Chapter 91 Chapter 91 Concubine Shu's Fourth Day
The imperial physician had no idea how to treat the eldest prince's illness and could only do basic fever-reducing treatment. The next step was to wait until the cursed object was found.
Shen Qing was comforting the queen on the side, while Ji Chen glanced at the three imperial physicians including Imperial Physician Wu with an unclear expression.
All three of them were trembling with fear and sweating profusely, and nothing could be seen for the time being.
Half an hour later, Qian Ji and Wang Jigui appeared in Shuifang Yanxiu with some things.
Ji Chen had already come out of the eldest prince's room and was listening to Wang Ding's report on what the eldest prince had touched and used that day.
"The eldest prince got up at 11:00 am and drank a bowl of fresh porridge at the queen's place. He was then taken to the queen mother by a nanny. He ate two pieces of milk cakes at the queen mother's place. The second prince also ate the cakes. He is currently fine. He left the queen mother at 11:00 am and went straight back to Shuifang Yanxiu. He worked hard for two hours and ate a piece of tuckahoe cake and a small bowl of lotus seed soup."
"The eldest prince and the queen had lunch together. The queen had also eaten the food. After lunch, the eldest prince drank a bowl of sour plum soup alone and then went to take a nap. He woke up with unbearable abdominal pain and summoned the imperial physician."
"I have checked everything the eldest prince has touched. Nothing is amiss, except for the bowl of sour plum soup. The bowl and spoon have been cleaned, so I don't know if there is anything else mixed in it."
After Wang Ding finished speaking, he took a step to the side, revealing Qian Ji and Wang Jigui who had returned. Wang Jigui was holding a carefully sewn rag doll in his hand, but on the doll was a piece of paper with the date of birth written vertically in blood. In addition, several silver needles were pierced on the abdomen and head of the doll.
Concubine Yan exclaimed in surprise: "This is the birth date of the eldest prince."
It was no secret when the eldest prince was born. On that day, the concubines were waiting in Kunning Palace. They only congratulated the emperor and the empress dowager when they heard the baby's first cry.
Everyone's eyes fell on Concubine Yan, who hurriedly said, "I spoke out of turn," and covered her mouth in panic.
He seemed horrified by such vicious behavior.
De Fei looked at the doll carefully before speaking: "The eldest prince was vomiting and having diarrhea, which are abdominal symptoms. He also had a headache and a fever... which is exactly the same as the place where the witchcraft doll was pierced with needles."
Listening to Concubine De's calm analysis, Concubine Xian was unwilling to be outdone. She suppressed her disgust and frowned as she looked at the doll several times, but she couldn't see anything.
Then he asked, "Your Majesty, where did you find this thing?"
Ji Chen raised his eyes and looked at Wang Jigui.
Wang Jigui: "In reply to the emperor, the ladies and the masters, the things were searched out from Fengheju and were originally placed in a secret compartment in the cabinet."
Concubine Yan was surprised: "Isn't Fengheju where Concubine Shu lives? Could it be..."
He Cairen, who was standing beside Concubine Xian, said unintentionally, "It seems that Concubine Yan said too much today."
Xianfei's eyes lit up at the word "Shufei", but when she heard what He Cairen said, her eyes suddenly turned suspicious and fell on Yanpin, saying jokingly: "Yanpin knows a lot."
Before Yanpin could explain anything, Defei's voice overwhelmed her: "Fengheju is indeed where Shufei lives. Since you found something harmful in Shufei's place, why don't you invite Shufei out and confront her?"
"If Concubine Shu is innocent, then we can clear her grievances as soon as possible. If Concubine Shu is guilty, it is more important to break the curse for the eldest prince first. Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Shen Qing is still indoors, accompanying the queen.
Ji Chen said to Qian Ji: "Please invite Concubine Shu out."
When Shen Qing heard the noise outside, he wanted to go out to see what was going on, but the queen held his hand tightly.
