The maid’s tearful shouts echoed through the pavilions, and Meng Xiyan’s face changed dramatically.

Lu Tong looked at the maid on the ground in surprise.

No wonder today’s feast at the prince’s mansion proceeded without the princess consort’s supervision – it turned out this princess consort was six months pregnant and couldn’t attend conveniently.

However, how could she suddenly disturb the fetus for no reason?

In front of all the ladies, Meng Xiyan scolded in a low voice: “How are the servants taking care of the princess consort? How could the fetus be disturbed for no reason? Have you summoned a physician?”

The maid sobbed and replied: “According to people from the princess consort’s courtyard, she was fine this morning. Just now, the princess consort said her stomach felt uncomfortable. We thought it was morning sickness, but after a while, the pain became increasingly severe. Only then did the people in the courtyard panic.”

The maid paused before continuing: “We’ve already sent a card to request a medical officer. It’s just that the princess consort is in great pain right now, and the medical officer will take some time to arrive… Madam, please go see the princess consort first!”

Today the Emperor was hosting a banquet, and Prince Wen had also entered the palace. With Pei Yunshu in trouble, the only person in the entire prince’s mansion who could take charge was the side consort Meng Xiyan.

Meng Xiyan looked troubled. After a moment, she looked toward the ladies in the pavilion: “I’m truly ashamed, everyone. The princess consort has suddenly fallen ill, and I must rush to see her.”

When human life was at stake, there was naturally no reason to continue the banquet. The ladies present were not unreasonable people and expressed understanding, telling Meng Xiyan to hurry and check on Pei Yunshu.

A round-faced lady glanced at Lu Tong standing beside Madam Dong and suddenly had an inspiration, calling out: “Doesn’t this Doctor Lu understand medical principles? Since the medical officer hasn’t arrived yet, why not have Doctor Lu take a look at the princess consort first to avoid delays?”

At these words, Madam Dong’s heart skipped a beat, thinking this was bad.

She had seen plenty of these complicated affairs among high-ranking families over the years. When encountering such situations, it was best to protect oneself wisely. Getting foolishly involved could cost one’s life if not careful.

These ladies were just enjoying the drama. If Lu Tong were truly implicated in the end, to them she was just a commoner physician – not worth keeping in mind.

But how could they know about the relationship between Lu Tong and Pei Yunying?

On one side was Pei Yunying’s own sister, on the other his little lover. If something went wrong carelessly and Pei Yunying blamed her for it, what would she do? After all, she was the one who had brought Lu Tong to this pavilion in the first place.

Madam Dong didn’t want Lu Tong to foolishly wade into these muddy waters and implicate herself, but the surrounding ladies, hearing someone take the lead, perhaps unaware of Lu Tong’s identity and fearless in their ignorance, or perhaps eager to curry favor with the prince’s mansion, chattered enthusiastically in recommendation.

“Yes, Doctor Lu is also a physician. She understands medical principles somewhat. Why not have Doctor Lu take a look?”

“Since she can create miraculous medicines that other medical clinics cannot, Doctor Lu’s medical skills are beyond question. The situation is urgent now – Doctor Lu might be able to help.” This was the wife of the Censorate speaking.

Listening to everyone around echoing this sentiment, Madam Dong was so angry her head ached. These people were quick to offer flowers borrowed from Buddha, relying on the fact that the knife wouldn’t fall on them.

If Pei Yunshu were fine, that would be one thing, but if something serious happened, Lu Tong would surely be blamed!

Amid the chaos, Meng Xiyan in the center of the pavilion raised her eyes to look at Lu Tong, her tone somewhat ambiguous.

“You’re a physician?”

Lu Tong lowered her head: “Yes, madam.”

Meng Xiyan looked at her, a cold gleam seeming to flash briefly in her eyes. After a moment, she said: “That’s wonderful. The medical officer hasn’t arrived yet, and the princess consort’s condition is critical. Since you understand medicine, quickly come with me to take a look.”

Madam Dong beside her wanted to speak for her, but Lu Tong grasped her sleeve and shook her head almost imperceptibly.

Today, she probably couldn’t leave even if she wanted to.

Regardless of why Princess Consort Wen suddenly had abdominal pain, now under everyone’s watchful eyes, having just praised her medical skills to these ladies, if she refused now and her medical abilities were questioned, it would only harm her future prospects of befriending these nobles and approaching the Grand Tutor’s Manor.

Lu Tong said softly to Meng Xiyan: “Yes, madam.”

…

Meng Xiyan brought Lu Tong and Yin Zheng to the princess consort’s courtyard entrance but refused to go further inside.

