Compared to the bustling world outside, the atmosphere in Fengxi Palace was stiflingly oppressive.
The terror of that night had left Empress Lu genuinely ill. Even days later, her face still bore signs of lingering sickness. The palace servants tread lightly, and even her closest confidants, Jinzhi and Deshun, dared not breathe too loudly.
The Fourth Prince’s face was a mess of wounds. He roared furiously, “What did you say? Say it again!”
Physician Sun grimaced. “Your Highness injured your spine during the fall from the horse. Though I’ve done my best to treat it, the damage to that area is irreversible. I fear… you will have uneven legs from now on.”
Thud!
The Fourth Prince hurled whatever was within reach at Physician Sun, his eyes wild as he glared from the bed. “You’re lying! How could I become a cripple? You’re lying!”
Physician Sun dodged swiftly, staring at the enraged prince in terror. Empress Lu ordered Deshun to restrain her son and turned to the physician. “The Fourth Prince only suffered minor scrapes from the fall. Physician He examined him days ago and declared no serious harm. How could it suddenly worsen like this?”
Physician Sun hesitated, but under the empress’s icy gaze, he lowered his voice. “The injury to His Highness’s spine must have occurred during the fall. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been bedridden these past days. But his waist wound was never treated. Moreover, ordinary scrapes should have scabbed over by now. Yet His Highness’s face…”
He glanced at the pus and blood oozing from the prince’s agitated face and quickly averted his eyes. “The festering on His Highness’s face is abnormal for mere abrasions. Perhaps Physician He used unconventional medicine. Your Majesty should summon him for questioning.”
Empress Lu shot a look at Deshun, who paled. “Physician He hasn’t been on duty these past two days. His family claims his elderly mother fell gravely ill, so he returned to his hometown. I couldn’t find him and had to summon Physician Sun instead.”
The empress and prince instantly understood.
“He Wengran—he betrayed me! He dared harm me! I’ll kill him! Kill him!!” The Fourth Prince’s face twisted grotesquely as he screamed.
Seeing the prince’s wounds bleed more profusely, Physician Sun urged, “Restrain His Highness quickly! If he aggravates his spine further, he may lose the ability to walk entirely!”
The empress panicked and ordered Deshun and Jinzhi to pin down the prince, but his fury made him thrash violently. The pus and blood soaked through the gauze on his face.
“Knock him out!” Empress Lu commanded sharply.
Deshun struck the prince’s neck, rendering him unconscious.
As the empress gazed at her son’s ravaged face, her heart ached. She turned to Physician Sun. “Is there truly no hope? Name your price, and I will grant it if you heal him.”
Physician Sun knelt, trembling. “Your Majesty, it’s not that I refuse—I simply cannot. Had I treated him three or four days earlier, I might have had a chance. But now…”
He bowed his head. “My skills are inadequate. Perhaps consult other physicians or seek a bone specialist from outside. They might restore His Highness.”
Empress Lu’s expression darkened. Physician Sun was among the finest in the Imperial Medical Academy. Seeking others would expose her son’s ruin, and finding an outside expert would take time they didn’t have.
Clenching her fists until her palms bled, the empress said coldly, “I trust your skill. Do your utmost.”
“But His Highness…” Physician Sun hesitated. “His leg will remain impaired, and his face… will scar.”
A prince, crippled and disfigured—everyone knew what this meant.
Empress Lu’s face paled, her eyes dark and venomous. “Ensure no one learns of this.”
“But Your Majesty, others in the Medical Academy—”
“I will not blame you if the news leaks. Just stay silent.”
Relieved, Physician Sun nodded.
The prince’s face, initially scraped, had festered under improper treatment. As Physician Sun cleaned the pus and removed rotten flesh, half his face was left bloodied. Even unconscious, the prince whimpered in pain, his mother’s eyes red with fury.
After treating the prince’s wounds and prescribing medicine, Physician Sun left. Empress Lu ordered the prince bathed and reclothed before summoning Cheng Ping, a bloodied servant dragged in by Deshun.
Cheng Ping kowtowed frantically. “Your Majesty, I never betrayed the prince! I’ve served him since childhood—my fate is tied to his!”
“You failed to protect him,” the empress spat.
Trembling, Cheng Ping explained: “The Second Prince provoked His Highness at the polo match, mocking him over the Hengting Pavilion incident. His Highness lost his temper and insisted on playing. I tried to join, but the Second Prince ridiculed him for relying on a eunuch…”
Empress Lu narrowed her eyes. “What happened at Hengting Pavilion?”
Cheng Ping revealed how the Fourth Prince had clashed with the Second Prince after overhearing insults about his legitimacy. The confrontation led the prince to investigate the Lu family, only to discover his concubine, Bai, was a Lu spy who had drugged him.
“Bai is from the Lu family?” the empress hissed.
Cheng Ping kowtowed. “She confessed under interrogation. The Lu family planted her to manipulate His Highness. The drugs she used… they enhanced his vigor but destroyed his health. Without them, he’s now… impotent.”
The empress swayed, gripping a table for support. “The Lu family did this?”
“Yes! The drugs came from Lu Erye. The Lu family has allied with the Second Prince—they want a puppet emperor!”
Empress Lu’s mind reeled. Her son—crippled, scarred, heirless—was ruined.
“Summon Xiao Yan,” she ordered Jinzhi. “Tell him I demand an audience.”
The Lu family had crossed a line. If they sought to abandon her son, she would burn their world to ashes.
===================
You can read ahead to chapterr 400 (100+ extra chapters) here
Comments
Post a Comment