"Your Majesty, absolutely not!" Liu Jin knelt on the ground with a thud, saying urgently, "Your Majesty, please wait for the Prince to wake up before..."
"Liu Jin, as Xuan'er's personal physician, you are also a guilty party for Xuan'er being in such a state. You, be silent."
The Emperor waved his hand.
Liu Jin wanted to say more, but was immediately dragged aside by two guards.
Two other guards quickly walked towards Chu Qianli.
The Empress Dowager knew it was the right decision to keep Feng Jinrui in the palace and not let him return for now.
If he were here, he would surely cause a scene again.
That brat was just like his fourth brother; his fourth brother cared about this woman, and he told himself to care too.
If he were here, he definitely wouldn't let the guards take Chu Qianli away!
The current Empress Dowager's sole desire was to eliminate Chu Qianli, hoping to bring her frantic Xuan'er back to his senses.
As for the consequences of executing Chu Qianli, she didn't care!
Nor could she care!
With Liu Jin dragged aside, two guards with fierce expressions approached Chu Qianli.
They expected Chu Qianli to be afraid, even to beg for mercy, but to their surprise, Chu Qianli's face remained expressionless.
As the two reached her, her voice was steady and indifferent, "Now, only I can save the Prince. If Your Majesty allows the Empress Dowager to have me executed, it won't be long before Prince Xuan follows me."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" the Empress Dowager said angrily.
Chu Qianli ignored her, her gaze passing over the two guards, directly fixed on the Emperor sitting on the chair.
"Your Majesty, are you willing to take a gamble? Gamble with the Prince's life?"
The Emperor glared at her, his large hand tightening within his sleeve.
"Your Majesty, don't listen to her! She's spreading seditious rumors again, she..."
"Your Majesty could give this humble subject a moment longer, and first listen to the words of the two imperial physicians, how about it?"
Chu Qianli looked at the two imperial physicians guarding the bedside, still with a detached expression, "My death is insignificant, but, Your Majesty, if they now claim they can cure the Prince, but ultimately cannot, will Your Majesty have them beaten to death? How about it?"
"Your Majesty!"
The two imperial physicians immediately turned ashen, and both knelt on the ground with a series of thuds.
"Your Majesty, your subject is incompetent, your subject... this injury of the Prince, your subject... your subject cannot cure it!"
"Your subject is also powerless!"
The two of them, with a thud, began to kowtow.
Admitting their incompetence now might only incur the Emperor's brief anger and a few dozen planks.
But if the Emperor truly executed this girl, and they still couldn't save the Prince, then they would surely die.
They truly couldn't cure the Prince; the Prince's pulse now was so weak it could disappear at any moment!
"The Prince's injury affects his internal organs, your subject truly... truly has no way."
This was clearly a dying person!
They really couldn't cure him!
"Since you are so useless, then drag them out and behead them now!"
The Empress Dowager's eyes went black with anger, and she almost fainted.
Besides anger, there was more, a sense of panic.
Even the imperial physicians were powerless, could it be... could it be that her Xuan'er...
"Your Majesty, the Prince's injuries are indeed very serious. For the past three days, it has been I who have been trying to keep him alive. Changing physicians at this time, let alone discussing their medical skills, even if their medical skills were excellent, they might not be able to immediately understand the treatment for the Prince."
"Your Majesty, don't believe her, she's just afraid of death!"
The Empress Dowager was almost driven mad at this moment!
She said angrily, "Behead her first! If she's beheaded, Xuan'er will no longer harm himself for this woman!"
"There must be a way, someone can definitely cure Xuan'er! Quickly! Guards! Drag that demoness Chu Qianli out and beat her to death with sticks! Quickly!"
But this time, no guards dared to obey her.
They had all heard what the two imperial physicians had said earlier.
Even the imperial physicians had declared the Prince incurable, but at least Chu Qianli was still insisting that she could save the Prince.
What if, after executing Chu Qianli, the Prince truly... became beyond help? Then they, who had killed Chu Qianli, would have to be buried with her!
The Emperor would not remember that it was his and the Empress Dowager's orders. At that time, the Emperor would only think that they had beaten to death the only physician who could save the Prince!
At that time, their fate would likely be even more tragic than Chu Qianli's!
No one dared to move rashly.
Chu Qianli walked to the Emperor, her small face, the size of a palm, filled with determination.
"Seven days."
Ignoring the Empress Dowager who rushed to pull her, she looked at the Emperor and said in a deep voice, "If after seven days, I cannot save the Prince, Your Majesty can kill me then."
"Your Majesty, you cannot listen to her, you cannot..."
"Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, please compose yourself!" Jin Momo quickly came over and pulled the Empress Dowager back, holding her firmly in her arms.
"Empress Dowager, let His Majesty handle this matter."
"Since she said seven days, then give her seven days. We can discuss future matters later, alright Empress Dowager?"
"But, she..."
"Empress Dowager, it's only seven days! Whatever happens, let's discuss it after the Prince wakes up! Empress Dowager, please calm down!"
Jin Momo had been by the Empress Dowager's side for decades, and in the Empress Dowager's eyes, she was no ordinary嬷嬷 (wet nurse/senior maid).
They were practically like sisters.
She looked at Jin Momo, and Jin Momo nodded heavily at her.
With a thousand unspoken words in her eyes, the Empress Dowager understood without needing to be told.
However, for a moment, the Empress Dowager still couldn't calm down.
She looked back at Feng Yexuan lying on the bed, then at the two imperial physicians kneeling on the ground, trembling.
They were both imperial physicians she was familiar with, and besides Yu Linglong, they were the best in the palace.
But Yu Linglong had caused so much trouble before, and falsely claimed she could cure the plague, and after all those incidents, the Emperor no longer trusted her medical skills.
Now, it seemed only Chu Qianli could treat Xuan'er...
Finally, the Empress Dowager wiped away her tears, and with the support of Jin Momo, returned to the bedside, holding Feng Yexuan's hand, silently weeping without speaking.
Liu Jin immediately kowtowed to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, when the Prince was sent back three days ago, your subordinate was already powerless. It was Miss Chu who used her unique methods to keep the Prince's breath alive."
"Your Majesty, only Miss Chu can save the Prince! Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor's face was ashen.
After a long while, he finally said, "After seven days, if I cannot see Xuan'er wake up, not only will I kill you, but I will also destroy your entire Duke's mansion!"
... The Emperor finally left.
But the Empress Dowager refused to leave.
Fortunately, Feng Jinrui, who had received the news, rushed back. At this moment, Chu Qianli at least had one more helper.
After coaxing her for a long time and telling her that Feng Yexuan would definitely recover, Feng Jinrui finally listened to her words and obediently went to guard the Empress Dowager, preventing her from coming to cause trouble again.
But unexpectedly, as everyone left, Feng Yexuan on the sickbed suddenly trembled all over, and then, with a "wah," he began to vomit blood again...