Seeing that everyone was intimidated by her, Wang Qingyao continued, "The Imperial Preceptor said that the Crown Prince is the Son of Heaven, protected by the Emperor's dragon aura. Even if Consort He was truly a jinx, she wouldn't be able to harm the Crown Prince."
Wang Qingyao's words were skillful. She didn't say the Crown Prince was a true Son of Heaven with dragon aura protecting him. Instead, she implied that the Crown Prince was only well because of the Emperor, and had nothing to do with himself.
Consort Wei said coldly, "But currently, the Crown Prince is indeed afflicted and gravely ill, lying in bed unconscious."
Lu Peishan nodded in agreement.
Wang Qingyao said with a serious expression, "This shows that the Crown Prince is not cursed, but genuinely ill. Your eminent monk is unreliable, Crown Princess. He lacks true skill and wrongly accuses people so casually. The Crown Prince is of noble status, can anyone curse him so easily? Would His Highness be such a useless person that taking a concubine would lead to his death?"
Lu Peishan's face turned red. She wanted to retort, but couldn't find any words to do so.
Why did things not go as she had expected?
Was a woman being a jinx such a serious crime? How did it, in Wang Qingyao's words, get so easily dismissed and even turned back on her?
Lu Peishan was filled with pent-up anger and felt miserable. It was the first time she had felt so powerless.
Even when she wasn't the Crown Princess, when she was competing with Wei Yu, she had never felt this powerless.
She looked at Consort Wei for help.
Consort Wei was both angry at the Crown Prince and Lu Peishan for their incompetence and annoyed at Wang Qingyao for twisting facts. Her tone became even colder.
"Since the Princess of Ding'an is neither a physician nor an eminent monk, why is she so certain? The entire Imperial Hospital cannot cure the Crown Prince's illness, does the Princess of Ding'an have a solution?"
Wang Qingyao smiled gently at Consort Wei and looked at the Emperor, "Your Majesty, it is quite strange. When it comes to feng shui, don't we have Feng Fu, the Imperial Preceptor, right here in the palace? The Crown Princess actually went far afield to invite an eminent monk from the Grand State Temple."
What else could it be?
It was naturally because Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu was close to the Prince of Ding'an, making him difficult to bribe!
Lu Peishan and the Crown Prince had already considered this question. When Wang Qingyao asked, she calmly explained, "The Imperial Preceptor is extremely busy and I dared not disturb him lightly. I originally thought that if the eminent monk from the Grand State Temple could not find anything, I would swallow my pride and invite the Imperial Preceptor. If the eminent monk could cure His Highness's illness, then there would be no need to trouble the Imperial Preceptor."
Wang Qingyao smiled, "The Crown Princess is truly considerate."
The Emperor frowned slightly, "In that case, let the Imperial Preceptor examine the Crown Prince."
Lu Peishan's expression changed slightly, and she said softly, "Yes."
The Emperor soon sent for Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu.
Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu had already heard about the Crown Prince's illness. However, since he hadn't been asked to treat it, he had pretended not to know.
Now that the Emperor had sent him to treat the Crown Prince, he was a little confused as to whether he should act as a divine physician or as an Imperial Preceptor.
Wang Qingyao smiled and explained the situation.
Having received a hint, Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu understood. He prepared his belongings and went to the Eastern Palace with Lu Peishan.
Wang Qingyao was also free, so she accompanied Consort Wei and the Emperor.
The eminent monk from the Grand State Temple had not yet left. He was in a side hall, drinking fine tea. He looked upright and righteous.
Wang Qingyao glanced at him and found nothing unusual.
However, she didn't believe he was an eminent monk. Most likely, he had been bribed by Lu Peishan and the Crown Prince, and was using He Rufang's jinx to attack Ling Yun.
What Lu Peishan hadn't expected was that the Emperor would summon Wang Qingyao to question her.
Wang Qingyao hid nothing and even recommended Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu.
Since Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu had "cured" Wang Qingyao's eyes, his reputation had changed drastically compared to before.
From an intermittently ineffective Imperial Preceptor, he had become a divine physician, even a figure of public worship.
The eminent monk from the Grand State Temple was also startled to see the Emperor and the others. When he heard that the Emperor did not believe him and had sent the Imperial Preceptor to examine the Crown Prince, he became even more nervous.
Lu Peishan feared that the Imperial Preceptor would discover that the Crown Prince was faking his illness. As they reached the door of the sleeping quarters, she wanted to follow him in.
However, the Imperial Preceptor not only refused to let her in, but also dismissed all the servants attending in the sleeping quarters, stating that his methods could not be disturbed by anyone.
"But... but..." Lu Peishan wanted to get involved, but after several "buts," she couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse.
Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu clearly did not want to deal with her any further. Before she could finish her "buts," he slammed the door shut.
Lu Peishan was extremely embarrassed and looked anxious.
Wang Qingyao said with a half-smile, "Crown Princess, there's no need to worry. We'll just wait outside. You should have faith in the Imperial Preceptor. After all, he could even cure a blind person, let alone mere unconsciousness?"
Lu Peishan forced a smile. It was precisely because she had too much faith in Imperial Preceptor Feng Fu that she was nervous.
The others sat in the courtyard outside the sleeping quarters, waiting.
The eminent monk from the Grand State Temple also stood there, likely wanting to witness the Imperial Preceptor's skill.
Others didn't know what was happening inside the sleeping quarters, but Wang Qingyao could see it all clearly.
After the Imperial Preceptor entered the room, he took out a bamboo tube from a prepared cloth bag, removed the stopper, and poured some contents onto the Crown Prince's bed a few times. As he poured, he counted, "One snake, two snakes, three snakes, four snakes..."
Wang Qingyao was stunned! She bit her lip hard to suppress the urge to laugh.