Ten days later, at Prince Ning’s mansion.
Prince Ning looked at the Princess, whose face was deathly pale as she stumbled to her feet, and worriedly furrowed his brow: “Princess, are you feeling any better?”
“Your Highness, don’t worry. This consort feels… still, still alright…”
Princess Ning’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, both hands clutching her stomach. Feeling her intestines churning again, her expression changed: “No good, this consort still needs to relieve herself.”
With that, she hurriedly got off the bed.
The three personal maids Qiangwei, Baiwei, and Ziwei quickly supported Princess Ning toward the privy in the back.
Prince Ning’s face turned iron-blue with rage as he fiercely punched the paulownia wood square table with drum legs and束腰: “This is too arrogant! Qiangwei, come here and tell this Prince exactly what happened today!”
Qiangwei in the privy shuddered, forcing herself to remain calm. When she reached the bedchamber, she fell to her knees with a thud and kowtowed: “Your Highness, please calm your anger.”
Prince Ning sat in his round-backed chair, pounding the table: “Speak!”
“Yes. Today this servant accompanied the Princess to the palace as usual to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty said she had newly made almond tea that was quite good and specifically wanted to reward the Princess with a bowl. The Princess dared not refuse and drank it on the spot. Then on the way back, she started having stomach troubles…”
Qiangwei’s palms were sweating and her face was ghastly pale, forcing herself to stay calm. Because if she failed this time, not only her life but Li Wenhan’s life would be forfeit.
Prince Ning didn’t suspect anything, grabbing the teapot from the table and hurling it violently to the ground.
The sharp sound of shattering porcelain was particularly jarring, frightening all the palace maids and eunuchs in the room to kneel and kowtow: “Your Highness, please calm your anger!”
“What an Empress! What a Cao family! They really don’t take this Prince seriously at all!”
Prince Ning flew into a rage, pacing angrily around the room and cursing: “Just a small business friction, and this Prince hasn’t done anything even though that old bastard has been pushing his luck. Now that Cao bitch dares to take the opportunity to harm this Prince’s consort! Do they take this Prince for a dead man!”
The Princess now supported herself on a maid’s hand, hunched over with trembling legs as she walked out.
Seeing that the Prince showed no signs of suspecting or blaming her, Qiangwei quickly rose to help the Princess lie down again.
The Princess’s face had turned blue-green and she was extremely weak.
From leaving the palace until now had been only two hours, but she had run to the privy at least ten times. No one could withstand such torment!
The Princess lived in luxury and had always been healthy with few illnesses to torment her. Naturally she couldn’t bear such suffering. This sudden ordeal had nearly turned her face green, and she sobbed pitifully:
“Your Highness, please calm your anger. Don’t conflict with Her Majesty the Empress over this consort. This consort suffering a little grievance doesn’t matter.”
“How does it not matter? You are this Prince’s consort. The Empress treating you this way—where does that leave this Prince? Where does that leave our Prince Ning’s mansion?”
Prince Ning irritably planted his hands on his hips, breathing heavily as he forcibly suppressed his rage:
“The Cao family’s arrogance and tyranny isn’t just from today! That Qin Meng is such a remarkably talented person, yet his household has nearly been treated like the Cao family’s back courtyard. They say they’ll barge into his inner residence and they barge in, they say they’ll ransack trunks and cabinets and they ransack them. That Cao bastard got his way at Qin Meng’s house, but if he thinks this Prince is also a soft persimmon, he’s got the wrong idea!”
He turned back to glare angrily at the eunuch by the door: “Where’s the Imperial Physician! Why hasn’t the Imperial Physician come yet!”
The little eunuch trembled all over from the shouting and said with a mournful face: “In response to Your Highness, this servant has already gone to fetch them, but Imperial Uncle Cao says he’s been feeling unwell these past few days and has requested all the on-duty Imperial Physicians to his residence to examine him. This servant still needs to find Imperial Physicians who aren’t on duty.”
Hearing this, Prince Ning became so angry his rage reached the heavens, kicking over a chair: “That bastard Cao, I’ll f*ck your grandmother!”
The palace servants in the room were so frightened they didn’t dare breathe, all kneeling and curling up into balls.
The Princess’s face changed again as she tremblingly got up: “No good, no good, need to go again…”
Watching the Princess being supported to the privy again, Prince Ning raged: “If there are no Imperial Physicians, get regular doctors! Are you all dead! Do I need to teach you such things? Where’s the Crown Prince? Where are the others? Their mother-consort is ill and they don’t know to attend her sickbed? What kind of rules are these!”
“Yes, yes, this servant will go immediately!”
With the Prince in thunderous rage, the maids and eunuchs scattered like headless flies, running to fetch people.
Prince Ning had three sons and one daughter under his knee. The legitimate eldest son had been adopted by the Emperor years ago, but later when the Emperor had the Crown Prince, he sent this one back, so the Crown Prince’s status was actually quite awkward.
However, the Crown Prince was after all born to the Princess. With the Princess ill, the Crown Prince was very worried and quickly brought the Crown Princess upon receiving news. The Second Master, Third Master, and Princess Jialan who had not yet married also hurried over, attending to the Princess at her bedside with caring inquiries.
Prince Ning sat in the outer room with a dark expression, sulking.
Before long, a doctor arrived. After taking the Princess’s pulse, he actually had no clue and immediately turned pale with fright, kowtowing to the Prince: “This, this, the Princess has contracted what appears to be an acute condition. This old man has never seen such symptoms and dares not rashly prescribe medicine. Your Highness should quickly invite more skilled Imperial Physicians for consultation.”
“Acute condition? Acute condition my ass!” Prince Ning was so angry he nearly kicked the doctor flying. “The Princess has been poisoned!”
The doctor was frightened pale, his beard trembling: “Your Highness, please calm your anger. This old man has never seen such a vicious drug…”
The implication was that he couldn’t treat it, didn’t dare treat it, and asked the Prince to seek other experts.
Though Prince Ning had a reputation for being debauched and tyrannical throughout the world, he treated his Princess with considerable respect. At least the Princess’s position had remained unshakeable for many years. Moreover, Princess Ning was his person—whoever dared bully the Princess clearly didn’t take him seriously.
Today the Empress actually dared find an opportunity to drug Princess Ning during her palace visit. Prince Ning’s explosive temper had already reached its limit by now, especially since the doctors he wanted to summon had all been invited to Imperial Uncle Cao’s residence!
In the time it took to speak, the Princess had already relieved herself twice more and was nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
Seeing the situation was truly dire, Prince Ning thought for a moment and said: “Someone come, prepare my horse!”
“Yes!” The servants didn’t dare ask questions and hurriedly ran to prepare Prince Ning’s horse.
Only Crown Prince Ning dared to boldly ask: “Your Highness, where are you going?”
As both Crown Prince and a formerly adopted imperial son, he could only address Prince Ning as “Your Highness.”
Prince Ning said gravely: “To the Qin residence.”
Crown Prince Ning said in surprise: “Your Highness, you…”
Prince Ning glanced at the Princess whose face was blue-green and looked like she might expire at any moment, only leaving behind: “Take good care of the Princess. This Prince will immediately find a doctor and return.” He left the mansion and galloped away at full speed.
At this time, Qin Yining was in her room holding Er’Bai while reclining against a noble consort’s couch reading a leisure book. Er’Bai’s fluffy little paws stepped on Qin Yining’s belly—not much weight, but somewhat ticklish. Qin Yining couldn’t help but read while stroking Er’Bai’s round little body.