"Jiang Feng, you..." The old lady looked at her grandson with concern. He was blind, and she didn't want him to get too involved in the endless struggles.
Lu Jiangfeng smiled gently and said softly, "Grandmother, don't worry, Aunt will be alright!"
"There's no time to lose, let's hurry to the palace!" With lives at stake, Lady Hou had no time to say anything more. She put on a cloak, took her maid's hand, and strode out.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. The old lady wanted to take her to the palace, but the Marquis's wife repeatedly expressed her objection. Why did she immediately agree when Lu Jiangfeng said he would accompany them to the palace? Was it because Lu Jiangfeng was a man like her, and entering and leaving the harem together would not arouse suspicion, or was there some other reason?
"Young Master Shen, please!" A gentle male voice rang in her ears, and the faint fragrance of crabapple blossoms surrounded her. Shen Lixue pulled herself out of her thoughts, smiled politely, and hurried after him.
She thought it would take at least ten days to half a month to get a chance to enter the palace, but on her first day at the Zhenguo Marquis's residence, an incident suddenly occurred in the harem, and things went much more smoothly than she expected.
According to the secret guards' investigation, Consort De's Changxin Palace was not far from Consort Shu's Changle Palace. Even if she couldn't meet Consort Shu, she could still secretly glean some information.
The carriage of the Marquis of Zhenguo arrived at the palace gate. After presenting their warrants, Shen Lixue, the Marquis of Zhenguo's wife, and Lu Jiangfeng entered the palace without any hindrance and hurried towards Changxin Palace, where Consort De was located.
Consort De was seriously ill, and Changxin Palace was in chaos. Palace maids and eunuchs were rushing in and out with trays in hand.
A palace maid stood anxiously pacing back and forth at the entrance of Changxin Palace. When she saw the Lady of Zhenguo Marquis and Lu Jiangfeng, her eyes lit up and she hurried over to greet them: "Madam, Third Young Master, you've finally arrived."
"Bingmei, how is Consort De's condition?" The Lady of Zhenguo asked in a low voice as she hurried into Changxin Palace, bypassing Bingmei. Bingmei was a servant girl of the Zhenguo Marquis's household and was extremely loyal to Consort De. When Consort De entered the palace, she brought Bingmei with her.
Bingmei quickly followed beside the Lady of Zhenguo and respectfully said, "Reporting to Madam, the imperial physicians are doing their best to save her!"
"Why would Consort De suddenly fall seriously ill?" The Lady of Zhenguo Marquis frowned deeply.
Bingmei curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, at sunset, Her Highness was feeding the fish by the pond. Later, Consort Shu also came, and somehow, Her Highness fell into the pond..."
When Consort De fell into the water, many palace maids and eunuchs were present. Bingmei had been watching Consort Shu's every move but did not see anything unusual. Consort De plunged straight into the icy pond in front of everyone.
Consort Shu has arrived, and Consort De has fallen into the pond!
Shen Lixue's cold gaze suddenly sharpened: "The Consort De has drowned?"
"Yes!" Bingmei didn't recognize Shen Lixue, but she came with the Lady of Zhenguo Marquis and Lu Jiangfeng. Bingmei wisely didn't ask any more questions, but secretly glanced at her a few more times. This young man was so young.
"Then why did the person who went to the Zhenguo Marquis's residence to deliver the message say that he was seriously ill?" The Zhenguo Marquis's wife also realized that something was wrong. Drowning and serious illness are two completely different things.
"When I sent someone to deliver the message, I said it was a serious illness caused by drowning. Could it be that I spoke too hastily and the person didn't hear me clearly and omitted the word 'drowning'?" Bingmei frowned and muttered to herself.
The word "drowning" is not easy to pronounce, so how could someone have accidentally let it slip or misheard it? Something was fishy. Shen Lixue couldn't figure it out, so she asked, "How long has the imperial physician been inside?"
Bingmei looked up at the sky: "In the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, two imperial physicians arrived and are currently examining Her Majesty!"
As they were talking, the Lady of the Marquis of Zhenguo, Shen Lixue, and Lu Jiangfeng had already entered Changxin Palace.
"Jiang Feng, Young Master Shen, please wait here for a moment. I'll go in and take a look!" It's inconvenient for young men to enter the inner chambers of the concubines, but it's fine for the Lady of Zhenguo, as her sister-in-law, to go in and check on the illness.
Shen Lixue stood in the luxurious outer reception room. Through the semi-transparent curtain, she could vaguely see the Lady Hou anxiously asking the two imperial physicians questions.
The imperial physicians frowned in thought, their gazes grave, their mouths opening and closing as they answered the Lady of the Marquis's questions while discussing something amongst themselves.
After a short while, the two seemed to have reached a decision. One of the imperial physicians took out a jade bottle, walked slowly to Consort De's bedside, opened the bottle, pinched the woman's chin, and was about to pour the medicine into her mouth.
