Jiao Niang’s Medical Record Chapter 599

The doors and windows shut, the curtains drawn, the room was oppressively stuffy. Yet those standing inside felt as if they were ice basins placed in the corner of the room, their hearts encased in ice, their entire bodies chilled to the bone. Master Gu’s hands trembled slightly as he looked at the pale-faced Duke Jin’an lying on the bed.

“…This… this is just like before, he’s still unconscious,” he said hoarsely.

By the bedside, Eunuch Jing sat slumped on the floor. “…His eyes were open… wide open… I… I closed them for him… but they wouldn’t stay shut… they wouldn’t stay shut…” he mumbled.

Ever since everyone had entered the room, he had been repeating these words, like a man robbed of his senses. Eyes wide open, refusing to close.

Master Gu felt a surge of blood rush to his head once more.

“Doctor Li!” he called out.

“He’s gone cold, gone cold,” Doctor Li murmured on the other side, his fingers passing back and forth over the golden needles laid out before him, yet never picking up a single one.

“What happened?!” Master Gu grabbed him by the collar and roared.

“How did His Highness die?”

His Highness was dead.

Even Master Gu had acknowledged it. The hearts of everyone else in the room sank to the depths of an abyss.

“Was it because of that girl yesterday…”

Doctor Li seemed dazed.

That girl!

“She can bring the dead back to life! She can resurrect the dead!” he shouted, turning to rush out of the room.

Master Gu was furious. He seized him again.

“It was she who killed His Highness! And you still want to go to her?! Li Sishen, who on earth are you?!” he bellowed, his voice hoarse and trembling.

“It wasn’t her!” Doctor Li cried out. “It was the poison acting up, the poison acting up!”

Poison acting up?

“What poison?” Master Gu asked, his voice trembling.

“The same poison!” Doctor Li shouted, now nearing hysteria.

Just as these words were spoken, someone rushed in from outside.

“We’ve found it,” the man announced. “It was this bowl of medicine.” He presented an empty bowl and a small spouted pot he was holding.

At these words, the maids and eunuchs in the room went weak at the knees, collapsing to the floor.

If His Highness had not died of illness, then they were all doomed. Regardless of who the true culprit was, none of them who had served him closely and been present at the time could hope to escape punishment.

“I, I never left! I never left! I listened to Master’s words, I absolutely never left the medicine room!”

Beside them, an apprentice’s voice rang out wretchedly as he clung to Doctor Li, weeping and wailing.

“Impossible to guard against everything…”

Master Gu murmured, his gaze sweeping over the maids and eunuchs trembling on the floor.

Who among them was it?

They had known that with the grand wedding, many people would be sent in from the palace, and that many who wished them harm would also slip in among them. They had taken the best possible precautions, screening and re-screening those who served close to His Highness. Yet in the end, it still happened…

Was it because he had forced himself to complete the wedding ceremony, exhausting what little vital energy he had left?

Or was it because he had been pushed into the bridal chamber and ravaged, his body emptied out…

Then came another bowl of the poison he had not fully consumed last time…

Those determined to see His Highness dead – were they one faction, two factions, or many factions?

“Go invite the Madam back! Madam can bring the dead back to life! His Highness’s condition isn’t an illness – it’s poisoning! She will surely have a way!” Doctor Li shouted as he struggled free from Master Gu’s grasp and dashed out.

Invite her here?

Again, like this. At the critical moment of the prince’s life or death, she was always absent.

Last time, she was enjoying a flower-viewing excursion. This time, she had gone to the imperial palace.

Master Gu laughed, a hollow sound.

“So this is why the Empress Dowager was in such a hurry to confer the title upon her,” he said. “Or perhaps… it was all arranged long ago. Furthermore, what siblings or relatives of hers have been taken as hostages again…”

Is this… the duke‘s fate?

He slowly slumped back into his seat, his entire body drained of strength, listening as Doctor Li’s shouts gradually faded in the courtyard.

…

“How did it go?”

Gao Lingjun paused, setting down the teacup in his hand as he asked.

“It has been accomplished,” a close attendant replied in a low voice.

“And what about Lady Cheng?” Gao Lingjun inquired further.

“Rest assured, my lord. The Empress Dowager summoned Lady Cheng to the palace first, and only afterward was it…” the attendant said. “The time it takes to travel there and back is more than enough.”

Gao Lingjun nodded, a trace of relief flickering between his brows.

This time, nothing should go wrong, right?

Surely, there can no longer be anyone in this world with a fate so stubbornly resilient?

Even the hardest fate cannot withstand human calculation, can it?

He picked up the teacup and drank its contents in one gulp.

In the Empress Dowager’s palace, the sound of weeping arose.

