Chapter 450: Expelling the Sickness
Zhou Kangxue choked.
He never would have imagined that the seemingly gentle and elegant Ye Chutang would be so blunt the moment she spoke.
Her words and actions showed not a shred of respect or fear toward him.
’How arrogant!’
Zhou Kangxue was so furious he laughed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "I have been too rash. Since Second Miss Ye is someone the Eldest Princess trusts, then handling Your Majesty’s illness must naturally be a simple matter for you. I spoke out of turn. I hope Second Miss Ye can forgive me."
Ye Chutang’s expression was indifferent.
’Emperor Muwu’s illness had come on suddenly and with alarming severity; she didn’t have time to waste on such pointless trifles.’
Consort Rong stepped in to smooth things over. "Since Miss Ye has given her instructions, I will have them carried out at once."
With that, she immediately summoned the palace attendants, who opened the doors and windows and replaced the two thick quilts on Emperor Muwu with a thin blanket.
A biting cold wind instantly swept in through the open gaps, enveloping everyone.
The stuffy air in the hall was immediately dispersed.
A few palace attendants standing near the door couldn’t help but shrink back from the cold.
Although Consort Rong had complied, she was inwardly quite puzzled.
"Miss Ye, Your Majesty’s condition..."
Ye Chutang looked at her and explained unhurriedly, "When I took His Majesty’s pulse just now, I found it to be taut, like the surface of a drum. This is actually caused by long-standing liver stagnation, which has trapped pathogenic heat within his body. While the illness seems sudden, it has... in fact, been building for a long time."
Consort Rong’s expression grew even more worried.
"This... this..."
The meaning behind Ye Chutang’s words was all too clear, but it would be too awkward to state it openly.
She was clearly saying that Your Majesty’s illness was caused by long-term unhappiness and pent-up frustration.
’And recently... who else but Xiao Chengxuan has been angering him the most?’
But Consort Rong could not possibly respond to such a statement. After all, she was Xiao Chengqi’s birth mother.
The two factions had long been as incompatible as fire and water behind the scenes. No matter what position she took now, it would be inappropriate.
"Your Majesty is deficient in both blood and qi. If this continues, his body won’t be able to endure it. Therefore, we must first disperse the pathogenic heat from his body and then slowly nurse him back to health."
As Ye Chutang spoke, she took out a roll of silver needles.
"Shortly, I will perform acupuncture and bloodletting on His Majesty, supplemented by a medicinal decoction to replenish his blood and qi. We can discuss further steps after his high fever subsides."
As Consort Rong looked at the neatly arranged silver needles, then at Ye Chutang’s perfectly calm and composed profile, her panicked heart, for some reason, began to settle.
With a glimmer of hope in her eyes, she asked cautiously, "Second Miss Ye, can you truly bring down His Majesty’s fever?"
The corners of Ye Chutang’s lips curved slightly as she said, half-jokingly, "If I couldn’t even cure a simple headache or fever, I would never have been able to open a clinic and support Yan and A Feng these past few years."
The veins on Zhou Kangxue’s forehead throbbed.
’Isn’t she just cursing me indirectly, calling me incompetent!?’
’A simple headache or fever!?’
’Easy for her to say!’
’If this were just a common cold, why would it be so troublesome and cause such a huge commotion!?’
’And yet this Ye Chutang dares to make such arrogant claims!’
’His Majesty’s condition is critical, yet she can speak so flippantly. She’s a classic case of an empty vessel making the most sound!’
He snorted. "It seems Second Miss Ye is full of confidence, then? In that case—be my guest!"
Ye Chutang’s gaze lowered. Her slender, pale fingers picked up a silver needle, and without even sparing him a glance, she inserted it with swift, clean precision.
...
「Side Hall」
Jiang Zhao Yuan suddenly exclaimed, "This is unacceptable!"
The Eldest Princess, seated in the place of honor, cast an indifferent glance at him.
"What, does Elder Jiang disagree with the proposal I just made?"