Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 68: Filling with medicine
Xue Sui rested in the inner room for a while, and when he went out again, he saw that the lights in Huayi Hall were on, as bright as day.

Li Zhao sat on the brocade-covered pearwood chair on his left, looking lazy.

She looked over through a Xiangfei bamboo curtain.

The dim light cast a shadow on his face, revealing his deep features but unclear eyebrows and eyes.

She was still unaware of what was happening outside.

Walking around the large screen painted with landscapes, she saw Xue Yuechen standing up with a concerned look on his face, as if he wanted to help her, his eyes full of worry.

"Sixth sister, are you feeling better?"

Xue Sui's face was as white as paper, completely bloodless.

It was obvious at first glance that she was not well.

But her eyes were gentle and smiling.

"Don't worry, Princess. I'm fine."

She held a white handkerchief embroidered with orchid in her hand, covering her chest. There seemed to be faint traces of blood on it, which spread slightly. Her back was no longer as straight as before, and her chest was slightly hunched. Her body was thin, and two maids were beside her, supporting her on both sides. She walked much slower...

Concubine Xiao quickly ordered someone to give her a seat.

"Where's the imperial physician? Why don't you ask him to come and take a look?"

Li Zhao raised his head and looked over, a faint sneer appeared in the corner of his eyes: "Ms. Xue Liu is injured in the tanzhong, how can we let the imperial physician come to see her?"

Concubine Xiao was speechless.

Xue Sui raised his eyes and glanced at him.

He thought to himself that Li Zhao had seen things that the imperial physician could not.

When they were fighting in the Bamboo Grove Pavilion, his hands were tightly tied around her waist, and he looked like he wanted to eat her alive. At that time, their clothes slipped off, revealing their beauty. And the time in the Bamboo Grove Residence, he also saw the scars on her body.

I guess her body is not attractive to Li Zhao...

Who wouldn’t feel depressed looking at those scars?
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The doctor has carefully treated Xue Liu's wounds. He is fine now. I dare not trouble Your Majesty to worry about him anymore..."

Concubine Xiao walked down the stairs and said distressedly, "I'll have someone pick up some good herbs from the Imperial Hospital and send them to your house. You're still young, don't damage your blood, or you'll have trouble giving birth in the future."

Are you worried that she can't give birth to a big fat son for Li Huan?

The smile on Li Zhao's lips faded, and he looked as if it had nothing to do with him.

Although he said something for Xue Sui just now, it seemed that he was just trying to annoy Concubine Xiao and was not really concerned about her injury.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat stagnant.

The air seemed to grow heavier.

The person who had the hardest time was Xue Yuechen...

When it came to childbirth, a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. She opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but when she saw that Concubine Xiao had turned around to give instructions to the palace maid, she swallowed her words and just sat quietly by the side, waiting for Doctor Hu to come back.

Doctor Hu was having a much harder time than them at this moment.

With Princess Pingle's temper, how could he dare to let her drink the medicine tainted with Xue Liu's heart's blood?

Once they find out about it, won’t they skin him alive?
He wanted to pour out the bowl of blood quietly, but that eunuch Lai Fu followed him closely like a shadow, never leaving his side, with a smile on his face and eyes more cunning than a dog, staring at him intently without blinking...

Fortunately, Lai Fu is an outsider and can't understand what he is tinkering with.

Doctor Hu could only delay time secretly.

The sleeping pills Ping Le took did not require an antidote. When the time came and the effects of the pills wore off, he would naturally wake up and slowly recover his health...

"Doctor Hu?"

"Doctor Hu!"

"Doctor Hu!!!"

Lai Fu suddenly raised his voice and called him.

Doctor Hu was distracted and his hands trembled with fear, and he almost dropped the pestle in his hand.

He quickly looked up and forced a smile.

"Oh, come on, eunuch, your shout really scared me."

Lai Fu folded his arms, stretched his neck and looked into the mortar.

"What are you doing? Look at you trembling! You're so scared."

She glanced at him sideways and asked him with a smile.

"I called you several times but you didn't respond... What good things are you thinking about?"

Doctor Hu did not dare to look at Fu's smiling face. He lowered his head and crushed the medicine powder in the mortar with a pestle while pretending to be calm and said:

"Don't ask me about this, sir. I can't explain the pharmacology to you in a short time..."

