Chapter 220: Cured

The female doctor opened the door, her hair slightly disheveled, with sweat-soaked temples and eyes red as if she’d been crying, making her pale face appear even more pale.

“How did it go?” The Empress walked over, peering into the inner hall, though she couldn’t see anything. “Is she cured?”

The female doctor nodded, looking utterly exhausted, her shoulder leaning against the doorframe for support.

“Young Lady Su has cured Madam Qi of her poison and removed the mother-child gu from them,” the female doctor said, blinking her dry, sore eyes and stepping aside. “They’re both inside; you may go in and see.”

The Empress immediately entered the inner hall, finding Qi Min and Ji Xuan lying quietly on the bed. Both of their faces were pale, devoid of any color, yet the once tightly furrowed brows were now relaxed.

The Empress felt her eyes grow hot. How long had it been since she’d seen Qi Min sleep so peacefully?

Enduring pain constantly, whether awake or asleep.

She could barely contain her excitement, nearly brought to tears with joy.

The Empress lifted her head, forcing the tears back.

She looked toward Su Wan.

Su Wan sat on a stool by the bed, leaning against the bedpost. Her face was pale, her eyes filled with exhaustion, a hint of weakness showing through.

“Wanwan, are you all right? What happened earlier?” The Empress’s gaze was filled with concern as she noticed the metallic scent of blood lingering in the room.

Hearing this, the female doctor’s face changed multiple times. She couldn’t help but glance at Su Wan, biting her lip tightly to swallow back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Su Wan curved her lips into a smile. “It’s nothing. I accidentally broke a bowl and cut my hand.”

Calmly, Su Wan showed the Empress her injured index finger.

Seeing this, the Empress couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Is Elder Sister’s poison cured as well?”

“Yes, it’s cured.” Exhausted to the point of wanting to lie down and sleep, Su Wan forced herself to stay alert and replied, “It just took a bit more effort to remove the poison.”

“Get some rest first; I’ll arrange for others to take care of things here,” the Empress said, unable to resist asking one more question, “Is there anything we should be mindful of?”

Su Wan tilted her chin toward the female doctor. “Ask her.”

She supported herself on the bedpost as she stood up, her whole body swaying, feeling light-headed. The female doctor stepped forward to steady her, her voice thick with emotion. “I’ll take you back.”

“No need, you stay here and keep an eye on things,” Su Wan said helplessly to the Empress. “Your Majesty, could I trouble you to arrange for someone to escort me back?”

The Empress nodded and instructed a female official to help Su Wan back to Yaoguang Hall.

Su Wan, feeling utterly drained, leaned weakly against the female official as they left the inner hall. She turned to Master Mingjue, who was waiting outside, and said, “Do you have a moment? Could you come to Yaoguang Hall? There’s something I’d like to consult you about.”

Master Mingjue followed Su Wan as she left.

The Empress, calming herself, watched Su Wan and her group disappear into the night, unable to suppress her thoughts.

She turned to the female doctor, questioning sternly, “Tell me, what exactly happened here earlier?” The female doctor’s face turned deathly pale, and she shook her head, too afraid to speak.

The Empress’s expression darkened, her voice laced with anger. “If you don’t speak and something happens to Wanwan, I will hold you accountable for withholding the truth!”

The female doctor’s fingers dug tightly into her palms as she withstood the Empress’s pressure, refusing to relent. She steeled herself and said, “I brought clothes to change Madam Qi, but accidentally bumped into Miss Su, causing the bowl with the mother gu to shatter on the floor. The mother gu died, nearly killing the Regent as well, which frightened me to tears, so I apologized to Young Lady Su.”

The Empress fixed a hard stare on the female doctor, as if trying to discern any hint of deception in her expression, but found nothing.

An uneasy feeling settled in her heart. She had a premonition that the truth was far from what the female doctor had said, that the situation was far worse than she imagined.