“My child…”

the Empress Dowager cried out, rising hurriedly to her feet.

“Quickly, quickly, I must go and see.”

Eunuchs and palace maids rushed to support her.

“And all of you, hurry! Tell the Princess Consort to return immediately! What time do you think this is?!” the Empress Dowager sobbed, stamping her walking cane fiercely on the ground. “How can she still be at her leisure elsewhere!”

…

The Empress let out a slow breath as she gazed at the girl seated calmly before her.

“I think if you wished to leave, you would surely find a way to escape,” she said suddenly.

Cheng Jiao-niang looked at her, then shook her head with a slight smile.

“I do not like to flee,” she replied.

The Empress smiled.

“Who likes to flee? This isn’t a matter of preference – it’s a matter of having no other choice,” she said, shaking her head. “But you two truly were meant to be a couple. Back then, I also urged him to go, to leave this place and live a carefree, untroubled life. Yet he stubbornly refused to listen and insisted on staying.”

As she spoke, her eyes turned toward Cheng Jiao-niang.

“I can only offer these words. I am barely able to protect myself.”

Cheng Jiao-niang bowed deeply in respect.

“For Your Majesty to have said this much is already enough,” she said.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty,” a eunuch hurried in from outside. “Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is about to leave the palace for the Duke’s mansion.”

The Empress turned her gaze to Cheng Jiao-niang.

“By now, the people in the Duke’s mansion likely have no way to escape even if they grew wings,” she said. “Lady Cheng, I will not keep you here any longer. Otherwise, you may find yourself unable to leave this palace as well.”

Cheng Jiao-niang bowed and took her leave.

Watching the girl retreat with composed, unhurried steps, Consort An peeked out from behind the curtain.

“She must have arranged her escape route long ago,” she said with a slight curl of her lip. “Otherwise, how could she remain so utterly calm? No wonder the Cheng and Zhou families fled – they must have anticipated this.”

She sighed at this point.

“She’s a disciple of immortals, after all. She’ll surely find a way to fly away. It’s us who are truly trapped with no escape.”

The Empress glanced at her and let out a soft, derisive laugh.

“To escape doesn’t depend on whether one has wings,” she said. “Even if wings were attached to you, could you actually fly?”

…

Squadrons of imperial guards galloped past on the main street, their passage scattering the civilians into a chaotic rush.

Zhou Fu reined in his horse to avoid being caught in the surging crowd and potentially trampling someone.

“It seems a noble from the palace is preparing to depart,” his attendant remarked, observing the standard of the ceremonial procession.

But the only noble in the palace who could make such a journey now was…

Zhou Fu’s face paled dramatically.

“Young Master!”

The attendant cried out in alarm as Zhou Fu, who had been about to turn his horse around, instead dismounted and began pushing his way against the retreating crowd.

“You can’t go that way!”

…

“Young Master, something has happened at the Duke’s mansion.”

In a restaurant’s upper chamber, a close attendant pointed in a direction and spoke in a low voice.

Qin Hu glanced up briefly, then lowered his head again to pour more wine.

“If the Empress Dowager dares to leave the palace for the Duke’s mansion at this moment, then everything must be settled beyond doubt,” the attendant murmured softly. “Who would have thought they would act so swiftly.”

“Swift?” Qin Hu chuckled dismissively. “This is what you call swift after dragging it out until now.”

The attendant gave a small smile and looked once more toward that direction.

“Whether Duke Jin’an lives or dies has nothing to do with us. But… will Lady Cheng be alright? They aim to kill two birds with one stone this time,” he said.

Qin Hu laughed heartily, lifted his wine cup, and drained it in one gulp.

“Gao Lingjun still hasn’t realized who he is really dealing with,” he said. “Does he think he can outsmart her? It wasn’t him, Gao Lingjun, who succeeded last time!”

As he spoke, his hand tightened around the wine cup.

The one who had outsmarted her was him, Qin Hu!

Or rather… it was she herself! It was she who had trusted someone she shouldn’t have!

Qin Hu raised his head and took a deep breath, forcing down the fiery sting in his throat.

“So, Lady Cheng is safe,” the attendant said with a hint of relief. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Look! Lady Cheng is returning.”

Qin Hu shot to his feet and strode swiftly to the window, gazing down at the street below.

A carriage was speeding through the chaotic thoroughfare. The elegant beaded curtains of summer swayed in the wind, parting for an instant to reveal the girl sitting upright inside.

Just like that time before, when he had stood similarly at a window upstairs, watching a girl navigate the turmoil on the street below.

Back then, it had been over a year since they had last seen each other, yet it felt as if they had parted only yesterday. But now, even though only a few days had passed, it seemed like a lifetime had gone by.