This courtyard was in the innermost corner of Prince Wen’s mansion. Compared to Xunfang Garden, it seemed much quieter and colder, with not a single servant in the courtyard.

Meng Xiyan stopped at the door, her willow eyebrows slightly furrowed. “The princess consort has never liked me entering her courtyard. Now that she’s suffering, if she sees me and becomes more uncomfortable, that would be bad.”

She looked at Lu Tong with a smile that had a perfunctory gentleness. “Besides, I’m timid and can’t bear to see such scenes. Doctor Lu, please go in quickly.”

Lu Tong pretended not to see this shirking behavior and said nothing. She and Yin Zheng walked to the door and knocked gently.

A wary voice came from behind the door: “Who is it?”

A maid beside Meng Xiyan stepped forward and said through the door: “It’s the resident physician from West Street Medical Clinic who came to deliver medicine to our mansion today. The medical officer and midwife haven’t arrived yet, so madam specially sent Doctor Lu to check on the princess consort.”

After a moment, a weak voice could be heard faintly from inside.

“Let her in.”

The door creaked open halfway, and Lu Tong and Yin Zheng entered.

As soon as they entered, they smelled a pungent fishy odor.

A tall maid stood at the entrance, looking at Lu Tong with complete wariness. After hesitating, she closed the door and turned to say: “Follow me.”

Yin Zheng remained at the entrance while Lu Tong followed the other person inside.

The bedroom was quite spacious. On the low table in the front room sat a vase filled with golden osmanthus, beside which was placed an ancient qin covered with light blue gauze. Behind the bookshelf hung a small landscape painting with flowers and birds, and on the table was a complete set of celadon antique kiln tea sets. The furnishings weren’t numerous, appearing refined and elegant at first glance.

The maid led Lu Tong to the bed in the inner room, where another maid in green stood. Seeing Lu Tong arrive, she lifted the hanging moon-colored cloud gauze curtain and said urgently: “Doctor, please come quickly and take a look.”

Lu Tong walked to the bedside.

On the carved fine wood imperial concubine bed lay a pale-faced young woman with large beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, soaking the silk on her pillow.

Her features were beautiful, bearing six or seven parts resemblance to Pei Yunying, though her features were somewhat softer than his.

Lu Tong’s heart stirred slightly.

So this was Princess Consort Wen, the legitimate eldest daughter of Duke Zhaoning, Pei Yunshu.

Hearing movement, Pei Yunshu opened her sweat-covered eyes and looked at Lu Tong, her voice extremely weak.

“Doctor, I… I’m feeling much better now…”

Lu Tong frowned. Though the room was filled with so many fresh osmanthus flowers, there was still such a heavy smell of blood. She reached out and lifted the light blue smoke satin double silk thin quilt covering the woman, her pupils suddenly contracting.

Below the woman, a small patch of bright red had spread on the blanket like a flower dyed with red ink.

“Why is there bleeding?”

The maid in green said hurriedly: “Doctor, our mistress was fine early this morning. Just a short while ago, she suddenly felt discomfort in her abdomen, then bled a little. The bleeding has stopped now, and she’s already taken fetal protection medicine. The mistress’s abdominal pain has also eased somewhat. Looking at her face, she doesn’t seem to be in great danger.”

Bleeding…

Lu Tong asked: “Did she bump into anything? Or was she stimulated by someone?”

The maid shook her head.

Lu Tong frowned slightly.

Disturbing the fetus without any warning signs, even with bleeding, though there were signs of abdominal pain they had stopped – from this perspective alone, the situation didn’t seem as critical as described earlier.

When she was in Sunan, she had seen midwives deliver babies, but those were natural births at full term. Now Princess Consort Wen still had nearly two months before delivery – it wasn’t time yet.

Moreover, though Princess Consort Wen looked unwell, she showed no signs of miscarriage. According to medical texts, fetal protection should be the priority.

The tall maid stood behind Lu Tong, closely watching her every move, her tone carrying a subtle warning.

“The mansion has already sent a card to request medical officers from the Medical Officer Academy, and familiar midwives are also on their way. The princess consort’s body is precious – doctor, please remember to move gently.”

This showed distrust in her.

Lu Tong said nothing and reached out to take Princess Consort Wen’s pulse.

Pei Yunshu’s pulse was stable, as if the recent fetal movement hadn’t affected her much. The two maids were carefully helping her change to clean bedding. Pei Yunshu still looked weak but was calmer than when Lu Tong first entered.

The maid in green breathed a slight sigh of relief. “Perhaps the fetal protection medicine is working. Does the princess consort still feel pain?”

Pei Yunshu said softly: “No more pain.”

Lu Tong looked thoughtful.

