The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 320 - 319: Persuading the Emperor to Release Lady Shen, A Timely Rain

Chapter 320: Chapter 319: Persuading the Emperor to Release Lady Shen, A Timely Rain

"It wasn’t just the false diagnosis last time, it’s the same this time around. The Imperial Doctor Wang took bribes and spoke in favor of Snow Concubine, hence the scene of her faking unconsciousness was set."

Eunuch Ren reported the results of the interrogation, sparing no detail.

The Empress’s eyes stalled, shocked beyond immediate reaction, withdrawing her gaze from the bronze mirror to look at Eunuch Ren, "Is the result of the interrogation true?"

"To reply to Her Majesty the Empress, it’s absolutely true." Eunuch Ren turned his head, pointing to the full tray of gold in the hands of the little eunuch, "This is all the gold Imperial Doctor Wang received."

The Empress’s eyes swept toward the tray in the hands of the little eunuch filled with gold; she angrily slammed the table, "Imperial Doctor Wang has got quite the nerve, to receive such blind trust from this palace only to brazenly take bribes under my very nose and fabricate lies!"

Eunuch Ren bowed his head in acknowledgement.

The Empress contained her raging fury, "So, it is not due to health issues that Lady Shen finds it hard to conceive."

"According to Imperial Doctor Wang’s confession, while Lady Shen’s body is indeed cold, it is not severe and does not greatly hinder pregnancy. As for why she has served without conceiving for so long, it might be due to other reasons," Eunuch Ren said.

Only now did the Empress realize that she had misunderstood Shen Chuwei’s difficulty in conceiving based on Imperial Doctor Wang’s words.

Although such a misunderstanding was not rare within the palace, it did not affect the dog Emperor’s desire to bestow his favor equally upon the Crown Prince.

Still, it was unfair to Chun Xi, that child.

"How daring of Imperial Doctor Wang, devoid of any medical ethics! How can such a person be fit to stay in the Imperial Medical Bureau?" The Empress could hardly suppress her anger, "Lock up Imperial Doctor Wang and never employ him again."

"Yes," Eunuch Ren respectfully responded.

The Empress then instructed, "Keep this matter quiet for now."

"Yes," Eunuch Ren took the order and withdrew.

Seeing the Empress so angry, Qing Ying softly comforted her, "Your Majesty, don’t be so upset that you hurt yourself."

"To have such a person by my side?" The Empress strove to calm her inner fury, "During this time, Lady Shen must have suffered much mockery."

Qing Ying, diligently arranging her hair, gently advised, "Your Majesty, being said to have difficulty in conceiving is not necessarily a bad thing. In the ruthless struggles of the palace, if others believe Lady Shen is hard to impregnate, her threat level will diminish."

The Empress said, "That may be true, but it is still unfair to her."

"Once the Crown Prince returns, and Lady Shen conceives, the rumors will naturally dissolve," Qing Ying said.

The Empress agreed, "That’s true. Once the Crown Prince returns, I will persuade the Emperor to release Lady Shen."

Having served the Empress for decades, Qing Ying knew her preferences inside out. After fixing her hairpin, she softly said, "Your Majesty, it’s done."

The Empress assessed her reflection in the mirror; although she looked young and radiant, the dog Emperor always said she was old.

Finding fault in everything, so annoying!

*

At this moment, Shen Chuwei was just over two months pregnant, her belly still flat, non-indicative of her joyous state.

She was only noticeably sleepy and had developed a craving for sour and spicy foods.

Fearing Shen Chuwei would get overheated, Chun Xi strictly limited her to just a bit of spicy food and fruit each day.

Shen Chuwei, who loved spicy food, felt very wronged when suddenly restrained, "I miss His Highness."

These days, Chun Xi had heard Shen Chuwei say, "I miss His Highness," more than anything else.

Anyone unaware might have thought Shen Chuwei suffered great injustice.

Sometimes Chun Xi’s heart softened, turning a blind eye.

