Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 944: Chapter 855: Unwilling to Be a Slave

Just as Lady Jing and Nangong Shuangshuang were racking their brains in Yingyue Palace for a way to navigate the crisis, the Emperor sent someone to Yingyue Palace with an edict, summoning Nangong Shuangshuang to Fangcao Pavilion. It was said that Lady Yang, the master of Fangcao Pavilion, was feeling unwell, and the Emperor wanted Nangong Shuangshuang to go and diagnose her.

Lady Yang was elevated to her position because of her pregnancy. As soon as Nangong Shuangshuang heard that the Emperor wanted her to diagnose Lady Yang, her first thought was that something had happened to the child in Lady Yang’s womb. Otherwise, the Emperor would not have thought of asking her to treat Lady Yang, since Nangong Shuangshuang’s primary service was to Lady Jing.

The Emperor trusted Nangong Shuangshuang to diagnose himself and diagnose senior officials without concern, but he was uneasy about her diagnosing his women.

Because Nangong Shuangshuang’s mistress was one of his concubines, the Emperor feared that Lady Jing might let jealousy drive Nangong Shuangshuang to do something to his other concubines. The Emperor wasn’t oblivious to the intrigue within the harem.

Under such circumstances, if Lady Yang’s unborn child didn’t have an issue that other Imperial Physicians couldn’t handle, the Emperor wouldn’t have summoned Nangong Shuangshuang. Nangong Shuangshuang hurried alongside the little eunuch sent by the Emperor to Fangcao Pavilion.

The atmosphere in Fangcao Pavilion was exceedingly heavy. As Nangong Shuangshuang entered Fangcao Pavilion and approached the main hall where Lady Yang resided, she saw a woman kneeling on the ground in front. The woman was dressed in the attire of a concubine, and Nangong Shuangshuang recognized her as Cheng Mei Ren, who lived in the side court of Fangcao Pavilion.

The weather was still cold, and the chill from the blue stone surface was intense. Judging by Cheng Mei Ren’s pallid complexion, she had been kneeling for quite some time. In such cold weather, kneeling on blue stone for too long could likely cause a chronic condition, and if she continued kneeling, her legs might be permanently damaged.

Nangong Shuangshuang was tempted to frown; other than the Emperor, no one else could punish a concubine in this manner. Making his own concubine kneel in such a place was truly heartless.

However, Nangong Shuangshuang didn’t know what precisely had happened. Moreover, she was just a lowly female official, and she could only mind her own business. Despite feeling a pang of sympathy, she proceeded past Cheng Mei Ren, maintaining her gaze steadily ahead, and quickly entered the room.

Inside, Lady Yang lay on the bed, her face pale, eyes tightly shut. Several Imperial Physicians sat on one side with anxious expressions, whispering amongst themselves. The Emperor sat on a chair, his face particularly sullen, and the tension was palpable.

As Nangong Shuangshuang entered and greeted the Emperor, she hadn’t even fully bowed when he waved her off from performing formalities, ”Quickly, check on Lady Yang. She has been suffering from abdominal pain for a long time and has lost consciousness.”

Nangong Shuangshuang immediately walked to Lady Yang’s side and began to take her pulse. While feeling Lady Yang’s pulse, Nangong Shuangshuang found it quite odd; there seemed to be no problem, explaining why the Imperial Physicians couldn’t identify her ailment.

But Nangong Shuangshuang had a trick up her sleeve. Since the pulse revealed nothing, she used a bit of her power to explore further. Investigating the body required little energy, so she spared no effort. Upon probing, Nangong Shuangshuang discovered that the fetus inside Lady Yang was, in fact, malformed.

Seeing this, Nangong Shuangshuang immediately knew it was undoubtedly the work of the Empress Dowager again. The secret medicine was indeed potent; while metal poisoning wasn’t invisible to diagnoses, this secret medicine made those toxins undetectable via pulse diagnosis, clearly intended to mislead the Imperial Physicians.

Yet poison is still poison; even if it’s undetectable by pulse, there would still be toxins in the blood. Of course, Nangong Shuangshuang couldn’t directly conclude. She first inquired the nannies and palace maids about Lady Yang’s daily reactions and physical conditions while attending to the Dragon Embryo.

Sure enough, as Nangong Shuangshuang expected, since Lady Yang became pregnant, she experienced severe reactions, and often felt unwell. Yet the Imperial Physicians attending her could detect nothing awry, attributing it to a strong reaction to the pregnancy.

This condition was apparent and identical to the initial symptoms of Lady Jing’s poisoning back then, providing Nangong Shuangshuang with full confidence in her diagnosis.

The Empress Dowager indeed had bad luck; although this secret medicine was discomforting, no major issues would arise. Lady Jing had also felt unwell but never suffered major problems. However, Lady Yang’s weaker constitution caused an exaggerated response to the secret medicine, frequently displaying symptoms, and now even experiencing abdominal pain to the point of unconsciousness.

Releasing Lady Yang’s hand, Nangong Shuangshuang stood up and bowed to the Emperor, saying, ”Your Majesty, this servant could not identify any issues through pulse examination, but this servant suspects that Lady Yang has been poisoned by a secret medicine from the previous dynasty. Humbly requesting forgiveness for the servant’s potential disrespect towards Lady Yang, the servant needs to bleed Lady Yang to verify her suspicions.”

”Secret medicine from the previous dynasty.” The Emperor repeated solemnly, looking increasingly grim. During the late previous dynasty, state affairs were corrupt to the extreme, and no secret medicine in the palace was beneficial.

Thus, upon hearing ”secret medicine from the previous dynasty,” the Emperor instinctively felt a bad premonition. After a brief silence, he lightly responded, ”I forgive you, proceed with the verification.”

Nangong Shuangshuang complied, then took out a specially crafted, not too thick silver needle, with a triangular tip, as the triangular form was ideal for bleeding. Nangong Shuangshuang pricked Lady Yang’s middle finger with the triangular tip.

Pressing on the pad of Lady Yang’s middle finger, droplets of blood emerged from her fingertip, falling onto a small white porcelain dish Nangong Shuangshuang had previously prepared.

Nangong Shuangshuang continued to press until no more blood could be drawn from the wound. By this time, a small pool of blood had gathered on the white plate below. Nangong Shuangshuang then immersed a thick silver needle into Lady Yang’s blood.

After a while, Nangong Shuangshuang lifted the needle; the portion submerged in the blood had discolored and blackened, indicating toxicity in Lady Yang’s blood. The surrounding Imperial Physicians observing Nangong Shuangshuang’s diagnosis all gasped in astonishment.

The Emperor, closely monitoring Nangong Shuangshuang’s examination, looked at the blackened needle and turned livid, his demeanor ominous like an impending storm. He questioned Nangong Shuangshuang, ”Lady Nangong, can you identify the poison inflicted on Lady Yang?”

Nangong Shuangshuang could certainly not claim it was metal poisoning, as that would require an elaborate explanation. Fortunately, after becoming a female official, the Emperor had allowed her access to various medical books and secret medicine prescriptions stored in the palace to enhance her medical skills. Nangong Shuangshuang specifically sought out various secret medicine recipes and had come across the Empress Dowager’s secret medicine recipe.

This allowed for a much simpler response now: ”Your Majesty, the secret medicine afflicting Lady Yang is one passed down from the previous dynasty. There was once an Empress of the Xiao family in the previous dynasty, known for her intense jealousy, who forbade the Emperor from having children with other concubines.”