Chapter 183 Consort Li Breaks Down

Chapter 183: Consort Li's Breakdown

"Your servant pays respects to the Empress, may you be blessed with boundless good fortune." Ji Yuntang bowed and gave the Empress a full account of Luo Junhe's situation.

The Empress had already heard about this from Luo Qingge, but that didn't stop her from flying into a rage.

She immediately knelt at the door and declared loudly, "Your Majesty, this is no small matter. If what Princess Ye says is true, then Imperial Physician Zhu is guilty of the serious crimes of deceiving Your Majesty and cursing Prince Ye. Prince Ye is the war god of the Dongchen Kingdom. If Imperial Physician Zhu gets away with this mistake, how will the people of Dongchen see Your Majesty? And how will they see the imperial authority?"

"I beg Your Majesty to summon Imperial Physician Zhu and handle this justly, so that neither Prince Ye nor the people of Dongchen lose heart."

Ji Yuntang also knelt on the ground and said loudly, "I beg Your Majesty to grant justice to my husband and the Prince Ye mansion. If not, I will stay kneeling and never get up."

Emperor Jingyang was sitting in the Hall of Governance. The Empress and Ji Yuntang's words reached his ears one by one, making his face darken completely.

Unable to take it anymore, he went out and opened the door. "How dare you! Are you staging a rebellion?"

Ji Yuntang's eyes went cold, and she said in a chilling voice, "Isn't it Imperial Physician Zhu who's trying to rebel? My husband has fought for this country for years and ended up disabled. Even if he has no merit, he has worked hard. He's been harmed and cursed. As his father, how can you just ignore it and let the slanderer walk free?"

"You may not care about your son, but I care about my husband. I've endured grievances and been cursed by the people without complaint, but I can't stand to see my husband framed and cursed. He's suffered enough for so many years. Today, no matter what, I will get justice for Prince Ye."

The Empress echoed, "Princess Ye is right. As the Empress, on paper, Prince Ye also calls me 'Mother Empress.' I can't stand by and watch my son suffer an injustice. If Your Majesty doesn't deal with Imperial Physician Zhu today, people will definitely think you ordered him to harm your own son. Do you want to be known as a father who killed his own son?"

Emperor Jingyang's chest heaved with anger. It was the first time he had been scolded and denounced in public by two women, and he couldn't deny he was furious.

But the Empress's words did serve as a warning, making him carefully consider the pros and cons of this matter.

Imperial Physician Zhu was his man. Years ago, he had ordered Zhu to take full responsibility for Prince Ye's condition.

If Zhu went unpunished, those with ulterior motives would inevitably suspect he had instructed Zhu to deliberately treat Prince Ye badly, wanting to torment his own son.

This charge, though neither too serious nor too minor, would indeed cause Emperor Jingyang to lose some public support for nothing.

After a long silence, he glanced at Eunuch Zhang and ordered in a low voice, "Zhang Fugui, go immediately and summon Imperial Physician Zhu to the palace. I will handle this matter in public."

Eunuch Zhang replied, "I obey."

Meanwhile, at Weiyang Palace.

Consort Li was painting with a wolf-hair brush in her chambers. She was painting a picture of a thousand mountains with a handsome man in it. The man in the painting was in his early twenties, wearing purple robes, with flowing black hair, holding a golden goblet, and his features were elegant and ethereal.

The mountains were layered one upon another, towering into the clouds. The man stood on the mountain peak, like a born king, overlooking the multitudes.

"Zhenglang, I've painted the most handsome version of you from when you were young. If you see this gift I'm sending you, you'll definitely like it, won't you?"

A gentle smile crossed Consort Li's face. Her fingertips lightly traced the man's face in the painting, and she curled her lips in satisfaction.

Just then, Jian Lan rushed in from outside, her face full of panic.

"Consort Li, something terrible has happened!"

Startled, Consort Li's hand holding the brush trembled, and the ink on the tip happened to drip onto the face of the man in the painting, staining it with a large black blot.

She instantly flew into a rage, threw the brush to the ground, and scolded, "Panicking like this, where are your manners? How many times have I told you to knock before entering? Do you have no discipline at all?"

Jian Lan trembled and said, "Consort Li, forgive me. It was an emergency, and I was in a hurry to report. I forgot the rules. It won't happen again."

Consort Li carefully rolled up the painting of the thousand mountains with the handsome man, tied it with a ribbon, and placed it in a box.

She turned around, sat gracefully on a chair, and took a sip of the hot tea beside her.

"Tell me, what happened? Has Prince Ye died?"

Consort Li thought that only such a major event could make Jian Lan disregard the rules and rush to report to her.

But Jian Lan's next words made her lose her composure.

"No... It's not that. Prince Ye not only hasn't died, but his illness is almost healed."

"Imperial Physician Zhu concealed the illness from Princess Ye, cursed Prince Ye, and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. He has been summoned by His Majesty to the Hall of Governance for interrogation. The Empress, Consort Chu, the Ninth Princess, Princess Ye, the Crown Prince, and Prince Qi are all there."

"What did you say!?"

Consort Li was stunned. She shot to her feet, and the teacup in her hand slipped from her fingers, shattering on the ground into pieces.

The hot tea splashed all over her, scalding the fair skin on her hands, but she paid no attention. Instead, as if feeling no pain, she grabbed Jian Lan's shoulders and repeatedly questioned her in a sharp voice.

"Is what you said true? Prince Ye really isn't dead?"

Enduring the pain in her shoulders, Jian Lan quickly said, "It's absolutely true, Your Grace. Princess Ye has already made a scene before His Majesty. Now the whole palace knows. Imperial Physician Zhu is in danger this time."

"Your Grace, Imperial Physician Zhu is one of our people. What if he says something he shouldn't in front of His Majesty? Consort Li, you must think of a way!"

Consort Li's mind trembled. As if all her strength had been drained, she stepped back two paces, her face full of despair and loss.

How is this possible?

Luo Junhe was disfigured, blind, crippled, and poisoned. How could he possibly get better?

He had already suffered so much. How could he recover?

"No, I don't believe it. You're lying to me, aren't you? I tortured him until he was neither human nor ghost, and I had Imperial Physician Zhu keep him barely alive because I didn't want him to die so easily. He has been ill for three years. How could he possibly be cured?"

"Then what are all these years of my efforts? What are they for?"

She had plotted against him, but Luo Junhe didn't die.

She had poisoned Luo Xianan, but he didn't die.

Then what was all her scheming these years for?

Consort Li completely broke down. She swung her arm fiercely, sweeping all the tea bowls and fruit plates off the table onto the ground.

The sound of "crackling" was incessant, and the entire Weiyang Palace fell into chaos.

Just then, the voice of a eunuch sounded outside.

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