Chapter Forty-Five: Dogs Biting Dogs

  Xu Mingjin hastily replied with a bow: "In response to the princess, it will take more than a month." She suddenly thought that this was an excellent opportunity to expose Xu Furen's fake pregnancy. The plan that Yuzhu had discovered that night, in which Xu Furen intended to use her fake pregnancy to frame Xu Mingjin for a miscarriage, would be forced to end before it even began. Moreover, this matter had always been a hidden danger, and Xu Mingjin had always worried about when Xu Furen would plot against her again; it was better to put an end to it early on.

  Princess Jinglin's expression changed in an instant, and she became spirited. She quite liked Xu Mingjin, this person was quite to her taste. After thinking about what she said, Princess Jinglin determined that Mrs. Xu's pregnancy must have some ulterior motive. Thinking of this, Princess Jinglin quickly changed her previous dignified expression, and her face added a few shades of regret. She took a step forward, helped Mrs. Xu up, and said: "Ah, Mrs. Xu, why didn't you say earlier that you're pregnant? You let me not know, making you kneel for so long. If something goes wrong with the child, I will be heartbroken. Let's do this, Mrs. Xu, first go in and rest for a while. I'll invite several imperial physicians to diagnose your pulse carefully. We must ensure that the child is safe and sound."

  Mrs. Xu was originally helped up by Princess Jinglin herself, and she felt honored and surprised. When she heard Princess Jinglin's words, she immediately became shocked and pale as blood. In her heart, there was only one voice: It's over, it's all over!

  Xu Mingjin looked at Mrs. Xu's face on the side, and almost burst out laughing in her heart.

  "Madam Xu took a long time to find her voice: 'No, no need, I'm fine. No need to trouble Doctor Tai.'"

  Princess Jinglin saw the drastic change in Madame Xu's expression and knew that there was something fishy going on. How could she let her off scot-free? Without saying a word, she grabbed Madame Xu's arm and said: "How can you say such things, Madame Xu? You've been kneeling in front of me for so long, it's plain for everyone to see! If we don't call the imperial physician to take your pulse and confirm that nothing is wrong, then if anything goes wrong with your child in the future and it gets blamed on me, I'll be left speechless!"

  Princess Jinglin's words were too severe, and Mrs. Xu was so shocked that she didn't dare say anything else, and had to follow Princess Jinglin into the Pingxi King's mansion obediently.

  The onlookers also showed their approval of Princess Jinglin with admiring glances. Yes, it's better to clarify things like this. Otherwise, it would be troublesome for everyone, and Princess Jinglin would have a bad reputation even before she got married. Therefore, everyone was very supportive of Princess Jinglin's actions. The crowd followed Princess Jinglin into the Pingxi King's mansion, leaving only Xu Mingjin and Xu Mingxia kneeling at the entrance. Even Xu Mingying and others had left.

  Xu Mingjin stood up from the ground, patted the dirt off her knees, and suddenly felt a chill wind blowing past her ear. She subconsciously dodged to the side, and then heard a muffled hum. Hurriedly lifting her head, she saw Xu Mingxia's face twisted in pain, with her hand tightly grasped by Yu Zhu.

  Xu Mingxia reluctantly stretched out another hand, using all her strength to slap Xu Mingjin, but was caught effortlessly by Yu Zhu. She couldn't even touch Xu Mingjin's hem.

  "Xu Mingjin, you won't die a good death!" Xu Mingxia's hands were pinched by Yuzhu until they hurt, and she let out a sharp cry, but still shouted wildly.

  "Instead of worrying about me, you'd better worry about your mother, she's going to die soon." Xu Mingjin said word by word. After finishing, she signaled Yu Zhu to let her go, Yu Zhu pinched Xu Mingxia's elbow hard before letting her go, and Xu Mingxia continued to try to hit Xu Mingjin, but found that both of her arms couldn't be lifted up, she was shocked and lost color.

  Xu Mingjin didn't even bother with her anymore and went into the Pingxi King's mansion on his own.

  Something big happened at her own doorstep, and Princess Pingxi got the news early. She hurriedly left the many noble guests who had already arrived in the flower hall and rushed out to welcome Princess Jinglin. At the same time, she was very displeased with Mrs. Xu and her daughter for causing all this.

  Princess Jinglin said as soon as she saw Queen Punghee, "Prepare a quiet room for Mrs. Xu to rest in, she almost miscarried."

  Princess Pingxi didn't refuse, and soon, Mrs. Xu was supported into a spacious and bright room that was some distance from the front yard, where she lay down on the bed, just thinking of struggling to get up, when she was immediately stopped by the maid: "Mrs. Xu doesn't need to be anxious, the imperial physician will arrive soon."

  It's just that the doctor is coming soon and I'm getting nervous!

  Mrs. Xu struggled even harder upon hearing this, her heart racing with anxiety, and she suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

  However, before she could think of a way to avoid the situation in front of her, Imperial Physician Tao came in with Princess Jinglin. Behind them were also Crown Prince's Consort Pingxi and Countess Wushuang, and further behind were Xu Mingjin and Xu Mingying, among others. At the very back, Xu Mingxia quietly followed behind everyone else.

  Princess Jinglin brought the imperial physician into the room, and Lady Xu struggled to get out of bed to pay her respects, but was stopped by Princess Jinglin. She didn't waste any words and directly called the imperial physician forward to take her pulse.

  Madam Xü watched as the imperial physician approached, beads of sweat rolling down her face, her hands beginning to shake with urgency, yet she couldn't think of a reason not to let him take her pulse.

