The others waited there, but Rong Sui and Shi Ning'an were rushed back to the Rong Mansion. Princess Zhaoming was so frightened that cold sweat streamed down her face. It was not until she heard that neither of them was in mortal danger that she managed to calm down a bit.
Even so, seeing Rong Sui covered in blood and looking so horrible, both Princess Zhaoming and Mrs. Xia were extremely worried.
Mrs. Xia was relatively calmer. Although she was Rong Sui's birth mother, she had been on the battlefield with her father and brothers since childhood and was accustomed to seeing people go into battle with swords and be carried back, often terribly mangled and hard to treat.
Although she was heart - broken, she managed to hold herself together and sat silently by the bedside, shedding tears.
Princess Zhaoming felt dizzy and almost fainted. The nephew she had raised like a son was lying there motionless in front of her, with hardly a piece of uninjured flesh on his body.
Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
To make matters worse, there was also Ning'an besides Rong Sui.
With the support of the maids, Princess Zhaoming staggered into the side hall. Shi Ning'an was lying on the couch, looking on the verge of death, as if she had lost all signs of life.
Thankfully, it was only an illusion.
Shi Ning'an raised her head, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, and asked hoarsely, "Aunt, where's cousin?"
Princess Zhaoming forced a smile that looked worse than crying, and her voice trembled as she tried to comfort her, "The Zeng family is here, Ning'an... don't worry."
The Rong Mansion was in a complete uproar. By the time Uncle Zeng the Second and Uncle Zeng the Fourth arrived, Zeng Haomiao had already written out the prescription for the antidote and sent someone to fetch the medicine and boil it for Rong Sui.
He went to Shi Ning'an's side and was about to feel her pulse.
Uncle Zeng the Second rolled up his sleeves as he rushed over. "Let me do it."
Zeng Haomiao's eyes flashed. He glanced at Shi Ning'an and quickly said, "Uncle, don't be in a hurry. Ning'an is fine. She's just frightened. I'll just write out a couple of prescriptions for nourishing and warming to recuperate her. But it's still necessary for Uncle to take a look at Rong Sanlang. Nephew is worried that his skills are not good enough..."
Shi Ning'an shyly lowered her head. She knew that Zeng Haomiao was afraid that his second uncle would notice something from her haggard appearance, so she just kept silent.
After all, Rong Sui's condition was more serious. Uncle Zeng the Second didn't think much and turned around and went out again.
This was a small courtyard closest to the outer courtyard. Seeing Rong Sui's serious injuries, Princess Zhaoming didn't have the time to take him to the innermost part of the mansion. Instead, she settled him here, next to Shi Ning'an, for easy care.
Yingtao knelt beside Shi Ning'an. Looking at the busy Lu'er, she said, "Lu'er, the young lady is not feeling well. I don't know where her clothes are. How about you go and fetch them?"
Lu'er didn't suspect anything. She nodded in agreement. Afraid that Yingtao might not serve properly, she gave a few more instructions before going out.
With no one else in the room, Zeng Haomiao reached out to feel Shi Ning'an's pulse and carefully instructed, "Your qi and blood are a bit weak. Nourish yourself and you'll be fine. However, cousin's pulse is not very good. It's because you think too much on weekdays. In the future..."
Shi Ning'an forced a bitter smile. "Cousin has seen what happened today. If I didn't think more, I'm afraid I would have been devoured alive."
Zeng Haomiao silently wrote out the prescription and also prescribed a calming decoction. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked at Shi Ning'an, stammering, "Ning'an, if I had been more insistent when Prince Rong asked us that day and taken you back to the Zeng family, would you not have had such a hard time?"
Shi Ning'an was slightly startled and didn't understand what he meant.
Zeng Haomiao continued, "That day, Sanlang was very enthusiastic. He said that neither I nor Brother Xia was suitable, and that Brother Si was too naive. He said that we couldn't protect you safely. But is this how he protects you?"
Shi Ning'an propped herself up. "Cousin!"
She saw the faint tears in his eyes and couldn't bear to scold him.
Zeng Haomiao went on, "Ning'an, we grew up together. I've always regarded you as my own sister. I only came here this time at Grandmother's behest. I didn't really want to marry you in my heart, so I wasn't firm that day. But now, I regret it. If I had been insistent that day, would things have been different? Ning'an..."
"No..." Shi Ning'an lowered her head. "I could have escaped."
"What?"
Shi Ning'an kept her head down. "I could have escaped originally, but if I left, what would happen to Rong Sui? And what would happen to the Rong family?"
Zeng Haomiao didn't say a word.
Shi Ning'an continued, "Cousin, I did it voluntarily. I can't be so selfish. All along, it's the Rong family that has protected me, and it's Rong Sui who has protected me. If I had escaped..."
Yingtao knelt on the ground and whispered, "I've hidden that corpse, but I don't know what to do with it."
Zeng Haomiao was extremely shocked and quickly asked, "What corpse?"
Shi Ning'an pursed her lips and turned her face away. "The corpse that could ruin Rong Sui's reputation."
Zeng Haomiao didn't ask any more questions. He quickly wrote out the prescription and placed it on the table. When he got up to leave, he turned his head and looked seriously at Shi Ning'an. "Cousin, we've had more than ten years of sibling affection. I won't leave you alone. I don't care about those things. If you want to back out, the Zeng family will always be your way out."
The news of Rong Sui's accident in the royal villa spread like wildfire throughout the city before the next day.
The royal noblewomen secretly praised him. On one hand, they said that Rong Sui was truly an extraordinary young man. Even after being poisoned by that aphrodisiac, he would rather hurt himself so badly than harm County Mistress Zhonghui in the slightest. On the other hand, they secretly discussed whether Rong Sui was not a real man or was not interested in women. Otherwise, how could he resist the temptation when County Mistress Zhonghui was so beautiful?
