The spacious reception hall descended into chaos, maidservants and young attendants rushing in from every direction, yet the physician had still not arrived.
Hongyi and Shiliang had already been pushed aside by the two Ouyang sisters, one anxiously trying to help ease Ziqing’s breathing, the other personally fetching tea and water for her to drink.
These two sisters were not only daughters of the General’s household but also nieces of Consort Yi—one the honored consort of the Second Prince, the other deeply favored by an Emperor who had no daughters of his own. The two of them were famously the most pampered, most cherished young women in the entire capital—yet here they were, tending to Ziqing like common maidservants.
Hongyi and Shiliang exchanged a knowing smile, saying nothing.
“Han Ziqing, drink, please drink some water. Please don’t be angry anymore, it was all my fault, I apologize, I admit my wrong, please open your mouth!”
Ouyang Jingshi, holding the teacup in one hand, gently patted Ziqing’s cheek with the other, so anxious she was nearly in tears!
Even now, no one knew what exactly was happening behind the closed doors of the Imperial Study, where the Emperor and Prince Yao remained shut in together. Consort Yi had gone to great lengths to obtain the deadly poison Huajin, whose symptoms closely resembled consumption and were notoriously difficult to detect.
This woman was indeed currently displaying symptoms consistent with Huajin poisoning—but if she died tomorrow, it would simply be attributed to illness, with no connection to anyone. If she died right now, however, even if her death couldn’t be blamed directly on Jingshi’s provocation, Jingshi would still bear some responsibility for it!
And just how much responsibility that would amount to was not for the Prime Minister’s household to decide—that would be entirely up to Prince Yao himself!
Finally, after Ouyang Jingshi’s repeated apologies and pleading, Ziqing opened her mouth—only for her breathing to grow heavier, more labored still!
Ouyang Jingshi, alarmed, hastily tried to feed her water without further thought—only to have Ziqing choke on it instead, coughing violently, nonstop, until before long she coughed up a handful of blood!
“Blood…” Ziqing gasped for breath, staring at the two Ouyang sisters with a look of terror and innocence.
Both sisters went pale with shock, crying out repeatedly, when suddenly Ziqing spat out a mouthful of fresh blood directly, spraying it all over Ouyang Jingshi, who stumbled backward in shock, all her earlier arrogance gone, nearly in tears. “Sister, what do we do! I didn’t mean to, what do we do? She won’t die, will she?”
Ouyang Jingqin, no longer caring about maintaining her dignity as a princess consort, rushed urgently to the doorway, shouting furiously, “Where is the physician? If anything happens to the Princess Consort, can any of you bear the responsibility?”
At that moment, several physicians finally arrived, and were about to offer their formal greetings when Ouyang Jingqin snapped angrily, “Never mind that, get in there quickly. Remember this—whatever it takes, you must save her, or this Consort will have all your heads!”
“Yes, yes!”
The physicians hurried inside, and the moment they saw Ziqing’s condition, without even checking her pulse, one of them cried out in alarm, “Your Highness, this is consumption! The condition is severe!”
Hearing this, both Ouyang sisters immediately breathed a sigh of relief—so long as she’d still been alive when the physician arrived, and the physician diagnosed it as death by illness, everything would be fine!
But before the two sisters could even fully savor their relief, the physician spoke urgently again, “Quickly, apply the needles. This illness, however severe, should have been manageable for some time yet—why would it suddenly flare up like this? Who upset her so? Consumption is most dangerous when the patient becomes agitated!”
At these words, Ouyang Jingshi collapsed heavily into a chair in shock, while Ouyang Jingqin’s face turned entirely pale. Neither dared disturb the physician further, watching with trembling apprehension as the needles were applied.
Ziqing, utterly weak and drained of strength, her eyelids drooping, cast a sidelong glance at Ouyang Jingshi—a look mingling resentment, hatred, and reproach all at once—that made the normally haughty, condescending Ouyang Jingshi hastily avert her eyes, not even daring to lift her head.
The entire room fell into silence. By some point, it seemed every servant in the residence had gathered to watch, all standing quietly, watching the physician tend to Ziqing, not daring to so much as breathe too loudly.
A full two hours later, Ziqing’s color finally returned noticeably. The physician wiped away a bead of sweat and finally breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close, that was very close—her life has been saved, thankfully!”
“It’s alright now!” Ouyang Jingshi cried out immediately in relief.
