Yuwen Hao angrily shouted at the retreating back of the imperial doctor, “When will she wake up?”
"The Consort is tired, and has lost some blood from the shock. Let her rest for a bit and she will wake up," the imperial doctor said hurriedly before scurrying away.
"Women are so troublesome!" Yuwen Hao glared at the unconscious Yuan Qingling, "Fainting from such minor injuries. Pathetic."
Xu Yi felt that the Prince was being unreasonably harsh. He believed the Consort's endurance was already quite strong - being beaten at the Marquis's manor, escaping, and then coming back to rescue them from the predicament.
Which ordinary woman would have such courage and valor? Most would have started bawling as soon as they were captured at the manor, crying until dead.
"Shall I summon the midwives to attend to her, and ask if Your Highness wants to return to the estate first?" Xu Yi asked, lest the Prince's presence further upset the Consort when she awoke.
"No need. I will stay and keep watch for a while," said Yuwen Hao. "Go and instruct the kitchen to prepare some congee or broth for when she wakes. She can drink it."
"Yes, Your Highness!" Xu Yi withdrew.
"Tang Yang," Yuwen Hao turned to look at him, "return to the estate and monitor Marquis Huiding's injuries and treatment. Do not let anything go wrong, at least not until Father is fully informed of the matter. He must not die yet. Only designated physicians approved by me can treat him, not whoever Prime Minister Chu appoints. Even the imperial doctors need my permission."
"When does Your Highness plan to report to His Majesty?" Tang Yang was worried they would miss the opportune timing.
"No rush," said Yuwen Hao.
"But Prime Minister Chu may enter the palace first to confess. Things told from his mouth will become distorted," Tang Yang argued.
Yuwen Hao just laughed coldly and shook his head, "He won't. Father already senses the Chu family has been overstepping their boundaries, but lacks evidence to discipline them. Now with Marquis Huiding's incident, Father will certainly seize the opportunity to reprimand the Chus. So he won't allow anyone to cover things up."
Tang Yang gazed at Yuwen Hao with the eyes of a diehard fan.
His Prince really had such penetrating insight and deep strategies. Of all the royal sons, he was the most outstanding. His Majesty ought to see that.
After pondering a moment, Yuwen Hao added, "Just to be safe, go also find Leng Jingyan."
Leng Jingyan, the youngest Supervisor of the National Academy since the founding of Northern Tang. Exceptionally talented and a favorite of the Emperor, who loved to summon him into the palace for chess and conversation. There was joking talk that His Majesty could not go a day without Master Leng.
"Understood!" Tang Yang left to carry out his orders.
After dismissing the others, Yuwen Hao sat at the bedside looking at Yuan Qingling's face, badly swollen on one side and distinctly higher than the other. Lurid red suffused the translucent skin, like blood bubbles spreading, quite grisly to behold.
That slap must have nearly cracked her head open.
A woman like Yuan Qingling deserved punishment, but she was the Consort of Prince Chu. Hitting her equated to hitting him, an indignity he could never swallow.
Most importantly, who gave others the right to slap his wife without his permission?
The anger and resentment simmered again.
"Scared this time? Nearly died?" Yuwen Hao mocked.
Now that it was over, remembering it gave him chills. This woman really had guts, to daringly plot against Marquis Huiding.
"Sooner or later you'll die without even knowing how," Yuwen Hao snorted. "Best behave yourself in the future. Don't stir up more trouble. I can't keep cleaning up after your messes."
Yuwen Hao mused that the world was full of strange twists.
When he married Yuan Qingling, he was certain they would never exchange another glance or civil word in this lifetime, let alone think of 'a lifetime' regarding the two of them.
Yet now, some matters seemed to be changing against his will.
He didn't know if it was the circumstances or the person that had changed.
Speaking of change, he looked slowly over at Yuan Qingling. It was evident she had changed, in speech and conduct, no longer the same as before.
He remembered at the start of their marriage, she would find endless excuses to seek him out, bringing clothes, soup, embroidered pouches and the like. He always scorned her gifts, while the resentment and hurt were plain on her face, yet she persisted. Back then it gratified him to humiliate and shame her.
After half a year of marriage he grew tired of these petty torments and didn't want to see her anymore. If not for her complaining to the Empress Dowager of their unconsummated union, perhaps they would have had no further interactions to this day.
Now he recalled, the change began after their consummation.
He had to ruefully laugh at himself. Could it be that having conjugal relations really enabled them to overlook the otherwise unforgivable wrongs in each other?
The unconscious Yuan Qingling returned again to the laboratory.
Sitting at the computer desk, she looked at the WeChat messages from her parents, sister, and brother. Same as always, reminding her to rest and not overwork herself.
She collapsed atop the desk and sobbed bitterly.
After the bout of weeping, she circled the lab, gazing at the closed door with the little teddy bear keychain hanging from the handle, a prize she won at the claw machine for her little niece the previous birthday. The angelic child was overjoyed and gifted her the tiny teddy bear, saying it was a lucky charm.
Holding it in her hand now, she felt immense sorrow, knowing she would never see the girl again in this life.
She grasped the handle and pushed open the door with a 'crack.' A draft of wind slipped in.
Her heart pounded nervously. Would she be able to step outside and encounter her lab colleagues like when she was still alive in this world?
Finally she pulled the door fully open. Beyond lay pitch blackness, with only the dim corridor lights emitting a faint glow.
The scene was familiar, just like leaving late from overtime.
The exterior lab doors were shut. She pressed her thumb to the fingerprint scanner, which failed to recognize her.
It wouldn't open.
Her heart sank immediately. In the end it was just a dream.
She returned to her lab station, the previous experiment data still accessible on the computer. She could conveniently check and compare the EEG readings of the monkeys after injections.
She wanted to determine if there was any direct or indirect link between her transmigration and the drug.
While scrutinizing the data, she suddenly felt a heaviness on her right arm, unable to lift it up as if something pressed down on it. She exerted all her strength to no avail.
Shocked, had she suffered a stroke and paralysis?
She jerked upright, then winced as sharp pain lanced through the back of her head. Vision dimming then brightening, her surroundings changed again.
She ruefully regarded Yuwen Hao's head pillowed on her arm, sleeping soundly. No wonder, with a head that huge, how could it not be heavy? She was still an injured patient!