This was the private discussion. The emperor was extremely angry because of this. The imperial guards were in the front, and the palace guards were in the back. Almost all the capital guards were out of control, and such a thing had happened so easily.
As the emperor got older, he always suspected that there were people around him with ulterior motives. The last time it was aimed at Rong Xuan, and he didn't feel much about it. But this time, it was Rong Sui who was trapped. Rong Sui was the most capable bodyguard beside the crown prince and was also the junior he had watched grow up and cherished the most.
In addition, when Concubine Zhao heard about this, although she heard that County Mistress Zhonghui was safe, she couldn't help but think of her dead sister. She was so sad that she fainted and had a high fever that night.
The imperial physicians in the imperial hospital said it was because of the stagnation of qi and excessive shock.
Even Lord Zhao outside the palace was extremely worried. He sent a message to the palace, saying that Concubine Zhao's mother had died early and how much he loved her. Now that he knew she was ill, he couldn't eat or sleep well. He just hoped that the emperor would allow him to see her.
The emperor agreed. But when he summoned Lord Zhao, he learned some things that he didn't know before.
For example, during the relief work for the snow disaster in Huai'an at the end of last year, the side branches of the Zhao family almost perished. If it weren't for the protection of the Rong army, the Zhao family would have suffered a great loss.
The emperor had a vague impression of this, but he had left the matter entirely to the Ministry of Justice and didn't know the danger involved.
Then Lord Zhao talked about the prices in the folk. He said that although the people were wealthy now, the purchase price of grains and oils was low while the selling price was high. As merchants, they had to pay a large amount of taxes and had no choice. But he didn't know why the peasants' taxes were so harsh.
The emperor frowned immediately and coldly looked at Lord Zhao, who looked honest in front of him, trying to figure out the truth in his words.
Thankfully, Lord Zhao didn't say much and waited nervously to see Concubine Zhao.
The emperor then summoned the ministers and vice - ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, and also called the crown prince to assist. He asked them to investigate this matter clearly.
The Ministry of Works didn't respond much. The minister of the Ministry of Revenue was newly appointed. Previously, the minister of the Ministry of Revenue was from the Dong family. After the last purge, the minister and the left vice - minister of the Ministry of Revenue were dismissed, and the right vice - minister was promoted. He was only about forty years old and was quite capable.
The minister of the Ministry of Revenue knelt down and reported the current situation in various parts of the Great Zhou. He said that the national treasury was empty because the taxes had been reduced year after year. But unfortunately, although the taxes were reduced every year, many places only pretended to implement the reduction while actually increasing them.
Most of the time, it was related to the merchants. Many merchants colluded with the officials, and they shared the profits. In the end, it was still the common people who suffered.
The emperor didn't expect that the matter of the capital guards would lead to so many other problems. Immediately, he was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood, which frightened everyone present.
The crown prince, as the heir apparent, although worried about his father's health, still calmly invited the imperial physicians and arranged the investigation of the people's livelihood one by one in an orderly manner.
However, more than a dozen imperial physicians in the imperial hospital shook their heads in front of the unconscious emperor's bed, saying that they were powerless.
Overnight, the empress dowager's hair turned completely white. She sat in front of the dragon bed, silently shedding tears. No one could persuade her.
It was not until the middle of the night that the nanny beside the empress dowager was worried and sent someone to invite Princess Zhaoming into the palace, hoping that the princess could persuade the empress dowager.
Princess Zhaoming also looked haggard. There had been one accident after another in the family, and as the mistress of the family, she had to worry about everything. By the time she arrived at the palace, it was already dawn.
The empress dowager no longer had her usual aloof appearance. When she saw Princess Zhaoming, whom she regarded as her daughter, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She grabbed Princess Zhaoming's hand and asked, "Do you want this old woman to bury her son with white hair?"
Princess Zhaoming held the empress dowager's hand and repeatedly asked, "The last time I entered the palace to pay respects, the emperor was still in good health. How could he fall ill in just ten days? What did the imperial physicians say?"
The chief of the imperial hospital quickly bowed and replied, "Your Highness, the emperor was attacked by qi and blood, and there may be blood blockage in his brain. This disease... has no cure..."
The empress dowager immediately threw the Buddhist beads in her hand at the chief's head. "Nonsense! If you talk nonsense again, I'll make you accompany the emperor to the grave!"
The chief didn't dare to dodge and trembled, not daring to say another word.
Princess Zhaoming quickly comforted the empress dowager and asked her to sit down. Then she said, "Your Majesty, don't be in a hurry. Maybe they just haven't thought of a way for the time being. Let them think about it. Aunt, how about I help you go and rest first?"
The empress dowager was filled with grief and didn't want to agree. She just sat by the bedside, silently shedding tears.
The chief of the imperial hospital gathered his courage and said again, "I've heard that if we perform a craniotomy to release the blood, there may be a glimmer of hope. But... we've never tried it before and dare not act rashly."
The empress dowager was both angry and anxious and scolded, "You're the chief of the imperial hospital? Such an incompetent person! Let me ask you, if we perform a craniotomy and remove the blood blockage, will the emperor be okay?"
Another imperial physician whispered behind, "After a craniotomy... the emperor may not survive..."
Seeing that the empress dowager was about to get angry again, Princess Zhaoming quickly stepped forward to help the empress dowager calm down. In a hurry, she said, "Aunt, in the Rong Mansion recently, we've invited the young master of the Zeng family from Nanling. How about inviting them to have a try?"