Medical Princess

Fortunately, the arrangement was simple but clean.

They turned around the screen and saw Shao Yanru on the bed. She was dressed in very simple white clothes and leaning against the headboard with a white ribbon on her head. She looked very haggard, and her rosy lips were pale. It could be seen that Shao Yanru was in a pretty bad condition.

But inexplicably, she looked pitiful.

Shao Wanru stood still and looked at Shao Yanru’s face. She had seen the emaciated Madam Di and Madam Jiang thinned to the bone, but she had never seen Shao Yanru when she was very thin.

This skinny and pitiful beauty could make others feel sorry for her.

She had been the eldest legitimate daughter of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, yet she ended up in such a humble, pitiful position.

Leaning against the headboard, she was expecting visitors eagerly with a sorrowful look in her eyes. Her tousled hair fell untidily on her back. Her clothes were simple, but they did not affect her attractive appearance. Shao Wanru’s heart also skipped a beat when she saw her.

Since Shao Yanru no longer lived the same wealthy life as before, she looked much less flashy and more pitiful. She was already in such a miserable state, and her days were numbered, so no matter how big the past event was, others would feel reluctant to haggle over old grudges with her!

“Fifth Sister, Nanny Xi!” Hearing the voice at the door, Shao Yanru looked up at them, the rims of her eyes slightly red. She looked excited and reached out her arms to prop herself up from the bed. However, she was frail, so she collapsed.

Han Dan hurriedly stepped forward to support her and slowly lifted her to sit on the bed. Then, she put several thick cushions behind her so that she could lay bolstered up in bed.

Shao Yanru leaned back and said weakly, “Thank you for coming to see me, Fifth Sister and Nanny Xi!”

“Are you feeling any better?” Nanny Xi looked Shao Yanru up and down and asked.

“I’m slightly better. The medicine sent before was very good…I felt much better after taking it!” Shao Yanru said softly. Although she looked weak, she was beautiful.

“That’s good! Great!” Nanny Xi said with a wide smile and looked around. In the end, her eyes fell on several long brocade boxes on the table.

There were three or four brocade boxes, and the top one was half-opened. Several ginseng roots could be seen outside. Her eyes lit up. Ordinary people couldn’t afford such good ginseng.

Shao Yanru, in poor condition, didn’t seem to be able to afford this kind of ginseng. Besides, it was obvious that the ginseng in these boxes was sent by someone.

“If you need anything, I’ll tell the Empress.” Nanny Xi’s eyes were glued to these brocade boxes with ginseng as she made these polite remarks.

The Empress loathed Shao Yanru. Even if Shao Yanru begged her in person, she would ignore her.

This time, an imperial physician had come to help Shao Yanru. It was said that she had asked someone else for help. Nanny Xi did not care much about it at first. The one who was willing to help must have casually invited an imperial physician over merely for the sake of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Unexpectedly, she saw such tip-top medicinal materials here. It meant the person didn’t do it merely for the sake of courtesy. Could Secondary Consort Shao turn the tables one day?

Nanny Xi was old and sophisticated. When she entered the room, she noticed that though Secondary Consort Shao looked languid, her delicate face was fragile and pitiful. Even Nanny Xi was startled by her morbid beauty. If a man saw such a pitiful and beautiful countenance, his heart would ache for her.

What if the Emperor saw her like this?

Thinking of this, she immediately became more concerned about Shao Yanru. She picked up a stool and sat before Shao Yanru’s bed. Holding Shao Yanru’s hand in hers, she looked at her and said with tears, “Why are you so weak? You looked fine before, but now you have become so sick. Please don’t worry. I will ask the imperial physician to take good care of you. You’ll get better soon.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Nanny Xi!” Shao Yanru said. A faint blush suffused her pale face as she lowered her head shyly. Even when Nanny Xi saw her like that, she felt a sudden tender pity for her, her heart pounding fast.

“Well, have a rest first, and I will come to see you later!” Nanny Xi said after seeing her, “I won’t disturb you and Princess Chen now!”

“Mo Yan, see Nanny Xi off for me!” Shao Yanru ordered softly.

Mo Yan responded and walked out with Nanny Xi.

“Your Highness, please sit down!” The smile on Shao Yanru’s face slowly faded away. She closed her eyes powerlessly, looked at Shao Wanru standing beside her, and said.

Shao Wanru sat down, staring at Shao Yanru’s face with penetrating eyes in silence.

“Is it particularly satisfying to see me in a sorry plight? You must think I got the punishment I deserved. Right?” Shao Yanru said with a casual air and added with a wry smile, “Indeed, I have only myself to blame. I brought this upon myself, but… I feel so regretful!”

Speaking of this, Shao Yanru lowered her head with red eyes, unwilling to let Shao Wanru see the weakness in her eyes. Then she slowly raised her head and said, “Fifth Sister, my bad! I was wrong!”

“Fifth Miss, please save our master.” Mo Yan came in and saw this scene. She knelt before Shao Wanru and wiped away her tears. “If we’re locked up in here any longer, our master will die.”