"Stop!" A faint scent of medicine wafted through the curtains and into Shen Lixue's nostrils. Startled, her slender figure instantly appeared in the inner room. She waved her hand and knocked the jade bottle from the imperial physician's hand. The jade bottle fell to the ground and shattered, the brown medicinal liquid meandering and flowing all over the floor.
The imperial physician, seeing the medicine spilled all over the floor, was furious: "You audacious thief, how dare you trespass into Consort Shu's palace! Guards, take him away!"
"Imperial Physician, he is my distant nephew!" The Lady of the Marquis of Zhenguo glanced at Shen Lixue and casually made up an identity.
Seeing that the Lady of Zhenguo Marquis was protecting Shen Lixue, the imperial physician vented all his anger on her: "Consort De is on the verge of death. That bottle of medicine is a top-grade life-saving medicine that can keep a person's heart pulse warm. The entire Imperial Hospital only has that one bottle left. Now that it's broken, how can we save Consort De?"
The black beard that trembled with anger seemed to be silently accusing Shen Lixue of being responsible for the death of Consort De.
A hint of guilt flashed in the eyes of the Lady of Zhenguo. She looked at Shen Lixue with confusion and bewilderment. He was also a doctor and should know how precious that bottle of medicine was. How could he be so reckless as to knock over the life-saving medicine?
Shen Lixue remained calm as she looked at the furious imperial physician: "Imperial physician, are you trying to save someone? I think you're clearly trying to kill someone!"
"What do you mean? You suspect this medicine is poison?" The imperial physician's furious roar echoed throughout Changxin Palace: "Someone, bring a kitten over here, let's see if it will die from drinking the medicine!"
Shen Lixue smiled coldly. Everyone in the palace is so good at pretending. Even a royal physician has such a high level of acting skill. It's a real pity she wasn't born into the modern world to be an actress.
"This top-grade medicine is indeed a rare life-saving remedy for those on the verge of death, but for those who have drowned, it is a death warrant. Because after drowning, one cannot immediately drink water or food, otherwise, one will surely die suddenly. Do you, as imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital, not know this? If I hadn't knocked that jade bottle down just now, Consort De would already be dead!"
The noisy Changxin Palace fell silent instantly, and the imperial physician's shouts stopped abruptly, his eyes flickering unnaturally.
Consort De was drowning and on the verge of death. He gave her medicine and then announced to the public that she had died from her illness. In this way, he eliminated Consort De without anyone knowing and no one would suspect him. Unexpectedly, a person who knew medicine came along, exposed his trick and ruined his plan.
The palace maids and eunuchs had clearly believed Shen Lixue's words, and their shocked gazes all fell on him. His old face turned ashen, his eyes narrowed, and he once again shouted reprimands:
"I was selected through a rigorous process to become a physician in the Imperial Medical Academy. I have been treating patients in the inner palace for several years without ever making a mistake. My medical skills are evident to all. On the contrary, you have only studied medicine for a few days, yet you dare to come to the palace to shout at me and question my abilities?"
"In terms of medical skills, I am indeed inferior to the imperial physician. However, it is the most basic common sense for a doctor that a drowning person should not be given liquid food immediately. The imperial physician is highly skilled, yet he does not even know these most basic common sense principles?"
Shen Lixue's words were forceful and resounding, leaving the imperial physician speechless. His appeal was nothing but a cover-up. If the matter were to reach the Emperor, the imperial physician's actions would be tantamount to murder, and he would be beheaded and his head displayed to the public.
He almost killed Consort De, and the people of the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion will not let him go. He doesn't want to die!
His eyes flickered for a long time before he steeled himself, his lips moving rapidly as he uttered, "It was the Lady of the Marquis of Zhenguo who begged me to use that medicine to save her!" Consort De's death was also caused by the Lady of the Marquis of Zhenguo.
"Imperial Physician, don't make false accusations! When did I ever say you were allowed to use medicine to harm Consort De?" Lady Hou glared at the imperial physician, her beautiful eyes burning with anger. Shameless villain! He harmed someone and then tried to pin the blame on her.
The imperial physician raised his chin arrogantly and said, "Madam Lu, the maids and eunuchs in the inner chamber clearly heard your words just now, asking me to 'use the most expensive medicine to save Consort De'!"
"You?" Lady Hou laughed in anger, coldly looking at the imperial physician. What a sharp-tongued little man.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. The imperial physician's ability to shirk responsibility was truly remarkable: "Imperial physician, the Lady of the Marquis is not a doctor and does not know medicine. She begged you to use medicine to save her, only wanting to save Consort De's life. If you can't do it, just say you can't. You can't force Consort De to take a deadly medicine just to appease the Lady of the Marquis's pleas!"
"This official..." The imperial physician's old face instantly darkened. This young man was truly formidable, trying to drive him to a dead end step by step. Murdering Consort De was a capital offense, and he absolutely could not bear the consequences.