An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Shoukang Palace.

When the emperor entered, he was met by a young eunuch carrying a copper basin and running out.

The emperor strode quickly, and the little eunuch hurried along as well; the two nearly bumped into each other.

The young eunuch carrying the copper basin looked up and saw that it was the emperor approaching. He hurriedly stopped, knelt down, and kowtowed. However, he had walked too fast, and although he stopped, he couldn't stop the water in the basin. The basin of water swayed and finally couldn't be kept steady, spilling all over the ground.

The short-pile carpet, a tribute from Persia, was instantly covered in crimson.

The eunuch was so frightened that he didn't dare to raise his head, but the emperor, anxious to see the Fifth Prince's condition, strode past him and entered the inner palace without looking to the side.

As Su Peisheng hurried behind the emperor, he turned back and muttered under his breath, "You fool, hurry up and clean up!"

Once inside the inner palace, Su Peisheng finally understood why the Empress Dowager was in such a hurry to summon the Emperor.

The Fifth Prince was seriously injured.

The room was filled with the smell of blood. The Fifth Prince lay on the bed, his face as white as paper, his breath faint.

Today, because it was time to practice riding and archery, the nanny who served the Fifth Prince chose a dark brown riding outfit for him. Her intention was that if he got some mud or dust on him, it wouldn't be too noticeable, and if the Emperor happened to see him, he wouldn't be scolded for being so disheveled.

At this moment, the bloodstains and dirt on his dark brown clothes were no longer discernible; only large patches of black could be seen spreading around the Fifth Prince.

However, what made Su Peisheng extremely worried was the long gash on the Fifth Prince's left leg.

To make it easier to clean the wound, the imperial physician had cut open the Fifth Prince's clothes near the wound, leaving only the wound exposed.

Because his clothes had been cut open, the inch-long wound was now even clearer, its grotesque and winding shape shocking to behold. The wound was visibly deep, reaching the bone, and blood was still seeping from between the torn flesh and bone. Su Peisheng couldn't help but close his eyes, unable to bear to look any longer.

The emperor's face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with malice.

The crowd surrounding the Fifth Prince was in a flurry of activity.

Jiang Yuanpan, the physician of the Imperial Hospital, was stopping the bleeding of the Fifth Prince. When he pressed down on the clumps of snow-white cotton cloth, they were instantly stained clean. The young apothecary next to him quickly took out a new one from his medicine box and handed it to him.

A young eunuch hurriedly brought in a bowl of medicine, but Qin Fang, who was writing a prescription at the table, grabbed his hand. Qin Fang took the bowl, smelled the medicine, and then stuffed the newly written prescription into the eunuch's hand, ordering him to quickly fetch the medicine. He then turned and walked quickly to the bedside to give the medicine to the Fifth Prince.

The scene inside the palace was chaotic and disorderly, a testament to the desperate efforts to save lives.

Su Peisheng searched around and finally found Zhu Xi among the group of people busy around the Fifth Prince in front of the bed. Zhu Xi was handing the handkerchief that the Fifth Prince had taken off his head to the palace maid behind him, while she bent down to wipe the Fifth Prince's sweat with the newly changed handkerchief.

Su Peisheng quickly dodged and weaved through the crowd to reach Zhu Xi's side.

"Aunt Zhuxi, the Emperor has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xi looked up abruptly and saw that it was Su Peisheng. She couldn't help but feel her eyes redden.

"The Emperor is here? This servant will go and report to the Emperor right away," she said, taking a handkerchief from the maid and quickly wiping the bloodstains from her hands and body before turning to follow Su Peisheng.

Seeing Zhu Xi turn around and quickly wipe the corner of her eye, Su Peisheng's heart skipped a beat.

The people who served the Empress Dowager were always steady and reliable, and Zhu Xi had always served by the Empress Dowager's side. She was known for her prudence and thoughtfulness and was the aunt most trusted by the Empress Dowager in Shou Kang Palace.

Su Peisheng had never seen Zhu Xi so out of control, and he couldn't help but panic, thinking that the Fifth Prince's condition must be really bad.

Su Peisheng dared not delay and hurriedly led Zhu Xi out of the crowd. No matter what, he had to report back to the emperor first.

Upon seeing that it was Zhu Xi who had arrived, the emperor's expression softened considerably. "How is the Fifth Prince?"

Zhu Xi replied, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the injury to his leg is quite serious, damaging the tendons and bones. I'm afraid he won't be able to ride a horse or shoot arrows anymore."

Upon hearing this, the emperor's heart tightened. "Is his life in danger?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xi felt a lump in her throat. "The imperial physician said that if the Fifth Prince's bleeding stops, he will have passed the first hurdle. But the prince's wound is too deep. Even if the bleeding stops, we still have to guard against typhoid infection. The imperial physician said that if he does not have a high fever within three days, he will have survived."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded slightly. "Has the Fifth Prince's bleeding stopped now?"

Zhu Xi shook her head, her eyes filled with deep worry. "It hasn't completely stopped yet. Imperial Physician Jiang has tried many methods, and just now, Physician Qin and his two assistants also had someone give it to the Fifth Prince. When I left just now, it seemed that the bleeding had slowed down quite a bit."

"Where else are you injured?"

"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince has two injuries. One is an external injury on his left leg, where the bone is still visible. Moreover, the imperial physician said that the injury is too severe, and even if he recovers well, he will likely suffer from chronic pain in the future. Whenever it is windy or rainy, he will inevitably experience pain."

The emperor frowned. It was heartbreaking to think that a seven or eight-year-old child would be left with a lifelong ailment.

Zhu Xi continued, "The other injury is to the ribs. The imperial physician said that the Fifth Prince broke his right ribs when he fell from his horse. Fortunately, his lungs and internal organs were not injured. This injury is not serious; he just needs to rest in the future."

At this point, Zhu Xi choked up and said, "Fifth Prince is really a good boy. When the guards brought him back, although his wounds had been treated simply, he was still covered in blood and was in so much pain that his teeth were chattering. Yet he still comforted the Empress Dowager, telling her to take care of herself and not to worry too much."

Upon hearing this, the emperor felt even worse. He was deeply hurt by what he heard, but at least there was some relief, which brought him some peace of mind.

Only then did the emperor suddenly realize that he had rushed to the inner palace without having visited the Empress Dowager. He then asked, "Where is my mother now?"

Zhu Xi wiped away her tears and replied, "When the Empress Dowager saw the Fifth Prince being brought back covered in blood, she was so shocked and angry that she almost fainted. She insisted on staying with the Fifth Prince, but the blood made her faint, and she just had someone take him back to his bedchamber. Right now, it's Jiang Yuanpan from the Imperial Hospital who is taking care of him."

There were two chief physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy surnamed Jiang. Their positions were not distinguishable, and they were brothers from the same family. Therefore, for convenience, the women in the harem always referred to the elder brother as Chief Physician Jiang and the younger brother as Junior Chief Physician Jiang.

Su Peisheng was agitated upon hearing this. What kind of day was this? It was truly a case of one problem being solved only to have another arise. Why did so many things suddenly happen? He looked up and saw that the Emperor had already strode out of the palace gate and was heading towards the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Su Peisheng could only bow slightly to Zhu Xi and jog after him.