That time, he had dashed down the stairs, leaped onto her carriage, and smiled at her.

“It’s me,” he had said.

And she had looked at him, a smile on her face as she gently fanned herself.

Run down there now. Go on.

The words screamed inside Qin Hu’s heart, but his feet remained rooted to the spot. He watched the carriage on the street rush past and vanish in the blink of an eye.

…

“Master Gu, Master Gu, the Empress Dowager has arrived.”

“Master Gu, the entire residence is surrounded.”

These voices echoed incessantly in Master Gu’s ears, but he paid them no mind. Soon, all the clamor faded away.

“Your Majesty, please do not enter.”

“Your Majesty, please restrain your grief.”

In their place came sounds of weeping and murmured condolences.

Master Gu exhaled a slow breath. He raised his hand and looked at the small cloth pouch concealed within his sleeve.

“Eunuch Jing, we have, after all, been acquainted for some time,” he said, his gaze shifting to the eunuch who still sat by the bedside. “I have something here, and I’ll share a portion with you. When the time comes to follow His Highness, it will make the journey… swifter.”

Eunuch Jing smiled faintly.

“His Highness has suffered so greatly,” he said. “How could I have the face to seek a swift passage?” He struggled to rise to his feet, his eyes fixed on the motionless Duke Jin’an lying on the bed, looking as if he were merely asleep. “I still must help His Highness dress… I cannot leave His Highness like this, exposed…”

The door to the chamber was violently flung open, and a group of imperial guards rushed in.

“Seize them!” they shouted, pinning down Master Gu and Eunuch Jing before dragging them out.

The courtyard was now filled with imperial guards.

Moments later, someone hurried out from inside the room and whispered into the sedan chair where the Empress Dowager sat.

“He is already cold, without pulse or breath,” the person murmured in a low voice.

“My child…”

Only then did the Empress Dowager emerge from her sedan. Supported by two palace maids, she broke into loud sobs. But her cries had barely begun when a commotion arose from outside.

“The Princess Consort has returned! The Princess Consort has returned!”

What use is it to return now! Foolish woman! Since you managed to leave, why have you come back?

Master Gu watched as Doctor Li stumbled and scrambled into the courtyard. His gaze then shifted behind the doctor, settling on the girl who approached with dignified, measured steps, as calm and unhurried as when she had departed.

“Are you unaware of the Duke’s current physical condition?” the Empress Dowager demanded, her brows drawn together in anger as she glared at her. “Why did you not hasten back to the palace sooner? This grieving one ordered you to pay respects to His Majesty, not to go and converse with the Empress! You spoke with the Empress… you actually dared to speak with her!”

As she spoke, she began to weep again, pointing a trembling finger toward the room where Duke Jin’an lay.

“The Empress has already driven him to the brink once with her talk of adopting an heir from the imperial clan! And now, for you to go and discuss such matters with the Empress again… Wei-lang had no choice but to make his resolve clear through death!”

As these words fell, Master Gu felt a sigh escape him deep within.

“So, she too was caught in the scheme…”

Cheng Jiao-niang regarded the Empress Dowager calmly.

“What is Your Majesty saying?” she said. “How could His Highness be dead?”

The Empress Dowager was momentarily stunned.

Could he still be alive?

Her gaze instinctively shifted to the people beside her.

How could their report be false? Moreover, she knew better than anyone the true nature of that poison…

“Princess Consort, you do not yet know… His Highness truly has passed,” a eunuch nearby hurriedly explained.

“Is that so?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked. “Have you gone inside to see for yourselves?”

The eunuch faltered.

She must be overcome with grief, unwilling to accept the truth, he thought, looking up at her with a hint of pity.

The Empress Dowager, too, regained her composure. Without another word, she stepped forward and strode toward the room.

“Your Majesty, please restrain your grief. You must not weep. The doctors have instructed…” Two eunuchs supported the Empress Dowager, weeping themselves as they tried to console her. “Let us weep on your behalf. You must not cry…”

The Empress Dowager paid them no mind, tears streaming down her face as she wailed.

“My child, why were you so rash? Why did you not heed my words?” she cried, her eyes turning toward the inner chamber.

Inside, a figure on the bed slowly began to sit up and extend a hand.

“Water…” a hoarse voice called out.

The weeping in the room ceased abruptly. Everyone froze, staring in disbelief at the sight before them.

“It’s a corpse reanimating!”

A moment later, screams of terror erupted.

Amid the cries, the Empress Dowager looked upon the pale, lifeless face that had turned to gaze from the bed. Her eyes rolled back, and a sudden gasp caught in her throat before she fainted dead away.

It’s a corpse reanimating!