Chapter 1120 - 1122: Can’t Escape This Calamity?_1
Bai Ruozhu didn’t bother with Fu Yiyi, but instead saluted the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, anything said now is superfluous. Why not wait for Master Yao to conduct the examination before discussing further? If everything the esteemed lady Fu has said is true, I am willing to accept punishment."
If she couldn’t prove that there was an issue with Fu Yiyi’s pregnancy, she would have to accept punishment whether she was willing or not.
Fu Yiyi looked at Bai Ruozhu with eyes filled with resentment and, crying, she said to the Emperor, "My poor child is gone just like that. If there is to be a punishment, it cannot end here. I want Bai Ruozhu to pay with her blood!"
Bai Ruozhu sneered, "And if it is found that this is not the case and you have wronged me, how shall this debt be repaid?"
Enough! Let’s wait for Yao Aiqing to arrive before discussing further," the Emperor interrupted their exchange impatiently, and said to the palace maid Yin Shuang standing by, "Don’t you know to serve tea?"
Yin Shuang, looking sincerely terrified, bowed and retreated from the room.
After the time taken to drink a cup of tea had passed, the Imperial Doctor finally managed to stop some of Fu Yiyi’s bleeding, although it hadn’t stopped completely. Had Bai Ruozhu intervened, the bleeding would surely have ceased earlier, but she certainly wouldn’t invite trouble upon herself. Of course, Jiu Sheng had also learned a set of Needlework from her, but he wasn’t about to bring that up right now.
Bai Ruozhu sat down with the Empress Dowager to have tea. Fu Yiyi gave her a pale look, so angry that she almost ground her Silver Teeth to dust.
"Empress Dowager," Bai Ruozhu called out softly, adding more tea to her cup, as the latter’s teacup had already been empty. She had been absently attempting to drink from it twice, which Bai Ruozhu had noticed, and so had the Emperor and everyone else present—wouldn’t that be troublesome?
The Empress Dowager came back to her senses and realized her teacup was empty. Bai Ruozhu had refilled her tea, while she stole a glance at the Emperor, grateful that he, preoccupied with his own thoughts, had not noticed her abnormal behavior.
She smiled gratefully at Bai Ruozhu, who returned it with a sincere smile. If it weren’t for the Empress Dowager’s continual trust and support today, she would have already been thrown into prison.
The Empress, sitting on the other side, was quietly observing the interaction between the Empress Dowager and Bai Ruozhu. She didn’t like Bai Ruozhu much in her heart. There was a saying that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," but there was also "the friend of my enemy is also an enemy." The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had always been delicate; the Empress Dowager was extremely fond of Bai Ruozhu, so naturally, she had also come to dislike Bai Ruozhu.
Nevertheless, concerning the affair involving the esteemed lady Fu, it seemed that she was concealing something. The Empress didn’t want to risk aiding her for fear of landing herself in trouble.
Finally, the eunuch outside announced the arrival of Yao Yuxuan for an Audience.
Bai Ruozhu could clearly feel the Empress Dowager’s body tense up, and in her heart she couldn’t help but worry for the Empress Dowager. In such a situation, would the Empress Dowager and Yao Yuxuan behave abnormally, giving those with intentions an opportunity to exploit the situation?
The affair involving the rebellion of Prince Duan was not far in the past, and probably everyone still remembered that proclamation of denunciation.
While Bai Ruozhu was distracted, Yao Yuxuan had already entered. His demeanor remained as calm as ever, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes betrayed the times he had lived through.
He respectfully saluted the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. His gaze lingered on the Empress Dowager for merely a second before shifting away, showing no signs of overstepping.
He looked surprised when he turned to Bai Ruozhu and said, "I didn’t expect Lady Jiang to be here as well. With Lady Jiang’s Medical Skills, my presence seems hardly necessary, right?"
The Emperor spoke up, "Bai claimed there was something unusual about the esteemed lady Fu’s fetus, and since she was purportedly pushed down, causing the miscarriage, by Bai, there is no choice but to trouble Master Yao to examine the situation."
