CHAPTER 240: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO

The Noble Princess Consort Rong was reading in her tent. At this moment, Jin Mei hurriedly came in, her manners forgotten, frantically saying, "My lady, something bad has happened, something very bad."

Seeing Jin Mei in such a panic, the Noble Princess Consort Rong was startled, and her expression turned worried. She quickly stood up and asked, "What is it, is the Emperor or Prince Dai injured?"

"No," Jin Mei quickly waved her hands, saying, "My lady, the Emperor brought a woman back from the hunting grounds!"

"What!" The Noble Princess Consort Rong’s face changed drastically. She immediately dropped the book in her hand, reached out to grab Jin Mei’s shoulders, and asked urgently, "What did you say? Say it again!"

Jin Mei’s shoulders were hurt by the Noble Princess Consort Rong’s grip, "My lady, just now the Emperor brought back a woman from the hunting grounds!"

The Noble Princess Consort Rong asked with a darkened face, "Stop talking nonsense, what woman, how could there be a woman in the hunting grounds?"

She unconsciously gripped Jin Mei’s shoulders tighter, causing Jin Mei to frown in pain. She endured the pain and said, "My lady, this servant did not deceive you. The Emperor truly brought a woman back from the hunting grounds and brought her directly to the sleeping chamber tent."

"What!" The Noble Princess Consort Rong forcefully pushed Jin Mei aside and said in disbelief, "Impossible!"

"My lady, this servant isn’t lying to you, many people saw it." Jin Mei said anxiously, "I’ve heard that the woman was severely injured saving the Emperor, and the Emperor called all the Imperial Physicians, you should go and see it quickly."

The Noble Princess Consort Rong calmed her heart, her expression shifting from panic to composure, immediately revealing the demeanor of a noble princess.

"What exactly happened, tell this consort clearly."

Jin Mei, who was in a hurry, also calmed down upon seeing the Noble Princess Consort Rong regain her calm.

"This servant heard that when the Emperor was hunting in the grounds, he encountered a pack of wolves, and when he was nearly injured by them, a young man appeared. This young man was injured by the wolves while saving the Emperor..."

The Noble Princess Consort Rong interrupted Jin Mei, "Didn’t you just say it was a young lady? Why did it become a young man?"

"My lady, this young man is a young lady disguised as a man."

"Disguised as a man?" The Noble Princess Consort Rong squinted slightly, her expression cold, "Who is this woman?"

"She is the daughter of Doctor Zhong San, named Qin Xiulian," Jin Mei reported.

"The daughter of Doctor Zhong San?"

"My lady, I also heard that this Qin Xiulian resembles someone familiar to the Emperor."

"A familiar person?" Upon hearing this, the Noble Princess Consort Rong felt a surge of unease in her heart, "Which familiar person?"

Jin Mei shook her head and said, "This servant doesn’t know." She added, "My lady, this servant has a feeling something is unusual about this, you should go take a look."

Many thoughts flashed through the Noble Princess Consort Rong’s mind. She curled her lips into a sneer and said, "Let’s go, take a look."

On another side, the Empress Xie also heard about this matter.

"Familiar person, which familiar person?" Empress Xie had a bad suspicion, "Could it be that she resembles that wench Xie Wan?"

Jiang Chuan said, "This... This servant is not sure."

"Just now, you said whose daughter is this woman?"

"The daughter of Doctor Zhong San, named Qin Xiulian."

"Doctor Zhong San?!" Empress Xie exclaimed.

Seeing Empress Xie’s intense reaction, Jiang Chuan asked, "My lady, is there something wrong with Doctor Zhong San?"

With a somber face, Empress Xie said, "If I am not mistaken, Doctor Zhong San is one of my elder brother’s people."

"Duke Zhen’s person?" Jiang Chuan said in astonishment. Then she thought of something, and her expression turned from realization to shock, "Could it be that this Qin Xiulian was arranged by the Duke?"

"Quite possible." Empress Xie, recalling Duke Zhen’s methods, showed a trace of disgust on her face, "Surely this Qin Xiulian resembles that wench Xie Wan!"

"My lady, you mean..."

Empress Xie, with a look of anger, gritted her teeth and said, "Elder brother surely is a good brother of mine!"

Jiang Chuan couldn’t help but feel anxious, "My lady, if it really is like this, what should we do next? The Emperor holds the late Empress in high regard and has always been resentful about her death. If Duke Zhen truly arranged for a woman resembling the late Empress to approach the Emperor, the Emperor will certainly cherish this daughter of Doctor Zhong San."

"Let’s go see." Empress Xie, with a grim expression, said in a sinister tone, "I shall see what my good brother intends to do."

"Yes, my lady." Jiang Chuan followed by Empress Xie’s side, walking towards the Emperor’s tent.

By coincidence, Empress Xie and the Noble Princess Consort Rong encountered each other on the way to the Emperor’s tent.

The Noble Princess Consort Rong, upon seeing Empress Xie, couldn’t help but mockingly say, "Empress, your complexion doesn’t look well, could it be that your snake venom has not yet been cleansed?"