  Xu Mingxia stood at the door, her line of sight blocked by the crowd, unable to see what was happening inside. She felt anxious about her mother, but didn't dare to move forward. Now she deeply regretted it - if it weren't for her, her mother wouldn't be in this situation, and it was all her fault. If she hadn't slandered Xu Mingjin in front of everyone, nothing would have happened. But now, regret was useless. The imperial physician would soon diagnose that her mother wasn't pregnant at all, but a few days ago, to prevent Xu Mingxuan from entering the ancestral hall, her mother had already announced to the whole city that she was pregnant... Xu Mingxia shook her head, not daring to think about it anymore, because her heart was knotted up in pain.

  Xu Mingjin stood in a position where she could see the situation inside the house. If she turned her head, she would see Xu Mingxia's painful and regretful expression. However, she didn't need to turn her head to guess what kind of expression was on Xu Mingxia's face, so she didn't turn around at all.

  Standing next to Xu Mingjin were Xu Mingying and others. None of them spoke, but with just one glance, Xu Mingjin knew that they weren't worried about Mrs. Xu at all. They were simply watching the excitement.

  Mrs. Xu didn't treat them as her daughters, and they didn't treat her as their mother either. At this moment, only Xu Mingjin and Xu Mingxia knew about Mrs. Xu's fake pregnancy. However, the only person who was worried about her was Xu Mingxia alone.

  Unfortunately, she was a timid and fearful person. She was afraid that if she went in, the princess would remember that she had deceived her and blame her for it.

  In the room, under the indication of Princess Jinglin, the imperial physician sat at the head of the bed and took out one arm from behind the bed curtain to take the pulse of Mrs. Xu. As things came to a head, Mrs. Xu was no longer afraid. At worst, she would just shift all the blame onto the imperial physician's shoulders and say that he had misdiagnosed her pulse! Anyway, the imperial physician had accepted so much silver from her. After making up her mind, Mrs. Xu became calm and composed again.

  The imperial physician examined her for a long time, taking her pulse three times before standing up and retreating a step to report to Princess Jinglin: "Your Highness, based on my over 30 years of experience in pulse diagnosis, Madame Xu's pulse is not at all indicative of pregnancy, but rather shows symptoms of chest tightness, dizziness, and nausea."

  The imperial physician's words had barely escaped his lips when the room fell silent.

  Princess Jinglin suddenly stood up: "Who diagnosed Mrs. Xu with a joyful pulse?"

  Xu Mingjin didn't wait for Madam Xu to speak, and instead said: "Regarding what the princess just said, my mother's illness has always been diagnosed by Dr. Li, the imperial physician. Last time when my father opened the ancestral hall and had my younger brother Mingxuan enter it, he suddenly fainted in front of the hall, and it was Dr. Li who went to diagnose him. After finishing the diagnosis, he solemnly told my father that my mother's pulse indicated joy."

  Everyone heard this and couldn't help but understand that it was not a coincidence that she was diagnosed with pregnancy at this time, but rather a deliberate move to prevent the illegitimate child from entering the ancestral hall. The imperial physician must have been bribed by Madam Xu long ago. Everyone showed contemptuous expressions, not because they despised her methods of dealing with the illegitimate child, but because they despised her inability to let go. Lord Xu was already middle-aged and still had no son, so when he finally had one, it was only natural that he would want him to enter the ancestral hall to inherit the family's legacy. And yet, Madam Xu pretended to be pregnant and fainted, using every trick in the book to obstruct this. Did she want Lord Xu to cut off his own lineage?

  Mrs. Xue saw the contemptuous gaze of the crowd and felt bitter in her heart, she hated Xu Mingjin for adding fuel to the fire, she would never let her go!

  Princess Jinglin has ordered someone to rush and invite Imperial Physician Li, but whether or not they can invite the imperial physician, everyone already understands in their hearts.

  Wu Shuang County Master saw Xu Mingxia standing timidly at the door, not daring to enter. She coldly snorted and thought: "This stupid thing, I was really blind before, actually taking her as a good friend, giving her an invitation to come with her family, but she ruined mother's birthday banquet, how detestable!"

  There is another person who holds this idea, that is Princess Ping He. On her own birthday, such an ugly thing happened, it's really unlucky. Fortunately, it wasn't in our own house, but from now on, when the noblewomen of the capital mention their own birthday banquet, they will definitely think of this matter and the protagonist Xu Furen. It's too hateful! From now on, don't let Wushuang associate with Xu Furen's daughter again, or she'll be corrupted by her!

  Princess Jinglin's speed was indeed not to be underestimated. Everyone had only waited for a short while when the imperial physician was brought in.

  When the imperial physician arrived, he had already heard about this matter, so as soon as he came in, without waiting for Princess Jinglin to speak, he knelt down with a thud and explained the situation to everyone.

  "That day, Madam Xue fainted in the ancestral hall, and the servants of the Xue household invited me over. Then, Madam Xue's trusted maid, Juixiang, secretly came to find me. She handed me two 500-tael silver notes and told me to inform Master Xue that Madam Xue was pregnant. I was terrified when I heard this! I tried to decline in every way possible, but the maid threatened me, saying that if I didn't do as she said, Madam Xue would use the Ye family's influence to make it impossible for me to stand in Beijing! With no other choice, I agreed to do as she asked. The maid also promised me many benefits, and so I told Master Xue what Madam Xue had said - that she was pregnant for over a month. In reality, at the time, Madam Xue was actually menstruating."

  Madam Xu's face turned whiter and whiter as the imperial physician spoke, until she finally couldn't bear it anymore and jumped out of bed, shouting: "You're spouting blood!" As she shouted, she rushed to the kneeling imperial physician and frantically scratched and bit him. The imperial physician let out a miserable cry, and everyone saw that his face had already been marked with several bloody gashes from her fingernails. Princess Jinglin hastily ordered someone to pull them apart.

  Everyone saw the scars on the imperial physician's face and couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts: this Madam Xu was too fierce, her hands were too ruthless!