Chapter 189

Before going to the Imperial Medical Bureau, Shuang Ruo first yelled and ran between the six palaces, gathering the imperial consorts to go to Kun Ning Palace, saying that the Empress wanted to talk to them.

She did this with the permission of the Empress, just to make sure that all the consorts were trapped in Kun Ning Palace when it happened, so as not to give Consort Chen and Consort Yun time to escape.

Among the consorts, except for Princess Zhao who is currently accompanying the Empress Dowager in the Empress Dowager's palace,

the rest came slowly, and they had all gathered.

After everyone arrived, Shuang Ruo then said,

"I asked you all to come today because the Empress is ill and needs care. The Empress's heart disease has relapsed and she feels very uncomfortable."

In the main hall there were crowds of people, and they were all sweating from rushing over in the scorching sun. Consort Chen sat by the ice tub, even though the palace maids were fanning her desperately to cool her down, she still felt very hot.

So she didn't give Shuang Ruo a good expression,

"The Empress is sick and you didn't get the imperial doctors but gathered all the consorts first, what kind of logic is this?"

Seeing Shuang Ruo drooping without speaking, Consort Chen became more unscrupulous and said,

"What? Can't she hold on anymore so wants to hand over her affairs before death?"

Shuang Ruo was about to explain when Judge Chu arrived with a group of imperial doctors.

She hurriedly greeted the doctors to go to the inner chamber,

"Judge Chu, you are here. Please go see the Empress!"

Consort Chen almost rolled her eyes to heaven and said,

"Whoever wants to wait here can wait here. I'm tired and don't have the energy to waste time with you."

She got up to walk out of the hall but saw that the door was surrounded by the eunuchs under Yan Jiude. Consort Chen was stunned and raised her eyebrows at him and said, "What do you mean?"

Yan Jiude did not back down, he cleared his throat and said, "The Empress's heart disease has relapsed and her life is at stake. Consort Chen, as the head consort, please lead the consorts to burn incense and pray for the Empress, and pray for her safety."

"Do these gods from heaven only accept offerings for the Empress? Everyone has abandoned their jobs and only watches over the safety of the Empress alone?" Consort Chen said mockingly, then lowered her voice and threatened Yan Jiude,

"The person in charge of the six palaces now is Imperial Consort Ying. Go ask her to lead people to the side hall. Let me tell you, if you dare to stop me from talking nonsense again, even if you are the head eunuch of the Empress' palace, I can still find a way to strip you of your rank and skin you!"

Just as the two sides were in a standstill, Xiao Jingheng happened to rush over at this time.

After all, with the Empress having a heart attack and summoning all palace consorts to attend to her, as well as alerting the Imperial Medical Bureau, how could Xiao Jingheng not know about it?

Seeing Yan Jiude blocking the door of the main hall with his men, seeming to have conflicted with Consort Chen, Xiao Jingheng asked solemnly,

"What happened?"

"Nothing." Consort Chen answered before Yan Jiude. With a worried look she said, "The Empress's heart disease has relapsed, I'm very worried about her safety and was about to lead my sisters to the side hall to burn incense and pray for her, to pray for her peace and safety."

Xiao Jingheng nodded slightly, "It's good of you to have this in mind, go on then."

"Yes." Just as Consort Chen responded, Judge Chu walked out of the inner chamber with a rushed look.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress's heart disease relapse this time is due to the reverse flow of qi and blood. It looks very bad."

Xiao Jingheng frowned and asked, "Didn't you say the Empress's condition was stable? How could something like this happen suddenly?"

"This..." Judge Chu wiped the sweat from his sleeve, somewhat embarrassed, "When I took the Empress's pulse just now, I detected that her body seemed to have the symptoms of taking Xing Qi San, and not a small amount."

No one else knew what Xing Qi San was. Judge Chu continued to explain,

"Xing Qi San is an excellent medicine that speeds up the circulation of qi and blood. It is very effective in relieving stuffiness in the chest, blocked qi and blood. It's usually harmless for ordinary people to smell it, but the Empress has a history of heart disease and must not be exposed to it."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's face was covered with frost.

"Are you saying someone tried to deliberately harm the Empress?"

The Empress is one with the Emperor. Plotting to harm the Empress is no less than plotting to harm the Emperor himself.

In the entire palace, who would have the guts to do such an outrageous thing so openly?

When Xiao Jingheng asked, his eyes unconsciously fell on Consort Chen.

But Consort Chen didn't seem to care about it at all. While fanning Xiao Jingheng, she also asked the palace maid to move the ice tub closer to Xiao Jingheng,

It seemed as if she hadn't heard what Judge Chu had just said.

When her bright eyes met Xiao Jingheng's doubtful ones, she even asked lightly with a smile,

"What does Your Majesty think of my fanning skills? This kind of weather makes people stuffy, no wonder the Empress is always unwell."

After speaking, she took out her handkerchief and wiped the sparse sweat on Xiao Jingheng's forehead.

Xiao Jingheng knew Consort Chen's temperament. Although she was arrogant and willful, she didn't scheme much and wore her heart on her sleeve. Her performance was beyond reproach. On the contrary, Consort Yun, who stood next to her, looked suspicious.

She deliberately shifted her eyes to avoid looking at Xiao Jingheng's side,

Her lowered hands were uneasily fiddling with her handkerchief, looking flustered.

Judge Chu later said,

"Whether this was intentional or accidental can probably only be determined after the Empress wakes up and we ask her personally."

"Judge Chu, come in quick! The Empress is coughing blood!" The female doctor attending the Empress in the inner chamber cried out urgently. Judge Chu did not dare to delay and hurried back after a bow.

But his previous remarks were enough to make Xiao Jingheng suspicious about the Empress's sudden heart attack.

Seeing Shuang Ruo crouching in the corner, suppressing her cries and praying for the Empress's safety, he called her over and asked,

"How do you serve Her Majesty usually? How could you have been so careless to let her get exposed to such harmful things?"

Shuang Ruo knelt in front of Xiao Jingheng and sobbed,

"Ever since the Empress had a miscarriage, I have been even more careful in taking care of her.

Her diet, clothing, supplies, I must go over everything twice to ensure safety before putting it in Her Majesty's hands. I dare pledge my worthless life that we absolutely did not neglect this matter."

Xiao Jingheng thought silently. Since Xing Qi San took effect simply by smelling it, there was no need to add it to the Empress’s daily items.

If it was added to cosmetics, wouldn’t it be even more invisible and deadly?

So he asked, "Has the Empress used any fragrance recently?"

Shuang Ruo said, "The Empress doesn't like fragrance on normal days. It was just a few days ago that Consort Yun gave her a very pure and refreshing fruity fragrance. Her Majesty really liked it and would often burn some."

As soon as she said this, Xiao Jingheng immediately glanced over at Consort Yun.

[To be continued in next update]