Chapter 268

Chapter 268

Having encountered many things, she remained quite composed.

Xiaoshu said softly, "Shufei Jiang is hemorrhaging heavily. The house physician cannot stop the bleeding and says we must enter the palace to summon an imperial physician."

"The mansion gates aren't open yet, and the maids from Shufei Jiang's courtyard have come to beg you for help."

Xie Run propped herself up against the headboard. "Have our courtyard's maids lead the way."

She thought for a moment. "Heavy bleeding is an emergency—there's no time to go to the palace for an imperial physician."

Xie Run glanced at the sky. "At this hour, the imperial physicians aren't even on duty. Have a carriage prepared and go directly to their homes to fetch one."

Xie Run paused. "This will likely disturb Qingsong Court—tell them to keep it quiet!"

Only the Consort's token could summon an imperial physician from their residence.

At this hour, the Consort had probably just fallen asleep. Any slight commotion would surely wake her.

Xie Run couldn't help but complain, "At this hour, what's she stirring up now?!"

Jiang Baobao had a sturdy constitution. Though she'd miscarried, as long as she rested properly, she'd recover quickly.

Now suddenly she's hemorrhaging—she must have been up to something in the middle of the night again!

Xie Run threw off the covers and rubbed her throbbing head. "Let's go—we should go see for ourselves."

Whether she lived or died, Xie Run had to see it for herself.

Xiaoshu felt for her mistress and helped her get dressed. "Shufei Jiang is a real curse—she never fails to stir up trouble and keep everyone on edge."

"It's one thing for her to ruin herself, but she drags everyone else down too."

"Never mind you, mistress—the Consort's pregnancy has been shaky from the start. If something happens because she's disturbed at this hour, who's going to take responsibility?!"

Xie Run massaged her temples. "Nothing to be done. Who says this curse can earn merit and get a personal marriage decree from the Emperor?"

Before dawn, two maids led the way, holding lanterns.

Xie Run braved the cold wind with her people, walking all the way to Jiang Baobao's courtyard entrance.

The moment she stepped inside, she caught a strong smell of blood.

Xie Run quickened her pace and happened to see a maid carrying out a basin of bloody water.

She lifted the curtain and entered the outer room, spotting the house physician. "How is Shufei Jiang?"

The house physician clasped his hands. "I've tried acupuncture and forced medicine down her throat, but the bleeding won't stop."

"I'm not skilled enough—I can only hope the imperial physician gets here soon."

Guiyuan's legs could barely support her. She leaned against the wall as she came out, then collapsed to her knees in front of Xie Run.

"Please save us, Consort Xie!"

"My mistress is so weak she's barely hanging on. If this keeps up, she'll lose her life!"

Xie Run frowned, and Xiaoshu stepped forward to pull Guiyuan aside. "What's the meaning of kneeling and begging like this?!"

"My mistress isn't an imperial physician and can't cure illnesses. What do you expect her to do to save Shufei Jiang?"

Xie Run glanced at Guiyuan. "Help her up. I have questions for her."

She first went into the inner chamber to check on Jiang Baobao.

The thick, cloying smell of blood in the room was nauseating. Xie Run peeked in and saw Jiang Baobao's face.

She truly was at her last breath now.

Her complexion wasn't just pale—it had a yellowish tinge, with the numb look of someone nearing death.

After a glance, Xie Run turned back and said to Dan Tao, "Have Yueya'er and the others go help out, and keep an eye on things."

Dan Tao nodded. "I'll go right away."

Sitting down in a chair, Xie Run finally had a chance to ask questions. "What happened?!"

"Shufei Jiang was already out of danger—why is she suddenly hemorrhaging at this hour?"

"Did one of you anger your mistress again?"

Jiang Baobao had a quick temper. Last time, she'd nearly been provoked into hemorrhaging right in front of Xie Run.

Guiyuan knelt on the ground, kowtowing and crying like a mess. "To answer you, mistress, it wasn't us."

"It was Consort Sun!"

"Consort Sun caused our mistress's heavy bleeding!"

Xie Run raised a hand to her forehead, half-wanting to ask the house physician to give her a couple of acupuncture needles.

She gritted her teeth. "Speak!"

"At the hour of dusk, Consort Sun suddenly arrived with her people and subjected our mistress to a torrent of humiliation."

Guiyuan wiped her tears. "Consort Sun said our mistress brought it on herself—that she was always scheming to harm others, which is why she lost the child in her belly."

"When the Prince returns and learns what our mistress did, he'll surely not let her off."

"She also called our mistress a curse, wishing she'd fallen to her death on the rockery back then, so she wouldn't have harmed so many people..."

"Our mistress has a fiery temper. After being cursed at, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She tossed and turned for an hour, then suddenly felt unwell... By the time we noticed, she was already bleeding."

Xie Run really couldn't say who was right or wrong in this matter.

Consort Sun had suffered undeserved misfortune and had her face suddenly ruined. She'd been holding in a bellyful of anger—was it really too much for her to show up at night and curse at Jiang Baobao?

Jiang Baobao had brought it on herself.

Consort Sun's words weren't wrong.

It was just that no one expected Jiang Baobao to have such a temper—after being cursed at, she'd literally angered herself into heavy bleeding.

Xiaoshu was furious.

She didn't have Xie Run's good temper and snapped directly, "Are you maids all dead?!"

"When Consort Sun was cursing your mistress, didn't you know to stop her?"

"In the middle of the night, Consort Sun showing up was clearly ill-intentioned, and you still let her in?!"

Guiyuan cried even harder. "But—but Consort Sun brought so many people. We tried to stop them, but we couldn't!"

"The maids and matrons from Songfeng Court held us down—there was no way for us to interfere."

"Our mistress had just miscarried and couldn't move, so she could only lie in bed and endure Consort Sun's curses and those of her maids and matrons. That's what drove her into a rage that turned to blood."