The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 487: Chapter 487: It’s All Ye Chutang’s Fault

Yaohua Palace.

Consort Ru stared coldly at Xiao Lansi, who was kneeling before her.

”Didn’t you say you were going to ask Ye Chutang to come and examine me? Where is she?”

Xiao Lansi bit her lip.

”Forgive me, Mother Consort. I was incompetent and failed to bring her.”

Consort Ru scoffed. ”Did you think she would be so easy to manipulate?”

Since Ye Chutang returned to the Capital City, none of those who had troubled or tormented her had met a good end.

I heard that business at her Yunlai Tavern is also flourishing.

’How could such a person be an ordinary woman with a simple mind?’

”She’s not some delicate lady raised by a noble family in the Capital City. On the contrary, she’s vengeful and incredibly cunning. With the irresolvable grudge between her and Cheng Xuan, why would she ever agree to come here?”

Consort Ru looked down at her painted nails. She had been ill for so long that she hadn’t had the energy to maintain them, and the color had faded considerably.

Against her gaunt hands, they looked even more bloodless. How could they compare to her once-slender, jade-like fingers, so delicate and perfect?

’Even if I were to see His Majesty now, I doubt I could arouse the slightest bit of pity in him.’

Consort Ru’s expression grew even more displeased. Catching sight of Xiao Lansi kneeling with her head bowed in a pitiful manner, she felt a surge of annoyance.

She sneered, ”I heard you went to the palace gates early this morning to wait for her, but she refused you without even getting out of her carriage. When word of this gets out, don’t you, a dignified princess, feel utterly humiliated?”

Of course, Consort Ru didn’t care if Xiao Lansi lost face. What she cared about was that this fiasco had cost her face as well!

”Now everyone knows how pathetic I’ve become!”

Xiao Lansi lowered her head even further. ”It is all my fault. I didn’t expect her to refuse so bluntly. If I had known...”

As she spoke, her voice choked with a sob. ”I was only thinking that her medical skills are extraordinary, and perhaps she could truly cure your illness...”

She sounded truly aggrieved and heartbroken.

Consort Ru’s expression finally softened a little. ”Enough!” she said impatiently. ”Since you know she’s difficult to deal with, just avoid her in the future! Am I going to die tomorrow without her?”

”Mother Consort!”

Xiao Lansi looked up in alarm, tears in her eyes.

”Please, don’t say such things. You are deeply blessed. You will surely recover.”

Having vented her frustration, Consort Ru’s emotions finally began to settle, and the look she gave Xiao Lansi was no longer so cold.

”Alright, I know you acted out of filial piety. You may rise.”

Only then did Xiao Lansi support herself on her aching knees and slowly stand up.

Her calves were completely numb, but she showed no sign of it on her face. She just gently tapped them twice before she seemed to remember something and looked back at Consort Ru.

Seeing her hesitant expression, Consort Ru’s delicate brows furrowed. ”What is it?”

Xiao Lansi said hesitantly, ”Mother Consort, I actually heard some rumors today. Perhaps... Ye Chutang not coming was a blessing in disguise for us.”

Consort Ru was taken aback. ”What do you mean?”

Xiao Lansi glanced from side to side before lowering her voice. ”Prince Lie has suddenly fallen into a coma. They say it’s because there was a problem with the antidote Ye Chutang spoke of. Prince Lie’s Mansion is on high alert, but how can they possibly keep something this major a secret?”

”Is that true?”

Consort Ru sat up straight.

A moment’s thought was all it took for her to realize this was killing two birds with one stone!

’If Xiao Chengqi never wakes up, who will be left to compete with Cheng Xuan for the throne?’

’At that point, even if His Majesty wanted to kill him, the court officials would surely do everything in their power to stop it!’

’If we could also get rid of Ye Chutang in the process, it would completely eliminate this menace!’

Xiao Lansi said, ”It’s only a rumor. As for why Prince Lie suddenly fell ill... that’s still unknown.”

’That’s not important!’

Consort Ru was instantly energized, as if the pain from her illness had lessened considerably.

”That... would be for the best!”

’The truth doesn’t matter; what matters are the results!’

”When Prince Lie was poisoned, Ye Chutang was indeed the first to treat him. She was also the one who suggested sending people to Guanling to find the antidote. If something happens to Prince Lie, she absolutely cannot escape the blame!”

Consort Ru clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and murmured:

”Then... I pray he never wakes up!”

Xiao Lansi watched from the side, a complete lack of warmth in her eyes.

She curled her lips into a smile and said softly,

”Your prayers, Mother Consort, will surely come true.”

...

The rumors spread even faster than expected.

In just one night, news of Prince Lie’s grave illness was rampant throughout the court.

At the same time, Ye Chutang’s name was repeatedly brought up.

—She was the one who said to go to Guanling for the cure. The medicine was brought back, and after taking it for some time, Prince Lie’s condition worsened.

Doesn’t that clearly mean there’s a problem with the medicine!?

Words like these naturally reached Emperor Muwu’s ears as well.

Inside the Imperial Study Room, the atmosphere was frigid. Several Imperial Physicians stood side by side, their heads bowed and deathly silent.

Emperor Muwu’s gaze swept over them one by one as he asked in a heavy voice,

”You all formulated the prescription together! Do you have nothing to say?”

After a long silence, Zhou Kangxue was the first to step forward. ”Reporting to Your Majesty, we did indeed consult with one another to develop the prescription. We then entrusted Doctor Zhao with the full responsibility of brewing it personally each day and ensuring His Highness Prince Lie drank it. However... since this was the first time any of us had encountered this poison, the formula was based purely on experience. We never dared to claim that the prescription could completely cure His Highness Prince Lie.”

Emperor Muwu roared, ”Then how dare you use this prescription to fool me!”

”Your Majesty, please forgive us!”

The physicians all fell to their knees in unison, their faces pale.

Zhou Kangxue’s heart leaped, but he steeled himself and continued to argue, ”Your Majesty’s words do us a great injustice! The Imperial Hospital only dared to provide this prescription because Ye Chutang stated with absolute certainty that the medicinal catalyst from Guanling was the antidote!”

He clasped his hands in a salute, his tone earnest. ”As for the prescription itself, it was designed with the medicinal catalyst as the primary ingredient, supplemented by other gentle herbs, simply to maximize the catalyst’s effects! If the prescription is wrong, then the root of the error—is the medicinal catalyst itself!”

Emperor Muwu’s expression froze, his dark gaze fixed on him.

”Are you saying this is all Ye Chutang’s fault?”

Zhou Kangxue swallowed hard.

”I did not say that, Your Majesty. I am merely stating the facts. The judgment of right and wrong is for Your Majesty to decide!”

Emperor Muwu did not speak.

Just then, an announcement came from outside:

”Former Chief Doctor of the Imperial Hospital, Chu Qiyuan, requests an audience!”

Chu Qiyuan had kept vigil at Prince Lie’s Mansion all night. Without even having time to return to his own residence to catch up on sleep, he had rushed to the palace.

He entered, first glancing at the kneeling men before averting his gaze and bowing in salute.

Emperor Muwu waved his hand. ”Chief Doctor Chu, no need for formalities. First, tell me, how is Cheng Qi?”

Chu Qiyuan replied, ”His Highness Prince Lie is still in a coma.”

Zhou Kangxue let out a cold sneer.