Earlier, the messenger had described the situation as so critical – both bleeding and abdominal pain – yet before she had done anything, everything had calmed down and the pulse had stabilized. It seemed she could do nothing and just wait for the medical officers from the Medical Officer Academy to arrive for a successful retreat.

This would certainly be best for her, but Lu Tong still didn’t understand one thing: why would there suddenly be abdominal pain and bleeding for no reason?

The maid brought a soft cushion to support Pei Yunshu’s back. Pei Yunshu looked at Lu Tong, her voice trembling slightly with nervousness: “Doctor, my unborn child…”

“There’s no problem. The princess consort needn’t worry.” Lu Tong accepted the handkerchief the maid handed her and wiped the sweat from her neck, when suddenly her movements paused.

Pei Yunshu’s shoulder and neck area looked somewhat swollen.

If she were more plump, this slight swelling would be easily overlooked, but Pei Yunshu was slender. Even pregnant, she appeared rather thin. Her neck was thin and long, so that bit of swelling was easily caught by Lu Tong.

She reached out and gently pressed the swollen area.

Pei Yunshu cried out “Ouch!”

“What are you doing?” The tall maid slapped Lu Tong’s hand away and glared at her angrily.

“Qiong Ying, don’t do that.” Pei Yunshu lightly scolded, then looked at Lu Tong, somewhat embarrassed as she touched her nape. “Doctor, my maid has a quick temper. Please don’t mind her.”

Lu Tong shook her head, not taking Qiong Ying’s earlier words to heart. She just touched the slightly raised swelling with her fingertips. “Hasn’t the princess consort noticed the swelling here?”

“Here?” Pei Yunshu felt along Lu Tong’s fingertip, somewhat hesitant: “This has been there for a while. I had medical officers examine it too. They said that in late pregnancy, body swelling is common and told me not to worry about it. Doctor, is there something wrong?”

In late pregnancy, expectant mothers would indeed experience body swelling. The medical officers from the Medical Officer Academy found nothing wrong, so there should be no problem.

But somehow, Lu Tong felt a subtle unease pass through her heart, as if something had been overlooked.

Pei Yunshu leaned against the soft cushion, drinking a few sips of hot soup Qiong Ying brought to her lips. Her complexion became more rosy, and she could even manage a weak smile at Lu Tong, as if trying to ease the heavy atmosphere in the room by speaking with Lu Tong.

“Not just swelling – in late pregnancy, I often feel hot all over, sweating from time to time. Though autumn has arrived, I don’t want to add clothing. The medical officers told me not to catch cold, but I can’t handle the heat. My complexion has also darkened considerably…”

This was indeed a condition that could appear during pregnancy.

“The most uncomfortable half-month recently, I even developed heat rash on my lower abdomen – terribly itchy, but I didn’t dare scratch. The medical officers prescribed some herbs for me to boil and wash with. I barely endured half a month before it subsided…”

Pei Yunshu spoke for a while, and seeing Lu Tong didn’t respond, she looked at her anxiously.

“Doctor?”

Lu Tong’s hand holding the handkerchief tightened slightly.

Neck swelling, fever and sweating, skin darkening, abdominal heat rash, abdominal pain and bleeding.

Looking at each symptom individually, they were indeed conditions that could appear during pregnancy, but having several symptoms together…

Without a word, she suddenly stood up and strode quickly to the table under everyone’s puzzled gazes, opened her medical bag, and pulled out the velvet cloth containing golden needles.

Before anyone could react, she had already walked quickly to Pei Yunshu and grabbed her hand, stabbing a needle in!

This action was too fast, and Pei Yunshu instinctively cried “Ah!”

Qiong Ying shouted angrily: “Stop!” and pushed her away with one palm.

Lu Tong was pushed hard and nearly knocked into the nearby cabinet. The brush stand on the cabinet crashed to the floor with a clatter, alarming people outside.

Yin Zheng ran in from outside: “What happened? What’s going on?”

Lu Tong said nothing, staring fixedly at Pei Yunshu’s hand.

Qiong Ying followed her gaze and her eyes suddenly shook.

On that jade-white wrist, where the golden needle had entered, a winding blood mark appeared extremely quickly.

Calling it a blood mark wasn’t quite right – it was clearly a dark purple long mark, like a centipede or poisonous insect that had been lurking in the shadows, suddenly revealing its hideous true form.

Pei Yunshu looked down at the mark on her wrist in horror, her voice trembling.

“…What is this?”

…

Outside the courtyard, in a small pavilion by the pond, Meng Xiyan leaned casually against the vermillion railing, carelessly tossing fish food into the pond.

