Chapter 508 - 509: Imperial Physician
Chapter 508: Chapter 509: Imperial Physician
Rong Ruiyuan looked coldly at the two Imperial Physicians before him, making another mental note against them. If they weren’t his imperial father’s people, he would have dealt with them on the spot.
"Will she continue to gain weight?" Rong Ruiyuan didn’t want the reputation of the Third Prince Mansion to suffer due to any mishaps surrounding Gu Antong.
"It’s hard to say," the two Imperial Physicians answered noncommittally. "This is our first time encountering such a drug. We still need to observe her further."
"She isn’t even eating anymore, yet she’s still gaining weight. Don’t you have any medicine to alleviate this?"
To prevent the Third Prince Mansion from becoming a massive laughingstock, Rong Ruiyuan had even ordered the kitchen to reduce her food rations as much as possible, providing just enough to keep Gu Antong from starving to death.
He would have liked to just starve her to death and be done with it, but he was afraid of the ugly rumors it would spawn. Furthermore, since this incident had occurred, his imperial father had dispatched Imperial Physicians to keep watch. He didn’t want to earn a reputation for being heartless and fickle. If he really dared to do that, he feared the throne would truly slip from his grasp.
The two Imperial Physicians shook their heads simultaneously. They weren’t lying about this; they had tried their best to prescribe her a lot of medicine, but none of it seemed to have any effect.
Meanwhile, in the backyard not far from there, Gu Antong was wiping her tears. She hadn’t eaten anything solid for days. At most, she drank some soup and medicine every day. Yet, even so, she was still incessantly gaining weight.
The sewing room had already delivered new batches of clothes several times. If this continued, even a quilt wouldn’t be large enough to wrap around her.
"Have the two Imperial Physicians not come for a consultation today?" Gu Antong struggled to shift her body. She didn’t even know exactly how fat she was now. Regardless, she couldn’t see her toes when she looked down, and her movements had become incredibly sluggish.
The Third Prince would come to take a look at her every few days, but the disgust in his eyes was something she couldn’t bear. Just a few days ago, they had been deeply in love and inseparable.
"Not yet." Cai Hua complained inwardly as well. She hadn’t accepted the olive branches extended by the other consorts earlier, missing out on such great opportunities right before her eyes. Now that Gu Shufei was in this state, the other consorts in the backyard wouldn’t even give them a second glance.
These days, she had endured endless mockery in the mansion. Even if someone initiated a conversation with her, it was only to fish for information about Gu Shufei’s current appearance.
Ever since Gu Antong realized she was growing larger, she hadn’t taken a single step out of this small courtyard. Cai Hua was growing deeply concerned. If Gu Shufei continued to gain weight like this, she feared she wouldn’t even be able to fit through the bedroom door later on.
"If you don’t know, then hurry up and go urge them! You blockhead, you can’t even handle this little thing." Gu Antong was becoming increasingly irritable all day long. She no longer bothered to maintain her image and would sometimes just open her mouth to curse. "Let me tell you, if I don’t get better, don’t even think about having a good life!"
Gu Antong didn’t understand why things had turned out this way. Who could be so cruel as to drug her like this?
In truth, she leaned towards suspecting the women in the backyard and had tearfully complained to the Third Prince about it. However, even though His Highness had promised to investigate thoroughly, so many days had passed without a single shred of news.
At the end of the day, it was all because the Gu Family lacked sufficient influence. If she had a powerful maiden family backing her, there was no way this matter would be swept under the rug so easily.
Cai Feng was so frightened she hid in a corner, not daring to make a sound. Gu Antong had been growing increasingly bad-tempered these days. Whenever she lost her temper, she would actually get physical. With her massive size now, her palms were as swollen as large, fleshy palm-leaf fans. A slap from her was incredibly painful.
The last time things hadn’t gone her way, she slapped Cai Feng directly across the face. The swelling lasted for two days and had only just subsided with great difficulty.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and fetch the doctor for me!" Gu Antong didn’t refrain from getting physical to vent her anger today because she didn’t want to; rather, her body was growing heavier, and her feet were faintly aching. She suspected her legs could no longer support such a massive weight.
Cai Feng hastily nodded in a panic. Tossing the etiquette she had been taught upon entering the mansion to the back of her mind, she stumbled out the door. Stepping outside and looking up at the clear sky, she felt a deep chill run through her entire body.
Her current life was essentially a dead end. If Gu Antong continued to deteriorate like this, the royal family would never allow such a laughingstock to exist. When that time came, as her personal maid, Cai Feng’s fate would be entirely predictable.
Now she even felt a bit envious of Cai Li. Because Cai Li was wooden and unlikable, she had been sold off early. Even if she had been sold to a less-than-ideal place, at least she got to keep her life.
With a heavy sigh, she hurried off to find the doctors. Right now, she could only hope that the Imperial Physicians truly had a way to cure Gu Antong’s poison. Only then would both master and servant have a chance at survival.
As for seeking help from the Gu Family, that was entirely impossible. The Third Prince Mansion was currently locked down like an iron barrel—people were only allowed in, not out. Besides, what could the Gu Family even do if they knew? They wouldn’t be able to find an antidote, nor did they have any say in front of the Third Prince.
Upon arriving at the courtyard where the Imperial Physicians resided, she learned that the Third Prince had already summoned them. Not daring to intrude and ask for them, she could only wait outside, hoping they would return soon.
After waiting for a while, she finally saw the two Imperial Physicians return, their foreheads dripping with sweat. The moment they saw Cai Feng, they knew why she was there. With a heavy sigh, they bypassed their courtyard entirely and said to her, "Let’s go. We’ll go check on Gu Shufei."
Although they had mentally prepared themselves, upon seeing that Gu Antong had grown another size larger, the two Imperial Physicians simultaneously shook their heads in their hearts. It seemed yesterday’s medicine had no effect whatsoever once again.
After routinely asking a few questions, the two Imperial Physicians felt a headache coming on. If they were asked to prescribe another medication now, they wouldn’t even know where to start. No matter what medicine she took, even if they had Gu Antong temporarily fast for a day, she would still put on weight just the same.
"Well? Can this poison of mine be cured or not?" Gu Antong hoped to receive different news every day, yet she was disappointed every single time.
The two Imperial Physicians shook their heads at the same time. "You aren’t suffering from a poison. Rather, it could be said that you ingested the wrong medicine. You can feel for yourself that there is nothing seriously wrong with your body."
"How is there nothing seriously wrong? My legs are aching today," Gu Antong began to grow impatient again. "Every day you tell me there’s nothing seriously wrong with my body. Don’t you feel guilty when you say that?
"You are supposed to be Imperial Physicians, yet you can’t even diagnose such an obvious illness."
"We are still working hard to research exactly what drug you were afflicted with," one Imperial Physician replied, feeling quite distressed. Ever since they entered the Third Prince Mansion, it felt like they were being scolded every day. "There are absolutely no toxins in your body. This is also the brilliance of the drug the culprit used.
"Moreover, after so many days, the medicine has completely fused with your body. I’m afraid that even if an antidote is developed, there will be no way to restore your figure..."
Since this Gu Shufei loved to repeatedly rehash old grievances, she couldn’t blame them for rubbing salt in her wounds. "We actually think you should go for a walk outside, or exert yourself a bit, to see if you can sweat out the drug’s effects from your body as quickly as possible."
It wasn’t that Gu Antong hadn’t thought of this method before. However, exercising required her to go outside, and she couldn’t bear the strange looks she would receive.