The Queen said to her in her grief: "This is a conspiracy against you. I never suspected that you would attack the eldest prince."
Shen Qing was moved and held the Queen's hand: "Thank you for your trust in me, Your Majesty. I have plenty of opportunities to harm the eldest prince, so why use such disgusting means? It seems that someone in the palace couldn't do it, so he did this in the Summer Resort."
She changed her tone and whispered, "Your Majesty, I will destroy the cursed doll later. Please pay attention to the movements around the eldest prince."
The queen perked up, her eyes sharp as she glanced at Qinggu.
Qing Gu nodded slightly.
At this time Qian Ji came in and gestured for Shen Qing to come in. Shen Qing walked to his side, and he whispered again what had just happened.
Shen Qing listened carefully, and after coming out, he walked to Ji Chen.
She asked Wang Jigui calmly, "Can you let me have a look at the puppet you found?"
Ji Chen glanced at Wang Jigui, and Wang Jigui presented the doll to Shen Qing.
Shen Qing took the doll in her hand, but was unexpectedly pricked by the needle and bled. She ignored the blood on her fingertips and looked at the doll for a few moments.
Ji Chen's eyes fell on Shen Qing's hand and he frowned slightly.
Shen Qing raised her eyes and said, "If the curse is effective on this doll, I have already pulled out the silver needle and destroyed the paper. The eldest prince's illness should get better. But if the eldest prince's illness does not get better, it cannot be said that this doll caused it. Even if it was found in my residence, I will not bear the responsibility."
Concubine Yan wanted to speak, but Ji Chen gave her a cold look. Then, two eunuchs stepped forward, clamped her arms, and stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth.
Concubine De remained silent. How could she not know that Shen Qing was trying to deceive the Imperial Doctor Wu? She probably knew that the Empress had already noticed Imperial Doctor Wu's actions.
With the example of Concubine Yan as a precedent, the others would not say anything more.
Shen Qing continued, "Imperial Doctor Wu swore that the eldest prince was cursed by witchcraft. Now the baby is ruined. If the eldest prince cannot recover, I beg the emperor to put Imperial Doctor Wu in jail to prevent others from using witchcraft curses to exonerate themselves in the future."
Lan Xiurong said: "I think this is also the truth."
Concubine Chen covered her lips with a handkerchief, suppressing her smile: "If the imperial physician encounters a strange disease in the future and blames it on witchcraft and sorcery, without any attitude of research and progress, then the master of the palace will have to drink a bowl of magic water every time he gets sick. How is this different from ignorant people who don't know how to educate themselves?"
The virtuous concubine showed rejection when she thought of that scene. Talisman water, who knows what kind of people-controlling things were added to it?
As everyone outside was discussing, the imperial physician who had been checking the eldest prince's pulse suddenly exclaimed, "The eldest prince's pulse is normal!"
Soon after these words, Qing Gu's voice was clearly heard scolding: "What are you hiding in your hand?"
The room suddenly became chaotic. Everyone looked inside curiously, but did not dare to go in without permission.
Ji Chen took the doll from Shen Qing's hand, wiped the blood off her hands with a handkerchief, and was satisfied when he saw that there was no more bleeding.
He patted her on the back and said, "If you are curious, go in and take a look."
Smart girls deserve rewards.
Shen Qing, who was already eager to go in, did not forget to bow before walking in.
After entering, he saw Doctor Wu lying on the ground beside the eldest prince's bed, with another doctor with a slightly wider body pinning him down. Shen Qing recognized that it was him who had been taking the eldest prince's pulse but could not get it right, and his expression changed from pitiful to desperate.
The imperial physician's surname was Zhao.
The other imperial physician was sitting aside, his hands shaking, looking extremely anxious.
Doctor Zhao angrily shook his fist at Doctor Wu, lowered his voice and gritted his teeth and said, "I saw you leave your hometown to come to the Imperial Hospital, and I took good care of you. How dare you hurt me?"
