The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Medical Consultation

She opened her mouth. ”The doctor you said you invited... it was Second Miss Ye?”

”It was.” The Eldest Princess’s features softened when she mentioned Ye Chutang; she was clearly very fond of her. ”I know Chutang’s medical skills better than anyone. We’ve sought out famous doctors for Lanxi’s illness for years, yet there has never been any significant improvement. We might as well let Chutang have a look. Perhaps she’ll have a solution.”

Consort Ru found it difficult to object, so she quickly smiled and nodded. ”Your Highness is correct.”

As she spoke, she ordered a palace maid, ”Hurry and bring Second Miss Ye here.”

「...」

Ye Chutang had been relaxing in her tent when she suddenly received a message that the Eldest Princess had summoned her.

When she had returned earlier, Ye Chutang had noticed that the Eldest Princess was not in the adjacent tent.

’She’s most likely with His Majesty right now.’

Sure enough, after following the palace maid for a short distance, Ye Chutang saw the most lavish of all the tents: the Emperor’s Tent.

”Your Majesty, Second Miss Ye has arrived.”

The palace maid lifted the tent flap, and Ye Chutang immediately saw Emperor Muwu seated in the center.

Beside him, all smiles, was Consort Ru.

The Eldest Princess was there as well.

’But...’

Ye Chutang’s gaze lingered for a moment on the young woman seated to the lower right of Consort Ru before she composedly averted her eyes and stepped forward to offer her respects.

”I, your servant Ye Chutang, greet Your Majesty, the Eldest Princess, and the Imperial Concubine.”

”Chutang, no need for such formalities.” The Eldest Princess smiled and gestured for her to come closer. ”Come, sit beside me.”

Ye Chutang knew full well there was no seat for her there. She glanced up, and only when Emperor Muwu didn’t voice any objection did she approach the Eldest Princess’s side.

However, she did not sit down.

She didn’t ask why she had been summoned so suddenly, simply lowering her gaze in a display of reverence and propriety.

Consort Ru was the first to speak. ”We’ve asked you here today mainly to have you check Lanxi’s pulse. She has been frail since childhood, and years of medicine have brought no improvement. The Eldest Princess strongly recommended you. I wonder, do you have any solutions?”

As if to showcase her benevolence and magnanimity, she deliberately added, ”If you can truly cure the root of Lanxi’s illness, I will reward you handsomely.”

’She sounds just like a mother worried about her own flesh and blood.’

Ye Chutang finally looked at the woman sitting across from her.

She was a young woman who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen. Her face was striking, with delicate features. Her almond-shaped eyes were a light tea-brown, but upon closer inspection, a faint, deep blue glimmered in their depths, making her look both innocent and mysterious.

The moment their eyes met, the young woman gave a slight nod, a faint smile gracing her lips. A blush crept up her cheeks as if from shyness, lending a touch of charming naivety to her otherwise stunning features.

’Anyone who saw her would think she was a naive, shy, and introverted little princess.’

Rumor had it that Princess Yuhe’s birth mother was from Guanling and had Alien Clan blood in her ancestry, possessing a pair of captivating blue eyes.

It was for this very reason that Emperor Muwu had summoned her to his bed after a night of drinking.

But this was also the main reason she was despised—blue eyes were a distinctive trait of the barbarians.

In the borderlands, conflicts between the barbarians and the Han people were incessant. Han women were abducted and taken by force by barbarians, and defeated barbarians were brought back as slaves.

In short, these blue eyes symbolized a lowly status.

Emperor Muwu, who prided himself on being a wise and powerful ruler, would naturally never accept such a stain on his person.

Yet Princess Yuhe’s eyes carried that hint of deep blue. No matter how obedient or well-behaved she was, she could never win Emperor Muwu’s affection.

A curious and shy smile played on Xiao Lansi’s face. ”I have long heard that Second Miss Ye’s medical skills are unparalleled, praised even by the Imperial Physicians in the palace. Today, I finally have the pleasure of meeting you.”

A flicker of emotion passed through Ye Chutang’s eyes, but her expression remained serene. She offered a faint smile. ”You flatter me. This servant knows only the basics.”

As they spoke, a palace maid had already brought over a pulse pillow.

Ye Chutang stepped forward and sat down across from Xiao Lansi. ”Third Princess, if you please—”

Xiao Lansi obediently placed her wrist on it.

Perhaps a trait inherited from her mother of barbarian descent, her skin was exceptionally fair, so much so that the pale blue veins were visible beneath its delicate surface.

This, combined with her extreme thinness and frail, bony frame, made her look as if she might snap at any moment.

Ye Chutang placed her fingers on the princess’s wrist and lowered her eyelashes slightly.

While her pulse was being taken, Xiao Lansi was, in fact, studying her.

Before returning to the Capital City, she had already heard this name. After her return, whether in the Imperial Palace, the Prince Qi Mansion, or the city’s streets and alleys, the name was mentioned repeatedly, as if there wasn’t a single person in the entire Capital City who didn’t know her.

As a result, she had heard countless rumors about this woman long before ever meeting Ye Chutang in person.

Not to mention, the carriage from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion had once stopped specifically for her.

’Just what kind of person could cause such a stir in the vast Capital City?’

Now, she finally knew.

She had never seen anyone like this before.

Gentle and beautiful, neither servile nor overbearing. Though she wasn’t dressed in lavish robes, she couldn’t hide the innate air of nobility that surrounded her.

Yet her faint smile and her clear, calm voice carried an ingrained languor, which perfectly tempered her unapproachably cool demeanor.

The complex qualities in her temperament blended together, creating an indescribable aura that easily set her apart from everyone else.

A person like her would be the center of attention no matter where she went.

Especially now, sitting sideways before her, her tranquil and composed appearance with her eyes slightly lowered was like a Haitang flower, drowsily awakening on a spring day.

Xiao Lansi pressed her lips together as an emotion flashed through her eyes.

”Third Princess, have you been poisoned before?” Ye Chutang asked suddenly.

Xiao Lansi was startled and snapped her gaze up. ”S-Second Miss Ye, how did you know?”

Emperor Muwu frowned. Consort Ru’s expression also changed, and her voice immediately rose.

”What? Lanxi, why have you never mentioned this before!?”

Xiao Lansi was also a little flustered and quickly explained, ”Mother-Concubine, don’t worry. I’m fine now, aren’t I?”

She recalled for a moment, then said softly, ”It actually happened four or five years ago. I went on a spring outing and was accidentally bitten by a snake in the grass. I fainted right away.”

Guanling was a very remote place, so it wasn’t surprising for something like that to happen.

But Xiao Lansi was a princess.

Consort Ru looked apologetic. ”How dangerous! What if... what if something had really happened to you? Four or five years ago... wasn’t that right after you’d just arrived in Guanling? There aren’t even any skilled doctors there! If you hadn’t been so lucky, I’m afraid—”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Emperor Muwu’s frown deepened.

Xiao Lansi’s lips curved into a smile. ”With Father-Emperor and Mother-Concubine’s protection, I naturally have nothing to fear.”

Emperor Muwu’s expression softened considerably.

Xiao Lansi, seemingly oblivious to his subtle change in expression, turned back to Ye Chutang.

”Second Miss Ye, are you saying that my body’s condition... is actually a lingering symptom from that time?”