There were five quiet rooms here, with Shen Qingyao in the last one. Mo Sen led his subordinates in a quick dash over, hearing only eerie sounds of laughter and weeping but no screams from Shen Qingyao.
“Open the door quickly.”
“Yes.”
Once the iron door was opened, Mo Sen immediately looked toward the bed directly opposite, and his heart sank heavily—this was bad.
He rushed inside at once, the bloodthirsty aura around him instantly dispersing the scene within the room.
Lifting Shen Qingyao, who was convulsing all over, he saw that she was barely conscious, her face pale and bluish. He immediately picked her up and ran outside.
“Go quickly and fetch Physician Hua.”
“Oh, yes, yes, yes.” Qian Tong hurriedly turned and ran off.
Mo Sen carried Shen Qingyao to the attic atop the watchtower, placing her on his own bed and comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, it’s all right now, it’s all right now. None of that was real, what you saw wasn’t real. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”
He repeated “don’t be afraid” over and over, trying to bring back even a shred of Shen Qingyao’s consciousness, but aside from her convulsions, she remained unresponsive.
Li Shun stood nearby, deeply worried. “My lord, should we inform the prince?”
“Absolutely not.” Mo Sen hurriedly refused. “If the prince sees her frightened like this, I’m as good as dead.”
It was all his negligence. Ye Zhao had reminded him to be cautious of the Yin Descent and not to truly frighten her, but he had forgotten.
He hoped this young woman would recover.
Patting Shen Qingyao’s back, he said, “After the physician examines her and she improves, I will go to the prince to confess my fault.”
Li Shun thought about it and realized that was the only way.
At the Physician’s Hall, Qian Tong went straight to Physician Hua’s room as soon as he entered. Physician Hua was the best physician in the prince’s mansion.
The old man was sound asleep when Qian Tong startled him awake by forcefully breaking the door latch. “Physician Hua, get up quickly and come with me. A life is at stake.”
The old man was still dazed, sitting on the bed and staring wide-eyed at Qian Tong.
Qian Tong was efficient, already handing him all his clothes. “Hurry and get dressed. If we delay and that young woman dies, we’ll both be dead.”
Only then did the old man snap back to reality, taking the clothes and dressing while asking gravely, “What’s going on? What young woman? Who’s going to die?”
“Ah, don’t ask now. You’ll understand when we get there.”
“Ah? Oh!”
The old man quickly dressed, grabbed his specialized medical kit, and left with Qian Tong.
On the way, Qian Tong found him too slow and simply carried him on his back, using qinggong to leap and bound. The old man was startled at first but soon grew excited.
“Jump higher!”
“…”
In the attic, Mo Sen was still trying to soothe Shen Qingyao, but to no effect. He was nearly frantic with worry, which meant his official career was hanging by a thread.
“My lord, Physician Hua is here.” Li Shun, who was keeping watch outside, called out.
Hearing this, Mo Sen hurried out and saw Qian Tong carrying Physician Hua into the Punishment Mansion. He immediately went to wait at the stairway.
“Hurry, hurry!”
Qian Tong felt his heart was about to leap out of his chest, finally carrying Physician Hua up and setting him down. Mo Sen then grabbed Physician Hua and ran.
“Quick, she was frightened by the Yin Descent. Her condition is severe. She’s the prince’s woman—you must cure her.”
Physician Hua twitched at the corner of his mouth upon hearing this. “Why would the prince’s woman be locked up in the Punishment Mansion?”
Even as he asked, Mo Sen dragged him into the attic. At a glance, he saw Shen Qingyao on the bed and noted her poor condition. Shaking off Mo Sen’s hand, he handed his medical kit to him and went to the bedside, first checking her pulse.
Imperial Physician Hua extended three fingers, precisely pressing them against Shen Qingyao’s wrist pulse. His fingertips were somewhat cold, and when they touched the wildly beating, chaotic pulse, his expression suddenly darkened.
“Convulsions have entered the heart meridian, with evil wind disturbing internally. Bring the medicine chest.”
He quickly judged in a low voice. Mo Sen hurriedly opened the medicine chest and presented it before him. Without hesitation, he took out a cloth bundle and unfolded it, revealing silver needles of varying lengths.
“Support her upright!”