Doctor Wu kept groaning but did not say anything to defend himself.
Shen Qing looked at the Queen and Qing Gu. The two of them were surrounding the eldest prince. Qing Gu was taking the eldest prince's pulse and said with surprise, "It's a high fever caused by an emergency. The right medicine will quickly reduce the temperature."
The Queen breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Qing was relieved after hearing this: "Sister Qinggu, what did you find from Doctor Wu just now?"
Qinggu concealed the bitterness in her heart when she heard the title. When Shen Qing came to the Empress, she also treated Shen Qing as her younger sister, and they had spent quite a while together.
She took out a piece of hardwood and handed it to Shen Qing: "Doctor Wu put this thing on the eldest prince in advance to compress his meridians, which made his pulse disordered and weak."
Shen Qing took it and said in annoyance, "What a cunning trick."
Seeing that Doctor Zhao had beaten Doctor Wu to a pulp, she said, "Doctor Zhao, the eldest prince still needs you to prescribe the right medicine. You must not delay it because of me."
Doctor Zhao stood up and said yes. His expression became serious. He stepped forward to feel the eldest prince's pulse again, then wrote out the prescription fluently and handed it to the female doctor beside him, asking her to boil the medicine.
Doctor Wu was taken away the moment Doctor Zhao stood up. At the same time, the doctor who was sitting beside him with a guilty look on his face was also taken away.
Upon seeing this, Shen Qing left the room, returned to Ji Chen, and told him what had just happened.
Ji Chen ordered: "Take Imperial Doctor Wu and his accomplices away, torture them severely, and make sure to get something out of them."
He looked at Concubine Yan again: "Take Concubine Yan away with you. I don't believe she is innocent."
A very intelligent person wanted to do something stupid at the critical moment just now, and anyone would doubt her.
Concubine Yan collapsed to the ground, but she felt that this was a good thing. If she failed, she wouldn't have to worry every day, afraid that one day she would bring disaster to her mother and brother because of her disobedience.
Wang Jigui said yes, and he was generally the one who handled the torture.
Before leaving, his eyes fell on Wang Ding for a moment. The stage had been set up for today, and the play was only halfway through. Someone would definitely want to take over and continue the show.
Wang Ding stood with his body bent, without any movement, but he understood what his godfather meant.
Concubine Yan was taken away, and the eunuch who had been ordered by Ji Chen earlier brought in the doctor accompanying the court officials.
Next to the doctor stood an acquaintance. She had her hair in a bun and was wearing a lavender dress. She stood still and said, "My name is Xu Luotu, I pay my respects to the Emperor, the Consort, the ladies, and the Master. I heard that the eldest prince was ill, and the Emperor summoned the doctor to treat him. My brother happened to have a divine doctor named Xue with him. He has been traveling abroad for many years and is very experienced. I thought he would have some different opinions on the eldest prince's illness, so I took the liberty of bringing him here."
Shen Qing showed surprise. She didn't expect to meet the master who taught her tea art here.
Master was still called Wanxia in the palace, and only changed back to his own name after he was ordered to leave the palace.
Ji Chen understood: "Your brother is Xu Chunling."
Out of trust in Xu Chunling, even though the eldest prince would get better after taking medicine, he still asked Doctor Xue to go in and take a look.
Doctor Xue entered and Xu Luotu stood on one side. She raised her eyes and her gaze met Shen Qing's. She couldn't help but smile.
The meeting of eyes is a wonderful thing in itself, and everything is implied.
Shen Qing immediately understood that the master came for her!
I'm afraid that in the Mountain Resort, the rumor about the witchcraft doll found in Concubine Shu's possession has quietly spread.
Some even said that she had murdered the eldest prince, and the master could no longer sit still.
Moreover, when the master spoke, he only called Concubine Shu, but referred to Concubine De and Concubine Xian as all the other concubines. It can be seen that the master treats her specially.
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