Feeling these gazes, He Jiuniang returned each one with a smile, her gaze finally settling on Consort Hui's face.
She gave a sweet smile and said, "Your Majesty has a discerning eye. I thank you for your praise."
Those around couldn't help but laugh, but Consort Hui's face turned rather ugly; she was being mocked!
How could the old emperor not see that Consort Hui was deliberately making trouble for He Jiu Niang? The banquet had only just begun and she was already losing her composure. Consort Hui was really getting worse as she got older.
The old emperor glanced at Consort Hui with displeasure, then introduced her directly to everyone: "That's right, that is Doctor He who has been treating me. My dear ministers, don't underestimate Doctor He just because she is a woman. Her medical skills surpass all the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital. Under Doctor He's treatment, my health has improved considerably."
The old emperor's words naturally categorized He Jiuniang as one of his own, while Consort Hui became an outsider.
Consort Hui's face turned ashen. She deliberately drew everyone's attention not to get the old emperor to praise He Jiu Niang, but to support He Jiu Niang!
Before He Jiuniang could speak, Consort Hui continued, "Doctor He is truly blessed. There are not many people who can receive such praise from the Emperor! Doctor He is not only exceptionally skilled in medicine, but also incredibly beautiful. No wonder the Emperor values her so highly!"
She smiled, but her words were sarcastic and pointed, subtly implying the relationship between He Jiuniang and the old emperor.
Now it was the old emperor and Lu Baichuan's turn to look grim; this woman was deliberately trying to make things difficult for them.
"Outrageous! What nonsense are you spouting?"
The old emperor glared at her, signaling her to shut up, but Consort Hui was determined to go all out. Once the arrow was released, there was no turning back. She vowed not to give up until He Jiu Niang was utterly humiliated.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I was merely speaking the truth. Your Majesty said that Doctor He's medical skills surpassed all the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital, but when Doctor He treated Your Majesty, no one else was present. Isn't Your Majesty wrong to say such a thing? Besides, it is a fact that Doctor He is handsome, and I am even ashamed of myself compared to him!"
As she continued, she began to sound aggrieved, as if the old emperor had forgotten his old love after finding a new one.
Consort Hui appeared calm on the surface, but inside she was panicking. This was a blatant provocation against the emperor, and she could easily be banished to the cold palace or sentenced to death. However, as long as someone in the court spoke up for her, she could win the gamble and also avenge her daughter.
The old emperor was furious, feeling that Consort Hui was becoming increasingly lawless. Relying on his usual favor, she dared to speak to him like that. This was not only going against him, but also trying to ruin He Jiu Niang's reputation.
The affair between the emperor and his minister's wife might not mean much to the emperor, but it was a fatal blow to the Lu family, who would face ridicule from countless people in the future.
At first, the Fifth Princess was a little angry when she saw her mother praising He Jiu Niang, but she didn't expect that it was to help her vent her anger. She was very happy. At this moment, ignoring the palace maid's advice, she stood up and said, "Yes, Father, you always say that woman's medical skills are superb, but we have never seen her. Who knows if she is a fraud? Father's health is important, so we should be cautious."
The old emperor was momentarily at a loss, experiencing for the first time what it meant to be unable to reason with someone.
There was nothing between them to begin with, and every time the old emperor had a consultation, everyone in the palace was watching. Apart from getting some juicy gossip, there was nothing else to hear.
But those people were all the old emperor's men, so even if someone came forward to testify, no one would believe them.
Moreover, given He Jiuniang's temper, he vaguely knew that Consort Hui and her daughter were going to suffer, but for a moment he really didn't know how to deal with it.
“Your Majesty, Consort Hui’s words are indeed reasonable. We have never seen Doctor He practice medicine before, and we cannot guarantee how skilled she really is. Why not let her demonstrate her abilities in person, so that she can prove her innocence?”
Some court officials stood up, seemingly to speak up for He Jiuniang, but they were just looking for a show. After all, the Lu family came from humble backgrounds, yet they had so many powerful figures backing them up. Who wouldn't be jealous?
Seeing this, others also stood up to speak in his defense: "Yes, this is the best way for Dr. He to prove his innocence!"
The old emperor glanced at He Jiuniang and saw that she had no expression on her face, as if she wasn't the main character in this matter.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager, who had been mostly silent, spoke up: "Your Majesty, let's do it this way. It will put my mind at ease."
The Empress Dowager was in her seventies or eighties, with gray hair and an air of elegance and nobility. She rarely attended such banquets, but today she had heard the Princess Consort of Chen mention He Jiu Niang, which piqued her interest, so she decided to come and see for herself. She hadn't expected so much turmoil to occur upon her arrival, so she decided to take a closer look.
Since the Empress Dowager had spoken, the Emperor should not have refused. However, he did not agree immediately but looked at He Jiuniang and asked for her opinion.
This scene drew sighs from the crowd; the Emperor seemed to treat this woman even better than he had treated that sorcerer.
Lu Baichuan was also angry. This was a palace banquet, what kind of operation was it to make his wife demonstrate her medical skills on the spot?
But every time he tried to speak, his wife stopped him, clearly not wanting him to get involved.
He clenched his fists tightly, remembering how the others gloated over his misfortune today, and vowing to get his revenge later.
All eyes turned to He Jiuniang once again. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, He Jiuniang stood up and said to Consort Hui, "Of course, it's no problem for me to demonstrate, but I have one condition, and I hope Your Highness will agree."
Consort Hui thought to herself that as a woman who served the emperor with her beauty, she would surely expose her true colors once she showed them, so how could she possibly have the ability to make any demands? Therefore, she readily agreed.
Afterwards, He Jiuniang looked at the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and said, "I am a doctor, but I have no patients. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to treat the Fifth Princess."
This statement caused an uproar. The Fifth Princess was perfectly fine, so why did she need treatment?
The Fifth Princess also stepped forward with a face full of anger. Just as she was about to speak, He Jiu Niang quickly stepped forward, grabbed her chin, forced her mouth open, and then poured the wine from her cup down her throat.
This happened so fast that no one present could react in time.
"Ahhh..."
Suddenly a scream came from behind. Everyone looked and saw that it was the palace maid next to the Fifth Princess, who was stumbling and rushing over.
"Princess, you can't drink that! Throw it out!"
The palace maid's panicked appearance made everyone instantly understand what was going on.
Before anyone could speak, the Fifth Princess reacted.
"Hahaha, hehehe, good wine, good wine..."
She acted as if she were drunk, behaving wildly in the main hall.
But today's wine is just rice wine, which is not intoxicating, and there was only a small sip in the cup. Even if you don't have a high alcohol tolerance, how could you have a reaction so quickly?
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