Chapter 1332: Chapter 1332 What disease?

Gu Youyou and Searcy dressed carefully the next day and followed Jin Liuying and the Fifteenth Prince into the Imperial Palace.

To outsiders, it was said that they were witch doctors invited by the Fifteenth Prince to pay tribute to the Empress Dowager.

The Fifteenth Prince was the youngest child of the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor, and he was especially favored. Knowing that his son and daughter-in-law had specifically invited witch doctors for her, naturally, she was delighted.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Gu Youyou and Searcy had yet to enter the Empress Dowager’s sleeping quarters when they heard her violent coughing.

That kind of incessant coughing, one after another, truly unsettled those who heard it.

Gu Youyou asked Searcy softly, “What illness does her coughing sound like to you?”

Searcy hesitated for a moment, then suddenly raised her head and said, “Throat inflammation?”

Gu Youyou nodded slightly, then added, “It’s not just throat inflammation. After lasting this long, it’s likely progressed to the lungs.”

Searcy exclaimed, “Then it’s even more troublesome.”

Gu Youyou chuckled lightly and said, “Treating it with herbs would take longer, but we have antibiotics.”

Jin Liuying waited outside with Gu Youyou and Searcy, while the Fifteenth Prince stayed inside to prepare the Empress Dowager.

“Mother, the witch doctors I’ve brought today are different from the ones you’ve seen before. They’re skilled individuals. All you need to do is cooperate properly, and if you cooperate well, we’ll definitely be able to cure your cough.”

The Empress Dowager coughed violently as she nodded and said, “Cooperate, cough, cough, cough, I cooperate every day. Tell… tell them to come in.”

Gu Youyou and Searcy carried two medicine chests into the room. Due to the relatively good status of women in Nanzhao Country, the sight of two female witch doctors did not provoke any discrimination.

“Please, treat the Empress Dowager,”

said the Fifteenth Prince to Gu Youyou and Searcy.

Gu Youyou nodded to him, sat beside the Empress Dowager, and conducted a simple examination. She then ordered someone to open a window and checked her throat.

The Fifteenth Prince asked anxiously, “How is she?”

Gu Youyou replied, “The Empress Dowager’s throat is swollen and inflamed. The situation is dire. The coughing has lasted so long that we’ve missed the optimal treatment period.”

The Empress Dowager, reflecting on how no witch doctors had ever examined her throat before, immediately felt that the ones her son brought were reliable.

Her attitude improved significantly, and she said to Gu Youyou, “My throat has felt uncomfortable for a long time—painful, with something that I just can’t seem to expel. I try not to cough, but it won’t let me.” She pointed at her throat.

Another violent wave of coughs came, and it seemed like she was about to vomit. The palace maidens hurriedly grabbed cloths to catch it.

Upon inspection, they were shocked to find she had coughed up blood.

The Fifteenth Prince’s expression changed, and he exclaimed, “Mother, when did your coughing get this severe to the point of coughing blood?”

“It’s nothing, just a little bit,” the Empress Dowager said hoarsely while covering her mouth.

A palace maiden by her side sobbed and said, “The Empress Dowager was like this two days ago. She was afraid of worrying the Emperor and the princes, so she didn’t dare to tell anyone.”

The Fifteenth Prince sighed heavily, full of guilt.

The Empress Dowager comforted him and urged him not to worry. After letting out a soft sigh, she said to Gu Youyou, “I know this illness is probably beyond curing. Those who cough up blood rarely recover. You two witch doctors, don’t worry too much. If you can’t heal me, I won’t blame you.”

“We will do our best to treat you, and we hope the Empress Dowager can do her best to cooperate,” Gu Youyou said.

“Hmm!” The Empress Dowager pressed her hand to her throat, then to her chest and lungs, saying, “Here, and here, both hurt terribly.”