The cruel little princess

A group of palace maids and servants carried Shen Youyou and Xu Qingxue to a side hall next to the Imperial Garden, then stepped aside to await instructions.

Soon the Queen Mother, Madam Xu, Madam Wu and all the ladies arrived.

Madam Xu was distraught when she heard the palace maid report that her daughter had fallen into the water. She walked a few steps forward to the bed and saw with her own eyes her daughter, who had been smiling and walking at noon, lying there with a face as pale as paper, as if she had lost all her life. Madam Xu burst into tears!

Mrs. Wu also stepped forward and shed tears as she looked at her niece. Soon, an imperial physician arrived to treat Xu Qingxue. It was none other than Imperial Physician Xu Weizheng. He had originally intended to treat the Princess of Rui'an County, and had sent Imperial Physicians Wang and Yang instead. However, they claimed that Miss Xu Yunying was unmarried and they weren't familiar with her, so to avoid suspicion, they sent the judge instead. It was as if he knew Miss Xu very well! This was their first meeting, wasn't it?

Besides, considering Yunying is still unmarried, then the Rui'an County Lady is also a girl and not yet engaged! Why don't they avoid suspicion?

"I greet the Empress and all the ladies." Doctor Xu bowed and came to the bedside, where he saw a young girl lying. Her eyes were closed, and her whole body was trembling and convulsing, clearly suffering from hypothermia.

Doctor Xu quickly calmed down and began to take Xu Qingxue's pulse.

"How is it?" Mrs. Xu asked anxiously.

"Madam, your daughter fell into the water and must have choked on water in her lungs, which may have caused pneumonia. She has a high fever and is frightened. She also caught a cold from falling into the water. She needs to recuperate for a while." Doctor Xu said.

Mrs. Xu felt a little relieved, but her heart was still tightly gripped. She asked nervously, "Then...what else?"

Doctor Xu hesitated, as if weighing his words. He glanced at the people around him, then continued, "It's just that... your daughter was in the water for too long, and I'm afraid you'll have trouble having children in the future. But this is just a preliminary assessment; the specific situation requires further observation and diagnosis."

Hearing this, Mrs. Xu's face turned pale in an instant, and tears flowed uncontrollably. Her lips trembled and she choked with sobs, "My poor daughter..."

The others also showed sympathetic expressions, and for a moment a heavy atmosphere filled the room.

Doctor Xu sighed. If a young girl has trouble having children in the future, it will delay her marriage, which will affect her entire life.

The Empress comforted her, "Don't be sad, Madam Xu. Since Imperial Physician Xu said she's just having trouble having children, there's still a chance. She'll just have to recuperate slowly in the future. Madam Xu, don't worry too much!"

Doctor Xu prescribed some more medicine, gave some instructions for precautions, and then went back to boil the medicine.

The Empress glanced at Xu Qingxue and said to Madam Xu, "Madam Xu, please take good care of Miss Xu first. I will go and see how the Princess of Rui'an is doing."

Mrs. Xu quickly thanked her, and the Queen led everyone out of the room.

Mrs. Wu had just watched Xu Yuanpan calmly taking her niece's pulse, but she was thinking about what she had just heard from others: "The Princess of Rui'an jumped in to save Miss Xu! Risking her own life to save her was truly a noble act!"

Her sister-in-law was concerned and confused, but she couldn't be so rude and ignorant of etiquette as to ignore the Rui'an County Lady. Moreover, she heard from her second son Siqi that the Rui'an County Lady was the one Huai Jin loved! She had to go and visit her out of both emotion and reason. Moreover, she heard that the Rui'an County Lady lost her mother at a young age, and her father and brother were far away at the border. She had no relatives in the capital, so she expected that no one would be by her side at this moment.

So while Doctor Xu was taking her niece's pulse, Mrs. Wu tiptoed to the next room to visit Shen Youyou.

As soon as I entered the room, I found Madam Zuo and Madam Zheng sitting around the bed, both of them looking at the woman on the bed with worried expressions.

Madam Wu stepped forward and asked softly, "How is Youyou now?"

Madam Zuo shook her head. "We don't know either. Madam Zheng and I have been guarding here the entire time, but she hasn't woken up yet. Her hands and feet are icy cold..."

