Jiang Rumo, the attending physician for Ye Tingyun, naturally understood his condition better.
Earlier, she had examined the residual medicinal soup in Ye Tingyun's blood and found nothing amiss. It wasn't poison, and the soup itself was fine, so there must be something else that was incompatible.
Jiang Rumo raised an eyebrow inwardly, though his expression remained respectful.
"May I ask what the Princess Consort wishes to inquire about? This humble minister will answer truthfully."
Feng Yinwan glanced at him faintly.
"Physician Jiang is renowned as a skilled physician in the martial world and is favored by His Majesty, hence his special recruitment into the Imperial Hospital. When you took Prince Yun's pulse just now, did you not detect anything unusual?"
This woman suspected his medical skills?
"What does the Princess Consort mean?"
"Prince Yun's pulse is weak and thready, with fluctuating qi and blood, indicating the onset of his heart condition. I fail to see what anomaly the Princess Consort refers to."
Feng Yinwan chuckled upon hearing this.
"Earlier in Cunsan Hall, Physician Jiang insisted there was an issue with this Princess Consort's medicinal soup. Have you found any evidence of this problem within Prince Yun?"
Finally understanding her question, Jiang Rumo was momentarily stumped.
He had indeed not diagnosed any specific problem.
In fact, Ye Tingyun's symptoms were no different from his previous heart condition episodes.
It was precisely for this reason that after discovering the prescription had been altered, he suspected an issue with the medicinal soup.
"His Highness Prince Yun had not consumed any taboo items previously. This recurrence of his heart condition is likely due to an incompatibility with some component in the medicinal soup."
Feng Yinwan let out a cold scoff.
"A practitioner of medicine, making a diagnosis without proper confirmation, relying solely on personal conjecture. Is this how you in the Imperial Hospital conduct yourselves?"
Due to Prince Yun and the Empress Dowager, everyone in the palace treated Jiang Rumo with courtesy. Now, being so sharply criticized by Feng Yinwan, he felt an immediate loss of face.
"Princess Consort Mo accused this humble minister of making a diagnosis based on conjecture. Are your own words not also such?"
Feng Yinwan, however, paid him no mind. With a cold curl of her lips, she directly produced a prescription from her sleeve.
"It is true that I altered your prescription, but not arbitrarily. Whether there are incompatible components, Physician Jiang can see for himself."
Jiang Rumo hesitated, frowned, but still reached out to take it.
His eyes fell upon a lengthy list of herbs. Jiang Rumo's gaze quickly scanned through them, and his brow furrowed even deeper after reading.
"Your previous prescription was conservative and overly rigid. Even if Ye Tingyun drank it for eight hundred years, his heart condition would not be controlled."
"This prescription of this Princess Consort's is far more potent, a hundred times stronger than yours!"
As a renowned physician from the martial world, being recruited into the Imperial Hospital at such a young age, Jiang Rumo had always been known for his "bold prescriptions and avoidance of outdated practices."
He never dreamed that one day he would become the very "stubborn old man" he disdained!
Though he was unconvinced, just as Feng Yinwan had said, her prescription was indeed a hundred times better than his.
Jiang Rumo pointed to the long list of herbs at the end, unwilling to give up. "Are these also added by the Princess Consort specifically to enhance the efficacy?"
Feng Yinwan glanced at it faintly and answered without hesitation.
"Oh, these were added by this Princess Consort because she found Prince Yun displeasing."
"Although the taste is a bit bitter, the medicinal properties are mild and harmonious, and there are no incompatibilities. What's wrong with that?"
What's wrong with that?
Jiang Rumo was rendered speechless.
For a medical practitioner, prescriptions should be simple rather than complex, as complex formulas are prone to errors.
Yet this woman not only crafted an exquisite prescription but also casually added a jumble of other ingredients.
She... !
She did indeed possess some skill.
Pressing his lips together, Jiang Rumo was about to speak when Qi Xuan hurried back from outside.
