Chapter 174: Eager, I’m here to save you (1/2)
Chapter 174: Eager, I’m here to save you
PAH!
A loud noise echoed through the empty imperial study. This wasn’t the first time today that Emperor Tianhui had tossed a book aside, but it was certainly the loudest. Gu Beiyue stood on one side as he kept to himself. He’d already passed on Han Yunxi’s words.
The empress dowager sat on another side, beside herself with rage. “What a Han Yunxi. What does she mean?”
“Gu Beiyue, don’t you have any poison doctors in your Imperial Physician Courtyard that can detoxify the poison?” Emperor Tianhui asked angrily. Of course there were poison doctors amongst the imperial physicians, but it was likely they hadn’t even heard of poison pestis before.
“Your Majesty, if they knew how to detoxify the poison, they would’ve diagnosed the poison pestis a long time ago,” Gu Beiyue answered truthfully.
Emperor Tianhui seemed to be beside himself with fury. He stood up with his hands behind his back and started pacing in impatience. Han Yunxi’s words sounded nice enough–asking for a discussion with the Duke of Qin before she produced the antidote prescription. But this was actually a threat! How could he allow a slight girl like her threaten him? Moreover, he’d spent so much effort to find a fault with the Duke of Qin. Now that he was in his clutches, how could he easily let him go?
No! He couldn’t do it!
“Someone, send out a proclamation recruiting all poison doctors! If anyone can cure the poison pestis, he’ll get the position of Head Imperial Physician!” Emperor Tianhui had been driven mad with rage. Head Imperial Physician Gu Beiyue maintained a calm expression without speaking.
Yet soon enough, Eunuch Xue came in. “Your Majesty, esteemed empress dowager, the Imperial Uncle’s estate sent news over. Third young master lost consciousness!”
The empress dowager rose to her feet. “What?!”
“He fainted away after spitting up a mouthful of black blood. None of the imperial physicians could do anything. They said…they said to…prepare for the funeral!” Eunuch Xue forced himself to report. The empress dowager felt her vision turn dark as she held onto her chair for support. Emperor Tianhui had long stopped pacing to look over.
Suddenly, the empress dowager burst out, “Emperor, there’s no time! We can’t wait! Just do as Han Yunxi wants, hurry and have her take a look at him! The Bai family only has this single heir!”
Emperor Tianhui knitted his brows but was still undecided.
“Emperor! Are you just going to watch the Bai family lose their male offspring?” the empress dowager said angrily.
Emperor Tianhui was extremely unwilling, but faced with pestilence and death, he had no choice. “Gu Beiyue,” he said coldly, “Go tell Han Yunxi that Zhen will let her see the Duke of Qin if she can preserve Third Young Master’s life!”
—
When Han Yunxi heard the good news, she jumped for joy straight from the chair. Heaven never sealed of all the exits, there was always a way out. This time, she was going to let Grand Concubine Yi see how her own efforts and abilities were enough to contend with Emperor Tianhui. Even if she didn’t have Princess Rongle’s prestigious background and backing, she could still rescue Long Feiye!
Han Yunxi was so happy that she grabbed Gu Beiyue by the arm. “Hurry, to the Imperial Uncle’s estate!”
Gu Beiyue looked at her fine, slender hand, a sense of reluctance flitting past his eyes. In the end, he still gave her a simple smile before quietly dislodging himself. “Esteemed wangfei, come this way. The carriage has already been prepared.”
Gu Beiyue’s movements were too natural, and Han Yunxi too distracted, for her to notice him escaping her grasp. She didn’t even realize her inappropriate actions before the two headed for a side door. There was no awkward moment between them at all.
Only a person with no intentions and a magnanimous personality could ignore etiquette to such an extent, perhaps, Gu Beiyue mused to himself.
As for the poison pestis, Han Yunxi had the prescription but no antidote on hand. Still, she could use her acupuncture skills to preserve the third young master’s life for three days! Anyways, even if she had the antidote on hand, she wouldn’t use it at this critical juncture without seeing Long Feiye first. The news of their trip had passed on to the Imperial Uncle’s estate before they even arrived, so there were people to greet them as soon as they stepped in the doors. They hurried them into the third young master’s rooms.
“Imperial Physician Gu can stay, but everyone else needs to leave,” Han Yunxi still stuck to her usual habits.
Her words infuriated the old imperial uncle. “Han Yunxi, what do you plan to do to little Third? Something you can’t show others? Can you afford it if he dies?”
“Old Imperial Uncle, I can explain to you what I’m doing, but I’m afraid you’ll be preparing for your grandson’s funeral by the time I’m done,” Han Yunxi replied coldly.
“You!” the imperial uncle fell into a gloom. Han Yunxi simply crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby pillar, giving off an ‘as you will’ air. This made the imperial uncle anxious. “Fine, fine, fine! Do as you want, hurry and save him!”
Only then did Han Yunxi straighten up and enter the rooms. Before closing the door, she said one thing. “Old Imperial Uncle, it’s a lèse-majesté to call the wangfei by her name. I’ll forget about this time, but don’t let there be a second.” So speaking, she shut the doors heavily, leaving a gaping old imperial uncle outside.
Gu Beiyue didn’t know what to say. This woman really didn’t accept anyone taking advantage of her. She appeared to be very delicate, but was dared to speak her mind and go through with her actions. It’d be hard to find another woman like her in the capital–nay, in the entire Tianning Country. He was very happy. If not for Mu Qingwu getting poisoned that time, he might’ve missed his chance to join her in this room today.
Actually, Han Yunxi didn’t need Gu Beiyue to help her. She was fine doing this by herself, but it’d turned into a habit to let Gu Beiyue watch as she worked. Her careful and precise attitude came into play as she verified the presence of poison pestis before starting to work. The best way to detoxify such poison was to use the antidote, but without that, all they could do was expel the poison. That would alleviate the symptoms and delay the onset of poison, thus preserving his life. Truthfully speaking, if Emperor Tianhui had delayed any longer, or if Gu Beiyue hadn’t discovered the poison pestis in time, this third young master would’ve died for sure.
Han Yunxi did her best to expel as much of the poison as possible. One hour later, she cleared away her needles. The deed was done! Gu Beiyue immediately handed over a clean handkerchief to wipe off her sweat. Han Yunxi smiled as she accepted it.
“Thanks.”
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