Upon hearing the Princess's words, Consort Lin's face paled instantly, and she quickly waved her hand and smiled:
“I’m not saying that if I get this disease, I’ll be relieved if you get better, but if I get this disease and you keep dragging it on, what if word gets out? Wouldn’t people say that our Prince Jing’s mansion has bad feng shui, that the mistress is sick and even the concubines are sick?”
Jiang Yuwei, not wanting to listen to Aunt Lin's idle chatter, took over the conversation.
"Aunt Lin, you really have a silver tongue. You can make even the most cunning things sound round. You just said that you used this incense in the Princess's room out of good intentions. Well, I'd like to hear the reason behind that."
Aunt Lin glanced at Jiang Yuwei, then looked at the princess and said tearfully:
"Sister, actually I got this prescription from an itinerant doctor."
Before Aunt Lin could finish speaking, Jiang Yuwei interrupted.
"What's your surname and given name? Where do you live?"
“I already said he’s a traveling doctor, how would I know where he lives? I hear everyone calling him Doctor Cui.”
Who are the others?
"Just a passerby, how could I possibly know him?"
"Hey passerby, how did you come to know this quack doctor?"
“I, I happened to see him while I was shopping that day, and I talked to him about the princess’s condition. He said he could cure her, so I got the medicine from him.”
Jiang Yuwei raised an eyebrow.
"So you're saying that you pretended to be worried about the princess's illness, but in reality you dared to give her a prescription from some unknown quack doctor?"
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Aunt Lin inwardly cried out in alarm. Jiang Yuwei's questions had flown by so quickly that she had been tricked. She hurriedly waved her hand and said:
"I... I didn't mean that. I just thought the quack doctor's story sounded very convincing, so I believed he could cure the princess. As I just said, I was just grasping at straws in my desperation."
Jiang Yuwei snorted coldly.
"So where did that itinerant doctor go now?"
Aunt Lin rolled her eyes and frowned, saying:
"Alas, today I even ordered Zhu'er to go to the streets to look for him, but we could not find him anywhere. Perhaps he has already left the capital and gone to another place."
Jiang Yuwei instructed Xia Yue beside her:
"Xia Yue, go and fetch paper and pen, and have Aunt Lin draw a portrait of this quack doctor. This quack doctor may have a complicated background, daring to harm the princess's health like this. The Jing Prince's Mansion will definitely not let him off easily."
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Aunt Lin hurriedly said with a nervous expression:
"Well, I've never been good at painting, as you know, sister. Please put in a good word for me. I think Madam Jiang is deliberately targeting me."
The princess turned her head away from looking at Aunt Lin, and simply sipped her tea.
Jiang Yuwei stepped forward, stared into Aunt Lin's eyes, and said:
“If Aunt Lin can’t draw, she can at least describe it. Now tell me what the quack doctor looks like, and I’ll have Zhu’er draw it later. Let’s see if your descriptions match up.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lin's face flushed and paled in turns, her fingers twisting the handkerchief incessantly. Then, gritting her teeth, she spoke:
"I only met that itinerant doctor once, and it was through the carriage curtain. How could I remember him so clearly? If you want to know what he looks like, just ask Zhu'er!"
As she spoke, Aunt Lin looked at the Princess who was calmly drinking tea and began to cry:
"Sister, what are you doing, sending an outsider to interrogate me? You must have heard some rumors that the Prince is in trouble at the border, and now the court has sent General Ning with troops to support him..."
Before Aunt Lin could finish speaking, the Princess immediately put down her teacup, turned to Aunt Lin, and asked incredulously:
"Which General Ning are you referring to?"
Aunt Lin pointed to Jiang Yuwei, who was standing not far away, and said:
"It's General Ning, Madam Jiang's husband. Didn't she tell you?"
With reddened eyes, the princess looked at Jiang Yuwei and slowly asked:
"Yuwei, is everything she said true?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded helplessly, stepped forward to shield the princess's face with her body, and whispered her advice:
"Your Highness, your health is of utmost importance, which is why I haven't told you these things. With so many people watching, please try to control your emotions."
Seeing this, Consort Lin, who was standing below, assumed that the Princess Consort was in a bad mood because she knew about the Prince's difficulties at the border, so she quickly spoke up again:
"Sister, are you thinking that the Prince might not return for a long time, or even at all, so you've started to have bad intentions and want Jiang Yuwei to force me to my death?"
Upon hearing Lin Yiniang's words, the princess slammed her hand on the table, forcing herself to stand up straight, and angrily said:
"Aunt Lin, shut up! What nonsense are you spouting? Do you really hope the Prince will stay in that desolate land and never come back?"
Seeing this, Aunt Lin quickly spoke up again:
"I didn't mean that at all. I wish the prince could come back soon to support me. Now I'm only thinking about my sister's health, but you're teaming up with an outsider to deal with me. I'm really upset."
The princess was already feeling quite weak. Not only had she heard from Consort Lin that the prince was in trouble at the border, but more importantly, she had heard that Ning Huaizhi had also gone to the border to fight.
If something were to happen to the father and son at the border, wouldn't the princess lose two important people at once?
The Prince's mansion was already sparsely populated, and Ning Huaizhi had gone through many twists and turns to finally move in. He had only enjoyed a few days of peace when the Emperor sent him to support the border again. Was there no one else in the court who could be of use?
The more the princess thought about it, the more suffocated she felt in her chest, and she couldn't breathe properly. She even saw double when she looked at Jiang Yuwei standing in front of her. After a while, she suddenly felt a blackout and fainted.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuwei was standing very close to the princess, and she reached out to support her, preventing her from falling off the chair.
Seeing this, Wang Ma panicked and hurriedly ordered the maids around her to carry the princess away.
Standing below, Aunt Lin was secretly delighted to see that the princess had fainted from anger after just a few words from her. If she had known that her words were so effective, she wouldn't have bothered with burning incense.
If we go to the Princess's courtyard more often to talk to her, she will die sooner, won't she?
Just as everyone was in chaos, Zhu'er brought Qin'er's mother to the hall. Jiang Yuwei was preoccupied with the princess's health, so she ordered Yun Qing to properly send Qin'er's mother home.
He then ordered his men to lock Zhu'er and Qin'er in two separate woodsheds.
Then he looked at Aunt Lin, who seemed completely indifferent, and said coldly;
"Now that the Princess Consort has fainted from anger because of you, you naturally cannot escape responsibility. For the next few days, Aunt Lin should stay in the courtyard and not go anywhere. Everything will be decided after the Princess Consort wakes up."
Having said that, Jiang Yuwei waved her hand and gave orders to the servants waiting below:
"Please take Aunt Lin back to her courtyard. You lot, keep a close watch on her. No one is allowed to enter or leave her courtyard for the next few days. If I find out that you have failed in your duties, you will all be punished according to the family rules!"
Upon hearing this, the servants naturally dared not delay and hurriedly led the noisy Aunt Lin away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com