Chapter 115 The Empress's Grief (Part Two)

A couple of days later, the Empress's health became worse. When the news finally spread to the Emperor, the Emperor sneered and said nothing. But in a short while, Grand Councilor came and asked for a presence.

On the afternoon of the same day, Lady Li arrived at Qiwu Palace with a servant girl. As soon as Lady Li set foot in the Empress's chamber, she saw her daughter lying on the bed. Her eyes were hollow. She looked like a puppet without a soul. Lady Li could not help but sob at the pitiful sight of her daughter. She walked to the bed with the servant girl, and said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, His Majesty won't allow any physicians to enter the Palace from the outside. I was at my wits end. So I had to find a female physician, and disguise her as a servant girl. But she is a good physician. It took a great effort to bring her here. Please let her take a look at you, Your Majesty."

The Empress turned to look at her mother. She seemed dazed at her mother's words. After a long while, the Empress finally regained her composure and stretched out her hand. The servant girl stepped forward and felt the Empress's pulse. She spoke with the Empress after a moment, "Your Majesty gets irritated easily. Your fury has negatively affected your health. Your Majesty will be fine if you take care of yourself. But you should stay calm and prevent yourself from getting melancholic, or no medicine would be beneficial for your health."

After a long while, the female physician continued hesitantly, "Your Majesty, did you ever take any potent medicine? I find that Your Majesty's body has been severely impaired. Though some medicines are quite effective in treating some illness, they only take effect at the sacrifice of physical conditions. So, Your Majesty cannot feel grieved any more. Otherwise, I'm afraid Your Majesty's health will deteriorate to the point of no return."

A trace of coldness emerged in the Empress's eyes. She propped herself up on the bed all of a sudden. "What did you mean? What happened to my body?"

The female physician fell to the ground, and trembled as she said, "Did Your Majesty know nothing about this? It seems that Your Majesty's body has been in a bad condition for a long time. I just noticed this and wanted to let Your Majesty know about this."

Having spent so many years in the imperial household, the Empress knew what the female physician meant. The Empress was so enraged that she could not prevent herself from trembling. After a long while, the Empress subdued her fury and asked, "Did you mean it would be impossible for me to get pregnant again, right?"

The female physician hesitated for a short while, but nodded at last.

The Empress clutched the bedside tightly in fury after seeing the female physician nod. The Empress seemed confused at first. But then, the hollowness in her eyes g

ighness. It would be better for Your Highness to see the Prince."

(TN*: Spring Outing Day was a traditional day in ancient China, during which people would go on an outing with family members and friends to enjoy the spring day and the natural scenery.)

Yun Shang was taken by surprise. How quickly time goes by! As it was already spring, Qingsu, whose arrival Yun Shang was expecting, would come soon. And the envoys of Xia would come, too. Among all the courtiers, only Grand Councilor and Prince Jing were capable enough to deal with Prince Qingsu and the envoys of Xia.

It seemed the Empress and Hua Jing would be set free as soon as possible if Grand Councilor was assigned the duty of receiving Prince Qingsu and the envoys. Yun Shang could not help but curl her lips into a smile when she thought of the freedom of the Empress and Hua Jing. They would never expect that the freedom they were longing for would only lead them to another abyss of suffering.

Yun Shang grinned when she thought of the fate of the Empress and Hua Jing. As she was in a bright mood now, Yun Shang agreed to go to the outing with the Prince.

Yun Shang got up early on the morning of the Spring Outing Day. She wore a pure white robe with a blue lace mantle. Her hairstyle was so delicate that everyone was enchanted by the Princess's appearance.

Before leaving, Yun Shang went to Qinzheng Hall to say goodbye to the Emperor. As soon as Yun Shang walked out of the Palace, she saw the Prince's carriage waiting by the entrance. But the Prince was not in the carriage. This puzzled Yun Shang. Instead of inquiring about the Prince's whereabouts, Yun Shang got in the carriage.

Qian Yin, Qin Yi, and Yun Shang talked all the way. Suddenly, the carriage jerked as though it had run over something. Then it suddenly halted. This was so unexpected that the three women were nearly thrown out of the carriage...