Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 176 Urticaria
"More than that, Your Highness should be even more careful. At the plum blossom viewing banquet today, Consort Jin met with the daughters of Marquis Wuxin and Earl Qing'an, as well as the daughter of Earl Pingyang. These families all hold real power in the court, especially Marquis Wuxin, who holds military power."

Hongmei took the earrings from the Empress, carefully placed them in the brocade box, and whispered a reminder.

In the bronze mirror, the Empress's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Hongmei through the mirror.

"You mean, Consort Jin is trying to win over members of the imperial clan?"

“This servant thinks it must be so. After all, several ladies had tried to talk to her before, but she didn’t respond enthusiastically. Those ladies’ families were not very prominent.” Hongmei said with certainty.

Tingyun was re-styling the Empress's hair into a simple bun when she heard this, and her brows furrowed.

“This does seem problematic. If she gains the support of the imperial clan, won’t her status become even more important in the future? The words of the imperial clan always carry more weight with the emperor than those of the ministers, after all, they are family.”

The reasoning behind this was so clear that the maids didn't need to explain it to her; the Empress understood it perfectly well.

In an instant, his expression grew even more gloomy.

Just then, the chief eunuch Zhang Liquan strode in from outside, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Second Prince has been in trouble at Chang Le Palace!"

"Wenxi?" The Empress turned her head, her brows furrowed. "What happened? She was perfectly fine at the banquet today."

"This servant doesn't know either. It seems he ate something wrong. He said he's vomited several times and has developed large red rashes on his body and face. The people from Chang Le Palace have already reported to Cheng Ming Hall, and the imperial physician is on his way there now," Zhang Liquan reported truthfully.

The Empress lowered her eyes slightly. "Alright, I understand. I'll go take a look now."

Then he got up, took Tingyun's hand, and with Zhang Liquan leading the way, they got into a sedan chair and headed to Changle Palace.

When she arrived, Zhao Xingjin and Xie Jiu were already inside; they had only been there a short time.

"Lord Yu, what happened to the princess? She was perfectly fine before lunch. Could she have accidentally eaten something?" Xie Jiu asked anxiously.

The one who came was Yu, the chief physician of the Imperial Hospital who usually took care of Zhao Xingjin.

"These symptoms do resemble eating something you shouldn't have, but it's not poisoning; it's more likely urticaria."

"Urticaria?" Zhao Xingjin frowned. "What caused it?"

Physician Yu cupped his hands and said, “This is like peach blossom rash. Some people will get rash when they touch peach blossoms, and others cannot touch plum blossoms, crabapple blossoms, or crape myrtle blossoms. Some people cannot drink alcohol, and others cannot eat sesame seeds, seafood, or certain types of fish and shrimp. These have all happened before, and the princess’s current symptoms are just like this.”

"Yam!"

Qinlan immediately looked up.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to her, and then they heard her say something.

"When Consort Xian eats yams, she gets rashes all over her body, and in severe cases, her throat swells up, making it difficult to breathe. Therefore, Consort Xian never gives the princess yams. To prevent anyone with ill intentions from using this to harm her, I have always told others that neither Consort Xian nor the princess likes to eat yams. That is why the princess has never eaten them in her life. However, yesterday before lunch, the Second Prince and the other princes were running around playing, and I didn't keep a close eye on them. Perhaps she accidentally ate some snack containing yams at that time?"

After saying that, Qinlan frowned again, "But this servant is not sure either. The princess has never eaten yam before, and I don't know if the princess's constitution is the same as that of Consort Xian."

"That's probably why. It's common for children to have the same symptoms as their parents!" said Physician Yu.

Upon hearing this, the Empress standing beside her changed her expression. "Your Majesty, the snacks for the plum blossom banquet were all prepared by the small kitchen in Weiyang Palace. I didn't know that Wenxi couldn't eat yams, so some of the snacks did contain yams, such as the Purple Jade Pearl Dumplings. Zhaoqing and Lingyi both love them, so I had them prepared."

Xie Jiu's expression turned serious. "That explains it. Perhaps the princesses were playing together and ate the same things."

He looked up after speaking.

"Lord Yu, is the princess alright?"

"It's hard to say," Imperial Physician Yu pointed to Princess Wenxi's face. "If it were just a rash, it would be fine, but the Second Prince's face looks a bit bluish-purple, and there is swelling on his face. It's likely that his mouth and throat are swollen, which could affect his breathing and pose a risk of suffocation. And since His Highness also has vomiting symptoms, it's even more dangerous."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Xingjin said in a deep voice, "No matter what, you must ensure the princess's safety! The princess is young and must not be harmed."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my best. I will go and prepare the medicine right away!" Physician Yu bowed and quickly withdrew.

At this moment, the Empress stepped forward a few steps, her face full of worry and self-reproach. "Your Majesty, it was all my negligence. I failed to consult with the other palaces beforehand, which led to such a grave mistake. If anything happens to Wenxi, I will have no face to see Consort Xian. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

As he spoke, he knelt down.

She knelt down, and everyone else present was to follow suit. Xie Jiu had no choice but to kneel as well, while secretly observing the Empress's expression.

But you really can't see anything unusual about it.

This was probably an accident, since no one knew that Consort Xian and Princess Wenxi couldn't eat yams.

"Alright, this isn't your fault, it was all an accident." Zhao Xingjin waved his hand, not looking at the Empress, but frowning at his daughter on the bed. "The most urgent thing is to get Wenxi better as soon as possible. Right now, this child can't be left alone, we have to keep an eye on her at all times to prevent any danger from happening."

The Empress rose, nodded slightly, glanced at Qinlan, and then said in a deep voice.

"The people around the princess are too insensible. Since they suspected the princess had such an illness, they didn't take good care of her or tell her so she could be more vigilant. As a result, such a serious incident has occurred. They should be punished to teach them a lesson!"

After she finished speaking, Qinlan's shoulders trembled involuntarily, but she did not speak up to defend herself. She simply lowered her head resignedly and clenched her fists tightly at her sides.

Xie Jiu saw this and knew that Qin Lan was blaming herself and felt that she deserved to be punished, so she did not ask for forgiveness. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and then said.

“Your Majesty, the people around the princess did not mention the yam, which was out of caution. Although they were guilty of dereliction of duty, the princess is currently ill and needs familiar people to take care of her. Even if they are to be punished, please forgive them for a few days and punish them after the princess recovers.”

“Once Wenxi recovers, the crisis will have passed. Perhaps Wenxi will feel sorry for these servants and plead for them, and they might not be punished. Wouldn’t that be letting these servants off too easily?” The Empress spoke softly, but she was clearly against it.

Xie Jiu glanced at her sideways with her eyes lowered, but still faced Zhao Xingjin.

“Your Majesty, the princess’s condition is more important right now. If she is beaten so badly that she can no longer be cared for, then the princess will be uncomfortable if she is served by unfamiliar people, which may hinder her recovery.”

"Let's do as Consort Jin says," Zhao Xingjin said.

The Empress's face stiffened slightly, showing some displeasure, but after glancing at Xie Jiu, she still said nothing.

After all, she was the one who prepared these snacks, and she had a responsibility to do so.

Xie Jiu didn't want to ponder other people's thoughts now, and was only worried about Princess Wenxi's condition, so he took the initiative to suggest taking Princess Wenxi to Jingming Palace to take care of her.