Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

The cold February wind carried fine snowflakes, beating out a rapid rhythm on the glazed tiles of the imperial palace.

At three quarters past ten in the evening, twelve vermilion palace lanterns had already been hung outside Feng Mulan's bedroom, swaying in the wind and snow, casting a worrying halo of light.

"Faster!" Zhao Yu's voice exploded on the palace road.

Sun Simiao, who was standing beside him, had snowflakes on his white beard, the leather belt of the medicine box dug deep into his shoulders, and his old face had an abnormal flush on it as he ran.

When the two men turned around the last screen wall, the eunuch chief guarding the palace gate almost knocked over the copper basin in his hand.

"Here he comes! Divine Doctor Sun is here!"

A shrill voice pierced the wind and snow, and the twelve female doctors waiting in the corridor knelt in two rows.

The golden charcoal in the bedroom was burning brightly, but it could not dispel the chill that enveloped everyone's hearts.

When Chu Ning pushed open the carved window lattice and looked out for the fifth time, he finally heard the long-awaited footsteps.

The young emperor turned around suddenly, and the jade pendant on his waist hit the rosewood table, making a crisp cracking sound.

"Your Majesty, I have brought Dr. Sun here!"

The moment Zhao Yu knelt on one knee, everyone in the hall's eyes were glued to his blood-stained shoulder armor.

The heater in Wu Zhao's hand fell to the carpet with a bang, and several red-hot silver charcoals rolled out.

Mrs. Feng clutched the amulet embroidered by her daughter, and her knuckles turned bluish-white.

"No need to be so polite!" Chu Ning rushed forward in two steps, but his pupils suddenly shrank when he supported Sun Simiao.

Half a blood-stained strip of cloth was revealed under the old man's indigo-colored clothes.

"Is this... blood? What happened?"

Shen Wanying suddenly emerged from behind the screen, her apricot-colored skirt sweeping across the messy pestles on the ground. "Your Majesty!"

She held Chu Ning's trembling wrist, her nails stained with red nails almost digging into the dragon-patterned cuffs:

"Let Dr. Sun go in first."

Chu Ning slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, Dr. Sun, you go in first!"

Sun Simiao didn't bother to wipe the ice water off his forehead. The copper lock of the medicine box made a slight "click" sound in the silence.

When he lifted the bead curtain of the inner hall, a strong smell of blood mixed with benzoin hit him in the face.

Feng Mulan, lying on the bed, had gray lips and her scattered black hair spread out like dry vines on the brocade pillow. Only her bulging belly rose and fell violently with her breathing.

"Empress!" Just as Sun Simiao was about to salute, Feng Mulan suddenly grabbed his wrist.

The fingers that once could draw a three-stone bow were now as cold as iron, and their nails scratched several red marks on his wrist.

"Save the child..."

The broken breath sounded like a knife scraping across rusty copper: "I owe your majesty... a healthy prince!"

Sun Simiao held her pulse with his backhand, and his three fingers rotated rapidly on the Cun, Guan and Chi points.

When he touched the stubborn vitality in the slippery vein, his snow-white eyebrows suddenly raised: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I swear on my decades of reputation that you will see the child grow up!"

"Come here, get ready, I'm going to give you an acupuncture!"

At this moment, the dripping sound of the clepsydra in the outer hall suddenly became deafening.

Chu Ning stared at the hideous bloodstain on Zhao Yu's armor. The jade paperweight on the table broke in two under his palm.

"Tell me clearly, what happened?"

"When I intercepted Divine Doctor Sun in Xinglin Alley, several men in black were besieging him, and all the sedan bearers around him were killed."

Zhao Yu said sternly, "These people were extremely vicious. If Divine Doctor Sun hadn't had the medicinal powder to protect himself, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been able to escape this disaster."

"I fought with these people, and they seemed to recognize my identity. After a few moves, they committed suicide. They must be assassins!"

