The sky had only just begun to lighten.
Outside, a clamor of voices could be heard.
A group of people was fawning over some important figure.
Chu Qianli, still groggy, blinked. The noise gradually filtered into her ears.
“Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager…”
She snapped her eyes open!
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had arrived!
News of Prince Xuan’s critical illness had indeed reached the palace.
“Princess Consort, Princess Consort!”
Leng Ji was knocking on the door.
Receiving no response, he barged in. “Princess Consort, the Emperor and Empress Dowager have arrived. I shall go and greet them!”
“Prepare yourself.”
Chu Qianli rubbed her eyes.
She wasn’t sure what she needed to prepare.
But she understood Leng Ji’s intention.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager would surely make things difficult for her.
Therefore, she had to prepare herself to face these difficulties.
Leng Ji exited and went to meet the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
Initially, Leng Ji had wanted to stall for a bit, to give Chu Qianli more time to “prepare.”
However, the Emperor and Empress Dowager were in a state of extreme anxiety and did not allow him to delay. They quickened their pace and headed towards the room.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the Prince is resting…”
“Get lost!” the Emperor kicked him.
Leng Ji dared not dodge and had to endure the kick.
Eunuch Qing ordered the door to be pushed open. The Emperor strode in, followed by Nanny Jin, who supported the Empress Dowager.
“Xuan’er!” Seeing Feng Ye Xuan lying in the sickbed, the Empress Dowager’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.
“Liu Jin, where is Liu Jin?”
“Liu Jin!” The Emperor was also furious. Especially upon seeing only Chu Qianli guarding Feng Ye Xuan’s bedside, he was so enraged he wanted to kill someone!
“Find that scoundrel Liu Jin for me. I will have his head!”
Liu Jin was the most skilled physician in the Prince’s manor and had been by Feng Ye Xuan’s side for many years.
Now that Prince Xuan was gravely ill, he was not attending to him in his room but had entrusted the Prince to a young girl.
Was he mad?
Even though all indications suggested Chu Qianli’s medical skills were not bad, the Emperor was still displeased!
The Emperor was trembling with anger.
Eunuch Qing quickly whispered, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your health is paramount. Do not be angry anymore.”
The Emperor’s health was not good. A few days prior, after being angered by Prince Xuan to the point of spitting blood, he had not attended court and had been resting in bed.
It was only upon learning of the Prince’s critical illness and his continued unconsciousness that he had managed to get up.
In truth, the Emperor genuinely cared for the Prince.
However, the Prince, time and again, angered the Emperor over a woman. The Emperor felt both love and hatred for the Prince!
It was all Chu Qianli’s fault.
“Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!” Chu Qianli stepped forward and bowed.
This time, she was remarkably polite.
Since she had decided to face the royal pressure with Feng Ye Xuan, there was no need to be arrogant in front of the Emperor and Empress Dowager unless absolutely necessary.
Although she never considered herself arrogant, she felt that curbing her demeanor slightly was for Feng Ye Xuan’s sake.
The Emperor was slightly taken aback. He also immediately sensed that this wretch had less resentment towards him than before.
Even the Empress Dowager sensed it. Chu Qianli’s attitude towards them seemed to have become much more respectful.
She no longer possessed the defiant glint in her eyes as she did before.
But now, her sole concern was Feng Ye Xuan’s injuries, and she paid no mind to these matters!
“Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!” Liu Jin arrived in a hurry and quickly bowed. “Your Majesty…”
“The Prince is gravely injured, where have you been?” The Emperor wished he could wring his head off!
Liu Jin quickly replied, “Princess Ping Yue had just woken up, and I went to check on her. As for the Prince, since Miss Chu was here, therefore…”
“And you entrusted your Prince’s life to an outsider like this!” the Emperor roared.
Liu Jin lowered his head and replied gently, “The Prince’s injuries are extremely severe…”
He had intended to say that without Chu Qianli, the Prince might have been in grave danger.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the Empress Dowager immediately burst into tears, “My Xuan’er!”
The Empress Dowager rushed forward, grasped Feng Ye Xuan’s hand, her voice instantly becoming hoarse.
“Xuan’er, Xuan’er… why is he so badly injured? Tell me quickly! How did he get injured like this!”
The Empress Dowager turned and glared at Liu Jin, “What exactly happened?”
“I heard it was to save a maidservant,” Eunuch Qing glanced furtively at Feng Ye Xuan on the sickbed.
Helpless, he could only reveal what he knew. “To save that maidservant, he jumped off a cliff and fell… fell like this.”
“A maidservant? How is that possible? How can it be?”
The Empress Dowager’s fingertips trembled with anxiety. “My Xuan’er, with his noble status, how could he disregard his own life for a mere maidservant? Who is she? Quickly, summon that maidservant for me! I want to see for myself what kind of maidservant is worthy of Xuan’er’s actions!”
She was both angry and anxious, so furious she wished she could tear that maidservant to shreds before her.
Eunuch Qing appeared somewhat troubled and was about to order someone to summon Fu Ning.
However, at this moment, Chu Qianli stepped forward, walked to the Empress Dowager, and said softly, “She is my maidservant.”
“It’s you again!”
It was indeed her!
It was her again!
The Empress Dowager had been wondering why such a mere maidservant would make Feng Ye Xuan act so rashly!
But she never expected it to be related to Chu Qianli!
This woman was like a poison, completely driving her Xuan’er mad!
Just a maidservant!
Because she was her maidservant, he would risk his life?
To what extent had Xuan’er become infatuated with this woman?
He had truly gone completely mad!
The Emperor already knew what had happened before he arrived, so on the carriage, he had nearly spat blood several times out of anger.
Now, seeing Chu Qianli step forward herself, he was so enraged he almost fainted.
His health was poor, and the imperial physicians had warned that anger caused great harm to his body.
Eunuch Qing quickly soothed him, “Your Majesty, since things have come to this, let us first check on the Prince’s injuries. Other matters can be discussed later, Your Majesty!”
The Emperor’s chest heaved with anger.
Chu Qianli did not wish to anger him, but she could not let Fu Ning be implicated.
What if the Emperor, in a fit of displeasure, ordered Fu Ning to be beaten to death?
In the eyes of these royals, the lives of maidservants were sometimes worth less than that of livestock.
“Liu Jin!” Eunuch Qing called out.
Liu Jin quickly replied, “Reporting to Your Majesty, reporting to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, the Prince’s injuries are extremely severe, but this time, it is indeed thanks to Miss Chu!”
“I am incompetent. I had no solution for the Prince’s injuries. It was Miss Chu who personally treated the Prince, serving him day and night for three days and three nights, only then did the Prince’s condition stabilize slightly.”
“Slightly?” What did that mean?
The Empress Dowager glared at Chu Qianli, tears of anger streaming down her face, “You are an ill-fated person. Anyone who comes near you meets a bad end! How long will you continue to harm my Xuan’er?”