Chapter 197 Why are the scars still fading?
After her reminder, the Emperor suddenly realized the truth and said, "Cao De, summon the imperial physician to examine the Ninth Princess."
Chief Steward Cao entered just in time to hear this, and he immediately sent someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau to fetch the imperial physician on duty.
Xie Ling'er was displeased to see that Jiang Fenghua spoke softly and cared for her in every word. What was even stranger was that her father listened to her, as if she were his daughter. She hated Jiang Fenghua intensely. She firmly believed that it was because Jiang Fenghua had stolen Su Tingwan's man that things had turned out this way.
She knew that Jiang Fenghua lived in the palace, and she tried to slip something into her food, but her food was guarded by special people, so she had no chance at all.
Her eyes were filled with hatred as she stared at Jiang Fenghua, "I don't need your fake kindness..."
Jiang Fenghua withdrew her hand, straightened up, walked to the emperor, looked somewhat aggrieved, and said gently, "It's all my fault for being nosy. I'll take my leave now."
The Emperor said in a deep voice, "She is your fifth sister-in-law. I think you really should learn some manners so that you don't embarrass the royal family after you get married. You should really learn etiquette from your fifth sister-in-law."
Although Xie Ling'er was dissatisfied, she did not dare to act recklessly in front of the Emperor. After all, she could still rely on her father's love to support her. Today, she would not let Empress Cheng go no matter what, and she would make her kneel to death in the snow.
Xie Ling'er's eyes welled up with tears again. "Your subject did not mean to disrespect Fifth Sister-in-law. Your subject spoke carelessly. I am sorry, Father."
"Get up, stop kneeling." The emperor did indeed love her, and he knew that the empress and Su Qingqing didn't get along, so naturally he wouldn't be kind to her daughter.
The Emperor then asked, "Has the imperial physician arrived yet?"
At this moment, Physician Wang arrived with his medicine box. Because it was New Year's Eve, he had drunk some wine, so he was a little slower on the way.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." He still smelled of alcohol.
"Imperial Physician Wang, examine the princess's injuries. Where are they? How serious are they? You must heal the princess." The Emperor ordered. "These old hags are too ruthless. They dare to lay such a heavy hand on my daughter." Those who can beat someone to death are no saints.
Imperial Physician Wang quickly replied, "Your subject obeys the decree."
When the imperial physician arrived, Xie Ling'er hesitated for a moment, saying, "No need, it's just a few superficial wounds. Imperial Physician Wang can give me some medicine, and I'll apply it and I'll be fine."
Xie Ling'er was, after all, a princess, and it was inconvenient for the royal physician to apply the medicine for her. So he left the medicine for her and had the palace maids help her.
Jiang Fenghua suddenly said, "Let the imperial physician examine her. The princess's injuries are so severe, we must not leave any scars. The princess's complexion is also not good. Let Imperial Physician Wang take her pulse. I'm afraid that she might have some internal injuries that have not been cured and have become a chronic disease. I can also help the princess apply medicine."
Physician Wang said, "Taking the pulse is necessary; it's better to be thorough so as to put your mind at ease."
Before Xie Ling'er could speak, Physician Wang took out a pulse pillow and placed it on the table. "Princess, please sit here. I will examine you carefully."
If Xie Ling'er continues to make excuses now, there's something fishy going on.
Jiang Fenghua smiled as she stared at Xie Ling'er. When she got close to Xie Ling'er earlier, she had carefully examined the injuries on her body. They were clearly fresh, and there was even something seeping into the skin, like bruises. There was no broken skin or swelling. How much determination and ruthlessness must Jiang Fenghua have had to dare to hit a fourteen-year-old girl with a board and cause bruising?
Empress Cheng just said that she was just teaching her manners. Besides, she knows best that Granny Wang teaches manners and would never actually lay a hand on her. Even if she did, she wouldn't let anyone see any marks.
She also knew Xie Ling'er well; she was extremely spoiled and pampered. Would she really be willing to be ruthless to herself?
Xie Ling'er sat timidly on the stool and stretched out her arm.
The Emperor asked with concern, "How are you? Are you alright?"
After a moment, Physician Wang said, "Your Majesty, it's nothing serious, just a superficial injury..." Although Physician Wang had been drinking, his medical skills were still trustworthy.
Before Physician Wang could finish speaking, Xie Ling'er quickly covered her wound. She had just shown her father the injuries on her legs and hands, and hurriedly said, "Let my maid apply the medicine for me, there's no need to trouble Physician Wang. It's inconvenient to have some injuries on my body..."
"Let me apply it for the princess! I see that the injuries on her hands are quite severe, and her legs are probably also badly injured. It's important to treat them promptly, otherwise, in this cold weather, the wounds will develop into frostbite, and it would be terrible if her whole body became ulcerated," Jiang Fenghua said with concern.
"No need, Fifth Sister-in-law is heavily pregnant, so please don't trouble yourself." Xie Ling'er kept avoiding the question.
In fact, although Granny Wang did hit her with the board, it did hurt, but for some reason it didn't leave any marks. It was as if there was some kind of trick to it. So, in order to make it look real, she hit herself hard a few times, and the pain made her tears flow. If she wanted to draw blood, she would have to hit her hard and make her whole body covered in blood. She didn't want that, so she faked it.
"Oh dear, why is Princess Tianjiu dressed so thinly in such cold weather? She doesn't even have a down jacket, and it's made of summer fabric!"
"I said no need." Xie Ling'er pushed her back forcefully, and Jiang Fenghua was pushed away, while her sleeve was torn open.
Jiang Fenghua, heavily pregnant, nearly fell, but she was careful not to actually fall. Luckily, Wuxin caught her in time. "Is Your Highness alright?"
"It's nothing." Jiang Fenghua shook her head, clutching Xie Ling'er's clothes in her hand, and quickly apologized, "Princess, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. The wounds on your body... why are they stained? They're all over your clothes, it doesn't look like blood!"
Apart from her wrists, all of Xie Ling'er's injuries were fake. Her snow-white skin had no marks at all, and even if there were, they were drawn on. She quickly covered them up.
At this moment, the emperor also noticed something was wrong. He tore off some fabric from her clothes and saw that it looked like some kind of juice had been stained on it, and the wound on her arm was also smeared with it.
Even if the Empress were stupid, she wouldn't dress the princes and princesses in summer clothes, especially since today is New Year's Eve and everyone is wearing new clothes. The Ninth Princess wore a cotton-padded coat at the New Year's Eve dinner, but she's not wearing one now, which seems a bit deliberate.
The Emperor also realized what was happening, looked deeply at Xie Ling'er, and said in a deep voice, "Cao De, have Wu Mama come over."
Wu Mama served in the Qianqing Palace, so she was naturally considered one of the Emperor's confidantes.
All that was left was for Granny Wu to come and respectfully greet him, "Your Majesty."
"Go and see what happened to the Ninth Princess's injuries," the Emperor said in a deep voice.
"Yes," said Granny Wu.
Xie Ling'er curled up in a ball, looking terrified. "The Empress really did have Granny Wang beat me. I'm not lying. They beat me when I disobeyed."
After examining the body, Granny Wu reported, "It should be the sap of the bitter tree. When applied to the body, it seeps into the skin and makes it feel like you've been whipped. This sap also easily stains clothes, so it must be the sap that caused the infection."
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