0p0 Chapter 619 Deadly Poison Triggers Heart Illness
Chapter 619 Deadly Poison Triggers Heart Illness
Kunning Palace was quieter than usual. Apart from the sounds of palace maids and eunuchs walking around, not even the sound of talking could be heard, making it exceptionally dull.
Upon seeing the emperor, they knelt and paid their respects, and only then did some sound fill the hall.
The emperor glanced at the palace maid kneeling at the front and asked, "How is the Empress?"
The palace maid said somewhat fearfully, "Her Majesty has been unconscious and has not yet woken up."
At this moment, Su Lingyue also understood why Kunning Palace was so quiet today.
On the day of the Crown Prince's wedding, he was accused of treason, while his birth mother remained unconscious. Whether the Emperor would punish the Empress, and when, were swords hanging over their heads; with just a single decree from the Emperor, their lives would be decided.
Su Lingyue was very worried and wanted to see the Empress, but the Emperor stood motionless in the hall, seemingly lost in thought.
A moment later, the emperor walked toward the empress's palace, with Su Lingyue, dressed in colorful butterflies and colorful clothes, following closely behind him.
Upon arriving outside the Empress's bedchamber, Su Lingyue saw palace maids carrying basins in and out, while a dozen or so imperial physicians waited outside the palace.
The emperor frowned and strode into his bedchamber. Su Lingyue, disregarding everything else, followed him in.
The entire hall was filled with a strong smell of medicine.
After passing the screen, Su Lingyue saw the Empress lying on the bed with her eyes closed, her face pale and weak. Imperial Physician Zhang and Imperial Physician Li were treating the Empress together, while Granny Cui was anxiously bowing towards the window.
"How is the Empress?"
Upon hearing the voice, the two imperial physicians knelt down and bowed, saying, "Although Her Majesty's body still contains a small amount of poison, this poison is potent and has aggravated Her Majesty's old ailment in her heart, which is why she has not yet woken up."
The emperor looked at the empress lying on the bed, her face pale, and seemed to recall the origin of her old heart ailment.
The Empress once told Su Lingyue this.
At that time, Su Yunqing was only seventeen years old. Her elder brother saw through Xiao Ye's ambition and intended to marry Su Yunqing into his family to win him over.
On the other hand, Xiao Ye at the time, although very low-key, was very handsome, and coincidentally, he helped her avoid a falling lantern stand at the lantern festival.
No woman dislikes a young man who has saved her life.
She agreed.
At the age of nineteen, she became pregnant with their first child, but during an assassination attempt, Su Yunqing took an arrow for Xiao Ye, which struck her in the heart, and the child was lost. She was left with a heart condition.
Xiao Ye's eyes reddened as he stood by Su Yunqing's bedside, vowing to protect her.
After years of recuperation, Su Yunqing's heart condition gradually improved and has never relapsed.
Later, in order to consolidate his power, Xiao Ye married other women.
The two were no longer in love; their relationship was now merely one of mutual benefit.
Su Lingyue still remembers the process of the Empress's eyes turning from bright to dark as she recounted this story. Fate begins with too many expectations, and once those expectations are dashed, disappointment inevitably follows, leading to mutual loathing.
This time, she once again shielded the emperor from a knife, triggering her old ailment and reminding the emperor of the past, causing him to feel a pang of guilt.
Looking at the Empress's sleeping face on the bed, the Emperor's expression softened. He ordered the imperial physician in a deep voice, "No matter what method you use, you must cure the Empress."
"But……"
Before Physician Zhang could finish speaking, the Emperor interrupted him, "If even the Empress cannot cure you, then you probably don't want to stay in the palace any longer. You may as well retire and return to your hometowns!"
The author's intimidating words caused cold sweat to break out on the foreheads of Physician Zhang and Physician Li. Even if they refused, they had no other choice.
The two men knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, we will do our utmost to ensure your safety."
