PDLP Chapter 391 Blue Spots
Chapter 391 Blue Spots
As soon as Yongzheng and his entourage stepped into the gate of Yonghe Palace, a burst of laughter and joyful chatter came out from the palace, mixed with An Lingrong's clear and loud voice. The birds under the eaves were startled and flew away in a panic.
Yongzheng looked at the direction the bird flew away, a smile on his face: "It's so loud, it doesn't look like it's recuperating."
Zhen Huan, who was following beside Yongzheng, chuckled softly upon hearing this: "I guess Rong'er is bored and wants to find someone to talk to. Your Majesty, you know she never has a moment's rest."
"Yes, I will definitely ask her later what can make her so happy."
Qi Yuebin also echoed: "I want to know too!"
Su Peisheng took a few quick steps forward and announced loudly: "The Emperor has arrived——"
The originally bustling hall suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of hurried footsteps and the rustling of clothes being heard.
After a while, Shen Meizhuang walked out first, dignified and steady. Behind her, An Lingrong, carefully supported by her maid, limped out. The two of them came before Yongzheng and knelt at the same time, saying in unison and respectfully, "Greetings to the Emperor!"
Yongzheng had a gentle smile on his face, raised his hand slightly, and said in a kind voice: "Get up!"
Everyone stood up and followed Yongzheng into the hall and took their seats one by one. As soon as they sat down, a maid served them tea and snacks.
After everything was settled, Yongzheng took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and then asked, "What were you talking about just now? Why are you so excited?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Meizhuang took a step forward and replied in an orderly manner: "Your Majesty, Rong'er was bored during her illness, so Su Ye told her some stories about things outside the palace to relieve her boredom."
Yongzheng knew something about Su Ye's frequent absences from the palace, but he knew that Shen Meizhuang was a steady and prudent person, so he was unwilling to interfere too much.
Hearing this, he became interested. He sat up straight and asked curiously, "Oh? What happened outside the palace?"
An Lingrong also stood up, and Shen Meizhuang quickly supported her arm.
"Your Majesty, Su Ye saved another woman in labor yesterday. My concubine and I are praising her. Please praise her too. You are the emperor, and your praise is much more valuable than ours!"
Seeing her excited expression, Yongzheng also smiled and said: "It's easy for you to ask me to praise her, but you have to tell me what's going on first, otherwise how can I start praising her?"
Su Ye stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your Majesty, it was Duke Guoyi's eldest daughter-in-law who had a difficult labor and sought help from the Director of the Imperial Hospital. When Concubine Hui learned of this, she sent me to assist in the delivery." She lowered her head slightly, her tone filled with relief. "Thankfully, I have fulfilled my mission, and both mother and child are safe. However... the baby has a few blue spots, but luckily they aren't on the face, so it's not a big deal."
Qi Yuebin, who was standing beside Yongzheng, heard this and his expression changed slightly. He murmured in a low voice, "Blue spots?"
Su Ye explained, "Your Highness, Concubine Duan may not know that if a pregnant woman is poisoned during pregnancy, the child she gives birth to will have blue spots on his body. I told Lord Guo Yi about this, and he has already investigated and found out that the concubine was jealous of the mistress's pregnancy, so she bribed the personal maid and the kitchen maid to slip a slow-acting poison into her medicine. Fortunately, pregnant women have a fickle taste, so she didn't consume much poison, but it was still harmful to her body, causing her to lose strength and have a difficult birth."
Qi Yuebin was sitting upright in a chair, holding a teacup in her hand. Upon hearing this, her expression froze, and a flash of panic flashed in her eyes. She subconsciously let go of the teacup, which fell to the ground with a clang.
She didn't care about her impropriety in front of the emperor. She stood up suddenly, her movements hurried, her skirt swaying violently with her movements. Her tone was a little anxious: "What? Isn't it because of fear and worry that the child will develop blue spots? I have always believed that the mother's emotional instability will affect the fetus..."
Su Ye shook her head and said firmly, "Your Majesty, this is wrong. A mother's fear and anxiety will indeed affect the fetus's emotions, making the child prone to crying and emotional instability, but it will not have a direct impact on the fetus's body. The appearance of blue spots is usually related to maternal poisoning. Toxins accumulate in the mother's body and fall into the fetus's body, forming blue spots on the skin. As the child grows up, the blue spots will gradually fade, but this child will have congenital deficiencies and will need to be slowly nourished with precious medicinal herbs to be no different from ordinary people."
After hearing these words, Qi Yuebin felt as if all her strength had been drained from her. She looked dazed and unsteady as she slowly sat back down in her chair. Her eyes were empty as she stared straight ahead, muttering to herself, "So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."
Seeing this, Yongzheng frowned slightly: "Duan Fei, what's wrong with you? Have you thought of anything?"
Qi Yuebin raised her head, her eyes were red and tears were welling up in them. Her voice trembled with uncontrollable grief: "Your Majesty, the child born by Queen Chunyuan was also covered with blue spots all over his body!" Before she finished speaking, she could no longer control her emotions, and tears flowed down her face drop by drop like beads with broken strings.
As soon as these words came out, it was like a bolt from the blue, instantly hitting Yongzheng. His face suddenly turned pale, and he asked in disbelief, "Are you sure?"
The child died at birth. He was immersed in great grief at the time, and his heart was filled with sorrow, so he didn't have the courage to even look at the child.
Qi Yuebin nodded vigorously, tears blurring her vision, but her eyes remained resolute. "Your Majesty, when I first saw that child, he truly had spots all over his body. For so many years, I always thought he was frightened in the womb. I never thought... I never thought someone would actually poison Queen Chunyuan!"
Yongzheng's face was terribly gloomy, and he said coldly, "Send Wei Lin."
A moment later, Wei Lin entered the hall and after paying his respects, Yongzheng directly signaled Su Ye to repeat what he had just said about the relationship between fetal blue spots and poisoning.
Su Ye did not dare to slack off and quickly repeated what he had said before clearly and accurately. Wei Lin nodded while listening.
After Su Ye finished speaking, he stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, what Miss Su Ye said is true. This is clearly recorded in medical books. Before I joined the Imperial Hospital, I had also seen similar cases."
Wei Lin’s words hit Yongzheng’s heart hard.
He could no longer suppress the rage burning in his heart, and he slammed the table. With a "crash", the teacup on the table jumped up and the tea splashed out.
"Su Peisheng!"
"I'm here!" Su Peisheng was so frightened that his whole body trembled. He hurriedly trotted forward, lowered his head, and dared not breathe.
"Go find the midwife, the palace physician, and the maids and nannies who served with Empress Chunyuan in Prince Yong's mansion. Don't leave any of them out! Also, arrest the eunuchs and palace maids who served with the Empress and send them all to the Ministry of Punishment for strict interrogation. No mistakes will be made."
"Yes!"
Su Peisheng responded and hurried to do it.