Chapter 67: Disturbance, who’s the most certain one? (2/2)

Half an hour later, all the poison within Long Tianmo’s body had been thoroughly expelled, so much that there was no need to take medicine to clear out any remnants. Han Yunxi used some medicine to reduce inflammation and bind the muscles before carefully closing up the wound. Finally, she painstakingly straightened out Long Tianmo’s clothing and finished things up.

She turned around and let out a long exhale, relaxing her nerves. Afterwards came exhaustion, the combination of pileup from previous days with her hour’s worth of exertion. Still she held on, checking his pulse, observing the pallor of his face, and making sure there were no mistakes before sitting down on one side.

“Imperial Physician Gu, go open the door.”

Gu Beiyue felt a sliver of distress and didn’t immediately go, but poured Han Yunxi some warm water to drink. Then he took out a few slices of ginseng from his medicine chest and said softly, “Keep these in your mouth and rest a bit first. There’s no rush.”

As soon as Han Yunxi accepted the ginseng and placed it in her mouth, she knew that this was considerably expensive. If it wasn’t 1,000 years old, it had to be 500 years old, and a single slice was worth a thousand taels of gold. But he’d given her three big slices in one shot. Maybe her exhaustion was making her see hallucinations, but she seemed to see Gu Beiyue enveloped by a halo of soft golden light as if he was a compassionate archangel.

Seeing that Han Yunxi’s face looked slightly better, Gu Beiyue finally opened the door. Emperor Tianhui and the rest were all waiting anxiously in the courtyard. When the say the doors open, the empress was the first to walk over. “How is the crown prince?”

Gu Beiyue smiled slightly as he replied, “Congratulations to your majesty, empress dowager, and esteemed empress. The treatment was extremely successful, His Highness Crown Prince is fine!”

“Really?” Emperor Tianhui abruptly stood up, a little unsteady so that he almost tumbled down again. This movement completely betrayed his own worry.

The empress dowager followed him to rise, looking overjoyed and incredulous. “Is it true? Is it true?”

“The treatment went very smoothly. The poison in his highness’ stomach has been dissolved and completely expunged!” Gu Beiyue said honestly.

“Quick…quick, go in for a look!”

The empress really was glad, being the first to walk in. Seeing her so restless, Gu Beiyue couldn’t help but urge, “Esteemed empress, slow down. Be careful not to stumble.”

“I can’t be slow. It’s been so many years, but I’ve never thought of this day even in my dreams! I knew that Tianmo would be all right!”

“Your majesty, didn’t I say that Han Congan must have made a mistake in his diagnosis? How could Tianmo have such a strange illness?” the empress dowager said, still pleasantly surprised.

The two women were so joyful that they completely forgot about their ranks, talking and speeding forward at the same time. Emperor Tianhui didn’t bother with the details and strode inside as well. Han Congan was the only one left gaping as he sat straight on the ground, perhaps a little too shocked. Even the gag in his mouth had fallen to the floor. Long Feiye was the one person who kept his cool. He darted a glance at Gu Beiyue, still standing by the door, before turning around to leave.

Inside the room, the acrid smell of blood filled the air, mixed with the foul smell of decay. Han Yunxi had cleaned up most of her things, leaving behind the medicine pot and a sheet full of dirtied blood. Long Tianmo lay quietly on the bed, his swollen stomach just about gone. There was only excess, sagging skin caused by limp skin. It was still hard to tell since it was covered in white gauze.

Truthfully speaking, the smell of blood in the room was very unpleasant, but everyone was too happy to care. As Long Tianmo’s mother, the empress didn’t care for the bed full of blood and sat right on it, caressing her son’s face. She was so moved that her voice was choked with sobs.

“He’s truly well? Truly?”

The empress dowager stared at his stomach in disbelief. “Good good, good, very good.”

Emperor Tianhui was the one who remembered his position and kept calm. “Han Yunxi, so the crown prince should be recovered now?”

“To reply your majesty, it’s as Imperial Physician Gu said. The poison within the crown prince’s stomach has been completely dissolved and expelled. When the anaesthetic wears off, the crown prince will awaken. I left three types of medicine for him to use once every night to fully recover from his incision,” Han Yunxi replied sincerely.

“Then how long before he wakes?” Emperor Tianhui asked again.

Right then, the joyful empress dowager and empress both looked over. Of course, Han Yunxi knew what Emperor Tianhui meant. If the crown prince didn’t wake up, then she couldn’t leave.

“About an hour or so,” she replied honestly.

“Qin Wangfei, why don’t you rest a bit in the one of the side halls in cause some trouble arises,” Emperor Tianhui said mildly. This wasn’t asking for Han Yunxi’s opinion, but an outright command. Still, he didn’t hail her directly by name. A single ‘Qin Wangfei’ was enough to show how much his attitude towards her had changed.

Han Yunxi really did want to rest. She gave Gu Beiyue a significant glance before preparing to leave with a court lady, but Han Congan’s voice called out from outside. “Qin Wangfei, wait a moment!”

Soon, Han Congan walked in, his goatee sticking up slightly beneath his respectful face. He made a slight bow with hands before him as he spoke, “Your majesty, as this subject sees it, it’s still too early to come to a conclusion about His Highness Crown Prince’s illness.”

Actually, the crown prince’s swollen stomach had already disappeared. As long as he woke up, there was no need to pursue the matter of the thing inside him anymore! Even if it really was an infant, Emperor Tianhui would never allow the news to spread outside! But to Han Congan, this appraisal was mandatory. It related to his reputation and his very life.

Of course, without the presence of outsiders, Emperor Tianhui wanted to know the truth as well. He waved a hand to signal the court lady to leave.

-o-

[1] cun (寸) – traditional unit of measurement approximating a person’s thumb at the knuckles. Usually used to chart acupuncture points on the body, approximately equal to 1.3 or 1.4 inches.