Jiu Sheng interjected, "Master Yao, before this incident, the esteemed lady Fu had privately applied an ointment to the Empress Dowager that contained Soul-soothing leaf."
Yao Yuxuan’s expression turned serious in an instant, "Why would she use Soul-soothing leaf? If she is with child, doesn’t that mean she doesn’t want the baby by using the Soul-soothing leaf?"
Fu Yiyi began to cry again upon hearing this, "Before, the Imperial Doctor took her pulse for peace but didn’t detect a pregnancy. Moreover, the Imperial Doctor didn’t mention anything about the Soul-soothing leaf. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken the risk even if it killed me."
The same Imperial Doctor whom Fu Yiyi had questioned trembled as he spoke, "Your Majesty, when I took the pulse of the beautiful concubine Fu, her Pulse was indeed peaceful, showing no signs of pregnancy. And the Soul-soothing leaf, although it affects the fetus, is only effective for two hours after being applied to a person. I only prescribed a single dose for the beautiful concubine Fu, how could I have known she would use it on the Empress Dowager?"
After listening, Yao Yuxuan shook his head, "If it’s just a single dose, even if she absorbed it into her body, it wouldn’t be so easy to miscarry. Let me take her pulse first to see."
Before Yao Yuxuan could take her pulse, Fu Yiyi became agitated, pointing at Bai Ruozhu and accusing, "Did you hear that? The child wouldn’t have been lost. It was her who deliberately pushed me!"
Yao Yuxuan frowned, "Beautiful Concubine Fu, please remain calm. Don’t let your emotions affect the pulse diagnosis."
Fu Yiyi wanted to say something more, but she stopped when she saw the Emperor glaring at her impatiently, and she quieted down at once.
The more Yao Yuxuan took her pulse, the more tightly his eyebrows knitted. His own mother was a princess, so how could he be unaware of the intrigues of the palace? Shortly after entering the room, he figured out what was happening and knew that Bai Ruozhu was in trouble because of beautiful concubine Fu. Even the Soul-soothing leaf made by Fu Yixun almost harmed another pregnant concubine. He immediately considered a possibility: the child in beautiful concubine Fu’s belly was problematic.
There had been incidents in the palace where children in the womb were used as schemes. The child had been poorly conceived or had already died, and upon discovery, women would use this to attack their rivals, framing them for causing their miscarriage; there were also cases where the timing of the pregnancy was incorrect, the woman would abort the child herself, and then take the opportunity to blame others.
Such dirty deeds were all too common!
But as Yao Yuxuan took her pulse carefully, he discovered that Fu Yiyi’s body had indeed just miscarried, and the pregnancy was just over a month old. If it weren’t for a particularly skilled Imperial Doctor, it would have been really hard to detect.
Upon this discovery, Yao Yuxuan wondered if Bai Ruozhu would have to be punished. He knew Bai Ruozhu for some time and greatly admired her character and Medical Skills; he simply couldn’t bear to see her fall into great misfortune because of this.
After much hesitation, Yao Yuxuan finally spoke out, "Beautiful concubine Fu was indeed with child, just over a month old. The pregnancy was too early, so it was difficult for a normal Imperial Doctor to detect."
He wanted to help Bai Ruozhu, but just like the renowned scholars of the Weijin period, he was never willing to lie; otherwise, he couldn’t live with his conscience.
Upon hearing this, Fu Yiyi inhaled sharply, thinking to herself that this Master Yao was not much after all.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes dimmed. Was she truly unable to escape this calamity? Of course, that wasn’t her most troubling concern; rather, if Fu Yiyi was truly carrying the Dragon Heir, would she sacrifice the child in her belly for the sake of revenge?
"Can you confirm it’s just over a month?" Bai Ruozhu asked subtly.
Yao Yuxuan nodded reluctantly. At this point, he looked towards the Empress Dowager, seeing that her face was full of concern, his heart became even more reluctant.
"In that case, Bai Family must be punished," the Emperor said unabashedly.
A look of satisfaction flashed in Fu Yiyi’s eyes, but then she heard Yao Yuxuan suddenly say in front of her, "Your Majesty, please wait!"