Chapter 45 Embarrassment

Outside the palace, the prince's residence.

The servant led an old man in coarse linen clothes through the corridor into the inner courtyard with a very respectful attitude.

Duan Ruwang had been waiting in the inner courtyard for a long time. When he heard the footsteps, he tilted his head slightly and put down the scissors he was using to trim the potted plants.

The servant bowed and said, "Your Highness, Dr. Qian, the famous doctor from Jiangnan, has arrived."

The white-bearded and white-haired Doctor Qian, who was carrying a small medicine box, knelt down and saluted tremblingly when he saw Duan Ruwang: "I am honored to meet... His Royal Highness the Prince."

Duan Ruwang waved his hand, and the servant beside him hurriedly helped him to sit on a chair nearby.

Duan Ruwang stared at him intently, and after a moment he said, "Can you really cure my fifth brother's illness?"

Duan Xichen had been poisoned for more than half a month. Apart from that time when he went crazy, he could not move at all. His face looked as if he had gone mad and was full of pain.

The imperial edict was posted almost every corner of the city. Countless doctors tried to uncover the edict, but none of them could do anything about it.

Doctor Qian said hurriedly: "According to the symptoms of His Royal Highness the Prince in the imperial edict, it is estimated that there is an 80% chance that he was poisoned by a rare snake venom, which caused his whole body to become stiff and unable to move."

"Snake venom?" Duan Ruwang thought for a moment and said, "Do you have a way to cure it?"

Doctor Qian seemed a little embarrassed: "I can solve it, but..."

He hesitated to speak.

Duan Ruwang said calmly, "Just say it directly."

Doctor Qian said: "This method is a bit harsh, I'm afraid it will be harmful to your body, and..."

He paused, as if afraid that Duan Ruwang would get angry, and quickly said, "And once the treatment begins, this medicine can never be stopped."

Duan Ruwang became interested, and with his hands on his cheeks, he asked with a half-smile, "Is it an addictive drug like Wu Shi San?"

Doctor Qian said hurriedly, "It's like this. Take the concentrated medicine every day, and then light the medicinal fragrance made from various kinds of tiger and wolf medicines. You will become addicted in just seven days. Although it can cure the strange poison in His Royal Highness' body, he will never be able to live without the medicinal fragrance again."

"Can't leave..." Duan Ruwang chuckled and murmured, "It's just right that he can't leave. With his personality, letting him lie motionless in bed waiting to die is the most unbearable thing."

Doctor Qian asked hesitantly, "Your Highness?"

Duan Ruwang said calmly: "Then you can bring the imperial edict to the palace, but remember not to tell others about your addiction to the incense."

A servant beside him worriedly said, "Your Highness, if the people in the Imperial Hospital find out..."

Doctor Qian was originally a coward, but when he heard someone question his medical skills, he immediately became dissatisfied: "This medicinal incense is a recipe passed down from my ancestors for three generations. No one knows the formula and efficacy. Even if the imperial physician is very skilled, he can only see that it is a detoxification recipe."

The servant lowered his eyes, took a step back, and stopped interrupting.

Duan Ruwang said: "Then do as I say."

Doctor Qian hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What if someone finds out?"

Duan Ruwang smiled: "Duan Xichen's illness is not something that can be treated by any quack doctor. The prince goes to him every day, so he must be responsible for guiding the doctor. When the time comes, you will follow the prince to get treatment. When the emperor asks about it in the future, you can say..."

Doctor Qian raised his head and looked at him with cloudy eyes, full of confusion.

Duan Ruwang said, "Just say that you had already told the prince about the risk of addiction to this medicinal incense, and it was the prince who asked you to continue the treatment."

Doctor Qian shuddered and said in a trembling voice: "This, this, this... Your Highness... This is biting the Crown Prince..."

Duan Ruwang glanced at him and said, "Do as I say, otherwise I can't guarantee the fate of your granddaughter."

Doctor Qian shuddered all over, and after a long while he stood up and saluted, "Yes."

East Palace.

Sui Yan did not wear a cape, and his purple brocade shirt made him look extremely thin. He walked out of the side hall with a pale face, and saw from a distance a woman in a dark green dress rushing towards him regardless of anyone trying to stop her.

