Just as everyone thought the teacup would shatter, Su Xiaoqi, as if prepared, reached out and caught it, pulling it back. She lowered her head and pushed it towards Granny Yu.
She could sense that Granny Yu’s attitude towards her had not been good just now.
But she was also wholeheartedly concerned for Yu Jing’s safety, so she didn’t intend to hold it against her.
However, seeing how much she trusted the efficacy of the pill, she still needed to let her see clearly.
Granny Yu was perplexed, not understanding what could be in the small teacup that would cause her mistress to lose her grip and almost drop it.
She leaned closer curiously to look.
This time, Su Xiaoqi didn’t let go. Instead, she held it directly in her hand for Granny Yu to see.
She didn’t want to fetch it again.
“Ah…” As Granny Yu leaned closer and saw what was in the cup, she let out a startled cry.
After crying out, she looked at Su Xiaoqi and Du Yiyi.
Both of them appeared calm, as if nothing had happened.
She deeply felt that her reaction was improper and immediately bowed respectfully.
“It’s alright, it’s understandable that anyone seeing this wouldn’t be able to remain calm,” Su Xiaoqi said kindly.
In fact, if she weren’t a doctor and hadn’t seen such things often, she would likely be very frightened if it were her first time.
After all, most people probably wouldn’t like these densely packed, long, and slender worms.
That’s right, the medicine Yu Jing took daily to prevent her old ailment from recurring was not actually a good medicine.
Instead, it was full of worm eggs.
These worm eggs were invisible to the naked eye normally.
But as soon as they encountered water, they would immediately come to life.
In the water, they appeared as a dense swarm, very much like maggots in a privy from the eighties and nineties.
Except that these worms were not as plump; they were thin and long…
Ugh, she couldn’t continue. Su Xiaoqi was afraid everyone would lose their appetite.
She poured the water from the teacup back into the teapot.
She picked it up and handed it to Zhang Yu, asking her to handle it.
She emphasized the need for high-temperature sterilization.
“What, what is this? My medicine, why is it, like this…” Yu Jing’s face turned ashen, looking very unpleasant.
Su Xiaoqi said, “This is called ‘ying chong,’ unrelated to the ‘chong’ in fly.
It’s a type of parasite. Normally, it’s very small, almost invisible to the naked eye.
But upon encountering water, it grows to the size you just saw. It might grow further, but it won’t get too big.”
After all, the nutrients and space within the human body are limited.
If they grow too big too quickly, there would be no room for them.
“Heavens, heavens, you mean the Princess has been ingesting these worms?” Granny Yu spoke frankly, pointing out something everyone knew but no one dared to mention.
“Ugh…” Yu Jing immediately lowered her head and vomited.
It was too disgusting.
Su Xiaoqi quickly went to support her, “Mother, don’t be afraid. Do you remember how many of these pills you’ve taken?”
Yu Jing shook her head; she couldn’t remember.
Every time she thought of her daughter being lost, having searched for seventeen years without finding her, she would tear up, and her chest would hurt.
When it hurt, she had to take this medicine.
And she had to take two pills each time.
“Eighteen pills. Her Highness took eighteen pills,” Yu Jing couldn’t recall, but Granny Yu remembered clearly.
This was the benefit of a loyal servant.
“Eighteen pills, eighteen pills. Fortunately, fortunately,”
Su Xiaoqi mumbled, then asked when she started taking them.
Granny Yu said, “Not long ago. Her chest didn’t hurt before, but then it suddenly started to hurt, so we found a doctor who prescribed this medicine.
That doctor, Your Highness, that doctor…”
Yu Jing said coldly, “Issue an order to apprehend him.”
At this moment, Yu Jing finally seemed like an Empress truly in control of state power.
Dignified and noble.
Su Xiaoqi, having obtained the information she wanted, didn’t ask further. She quickly prescribed medicine and had Zhang Yu take it to supervise the boiling.
During this time, Su Xiaoqi took Yu Jing’s pulse again, her heart heavy and her spirit shattered.
As for Yu Jing’s condition, if she hadn’t met Su Xiaoqi and continued to take the so-called medicinal pills, her life would have been at most one year.
She sighed, contemplating whether to tell the truth.