The Mid-Autumn feast had already dispersed. With the household’s mistress in trouble, if she as the side consort continued hosting the banquet as if nothing had happened, tomorrow the entire capital would spread rumors about her arrogance.

Some things were one matter in private, but in front of outsiders, one still had to put on an act.

A maid beside her bent down and whispered in her ear: “Madam, they’re still in the princess consort’s room.”

Meng Xiyan smiled faintly: “Oh?”

She curved her lips: “It seems this new doctor really has some courage.”

Today Pei Yunshu’s sudden illness was supposed to be examined by medical officers and midwives, but coincidentally there happened to be a resident physician delivering medicine to the mansion. Pei Yunshu urgently needed someone to check on her, and the surrounding official ladies seized the opportunity to recommend her, so she went with the flow and had that Lu Tong examine Pei Yunshu, showing her sincere concern for the princess consort.

The maid said: “Madam, that Doctor Lu is an outsider after all. Is it appropriate for her to rashly enter and see the princess consort?”

“Inappropriate? What’s inappropriate?” Meng Xiyan casually scattered a few grains of fish food, watching the fish swimming up from the water to compete for food and laughing softly.

“It’s better that she’s an outsider. Being an outsider makes it easier to show it has nothing to do with us.”

Coincidentally, Pei Yunshu’s symptoms appeared neither early nor late, but precisely today. Prince Wen had entered the palace early in the morning, leaving only her, the side consort, in the mansion. If Pei Yunshu really had some mishap today, though there would be no evidence, people would inevitably gossip and blame her as the side consort for not caring enough.

However, on the Mid-Autumn festival, most medical officers from the Medical Officer Academy were on rest, and it would take time for them to rush over. As for midwives, Pei Yunshu was cautious and had carefully selected a trusted midwife to wait for the delivery two months later. Finding someone now probably wouldn’t be immediate.

This way, that doctor surnamed Lu came at just the right time.

Being there by coincidence to deliver medicine, and being a doctor familiar to the wife from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Minister’s residence, it had nothing to do with her as the side consort and couldn’t be blamed on her.

The maid beside her was still worried: “Will that doctor notice something wrong…”

Meng Xiyan glared at her coldly. The maid shivered and quickly apologized: “This servant spoke nonsense. Please don’t take it to heart, madam.”

Meng Xiyan snorted and lowered her head to fiddle with the fish food in the wooden bowl. The fish food flowed from her nail-painted fingertips like black pearls.

“The medicine from the palace – even medical officers from the Medical Officer Academy can’t detect it. Several doctors Pei Yunshu consulted haven’t discovered anything suspicious until now. What could a resident physician from a broken medical clinic see?”

She raised her chin slightly, the ruby step-shake in her hair bright as blood, making the woman’s face appear like jade and her red lips full, but her words carried sinister coldness.

“It’s just her bad luck. If Pei Yunshu had no problems today, that would be fine, but once problems arise, she can’t escape involvement and might even have to die with her.”

“However, being able to die for Prince Wen’s mansion’s little heir should be an honor for someone of her status.”

After saying this, as if finding it amusing, Meng Xiyan covered her mouth and giggled softly.

The maid dared not speak.

Meng Xiyan laughed for a while before slowly suppressing the smile on her face and throwing another handful of fish bait into the pond.

Fish swam up eagerly, competing for the scattered bait from her fingertips. Meng Xiyan watched with interest, her coral earrings red as dripping blood.

As the legitimate daughter of the Young府监’s household, she had never been inferior to Pei Yunshu in appearance or talent since childhood. Just because Pei Yunshu had Duke Zhaoning as a father, when they both entered the mansion together, Pei Yunshu became the principal consort while she could only be a side consort.

Side consort, side consort – wasn’t that still just a concubine?

Pei Yunshu had a cold and aloof personality and didn’t know how to please people. Soon after entering the household, she fell out of favor with Prince Wen. While she, as the side consort, enjoyed Prince Wen’s exclusive affection, her status in the prince’s mansion wasn’t much lower than Pei Yunshu’s.

Meng Xiyan had originally been quite satisfied with everything, until Pei Yunshu became pregnant.

With Pei Yunshu pregnant, if she gave birth to a son, he would be the future heir of Prince Wen’s mansion. The princely title would still fall to Pei Yunshu’s son. Any children she, Meng Xiyan, bore would be forever branded with the name “illegitimate son.”

Therefore, the child in Pei Yunshu’s womb was destined not to remain.

Meng Xiyan flicked her fingertip, the last grain of fish food falling. She looked down at the pond’s surface reflecting a beauty’s face.

Watching her reflection, she slowly began to smile.