Chapter 55: Beaten to Death
Lu Yanzhi was thrown out.
Xiao Li leaned against the pillows, fighting the drug’s intensifying effects with sheer willpower. Sweat drenched her body, leaving her looking as if she’d been dragged from the water.
Hong Yue and Lan Yue guarded her with their lives. Qian Hui watched Xiao Li suffer, her face a mask of distress. She still wanted to persuade the Princess to let the Prince Consort return. ’No matter what, she has to get rid of the drug’s effects,’ she thought.
"You two little wenches, you’re hurting the Princess..."
A classic case of blaming the victim.
Hong Yue grabbed a stool and hurled it at her. "Who’s the one hurting the Princess? You drugged her! How is that not hurting her?"
Qian Hui barely dodged the stool. Flustered and enraged, she pointed a trembling finger at the two maids. "I did it for the Princess’s own good! You two ignorant fools!"
She then turned to Xiao Li, her expression one of utter disappointment. "Princess, how long are you going to keep this up? It’s a rare occasion for the Prince Consort to take the initiative to consummate your marriage. Not only did you not seize the opportunity, you even injured him! Have you ever considered what you’ll do if the Prince Consort truly abandons you?"
Lan Yue had someone fetch a basin of cool water. She wrung out a cloth and began to gently wipe Xiao Li down. Seeing the Princess’s body trembling uncontrollably made her heart ache.
Hearing Qian Hui still clamoring, Lan Yue, in a fit of anger, flung the entire basin of water at her.
"Hong Yue, get her out of here! Then go fetch more water!"
By the time the doctor arrived, Xiao Li had lost consciousness completely.
Tonight was the Mid-Autumn Festival, so few Imperial Physicians were on duty to begin with. With the Empress Dowager having fainted and countless others injured in the palace, most of the physicians were still there and impossible to summon.
The person sent to find a doctor searched all over and finally returned with Cen An, whom he had chanced upon along the way.
When Cen An arrived, the first person he saw was Lu Yanzhi standing in the corridor. His face was covered in blood, making him look as terrifying as a malevolent spirit in the moonlight.
Lu Shu stood beside him, trying to reason with him and nearly jumping with anxiety. Upon seeing Cen An, he immediately called out, "Doctor Cen, please, take a look at my master! He’s badly hurt."
Before Cen An could reply, Yang Jun grabbed him and dragged him inside.
After so long, Cen An was finally treating Xiao Li again. He truly hadn’t expected it to be under these circumstances.
The same Princess Xuanyang who had been so imperious just a few days ago was now drenched, her face contorted in pain, looking utterly pitiful and fragile.
The guard had already explained the situation when he’d been summoned, so Cen An had brought the necessary medicine. He first produced two pills for the Maid to administer to the Princess while he quickly unrolled his pouch of silver needles.
"Lay the Princess flat and expose her wrists, ankles, and neck. She needs acupuncture to expel the heat, or it will damage her internal organs."
"She’s trembling violently. You’ll have to hold her down."
Hong Yue and Lan Yue did as he said.
As expected of a disciple of the Divine Doctor, Cen An was quite skilled.
After a few needles, Xiao Li’s trembling visibly subsided. He then placed his hands on her head, pressing down hard on several acupoints. The sudden pressure made Xiao Li cry out in pain.
However, the drug hadn’t fully worn off, and her throat was raw and hoarse from the blood she had coughed up. As a result, even her scream of pain carried an indescribable, seductive ambiguity.
Even Cen An, a physician who prided himself on seeing no distinction between male and female patients, nearly lost his focus.
Fifteen minutes later, Cen An removed the needles. Xiao Li’s eyes fluttered open. Her usually cold gaze was now clouded with a fine mist, and a single tear clung to the corner of her eye, refusing to fall.
A broken beauty—the sight was intoxicating.
Cen An didn’t dare to look for long. "I have dispersed the drug’s effects through her acupoints. The Princess is no longer in danger and simply needs to rest well. However, although this was an aphrodisiac, all medicines have their toxic side. It is always taxing on the body, especially for someone as frail as the Princess. I’m afraid she will need a long period of quiet recuperation."
As he spoke, he swiftly wrote out a prescription and handed it to Lan Yue.
"If the Princess trusts me, she should stop taking her previous medications. This prescription will suffice."
Xiao Li heard his droning voice, but not a single word registered.
The drug hadn’t completely worn off, but she could feel the heat in her body subsiding as her rationality slowly returned.
Then, she remembered something.
"Yang Jun."
"I am here," Yang Jun replied from behind a partition screen.
Xiao Li stared blankly at the bed canopy. Her fingers twitched as she issued a calm command.
"Drag Qian Hui out."
"Beat her to death."
The three people in the room were all stunned, but no one dared to plead for mercy.
Yang Jun replied, "As you command."
Qian Hui was, in fact, still in the room. But Lan Yue and Hong Yue were blocking her, preventing her from approaching the bed and forcing her to stand by the door.
When she saw Yang Jun emerge, she tried to push her way inside, only to be seized by him.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, grabbing me? Let me go!"
"Yang Jun, what do you think you’re doing? Let go of me!"
"Ouch! Be gentle! Are you trying to kill me?"
Still oblivious to her fate, Qian Hui continued to shout and struggle until Yang Jun ordered his men to restrain her.
’Beaten to death?’
’The Princess wants me beaten to death?’
Qian Hui was incredulous. "How is that possible? How could the Princess kill me? I am completely loyal to her! Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for her!"
But her words were useless. She was dragged outside and forced down onto a wooden bench.
"Princess, I watched you grow up! You can’t do this to me!"
"I belong to the Empress Dowager’s palace! You have no authority to kill me!"
"I want to see the Princess! I must see the Princess!" Qian Hui shrieked hysterically.
"AHH... it hurts! Ahhh... Princess... Princess, have mercy...!" Only now did she finally realize her mistake. She was filled with regret, but it was too late.
Cen An had been pulled over to tend to Lu Yanzhi’s injuries. He had just finished cleaning the blood from around the wound when he heard blood-curdling screams from outside.
Even without knowing the full story, Cen An understood that the Princess was punishing someone.
’To order a punishment the moment she wakes up... she must be furious.’
’It’s strange, though,’ he mused. ’The Princess has no external wounds, yet the room reeked of blood.’
’And Lu Yanzhi, despite being so grievously injured, is still standing guard at her door.’
’Those two really went at it tonight.’
Cen An sterilized a needle in a flame. "This wound is too deep. It has to be stitched."
’The flesh is practically peeling back, yet he hasn’t made a sound. I didn’t realize he was such a tough one.’
’He wasn’t like this before. He’s clearly been provoked.’
Just as Cen An was about to begin stitching, Lu Yanzhi spoke. "The Princess... How is she?"
Cen An replied, "She’s out of danger. The drug’s effects have been expelled. All she needs now is to rest and recuperate."
Hearing this, Lu Yanzhi said nothing more. No one knew what was going through his mind.
The screams outside faded after a short while. Cen An finished the last stitch, applied a salve, and bandaged the wound.
Lu Shu entered, his face grim. "Nanny Qian was beaten to death."
’Not just punished, but beaten to death.’
Lu Shu shuddered, recalling the sight of Nanny Qian being dragged away. Her back had been broken, and blood pooled on the ground.
"The Princess is too ruthless," he said. "Nanny Qian was an old servant who had been with her for years and always doted on her. I can’t believe she could be so merciless."
Lu Yanzhi raised a hand to touch the bandages that covered most of his face, his expression distant. "A servant who betrays her master deserves no pity in death."
Lu Shu stared at his master in astonishment. ’Was he... defending the Princess?’