However, Yu Jing gently grasped her hand. The coldness on her face earlier had vanished, replaced by immense pride.
“I’ve long heard from Mother that my Xiaoqi is skilled in medicine, and she’s indeed so powerful.
With you here, Mother fears no illness. So don’t hide anything, tell me the truth. I can handle it.”
Su Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment, considering that Yu Jing was no ordinary woman. The more truthfully she spoke, the more it would benefit Yu Jing in making her decisions.
After all, there was definitely someone behind that doctor.
Her illness determined the methods that person had employed against Yu Jing.
When Su Xiaoqi told her that if she continued to take the medicine like this, she would die within a year,
Yu Jing showed no fear or dread on her face. Instead, there was only relief.
“So heaven has favored me. Although it once took away the most important person to me,
before I die, it has allowed me to find you again. This is very good, very good!” Yu Jing felt an immense sense of liberation.
Therefore, all the suffering she had endured was just to await this reunion.
She suddenly felt that seventeen years, seventeen years was not so long after all.
At this moment, she was content.
She had found the precious daughter she had longed for half her life.
All the hardships were worth it.
“Princess, you can see Her Highness’s illness, you can surely save Her Highness, can’t you?” Granny Yu’s eyes were filled with concern for her mistress’s condition.
She anxiously asked Su Xiaoqi if she could save her, if she could really save her.
Su Xiaoqi remained silent for a moment before nodding, “I can save you, but it will take time. Your body is currently filled with these worms.
The medicine I’ll give you later is designed to make these worms fight amongst themselves.
After you drink it, you might experience stomach discomfort, but don’t be afraid. It will pass.
It will be painful, so you’ll have to endure it a little.”
“No problem, I fear nothing,” Yu Jing said with firm resolve.
Although she was the Empress of Bei Chu,
it had not been easy for her to ascend to that position alongside Chu Yu.
Therefore, how could she be someone who feared pain?
She already knew in her heart that suffering would only make her stronger.
Everything that didn’t break her would make her better and stronger.
Soon, the medicine arrived. Yu Jing took it without even looking and drank it down in one go.
However, the medicine was still bitter, and she couldn’t help but frown slightly after drinking it.
Su Xiaoqi understood and immediately handed her a preserved plum.
Yu Jing took it, holding it in her hand with a look of relief. She couldn’t bear to eat it; it was from her precious daughter.
“Mother, please eat it quickly, it’s too bitter.”
“Not bitter, not bitter. Finding you makes even the bitterest medicine not bitter,” Yu Jing said with deep affection.
Su Xiaoqi’s defenses were instantly broken.
Although she wasn’t Yu Jing’s biological daughter, nor had she ever been a mother, at that moment, she truly felt
the helplessness of a mother and the inexpressible tenderness for her daughter.
With hardly any hesitation, she replied, “Mother, don’t be afraid. From now on, I won’t let you suffer anymore, not even a tiny bit.”
Yu Jing’s sincerity towards her was genuine. Although it was in the name of mother and daughter,
Su Xiaoqi truly felt it and was moved.
She had decided to protect Yu Jing.
She took out a spiritual medicine from her spatial storage and gave it to Yu Jing.
This medicine couldn’t kill the parasites in her stomach,
but it could strengthen her body and rapidly repair her internal organs, which were riddled with holes from the parasites’ gnawing.
This would allow her to endure less pain when the medicine took effect.
Yu Jing felt Su Xiaoqi’s sincerity and suddenly experienced a sense of clarity, like clouds parting to reveal the sun.
She knew that only now did Su Xiaoqi truly accept her from her heart.
Unlike before, when it was merely based on politeness.
Therefore, even though she called her Mother, her demeanor still carried a sense of distance.
Su Xiaoqi had not yet accepted her in her heart.
“I should, I should return to the Duke’s mansion,” Yu Jing requested.
Su Xiaoqi shook her head, “Mother, you are unwell right now. Don’t go anywhere. Stay here, and I will take good care of you.”
“But, but I’m afraid, I’m afraid I might scare you later!” Yu Jing was worried that she might cry out in pain and frighten Su Xiaoqi.
She wished to leave Su Xiaoqi with an impression of gentleness and warmth.
She didn’t want to cause her any fear.