Mo Sen hastily called Qian Tong, “Come and hold the medicine chest.”
“Oh, oh!”
After Qian Tong steadied the medicine chest, Mo Sen hurried over to half-lift Shen Qingyao. Imperial Physician Hua nodded, holding his breath and concentrating. The longest silver needle in his hand flashed with a cold gleam under the lamplight, accurately piercing the Baihui point on the crown of Shen Qingyao’s head.
Immediately, Shen Qingyao’s body stiffened violently.
Then, the second needle, the third needle… each landed on crucial points like Shenmen and Neiguan.
Imperial Physician Hua’s technique was extremely fast and steady, each needle carrying the determination to dispel the evil disturbance.
As the silver needles were inserted, Shen Qingyao’s convulsions gradually eased, turning into intermittent, unconscious twitches. The extreme fear in her eyes also faded, replaced by a dazed exhaustion.
Finally, her eyelids closed heavily as she fell into a deep sleep, but her face remained deathly pale.
Only then did Imperial Physician Hua gently let out a sigh, fine beads of sweat already visible at his temples.
He stood up and said to Mo Sen, “This young lady suffered a sudden, extreme fright, causing her spirit to scatter and allowing evil energy to invade the weakened state. Although the situation has been temporarily stabilized with the silver needles, the damage to her heart meridian cannot be healed in a single day. She needs quiet rest and must absolutely not be subjected to any further stimulation. I will now prescribe medicine.”
Mo Sen looked down at Shen Qingyao, who had fallen unconscious in his arms yet still furrowed her brows and trembled intermittently…
He was utterly remorseful, then slowly laid her down. “Alright, please prescribe it. I will definitely follow your instructions.”
After Imperial Physician Hua finished writing the prescription, Mo Sen took it, glanced at it, and handed it to Qian Tong. “Go quickly to the Imperial Medical Bureau to fetch the medicine.”
“Yes.”
“Wait…”
Just as Qian Tong was about to run off, Mo Sen called him back. Qian Tong looked puzzled. “My lord, what is it?”
Mo Sen wore a tense expression, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Keep this confidential. Don’t let any news leak out to His Highness the Prince.”
Imperial Physician Hua had said the girl’s condition was currently very serious. If the Prince found out and rushed over, he would surely be dead.
Between being dismissed from his post and dying, he chose to be dismissed and live.
Qian Tong was taken aback for a moment, then understood.
After he left, Imperial Physician Hua gestured for Mo Sen to step outside to talk. The two stood in a corner of the corridor.
“What exactly happened?”
“Ah!”
Mo Sen sighed tragically, slapping a hand on the railing. “I don’t know the full truth either. When Ye Zhao brought her here, he instructed me to first show her some punishments to scare her, then lock her in Quiet Room Five. I was to look after her, not let her truly suffer, and be especially careful about the Yinjiang. I mustn’t actually frighten her, otherwise the Prince would definitely not let me off lightly.”
After hearing this, Imperial Physician Hua asked, “So what made you forget about the Yinjiang?”
He was very good at pinpointing the issue.
Mo Sen said regretfully, “Look at my face.”
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeve to show Imperial Physician Hua. “She scratched me all over. After applying medicine, I saw there was still some time left, so I thought I’d rest for a bit. I planned to go keep her company near midnight, but I overslept.”
The medicine he applied had a certain numbing effect, but he thought his willpower would ensure he woke up on time.
Imperial Physician Hua looked at his scratches, then almost laughed but restrained himself.
The wound was quite deep, which was not surprising. When he had taken the girl’s pulse earlier, he had noticed her long fingernails.
After a moment of silence, he said, “But you can’t keep hiding it from the prince forever, can you? The longer you hide it, the greater your offense.”
Mo Sen nodded. “I know. I just wanted to wait until she improved before confessing my fault. But given the girl’s current condition, if I go to confess now, I’m definitely asking for death.”
Physician Hua thought for a moment and nodded.
“That’s true.”
Then he added, “But you should also pray that the prince doesn’t send anyone to visit in the next couple of days. Otherwise, your offense will be even greater, because this girl needs at least three days to show any improvement.”
Mo Sen sighed in despair, burying his face in his hands. Ah!
What rotten luck! What kind of mess is this?