Doctor Zhou quickly made his way through the crowd of chattering women to Li's side, where he listened carefully as she recounted the whole story of Yan Yu's sudden stomachache.
Doctor Zhou dared not delay. He quickly took out a diagnostic pillow, placed it under Yan Yu's wrist, and then began to take her pulse as if he were in deep meditation.
Everyone stared at Doctor Zhou's expression, trying to discern Yan Yu's condition from his facial expressions. If she had really suffered a miscarriage or even a threatened miscarriage, then there would be quite a show to watch!
These women, who spend all their time idly in the inner courtyards, are practically growing moss from boredom. Now that they finally have something to look at during their leisure time, they're determined to take a good look.
About fifteen minutes later, Doctor Zhou withdrew his hand and said to Madam Li, "Reporting to Consort Li, Princess Yan Yu has indeed experienced a miscarriage. I will prescribe medicine immediately, and she must take it right away. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee whether the child in Princess Yan Yu's womb will survive this ordeal."
These words immediately caused an uproar. Yan Yu, who was lying on the warm couch, had changed drastically. She was covered in cold sweat and gasped for breath, saying, "Doctor Zhou, save my child, save him! If Fourth Master doesn't come back, he will not let you off easily!!"
Li quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, little sister. I'll have him go get the medicine and prepare it right away. Don't get upset."
Seeing Yan Yu like this, no one dared to say anything out of turn, and they simply watched quietly as Madam Li dealt with everything.
Although Lanqin disliked Yanyu very much, she was still uneasy when she saw that Yanyu had suddenly gone through a miscarriage. After all, it was a living life.
Doctor Zhou immediately wrote down the house details and handed them to Madam Li, who then immediately ordered Xiangqiao to fetch the medicine.
"Consort, may I ask what Princess Yan Yu has used? We must find the source of Princess Yan Yu's miscarriage in order to treat the problem effectively. The prescription I just gave only alleviated the condition of the fetus. If we cannot find the root cause, I'm afraid those medicines will not be able to save the fetus." Doctor Zhou's nose was already sweating. This year's New Year was truly worry-free.
Madam Li said to Doctor Zhou, "Before the Fourth Master and his wife left today, they instructed me to invite all the ladies in the courtyard over for a good time. The dishes were prepared according to the usual portions and were all sent from the manor's kitchen. Moreover, they have been eaten for quite some time, and the leftovers have already been collected. Doctor Zhou, would you like to go and examine those dishes?"
Doctor Zhou frowned, then turned to Yan Yu and said softly, "Princess Yan, could you please recall all the food and drinks you had today? Don't forget a single one."
Yan Yu was in severe stomach pain and couldn't calmly think about everything she had used that day. Yun Yuan, on the other hand, quickly thought about everything Yan Yu had used since she woke up that morning.
“Dr. Zhou, since the princess became pregnant, her appetite has been poor. This morning, she only had some barley and red bean porridge and two pastries. For lunch, she had cabbage and tofu soup, steamed sea bass, colorful chicken strips, and some rice. She also ate some at Consort Li’s place,” Yun Yuan said.
"If Princess Yan's miscarriage was caused by something harmful to the fetus in her food, then the food she ate in the morning and at noon can be ruled out, since there was a long interval between them. Generally, things that are harmful to pregnant women are either slow-acting, requiring a long period of accumulation, such as musk; or they are fast-acting, such as safflower. Judging from Princess Yan's condition, it should be the latter."
Madam Li's expression froze, and she said somewhat awkwardly, "Doctor Zhou means that the source of Yan Yu's fetal movement was something that happened in my courtyard?"
Dr. Zhou clearly sensed the anger in Madam Li's words, so he quickly said, "That's not what I meant, but based on the characteristics of things that can cause fetal movement in women, that's why I made this judgment."
The group immediately exchanged meaningful glances.
Who dares to lay a hand on Yan Yu in Consort Li's courtyard?!
Yan Yu now realized that she had been tricked. With Yun Yuan's help, she said in a hoarse voice, "Please, Sister Li, immediately send someone to inform the Fourth Master and the Princess Consort, and ask them to come back and support this princess and the child in her womb for justice."
Seeing that she said this, Madam Li could not stop her. She immediately ordered someone to inform the head nanny and have her send someone to the palace to inform the Fourth Prince and his wife.
She said to Doctor Zhou, "Yan Yu only ate some dishes here; the rest should be in the servants' quarters. Please go and take a look, Doctor Zhou." She then gestured to Mingyan, signaling her to take Doctor Zhou to check. The dishes should still be in the servants' quarters; usually, what the masters couldn't finish was taken by the servants to share.
Just as Mingyan was about to take Doctor Zhou out to check if there was anything wrong with the dishes on the table, Yunyuan suddenly said, "Doctor Zhou, I remember my princess started feeling unwell shortly after drinking that jujube tea. Could you check that cup of tea first?"
Just as she said this, a barely perceptible smile flashed in Madam Li's eyes, and then she asked with feigned surprise, "You silly girl, why didn't you say so sooner? Mingyan, do you still have any tea? You can take Doctor Zhou to get checked out first."
Mingyan nodded and went straight outside. She picked up the cup of tea from the table where Yan Yu was sitting and went back inside.
Doctor Zhou took the cup of tea from Mingyan, smelled it, then poured a little into his palm, tasted it with the tip of his tongue, and then asked Mingyan to bring over the kettle containing the jujube tea.
Seeing how seriously Doctor Zhou was taking this, Mingyan quickly ran to the outer room and brought back the pot of tea. This time, Doctor Zhou poured himself a cup, took a few sips, and then exclaimed, his face changing, "It really is safflower tea!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present paled. They had all drunk this tea before, and someone had actually dared to put safflower in it.
"Reporting to Consort Li, this pot of tea has likely been laced with safflower. This herb has a warming effect on the stomach for most people, and it's not only harmless for ordinary people, but it's also very beneficial for women who are sensitive to cold. However, pregnant women should absolutely avoid it; drinking or consuming tea with an excessive amount of safflower can easily lead to miscarriage. Princess Yan Yu's current abdominal pain is likely caused by the safflower." Doctor Zhou concealed his alarm and reported truthfully to Madam Li.
"Mingyan, I ask you, you personally brewed this tea in the kitchen, how could someone have added safflower to it?! If Princess Yanyu miscarries because of this, you will not escape the punishment." Madam Li stared sternly at Mingyan and shouted.
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