Mrs. Wu frowned and turned to look at the woman on the bed. She saw Shen Youyou's face was as pale as paper, her eyes were closed, her lips were bloodless, and she looked very weak.

At this time, Doctor Wang and Doctor Yang were diagnosing Shen Youyou's condition. Doctor Wang didn't say anything after taking Shen Youyou's pulse, but just stroked his beard on his chin and thought deeply.

Doctor Yang, observing this scene, couldn't help but feel anxious. He knew that he and Doctor Wang had spent half a year studying medicine with the Princess of Rui'an at the border, and he held her in deep respect. Now that she was gravely ill, they must do everything they could to ensure her safety. However, Doctor Wang's silence immediately disheartened Doctor Yang.

Doctor Yang then personally stepped forward to take the pulse of the Rui'an County Lady. After a careful examination, he frowned and whispered to Doctor Wang, "Old Wang, what do you think?"

"What I think is not important. The key is what the county lady thinks. Look, how could she suddenly fall into the water? Old Yang, you and I are used to seeing all this intrigue and swordplay in the palace, but this is hard to say." Doctor Wang gently stroked his white beard while speaking to Doctor Yang, "After all, the county lady of Rui'an is of noble status and a girl favored by His Majesty. If anything happens to her, we will also be blamed!"

"Yes, Old Wang, you're right." Doctor Yang agreed. "The county lady has always been in good health, but she must have caught a cold after falling into the water. I just don't know what the county lady's attitude is towards this matter..."

The two exchanged glances, each seeing worry and doubt in the other's eyes. They knew that as the daughter of a first-rank general, Princess Rui'an held a high position, and if something happened to her, the consequences would be disastrous. Therefore, they had to handle the matter with caution and not jump to conclusions rashly.

"How about we wake up Princess Rui'an and get her opinion?" Doctor Yang suggested.

Doctor Wang nodded in agreement. "Well, that's fine. Let's observe the County Lady's pulse first to see if it's stable. If possible, we can wake her up and ask her for her opinion on the incident. If she wants to get to the bottom of it, we can exaggerate the consequences of falling into the water. If she doesn't care, then we can make a big deal out of a small matter. We'll leave everything to the County Lady."

After that, the two of them came to the bedside and carefully observed the complexion of the Rui'an County Lady. She frowned slightly, as if she was enduring physical discomfort. Doctor Wang reached out and gently placed his hand on her wrist, feeling the beating of her pulse. After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Doctor Yang and said, "The county lady's pulse is relatively stable, but she still needs more care. Now we can try to wake her up."

Doctor Yang nodded, walked to the bedside and called softly, "County Lady, wake up. How are you feeling?"

Hearing the voice, Rui'an County Lady slowly opened her eyes, her eyes seemed a little confused. Doctor Yang quickly handed her a cup of warm water to moisten her throat. After she rested for a while, Doctor Yang asked, "County Lady, do you remember what happened to you before?"

The Rui'an County Lady tried hard to recall the maid's actions. She could have walked right over, but she seemed to have deliberately bowed to confirm her identity, then stepped on her skirt and pretended to fall. She had indeed fallen in her direction. However, she had some Qinggong skills, so she dodged the attack, but Xu Qingxue suffered an unforeseen disaster!

Seeing this, Doctor Yang and Doctor Wang exchanged glances, secretly pondering how to explain the situation to her. In the end, it was Doctor Wang who spoke first: "County Lady, your physical condition is currently fine, but you need to rest well for a while. As for the reason why your two young ladies fell into the water, the guards will conduct a strict investigation! However, please rest assured that we will do our best to protect your safety. I just don't know how the County Lady wants to solve this problem this time? If the County Lady wants to get to the bottom of it, we will describe the symptoms as more serious. If..." Doctor Wang did not finish his words. He believed that Shen Youyou's talent would definitely understand what he meant.

The Princess of Rui'an nodded gratefully and said weakly, "Thank you, both doctors. I must have been deliberately framed this time, and Miss Xu suffered this undeserved disaster because she stood with me. I hope Your Majesty can find out the truth and give me justice!"

Having gained the County Lady's trust, Doctors Yang and Wang felt the burden on their shoulders lighten. They decided to follow the plan they had previously agreed on and handle the matter according to the County Lady's wishes.

"The Queen has arrived!" Following the announcement from the eunuch outside, the Queen walked in with light steps.