Song Jinzhao walked over to the bed and gave his pulse a cursory check. Xiao Rongche's condition was indeed very serious, but she had no intention of getting too involved.
"The prescription is correct. Just go with this one."
Gu Jupu shot Song Jinzhao a slightly surprised glance.
Usually, when seeing a patient, the County Princess would add some details he hadn't noticed. Was she really done just like that today?
It felt a bit too brief.
Cao Mo hurriedly took the prescription. "Will His Highness wake up after taking the medicine?"
If something really happened to him here at the Huitong Guest House, even chopping off his head wouldn't be enough to make amends.
Song Jinzhao replied, "It depends on when the blood clots dissolve."
As soon as she finished speaking, a man's shout came from outside.
"Someone come quickly! My lord has fainted from a terrible headache!"
Cao Mo clutched his chest, his heart palpitating so hard he could barely catch his breath.
"He was perfectly fine just a moment ago. How could he have fainted?"
Meeting his gaze, Song Jinzhao was the first to step outside, with Gu Jupu following closely behind.
At a glance, there were at least ten guards in the room. Qi Xiong stood by the bed, looking grim.
Seeing Song Jinzhao enter, he immediately said, "Prince Qi nearly snapped Minister Wang's neck just now. The prolonged lack of air might have injured his internal organs."
Pausing slightly, Song Jinzhao walked over to the bed expressionlessly and began to examine Wang Nie.
His throat bones were intact, and his airway wasn't blocked. Only the subcutaneous capillaries were injured, which couldn't possibly cause a headache and fainting.
Recalling how the people of Shuobei had been eavesdropping outside the room earlier, Song Jinzhao formed a guess.
Xiao Rongche was severely injured, and they were afraid of taking the blame, so they were faking an illness.
However...
Song Jinzhao placed her fingers on Wang Nie's wrist. It wasn't just a simple feigned illness; his pulse indicated he had taken some sort of drug to alter it.
Qi Xiong accused her indignantly, "Is Minister Wang gravely injured? Your Dongzhao Prince was far too ruthless. This matter is far from over."
Keeping a straight face, Song Jinzhao raised her eyebrows at him.
"He fell ill from anger. It's not a severe injury. One dose of my medicine and he'll be perfectly fine."
Saying this, Song Jinzhao took a small medicine bottle from her medical box, pulled out the stopper, and poured out a black pill.
A foul stench instantly permeated the air, causing Qi Xiong and the others to hold their breath.
"Ugh!" Cao Mo, who was a step too slow, felt his stomach churn violently.
Unable to hold it in, he scrambled outside to throw up.
Covering his nose, Qi Xiong asked, "What is that? It stinks!"
It smelled even worse than the feces in a latrine.
Pinching the pill, Song Jinzhao smiled. "A good medicine that will wake your lord up immediately."
Seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, and worried that their ruse of taking drugs to fake an illness would be exposed, Qi Xiong immediately reached out to stop her.
But Song Jinzhao simply jabbed him with her elbow, sending him crashing back against the wall, immobilized for a moment.
No wonder she could defeat the Prince of Wei; this County Princess Linghui possessed incredible strength.
Song Jinzhao shoved the pill into Wang Nie's mouth, then used a silver needle to stimulate his philtrum.
The next second, the man who had been lying unconscious on the bed suddenly opened his eyes, leaned over the edge of the bed, and began to vomit.
Yellowish-brown mushy meat, green vegetable scraps, and white rice came pouring out, until he was heaving up nothing but bitter bile and saliva.
Fighting back his own nausea, Qi Xiong glared angrily at Song Jinzhao. "What exactly did you feed Minister Wang?"
Song Jinzhao closed her medical box and turned to leave. "I told you, it's a good medicine to wake him up immediately."
After walking out of the room, Gu Jupu asked Song Jinzhao in confusion, "County Princess, was he really made ill by anger just now?"
If he had truly fainted from anger, taking medicine and vomiting wouldn't have woken him up so instantly.
He would rather believe the man was woken up by the stench.
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "No, he only sustained a minor injury to his neck. His pulse was disguised by medicine."
As the sun began to set, a young eunuch walked up to Song Jinzhao and said, "County Princess, the Emperor is still waiting in the palace for your report on His Highness Prince Qi's condition."
Song Jinzhao asked, "Shouldn't I wait until Prince Qi wakes up?"
The young eunuch replied, "Since the medicine is already brewing, it will be fine to have Imperial Physician Gu keep watch here. Please hurry into the palace with me, do not make the Emperor wait."
Having her leave before the patient had even woken up felt a bit suspicious.
"Does the Emperor want to ask about Prince Qi's condition, or is he summoning me for another matter?"
The young eunuch swallowed nervously, glanced around, and whispered to Song Jinzhao, "Both."
Song Jinzhao pressed, "What is the other matter?"
The young eunuch took a step back, smiled faintly, and extended his hand in a guiding gesture.
"That, this servant does not know."
