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Splendid Shadows: The Poisonous Beauty of the Cold Palace
墨書 Inktalez
In the early spring, outside the capital city, a common horse-drawn carriage slowly made its way along the ten-mile long pavilion. The curtain of the carriage was slightly lifted, revealing a face of exquisite beauty—skin as white as snow, lips like a touch of vermilion, and a pair of eyes so deep they seemed capable of seeing into one’s soul.
"We have arrived in the capital," Nan Gong Shuang murmured to herself, her fingers unconsciously brushing over a faintly visible Plum Blossom Mark on her left wrist. After ten years, she had finally returned.
Once a pampered young lady living in luxury, she now wore a simple hemp dress, her hair styled in a modest bun, with only a blue sachet at her waist hinting at her extraordinary background.
"Miss, it seems there’s been an accident up ahead," the elderly driver said as he turned back.
Nan Gong Shuang lifted the curtain and saw a crowd gathered on the road ahead, faint sounds of a woman’s anguished moans reaching her ears.
"Stop," she said in a low voice.
As she approached the crowd, she heard an anxious voice call out, "Make way! The Imperial Physician is coming through!"
The crowd parted to create a path for a middle-aged man wearing an official hat and dressed in a blue robe who hurried inside, followed by two young attendants carrying a medicine box.
Standing at the edge of the crowd, Nan Gong Shuang's gaze turned cold. An Imperial Physician? Given the situation, there must be a Noble Lady inside the carriage. Just as she was about to turn away, a piercing scream echoed in her ears.
"Sir! The lady's condition is critical! The fetus is in an abnormal position; she may face complications!" A maid's panicked voice came from within the carriage.
The Imperial Physician knelt before the carriage, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "I have done my best, but the fetus is transverse in the birth canal, and given the lady's age and frail health... it is truly..."
His voice trailed off into silence.
"How dare you! I paid handsomely to bring you from the Imperial Hospital just to hear such despairing words?" A middle-aged man in a Brocade Robe shouted angrily as he pulled back the curtain. "If you cannot save my wife and child, I will hold you accountable!"
The physician's face turned ashen as he trembled and clasped his hands together. "My lord, forgive me! My medical skills are limited; I am truly powerless..."
"Worthless!" The Noble Lady fumed, raising her hand as if to strike him, but was interrupted by a cool voice.
"I have a method that may be worth trying."
Everyone turned to see a young woman with an elegant appearance standing by the carriage. Though dressed in coarse cloth, her demeanor was extraordinary, exuding an undeniable confidence from her brows and eyes.
The Noble Lady, still furious, scoffed at her words. "What does an insignificant girl know about medicine? Get out of my way!"
"My lord, please remain calm," Nan Gong Shuang said with an unchanging expression as she walked directly to the side of the carriage. "If you do not believe me, you may listen to the lady’s breathing inside. Her heartbeat has slowed; her complexion must be turning purple. Time is of the essence; we cannot afford to delay."
The maid inside gasped. "What she says is true! The lady’s complexion has indeed turned purple!"
The Noble Lady's expression changed; after hesitating for a moment, she finally gritted her teeth and said, "If you have any ability at all, hurry up! If you cause trouble instead, I will not spare you!"
Nan Gong Shuang remained noncommittal as she untied the blue pouch at her waist and took out several silver needles and a small porcelain bottle before lifting the curtain of the carriage.
Inside lay a noblewoman around forty years old on soft cushions, her complexion blue and purple with cold sweat trickling down her forehead as she groaned softly in pain. A girl of about fifteen or sixteen held the noblewoman's hand with an anxious expression on her face.
"I apologize for intruding," Nan Gong Shuang said with a nod to the girl before directing her gaze to the noblewoman's abdomen.
She gently placed her fingers on the noblewoman's pulse, and after a moment, her brow furrowed slightly. "Indeed, it is a transverse presentation, and the fetus has begun to experience oxygen deprivation."
The imperial physician chuckled awkwardly from the side. "My dear young lady, difficult labor is no small matter, especially considering the lady's advanced age and that this is her first child..."
Ignoring him, Nan Gong Shuang poured a pill from a porcelain vial. "Madam, please take this medicine first; it will help alleviate the pain."
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