"The heart of the Princess Consort is beating rather fast."
Song Yihuan didn't expect the first words Doctor Zhong would say after taking her pulse to be this. She was choked by her own exhaled breath and coughed more violently than before.
Granny Zhao, who was guarding by the bedside, quickly stepped forward to pat her on the back and said to Doctor Zhong, "Doctor Zhong, is there something seriously wrong with our mistress's body?"
The gaze that had been fixed on Song Yihuan shifted away. Then, she heard Ji Lingchuan ask, "Doctor Zhong, how is the Princess Consort?"
Doctor Zhong inquired, "Has the Princess Consort been going to bed very late recently? Has she been experiencing great emotional fluctuations and often feeling pent - up?"
Song Yihuan finally managed to calm down. She found that what Doctor Zhong said matched her symptoms exactly. She imitated her elder sister's tone with ventriloquism and replied, "Yes."
After hearing this, Doctor Zhong stopped asking questions and continued to focus on the pulse.
A moment later, Doctor Zhong withdrew his hand and said, "The Princess Consort's body is not seriously ill. It's just that she has had relatively large emotional fluctuations recently. During her menstrual period, she was overly tired and went to bed late, resulting in a deficiency of qi and blood. That's why she has been feeling unwell. However, this is not a big problem. I'll prescribe a few doses of medicine for the Princess Consort to take for several days. As long as she pays attention to rest, she'll recover."
Granny Zhao said, "That's good, that's good. The Princess Consort said she didn't feel well when she got up this morning. It really scared us."
Song Yihuan took back her hand accordingly and said, "Thank you, Doctor Zhong."
In that short moment, her fair and slender wrist caught the attention of Ji Lingchuan, who had been waiting behind the screen. As if sensing something, he looked at the person on the bed again, took a step forward, wanting to get closer to see her face clearly. But the next moment, he heard her say:
"Is Doctor Zhong in a hurry to go back? If not, I'd like to ask Doctor Zhong to take the pulses of my younger brother and sister to check on their well - being."
The "younger brother and sister" she mentioned in her words was like a heavy hammer that forced Ji Lingchuan to stop in his tracks.
Doctor Zhong was packing up his things and smiled, "I came here today to treat the sick and save the dying. It doesn't matter if I see a couple more people."
"Thank you, Doctor Zhong. Granny Zhao, send someone to take Doctor Zhong to Tinglan Courtyard. Let the Fourth Miss and the Fifth Young Master know and ask Doctor Zhong to take a look at them too. Especially Xuan'er. His health is not good. If he can be treated by Doctor Zhong, it might be beneficial to his condition."
Song Yihuan imitated Song Nanxin's tone and manner so vividly, adding a bit of weakness. For a moment, no one could detect anything wrong.
Granny Zhao couldn't help but look at her, a flicker of approval in her eyes. She replied, "Yes."
The person behind the bed curtain moved. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, Ji Lingchuan could feel that the person on the bed was looking at him.
"Your Highness, I'm not feeling well. Please forgive me for not being able to get up to see you off."
Ji Lingchuan suppressed the strange feeling that had been lingering in his heart and said in a deep voice, "Rest well."
Outside Yixiang Pavilion, since Doctor Zhong had promised to take the pulses of those in Tinglan Courtyard, he left with the maid.
Ji Lingchuan stood outside Yixiang Pavilion, frowning and pondering for a long time. In the end, he didn't go back into the room to disturb them. He took a step and left Shulan Courtyard.
After confirming that there was no one outside, Song Yihuan sat up straight on the bed, lifted the bed curtain, revealing a face almost identical to Song Nanxin's. However, although they looked the same, upon closer inspection, there were still some differences.
Granny Zhao said, "You've worked hard, miss. Thanks to you, we managed to deceive them."
Song Yihuan said indifferently, "It's my honor to be able to help my elder sister."
Passing through the secret room, Song Yihuan returned to the side room and waited quietly. After waiting for about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, there was a noise outside the side - room door. The door was pushed open, and Song Nanxin walked in with Baishao.
Song Yihuan stood up and asked with concern, "Sister, was everything okay? What did Doctor Zhong say? Did he prescribe any medicine?"
Song Nanxin sat down on the chair, frowned and said, "Everything went smoothly. No one noticed my identity. But even Doctor Zhong can't do anything about my condition. He just prescribed some medicine. That's all."
Song Yihuan actually didn't really care whether Song Nanxin could be saved or not. She asked eagerly, "And... what about Xuan'er?"
Song Nanxin gave her a sidelong glance and sneered, "Xuan'er's illness is congenital. Even if the great immortals were alive, they couldn't cure it. You'd better give up this idea."
Song Yihuan was extremely disappointed. She forced herself to comfort her, "Sister, don't be discouraged. If Doctor Zhong can't cure him, we can find another doctor. There must be a way to cure him."
Song Nanxin didn't answer this but asked, "Why is there a little cat in your courtyard? Where did it come from?"
Song Yihuan's heart skipped a beat. She said calmly, "I don't know either. This cat suddenly appeared in my courtyard last night. I settled it in my yard, planning to find its owner."
Song Nanxin didn't say anything after hearing this. She waved her hand impatiently, "Alright, you've completed your task. There's nothing for you to do here. Go back to your small courtyard and rest."
Song Nanxin waved her hand, and "Baishao" walked towards Song Yihuan. Song Yihuan subconsciously took a step back. "Baishao" smiled and said, "What is Miss Song Si afraid of? I won't eat you."
"Baishao" pressed on various parts of Song Yihuan's face, and then a delicate facial skin was peeled off. Looking at the thing that looked like real human skin, a hint of meaning flashed in Song Yihuan's eyes.
Walking on the deserted path, recalling what had just happened, Song Yihuan felt more and more that "Baishao" was unfathomable.
Fuling said that "Baishao" was a maid given to her elder sister by the Princess of Ning. But would the Princess of Ning put such a powerful person beside her elder sister to help her?
Song Yihuan didn't have much contact with the Princess of Ning, but she intuitively felt that the Princess of Ning was by no means a generous person.
So, what means did her elder sister use to make "Baishao" completely submit to her and become her right - hand woman?
Or...
A possibility suddenly popped up in Song Yihuan's mind.
Or, this "Baishao" was not the real Baishao. The real Baishao had already been secretly replaced. The current "Baishao" was actually someone else?
Song Yihuan suddenly thought of the Qionglimei Troupe that was invited into the mansion yesterday and of Cui Ying'er, who had taught her ventriloquism many years ago.
If it was Cui Ying'er, there was really a possibility.
There were too many mysteries around her elder sister, and all these mysteries needed to be verified. At present, the most urgent thing was to find a way to figure out what was wrong with her elder sister's body as soon as possible!