The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Ye Family, Ye Chutang

”Princely Heir!”

Seeing who had arrived, Zhuxin and Lan Yi quickly bowed in greeting.

When Zhao Xuanping saw him, it was as if he’d laid eyes on his savior.

”Princely Heir! You’re finally here! Come and see, the Eldest Princess suddenly took ill and fainted, and this woman took it upon herself to perform acupuncture. She even wrote such an absurd prescription! She’s completely disregarding the Eldest Princess’s safety!”

Princess Qingyang shot him a look, thoroughly displeased. ”Judge Zhao, you exaggerate.”

She had been present the entire time Doctor Ye was examining the Eldest Princess. From start to finish, not a trace of panic had shown on Ye Chutang’s face. She acted with decisiveness. How could she possibly be as useless as Judge Zhao claimed?

Shen Yanchuan’s eyes swept over the prescription. Hearing Princess Qingyang’s words, he gave her a second glance.

’This princess has quite the temper. This is her first time meeting Ye Chutang, isn’t it? Yet she’s already willing to speak up for her like this?’

”How is Grandmother?” Shen Yanchuan asked.

Ye Chutang lowered her head slightly. ”The Eldest Princess is just inside. If the Princely Heir is concerned, you may see for yourself.”

Shen Yanchuan folded the prescription and strode inside.

He walked to the bedside. The Eldest Princess lay on the bed with her eyes closed. Her breathing, though faint, was quite steady and regular.

He tucked the blanket around the Eldest Princess, then turned back to look at Ye Chutang, his profound gaze lingering for a moment on her gentle and tranquil face.

He had rushed over the moment he received the news, dropping everything he was doing.

’Thank goodness... thank goodness she was here.’

Shen Yanchuan stood up, instructed Zhuxin and Lan Yi to take good care of the Eldest Princess, and then walked back outside.

Once he was sure he wouldn’t disturb the Eldest Princess, he spoke. ”Judge Zhao, you’ve already taken the Eldest Princess’s pulse, haven’t you? What is her condition now? Is she in critical danger?”

Zhao Xuanping choked on his words.

”Well... uh...”

Though he couldn’t stand Ye Chutang, he couldn’t deny that the Eldest Princess’s pulse had indeed stabilized.

Shen Yanchuan said, ”I heard that Doctor Ye had already finished her treatment before you arrived.”

The implication was clear: Ye Chutang had indeed rescued the Eldest Princess from an extremely perilous situation.

Zhao Xuanping’s lips moved and his beard trembled. He wanted to deny it, but he didn’t know what to say.

He couldn’t just tell a bald-faced lie.

Shen Yanchuan continued, ”You may not be aware, but Doctor Ye has also treated me before. I trust her medical skills.”

Zhao Xuanping looked utterly shocked. ”What?!”

He truly had not known about this.

After a long moment, he argued, ”This humble servant—this humble servant does not mean to question the Princely Heir, but I believe there’s a problem with her prescription! The Eldest Princess’s condition is acute and requires the utmost caution. There can be no room for error, or else—she may have temporarily stabilized the Princess’s condition, but that prescription is completely wrong!”

Shen Yanchuan raised an eyebrow slightly. ”Oh?”

Zhao Xuanping explained, ”The Eldest Princess suffered a sudden stroke. The primary treatment should be to expel wind, nourish the blood, and enrich the liver and kidneys. But Ye—Ye—her prescription contains cooling herbs like Dioscorea bulbifera and Selaginella doederleinii! How could that possibly be right?”

Shen Yanchuan looked at Ye Chutang. ”What do you say, Doctor Ye?”

Ye Chutang asked, ”Was the Eldest Princess poisoned many years ago?”

Shen Yanchuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Princess Qingyang’s heart skipped a beat.

In her early years on the battlefield, the Eldest Princess had suffered countless injuries and had indeed been afflicted by a potent poison.

Her life had hung by a thread. The current Hospital Director of the Imperial Hospital, Chu Qizheng, had ultimately chosen to fight poison with poison, barely managing to save the Eldest Princess’s life.

