu and I were in the delivery room, we found that the baby had a black cloud on his head and a black forehead when he was born, which was a bad omen."
"I observed carefully and saw that there was a dark mist swirling in the depths of the palace. Layer upon layer, it turned into a pitch-black dragon that covered the sky and the sun. After the third prince was born, a golden light appeared on the horizon, but when it tried to break through the clouds, it was swallowed up by the black dragon in one gulp."
Wu Qing's figure shook, and he knelt on his knees, crying and saying, "Your Majesty, this strange phenomenon is indeed a warning from the sky! If we allow the black dragon to wreak havoc, the Third Prince may not survive for more than half a month!"
She looked excited and spoke earnestly, which frightened Zhu Hanfei beside her.
——Isn’t this complete nonsense?!
It is true that Zhao Changzai’s delivery process was very dangerous, but the resentment turning into a dragon and the black cloud above her head... where did this come from?
Concubine Ji even dared to assert that the Third Prince would not live for more than half a month. How could the Emperor tolerate this?
Thinking of this, Zhu Hanfei couldn't help but feel worried for Wu Qing.
Unexpectedly, the emperor's expression was more solemn than ever before, as if he had taken Wu Qing's words to heart.
The emperor spoke slowly, his voice trembling, "Is it really only half a month?"
Wu Qing raised three fingers and said solemnly: "I swear that everything I said is true, otherwise I will be reborn as a human in my next life."
emperor:"……"
This seemed like a rather vicious oath for a goddess? The emperor reluctantly believed it.
The emperor frowned and asked again: "What should we do?"
Wu Qing gently took Zhu Hanfei's hand and led her to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Miss Zhu is still young, but she has such great medical skills. She has the potential to become a medical saint. If Miss Zhu helps, the Third Prince may still have a chance of survival."
The emperor's gaze lingered on Zhu Hanfei for a moment, "In that case, then let's make her a noble lady and let the third prince move into her palace to work together to find a plan for recuperation."
[…Brother, you are still harboring evil intentions.]
Wu Qing said, "Your Majesty is wise, but on the path of cultivation, both men and women must be pure-hearted and free from desire. If Miss Zhu wants to reach the realm of medical sainthood, she may need to cut off her worldly ties."
"Therefore, I agree with the Queen's decision. You should appoint Miss Zhu as the imperial physician."
The emperor realized that after so many twists and turns, Concubine Ji and the empress were actually in the same boat.
But Concubine Keji had already mentioned that Zhu Hanfei would become her concubine in the future.
——Why did she want to change her destiny?
No……
The emperor fell into deep thought.
It seemed that Guiren Ji...had been changing the trajectory of her fate from the very beginning.
——She saved the Queen’s life very early, exposed the Golden Lotus Society’s conspiracy in advance, and helped him avoid assassinations again and again.
Looking back, every choice made by Guiren Ji was not disadvantageous to him in the slightest. Instead, it protected the peace and prosperity of the Chen Kingdom.
Perhaps... the wisest move would be to follow Concubine Ji's wishes and not take Zhu Hanfei into the harem.
As soon as the emperor had this thought, an invisible force stirred in his heart, giving rise to an indescribable resistance.
He suppressed his displeasure and looked at Zhu Hanfei, asking for her opinion: "After listening for so long, I should ask you, what do you think?"
The Queen and Wu Qing simultaneously turned their gazes to her.
Zhu Hanfei weighed her words carefully, "Your servant..."
She paused.
After weighing the pros and cons, of course the noble has more power and is more likely to find out the truth about my sister's death.
But...if given the chance, which girl wouldn't want to marry a good man?
Zhu Hanfei raised her eyes, her gaze clear.
She looked at the emperor and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I am willing to use the medical skills I have learned throughout my life to help the emperor and the empress solve their problems and save the life of the third prince. I also want to take this opportunity to promote the way of medical skills and benefit the people."
She knelt deeply, her forehead touching the cold stone bricks.
"I do not think I am worthy of serving Your Majesty. Please find another beauty."