Chapter 157: You Damned Bastard
Chapter 157: Chapter 157: You Damned Bastard
Though he was still worried, the Princess Consort had already made her decision, so Li Yong didn’t try to persuade her further.
No matter what, he couldn’t overstep his authority and forbid the Princess Consort from going out, could he?
A short while later, Xia Zhi, Dongzhi, and the other maids arrived.
They carried complete sets of clothing, shoes, hairpins, and jewelry.
Seeing their mistress awake, the maids’ eyes reddened with tears once more.
Cui Lingyao was in a hurry to leave, so after offering them a few words of comfort, she rose to change her clothes.
She didn’t know what material her clothes were made of, but they felt cold and clammy, sending a chill seeping straight to her bones.
And since it was already late autumn, she was, in short, freezing.
Li Yong withdrew, clutching the letter Cui Lingyao had written herself. He wished he could personally race to Pingzhou to deliver this tremendous news to his master.
But with the Princess Consort finally awake, she could not be left without protection.
He could not abandon his post.
...
Sometime after noon, the side gate of Prince Yu’s Mansion opened in succession.
First, two guards on warhorses galloped toward the city gates.
Not long after, a carriage emerged.
The carriage body was a dusty gray, and with no servants or maids following behind, it was very inconspicuous.
The only thing that drew attention was that Li Yong, the Chief of the Royal Guard, was personally riding alongside as an escort.
After the news from Pingzhou had arrived, it was no longer a secret that Xie Jinbai had left the Capital City.
The master of the Prince Mansion was not in the Capital City, so no one knew who could be inside the carriage, meriting a personal escort from Li Yong.
Or was it just a deliberate feint, a diversionary tactic?
After all, the master of the vast Prince Yu’s Mansion was away. In the rear residence, there was only one wife and one concubine—one of whom was perpetually bedridden, and the other... already dead.
Could it be the gravely ill Consort Li?
The appearance of this carriage sparked countless speculations.
Hidden Guards from several noble houses, dispatched to keep watch, followed silently behind.
After passing through the spacious Vermilion Bird Street, the carriage came to a steady halt before the main entrance of the Duke Zhao Mansion.
Li Yong knocked on the red-lacquered main gate and presented a formal calling card.
The gate opened quickly.
The carriage drove inside.
This was a Super-Grade Duke Mansion, yet the occupant of the carriage did not disembark for the entire entry.
Could it really be Consort Li?
Too gravely ill to be fit for disembarking.
—It couldn’t possibly be Princess Consort Yu, could it?
The many speculations were left behind.
「Duke Zhao Mansion」
Cui Lingyao’s carriage stopped directly before the entrance to the main courtyard of the Heir’s wife.
She had been to this courtyard countless times before.
During Chen Minrou’s newlywed days, she had been a frequent and welcome guest here.
Later, for the third-day birth banquet for Chen Minrou’s eldest daughter, she had even presented a lavish gift.
Back then, Chen Minrou had married the man she loved. The couple was deeply affectionate, and she herself seemed to be floating in a jar of honey, radiant and proud.
She had the high spirits and boundless energy to cultivate her own sweet little life.
She had filled this courtyard with all kinds of flowers, making the whole place burst with life. Even the most secluded cluster of daisies in the corner had borne witness to her happiness.
But now, the courtyard was desolate.
During her years away from the capital, the flowers had gone untended and long since withered away.
Upon her return, Chen Minrou was already critically ill, with no strength left to tend to her flowers and plants. Now, only a few bare peach trees remained in the courtyard, swaying in the cold wind.
As Cui Lingyao stepped into the courtyard, she saw several maids rushing about with anxious expressions, too preoccupied to even greet a visitor.
The tension in the air was palpable.
Cui Lingyao’s expression faltered for a moment, and she quickened her pace toward the inner hall.
The closer she got, the more overpowering the scent of medicine became.
The inner hall was filled with people.
Most were the women of the Zhao Family.
