The cruel little princess

The emperor waved his dragon robe and strode away. His resolute back seemed like an uncrossable ravine, cutting off Concubine Shu's last hope.

Concubine Shu sat in the middle of the hall in a daze, like a withered flower, her graceful demeanor completely replaced by sadness.

She looked up at the empty palace door and cried out in a mournful voice: "Your Majesty! Why can't you save Rui'er?! He is your son too..."

The cries of grief echoed in the hall, but received no response.

In grief, Concubine Shu clenched her soft, white fists and pounded them hard on the ground again and again, each blow seeming to vent out her anger and helplessness.

Although the gold bricks in the hall were hard, they could not withstand the repeated heavy blows and made a dull echo.

However, she finally managed to struggle out of the quagmire of despair. Soon, she raised her hand and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the cuffs embroidered with exquisite patterns. The stubborn light in her eyes rekindled. She told herself that the emperor was unreliable and her son was still waiting for her to save his life!

"Zizhu, go to Prince Jin's Mansion immediately and pass on my order to have Shen Youyou enter the palace immediately!"

The voice of Concubine Shu was filled with unquestionable majesty, even though there was still a hint of tears in her voice.

Aunt Zizhu looked embarrassed, bent her knees slightly, and whispered, "Your Majesty, this is probably not appropriate. Princess Jin is pregnant, and the prince is extremely protective of his children. What if..."

"Shut up!" Empress Shufei's eyes widened as she interrupted her. "My son's life is in danger. I can't care less. Just go!"

Aunt Zizhu had no choice but to respond "yes" and leave the palace.

The Concubine Shu quickly walked towards the side hall, but before she stepped in, she heard the imperial doctors whispering inside.

She stepped into the hall and saw the imperial doctors gathered in a group, their brows furrowed, arguing about something. They must be discussing the condition of His Royal Highness Prince Rui.

She walked to the bed anxiously, and when she saw her son lying there with a disheartened look on his face, her eyes instantly turned red.

Tears glistened in her eyes and her lips trembled. She wanted to scold him for not taking care of his body, which led to such a disaster, but when the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back.

Concubine Shu knew that things had already come to this point and scolding was useless.

Not long after, Aunt Zizhu hurried back to the palace, her steps a little flustered. Seeing this, Concubine Shu's heart sank.

"Your Majesty!" Aunt Zizhu knelt down with a plop, lowered her head, and said in a trembling voice, "I have not seen Princess Jin!

But His Royal Highness Prince Jin said that Princess Jin has been worried about her brother lately, so she is restless and her pregnancy is unstable. She has to stay at home to take care of the baby for a while..."

Concubine Shu clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. Just as she was about to explode, the leading judge, Xu Yuanpan, stepped forward and tremblingly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, after careful discussion among our humble servants, we have determined that His Royal Highness Prince Rui's illness is...very difficult to treat!"

Furthermore, Your Highness has been delaying for too long... I'm afraid you won't be able to have children in the future..."

These words were like a heavy hammer, making Concubine Shu feel dizzy.

She widened her eyes and stared at Xu Yuanpan in front of her. The hatred in her eyes was like a surging tide, instantly drowning her rationality.

At this moment, her hatred for Shen Youyou reached its peak. Her nails dug deep into her palms as she gritted her teeth and said, "Shen Youyou, how dare you... you actually... be so cruel and watch someone die without saving them? I will never let you go!"

The atmosphere in the hall was very solemn. Concubine Shu's brows were tightly furrowed, and her eyes were full of annoyance. She was complaining about Princess Jin Shen Youyou.

She was dressed in a gorgeous palace dress, her hair tied high and golden hairpins swaying, and her demeanor was full of arrogance. She had a dignified demeanor, but she kept on cursing Princess Jin Shen Youyou like a nagging woman.

Xu Yuanpan, who was standing by, could no longer bear to listen. He bowed slightly, cleared his throat, and spoke boldly: "Your Highness, Concubine Shu!

I have just inquired about this matter carefully. Back in March, Imperial Physician Liu went to Prince Rui's mansion for a routine pulse check. This diagnosis revealed a problem.

At that time, His Royal Highness Prince Jin and the four wives in the backyard had all contracted the disease."

Xu Yuanpan was wearing an official robe and had a thin face. He spoke slowly but his words were clear and powerful.

He paused, then continued, "Then we found out that His Royal Highness Prince Jin had previously redeemed a girl named Hongxiu from Hua Manlou and brought her into the mansion as a concubine.

Coincidentally, this concubine Hongxiu was the one whose condition was the most serious when Imperial Doctor Liu took her pulse!

All signs indicate that the source of this illness is most likely caused by her..."

What you mean is that your son's illness is purely due to his own immoral private life and has nothing to do with Princess Jin.

