Chapter 503: You’re Accusing Me?
Chen Songshi narrowed his eyes. "If she can’t bear the responsibility, are you implying, Doctor Zhou, that you can?"
"I—"
Zhou Kangxue choked, his face flushing red.
Emperor Muwu’s condition was already extremely dire. ’How could he dare accept such a responsibility?’
’If something went wrong later, he wouldn’t be able to argue his way out of it!’
’But letting Ye Chutang off so easily was absolutely out of the question.’
"So, it seems Lord Wang trusts Ye Chutang completely?"
Chen Songshi sneered. "When His Majesty was gravely ill and unconscious, she was the one who turned the tide, bringing down his fever and allowing him to gradually regain consciousness. I’m not to trust her, but instead trust the likes of you who were utterly helpless?!"
His words were fierce, frank, and direct—no different from slapping them across the face.
Zhou Kangxue wanted to argue, but everything Chen Songshi had said was the truth.
’The meaning couldn’t have been clearer: If this group of incompetent doctors from the Imperial Hospital couldn’t be trusted then, what makes you think you can be trusted now?’
Seeing the atmosphere grow tense enough to draw swords, Tang Zhongli stroked his beard and stepped in to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, let’s all stop arguing. Isn’t the Chu Hospital Director still inside?"
At his words, everyone fell silent.
Even Zhou Kangxue gritted his teeth, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.
Chu Qiyuan was a man of great prestige and moral standing. ’He really didn’t have the guts to question him in public.’
Seeing that even Zhou Kangxue had fallen silent, Jiang Qingmei’s fury intensified.
She trembled with anger, her expression ghastly.
’When she was the Noble Consort, these people would show her a modicum of respect for her father’s sake, but now...’
Just as her mind raced, trying to think of a way to break the stalemate, the tightly shut doors were suddenly pushed open from within.
CREAK—
The slight sound was like a clap of thunder, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.
Countless pairs of eyes looked forward in unison.
Chu Qiyuan stepped out first, with Ye Chutang a step behind him.
For some reason, everyone maintained a tacit silence.
The first to react was, surprisingly, Jiang Qingmei.
Her expression changed, and she made to rush inside. "Your Majesty!"
With a frown, Chen Songshi gave a subtle signal, and a palace attendant immediately stepped forward to block her.
Never mind that she was no longer the Noble Consort; even if she were, in this situation, she had no right to barge in directly.
Jiang Qingmei’s blood boiled, and her eyes filled with tears. "How dare you stop me! If anything happens to His Majesty, I’d like to see what you’ll do then! You—"
"His Majesty requires quiet rest. No one is to make a disturbance."
Chu Qiyuan’s single sentence left Jiang Qingmei embarrassed on the spot.
But she had survived in the rear palace for many years. In an instant, she swallowed her anger and resentment, crying sorrowfully, "I am only thinking of His Majesty, worried he might be harmed by some villain! Is that also a crime!?"
Chu Qiyuan furrowed his brows and stared at her, retorting, "A villain? Are you accusing me of plotting to harm His Majesty?"
Jiang Qingmei replied instinctively, "Of course not!"
Chu Qiyuan’s eyes narrowed. "Then who are you talking about?"
Jiang Qingmei bit her lip and remained silent.
The crowd fell silent along with her, but their gazes involuntarily drifted to the slender, graceful figure behind Chu Qiyuan.
’If not Chu Qiyuan, then who else could it be?’
’They were the only two who went in to treat His Majesty!’
In the suffocating silence, Ye Chutang finally took a step forward.
She stood on the steps, looking down at Jiang Qingmei, her dark eyes calm.
She spoke in a soft voice:
"Does this mean, Jiang Cairen, that your many accusations are all directed at me?"