Han Dan also knelt and begged, “Please save our master, Your Highness!”

Shao Wanru’s eyes looked extremely calm. She overlooked the two servants kneeling on the ground and landed her eyes on Shao Yanru. At this time, Shao Yanru appeared extremely pitiful. Her delicate face was full of regret and hatred, and she seemed overburdened with remorse. She looked at Shao Wanru with eager eyes as if Shao Wanru was all her hope.

“Secondary Consort Shao, whether you believe it or not, I just came here today to visit you, a patient, according to the Empress’s order. I’ve seen you will recover soon, and I’ll have to go!”

After saying that, Shao Wanru stood up, turned around, and walked out.

“Fifth Miss!”

“Your Highness!” Mo Yan and Han Dan called anxiously.

Shao Wanru didn’t stop walking and continued going outside. At first, Yujie was a little taken aback, but she hurriedly followed up after a brief pause.

“Master, I’m going to get Fifth Miss back.” Mo Yan stood up and was about to chase after Shao Wanru.

“There’s no need!” Shao Yanru said with a cold snort. She hid the weakness on her face and said with a trace of gloom across her eyes. Shao Wanru’s visit today was unexpected for her.

Initially, she wanted to improve their relationship through this gathering. Even if they couldn’t forget old grudges entirely, they could at least relieve the tension between them. Unexpectedly, Shao Wanru reacted like this.

“Master…” Seeing Shao Wanru walk out of her sight, Mo Yan stamped her feet anxiously.

“Shao Wanru won’t give in so easily!” Shao Yanru looked out of the room with gloomy eyes, without the slightest weakness she had a while ago. Shao Wanru was just an accident. She could include such an accident in her plan, but it didn’t matter if there wasn’t Shao Wanru.

Moreover, this incident had sort of happened.

“Master…”

Shao Wanru came out of Shao Yanru’s room and went straight to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.

Yujie led the way in front. She was an expert at finding her way. It was the first time she had visited this place, but she had paid attention to remembering the way. Therefore, they didn’t get lost.

The place was very remote, and they hardly saw any people around.

After they walked for a while, a eunuch abruptly came from the side of the road. With a kind smile, he looked pretty amiable, “Greetings, Your Highness!”

The eunuch smiled and blocked Shao Wanru and her servant’s way.

“Who are you?” Yujie stepped forward and stopped him. She looked him up and down warily. Neither of them had seen this eunuch.

“Consort Lan ordered me to send this letter to Princess Chen!” The eunuch took out a letter from his chest pocket and handed it over.

Yujie, not entirely convinced, asked, “You serve Concubine Lan. Can you prove it?”

“I have nothing to prove this, but Nanny Zheng, Princess Chen’s trusted maid, used to be Consort Lan’s personal palace maid. She had always been with my master.” The eunuch lowered his voice and said with a smile, “Your Highness, please accept the letter first. I am afraid that others will see it!”

Before Yujie could say anything, Shao Wanru said softly, “Take it!”

Yujie took it obediently and hid the letter in the deep pocket on her sleeve.

“Your Highness, my master asks you to be careful. The palace remains far from tranquil. If you send a birthday gift to the Empress Dowager, pick up an ordinary gift. You don’t have to choose something eye-catching. Prince Chen is not at home, so you should be more cautious. Don’t cause unnecessary trouble for him.”

Seeing Yujie receive the letter, the eunuch breathed a sigh of relief. After delivering the message, he saluted Shao Wanru again before he turned around and left.

“Hey, you… How could you say that…” Yujie was so angry that she could hardly restrain herself from stamping with rage. His words suggested that her master was a troublemaker who always got Prince Chen in trouble on purpose.

Shao Wanru stopped Yujie, shook her head at her, and ordered calmly, “Let’s go!”

“My Lady…” Yujie was furious, but she could only continue walking out. The rest of their way was very peaceful, and no more unexpected people appeared.

They didn’t go to the Phoenix Palace of the Empress. Instead, they took a turn before the Phoenix Palace and returned to a familiar road. Then they walked straight back to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.

When they arrived at the main room, Shao Wanru sat down. Qu Le served tea and asked with concern, “My Lady, Her Majesty invited you over. Did she make things difficult for you?”

“Of course she did. An imperial consort even quarreled with our master and was taken away.” Yujie was standing outside the hall at that time. When seeing the imperial consort returning with tears running down her cheeks, she was quite perturbed. Fortunately, her master had been very calm after coming out. Also, Nanny Xi seemed to be very obsequious to her master.

“No big deal. The Empress forced me to yield to her and say what the Empress Dowager had discussed with me. Everything is fine now!” Shao Wanru shook her head. Unless she ended up in a desperate situation, the Empress wouldn’t go all out. “Yujie, give me the letter and invite Nanny Zheng here!”

She had to let Nanny Zheng check this letter to see if it was from Consort Lan.

“Yes, I will bring her to you right now!” Yujie nodded, took out the letter from her sleeve, and presented it to Shao Wanru respectfully. Then she left in a hurry to get Nanny Zheng.