Chapter 53: Another Hidden Hand Behind the Scenes
“Speak.”
“Her Highness the Princess said the situation in the palace is complicated and advised you not to act rashly for the time being.”
The guard paused, lowering his voice.
“She also mentioned that the Empress Dowager’s illness is very peculiar; even the palace physicians cannot determine the cause. The Princess suspects it might be the work of dark sorcery again. She would like to ask you to come to the palace when convenient to take a look and help.”
Just as expected.
Xie Ning understood immediately.
It seemed Li Qingning had sensed something was amiss as well.
There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that the Empress Dowager’s illness was the latest scheme of that shadowy mastermind.
“I understand.”
Xie Ning nodded.
“Go back and tell the Princess to stay calm and not panic. Tell her I have my own plans.”
“Yes.”
The guard acknowledged and quickly turned to leave.
“Sir, are you really going into the palace?”
Qingfeng was a little worried.
“The palace must be in chaos right now. Isn’t it too dangerous for you to go at this time?”
“Dangerous?”
Xie Ning smiled.
“To me, the safest place in Jian’an City is the imperial palace. After all, that’s where my future wife is, and there’s my little brother-in-law who is the Emperor. Anyone who dares to move against me must first consider whether their head is tough enough to withstand the consequences.”
He looked toward the palace, his gaze sharpening.
“Besides, I’m eager to see with my own eyes what new trick that mastermind has pulled this time. Being passive and taking hits all the time is not my style. It’s time for me to take the initiative and deal with this elusive scoundrel.”
...
Inside the palace, at Cining Palace.
The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to drip with tension.
Inside and outside the hall, palace maids and eunuchs knelt in panic, each silent as if afraid to even breathe.
Over a dozen of the top imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Institute gathered around the Empress Dowager’s phoenix bed, their faces grave and brows furrowed.
The young Emperor Li Qingzhi sat beside the bed, his face filled with anxiety and worry.
He held the frail hand of the Empress Dowager tightly, his eyes red-rimmed but not shedding tears.
“Chief Physician Wang, what is Mother’s condition?”
The question was addressed to the head of the Imperial Medical Institute, an elderly man with white hair and beard.
Hearing the Emperor’s question, he trembled and quickly knelt down.
“Your Majesty…”
Chief Physician Wang’s voice was dry and weak.
“We are powerless. The Empress Dowager’s pulse is erratic — sometimes strong like a great bronze bell, sometimes faint as a thread of silk. It is extremely strange. In my fifty years of practicing medicine, I have never seen such a peculiar pulse.”
“We have exhausted all methods of warming and reinforcing the vital energy, and even administered acupuncture, but… the effects are minimal.”
“The Empress Dowager’s life force is rapidly fading.”
Having spoken, Chief Physician Wang bowed deeply, forehead touching the cold floor, unable to lift his head.
The group of physicians behind him also knelt in unison, their faces pale as death.
They were truly helpless.
The Empress Dowager’s illness had come too suddenly and was too bizarre.
It completely defied their medical knowledge.
“Useless! All of you are useless!”
Unable to control his emotions any longer, Li Qingzhi suddenly stood up, his body trembling slightly with anger.
“I keep you, what use are you? You can’t even cure Mother’s illness! I will have you all dragged out and beheaded!”
The young Emperor’s fury seemed to lower the temperature in the entire chamber.
The physicians were terrified, bowing their heads repeatedly and begging for mercy.
At that moment, a cold yet dignified voice came from outside the hall.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”
With the voice came Li Qingning, dressed in palace attire, solemn in expression, walking in swiftly.
“Elder Sister!”
Seeing Li Qingning was like finding a pillar of support; the anger in Li Qingzhi’s eyes instantly gave way to sorrow.
He quickly ran up and embraced her.
“Elder Sister, you finally came. Mother… Mother is close to death. These physicians are all useless; they can’t find anything!”
Li Qingning gently patted her younger brother’s back, soothing his emotions.
“Don’t worry. Elder Sister is here.”
Her voice carried a comforting strength.
After calming Li Qingzhi, she stepped forward to the phoenix bed.
She looked at the Empress Dowager lying on the bed, eyes tightly closed, face pale and withered, lips cracked, and her heart sank deeply.
It had only been a day since she last saw her.
How had the Empress Dowager become like this?
Earlier in the imperial garden, although she was angered by Xie Ning, her spirit was lively and her complexion rosy.
But now, she looked like a flower that had withered instantly, devoid of any vitality.
Li Qingning reached out and touched the Empress Dowager’s forehead.
It was icy cold.
She then took the Empress Dowager’s wrist, placing her fingers on her pulse.
As a member of the royal family, she had learned some basic medical knowledge since childhood.
Upon taking the pulse, her face changed instantly.
Just as Chief Physician Wang had said, the Empress Dowager’s pulse was extremely strange.
At times it was like a stampede of horses, strong and forceful; at other times, it was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
This was not the pulse of a normal person, nor even that of a patient!
It was more like two completely different forces violently clashing and battling within her body.
Li Qingning’s pupils contracted sharply.
Her heart sank to the depths of despair.
Could it be the work of that mastermind again?
And this time, the method was even more secretive and vicious than before when targeting herself.
“What a cruel tactic.”
Li Qingning’s nails dug deeply into her palm.
A raging fire of anger burst within her.
That bastard!
He provoked her boundaries again and again.
First it was her, then the royal bloodline, and now her own mother.
Did he really think she was made of mud?
“Elder Sister, how is Mother’s illness…”
Seeing Li Qingning’s face turn extremely grim, Li Qingzhi’s heart clenched.
Li Qingning took a deep breath and forced down the murderous intent in her heart.
She turned to Li Qingzhi and shook her head.
“Mother’s illness is very peculiar.”
Her voice was chillingly calm.
“This is not an illness; someone is harming her.”
“What?”
Li Qingzhi was shocked.
“Someone’s harming Mother? Who? Who dares to do such a thing!”
The physicians knelt on the ground, faces full of shock and confusion as well.
“Not an illness? Harmed by someone?”
How could that be?
They had examined her for so long and found no trace of poison or external injury.
“I can’t say for sure right now.”
Li Qingning’s gaze slowly swept through every corner of the chamber.
She was searching.
Searching for any clue the mastermind might have left behind.