Chapter 334 - The Empress Dowager of Cining Palace Is Gravely Ill (1/2)

News of the Empress Dowager’s severe illness was sent to Emperor Zongwen immediately. Emperor Zongwen, who was a filial son, immediately stopped his talks with his inner cabinet about the nation’s matters and went to Cining Palace. On his way, he met the Empress, who was hurrying in the same direction as well. Emperor Zongwen did not care that the Empress was still being punished and they went to Cining Palace together.

The eunuch guarding the door paused for a moment when he saw them entering together. Then, he quickly went up to them and knelt in welcome.

Emperor Zongwen got off his palanquin and rushed in while he asked, “The Empress Dowager was doing fine yesterday night. Why did she…”

The eunuch did not dare to hesitate when he saw the grave and angry expression on Emperor Zongwen. He ran behind Emperor Zongwen, wiping the sweat off his brows while he said, “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager was still fine when she went to bed and she had a great half bowl of rice for dinner. We saw that she was fine so we left only a few people behind lest we make too much noise. We did not think that we would find the Empress Dowager ill this morning.”

The eunuch shook nervously. The Emperor was known to be filial to the Empress Dowager. If anything happened to her, everyone in the palace would have a bad time.

“You useless slave. If anything happens to the Empress Dowager, you all can only dream about staying alive.” Emperor Zongwen said coldly. There was a flash of icy coldness in his eyes. The eunuchs and palace maids who were standing by the side were all so frightened that they lowered their heads and knelt down.

They felt wronged though. Before the Empress Dowager fell asleep last night, she was still in pretty good health. She even ate more for dinner than she usually did. Then, she had told them to leave early to rest. The Empress Dowager had not been feeling well recently and she slept very early at night. As such, this was considered a regular occurrence and no one took extra note of it.

The other servants left after leaving the Empress Dowager with lit candles that she specially asked for. Only Eunuch Yu, the manager of the palace and also the Empress Dowager’s most trusted servant stayed behind. All was silent that night, but no one expected to hear that the Empress Dowager had fallen ill the next morning. Everyone in Cining Palace was afraid and filled with trepidation. They were all afraid that they might be beheaded if they were not careful.

There were a few imperial physicians outside the palace coming up with a prescription together. When they saw Emperor Zongwen, they knelt down hurriedly and kowtowed.

“How is the Empress Dowager?” Emperor Zongwen stopped to ask. His face was dark and grave.

“The Empress Dowager had a shock the last time and still has not recovered from it. Furthermore, she has a cold and due to her advanced age, she…” The imperial physicians did not dare to hide anything and they spoke truthfully.

It was spring and Cining Palace was deep inside the palace. There were so many people looking after the Empress Dowager, who was already ill, and they all did their best. Furthermore, she was not a child, how could they let her catch a cold? Emperor Zongwen’s eyes darkened and he pursed his lips. He looked menacing as he swept his gaze upon the imperial physicians, from the first man to the last and then back again.

The coldness in the air made them all stand frigidly as the Emperor looked at them. The imperial physicians felt sweat dripping down their backs and they could not speak.

“Is the Empress Dowager in danger?” He asked coldly.

“The Empress Dowager’s body is weak and she often catches colds. We are preparing medicine and do not dare to say anything for now…” The imperial physicians could not make their difficulty known. The Empress Dowager’s illness seemed grave but it was not really a big deal. However, because of her advanced age and the fact that she had yet to recover from her previous illness, they were afraid that something bad might happen to her.

The imperial physicians all did not dare to take responsibility for that. As such, they all treated the ordinary cold as a grave illness. They were all frightened when Emperor Zongwen stared at them coldly and they conveyed their message murkily.

“If you cannot cure the Empress Dowager, come back with your head in your hand.” Emperor Zongwen said coldly and strode into the palace with his robes swis.h.i.+ng behind him.

The imperial physicians paled with fear. Two of the older physicians fell down, shaking so hard they could not get up.

A few of the younger physicians stood up and helped them to the side.

The Empress, who was surrounded by many palace maids and eunuchs hurried over then.

The imperial physicians had only just sat down but wanted to greet the Empress. She waved her hands to stop them and then brought her entourage into the palace hurriedly.

“Imperial Physician w.a.n.g, you are the eldest amongst us. What do you think?” An imperial physician saw how hurried the Empress was and asked Imperial Physician w.a.n.g after he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Earlier on, they had been hesitating about whether they should give a heavier dose of medication, afraid that the Empress Dowager would be thoroughly ill. Now that the Emperor said that they would be killed if they could not treat the Empress Dowager, they had to think up a new treatment.

The focus of the discussion turned from treating the symptoms to treating the root of the problem. It did not matter as long as they could cure the Empress Dowager. They could discuss whatever happened in the future when it happened. They had to get through this first. At the most, they could just find a way to resign after the Empress Dowager recovered from this illness. The imperial physicians all had this idea.

“Alright, we will use the third prescription that we discussed earlier. What do you all think?” Imperial Physician w.a.n.g gritted his teeth and set his mind to it. He was already quite old. After he treated the Empress Dowager from this, he would retire and return to his hometown.

This was no longer a matter of who was taking responsibility. If they did not manage to cure the Empress Dowager, they would die. No one dared to treat the matter lightly.

However, this was already the best plan. They could only live when the Empress Dowager was cured.

“I agree!”

“I agree!” The imperial physicians said one after another.

The third prescription was the one that they had the most dissensions about. It looked like it would treat the illness quickly and they might even be able to cure the Empress Dowager with a few medications. After all, the Empress Dowager’s illness seemed dangerous but it was not actually a big deal. However, they did not dare to dawdle since there was such a huge commotion in Cining Palace.

However, the greatest disadvantage of this prescription was that it would hurt the fundamentals of the body!

All medications were made up partially of poison and the third prescription had many effects that were nouris.h.i.+ng. It seemed harmless, but the elderly should not receive too much nourishment or it would lead to problems in the future. If the Empress Dowager were to fall ill again, she would need even stronger medication. A person’s body could only hold that much medicine and it would affect the person in the future. If the Empress Dowager were to have a slight illness in the future, it might even endanger her life.

However, to stay alive, the imperial physicians could not care about that.

They examined the prescription again before submitting it.