Now that your son has disobeyed the doctor's advice and his condition has worsened, you are blaming others. This is really unreasonable.

Court Judge Xu gave a wink to the Imperial Physician Liu behind him. The Imperial Physician Liu understood and hurried forward.

He first knelt down and kowtowed politely, shouting, "Your humble servant greets the Empress Shufei. May your Majesty live a thousand years and live in peace."

After he stood up, he calmly began to elaborate: "Your Highness, I have been practicing medicine for many years and dare not hide anything.

That day at Prince Rui's mansion, the prince's symptoms were relatively mild. I prescribed medicine according to his condition and repeatedly reminded the prince to abstain from sex and not have sex until he recovered.

The prince agreed to this at the time.

Furthermore, as long as the prince and his ladies can follow the doctor's instructions and take the medicine on time and in the correct dosage, they should be fine now."

Doctor Liu was wearing his imperial physician's uniform, with a focused expression, and his words were full of professionalism and confidence.

These words hinted, both explicitly and implicitly, that His Royal Highness Prince Rui must have not taken the doctor's advice seriously. He either cut corners when using the medicine, or he was obsessed with sex and couldn't control himself, causing his condition to develop to this point.

In the oppressive atmosphere of the palace, Doctor Liu was filled with panic, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. Although he had been sternly ordered to remain silent by His Royal Highness Prince Rui, now that the situation had escalated to such an unmanageable level, he knew in his heart that it was absolutely impossible to conceal it any longer.

In desperation, he could only confess the truth tremblingly, and kept emphasizing that he had indeed treated the people in Prince Rui's Mansion wholeheartedly and with all his heart.

He recalled the process of prescribing the medicine. Every ingredient was carefully considered and weighed. If the people in Prince Rui's Mansion could take the medicine on time according to his prescription, then the condition should be almost fine.

But who could have expected that there would be so many unpredictable variables in the Prince Rui's Palace.

Doctor Liu sighed inwardly, it is really hard to persuade a damned person with kind words, and it is self-destructive if you don't show mercy to him.

He knew very well that his situation was extremely dangerous at the moment, and could only desperately emphasize that he had fulfilled his duty as a doctor.

After all, if she couldn't make Concubine Shu believe this, with her current furious state, her life would be in danger in an instant!

Therefore, Doctor Liu could only try his best to get rid of his responsibility at this moment, but looking at the tense situation in front of him, he knew in his heart that even if he could escape death, he would be skinned alive.

"How dare you! A prince of a country suffers from such a disease, and you, a mere imperial physician, actually dare to conceal it! Why didn't you report it to me?"

Concubine Shu was so angry that she was shaking all over and her face turned ashen. She pointed at Doctor Liu with trembling fingers and asked loudly.

"This...this...is unfair! Your Majesty!"

Doctor Liu was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop, his voice filled with tears, "It's not that I don't want to report it, it's really... really..."

He was in extreme conflict and hesitation, not knowing whether he should tell the truth about His Royal Highness Prince Rui asking him to keep silent.

If I don't tell her, then in the eyes of Concubine Shu, I will undoubtedly be guilty of dereliction of duty;

But if he told it, he would be considered as being loose-lipped and revealing the privacy of King Rui. This made him feel torn and he didn't know what to do.

At this critical moment, His Royal Highness Prince Rui spoke up to save him, "Mother, there's no need to blame Imperial Physician Liu. It's my son...I feel that having syphilis is shameful, so I didn't let Imperial Physician Liu tell anyone!"

As His Royal Highness Prince Rui spoke, he calmly gave his mother a subtle look.

The Concubine Shu was slightly startled, then stood up straight while pretending to be calm.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and said, "You may withdraw first! Judge Xu, follow what the emperor just said and distribute the imperial edict among the people, saying that Princess Rui is seriously ill!

"We must find famous doctors from all over the country to treat Princess Rui! Anyone who can cure her will be rewarded handsomely, a thousand taels of gold!"

After all, Concubine Shu felt sorry for her son and sided with His Royal Highness Prince Rui.

She made such arrangements at this moment because she had her own selfish motives.

She knew very well that if others knew that Rui'er had syphilis, which was difficult to talk about, she would become a laughing stock and be ridiculed by others.

Moreover, in her heart, Rui'er is still young and there is plenty of time to cure the disease.

When he recovered from his illness, he was still the handsome and respectable Prince Rui.

As for her niece, Princess Rui, Empress Shufei thought to herself: If you want to wear her crown, you must bear her weight!

Since she was the Princess of Rui and enjoyed the honor of a princess, it was natural for her to share the honor and disgrace with her husband. Now, it was only right for her to share the responsibility for Rui'er.