Chengjing's crying turned hoarse, and he shouted a couple of times before bursting into coughs.
Consort Hui had just been holding herself back in front of Xiao Jingheng. Hearing the child coughing, she immediately poured a cup of warm water and handed it to him,
"Son, drink slowly and moisten your throat..."
"I don't want it! Wah wah wah..."
Chengjing pushed the cup away forcefully, crying even harder.
Consort Hui was also following him with sad tears, "Your Majesty, I'm also at a loss, I don't know what to do..."
Her body weakly collapsed to the ground, shaking her head in despair,
"Chengjing is still so young, how could he understand? He only knows that the medicine is bitter and refuses to drink it. How could he know what paralysis means to him? If I don't force him to drink the medicine, what else can I do? Should I just give up on him and let him be bedridden for the rest of his life?"
After all, Consort Hui was Chengjing's birth mother. Which mother wouldn't feel heartache for her child?
Seeing Consort Hui crying like this, Xiao Jingheng couldn't bear to reproach her either. He just went up and wiped away the tears on Chengjing's face, gently persuading him, "Chengjing, don't cry. You're a man, you have to be strong."
Although Zhao Hua's eyes were also red, she still forced a smile at Chengjing and said,
"Good boy, your Imperial Consort Mother means well for you. Look how you've made her cry."
As she spoke, she helped Consort Hui up from the icy floor, clutching her hand and comforting her,
"Sister, don't cry. Chengjing is going through such an ordeal, I know you are hurting inside, but there is still hope, right? Just now when I heard Zhang Imperial Physician say that Chengjing can feel pain in his lower body again, isn't that a sign of improvement?"
Zhang Imperial Physician, who was traveling with them, had originally hidden himself in the crowd.
Hearing Zhao Hua's call, he quickly came forward and bowed, saying,
"The Third Prince does have some improvement. Over the past days, Consort Hui could try supporting the Third Prince to walk more, even if he can't move, just help him exercise his legs, it would also be beneficial to his recovery."
In fact, it wasn't just Zhang Imperial Physician who had said this to Consort Hui.
Guo Imperial Physician and Imperial Physician Liu had also given Consort Hui the same advice.
And Consort Hui had some medical knowledge herself, of course she knew that if Chengjing stayed paralyzed in bed all the time, even if his legs could recover in the future, the atrophy caused by long-term inactivity would make it difficult to fully recover later.
So without being told, she had already tried to help Chengjing walk.
More than ten days later,
Today, Zhao Hua saw the sunny weather in the courtyard and was leisurely feeding the golden canaries in the exquisite cage,
when Zhang Imperial Physician came as usual to check her pulse for safety. After saying everything was fine, Zhao Hua casually took a handful of sunflower seeds and threw them into the birdcage, lightly asking:
"Did you see Chengjing today? How is his recovery?"
Zhang Imperial Physician said: "Consort Hui has someone take the Third Prince walking every day, or exercising his legs lying in bed. The Third Prince really can't stand the pain and cries miserably every day like he's being tortured.
When I went today, in order to avoid acupuncture treatment and leg exercises, the Third Prince climbed out of bed and crawled into the closet to hide. It took people a while to find him."
Zhao Hua sneered, "The entire Imperial Medical Bureau couldn't get a response from his legs, only you, Zhang Imperial Physician, have a way to restore some feeling for him. You have such magical hands, you should do your best to cure him. If he can recover one day, it will also be a merit for you."
Zhang Imperial Physician smiled slyly and lowered his voice, "Actually his disease can't be cured. The acupuncture method can only restore some pain sensation for him. Walking or exercising his legs is still as painful as being stabbed to the bone. There is no other 'benefit' besides that."
Zhao Hua stroked the bright feathers of the golden canary indifferently with the gilt armor on her hand, and said casually, "I don't know anything about medical techniques. Zhang Imperial Physician, just use your own methods to treat him."
Zhang Imperial Physician immediately understood her meaning and nodded in agreement.
Then he moved a little closer to Zhao Hua and whispered in a mosquito-like voice,
"What Your Ladyship asked me to verify, I have found evidence. The Third Prince is definitely the blood descendant of His Majesty and Consort Hui, there can be no mistake."
Hearing this, Zhao Hua was silent for a moment before nodding lightly, signaling Zhang Imperial Physician to go about his business.
When the sun grew harsher at noon, Yun Shan protected Zhao Hua back into the inner chamber. As soon as the door closed, she heard Zhao Hua murmur softly,
"It seems that to get the Third Prince better, Consort Hui has also hardened her heart."
"Hardened her heart?" Zhao Hua sneered, "I think she is heartless. Didn't you hear what Zhang Imperial Physician said just now? She forces Chengjing to walk every day, and Chengjing was in so much pain that he crawled into the closet to hide from her. It makes me wonder, if Cheng Yu or Ruo Xing were to suffer such torment one day, how would I react?"
She lowered her eyes in thought for a while, shaking her head with a bleak smile,
"A parent's love for their child runs deep, that's true. But seeing the poor child suffer like that, how could I still bear to be so heartless? Not eating medicine means being force-fed, legs in pain making walking difficult means forcing him to stumble two hours a day. If it were me seeing my child cry like that, I'm afraid my heart would break."
Yun Shan said, "Consort Hui was also thinking of herself. She's not favored like you, my lady. This is her only son, and her hope for the future."
"What is she hoping for then?" Zhao Hua looked up at Yun Shan with a smile,
"Cheng Yu no longer has any hope of returning to the palace, and Chenghuan has no fate of inheriting the empire. If no more princes are born in the harem, wouldn't her Chengjing be the most suitable heir apparent if he was healthy?"
Yun Shan realized the implications in horror, and quickly said, "Then my lady should avoid seeing her in the future, in case she has some dirty tricks up her sleeve again to harm you."
Zhao Hua straightened her cloud-patterned sleeves indifferently and sneered contemptuously,
"If she wants to harm others, she would need to have the ability to do so. In the past I worked in the dark while she worked in the light, giving her the opportunity to find loopholes. Now that we've both revealed our hands, if I still let her harm me, I would be too stupid."
As she spoke, Xiao Fuzi knocked and respectfully entered, his voice low as he replied,
"My Lady, Tian Ji has handled things smoothly and sent back a message."
"Go ahead and tell me," Zhao Hua cocked her brow at him, and asked first, "Did that gold dragon take the bait?"
Xiao Fuzi bowed deeply, admiringly saying,
"My Lady calculates perfectly. The people from Tianji said that someone else from the palace also came to them with a Tianji order to investigate the same matter as My Lady ordered, which is to secretly look into Chun Lan's background.
According to the portrait, it looks like the little eunuch by His Majesty's side. However, the Tianji order he brought was a forgery made by Prince An per My Lady's request back then. Tianji recognized the fake order, but on the surface they did not expose him. Instead, they passed the message to Prince An to ask My Lady's intention."
Zhao Hua nodded calmly, the corner of her lips hooked up in a scheming smile,
"Whatever they found out, they should truthfully report it to the Emperor. The more genuine information the Emperor hears, the more he will trust Tianji's capabilities."
Her fingers had been tapping on the willow wood table. As she spoke, she slowly clenched her fist and chuckled coldly,
"When he fully trusts them, it will be easier for me in the future to play him in the palm of my hand."
