feiniaonovel Chapter 205
Chapter 205
"Who fell into the water?"
Yun Wan asked, thinking she had misheard.
Yue Ya panted, "It's the Third Prince. Fortunately, he's been rescued."
Ascertaining that the person who fell was not Sui, Yun Wan's heart momentarily relaxed before tightening again. She stood up and walked out, saying, "Come with me."
After being rescued, the Third Prince was sent to Concubine Hui's residence, which was the closest. When Yun Wan arrived, the imperial physician had not yet come out. The outer room was crowded with people, including the Crown Prince, Consort Xian, and others squeezed into the small space.
Seeing Yun Wan, the crowd subconsciously made way and bowed in greeting, "Your Majesty the Empress."
The crowded room had a mix of smells; the scents of medicine and incense intertwined. Yun Wan frowned, forcing down a wave of nausea.
"Mother!"
Seeing his mother, Sui, who looked disheveled and worried, seemed to have found his pillar of support. His usually straight little back slumped slightly as he hugged her waist.
Yun Wan raised her hand to tidy his messy hair. Smelling the medicine on him, she immediately noticed his hands wrapped in bandages.
"How did you get hurt? Is it serious? Does it hurt?"
She lowered her head and blew gently on them, her eyes full of heartache.
Sui looked at his hands, bandaged so thickly that he couldn't close his palms, and shook his head like a rattle drum. "It was scratched by the fishing rod. The imperial physician applied medicine, so it doesn't hurt anymore."
A palace servant nearby explained in detail, "When the Third Highness fell into the water, the Little Highness held tightly onto the fishing rod and refused to let go. This prevented the Third Highness from sinking quickly."
But for a child's hands to bear a weight heavier than his own, injury was inevitable.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The Little Highness only suffered flesh wounds on his palms; his bones and tendons were not harmed."
Even so, Yun Wan still felt a pang of distress.
But right now, it was the Third Prince who was unconscious in the room, so she suppressed her emotions and hugged Sui to comfort him.
At this moment, Concubine Hui came in after changing her clothes. Looking at her still-damp hair, Yun Wan asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
On her way here, she had already learned that it was Concubine Hui, who happened to be passing by, who decisively jumped into the water and saved the Third Prince's life in time.
Concubine Hui shook her head. "I'm fine. I know how to swim. I'll just drink two bowls of ginger soup later to ward off the cold."
Seeing that she didn't look like she was forcing herself, Yun Wan finally felt relieved.
The bead curtain lifted, and the imperial physician came out from the inner room. She stepped forward and asked, "Physician, how is Chenghui?"
The imperial physician's tone was grave. "The Third Highness inhaled water into his lungs after falling in, causing him to fall into a coma. The water has now been expelled, but he has symptoms of a fever. To be safe, we need to observe him closely overnight."
Yun Wan asked, "Is his life in danger?"
The imperial physician did not give a definitive answer, but said, "If the Third Highness makes it through tonight, he will be fine. My fear is that the high fever will not subside tonight."
Especially for a child, if their constitution is not strong enough, the line between life and death can be crossed very quickly.
Hearing this, everyone revealed a look of pity.
The imperial physician added, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will definitely do my utmost."
Yun Wan nodded and said solemnly, "I leave him in your hands, Physician."
After confirming the Third Prince's condition, it was time to investigate the cause and effect of the incident.
Yun Wan took the seat of honor, displaying the majesty of an Empress. She swept her gaze over the attending palace servants. "How did Chenghui fall into the water out of nowhere? What exactly happened?"
The palace servants knelt on the ground, bowing their heads. One said nervously, "The young masters were fishing by the lake this afternoon. They said too many people would scare the fish away, so they told us servants to wait outside."
Yun Wan's face darkened. "You mean to say that when the accident happened, not a single person was watching over them?"
Everyone frowned.
"Eunuch... Eunuch Zhu stayed by the young masters' side," the lead young eunuch stammered.
After he spoke, the Eunuch Zhu he mentioned looked up. "This servant Xiao Zhuzi greets Your Majesty the Empress."
Yun Wan remembered him; he was the Third Prince's personal eunuch and was very loyal to him.
She did not let her guard down and asked coldly, "Why did the Third Prince fall into the water? Tell me the truth."
Xiao Zhuzi replied, "To answer Your Majesty, the Third Highness must have slipped and fallen into the lake. It was this servant's poor supervision. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
As he finished speaking, he knocked his forehead against the ground with loud thuds. In just a few strikes, it turned completely red.
Slipped.
Then it was an accident, caused by the palace servants' lack of proper supervision.
"Sui, Qian'er, is that so?" Yun Wan asked the two children who were present at the time.
Sui wrinkled his little face. "A fish took the bait, and my imperial brother and I were reeling in the line together. Then he suddenly fell into the water with a splash."
"The fish was scared away and broke free from the hook. I told my imperial brother to grab the fishing rod and not let go, until Consort Hui jumped into the water and carried him ashore."
As for whether the Third Prince had slipped, Sui wasn't entirely sure.
Pei Qian'er scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "I had gone to the restroom at the time, so I didn't see how Cousin Chenghui fell into the lake."
When he returned from the restroom, he happened to see the rescued Third Prince and Sui with a bloody hand, which scared him silly.
As the atmosphere stagnated, Consort Xian suddenly spoke up. "Is everything you said the truth?"
Everyone looked toward the voice and saw that she was speaking to Xiao Zhuzi, who was kneeling on the ground.
Meeting Yun Wan's gaze, Consort Xian explained apologetically, "Please don't misunderstand, Your Majesty. I only noticed that this servant's expression looks off, as if he's hiding something."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhuzi trembled all over. His face was deathly pale, and he was sweating profusely; something was very wrong.
Yun Wan asked, "What are you hiding?"
Under the pressure of everyone's stares, Xiao Zhuzi trembled even more violently. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. This servant didn't intentionally hide anything, it's just... it's just..."
He stammered, seeming to have something difficult to say.
"Just what?" the Crown Prince, who never minded watching a good spectacle, pressed on.
Xiao Zhuzi's voice was like a mosquito's. "It's just that this servant isn't sure if I saw it wrong, so I didn't dare to say it."
Intuiting that his next words were crucial, Yun Wan spoke up, "What did you see? Stop stammering."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhuzi steeled his heart and gritted his teeth. "This servant saw—"
Just as the words left his mouth, Emperor Jingxuan strode in.
"His Majesty is here!"
Yun Wan called out, "Your Majesty."
Sitting directly in the seat next to her, Emperor Jingxuan asked solemnly, "I heard Chenghui fell into the water. How is he now?"
Yun Wan replied, "He is still unconscious and has a slight fever. The imperial physician said we need to observe his condition tonight."
She explained the current situation to him in detail.
Emperor Jingxuan waved Sui over. As he squeezed his arm, a flash of heartache crossed his eyes. "Do your hands still hurt? If it hurts, you must say so."
Sui pouted. "A little bit."
Pain was normal; it would hurt when injured.
Emperor Jingxuan patted his shoulder and praised him affectionately, "Very brave."
Looking down at Sui's bandaged palms, he chuckled jokingly, "They look like two gloves."
Sui: ........
Getting back to the main topic, Emperor Jingxuan lowered his eyes, put away his smile, and swept his gaze to Xiao Zhuzi on the ground. "Where were we just now? Continue. What did you see?"
Xiao Zhuzi swallowed his saliva. "This servant dares not hide anything."
Pausing for a moment, he glanced in the direction of Yun Wan and Sui, and said in one breath:
"Before the Third Highness fell into the water, he had a dispute with the Little Highness. Immediately after, the Third Highness fell into the lake."