Chapter 127: Exposed (II)
Dou Xiyin laughed inside. Deliberately putting on the aura of mysteriousness, she leaned closer and whispered: “This grandaughter-in-law accidentally got the news that the Crown Princess seems to be pregnant with twins.”
Empress Dowager Yang’s rigid face finally fluctuated, “Twins?”
“That’s right.” Dou Xiyin was very satisfied with herself, “The Imperial Physician Zhao has always been in charge of checking the Crown Princess’ pulse, and even her pregnancy was diagnosed by him. Today, Imperial Physician Liu accidentally saw the prescription that Imperial Physician Zhao had dropped by mistake. Among the prescribed medicines, he found a few supposed to be given to women pregnant with twins. The Crown Prince cares so much about the Crown Princess, so how could Imperial Physician Zhao dare to prescribe medicines to the Crown Princess with no basis? Your Majesty, you see…”
Empress Dowager Yang understood. Regardless of the method Imperial Physician Liu used to take a peek at Imperial Physician Zhao’s prescription, the fact that Cheng Yujin was pregnant was twins was basically certain. At the same time, she also had a realization. No wonder Li Chengjing covered up the news about Cheng Yujin’s pregnancy so tightly, and no wonder the Eastern Palace still didn’t announce the good news even after the most critical three months period had passed.
At first, Empress Dowager Yang thought it was strange, but if the fetus Cheng Yujin was carrying was twins, everything could be explained. Seeing Empress Dowager Yang’s thoughtful look, Dou Xiyin continued: “Empress Dowager, you see, since the beginning of the fifth month, it has been raining heavily, causing a plague in Jiangnan. You also fell ill suddenly. I heard that even the Emperor was not feeling well a few days ago. Everything coincides with the timing of Crown Princess’ pregnancy, no?”
Empress Dowager Yang’s gloomy eyes suddenly became sharp like a falcon, losing the frailty of an elderly. Started by such a gaze, Dou Xiyin was startled, and felt her whole body was tensed in cold fright.Empress Dowager Yang stared at her grandniece for a while and slowly receded the pressure. After turning into a lethargic and sickly Empress Dowager again, she gave Dou Xiyin a stern warning, “Shou Wangfei, you are no longer a child. Pay attention to your words and deeds.”
Only then could Dou Xiyin find her breath again. She took a deep breath, only to realize that her back was wet with cold sweat. Dou Xiyin hurriedly smiled and said, “Your Majesty is right. This granddaughter-in-law has been taught by you since childhood and has learned a lot.”
Empress Dowager Yang glanced at Dou Xiyin coldly, then she closed her eyes and said nothing.
…
Cheng Yujin stayed in Ciqing Palace all the time, focusing on taking care of her pregnancy. Since Li Chengjing left, Cheng Yujin seemed to lose interest in everything. She was not in the mood to draw designs on clothes, and she didn’t even bother to busy herself with embroidery or cooking. Except for going out in the morning to pay respect to the Empress and Empress Dowager, she would take a walk around the courtyard before returning to spend the rest of the time reading books in a daze.
Today, Cheng Yujin felt her heartbeat fluttering inexplicably faster. She tried to calm her mind by copying a book, but after one copybook was finished, the uneasiness was still unabated. Cheng Yujin put down the brush and stopped writing. This inexplicable feeling made her unable to focus.
Cheng Yujin’s mind was busy wondering when a palace servant suddenly came to report, “Crown Princess, Imperial Physician Zhao is asking for an audience.”
“Imperial Physician Zhao?” Cheng Yujin frowned, and the foreboding in her heart instantly became stronger. It was not yet the scheduled time for checking the pulse. Li Chengjing was not in a palace at the moment, so why did Imperial Physician Zhao, an adult male, suddenly come to see her?
Cheng Yujin’s expression immediately tensed, “Let him in.”
Imperial Physician Zhao hurriedly entered the hall, keeping his head down all the time. Immediately after, he bent down and knelt before Cheng Yujin, “This subject greets the Crown Princess.”
“Imperial Physician Zhao, please get up.” Cheng Yujin quickly gestured to Du Ruo to help him up. “You have done great merit to This Palace. Why so formal?”
Imperial Physician Zhao still knelt on the floor. His head was down, and he didn’t dare to get up. “This subject has made a great mistake and is now here to plead guilty to the Crown Princess.”Cheng Yujin and Du Ruo exchanged a glance. Cheng Yujin then straightened her back and said solemnly, “Imperial Physician Zhao, since you have something to say, you might as well stand up before talking. What exactly is going on?”
Imperial Physician Zhao stood up and truthfully reported the matter of finding that someone had tampered with his medical box. “This subject is a practitioner of medicine and thus is very careful about cleanliness. Therefore, after someone secretly touched my medical box, this subject noticed the slight traces they left behind. This subject has some concerns about the medicines I prescribed for the Crown Princess and was planning to take the prescription home to look through the books again. Who knows that someone would… this subject is truly guilty.”
Imperial Physician Zhao’s blunder was not small. Any physician with a similar medical level would be able to understand each other’s prescriptions to some extent just by looking at the ingredients. The Crown Prince had issued a strict order of confidentiality from the very beginning and made it clear who he would hold accountable for the leak of news. Imperial Physician Zhao naturally understood the danger, so he was very careful in his actions. Unexpectedly, despite having been guarding against all odds, someone in the imperial physician building actually dared to search his medical box.
Cheng Yujin waved her hand and said, “Since the mistake has been made, what’s the use of holding you accountable? Solving the problem is what matters now. Do you know who touched your medical box? How many people have been in and out of the imperial physician building during this time?”
Apparently, Imperial Physician Zhao came prepared, “After finding out that the medical box has been touched, this subject immediately went to question the apprentice in charge of keeping the door at the time. The apprentice said that just minutes ago, Imperial Physician Liu went out of the palace for a patient visit.”
Cheng Yujin’s eyebrows quivered as she quickly guessed where this Imperial Physician Liu actually went to. The next second, the eunuch by the door raised his voice and announced: “The messenger from Empress Dowager is here.”
Imperial Physician Zhao frowned, not expecting things to develop so quickly. He looked at Cheng Yujin with trepidation: “Crown Princess…”
“Don’t panic.” Cheng Yujin stood up slowly, looking perfectly calm. “What should come is coming, that’s all. Since this is the summon from the Empress Dowager, I have no reason to reject.”