Chapter 61: The Job Was Blown

Yuanshan and Jinshui immediately dragged Doctor Yao out of the inner chamber.

Meanwhile, the Third Prince was still gripping his blood-dripping sword.

Having finished removing the acupuncture needles, Yu Yuanzheng stared at him coldly for a moment.

Then, she reached out to pinch Ziyue’s philtrum.

Ziyue slowly drifted back to consciousness.

"Ziyue, how are you feeling?" Yu Yuanzheng asked with concern.

Ziyue blinked at her, and Yu Yuanzheng understood instantly.

What a wonderful maid, truly knowing her mistress's heart.

"My Lady, this servant suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head just now, and then I lost consciousness completely. But Doctor Luo's needles weren't even placed on my head, so why did I faint?" Ziyue asked, acting completely bewildered.

"I am no physician, so I wouldn't know. Does Doctor Luo know?" Yu Yuanzheng asked Doctor Luo, who was still standing foolishly to the side.

"Eldest Young Madam, this subordinate has no idea either; I was merely following Doctor Yao's lead in placing the needles."

Doctor Luo felt deeply aggrieved; he truly did not know, but he was exceptionally skilled at shifting the blame.

At this moment, the Princess Consort was frantically examining the Eldest Young Master, checking him over to see if anything was amiss.

Yet she could discover nothing, nor could she tell whether the needles previously inserted had caused any harm.

"Ziqi, it is your mother's fault. I should not have allowed quack doctors to mess around. I was only flustered out of concern for you. From now on, your mother will never let physicians of unknown background treat you again." The Princess Consort began to shed heartbroken tears.

"Eldest Maternal Aunt, it is Jinshen's fault. Jinshen brought people here without properly investigating first." The Third Prince no longer dared to refer to himself with royal privilege.

A wave of frustration washed over him. He had completely botched the matter, and he had no idea how to explain it to his own mother.

Besides, his Eldest Maternal Uncle would certainly not let this rest.

"Third Prince, do you think you can shirk your responsibility so easily?

If I hadn't returned in time just now and had my maid test the needles, can you imagine what the consequences would have been?

The Eldest Young Master's life would have been snuffed out by the quack you brought in.

His Highness and the Princess Consort would have lost their only legitimate son.

And I, the Eldest Young Madam, would have been truly widowed from this moment on, left with not a shred of hope."

Yu Yuanzheng stepped closer to him, her posture aggressive and overbearing.

"How are you speaking to this Prince? Mind your status! This Prince was acting purely out of good intentions."

"Good intentions? Then what was the meaning of killing the man? Why didn't you give us a chance to interrogate him? Were you trying to silence a witness? I seriously doubt your motives."

"You—you—stop spitting venom and trying to sow discord." The Third Prince was so furious he wanted to raise his sword again, but he forcefully suppressed the urge.

Having lived so long, no one had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner.

"Ziqi's wife, do you have any sense of propriety or hierarchy? How can you speak to the Third Prince like that?" Second Dowager Madam jumped out once again to make her presence known.

Earlier, frightened half to death by the Third Prince's act of running the physician through with his sword, she had stumbled backward several steps and collapsed right into a chair.

Having finally regained control over her panic, she heard Yu Yuanzheng addressing her grandson in such a tone, and her anger flared uncontrollably.

"How am I speaking? If the Eldest Young Master were your own flesh and blood, what would you be thinking?"

"I think you've lost your mind."

"What is happening here?" At that exact moment, the Prince's majestic voice echoed from the doorway.

The moment she saw the Prince return, Yu Yuanzheng felt as though she had found her backbone.

"Your Highness, you've finally returned! The Eldest Young Master was almost murdered. If Mother and I had returned even a step later, the Eldest Young Master would already have gone to meet the King of Hell." Yu Yuanzheng spoke as she wept.

The more she cried, the more "heartbroken" she appeared. The Princess Consort beside the bed was hardly any less dramatic.

At a time like this, one had to feign weakness to incite the Prince's supreme fury.

The crying of the two women caused the Prince to furrow his brow deeply.

Yuanshan, who had just returned, stepped forward and recounted the entire incident from beginning to end.