Lai Fu curled his lips and said nothing, but his eyes were full of suspicion: "Then Doctor Hu, can you tell me how long it will take for this medicine to be prepared?"

Doctor Hu hesitated for a moment, but before he could answer, Lai Fu continued:
"Your Highness has plenty of patience to wait, but I need to go to the toilet right now, and I can't hold it in any longer..."

Doctor Hu's eyes lit up and he said hurriedly, "Please do as you please, eunuch. I will be here for a while."

Lai Fu pulled up the waistband of his trousers and snorted.

"That won't do. My head is sitting well on my shoulders, and I don't want to move away tomorrow..."

"Then you..."

Lai Fu said quickly: "I'll just go to the bathroom here..."

"I can't do it, I can't do it!"

Doctor Hu saw that he was not joking, and was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He gritted his teeth and poured all the medicine powder into the boiled medicine, and mixed the "heart blood" in the porcelain bowl into it. When the medicine pot started to boil, he stirred it evenly.

"Let's go, it's almost time for the princess to drink."

It's time for Princess Pingle to wake up.
-
When Doctor Hu came out with his follower, Eunuch Fu, they ran into Concubine Xiao who sent a palace maid to ask questions.

When the group returned to the hall, they felt the atmosphere was a little tense.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was sipping his tea leisurely, while Miss Xue Liu was leaning back quietly in her chair with her eyes closed and dozing off. One was moving, the other was still, just like the black and white chess pieces on a chessboard, sitting opposite each other and ignoring each other.

On the contrary, Concubine Xiao had a face full of anxiety and impatience.

"Why does it take so long to prepare the medicine? You made me wait so long!"

Doctor Hu bowed hurriedly.

"To answer your Majesty, the medicine has been prepared."

Concubine Xiao raised her eyebrows and said, "Why don't you bring it in quickly and let the princess take it!"

Doctor Hu gritted his teeth and agreed.

Li Zhao raised his eyelids slightly, slowly put down the teacup, straightened the corner of his robe, and stood up.

"Since the medicine is ready, I will go and watch my sister drink it, so I can rest assured."

Obviously, he was consistent in his words and actions, and he had to watch Princess Pingle drink the medicine. Concubine Xiao hated Li Zhao very much, but she had no choice.

Whatever! Anyway, the princess is seriously ill and the emperor is extremely worried. If he appears in front of the emperor like this, it will only annoy the emperor and make him upset...

If he wants to make himself miserable, then let him do so.

Li Zhao walked quickly, without even glancing at Xue Sui, with a cold and unrestrained attitude.

Xue Yuechen instructed the palace servants to take good care of the Sixth Miss, and then followed Concubine Xiao in.

Xue Sui watched the group of people heading towards the inner hall, smiled faintly, and closed his eyes silently.

Xiao Zhao and Ruyi looked at it with tears in their eyes due to heartache.

My own girl has always been strong.

No matter how hard, difficult or painful it is, I grit my teeth and endure it, always saying that it's okay.

But how could it not hurt when such a long and thick needle was inserted into the Tanzhong point and so much blood was drawn? How could it be okay?

The outer hall was quiet, with only the occasional crackling sound of flickering candle flames.

In the inner hall, Emperor Chongzhao stood quietly beside the princess's bed, his brows furrowed.

He is only 48 years old this year, in the prime of his life. As he gets older, he pursues a path of recuperation and is extremely restrained when it comes to women. Unlike the monarchs of previous dynasties who indulged in wine and sex and were extremely licentious, in the eyes of court officials and the people, he is a good emperor who works diligently and loves the people.

There is only one thing that is criticized.

He doted on Princess Pingle too much.

When Pingle wanted to set up a government and appoint officials, it caused quite a stir in the court.

The court officials all felt that this was against the rules, but they could not persuade the emperor and finally agreed to her request.

The emperor had many princesses, and Pingle was not the only beautiful one. However, the other princesses rarely saw the emperor a few times throughout the year, so he did not take them seriously.

Only Pingle has won the emperor's favor. Who can reason with this?
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician is here to offer medicine."