"Physician Jiang! His Highness Prince Yun has woken up and is coughing up blood incessantly. The Empress Dowager has ordered you to return immediately!"
Coughing up blood?!
Feng Yinwan was startled by the news.
When she had seen him earlier, Ye Tingyun's pulse had been very stable. If he had woken up, he shouldn't be coughing blood. How could this happen!
Clearly caught off guard, Jiang Rumo instinctively met her gaze and immediately rose to leave.
Feng Yinwan's heart also tightened. She wanted to follow, but was stopped by Qi Xuan.
"Princess Consort, it's best if you don't go over at this time..."
The Empress Dowager had just lost her temper, and if Feng Yinwan went over now, she would be the primary target.
Giving her a solemn look, Qi Xuan added, "This is also His Highness's wish."
Left behind in the meditation courtyard, Feng Yinwan grew increasingly anxious. She kept thinking about the words "coughing up blood," and a bad premonition quietly spread from the depths of her heart.
The night was as silent as death.
The candlelight on the desk flickered. After an unknown amount of time, Feng Yinwan, propping her chin, was on the verge of dozing off when the door was suddenly pushed open.
"Princess Consort, His Highness has ordered you to come over."
After Qi Xuan spoke, two guards stepped forward to escort her.
Feng Yinwan had no time to ask what had happened before she was taken directly to Cunsan Hall.
Since arriving at Qingpu Temple, Feng Yinwan had entered Cunsan Hall three times in just a few hours.
This time, the atmosphere inside was clearly even more somber than the previous two.
"Your Highness, Princess Consort has been brought."
As she entered, a lingering scent of blood filled the air. Ye Tinglan sat to one side with a dark expression, while the Empress Dowager on the other side clearly glared at her.
Feng Yinwan was released by the guards and was about to bow in confusion, but before she could make a move, a teacup was sharply thrown at her feet.
"Speak! What exactly did you do to Yun'er!"
Feng Yinwan started.
From the expression on her face, it was clear the old lady blamed her for Ye Tingyun coughing up blood.
"Empress Dowager, please believe me, this concubine did nothing to Prince Yun."
"You still dare to quibble even now? Yun'er's heart condition flares up frequently, but he has never coughed blood. If you hadn't meddled with the prescription and given him that blasted medicinal soup, how could this have happened!"
Given the Empress Dowager's doting on Ye Tingyun, the issue of the medicinal soup was something she would not let pass.
Feng Yinwan pursed her lips and looked up at Jiang Rumo.
"Physician Jiang has already examined him. May I ask about Prince Yun's condition?"
Jiang Rumo looked at her, his expression solemn. "This humble minister discovered peach kernel powder in the blood clots His Highness Prince Yun coughed up."
"The Princess Consort's prescription does indeed have the effect of nourishing blood and boosting qi. However, in medicine, one must be cautious of overdoing things. Peach kernels themselves have the effect of activating blood circulation and dispelling stasis. When these two are combined, it is counterproductive."
"If peach kernel powder is mixed with the medicinal soup and consumed, it will inevitably cause agitation of qi and blood, leading to blood stasis and blockage of the heart vessels."
"Based on this, His Highness Prince Yun's heart condition onset... is precisely due to this cause."
After speaking, he lowered his head in silence.
Feng Yinwan's forehead twitched, and she was suddenly surprised.
She naturally understood the principle of incompatible medicinal effects, so her prescription did not include peach kernels!
Before she could speak, the Empress Dowager's angry shout erupted.
"Princess Consort Mo has malicious intent and wishes to harm Prince Yun! Drag her out and flog her forty times!"
Forty lashes was equivalent to taking half a life.
The guards hesitated slightly at the command, clearly waiting for Ye Tinglan's decision.
Feng Yinwan's heart tightened, and she quickly said, "Your Highness..."
Ye Tinglan raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a knife.
"Earlier, only you had come to Cunsan Hall."