“For now, yes. But the Princess Consort’s condition—I fear it’s reached this point only because it was allowed to fester untreated for too long. Had this old physician arrived even a moment later, the Princess Consort might well have…”
The physician didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was unmistakable. Ouyang Jingqin clutched at her chest, taking a good while to calm her nerves. “As long as she’s alright, as long as she’s alright!”
Ouyang Jingshi sank back down into her seat again, letting out a long breath of relief—she’d surely never been so frightened in her entire life. At least it was over now.
“Physician Chen, the Princess Consort has been coughing for several days already, and had already seen a physician who confirmed it was consumption. She’s taken plenty of medicine, yet shown no improvement at all—what should we do?” Hongyi hurried forward, asking anxiously.
“For this illness…” The physician trailed off, then continued, “this old physician will prescribe additional medicine—please see that the Princess Consort takes it properly, boiled and administered with care.” He paused, then added seriously, “And whatever you do, be certain never to upset Her Highness or provoke her anger again, or the consequences… could be unthinkable.”
Hongyi nodded repeatedly. Ouyang Jingqin immediately shot her sister a glare, and Ouyang Jingshi pursed her lips, thoroughly displeased but unable to argue.
Just then, Ziqing suddenly raised a hand and pointed at Ouyang Jingshi, her bloodless lips trembling. “She… she… she…”
She struggled to say more, unable to get the words out, as if trying to accuse Ouyang Jingshi of something.
“Why are you pointing at me! It wasn’t even my fault, you were the one who—”
Ouyang Jingshi was about to argue back when Ziqing’s breathing suddenly grew heavy again, the hand pointing at Jingshi pressing urgently against her own chest, as if struggling desperately to breathe.
The physician cried out in alarm, “Princess Consort, please calm your anger! You absolutely must not become agitated. If your condition flares up again, this old physician will be powerless to help!”
At this, Ouyang Jingqin snapped furiously, “Jingshi, watch your tongue, showing no respect at all! Apologize to the Princess Consort at once! Is this how I raised you?”
Ouyang Jingshi hadn’t expected Han Ziqing’s condition to still be so unstable. Her heart leapt into her throat at the sight, and though unwilling to yield, she didn’t dare press forward, quickly apologizing again. “Princess Consort, I misspoke, I was ignorant, far too reckless. Please, as someone of your standing, overlook the transgressions of a lesser person and forgive me. Don’t be angry with me anymore—your health matters far more!”
“I… I’m not… I’m not the Princess Consort… I’m nothing but a ruined woman… I…” Ziqing spoke haltingly, her breath catching again, stuck halfway.
Ouyang Jingqin panicked, quickly saying, “You are the Princess Consort, personally chosen by Prince Yao himself! This is all my fault, I mistakenly believed rumors and misjudged you! Please, calm yourself, don’t be angry anymore—I apologize to you as well!”
As she spoke, she actually bowed deeply to Ziqing in a formal gesture of apology, then hastily continued explaining, “Sister Ziqing, you truly are Prince Yao’s consort. That night at Consort Yi’s palace, didn’t Consort Yi herself say that the rumors outside were all false? Prince Yao chose you personally—there’s no mistaking it!”
Given the standing of the two Ouyang sisters, for them to stand here before every servant in Prince Yao’s household, explaining themselves and apologizing repeatedly, insisting again and again that Ziqing truly was the Princess Consort—
The servants present, who had harbored no small amount of criticism toward Ziqing before, couldn’t help but feel a grudging admiration watching this unfold. Their Princess Consort might appear meek and easily bullied on the surface, but she clearly possessed a compelling charm all her own.
Finally, Ziqing’s breathing evened out. After a long pause, and another round of coughing, she said quietly, “Sister Jingqin, I’m not truly holding this against you. It’s just… never mind, let’s just say I never heard any of it.”
“Sister Ziqing is generous and magnanimous. It’s Shi’er who’s made you suffer such indignity. You’re unwell—we won’t trouble you further, we’ll visit again tomorrow to see how you’re doing.”
Ouyang Jingqin spoke hurriedly, not daring to linger any longer, pulling Ouyang Jingshi along and making a hasty, disgraceful retreat.
Only once they were seated in their sedan chair did Ouyang Jingshi finally snap furiously, “Sister, did you see how pleased with herself she looked? She really thinks she’s the Princess Consort now. I’ll come with you again tomorrow—just to see her off properly this time!”
“Enough of that. Once we’re back, don’t breathe a word of this to Aunt—just tell her the woman is gravely ill.” Ouyang Jingqin scolded, displeased.