The chief eunuch Wang Chengxi walked very lightly, fearing that he might disturb the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhao turned his head and nodded slightly:
"Bring it in."

Wang Chengxi added: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has also come to visit the Princess..."

He didn't say anything else because he saw the emperor had a frown on his face and looked displeased.

Every time the Crown Prince asked for an audience, His Majesty had this expression on his face, and Wang Chengxi was no longer surprised.

But Emperor Chongzhao did not refuse.

Although he favored his children, he also paid attention to royal etiquette.

"It's rare that the prince is so thoughtful. Let him in."

Wang Chengxi bowed and retreated, "Yes."

Li Zhao strode in, and Doctor Hu followed behind him tremblingly. He was tense and walked awkwardly. The nervousness on his face could be seen at a glance.

But no one suspected anything.

It is natural for the imperial physician to be nervous when the princess is unconscious.

Doctor Hu stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and placed the medicine on the low table in front of the couch.

"Your Majesty, I have prepared the medicine according to the ancient Lingshu method."

He said this but prayed silently in his heart that the princess would wake up soon and not drink the medicine.

However, Princess Pingle, lying on the sickbed, looked pale, and her beautiful face was as still as wood, with no signs of waking up.

As Doctor Hu looked at him, he became more and more worried, and his hands could not help but tremble.

Emperor Chongzhao was a little impatient and gestured to the palace maid.

"Help the princess up and feed her medicine..."

The maid squatted down: "Yes."

The two maids hurriedly responded, and came forward to help Princess Pingle's limp body up, leaning her against the soft pillow at the head of the bed. Then, looking at the bowl of medicine, they began to worry about how to feed the unconscious princess.

Pingle woke up at this time.

She took the sleeping pills, but she didn't feel well.

But at that time in the Bamboo Grove Pavilion, she really had no other choice.

She went to catch the prince's scandal with great fanfare, but ended up being tricked by him. If she angered the emperor, it would certainly not end well. It would be better for her to "punish herself" and take medicine to fall into a coma. As long as her father felt sorry for her, he would not blame her anymore.

From childhood to adulthood, she has always used this trick...

What's more, he could take the opportunity to humiliate Xue Liu.

Taking her heart's blood was to let her know that even after another ten years, she would still be just an ant under his feet, and her life and death would all depend on his thoughts.

This is the law of nature and the moral code of ethics.

A bitch is a bitch and she can never turn over.

The strong smell of medicine in her nostrils made Pingle's drowsy brain suddenly clear. She subconsciously wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and she couldn't open them.

Then, Li Zhao's voice was heard.

"My heart's blood is used to make medicine, so it cannot be wasted. Father, when I was young, I refused to drink the medicine, so mother used silver chopsticks to pry open my teeth, so that I could drink it without leaving a drop."

Pingle was shocked.

Why is Li Zhao here?

What does he mean by this?
Could it be that that bastard Doctor Hu really mixed Xue Liu's heart blood into the medicine?

Do not!Can!by!
Who dares to force her to drink...

Pingle thought of Xue Liu's face and the wine she had drunk that was mixed with spring poison. Although she didn't know whether she had had sex with Li Zhao to detoxify him, how could she drink her blood?

Pingle's originally confused mind became clearer, but the effect of the medicine had not yet dissipated. He felt weak and limp, without any strength, even raising his hands and opening his eyes was difficult.

Emperor Chongzhao pondered for a moment and sighed.

"Drink it, the princess's health is more important."

"Father...don't..."

"Mother...save me..."

Princess Pingle screamed desperately in her heart, but her throat seemed to be blocked and she could not make any sound. She could only move her lips slightly.

In order to conceal the truth from other doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau and to win the emperor's sympathy and forgiveness of her sins, Doctor Hu prescribed a very strong sleeping pill for Pingle.

At this moment, although Pingle's mind was clear, his body was out of control and he could not recover immediately...

At this moment, she was powerless, and she was so angry that she wanted to kill someone, but she could only be like a rag doll, at the mercy of others...

The silver chopsticks were stuffed into Pingle's mouth and his tightly closed teeth were forcibly pried open.

Li Zhao: "What are you standing there for? Drink it up!"

Please wait for the second update. You can come and watch it after dinner~~