flstandardbreds Chapter 157 Dereliction of Duty
Chapter 157 Dereliction of Duty
"Boom boom boom——"
"Boom boom boom——"
Lu Ziqing opened his eyes in a daze, lifted the quilt and sat up, put on his outer robe and went to open the door. The cold wind suddenly blew in and he woke up instantly.
It was still dark outside when he saw Wen Zhong and asked, "Wen Bo? What's wrong?"
Wen Zhong was a little anxious and said, "Sir, someone has come from the palace and wants you to go to Xianfu Palace immediately."
"Xianfu Palace?" Lu Ziqing asked suspiciously, "Is Concubine Chun ill?"
"I don't know. The eunuch didn't say anything. He just asked the young master to enter the palace immediately." Wen Zhong said.
There were several palace maids guarding the door of the main hall of Xianfu Palace. Gao Jian was also there. Lu Ziqing hurried over, paid his respects, and went into the house.
Several concubines stared at him in unison. Emperor Shengzhi and the Empress were sitting on chairs, looking anxious.
He had a bad feeling and hurried over, bowing cautiously.
In the inner room separated by the gauze curtain, Caiping's worried voice and the imperial physician's whispered discussions could be heard.
Lu Ziqing's heart tightened, and he had a premonition. Emperor Sheng Zhi grabbed the corner of the table and asked him.
"Doctor Lu, what's going on with Concubine Chun's pregnancy?"
Lu Ziqing lowered his head and replied, "Your Majesty, I have been carefully caring for Concubine Chun's fetus, and she has been safe and sound."
"Is he safe and sound?" Emperor Shengzhi questioned him. "Then why is Concubine Chun suffering from persistent abdominal pain?"
"Your Majesty, please let me diagnose the reason before you can know." Lu Ziqing said.
The Empress glanced at Lu Ziqing, then turned to Emperor Shengzhi, "Your Majesty, please let Imperial Physician Lu diagnose Concubine Chun before asking."
Emperor Shengzhi paused for a moment and raised his hand. Lu Ziqing immediately lifted the veil and entered the inner room.
A hand emerged from the silk curtain beside the bed. Doctor Wang was squatting there taking the patient's pulse, while Gou Dongxi and Chi Musheng stood behind him.
He asked in a low voice: "What's the situation with Concubine Chun?"
"Your Majesty's Qi and blood are weak." Chi Musheng glanced at him and whispered, "The dragon fetus may be..."
"What?" Lu Ziqing was struck by lightning at this moment, looking at Chi Musheng in astonishment, "Qi and blood deficiency? How is that possible? He was fine two days ago, how could this happen?"
Before Chi Musheng could say anything, Doctor Wang withdrew his hand, stood up, looked at Gou Dongxi, and shook his head in an indescribable manner.
Seeing that look, Lu Ziqing panicked and walked between the two of them to take the pulse, but Gou Dongxi stopped him.
"No need to diagnose again. The three of us have all been diagnosed."
After he finished speaking, he went to the outer room, knelt down in front of Emperor Shengzhi, and explained in a fearful manner,
"Your Majesty, after the diagnosis by our officials, Concubine Chun's dragon fetus is already gone."
Emperor Shengzhi was furious and slammed the table. "Asshole, what do you mean by 'dead'? My child is fine, and you just say he's dead. What's the use of the Imperial Hospital?"
The emperor was furious, and the heads of several people drooped lowered again. Lu Ziqing was more frightened than the others. When he saw Gao Jian outside the palace, he was already worried.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Chun was weak before. Perhaps the cold food she ate induced the miscarriage," said Doctor Wang.
Lu Ziqing knelt behind, his fingertips suddenly clenched the fabric of his clothes. Just as the cold feeling in his mind emerged, he heard the queen ask.
"Although Concubine Chun is three months pregnant, her body is still not stable. Why did she eat something cold? Why are the palace maids serving her?"
Caiping stood by, wiped her tears, and knelt down, looking terrified.
"Your Majesty, we were not aware of this. We prepared the meals according to the imperial physician's prescription."
She took out the prescription, and Doctor Wang took it, looked at it, and said, "There is nothing wrong with this dietary prescription."
"If there's nothing wrong, why is this happening?" the Queen asked Caiping. "Besides the food on the recipe, what else has Concubine Chun eaten?"
Caiping knelt on the ground, thinking anxiously for a while, and said, "I'm not sure either. Yes, yes..."
