The princess regretted it.

When Concubine Zhang arrived at the Jiaoyu Palace, a palace maid was already there, carrying a basin filled with soaked towels, ready to apply a cold compress to Princess Jiaoyu. Concubine Zhang, not caring about anything else, hurried to the bedside, her eyes filled with worry and heartache as she gazed at her daughter lying in bed.

Jiaoyu's face was flushed, her brows were tightly furrowed, her lips, which used to be delicate and tempting, were now dry and chapped, a few strands of messy hair were stuck to her forehead, her once lively eyes were tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling restlessly, as if she was trapped in a very terrible nightmare.

At this moment, the imperial physician arrived. Concubine Zhang quickly stood aside, ordering the physician to proceed and examine Jiaoyu. After carefully feeling Jiaoyu's pulse, the physician stood up with a solemn expression, bowed to Concubine Zhang, and said, "Your Highness, the princess has been frightened and terrified, and has caught a cold, which has caused heat to enter her body. Her pulse is now disordered, and her qi and blood are surging. I must prescribe a prescription immediately to reduce the princess's fever and calm her nerves. However... the princess has suffered a serious shock this time. Even if the fever subsides, she will probably need to recuperate for a while to prevent any further illness."

Concubine Zhang nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, Imperial Physician. Please prescribe the medicine quickly."

The imperial physician turned around, took out a pen and paper, quickly wrote down a prescription, and handed it to Concubine Zhang. He then continued, "Your Majesty, please arrange for someone to go to the Imperial Hospital to prepare the medicine and bring it over. This medicine needs to be boiled as soon as possible and let the princess take it. I, this old minister, will also wait outside the palace to observe any changes in the princess's condition." After that, he left the room.

Concubine Zhang took the prescription and ordered Qiuwen, "You go, and be quick." Qiuwen took the prescription and turned around and went out quickly.

Concubine Zhang glanced gloomily at the palace maids in the room. "Everyone, come out." She slowly walked to a chair in the main room and sat down. She asked coldly, "Can anyone tell me how the princess got so frightened? What happened?"

The atmosphere in the palace suddenly became more tense and depressing. The palace maids were so scared that they all knelt down and looked at each other, but no one dared to speak first.

"Hmm?" Concubine Zhang's voice suddenly rose, and her eyes swept over the palace maids like lightning, "No one said anything? Or no one knows? Such a big thing happened to the princess under your care, but you are kneeling here like mutes! Then how did you take care of the princess? What use do I have for you!" She slammed the armrest, and the exquisitely carved armrest made a loud "pop" sound, which shook the palace maids and made them bow their heads even lower.

Concubine Zhang was so angry that she was shaking all over. She stood up and paced back and forth. "I handed Jiaoyu over to you so that you could serve her wholeheartedly, not so that you could watch her suffer such hardships. If anything happens to the princess, none of you will escape responsibility!"

Her gaze stopped at a palace maid, and she pointed at her and said, "You come and tell me, don't try to fool me. If you tell me even a single lie, I will make you suffer a fate worse than death."

The maidservant was so frightened that she kowtowed repeatedly, her face pale as paper. "Your Highness, please forgive me. I really didn't know!" The maidservant cried, her voice trembling. "Normally, it's Miss Cuiguo who serves the princess, and we only do chores. Today, when the princess and Cuiguo returned from outside, we saw them. They looked like they had been frightened and ran back in a panic. But I really don't know what happened. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, Concubine Zhang looked around and realized that the green fruit was missing from the room.

Concubine Zhang's face was gloomy and her eyes were full of anger. She was already worried about Jiaoyu's illness, and now she found that Cuiguo, her personal maid, was not there, which made her even more furious.

She asked again coldly: "Where is Cuiguo? The master is sick, but she doesn't see her? As the princess's personal maid, why is she not serving the princess at this time? Could she be hiding somewhere and being lazy? Go and find her for me." At the end, Concubine Zhang snorted coldly, and the chill in her voice made the palace maids present shiver.

At this time, another palace maid replied tremblingly: "Reply, reply to the Royal Concubine, Cuiguo, Cuiguo can't get up!"

"Can't get up? What do you mean?" Concubine Zhang frowned and looked at the palace maid coldly, her eyes full of confusion and anger, and her voice unconsciously rose a few degrees. "Speak clearly, don't hesitate, I don't have the patience to listen to your vague words!"

The maid was so frightened that she trembled again. She kowtowed and explained anxiously, "Your Majesty, please calm down. After the princess and Cuiguo came back from outside, I don't know why the princess said Cuiguo had made a mistake and punished her with twenty strokes of the cane. Now she is bedridden and can't get up."

"So it's because of her that my daughter is ill." Upon hearing this, Concubine Zhang's eyes instantly blazed with fury, instantly assuming Cuiguo was to blame. "She's done the princess such harm, and only got twenty lashes. It's too easy for her! Drag her here!" Concubine Zhang gritted her teeth. In her eyes, Cuiguo was the culprit behind Jiaoyu's illness, and she wanted her to pay a heavy price for Jiaoyu's suffering.