Chapter 43: Acute Illness

Chapter 43: Acute Illness

"Your Majesty, the Noble Consort's pulse is slightly deep, thin, and weak; her tongue is pale red with a white, greasy coating. It appears to be heatstroke, with heat toxins attacking the heart," Imperial Physician Liu reported.

Liu quickly added, "However, I heard the Noble Consort had already taken the appropriate life-reviving potion on the way back, but to no effect. We may need to resort to stronger medication."

"Then, quickly prescribe and prepare the medicine," Emperor Xiao Sheng urged.

"Yes." Imperial Physician Liu left and soon returned with a bowl of bitter, black medicinal soup.

Autumn Okra and Wan Song hurried to help Jiang Hui sit up, moving forward to take the bowl of medicine.

"I will do it," Emperor Xiao Sheng dismissed the palace maids, sitting beside the bed. He cradled Jiang Hui in one arm and brought a spoonful of the medicine to her lips with the other.

Fortunately, though Jiang Hui was semi-conscious, she was still able to swallow the medicine.

After feeding the entire bowl of medicine, the Emperor was also sweating profusely.

He handed the empty bowl to Wan Song, standing up to instruct, "Take good care of the Noble Consort. Report any issues directly to Jianzhang Palace." He then prepared to leave.

After the Dowager Empress and the Empress returned to the palace with the other consorts, he, as the Emperor, should have prioritized filial piety and visited the Cining Palace first. Yet, Emperor Xiao Sheng, concerned for the Noble Consort's illness, had come to Yaohua Palace first, a move already considered improper. Now, having fed Jiang Hui her medicine, he still needed to visit Cining Palace.

"Yes," all the palace servants bowed their heads in acknowledgment, watching the Emperor leave Yaohua Palace.

Only then did Autumn Okra angrily reprimand, "Wan Song, Shan Zha, how could you let this happen to our lady?"

The two exchanged glances, tears still shimmering in Wan Song's eyes. Wiping away a tear, she stepped forward and whispered, "Sister Autumn Okra, it's a long story..."

Outside, Feng Shi was escorting Imperial Physician Liu back to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

He took out a handkerchief and personally wiped the old physician's sweat, whispering, "Thank you, Imperial Physician Liu."

Standing under the shade of a tree, Liu softly inquired, "How long will the Noble Consort need to recover?"

Feng Shi shook his head slightly, not saying a word.

Fengyi Palace.

Returning from Cining Palace, the Empress was also quite tired. She changed into light summer clothing and lay on the couch to rest.

"Did the Noble Consort suffer from heatstroke again?" she asked languidly.

"Yes," replied Chunyan, who was fanning her, "She took the life-reviving potion on the way back to the palace, but it had no effect. They say she has been given stronger medicine this time."

"She used to be capable of riding and archery, yet now she's in such a state," the Empress sighed wistfully.

After a pause, she added, "Xia Chan, go to the storeroom and select some medicinal herbs to send to Yaohua Palace; Qiu Yue, visit the Imperial Medical Bureau and ask He Yuanpan to assign a few people to take pulses in all the palaces."

Xia Chan and Qiu Yue left to carry out their orders. At this moment, Dong Xue, who had stayed in Fengyi Palace, reported, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Physician at Zhauxia Pavilion said that Sun Cairen's pulse is somewhat unusual."

"Unusual pulse?" The Empress frowned, sitting up from her couch, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Sun Cairen’s rash had already healed, but for some reason, it has reappeared in the past few days. The Imperial Physician thinks it might be a recurrence of heatstroke, but it seems more like she’s come into contact with something she shouldn’t have."

"Such a fool," the Empress said sharply. "I thought she would have learned her lesson after the Wan Shou Festival incident. To think she was foolish enough to fall for it a second time."

Dong Xue quietly lowered her head, while Chun Yan added, "Your Majesty, the meals in Chonghua Palace are handled by the Imperial Kitchen, and peanuts aren’t poisonous. About Min Jieyu..."

"I know, it’s not her fault," the Empress said impatiently, then furrowed her brows. "But Min Jieyu wouldn’t use the same method again. This time, Sun Cairen’s issue shouldn't be due to accidentally consuming peanuts. Chun Yan, take Imperial Physician Qiu with you and personally visit Zhauxia Pavilion."

The Bingpan in Mingluan Hall kept the room cool and comfortable, allowing the Empress to continue her rest.