Wu Zhao suddenly sneered, her gilded armor scraping across the teacup, making a teeth-grinding sound. "It seems some people think that the Chu State has been peaceful for too long and are looking to stir up trouble again!"

Chu Ning's expression suddenly darkened. "Hmph, no matter who it is, if they dare to kill Divine Doctor Sun, I will definitely wipe out his entire family!"

After a pause, a cold light flashed in his eyes: "Zhao Yu, you lead the Jinyiwei to investigate this matter immediately!"

"Also, send a message to Ling Haoran, the Minister of Justice, to have him immediately bring people to the scene and not miss any clues."

"Yes!" Zhao Yu responded and immediately turned around and left.

At this moment, the sound of wind and snow hitting the window frames suddenly intensified.

Shen Wanying silently picked up the fallen heater. In the light of the charcoal fire, she found a few fresh bloodstains on the carpet - from where Sun Simiao had just stood.

Suddenly, Feng Mulan's heart-wrenching screams were heard from the inner hall.

Chu Ning jumped up as if struck by lightning, but Wu Zhao stopped him with her arm across her body: "If Your Majesty goes in now, Doctor Sun will have to distract himself from taking care of the dragon's body."

In the inner hall, Sun Simiao's silver needles formed a stream of light under the candlelight.

When he inserted the seventh needle into the Yongquan point on the sole of Feng Mulan's foot, the woman's waist and abdomen, which had been as tense as a bowstring, finally relaxed slightly.

The old doctor took the opportunity to press the ginseng slices under her tongue, then turned to the doctor and shouted, "Take the Purple Jade Life-Sustaining Pill from the third compartment of my medicine box!"

Suddenly, there was a loud noise of something falling from the inner hall.

Sun Simiao's roar pierced through the thick curtains: "Press the Queen's Quchi acupoint! Quick!"

What followed was the sound of breaking porcelain, chaotic footsteps, and Feng Mulan's bestial whimpering.

Chu Ning punched the pillar, and gold powder fell down.

Just as he was about to break through the crowd's obstruction, a clear cry pierced the night sky.

"Wow--"

The cry seemed to carry some kind of magic, and the raging snow and wind outside the hall suddenly stopped.

The buoy of the clepsydra pointed to exactly the hour of Hai, and the sounds of night watchmen's drums came one after another from the distant palace gate.

When Sun Simiao staggered out holding the swaddling clothes, everyone saw the blood soaking his lapel.

The old doctor's knees made a crisp sound as he knelt, unable to bear the weight. "Congratulations, Your Majesty! It's... it's a healthy prince!"

Chu Ning took the child with such stiff movements as if he was holding the imperial seal.

When the baby's wrinkled little face emerged from the bright yellow brocade, the young emperor's eyes suddenly turned red.

Mrs. Feng slumped on the embroidered cushion, the silk thread of the amulet leaving deep blood marks on her palms.

"Where is Mulan?" Wu Zhao suddenly asked.

Sun Simiao still had the silver needle inserted into his palm to stop the bleeding. Upon hearing this, he smiled tiredly but with satisfaction:

"The Queen just insisted on seeing the little prince, and now he's asleep."

Shen Wanying suddenly covered her face and rushed out.

Her suppressed sobbing could be heard outside the hall, mixed with the first spring breeze of February, gently brushing across the icicles that were about to melt under the eaves.

She and Feng Mulan grew up together and were as close as sisters. Naturally, she couldn't bear to see Feng Mulan go like this.

Among all the people present, except Mrs. Feng, she was the one who cared about Feng Mulan the most.

However, considering her status as queen, she has been suppressing her feelings and dared not express them.

When she reached the outer hall, all her suppressed emotions burst out, and tears streamed down her delicate cheeks.

Inside the palace, Chu Ning held his second son in his arms, his face showing excitement:

"Okay, okay, everyone will be rewarded handsomely tonight!"

A gloomy look flashed in Wu Zhao's eyes. She also wanted to give birth to a son for Chu Ning.

But she quickly hid her emotions and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, it's time to give the child a name."