The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 3 - The Evil Spirit

Everyone present was far from foolish, especially with the Imperial Guards surrounding the Eastern Palace in layers. No one could fail to notice that something was amiss.

At this moment, not only were those unprepared, like Miss Chen, feeling anxious, but even the Princess of Zhennan, who had anticipated this situation, was now somewhat weak in the knees from fear.

The information that had been tightly concealed now seemed to have no intention of being hidden any longer. They all caught a whiff of ominousness, unable to suppress their growing unease.

Empress Dowager Rongxian and the Empress hurriedly led the way into the Crown Prince's chamber. The rest of the ladies did not dare to hesitate, stepping forward to follow these two most esteemed women into the now eerily quiet palace.

Outside the Crown Prince's sleeping quarters stood four Imperial Guards armed with embroidered sabers. The scent of medicinal herbs filled the air, mingling with the intimidating presence of the guards, causing the flowers in the courtyard to droop.

Empress Dowager Rongxian's long skirt dragged across the threshold as she rushed into the Crown Prince's chamber, her face pale as she pointed at the unconscious Crown Prince on the bed and demanded of the surrounding physicians, "What's going on?! How did he fall ill to this extent out of nowhere?!"

The Crown Prince lay silently on the bed, while the Crown Princess, her eyes red, performed her greeting and then stood to the side, biting her lip and sobbing quietly.

The physicians huddled together, kneeling on the ground and bowing repeatedly.

"What good are you to me?!" Empress Dowager Rongxian couldn't suppress her anger. "If you can't provide a diagnosis today, I will have the Emperor execute all of you!"

With her back to the Empress, she didn't see the cold light that flickered in the Empress's eyes as she lowered her head to stroke the Crown Prince's hair.

A group of noble ladies shrank back into the corners, wishing they had never come. Each of them tightly grasped the hands of the girls beside them, afraid that they might make even the slightest sound.

"Your... Your Majesty..." A pale-skinned, slender physician with a well-groomed beard stepped forward nervously. "It's not that we are useless... but this illness of the Crown Prince isn't just an illness; it resembles poisoning!"

The Princess of Zhennan felt her mind buzz, instinctively grasping Yunxi's hand tightly, trembling with anxiety.

Old Lady Chen's eyes widened in shock—surely the Emperor and the Empress must have known about this long ago; otherwise, why would the guards be surrounding the place?

But why was this only coming to light now? And why was it the Empress Dowager who had to say it? She was filled with questions, her heart racing like a drum, secretly squeezing Chen Mingyu's palm to signal her to remain calm.

She felt as though she had been caught in a large net, yet she had no idea what fish it was meant to trap. Her slightly clouded eyes, however, revealed an unreasonable brightness as she glanced at Old Lady Song.

Old Lady Song remained as composed as ever, her eyes lowered as she held Song Chuyi's hand, behaving just like any other noble lady, showing no signs of being special.

Empress Dowager Rongxian cast a dark look across the room, her smile fading abruptly. "Poisoned?! Where did the poison in this palace come from?! Why didn't you speak up earlier?!"

She turned to the Empress, sharply asking, "Empress, you oversee this harem, yet you can't even manage your own son's Eastern Palace? If the Crown Prince was poisoned there, it will surely be a laughingstock for the world! Given the situation outside, you should have known long ago that he wasn't sick but poisoned, yet you still kept it from me?!"

The Empress lowered her head, as usual, not arguing back. Her voice choked with emotion: "Mother, it's not that I've concealed it from you... it's just that the physicians also cannot confirm..."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand impatiently, casting a gloomy glance at her: "It's too late to hide it now. It's better to mend the fold than to let the sheep stray; why aren't you hastening to find the culprit? Are you waiting for them to harm more people?!"

She paused and pointed at the pale-skinned physician, saying, "If it's poisoning, why aren't you quickly formulating an antidote?! What use is the Imperial Hospital in the palace?!"

Her aggressive attitude made her appear to be a qualified grandmother, indeed like an ordinary grandmother worried about her grandson.

Seeing that the Empress still wasn't speaking, Empress Dowager Rongxian suddenly let out a cold laugh: "No wonder someone can be poisoned in the palace without cause, with such a useless mother as you... If you won't investigate, then I will!"

The relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Empress had always been poor, but they had never seen a scene like this where the Empress Dowager reprimanded the Empress so harshly. Everyone felt an increasing sense of fear.

What was supposed to be a routine audience with the Empress Dowager and the Empress had unexpectedly thrust them into a palace secret. Ordinarily, wouldn't such matters be investigated slowly after they left the palace?

The Empress Dowager's voice echoed through the Crown Prince's chamber, while the faces of the Crown Princess Lu and the Empress grew increasingly grim.

Just at that moment, someone suddenly announced from outside that Qingzhu, the Crown Prince's heir's attendant, was seeking an audience.

The matter concerning the Crown Prince couldn't be delayed. Without waiting for the Empress Dowager to speak, the Empress hurriedly said, "Quick, let him in!"

Qingzhu, still dressed in his usual Taoist attire, immediately knelt in front of the physicians as soon as he entered, his voice tinged with an unusual urgency: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Crown Princess, the Heir Apparent has fainted!"

The room fell silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Old Lady Song tightened her grip on Song Chuyi's hand, her face unmistakably displaying genuine shock without a hint of pretense.

Song Chuyi wasn't feeling any better; it felt as if something had exploded with a deafening roar. Had Zhou Weizhao gone mad?! He actually poisoned himself?!

Chen Mingyu couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand, tears welling in her eyes as she looked fearfully at her grandmother. Even the experienced Old Lady Chen couldn't help but tremble slightly—given the turbulent situation, it felt like they could drown at any moment.

The Crown Princess let out a scream, seemingly unable to support herself any longer as she slumped against the female official beside her.

The Empress Dowager was also momentarily stunned—Zhou Weizhao? How could he have fainted at such a critical moment?

The Empress, however, was already in a state of panic, urgently instructing the imperial physicians to go to the side hall, Hanzhang Hall: "Why aren't you hurrying to check on the Heir Apparent?!"

As she spoke, she stood up first, leaning heavily on the female official beside her to steady herself as she apologized to the Empress Dowager: "Mother, the Crown Prince is still very young... we can't afford any delays."

Of course, they couldn't afford any delays. If she dared to suppress their visit, she would be drowned in the spit of the world.

With this incident having occurred, her voice turned chillingly cold: "I will go with you. You send someone to notify the Emperor."