Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

Dongling Imperial Palace, Cining Palace.

Inside the hall, candlelight flickered dimly, and the thick fumes of medicine and incense mingled, forming a suffocating, murky cloud. Dozens of imperial physicians stood with their heads bowed or whispered in hushed voices, their brows etched with unwavering worry. The palace maids and eunuchs hurried along, breathlessly pacing, their footsteps carefully subdued, their faces etched with fear and unease.

The Third Prince hurriedly entered the palace with Xie Qingli, and everyone knelt hurriedly to pay their respects. The Third Prince raised his hand to signal for them to disregard the formalities, and before anyone could straighten up, he had already led Xie Qingli quickly to the inner chamber.

Passing through the layers of brocade curtains, more than ten palace maids were kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear, in front of the large rosewood bed with carved phoenixes.

The Third Prince's eyes darkened as he looked towards the bed. "Grandmother has been in a coma for over a day. She hasn't taken any medicine, and her breathing is weak."

Xie Qingli was about to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager on the phoenix couch when the Third Prince stopped her. "In these extraordinary times, there's no need for formalities. Please, sir, quickly treat the Empress Dowager. Please let me know what herbs you need, and I'll have them prepared immediately."

"I obey your command." Xie Qingli lifted the last layer of gauze curtain with her bare hands. When she saw the situation on the phoenix couch clearly, her pupils suddenly contracted and her breathing could not help but stagnate.

The old woman on the phoenix couch had her eyes closed, her face wrinkled like ravines, her hair gray as withered grass, her skin shrunken like bark. She looked a world away from the radiant appearance she had seen at the welcoming banquet the previous night. It was as if some evil spirit had drained her of her essence overnight, leaving behind only a shrunken shell.

Xie Qingli's fingertips trembled slightly, but she regained her composure in an instant. She took a deep breath and gently placed her fingertips on the empress dowager's withered wrist. As her pulse gradually became clearer, her brow furrowed deeper and deeper, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

The Third Prince watched nervously from the sidelines. The Empress Dowager was his greatest support now. If anything were to happen... would the Cao family still support him wholeheartedly?

After a long moment, Xie Qingli withdrew his hand, looked around, and whispered, "Your Highness, may I have a moment to talk?"

The third prince understood and led her to a side hall, waving his hand to dismiss his attendants.

"Your Highness, the Queen Mother's pulse is weak and disordered, like a tangled mess of hemp threads." Xie Qingli lowered his voice: "It seems... it seems that someone has forcibly drained her vital energy, causing her internal organs to rapidly fail. Even more strange is..."

The Third Prince's eyes flashed, and he took a half step forward: "What is it?"

Xie Qingli's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Queen Mother shouldn't have been in such a coma. Someone secretly gave her the Heart-Eroding Powder after she became ill."

"Damn it!" The Third Prince slammed his palm on the table, causing the teacups to clink. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. The Prince of Qi, who had appeared out of nowhere, had actually tried to cut off the source of the trouble and had done such a cruel thing to the Empress Dowager. How despicable!

He suppressed his surging anger and said in a deep voice, "Sir, do you have a way to detoxify?"

Xie Qingli pondered for a moment: "Although the poison is easy to cure, the Queen Mother's body is already exhausted..."

"How much time is left?" The Third Prince's eyes were sharp. Noticing Xie Qingli's troubled expression, he said, "Sir, just speak frankly. I will forgive you."

Xie Qingli's voice was barely audible: "If you take good care of yourself, you might be able to extend your life by three to five months."

The Third Prince stood with his hands behind his back, silent for a long moment before he said, "This matter must not be spread outside. Now, let's first detoxify the Empress Dowager."

Back in the bedroom, Xie Qingli wrote down a prescription. After the imperial doctors in the Imperial Hospital circulated it and confirmed that there was no problem with the prescription, the Third Prince ordered his confidant to quickly boil the medicine.

As the silver needle rose and fell, half an incense stick of time passed. The Queen Mother's eyelashes trembled slightly on the phoenix couch, and she slowly opened her eyes. However, her gaze was dull and lifeless, lingering on the Third Prince's face for a long time, as if she did not recognize him.

Just at this moment, a young eunuch came in holding a medicine cup. The medicine in the celadon bowl was steaming.

