Why My Domineering Prince Regretted Filing for Divorce?

Chu Ruoyan looked at him nervously, "What’s going on? Speak clearly."

Ding Yao replied, "Although I have prescribed a medication for the Young Master with a much-reduced dosage compared to adults, it should still clear the lungs, soothe the throat, stop coughing, and deal with asthma. If the Young Master really had whooping cough, the medicine would suppress the illness in the early stages. But it seems now that not only has the Young Master’s condition not improved, it’s actually worsened."

"..."

"Even if the medicine didn’t work immediately, it shouldn’t have made the condition worse."

Chu Ruoyan said, "We were all there when Yuan Qian took the medicine last night, there’s no falsehood!"

Wo Xue said softly, "Doctor Ding, is there a problem with the medicine?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Yao frowned, showing displeasure, and Chu Ruoyan quickly said, "Doctor Ding, after Yuan Qian took the medicine last night, I saw he was somewhat better, his fever subsided, and he was willing to eat. It’s just that last night—"

As she spoke, she glanced at Nanny Feng. Nanny Feng immediately said, "The Young Master was sleeping restlessly until just before dawn. I thought he was hungry, but at the time, he wasn’t willing to eat much. By morning, his condition worsened, crying nonstop as just now."

Ding Yao murmured, "Could it be the dosage was too low?"

He looked at Yuan Qian again and said, "If that’s the case, I’ll reconsider the prescription and adjust the dosage before preparing the medicine for the Young Master."

Chu Ruoyan said, "Good. I trouble Doctor Ding with this matter."

Ding Yao replied, "I dare not, I dare not."

With that, he left with his medicine chest.

After he left, everyone in the main hall still wore frowns with heavy expressions, not at all relieved. It was Chu Ruoyan who instructed Nanny Feng to take Yuan Qian to rest for a while and regain strength, and feed him some food before giving the medicine again. Nanny Feng immediately took Yuan Qian and left.

Standing to the side, Chang Wan pulled Wo Xue aside, whispering, "Be mindful of what you say."

Chu Ruoyan glanced at the two of them and said gently, "Don’t be too nervous, both of you. We all reviewed the prescription that Doctor Ding brought yesterday, and the medicines are legitimate for easing the throat and asthma, nothing inappropriate. By the way, you mentioned earlier—"

Chang Wan said, "The Young Master has a reaction to clove."

Chu Ruoyan said, "I also checked the prescription, there are no cloves in it."

Wo Xue lowered her head and said, "I spoke out of turn just now."

Chu Ruoyan said, "I don’t blame you; being cautious is good, but don’t offend people by being overly cautious."

Wo Xue replied, "I understand."

Chu Ruoyan said, "You both can leave now, you’ve been busy all morning."

"Yes."

Only then did the two withdraw.

Once they had all left, Chu Ruoyan let out a shallow sigh of relief and collapsed, exhausted, onto the couch. Panqing hurriedly stepped forward to support her and, noticing her dry lips, quickly brewed tea and brought it to her, fanning her with concern as she said, "Madam, this time you’ve really brought this upon yourself—"

Chu Ruoyan took a sip of tea, glanced up at her, and Panqing swallowed the rest of her words in frustration.

Chu Ruoyan shook her head with a bitter smile, "I know you care about me."

"Only I care about Madam!"

"But now it’s just me. If I don’t care, who will?"

"..."

"Besides, I’m not just doing this for King Qin or for the Princess."

Panqing gently fanned her, surprised by this statement, "Then what else is Madam doing this for?"

Chu Ruoyan paused, sighed, and said, "I truly can’t bear to see Yuan Qian suffer. The child is so young, can’t even speak, and when he’s in pain, he can only cry. If I really ignored him, I don’t know how others might maltreat him."

"..."

"Compassion is a virtue everyone should have."

Seeing her say this, Panqing dared not say more. In fairness, she wasn’t someone cold and unfeeling who could ignore a child’s safety, but she had grown up in the palace with Princess Xinyue and cared deeply for her master, as did Tushere for Shang Ruyi. Since Chu Ruoyan was determined to protect Yuan Qian, she accepted it.

So she said softly, "I just hope that this time the Young Master recovers quickly and that Doctor Ding’s medicine is indeed effective."

Then she added curiously, "It’s strange, the Young Master seemed better last night, but overnight he’s become worse?"

Hearing this, Chu Ruoyan’s expression turned grave.

Is it really the problem with the medicine?

This time, Ding Yao didn’t immediately bring the prescription back, clearly due to the previous doubts about it, coupled with not daring to overlook the Young Master’s condition, so he pondered over it all night long. It wasn’t until noon the next day that he personally delivered it. By this time, Yuan Qian’s condition had slightly improved; he wasn’t crying nonstop as before, nor was he coughing convulsively, but eating remained difficult, and he vomited some milk afterwards.

Seeing him like this, Chu Ruoyan felt a pang in her heart, and when the prescription arrived, she scrutinized it carefully.

Jasmine, mint, apricot kernel, tuckahoe, dried orange peel; some dosage increased, some reduced, and pinellia from yesterday’s prescription was removed. It looked indeed milder and nothing seemed amiss.

Chu Ruoyan looked over it again and finally said, "Alright, prepare the medicine according to this prescription and decoct it."

Ding Yao immediately passed the prescription down.

After half an hour, a little eunuch brought the decocted medicine over.

He carefully walked into Jinyu Garden holding a tray, carrying only one bowl of medicine on it. Having taken a long journey to prevent dust falling into the soup or it spilling over, the bowl was still covered with a lid, along with a piece of yellow paper listing the prescription and the person to take the medicine. Once confirmed, the little eunuch removed the lid and said, "Please have the Young Master take the medicine while it’s hot."

With that, he turned and left.

As before, Chu Ruoyan still wanted to take the bowl of medicine and taste it first. Next to her, Panqing felt heartache but didn’t say much, while Chang Wan and Wo Xue exchanged a glance, both wanting to request Chu Ruoyan let them handle this task.

But just as she brought the bowl close to her lips, Chu Ruoyan suddenly paused and looked up, "Wait, don’t go just yet!"

This was directed at the little eunuch about to leave Jinyu Garden.

Everyone was stunned, not knowing what was happening, and the little eunuch had already tucked one hand into his sleeve. Hearing this, he suddenly quickened his pace to run outside.

Chu Ruoyan shouted, "Catch him!"