I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 23 The Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant Personally Appreciated by the Late Emperor

The nannies then stepped forward and quickly restrained Lingzhu.

Lingzhu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she opened her mouth as if to say something.

Xiaohe, however, had already removed the coarse cloth covering the copper basin.

Then she screamed, "Ah!!"

Qin Jiuwei's pupils constricted sharply, and she immediately stood up from her chair.

"Blood? How could there be blood?"

The bottom of the copper basin was covered with a layer of blood.

The bright red was particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

Qin Jiuwei's face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water, and she asked in a cold voice, "Whose blood is this?"

Lingzhu pursed her lips tightly, "This is... Young Master Chun's blood."

"Chun Ge'er's blood? What happened? Was he injured while practicing martial arts yesterday?" Qin Jiuwei couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Lingzhu gently shook her head, "Reporting to the young mistress, it was half a year ago when Young Master Chun was bitten by a poisonous insect..."

"The young master specially invited a famous doctor from the capital. When the doctor left, he said that Young Master Chun's poison would not be life-threatening, but it would cause unbearable pain when it occasionally flared up, and there was no cure for it."

Qin Jiuwei frowned deeply, "Then where did this blood come from?"

Lingzhu lowered her eyes, "When the wound flares up, Young Master Chun suffers unbearable pain. He finds that cutting open the wound with a knife and letting the blood out makes him feel a little better."

"Therefore, whenever the pain flares up, Young Master Chun will cut the wound to relieve it."

"Sometimes, even before the wound has fully healed, when it flares up again, you have to grit your teeth and cut it open..."

Qin Jiuwei's breath hitched for a moment, and a wave of heartache washed over her eyes.

It sounds incredibly painful to have a wound that hasn't fully healed cut open...

I never imagined that Xie Jingchun had suffered so much since he was young.

Looking at the glaring red in the copper basin, Qin Jiuwei felt a stinging sensation in her eyes, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.

"Does Your Highness not know about this matter?"

Lingzhu shook her head. "Actually, the young master has no way of knowing, because Young Master Chun forbade me to say. Moreover, the famous doctor also said that Young Master Chun's poison is incurable, and Young Master Chun did not want the young master to worry."

Qin Jiuwei frowned. "Besides the doctor I saw when I was injured half a year ago, have you seen any other doctors since then?"

"Reporting to the young mistress, no other doctors have been invited."

Qin Jiuwei had guessed it too.

Xiaohe spoke up: "Miss, I will go and invite doctors from other clinics in the capital."

Qin Jiuwei's face remained calm and composed. "No need."

"If you must invite someone, invite the imperial physician."

Imperial physicians served the palace and were not easy to summon.

However, if Xie Yanli wants to invite him, he can do so at any time.

Because he possessed a dragon-patterned jade pendant personally bestowed upon him by the late emperor.

This happened five years ago. At that time, the late emperor personally led the army on an expedition, but was besieged by the Liang army at Jianmen Pass.

Xie Yanli, who remained in the main camp as a military advisor, led a thousand cavalrymen deep into enemy territory to rescue the emperor. He adopted a surprise attack tactic and successfully freed the besieged emperor.

He then led the Jin army to defeat the Liang army in successive defeats.

This battle is known as the Battle of Blackwater. Although Xie Yanli was a civil official, he became famous overnight.

When the news reached the capital, the court and the people were greatly encouraged.

The Great Jin and the Great Liang are neighbors, and the two countries often fight each other, but the Great Jin has always lost more often than it wins.

Xie Yanli fought a truly brilliant battle; the Great Jin Dynasty hadn't won so decisively in a long time.

The late emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon Xie Yanli a jade pendant with a dragon design.

Xie Yanli was also the only minister to receive this jade pendant.

Therefore, although Xie Yanli is only a third-rank official, everyone knows his influence in the court.

"Xiao He, take Xie Shizi's invitation to the palace and ask for the imperial physician."

“Chun-ge’er has gone to the training ground to practice martial arts. He usually comes back around 7 PM, but you should go around 5 PM today.”

Qin Jiuwei paused, her expression becoming more serious.

"Remember, you must invite Lin An, the Imperial Physician Lin."

Evening, main courtyard.

"Greetings to the Old Madam, the Marquis, and the Madam. This servant is from Qinglan Courtyard."

Madam Xie looked up and asked, "What is it?"

"The young mistress sent me to inform you that she cannot bring the children to the main courtyard for dinner tonight."

"The young mistress has invited the imperial physician for Young Master Chun, and he is currently examining him. It is unknown when the examination will be completed. Fearing that it might disturb the old lady and the marquis's meal, she specially sent me to inform them."

Xie Wanning, who was standing nearby, asked, "Did you invite Judge Zhang?"

"No, it's another imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Academy, named Lin An."

Xie Wanning frowned.

Although the Marquis's mansion was prestigious, not just anyone was qualified to hire an imperial physician.

Of all the people in the Marquis's mansion, only Xie Yanli had the ability to invite an imperial physician.

So Qin Jiuwei even summoned the imperial physicians to treat her? Why didn't she invite Physician Zhang?

Who in the capital doesn't know of Physician Zhang's medical skills? She had long wanted him to take her pulse.

As a result, Qin Jiuwei, this ignorant illegitimate daughter, actually invited a junior imperial physician she had never heard of!

Xie Wanning rolled her eyes and said, "Grandmother, Chun-ge'er is so sick that we've had to call the imperial physician. He must be very ill. Why don't we go and see him?"

After thinking for a moment, Madam Xie nodded.

Jiuwei is not someone who doesn't know his place; if it really came to the point of needing the imperial physician, then she must be very seriously ill.

She should go and see him, both out of courtesy and reason.

Qinglan Courtyard.

Xie Jingchun had just returned to the main house when he saw his third brother rushing towards him.

He hadn't expected his third brother to miss him so much after just one day apart, and he was about to pick Xie Jue up and play with him for a while.

But then Xie Jue lunged straight at his pants, muttering something under his breath.

"Pull down your pants! Pull down your pants! Pull down your big brother's pants so he can see a doctor!"

Xie Jingchun: ?!