"Eldest Maternal Uncle, Jinshen acted with good intentions, but he failed to judge character well. Jinshen was wrong." Seeing the Prince's expression grow increasingly dark, the Third Prince hurriedly admitted his fault.

The Prince stepped forward to examine his son. He remained in the same deep sleep as before, showing no discernible difference, and when the Prince felt his son's pulse at the wrist, it beat just as it always had.

His preliminary assessment was that nothing was wrong.

"Third Prince, accompany this Prince to the palace. Yuanshan, follow us." The Prince said expressionlessly and coldly, then turned and strode out of the inner chamber.

The Third Prince instantly wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant.

"Your Highness, the Third Prince acted with the best of intentions! You cannot make things difficult for him," Second Dowager Madam cried out, chasing after them.

Regrettably, the Prince did not even look back.

The Third Prince had no choice but to follow with his head drooped.

Consort Luo and Yu Zhaoyang cast a glance at the still-weeping mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and followed them out as well.

Once the irrelevant people had departed, Yu Yuanzheng instantly halted her tears.

She had never realized she possessed such a talent for acting.

"Mother, it's all right. Ziyue was just pretending. The Eldest Young Master is completely fine." Yu Yuanzheng hastened to reveal the truth, lest this gentle woman suffer from excessive grief.

"What?" The Princess Consort choked on this unexpected news, not knowing whether to continue crying or stop.

"Hehe, look, Ziyue is perfectly fine."

"My Lady, this servant is truly unharmed. I only did it to stop the physician from needling the Eldest Young Master. I just didn't expect the Third Prince to strike so quickly." Ziyue expressed deep regret that they hadn't managed to catch the culprits red-handed for the Princess Consort and her mistress.

Once a person was dead, there was no proof left.

The Third Prince could spin whatever narrative he pleased before the Emperor.

"Zheng'er, was there really something wrong with that physician?" The Princess Consort still clung to a sliver of hope.

She longed too desperately for her son to be cured. Such is the heart of every parent.

"Mother, don't you find it strange? Second Dowager Madam was clearly quite satisfied when the Heirship fell to the Second Young Master, yet she remains so deeply invested in the Eldest Young Master, insisting on his recovery. It is entirely contradictory.

This daughter-in-law suspects she does not wish for the Eldest Young Master to wake up, but rather desires that he never wakes up at all.

Now that we have stopped summoning imperial physicians, no one will know whether the Eldest Young Master might ever wake up.

That is why the Third Prince brought a physician today, and even came personally—he was afraid we would interfere and tried to suppress us with his status." Yu Yuanzheng analyzed.

The Princess Consort fell deep into thought upon hearing this.

Second Dowager Madam had always been somewhat eccentric and unfathomable, shifting with the wind so that no one could truly guess her intentions.

Yet today, with even the Third Prince mobilizing, she couldn't help but take Yu Yuanzheng's words seven or eight parts seriously.

"What proof do you have?" The Princess Consort still struggled to reconcile her doubts; the fact that Ziyue had merely faked her faint did not necessarily prove the physician was truly malicious.

"Mother, this daughter-in-law has no concrete proof, only a profound sense of suspicion that compels me to overthink. The safest course is to prevent them from meddling in the Eldest Young Master's affairs ever again. Whatever happens henceforth must be decided solely by you and His Highness."

"You are right. From now on, we must not let them lay a finger on Ziqi's matters. Thank goodness you returned in time today."

A false alarm!

The Princess Consort instructed Yu Yuanzheng to look after her son and departed with a desolate expression.

"You all performed admirably today; consider it a merit. Once I earn some money tonight, I'll issue you all bonuses."

Yu Yuanzheng was exceedingly pleased with her subordinates.

"Eldest Young Madam, this is only our duty." Hearing there would be rewards once more, Qingfeng immediately declared his lack of greed.

"Very well, all of you should save up more money. In the future, you'll need bride prices when taking wives, and the girls will have more dowries when they marry. Nanny Ye also suffered today; quickly go and summon the estate physician."

Seeing Nanny Ye still standing aside, rubbing her back from time to time, Yu Yuanzheng knew she must have taken some blows as well.

Not until nightfall did the Prince return, bringing back the Emperor's verdict.