Sui Yan's mind was not very clear. Seeing this person coming at him, he didn't try to hide. He crossed his arms and stood tall in place.

Concubine Ning had been favored by the emperor for so many years, so her beauty was naturally stunning. Even when she was furious, her face was still extremely beautiful.

The beautiful woman walked up to Sui Yan, glared at him, and slapped him without saying a word.

With a "pop" sound.

Sui Yan reacted very quickly, reaching out and grabbing Concubine Ning's wrist to block her angry slap.

Concubine Ning was stunned for a moment, and then she saw the young man who was holding her wrist suddenly slap her in the face with his other hand.

She was used to being arrogant in the harem, and even the queen had to give in to her a little. No one dared to hit her, and she closed her eyes in fear.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

Sui Yan's hand stopped just an inch away from that beautiful face.

Concubine Ning did not feel any pain, and opened her eyes quickly. Seeing that she was not beaten, she immediately shook off Sui Yan's hand, almost spitting fire with anger: "Sui Wanggui! You are so brave! How dare you lay hands on me?! Do you still understand the rules and family education?!"

Sui Yan looked at her blankly: "I have met Consort Ning before. Just now, when I saw you, you put your palm towards my face. I thought this was a new way of greeting in the harem, so I followed the local customs. It turns out that slapping someone's face is... a lack of manners? Then you just..."

Concubine Ning: “…”

The palace ladies nearby lowered their heads and tried to suppress their laughter.

Concubine Ning originally wanted to give him a warning, but she didn't expect to be so simply and rudely kicked by Sui Yan. She immediately felt embarrassed.

The palace maid who was waiting beside Sui Yan saluted and said, "Your Highness, the young marquis is recuperating in the East Palace. He is weak and usually the Crown Prince would feel distressed for a long time if he bumps into anything. Now is the time to take medicine, so I'm afraid he can't accompany Your Highness for a long talk."

Concubine Ning said angrily: "You little slave, how can you have the right to speak here?!"

She was used to being arrogant and domineering, and seemed to want to slap someone again. Sui Yan, who was standing beside her, stretched out his hand lightly, spread out his five fingers and looked at her nonchalantly. She was so scared that she immediately retracted her hand and could only glare at the palace maid with vicious eyes.

The Empress and Concubine Ning had always been at odds with each other, and even the people in the Eastern Palace disliked her. Seeing her embarrassed, they all lowered their heads and tried to hold back their laughter.

Sui Yan didn't want to let her go so soon, and said, "You won't die even if you don't take the medicine. Wang Gui has plenty of time to talk with the queen. It doesn't matter if we talk until dawn."

Concubine Ning: “…”

Everyone: “…”

This was the first time they had seen someone talk dirty to the emperor's woman so openly. After a moment's silence, they wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, and their faces turned red from holding it in.

Concubine Ning was stunned on the spot, and after a long while she angrily said, "Are you crazy?!"

Sui Yan finally reacted, tilted his head and murmured, "Oh, yes, you can't say that."

Sui Yan normally had the ability to make people extremely angry, and even now that he was sick he was no exception. He only said two sentences from beginning to end, and Concubine Ning's face was almost twisted with anger.

Sui Yan's vision was blurry now. He said softly, "Your Highness, you came to see Wang Gui today. Is there something important?"

Concubine Ning took a deep breath, and her voice trembled as she spoke: "Xi Chen was fine some time ago, but he has been like crazy since you went there once. Do you dare to say that you didn't poison him?"

Sui Yan said "Oh": "Where is the evidence?"

Concubine Ning did not expect him to be so calm and screamed, "Do you need evidence? Anyone with a discerning eye can see it!"

In short, there is no evidence.

The ice in the pond nearby had melted and several koi were swimming around in it.

Sui Yan's ears hurt from her noise. He walked slowly for a few steps and sat on the jade stone railing beside the pond, intending to sit down and listen to her talk.

Concubine Ning was so angry that she pressed her chest.

However, she was worthy of being a woman favored by the emperor and had been in power in the deep palace for so many years. Seeing that this approach did not work, she took a few quick breaths and tried her best to calm herself.

