Seeing that the maid was speaking in a great hurry, Lanqin couldn't help but wonder if she had been overthinking things.
“Alright, then I’ll go with you to take a look,” Lanqin said.
So, Si Hua, supporting Lan Qin, immediately followed the maid toward Liu's Xinghua Chun Pavilion.
The maid leading the way kept her back to Lanqin, but her pace wasn't very fast. Lanqin said anxiously, "Why aren't you walking faster!"
The maidservant quickened her pace and led Lanqin and Sihua forward.
Upon arriving at Xinghuachun Pavilion, they saw Liu's personal maid standing at the door. Seeing that Lanqin and her maid had indeed arrived, she quickly went up to greet them and bowed to Lanqin.
"How is Liu Gege?" Lanqin asked.
"My lady just slipped and fell to the ground. I was terribly frightened. She's lying down now," Cuizhu said to Lanqin as she led her to Liu's room.
"Go quickly and call the doctor, have you called him yet?" Lanqin asked.
“This servant dares not make the decision on her own; I must first consult with Consort Cui,” Cuizhu said.
"At this point, what are you waiting for? Go and fetch the doctor immediately!" Lanqin said.
“Then, then this servant will go immediately, but there’s no one to take care of the princess,” Cuizhu said.
Lanqin glanced at her and said, "Send someone else over. What about that maid from before?"
Cuizhu quickly replied, "They are all former palace servants. I can't order them around. The princess is too gentle and doesn't discipline them much, so they don't serve well. Just now, I had to give her some money to invite the concubine."
"Sihua, you must go and fetch a doctor quickly!" Lanqin thought that Liu Shi's condition was such that she couldn't afford not to see a doctor.
"Thank you, Consort!" Cuizhu said quickly.
Si Hua hesitated for a moment, glancing at Lan Qin's retreating figure. She was about to say something, but in the end, she didn't. Instead, she turned around and went to fetch the doctor.
"Thank you for coming to see me, Consort!" Lady Liu was lying on the bed, her face looking very pale.
"How are you feeling now?" Lanqin asked with concern when she saw that Liu was indeed in trouble. After all, she was pregnant, and regardless of whether Mu Qingyang's situation was entirely her fault, she had to take care of her pregnancy for now.
"I haven't been eating or sleeping well these days. I just felt a little dizzy and fell down," Liu said weakly.
Looking at the frail woman lying on the bed, Lanqin really couldn't connect her with the person who harmed Mu Qingyang. But what Fucha had said, and Mu Qingyang—could this Liu Shi be an angel on the outside but a devil on the inside?
"Consort, the doctor has arrived!" Cuizhu heard hurried footsteps outside and knew that Sihua had brought the doctor.
Meanwhile, Doctor Yang was heating the medicinal catalyst in the iron pot, then blowing the billowing smoke into Mu Qingyang's nostrils. Mu Qingyang was already lying with his head facing the iron pot. Shui Ling stood nearby, holding a sharp wick.
"Doctor, when was that thing drawn out?" Shui Ling asked, staring at Mu Qingyang's nose.
"It's still early. We have to wait for the smoke to enter his esophagus and stomach to lure that thing out. You must follow the method I taught you, without hesitation or doubt, understand?" Physician Yang had been a veteran physician in the palace for over thirty years, and even he couldn't help but feel a little nervous, let alone Shui Ling.
"Yes, I will do as you say," Shui Ling said, trying to remain calm.
The smoke gradually seeped into Mu Qingyang's nostrils, and Doctor Yang carefully fanned the air to direct the smoke towards his nose and mouth.
Outside, rhythmic copper bells rang again and again, rung by Dr. Yang and his maids.
"Dr. Yang, why did you ask them to ring the bell outside?" Shui Ling asked.
"The Gu worms are raised by the Miao people. They usually use bells to control these things. I had them ring the bells outside to speed up the process of the Gu worms crawling out," said Physician Yang.
"Oh, I see!" Shui Ling said, as if she had just realized something.
As more and more smoke drifted into Mu Qingyang's nose and mouth, his face suddenly began to change. From pale to gradually turning dark, his limbs also began to tremble slightly.
"Doctor Yang, what's wrong with him?" Shui Ling asked anxiously when she saw Mu Qingyang's condition.
"Don't panic, it's already working. That thing has sensed the allure of the medicinal catalyst, and with the call of the bell outside, it's started crawling out," Physician Yang said, somewhat nervously.
After all, such Gu worms are truly terrifying. The slightest carelessness could undo all the progress made.
"Imperial Physician, he seems to be enjoying himself!" Shui Ling looked at Mu Qingyang and saw large beads of sweat on his forehead.
"That's for sure. He can only rely on himself; he must get through this," said Physician Yang.
The bell outside continued to ring again and again, summoning the Gu worms in Mu Qingyang's stomach, while Physician Yang tirelessly burned the medicinal soup into vapor, causing it to drift into his nostrils.
Gradually, Mu Qingyang's reaction became more and more intense; his brows furrowed tightly, as if he were enduring immense pain. Shui Ling and Physician Yang, who were waiting nearby, could only pray that the harmful Gu worm would crawl out of his nostrils as soon as possible.
"It'll be here soon, Shui Ling, you need to be ready!" Physician Yang said nervously.
"Yes!" Shui Ling's body was in a forward-leaning posture, and she stared intently at Mu Qingyang's face, her hand holding the wicker ready at any moment.
"Wait a moment, don't move as soon as it comes out. This thing is very cunning; it will stick its head out first. When half of its body is out, you should pinch it," said Physician Yang.
"Yes, I understand," Shui Ling said. At this moment, she put aside her nervousness and distracting thoughts, forcing herself to concentrate on his nose and mouth.
Physician Yang added more charcoal, making the fire in the brazier burn even brighter. As he added more, he fanned the smoke toward Mu Qingyang.
Finally, Mu Qingyang's face turned ashen, and his eyelids began to twitch.
"It's coming out soon, that thing!" Physician Yang said with trembling hands, gesturing for Shui Ling to prepare. He himself was over seventy years old and should have handled it himself, but he was afraid that if his hand trembled, he would release the Gu worm, so he asked Lan Qin for someone else.
"Imperial Physician, I'm preparing. Should I take that thing out and throw it directly into the brazier?" Shui Ling asked repeatedly.
"Yes, just throw them into the brazier. They're all harmful things; we can't let them continue to harm people," said Physician Yang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