Chen Minrou’s two children were also present, the younger one held on the Duchess’s lap.
In addition, members of the Chen Family were there.
Cui Lingyao recognized Chen Peirou among them.
When she saw two girls about the same age sitting next to Chen Peirou, Cui Lingyao’s heart sank with a terrible suspicion.
The entire hall was tense and solemn. No one spoke.
There was only the scent of medicine, thick with the aura of death.
When the Duchess saw Cui Lingyao enter, she didn’t recognize her at first. She stared, stunned for a few moments, before hastily leading the others in a bow.
Cui Lingyao was in no mood for pleasantries. She casually told them to rise and was about to speak when the heavy door curtain to the inner chamber was lifted from inside.
The main room was just beyond the doorway.
Though it was only just past noon, the room inside was brightly lit with candles.
As the thick curtain was parted, an even more overpowering scent of medicine spilled out.
With it came the sound of a man’s trembling voice.
...as if he were begging for something.
Zhao Shijie sat on the bed, one arm wrapped around his wife. With his other hand, he cupped her cheek, then lowered his head to press his forehead against hers.
He seemed to be on the verge of a total breakdown, endlessly coaxing and begging her. ’Don’t sleep. Don’t close your eyes...’
But the woman in his arms gave no response.
The maids and serving women in the room held their breath, utterly silent, not daring to make the slightest sound.
The Divine Doctors summoned from various regions, along with several Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Hospital, had all arrived.
One of them, an elderly man with a white beard and hair, had just finished a round of acupuncture, his back already drenched in sweat.
Another doctor, dressed in an imperial doctor’s robe, had three fingers placed on Chen Minrou’s wrist, taking her pulse.
He withdrew his hand and shook his head gently. "Her lamp has run out of oil."
Zhao Shijie stiffly turned his neck to look at them. "Is there anything any of you can do?"
The elderly doctors exchanged a look and shook their heads in unison.
"Life and death are destined. How can mere mortals change fate? With the Heir’s wife’s condition, even the legendary Hua Tuo himself would be powerless to save her. I urge you to accept what is to come."
’Accept what is to come...’
Zhao Shijie’s pupils trembled erratically as he asked the question he dreaded most, "How much longer does she have?"
’How much longer can she live?’
The room was silent for several moments.
It was the same Imperial Physician who spoke. "I’m afraid she will not make it through the day."
Having served in the palace, these Imperial Physicians were extremely diplomatic. Their words were always carefully chosen and left no room for error.
For him to speak so definitively was to pronounce a final, irreversible death sentence.
In truth, however, that was a conservative estimate.
In reality, Chen Minrou’s face was already ashen, her breath as faint as a silk thread. She already had the look of death upon her.
If not for the immense wealth of the Duke Zhao Mansion, and had Zhao Shijie not gathered countless rare, celestial treasures to prolong her life, the mansion would have likely been holding a funeral several days ago.
But no matter how many treasures were used to sustain her, a person fated to die cannot be saved.
That thread-like breath could break at any moment.
Hearing that the woman in his arms would not survive the day, Zhao Shijie’s face turned ashen, and his arms tightened around her stiffly.
"Minmin? Minmin, wake up,"
He lowered his head to kiss the woman in his arms, kissing her closed eyelids and feeling for her barely perceptible breath. "Aren’t you the one who worries most about our two children? They’re here. They’re right outside. If you don’t want to look at me, then just wake up to look at them, alright?"
As expected, there was no response.
’She doesn’t want to acknowledge me ever again.’
’She’s even abandoning our children because of it.’
A bizarre flush crept over Zhao Shijie’s deathly pale face. "Your sisters are here, too. Several of them. Which one do you want me to marry? Wake up and tell me. I’ll do whatever you say."
Cui Lingyao had just stepped through the curtain in time to hear this. Her mind went blank for a second before her expression contorted in fury. She roared, "Zhao Shijie! You goddamn bastard!"