Sui Yan sat on the stone railing, looking down at the koi in the pond. While Concubine Ning was calming down, he asked the palace maid beside him, "Can we have fish for lunch?"

The palace maid wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, so she forced herself to hold it back and said, "Young Marquis wants to eat fish, so I'll ask the kitchen to prepare a fish feast."

Sui Yan nodded and said, "How boring! Bring me some bait."

The palace maid ran to get the bait.

Concubine Ning: “…”

Concubine Ning felt that the anger she had just suppressed was about to rise again. She took a deep breath and said in a cold voice: "Young Marquis, I will be frank with you now. Xichen had improper intentions towards you in the past, but he is still young and his crime is not serious. I hope you will spare his life for the sake of Your Majesty."

Sui Yan could see red koi swimming around, and the sounds in his ears were a little hazy. He thought to himself, "Oh, if the show of power doesn't work, I'll change my strategy."

But his mind was too unclear at the moment, and he said whatever he thought. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Concubine Ning's face turned green.

Sui Yan didn't realize that he had spoken his mind. He nonchalantly fed the fish with the bait sent by the palace maid and said softly, "I didn't hurt him."

Concubine Ning: "But he..."

When Sui Yan heard that she was going to bring up the matter with discerning people again, he tilted his head slightly and said, "If I jump down from here right now, wouldn't a discerning person be able to tell at a glance that you forced me to jump down?"

Concubine Ning: “…”

Palace maid: “…”

Sui Yan tilted his head, his face calm and composed: "You...you hit me as soon as we met, and then you framed me for murdering the prince. If someone else had been humiliated like this, they would have been so ashamed that they would have killed themselves. It shouldn't be too much for me to jump into a pond."

Concubine Ning glared at him with gritted teeth, and after a long while she lowered her voice and said, "Aren't you afraid that I will report you to His Majesty?"

"Oh," Sui Yan said, "The Concubine, go and tell His Majesty how the Fifth Prince has been coveting beauty and bullying others over the years. Tell him how many children's lives the Fifth Prince has taken. Then tell His Majesty that he is so bold as to covet the son of a court official."

Concubine Ning was stunned.

Sui Yan looked at her and said softly, "Let's talk about it later. I poisoned him because I was molested and humiliated by him, right?"

Concubine Ning suddenly felt a little unsteady. She certainly couldn't say these words to the emperor. Duan Xichen's ferocious behavior in recent days had already made the emperor dissatisfied. If she revealed this matter again and completely lost the emperor's protection, would he still be able to survive?

Sui Yan thought thoughtfully: "If the Imperial Concubine really wants to tell the Emperor about this as evidence, she can take me with her to testify. I have no shame and I have plenty of time."

Concubine Ning was supported by the maid behind her and said with difficulty: "You... aren't you afraid of what others will say about you?"

Sui Yan said: "What others say about me has nothing to do with me. I am not living for them."

Ever since Concubine Ning met Sui Yan, she has been led by him all the way.

The imperial concubine who was biting and snagging like a mad dog, and the young marquis who had a haggard face but spoke softly all the time, even the countless palace maids with poor eyesight could tell who was at a disadvantage.

Concubine Ning was extremely embarrassed, but she calmed down completely. Just as she was about to speak, a palace maid ran over from a distance. Without even kneeling down to greet her, she hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, it seems that the Crown Prince has found a miracle doctor who can treat the Fifth Prince, and he is now examining the Fifth Prince in the bedroom!"

Concubine Ning loved her son dearly, and upon hearing this, she had no time to find fault with Sui Yan, and just left in a hurry with her people.

Sui Yan was still sitting on the stone railing casting bait. After a long while, he turned around and asked blankly, "Where are the people?"

The palace maid smiled and said, "Young Marquis, the Royal Concubine has been gone for a long time."

Sui Yan was a little disappointed. He hadn't even said a few words yet, and the woman left so quickly. It was so rude of her.

The palace maid said, "Young Marquis, the medicine is ready, it's time to take it."

Sui Yan shook his head and stood up by himself: "No, no medicine, I'm tired and want to go to sleep."

As he spoke, he ignored the palace maids' attempts to stop him and staggered to the side hall. He curled up in the quilt without even taking off his clothes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.