The Countess of Ningde's heart gave a sudden tremor.
Yun Shu had told him everything, and Zhan Tianye completely believed her?
Thinking of the scene she had witnessed last night, Zhan Tianye indeed seemed to have unquestioning faith in Yun Shu.
It was just that she had been avoiding this thought until now.
She had only thought that Zhan Tianye had lost his memory and would not blindly believe Yun Shu's words; he should at least be suspicious of her, shouldn't he?
The Countess of Ningde pursed her lips and said, "He cannot make a choice. He is a prince of Xixia, the Emperor's own son. Since he is now Prince Jin, he can no longer be Prince Ye. He should know how to choose."
"Ningde, you hold no position in his heart," the Emperor directly revealed the cruel reality.
The Countess of Ningde's face instantly turned pale. "Your Majesty..."
"You cannot control him," the Emperor said coldly.
More color drained from the Countess of Ningde's face. She then pursed her lips and said, "Does Your Majesty intend to cancel our marriage? And truly fulfill Prince Jin's wishes? But if you truly intend to fulfill Prince Jin's wishes, how can you silence the gossip of the world?"
"Or does Your Majesty... wish to abandon Prince Jin?"
When Li De had rushed into the palace early this morning, she had already had a vague premonition of ill omen.
The Emperor's sharp gaze fell upon the Countess of Ningde. "You are more intelligent than your mother. There are some things that do not need to be told to you; you can already guess them."
"Your Majesty, we finally managed to bring Prince Jin back from Dongning, and now we have openly given him his identity. Everyone now knows Prince Jin's identity. If we simply block off his retreat, leaving him no path back to being Prince Ye, he will have no choice but to remain in Xixia," the Countess of Ningde said anxiously.
These few words were the result of her deep contemplation on the way here.
A flicker of light passed through the Emperor's eyes as he fixed his gaze on the Countess of Ningde. "If the world learns of his former identity as Prince Ye, then Yun Shu will have a reason to remain by his side. Are you willing to hand Prince Jin over?"
Of course, she was not willing!
And it was absolutely impossible!
The Countess of Ningde roared these two sentences in her heart. She would never regret what she had decided.
After a moment of contemplation, she said, "Yun Shu remaining by Prince Jin's side is a disaster waiting to happen. I believe Your Majesty also does not want Yun Shu to remain by Prince Jin's side. Therefore, regarding Yun Shu, please leave it to this humble servant to handle. I will handle Yun Shu well, and she will absolutely not become a stumbling block on Prince Jin's path. Nor will she become a thorn in Your Majesty's eye."
The Emperor nodded with satisfaction. "Good."
Let's wait a while longer.
If this troublesome stone, Yun Shu, could be removed, there would be no need to settle for the second best.
After all, those three children were still young. Perhaps they would not be able to compare to their father when they grew up.
During this period, Zhan Tianye might not have felt any father-son affection towards him, but he had developed a bit of paternal affection.
"Do not underestimate Yun Shu. The fact that she could make Prince Jin believe her so completely despite his amnesia is enough to illustrate her prowess," the Emperor cautioned.
He gently pressed his temple.
A scent of blood seemed to linger in his chest and abdomen.
It was likely his old injury acting up again.
Once his emotions fluctuated too much, his old wounds were prone to relapse.
The Countess of Ningde saw that the Emperor's complexion had suddenly turned somewhat pale, and she asked knowingly, "Your Majesty, please do not worry. This servant knows what to do. Your Majesty's face has suddenly turned pale; has your old injury relapsed? Should this servant have a palace attendant fetch the imperial physician?"
She and Li De both knew a thing or two about the Emperor's condition.
The Emperor had sustained a severe injury in his youth.
The injury had been very serious. Although he had met a skilled physician, it had left him with a lingering ailment. Whenever his emotions were overly intense or his worries too numerous, his old wounds would flare up.
The injury in those days had affected his internal organs, and the internal damage had been severe.
The Emperor waved his hand, poured a pill from a porcelain bottle on the table, and swallowed it. "The injury has been there for many years. The imperial physicians can't find anything even if they examine it. I am fine now. You may withdraw."
The Countess of Ningde looked at the porcelain bottle by the Emperor's hand, her eyes flickering. A flash of inspiration struck her. "Your Majesty, the Night Princess is a highly skilled physician, a renowned miraculous doctor known throughout the land. Countless people wish to seek her treatment. It is said that there is no illness she cannot cure. Even my brother, who was on the verge of death, was brought back to life by her; he has now completely recovered. Perhaps Your Majesty's internal injuries are merely a trifle to her. Why doesn't Your Majesty invite her into the palace to examine you?"
Their gazes met.
Both of them instantly had their own calculations.
The next moment, the Emperor nodded. "Yes, we can indeed invite her into the palace to take a look."
An hour later.
A palace attendant appeared at the General's mansion.
Today, Yun Shu and her entourage were all staying at the General's mansion.
It had just passed lunchtime, and Yun Shu was lying in bed, taking a nap.
Yun Changfeng was playing with the three children in the courtyard.
Jing Heng and Ruan Xi had gone out to investigate matters.
Acha had gone with them, but halfway, Yun Shu had arranged for her to meet Ji Rong and Ruan Xi.
The courtyard was quiet.
When the palace attendant entered the General's mansion and was personally led to Yun Shu by Li De, Yun Shu was still somewhat drowsy.
Then, upon hearing the palace attendant's purpose, a cold glint flashed in Yun Shu's beautiful eyes.
She looked nonchalantly at the palace attendant. "Your Emperor wishes for me to enter the palace now?"
The palace attendant did not know why the gaze of a mere princess consort could instill such a sense of dread with just a word, and could only nod nervously. "Yes, Your Majesty said that the Night Princess Consort is a renowned miraculous doctor known throughout the land. Whatever others cannot achieve, the Night Princess Consort can surely accomplish."
"Whatever the Night Princess Consort needs, this servant will immediately prepare it. We only hope that the Night Princess Consort can enter the palace with this servant as soon as possible."
Although Li De disliked Yun Shu, and was even quite wary of her, he had unwavering faith in her medical skills. "Does the Night Princess Consort have any concerns at the moment?"
"There are no concerns. I will prepare my medical kit first. I will enter the palace with Duke Xie later," Yun Shu said after some deliberation.
Xie Jin, who was just about to go out after his nap to meet the Countess of Ningde, came over upon hearing that someone from the palace had arrived.
He happened to overhear Yun Shu say that she would be taking him into the palace.
He smiled at the palace attendant and Li De. "Does the vast Xixia country not have a single divine physician capable of curing your Emperor? Tsk tsk, the Night Princess Consort was reluctant to act even in Dongning. Now that she has just arrived in Xixia, and is being invited into the palace by your Emperor, such toil. If the Night King were to know, he would surely be heartbroken."
The palace attendant immediately replied, "Your Majesty said that for such hardship, the Night Princess Consort will be richly rewarded."
"Hardship for the Night Princess Consort," Li De said with a somewhat grim expression.
Yun Shu suppressed a smile. Xie Jin's mouth was quite sharp.
Xie Jin was quite pleased upon hearing the words "richly rewarded." "Please have General Li and the eunuch wait at the front gate of the mansion. We will meet there shortly."