Chapter 47

Pei Yunxi's heart lurched; she stepped back a few paces, moving farther from the coffin. She instinctively sought Xiao Yichen for reassurance, then remembered he was holding Mu Yuanzhi and recalled his earlier words—her eyes instantly filled with tears.

How can Brother Chen say such things about her mother for Mu Yuanzhi's sake? He's supposed to become her prince consort!

Moreover, Brother Chen seems to be transferring internal energy to Mu Yuanzhi.

She had heard that transmitting internal energy to an injured person could quickly clear the meridians and speed recovery, but the one who loses that energy finds it hard to recover quickly, suffering a great loss of cultivation!

The imperial physician will be here soon anyway—is it really worth taking such a risk?

Pei Yunxi felt bitterly sour.

She very much hoped this was just Xiao Yichen putting on a show before the emperor, but seeing how carefully he held Mu Yuanzhi made it hard to convince herself.

"Your Majesty!" the Noble Consort, crawling on her knees to the emperor, uttered a sorrowful "Your Majesty," drawing Pei Yunxi's attention back; she hurriedly followed suit and knelt as well.

"Father Emperor, please calm your anger; the Noble Consort was merely momentarily nervous about Yunxi, overreacting, which led to accidentally injuring the elder sister!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor's dark, inscrutable gaze fell upon Pei Yunxi's swollen, disfigured face; in his peripheral vision, the Noble Consort wept heartbrokenly.

He naturally could understand the Noble Consort's feelings—parents everywhere share the same heart; Yunxi is also his daughter!

"How could this be an accident?!" Hongdou boldly spoke up to argue: "It's clearly intentional murder!"

The weight of the word "murder" struck the Noble Consort so hard she could barely straighten her back.

What murder?

"Yuanzhi is my daughter—how could I possibly want to kill her?" the Noble Consort gazed at the unconscious Mu Yuanzhi, weeping bitterly, "I have painstakingly raised her for sixteen years; how could I bear to part with her…"

As she spoke, her agitation nearly made her faint; Pei Yunxi hurriedly supported her, and mother and daughter clung together, wailing tearfully, as if they had suffered some great injustice.

Hongdou's eyes practically blazed with hatred—clearly it was they who refused to let the Grand General and his wife's spirits rest in peace, and even struck the master with grave injury! Now they act as if they're the victims—how shameless!

"The imperial physician has arrived!"

The guiding eunuch hurried along, and the imperial physician behind him came at a quick trot, while everyone hurried to make way.

The emperor: "Save the person first, then talk."

No one objected; saving a life was urgent, everything else secondary.

Seeing the imperial physician arrive, Xiao Yichen stopped transmitting internal energy, his gaze tense as he watched the physician's moves; the physician, already under pressure, broke out in a cold sweat and proceeded even more cautiously to treat Mu Yuanzhi's wound.

The air was unusually still; everyone craned their necks.

Mu Yuanzhi's forehead wound was deep, with many tiny wood splinters embedded inside; if not cleaned thoroughly, it could cause inflammation, big or small. The imperial physician focused entirely on the wound, and each time he removed a small fragment, Mu Yuanzhi winced in pain.

But having a reaction was good—at least Xiao Yichen knew she was still alive.

Heaven only knows how panicked he was when she had just been deathly still.

This feeling was unprecedented; he feared she would vanish from his life just like that, feared she would never open her eyes to look at him again.

Xiao Yichen leaned close to Mu Yuanzhi's ear, continually whispering soothingly: "It won't hurt much longer—just endure."

After speaking softly, he turned his gaze to the imperial physician, his expression returning to its usual sternness: "How is she, exactly?"

After treating Mu Yuanzhi's wound, the imperial physician, who had just been taking someone's pulse, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat again. He wiped his forehead, bowed to Xiao Yichen and the emperor, then replied: "It's thanks to Senior Minister Xiao's earlier transmission of considerable internal energy to Princess Yuanzhi, dispelling stasis and clearing the meridians, which kept the princess's qi and blood flowing unimpeded, thereby sparing her brain marrow and cerebral qi from shock…"

The emperor grew annoyed, waved his hand, and said: "Get to the point!"

The physician, embarrassed, hastily simplified his explanation: "No serious harm—just a flesh wound that will heal slowly; with proper nourishment of the fundamentals, the princess will recover."

Upon hearing the physician's words, Xiao Yichen's anxious heart finally eased.

Pei Yunxi burst into tears of joy, grabbing the Noble Consort's hand: "Wonderful, Mother Consort—elder sister only has a minor injury; what intentional murder? It's simply Hongdou's overprotective fervor speaking nonsense."

The emperor also breathed a sigh of relief: "If so, Noble Consort, please rise."

Hongdou and Linglong trembled with rage—were they deaf? Didn't they hear the physician say that without timely internal energy transmission, the consequence would be cerebral shock? This is a life‑or‑death matter! Previously, a palace maid suffered a cerebral shock, lay unconscious in bed for half a year, and ultimately died.

And they're just supposed to treat it as if nothing happened?!

At this moment, Mu Yuanzhi slowly regained consciousness; her thoughts were with her parents' coffin, and even in her stupor she struggled against the illness, fighting to wake.

Seeing the moment had arrived, the commander of the Imperial Guard immediately ordered his troops to disperse the onlooking crowd:

"Make way, everyone make way—the Grand General and his lady are about to proceed with the funeral!"

If it weren't for Gu Rongjin stirring up trouble just now, this bunch of ruffians wouldn't have come to get in the way; I hope the emperor doesn't punish them.

Seeing the physician say Mu Yuanzhi was fine, the crowd sighed that the Grand General's spirit surely protected them, then heeded the advice and withdrew, clearing a path for the Grand General and his wife.

"Rise!" the resounding voice of the Minister of Rites rang out again.

Sensing that Mu Yuanzhi had awakened, Xiao Yichen hurried to support her; now very weak, she instinctively leaned on him, drawing on his strength.

Nothing matters more than her parents; she must personally see them laid to rest properly in the imperial mausoleum before she can be at ease.

"Are you coming along?" Xiao Yichen asked, not entirely in agreement.

"I must go!" No one shall be allowed to cause mischief!

At that moment the emperor also approached, naturally taking Mu Yuanzhi from Xiao Yichen's support, full of concern: "Your father knows your filial heart—don't overexert yourself."

"I won't overexert myself; I, your subject, can manage."

The emperor's gesture not only failed to warm Mu Yuanzhi, it actually made her feel colder; were it not for putting on a show before the populace, she would have regretted hurting Yunxi today—she might not be able to eat her fill and would be left walking away with an empty stomach!

It's hard to believe that even the Son of Heaven, the Nine‑Five Sovereign, would lower himself to care for her! He must be feeling suffocated inside—thinking this, Mu Yuanzhi gave a faint smile.

The emperor still thought her smile was due to his concern, and his heart felt a twinge.

After all, she's just a love‑starved little girl.

The emperor's supporting gesture naturally softened somewhat; upon reaching outside the general's manor, in full view of the distant populace, he helped Mu Yuanzhi into his exclusive carriage.

Pei Yunxi stared, eyes wide—even if Mu Yuanzhi was seriously injured today, it served her right! She had even been slapped for no reason, yet the Father Emperor wouldn't let her ride in the carriage too!

"Yunxi, come sit with Mother Consort—everyone's watching." The Noble Consort took her daughter's hand and whispered a reminder.

Pei Yunxi thought, "All right, Father Emperor is constrained by the populace, so I too must behave; when I return I will surely make Mu Yuanzhi pay the price!"