As long as Shen Chuwei didn’t go too far.

Recently, Concubine Xu had been all the more diligent in her visitations, having persisted for over two months.

Seeing Shen Chuwei lying on the couch, her belly covered by her skirt, it was impossible to see any sign of pregnancy.

She couldn’t help but move closer and touch Shen Chuwei’s belly, which remained flat as before.

"Over two months and still no reaction."

Shen Chuwei, who often felt her belly, knew its condition better than anyone. She took a bite of a green apple, "Let’s wait and see for another month."

"Wait another month," Concubine Xu looked at Shen Chuwei’s indifferent face. She, the godmother, was frantic with worry, while the mother seemed not to hurry.

A while ago, Concubine Xu had mentioned to Shen Chuwei that she wanted to be the child’s godmother.

Shen Chuwei had agreed.

"Who knows when His Highness will return, having led the campaign for more than two months," Concubine Xu said listlessly, looking at the barren double lotus, which had grown much larger seeds.

Shen Chuwei thought of the supplies she had prepared for Xiao Jinyan ten days ago, and wondered if they had been delivered.

One inconvenience of the ancient times was the transportation, incomparable to modern logistics, limited to horses and horse carriages.

In the modern world of logistics, it would only take two or three days to arrive.

*

At the Military Camp

The enemy neither engaged in battle nor surrendered, simply dragging on.

Xiao Jinyan thus ordered the soldiers to rest and recuperate for a few days, preparing for the next battle.

Over the past two days, Xiao Jinyan had recovered well from his fatigue, and his sleep was sufficient.

Three days later, a large number of soldiers in the camp showed signs of poisoning.

Fortunately, the issue was discovered in time, else the number of poisoned soldiers would have been incalculable.

When Xiao Jinyan learned that at least four thousand soldiers were poisoned, with two thousand suffering mild poisoning and over two thousand experiencing severe poisoning...

And those poisoned were elite soldiers; on the battlefield, they could each take on ten opponents.

If these four thousand were in trouble, the loss would be extremely severe.

Without medical skills, he could do nothing but worry.

"What about the Military Doctors? Haven’t they come up with an Antidote yet?"

"Reporting to the Master, the Military Doctors are working through the night to develop an Antidote, but there has been no news so far," Weichi said.

Xiao Jinyan paced back and forth in the tent, his voice cold, "Useless trash."

General Liu strode in, his booming voice urgent, "This is bad, Your Highness, the Military Doctor says..."

Xiao Jinyan questioned sharply, "What does the Military Doctor say?"

"The Military Doctor says, with the shortage of medicinal ingredients, it’s not possible to produce an Antidote soon, and the soldiers with severe poisoning are likely beyond hope," said General Liu, ending with a helpless sigh.

"I will go have a look." Xiao Jinyan strode out of the tent to visit the soldiers’ Camp, seeing once invincible elite soldiers on the battlefield now lying on their beds, barely clinging to life.

Xiao Jinyan’s brows were tightly furrowed, but he was at a loss for what to do.

He then visited the Medical Camp, watched the Military Doctors discussing the development of an Antidote, and approached to bow and salute as he arrived.

"Your Highness."

"At a time of urgency, such formalities are unnecessary." Xiao Jinyan asked, "When can the Antidote be ready?"

"Your Highness, the poison is extremely vicious, and we’re having trouble developing an Antidote quickly. Coupled with the shortage of medicinal ingredients yet to be replenished, I’m afraid..." The Military Doctor didn’t dare to continue, because not only were the severely poisoned soldiers unlikely to be saved, even the mildly poisoned soldiers might not survive.

Xiao Jinyan had guessed what the Military Doctor was about to say, his expression growing even graver.

At that moment, Shu Ying safely arrived at the Military Camp with the supplies prepared by Shen Chuwei.

Learning of Shu Ying’s arrival, although he was somewhat expecting a letter from his beloved, the current situation prevented him from feeling delighted.