’But... that was so many years ago. Could Ye Chutang have figured it out just by taking the Eldest Princess’s pulse?’

Shen Yanchuan nodded. ”That’s right.”

Ye Chutang said, ”An extremely potent formula must have been used at the time. While it neutralized the poison, a residue remained, lingering to this day. Every medicine has its own toxicity. This chronic ailment has been dormant for a long time, and now that it has erupted, it has done so with great force. Therefore, it shouldn’t be blocked, but dredged. The Liver Calming and Wind Suppressing Soup in the prescription is meant to do just that.”

Zhao Xuanping was stunned silent.

Ye Chutang turned slightly toward him. ”It’s only natural for Judge Zhao to ask questions, given his concern for the Eldest Princess.”

Zhao Xuanping’s face flushed red, then turned pale.

From beginning to end, Ye Chutang had been perfectly calm and composed, which only made him seem overly aggressive.

”Y-You... what school of medicine do you follow? Who is your master?”

’Even if I told them, they wouldn’t be able to meet him anyway,’ Ye Chutang thought. ’It’s better not to say.’

”You flatter me, Judge Zhao. It was merely a chance encounter. I met a doctor and learned a few superficial things from them. That person passed away early on, and as for the specifics... I don’t know them either.”

Zhao Xuanping had wanted to press for details, but her words left him dumbfounded.

’She doesn’t even know her own master’s name? And she only studied for a few years, yet she dares to act so recklessly? This—this—’

’Her audacity is simply too much!’

What Ye Chutang said seemed to have some merit, but he had never seen anyone save a patient like this before, so he naturally felt a little unnerved.

He stroked his beard, his brow deeply furrowed. ”The path of medicine is boundless; one must pursue it for a lifetime. Second Miss Ye is still young and has only studied for a few years. It’s inevitable that she might not grasp its full depth. If by some chance—”

Before he could finish, Zhuxin’s joyous voice suddenly called from inside.

”The Eldest Princess is awake!”

Zhao Xuanping’s hand trembled, and he accidentally plucked out a few strands of his beard, his eyes wide with shock.

’A-Awake?! So soon?!’

Princess Qingyang could no longer hold back and rushed inside.

Shen Yanchuan glanced back. ”Joining us, Judge Zhao?”

...

The Eldest Princess was indeed awake. She lay on the bed with her eyes open, her gaze seeming somewhat unfocused.

Princess Qingyang’s eyes instantly turned red. ”Eldest Princess! You’re finally awake!”

The Eldest Princess’s eyes moved. She struggled to turn her neck and tried to raise her hand to pat Princess Qingyang, but her right arm only lifted a little before she could move it no further.

Shen Yanchuan stepped forward and took her hand, murmuring in a low voice, ”Grandmother, your grandson is here.”

The Eldest Princess opened her mouth but could only manage a few mumbled syllables.

”...Good... Yan... Yanchuan... good...”

Princess Qingyang quickly turned her head away, took a deep breath, and forced her tears back.

Having so often seen the Eldest Princess in high spirits, looking valiant and heroic, it was naturally heartbreaking to see her like this.

In comparison, Shen Yanchuan was much calmer, even feeling a sense of relief.

’To be able to speak and move after waking from a stroke for the first time was already an excellent outcome.’

Though her body was impaired, the Eldest Princess’s mind was clear. In that short time, she had already remembered what had happened.

’She had suddenly fainted in the rear garden, and then... and then...’

Catching sight of Zhao Xuanping out of the corner of her eye, she pointed her index finger.

”...Zhao... Zhao... saved...”

Princess Qingyang knew she had misunderstood and immediately corrected her. ”Eldest Princess, it wasn’t Judge Zhao who saved you, it was Doctor Ye!”

’How could she get the credit for something so important wrong!’

The Eldest Princess paused, her gaze traveling past Shen Yanchuan to the young woman standing before the screen.

Shen Yanchuan’s eyes lowered slightly, his cool tone seeming to carry an imperceptible trace of warmth.

”From the Ye Family. Ye Chutang.”