The Crown Princess lay there for another quarter of an hour, enduring unbearable pain. "Send someone to fetch the imperial physician. I haven't slept for two nights. Let him come and examine me."
A palace maid immediately went to fetch the imperial physician, but it took her a long time to return, and she came back alone.
The Crown Princess said impatiently, "Why are you alone? Where is the imperial physician?"
The young palace maid lowered her head and said, "Imperial Physician Li is too busy. This morning, Consort Xu invited him over, and he hasn't been released yet. When I went there, Consort An and Consort Zhao's people were also waiting there."
The Crown Princess's expression was not good. "What? Do you expect me to wait until they've finished examining me? Bring the imperial physician to me now!"
Why should she, the Crown Princess, be ranked behind those lowly hussies?!
...
Yan Chaoxi woke up feeling refreshed. After having breakfast, she and Bichun, along with two other palace maids, went for a walk to aid digestion.
The two walked to a small pavilion by the lake. Not far away, a woman wrapped up tightly rushed towards them, leaving her two accompanying palace maids far behind.
The man charged straight at Yan Chaoxi, his manner menacing. Bichun instinctively placed herself in front of Yan Chaoxi, exclaiming, "Princess, be careful! There's a strange man ahead!"
Before he even reached the pavilion, he tripped over a stone by the roadside and fell flat on his back.
Bichun, “…”, is a bit stupid and doesn’t seem to pose a big threat.
The man quickly got up and ran towards Yan Chaoxi again, his eyes, the only part of his face visible, fixed on her with a venomous glare. "Yan Chaoxi, what exactly did you put in that bottle? You deliberately disfigured my face, turning me into this inhuman, ghostly figure!"
Although her face was covered, Yan Chaoxi could still recognize the woman in front of her as Xu Liangdi from her eyes. She pretended to be puzzled and widened her eyes, "What are you talking about, Xu Liangdi? What have I done to harm you?"
"You're still pretending! Did you deliberately put poison in the bottle and make me put it on my face?! Yesterday, you were telling everyone how great your skin was after using your beauty toner, and then you tricked me into getting your beauty toner!"
Yesterday, while Yan Chaoxi was out for a walk, she had a palace maid lure away several of the palace maids in her courtyard, went inside, and put the beauty essence into her sleeve. That very night, she couldn't wait to use the beauty essence.
The thought of waking up today and looking in the mirror with joy, only to find her face covered in blood as if it had been burned, brought Xu Liangdi's panic to its peak.
She immediately sent someone to fetch the imperial physician, but after examining her, the physician shook his head, saying that her entire face was burned and completely incurable, and that the unsightly scars would stay with her for the rest of her life!
Unable to accept this outcome, Consort Xu went to Qingfeng Garden to confront Yan Chaoxi, only to find her gone. Upon learning that she was by the lake, Consort Xu rushed over without stopping, determined to tear Yan Chaoxi to pieces!
She couldn't recall anything about hierarchy at that moment.
Yan Chaoxi exclaimed in surprise, "So you stole that little bottle? No wonder the bottle on the table was gone when I came back from my walk. I thought some careless palace maid had thrown it away as trash."
"Also, Consort Xu, don't make things up. You say I deliberately misled you, but what evidence do you have to prove that I did it? By the way, let me remind you, taking something without asking is stealing, and I never agreed to let you take the bottle!"
"Do I need evidence? The moment you entered the Crown Prince's residence, I knew you weren't a good person. Who else could it be but you? The fact that this bottle of poison came from you is the evidence!" Consort Xu spoke unreasonably yet with a sense of self-righteousness.
She rushed forward, wanting to scratch Hua Yanchaoxi's face so that she would become like herself, but Bichun and two palace maids blocked her way and held her back tightly.
"Xu Liangdi, calm down, this couldn't possibly have been done by my princess!" In her anxiety, Bichun blurted out her private nickname.
"Princess? Bah! You come to the Great Liang and still think you're a princess?! You shameless woman!"
Yan Chaoxi gave one of the palace maids a wink, "Go and fetch the Crown Prince, let him judge this matter."
Then, pointing to the palace maids who had run over with Consort Xu, she said, "You two go and inform all the masters to come and see what's going on."
Then, she stepped forward and slapped Consort Xu across the face, saying, "You stole it yourself, and now you're blaming me for your disfigured face. If you don't mind being ugly, then let everyone judge for themselves."
"Fine! Let's see if His Highness the Crown Prince is on my side or yours!" Consort Xu was not afraid at all. Before Yan Chaoxi entered the manor, she had always been the Crown Prince's most favored woman. She did not believe that the Crown Prince could remain indifferent to seeing her being harmed like this!
In the scuffle, it's unclear whether someone lost control or Xu Liangdi was just unlucky, but she fell off the pavilion railing into the lake with a splash. Fortunately, the water wasn't deep, and she struggled a few times before managing to get up.
Are you blind?! Don't you know to help me up?
Bichun and another palace maid present were both Yan Chaoxi's people, so naturally they wouldn't go over to help her. Seeing that they didn't move and stood in the pavilion watching the spectacle as if it were a joke, Consort Xu was so angry that her chest heaved. She wished she could kill Yan Chaoxi immediately, but in the end, she scrambled ashore in a disheveled state.
Just then, the Crown Prince arrived, led by a palace maid, followed by a guard of similar build who wore a mask.
Several concubines who lived nearby also rushed over.
"Your Highness!" Consort Xu cried out in anguish and rushed into the Crown Prince's arms.
She forgot how disheveled she looked. She had been thrashing about in the water, and the towel she used to cover her face had long since fallen into the lake, revealing a patchwork of red burns on her face. Soaked in the lake water, the bloody wounds had turned white, making them look horrifying.
The crown prince was shocked and kicked her, yelling, "Where did this crazy old woman come from?!"
Xu Liangdi was kicked so hard she almost flew away. She cried out in grievance, "Your Highness! It's me! I am Xu Min'er!"
The prince understood. It wasn't a madwoman; it was a woman from his harem. He frowned. "How did you end up like this?"
"It's all Yan Chaoxi's fault! She deliberately harmed me. She disguised the poisoned water as a beauty tonic and intentionally tricked me into using it on my face!"
Bichun was indignant and hurriedly defended Yan Chaoxi, "Your Highness! That's not how it is! It was Consort Xu who stole the bottle that Consort Yan kept in her room and used it on her face. Now that she's disfigured, she's blaming Consort Yan!"
Yan Chaoxi didn't speak, but secretly glanced at Yan Wu standing behind the Crown Prince. She found that he was also looking at her, so she quietly winked at him.
Yan Wu looked away.
Yan Chaoxi, “?” This man turned his back on me after kissing me?
"Consort Yan, is what she said true? What's in that bottle?" the Crown Prince asked.
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