"What is it?" the Queen demanded. "Stop hesitating. Tell me quickly. What did Concubine Chun eat?"
Caiping glanced at Lu Ziqing and said, "Your Majesty's appetite was not very good before. Doctor Lu said that you could eat hawthorn, so I gave you some hawthorn. You were fine during the day, but you started to have abdominal pain at night. I really don't know why."
"Hawthorn?" Doctor Wang asked.
"Hawthorn has the effects of helping digestion, strengthening the spleen and stomach, clearing turbidity and lowering lipids, and promoting blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis. Generally, if a woman has menstrual blockage or pain caused by blood stasis after childbirth, hawthorn can be used as a medicine. Taking a few doses will relieve the pain. Your Majesty's maternal condition is already unstable, so why are you taking hawthorn?"
Before he could finish the rest of his words, Lu Ziqing had already broken out in a cold sweat on his back and hurried to explain.
"Your Majesty, hawthorn does have this effect, but considering Your Majesty's current month and physical condition, one or two hawthorns can increase her appetite, but it's not enough to cause a miscarriage. There must be other reasons."
Emperor Shengzhi looked at his official hat and said, "Concubine Chun's mother is weak. You already know the benefits of hawthorn, but you still allow her to take it. Who can guarantee that Concubine Chun will be safe?"
"As an imperial physician, you knew it clearly and still did it on purpose. Who gave you the courage to murder my child?"
Lu Ziqing's face suddenly changed. He said, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to do such a thing as killing someone even if I had the courage of a bear or a leopard. I have made a diagnosis based on your Majesty's physical condition. Please allow me to investigate the cause."
"All the facts are laid out here. What else does Imperial Physician Lu want to investigate?" Imperial Physician Wang took over.
"If it were an ordinary person, eating some hawthorn would help digestion and strengthen the spleen and stomach, but Your Majesty is pregnant, so this doctor's advice is risky."
Chi Musheng raised his eyes and glanced at Doctor Wang's back.
"Doctor Wang is an experienced doctor. He should know that even during pregnancy, as long as the mother's condition is stable, eating a small amount of hawthorn is not harmful. Based on previous pulse records, Concubine Chun's condition and fetal condition are both stable. How could she have a miscarriage after eating just one or two hawthorns?"
"Doctor Chi said it wouldn't work?" Doctor Wang looked at the floor and turned his head. "Then how do you explain this, Your Majesty? Not everyone will be safe after taking it."
"you……"
"Your Majesty, Concubine Wan is here." Gao Jian suddenly came in to report.
Emperor Shengzhi and the empress looked at each other. It was not appropriate to lose his temper in front of foreign officials in public, so he said coldly.
"Let her in."
Wan Shulan stepped over the threshold in plain clothes and went straight to the main chair to pay her respects to Emperor Shengzhi and the Empress.
The Queen saw her with her hair loose and asked, "Why are you coming here dressed like this?"
Because of her mother's family affairs, Wan Shulan went to the Qianqing Palace every day to plead for mercy, but Emperor Shengzhi refused to see her.
As soon as she heard that the emperor was in Xianfu Palace, she rushed over without stopping.
Wan Shulan glanced at Emperor Shengzhi and said cautiously, "Please forgive me, Queen. I heard about Concubine Chun's sister, but I forgot about it in my anxiety."
She sat down and asked the Queen, "How is Concubine Chun now?"
The queen didn't look at her and sighed, and Gou Dongxi took over.
"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Lu's careless mistake has caused such a disaster. It was the Imperial Hospital's incompetence that failed to save the dragon fetus. I, your humble servant, bear the blame. Please, Your Majesty, punish me."
Doctor Wang, seeing the situation, also echoed, "Your Majesty, please punish me."
Everything happened in a hurry, and before Lu Ziqing could recover, the two men rushed to push him onto the execution platform.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard other concubines speak before he could.
"The Imperial Hospital is truly incompetent. Now that they can't even save the dragon fetus, how can we expect you to take good care of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager?"
Wan Shulan glanced at Lu Ziqing's official hat and said, "The Emperor specifically asked Imperial Physician Lu to care for Concubine Chun's dragon fetus, which shows how much trust he has in the Imperial Physician's skills. Now that such a huge mistake has occurred, it's truly a betrayal of His Majesty's grace."
"Alright, stop talking." Emperor Shengzhi looked annoyed. "Lu Ziqing failed to fulfill his duties, causing the dragon fetus to be in danger. He has been thrown into the Heavenly Prison and awaits his punishment."