Xiao Tuo had not thought of this level. When Prince An reminded him, he immediately became more alert, "Yes, this person is very suspicious."
"I suspect he has already attacked the Concubine Dowager, otherwise the Concubine Dowager would not have trusted him so much. Also, Zi'an just gave Ajie acupuncture and pushed the Concubine Dowager away, which shows that there must be a reason. I will follow him to the palace and find an opportunity to meet Zi'an and ask her about her intentions."
Xiao Tuo thought of Zi'an pushing the Concubine just now, and couldn't help but admire her. "To be honest, even I don't dare to offend the Concubine. She is really brave."
"I believe she had no choice but to do so." Prince An believed Zi'an without any reason, because she was Yuan Cuiyu's daughter.
"I have to say, this Xia Zian makes me look at him in a new light." Xiao Tuo said.
Prince An said expressionlessly: "It was Zi'an who made you look at him in a new light, not Xia Zi'an."
Xiao Tuo was startled, "Yes, Xia Zian."
"Zian!"
Xiao Tuo frowned, "What's the difference?"
Prince An turned around and went in, "Think carefully about where we are."
Xiao Tuo looked at his back in confusion. The heart of a forgiving warrior was not so twisted. He didn't know what the difference was. Aren't Xia Zian and the Zian he was talking about the same person
Murong Jie was sent back to the palace, and the noble concubine sent someone to the palace to invite the imperial physician.
Although she was a noble concubine and lived in the palace, her status enabled her to invite the imperial physician out of the palace without having to ask the empress for permission.
This means that the news that Murong Jie was seriously injured has spread.
It is no exaggeration to say that the government and the public were shocked.
Murong Jie was seriously injured, and no matter how he was injured, he is now the regent. He is injured and cannot handle state affairs. As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a king for a day. Domestic affairs can be handled by the Secretariat and the Ministry of Shangshu, but all military and national affairs and foreign diplomatic matters must be approved by the Regent in person.
Now, the Minister of the Secretariat is the Queen's father, Grand Tutor Liang. He almost monopolizes all the power. Even Prime Minister Xia, who is in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, has to follow his steps. To put it bluntly, he has to act according to his mood.
Taifu Liang of the Secretariat and Lord Cui of the Shangshu Province have been fighting for more than ten years due to their different political views. Taifu Liang has always hated this opponent but can do nothing about it.
Because the Secretariat was in charge of the six ministries and was independent from all other departments. It was the purest administrative agency and reported directly to the emperor without going through the Minister of the Secretariat and Prime Minister Xia.
It must be said that Lord Cui from the Secretariat was once one of Yuan's suitors.
He was a man of letters, not easily persuaded, and had no hobbies except painting and writing poetry. After failing to pursue Yuan, he married Xiao Xiao, the eldest daughter of Marquis Jingguo and Xiao Tuo's elder sister.
This Xiao Xiao is very different from Yuan. He is a martial arts fanatic and very rude, but very cheerful. He is also a good friend of Murong Zhuangzhuang.
Now that the Regent is seriously injured, these three forces are slowly surfacing.
It is obvious that Taifu Liang naturally supports the prince, and Prime Minister Xia is controlled by Taifu Liang and will also attach himself to Taifu Liang and become a member of the prince's party.
Lord Cui is a straightforward person, and he also participates in and agrees with the political direction implemented by Murong Jie, so there is no doubt that he will stand on the side of the regent.
Zi'an and Concubine Gui naturally didn't know about this situation. Zi'an was only worried about one thing now, and that was Murong Jie's life or death.
Having practiced medicine for many years, she knew the severity of Murong Jie's injuries. He was truly facing a life-and-death crisis.
The news that she was brought back to the palace soon spread back to the prime minister's residence.
News also came out from the palace that Xia Zian was able to recover quickly because he helped treat Prince Liang, and he was detained by the Concubine Dowager this time because his treatment of the Regent worsened the Regent's injuries.
Prince An once entered the palace to look for Xia Lin's body. However, Xia Lin's body was not found in the palace opposite Xiwei Palace. There was only a pool of blood in the flowers.
The people in the Prime Minister's Residence thought that Xia Lin was staying at Mei Fei's place in the palace. Plus, the Prime Minister and Madam Linglong were unable to enter the palace, so they had to wait until Xia Lin got bored of staying there, and then Mei Fei would order someone to send him out.
Zi'an's situation was rather miserable; she was detained in the prison of the palace.
This prison is very small, and can only hold seven or eight people. It is usually used to detain servants in the mansion. It is dark, damp, and full of mosquitoes, cockroaches, and rats.
The noble concubine intended to abuse her. For two days, she only gave her water and no food. There were guards guarding the door, and no one was allowed to come in to see Xia Zian.
Two days passed, and Murong Jie's condition continued to deteriorate. After applying medicine powder on the wound, it became infected and he had a fever. Later, he had difficulty breathing.
However, it was better than Zi'an had expected, because she was sure that if Murong Jie continued to be treated by the Taoist priest, he would not survive for more than a day.
She knew that it was because of Murong Jie's strong will and desire to survive that Zi'an could not rest for even a quarter of an hour in prison.
Murong Zhuangzhuang and Prince An asked to see Xia Zian, but the noble concubine said that if anyone forced to see Xia Zian, she would die with Xia Zian in her arms.
In addition to Prince An and Murong Zhuangzhuang who were worried about Zi'an, there was another person who was eager to rescue Zi'an, and that person was the Queen.
The Queen cannot show up. Although she can give orders to the harem, she cannot do anything to the noble concubine.
So, she went to see the Queen Mother.
The Empress Dowager ordered the Royal Concubine to enter the palace, but she refused, saying she was not feeling well.
When the Empress Dowager saw that she was not coming, she went to the Regent's Palace in person and also visited Murong Jie.
Seeing that Murong Jie was indeed dying, the Queen Mother was shocked and accused the Noble Concubine in front of Prince An, "It's so serious, why don't you let Zi'an treat him? You have also seen Zi'an's medical skills. She cured Axin when he was so seriously ill before."
The noble concubine did not raise her eyebrows and said calmly: "It was just a coincidence. I will not let Ajie be treated by that woman. I asked the people in the prime minister's residence, and Xia Zian has never learned it."
"You haven't learned it? How trustworthy can you be about the words of the people in the Prime Minister's Mansion? Prime Minister Xia and that Madam Linglong talk nonsense and not a word they say is true." The Empress Dowager sneered.
The noble concubine said coldly: "Really? Then sister, tell me, this Xia Zian never leaves the house, where did she learn the medical skills? Could it be that sister believes that she learned from Wen Yi's successor? Ridiculous!"
The noble concubine was usually very respectful to the empress dowager. It was unprecedented for her to be so cold now. The empress dowager looked at her and felt a little uncomfortable. She felt that she had become a different person. However, she continued to persuade gently: "But, no matter what, she knows medical skills. This is undeniable. The imperial doctors can't do anything about it. Why are you still so stubborn?"
The noble concubine stood up suddenly, "Sister, Ajie is my son. Although I call you mother, in the end, no one loves him more than me, his biological mother, and I hope he can live more. You should understand this feeling. Otherwise, why don't you let Xia Zian treat your biological son? He has been lying in bed for so long. If you believe in Xia Zian's medical skills, let her come to the palace to treat him. If you can do this, I can also let Xia Zian treat Ajie."
(End of this chapter)