The Third Prince was about to raise his hand to take it when he saw one of the kneeling palace servants step out on his knees. The man touched his forehead to the ground and kowtowed deeply, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I am the one who usually serves the Empress' meals and know her habits best. I beg Your Highness to show mercy and allow me to fulfill this filial duty."

Although the voice was deliberately lowered, it couldn't hide the familiarity of the tone. Xie Qingli's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her eyes fell on the kneeling figure. Although she couldn't see his face, she would never mistake him. The person in front of her was Song Zhaoxing! Her fingertips clenched in her sleeves. Her enemy was right before her, but how could she get him out of this deep and forbidden palace quietly?

The Third Prince's eyes suddenly turned cold. He had originally believed that the Queen Mother's current terrifying appearance was the work of the Taoist-born Prince Qi, who had cast a spell on her. But now that he had heard that the Queen Mother had been poisoned, he concluded that it was someone within the palace who had done the deed.

He glanced at the palace servants kneeling on the ground, suddenly waved his sleeves, and shouted coldly: "Come here! Take all these slaves to the Ministry of Punishment and interrogate them strictly!"

All the palace maids were taken away, and the hall suddenly became quiet.

The Queen Mother's mind gradually cleared, her cloudy eyes shifting slightly as she finally recognized the Third Prince. Her dry lips trembled as if she wanted to speak, but she didn't even have the strength to raise her hand.

Her eyes shifted slightly and fell on the young man beside the third prince. This man had clear features and a graceful demeanor. Although she had never seen him before, her heart inexplicably trembled, as if a dead tree had come back to life, and she actually felt a sense of closeness.

The Empress Dowager's gaze lingered between the medicine bowl and Xie Qingli. The Third Prince understood and whispered to Xie Qingli, "The Empress Dowager wants you to serve her with the medicine. Thank you, Young Master."

"I obey your command." Xie Qingli picked up the medicine cup and slowly poured the decoction into the empress dowager's mouth. The warm medicine flowed down her throat and into her stomach. The empress dowager suddenly felt a warm current flowing through her limbs, and her exhausted meridians actually regained some strength.

She stretched out her hand tremblingly, wanting to touch the handsome young man in front of her who had captured her heart. However, the moment she raised her hand, she froze. What she saw was a withered hand covered in brown spots and bulging veins!

The Queen Mother's pupils suddenly shrank, and she hastily raised her other hand, which was equally thin and sticky. She trembled and touched her cheek. Where she touched, it was no longer the smooth jade-like skin of the past, but the rough wrinkles like bark.

“Ah—” A shrill scream pierced the palace: “Aijia’s face!”

The Queen Mother turned abruptly towards the Third Prince, a terrifying glint flashing from her cloudy eyes. "Quick! Bring me the bronze mirror!"

The third prince frowned and was silent for a moment before he finally raised his hand. Two palace maids held their breath and lowered their heads, then tremblingly brought a gilded bronze mirror with a phoenix pattern.

The empress dowager's bony fingers gripped the edge of the bed tightly, using all her strength to prop up her upper body. The bronze mirror swayed slightly, reflecting the strange and terrifying face of an old woman.

"Hoo... Hoo..." The Queen Mother gasped like a broken bellows, her fingers like dry branches scrabbling at the mirror. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back, and she fell heavily back onto the couch.

"Grandmother!" The Third Prince flew forward to support the Queen Mother and said anxiously, "Young Master, come and take a look!"

Xie Qingli placed his fingertips on the Empress Dowager's wrist and felt her pulse was as chaotic as a thread. He said thoughtfully, "Your Highness, please be at ease. The Empress Dowager is suffering from anger and anxiety."

As he spoke, Xie Qingli had already taken out a silver needle and inserted it precisely into several acupuncture points on the empress dowager's body. As the needle tip trembled slightly, a hint of redness gradually appeared on the empress dowager's pale face.

"Hmm..." A soft moan escaped the Queen Mother's throat, and she slowly opened her cloudy eyes. Her withered fingers moved, and suddenly she grasped the Third Prince's sleeve tightly. "Yuan'er, quickly... prepare the sedan chair... I need to find the Imperial Master; he's the only one who can save me..."