A little while later, Qing Mammy entered from behind the curtains and inquired, "Your Majesty, someone from the Gongye Bureau came just now. You were resting, so I sent them away. They mentioned Beauty Liu’s relocation. Should it still be scheduled for these few days?"

Beauty Liu was supposed to move from Furong Pavilion in Changchun Palace to Xianyu Pavilion. However, the move was delayed since the Empress and others were at Proluo Temple and the Empress was not present.

"Let it be in the next few days. It's too hot, so let them move her early in the morning or late in the evening," the Empress said with her eyes closed.

However, Beauty Liu miscarried on the day she moved to Xianyu Pavilion.

When the Empress rushed there, Beauty Liu was holding the maid Xiao Tao and sobbing bitterly, while Min Jieyu sat beside, comforting her.

"What exactly happened? Beauty Liu has always been healthy. How could she have miscarried just like that?" the Empress asked Imperial Physician Cheng standing nearby.

Imperial Physician Cheng, with sweat on his forehead, answered in a flustered manner, "Your Majesty, it appears that Beauty Liu consumed a large amount of cold-natured substances, leading to the miscarriage—"

Before he could finish, Xiao Tao interjected anxiously, "That's impossible. I personally fetch her daily meals from the Imperial Kitchen, and they are checked by Aunt An. How could there be any cold-natured substances?"

The Empress, not paying attention to her, asked the kneeling Aunt An, "An Yu, tell us what Beauty Liu ate today."

Despite looking alarmed, Aunt An remained composed and, after recalling in detail, replied:

"Your Majesty, this morning after getting up, the young master ate two bananas, a bowl of egg custard, and a bowl of millet porridge, all normal. Then people from the Inner Service Bureau, the Palace Administration Bureau, and Hanzhang Hall came to assist with the young master's relocation;

"For lunch, Xiao Tao fetched from the Imperial Kitchen dishes like peanut fish head, crystal pork, braised sea cucumber, celery with soybean curd, jade millet with vegetables, snowflake cake, and walnut soup. The young master ate a bit of everything, and the rest was shared with me and Xiao Tao. There was nothing unusual at the time;

"Before the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), Xianyu Pavilion was ready. Xiao Tao and I served the young master's dinner there, consisting of Taichi vegetarian duck, pearl meatballs, steamed pigeon eggs with rice flour, and lotus seed and red date soup. The young master found the vegetarian duck a bit greasy and drank an extra bowl of lotus seed soup. After that, she felt abdominal pain, and by the time I called for Imperial Physician Cheng, it was already too late."

"Is there any of the lotus seed soup left? Bring it here for Imperial Physician Cheng to examine," the Empress ordered, frowning.

Aunt An hurriedly responded, "Yes, it's still here," and brought a white-glazed plum blossom cup to Imperial Physician Cheng.

The Emperor arrived in haste, his expression grim, and saw the Imperial Physician inspecting the meal, his gaze intensifying.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, my child, my child!" Beauty Liu, hearing the Emperor's voice from the inner chamber, cried out in heart-wrenching sobs.

Putting down the plum blossom cup, Imperial Physician Cheng promptly answered, "Your Majesty, this lotus seed and red date soup contains a large amount of potash (pò xiāo). Potash is cold in nature and laxative. If pregnant women consume it inadvertently, it can easily induce a miscarriage!"

The Emperor's voice was heavy, "Sheng An, investigate this."

Sheng An bowed and quickly left, returning shortly with Gao Fuquan, the head eunuch of the Pharmacy Bureau, and He Taiyi, the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

He reported, "Your Majesty, the amount of potash used by the Pharmacy Bureau matches the prescriptions from the Imperial Medical Bureau. In the past three months, only Changchun Palace has used potash."

Min Jieyu, sitting nearby, slightly startled, her hands clenched lightly on her lap before relaxing again, her expression growing solemn.

Gao Fuquan and He Yuanpan exchanged glances, handing over the records to Sheng An, who then passed them to the Emperor.

Then He Yuanpan added, "Your Majesty, in May, Min Jieyu had a lung abscess caused by falling into the water. The Imperial Physician prescribed Danpi Soup, which included Danpi, Guolui, Peach Kernel, Potash, and Rhubarb in the formulation."

Gao Fuquan continued, "In the past three months, the only person who came to the Pharmacy Bureau for potash was Du Ruo, a maid from Hanzhang Hall in Changchun Palace. It was recorded for Danpi Soup."

Having finished, both men bowed deeply, not daring to look at the Emperor's expression.