Memories flooded back, making the emperor somewhat uncomfortable. After instructing the imperial physicians, he strode out of the empress's bedchamber.
Seeing the emperor leave, Su Lingyue rushed to the bedside with red eyes, grabbed the empress's hand, and let the tears she had been holding back for so long roll down her cheeks.
"Aunt, it's me, Yue'er. I've come to see you."
"Aunt, wake up! Don't sleep!"
The thought of losing the person who raised her was like a knife twisting in Su Lingyue's heart; all her resentment and bitterness were washed away by the warmth of the past.
At this moment, Su Lingyue didn't want to care about anything; all she wanted was for her to get better and for her to hold her gently and smile softly, just like before.
Granny Cui stepped forward to help Su Lingyue up and advised, "Your Highness, let the imperial physician treat Her Majesty the Empress. We'll only be disturbing him if we stay here."
Su Lingyue clung to the screen, refusing to leave.
She wanted to stay with the Empress.
She was terrified, afraid that she would never see the Empress again after she left.
Caiyi took a handkerchief to wipe her tears and comforted her, "Your Highness, with so many imperial physicians here, Your Highness will surely be alright."
Seeing that Su Lingyue wouldn't listen to anything, Granny Cui hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "Your Highness, there is another person who needs treatment."
*
Unlike the scene outside the Empress's bedroom, in a small courtyard of Kunning Palace, apart from two eunuchs weeping quietly, there was not a single imperial physician.
Looking at Eunuch He lying on the bed, his face pale, Su Lingyue's expression darkened. "How could this be? Why hasn't any imperial physician come to treat him?"
Granny Cui wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said in a low voice, "His Majesty had him brought back yesterday, but did not issue an order for the imperial physician to come and examine him. We searched all over Kunning Palace for any antidote we could find and gave it to him, but it was of no use at all, and his condition has only gotten worse."
"Why?" Su Lingyue didn't understand. Eunuch He was poisoned while saving the Empress, and the Emperor not only didn't reward him, but also wouldn't let the imperial physician come to treat him.
Granny Cui shook her head; she didn't know either.
Su Lingyue didn't care about anything else and immediately sat down by the bed to take Eunuch He's pulse.
"How is it?" asked Granny Cui.
Su Lingyue took off the pouch at her waist, took out a needle pouch from it, and said, "The poisoning is deep, but it's not too late yet."
Upon hearing Su Lingyue's words, Granny Cui's eyes immediately lit up, but the joy on her face vanished in an instant.
Su Lingyue looked at her and asked, "Given Eunuch He's current condition, he needs both acupuncture and herbal medicine to recover. Will the Imperial Hospital provide that?"
The room was completely silent.
Since the emperor wouldn't allow the imperial physicians to treat Eunuch He, why would he give him medicine?
Su Lingyue said to Granny Cui, "Although I don't know why His Majesty won't allow Eunuch He to treat the patient, if my aunt wakes up and pleads with His Majesty, even if Eunuch He unintentionally offended him, His Majesty will probably not hold it against her. If my aunt doesn't wake up soon..."
"No!"
Originally, due to poisoning, Eunuch He, whose eyes were tightly closed, woke up at some point. It seemed that he had to exert a lot of effort to open his eyes. "No, find the Empress!"
"Yuanyi...promise me you won't, you won't tell the Empress."
The voice of Eunuch He was squeezed out from his throat, and his eyes were fixed on Granny Cui.
Granny Cui closed her eyes, nodded to Eunuch He, and two lines of tears silently slid down her face.
Only then did Eunuch He close his eyes and completely faint.
At this moment, Su Lingyue could not care about the medicine. She could only take out silver needles and administer acupuncture to delay the onset of the poison.
Cai Die asked, puzzled, "Granny, why won't Eunuch He tell us to tell the Empress? He can only live if he tells the Empress!"
Granny Cui turned around, as if she hadn't heard Cai Die's words, and left.