"Mother, Zheng'er is a filial child. How could she try to kill you!" Bai Yinan couldn't help but speak up in defense.
"Filial?" Mrs. He glared at him and raised her voice sharply. "That wretch pushed me into the lake. No matter how much I shouted, she refused to help. How dare you still say she's filial?
Look at how she's treated me, her grandmother, over the years. I've never bothered to argue with her for the sake of her being a descendant of the Bai family.
But now she's become even more insolent. Not only did she cause the death of her own cousin, but now she even tries to kill her own grandmother.
If I let her continue like this, I'm afraid the entire Bai family will be ruined by this wretch in the future!
Nanny, go and fetch my imperial robe. I'm going to see the emperor!"
"Mother!" Bai Yinan and Mrs. Lin turned pale with fright.
Bai Yinan's knees went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.
He couldn't understand what had happened at all.
To say that Bai Zheng actually pushed Mrs. He? It was impossible! Even if Bai Zheng didn't like this grandmother, she wouldn't do such a rebellious thing.
But to say that Mrs. He deliberately slandered Bai Zheng...
Bai Yinan looked up at his still-angry mother.
There must be some misunderstanding in this!
Thinking of this, he quickly said, "Mother, Zheng'er was raised by father when she was young, and later I personally taught and raised her. I know her character best. She would never harm you. There must be some misunderstanding..."
"Misunderstanding?" Mrs. He was so angry that her chest heaved up and down. Her voice was shrill as she said, "Do you think I'm old and muddle-headed, so you can just fool me? I saw her push me with my own eyes. How could there be any misunderstanding!"
"You're right, Mrs. He. You're old and not easy to fool. Unlike the emperor, who is still in his prime and not so old. As long as you go and complain casually, you can fool him."
A cold voice came from outside the door.
Bai Yinan turned around and saw Feng Linyuan. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "How's Zheng'er?"
Feng Linyuan replied, "Zheng'er was shivering all over from the cold. Fortunately, Uncle Zhu still had the heart-protecting pills left by Doctor Zhou. After giving them to Zheng'er, she managed to sleep more soundly."
Hearing this, Bai Yinan's mind once again conjured up the image of Bai Zheng when she was first rescued from the lake. She was bloodless, shivering all over, but still struggling to ask about her grandmother's safety.
In contrast, as soon as Mrs. He woke up, she kept calling Bai Zheng a "wretch" and even wanted to go to Feng Linche to complain about Bai Zheng. This made Bai Yinan feel cold again.
Feng Linyuan stepped forward and gave Mrs. He a faint smile. "I just heard outside the door that you wanted to go to the palace to complain to the emperor? Coincidentally, I also plan to report to the emperor and ask him to seek justice for my wife. How about going together?"
Mrs. He turned her head and looked at the insincere smile on Feng Linyuan's face. Suddenly, she felt a pang of uneasiness in her heart, but she still forced herself to ask, "What kind of justice do you want from the emperor?"
Feng Linyuan didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Bai Yinan and asked, "Father, when the imperial doctors were diagnosing Mrs. He and the eldest miss just now, did they say why they had been unconscious for so long?"
Bai Yinan frowned deeply. Remembering the confused and shocked expression on the imperial doctors' faces when they were feeling their pulses, he still felt a little puzzled.
He could only hesitate and say, "They didn't mention much. They just said that the two of them had choked on water, were frightened, and their bodies were severely cold..."
Hearing this, Mrs. He no longer had the overbearing attitude she had before. Her eyes kept shifting from side to side.
Feng Linyuan nodded and said gently, "When Uncle Zhu diagnosed Zheng'er, he also said that the cold air in Zheng'er's body had invaded seriously. Father, have you noticed the problem?"
"What problem?" Bai Yinan's heart skipped a beat, but he still didn't dare to think about it. He just asked.
Feng Linyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's already late May now, and when we rushed to the lake to save people, it was almost noon, the time when the sun was the strongest.
None of the servants who went into the water to save people caught a cold. How come Zheng'er was so seriously invaded by the cold air?
Even if Zheng'er stayed in the water the longest to save Mrs. He and the eldest miss.
In such weather, soaking in the lake water should at least relieve the heat, not cause her to catch a cold. When Zheng'er was rescued, her body kept shivering, and her face was extremely pale.
Mrs. He and the eldest miss were also unconscious for an entire afternoon before they finally woke up.
Even if the eldest miss was just ill some time ago and her constitution was different, and Mrs. He was old and couldn't bear the ordeal. But Zheng'er has always been in good health. How could she not wake up just because she soaked in the water for a while?"
Bai Yinan frowned.
He had been busy dealing with various trivial matters just now and was also worried about his mother and daughter. He really hadn't thought about this problem carefully.
Now, after being reminded by Feng Linyuan, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it seemed.
When his two sons were young, in such weather, Bai Yinan would even let them go into the water to relieve the heat for a while.
Even children could endure it. Bai Zheng and Bai Sheng were already adults. How could they be frozen unconscious?
But Mrs. Lin's attention obviously wasn't here. After hearing Feng Linyuan's words, she was greatly shocked and exclaimed, "What did you say? Zheng'er didn't faint because she choked on water. It was... the cold air entering her body?"
As a woman, she knew best what the cold air entering the body meant for a woman. She suddenly panicked and stepped forward to grab Feng Linyuan's sleeve. "Can Zheng'er's body recover?"
Looking at Mrs. Lin like this, Feng Linyuan felt a little pity. He sighed and said, "Don't worry, mother. The cold air in Zheng'er's body has been temporarily suppressed by the heart-protecting pill left by Doctor Zhou. But to completely recover, even Uncle Zhu is at a loss..."
"How could this be!" Bai Yinan couldn't believe his ears and stared at Feng Linyuan with wide eyes.
He never thought that Bai Zheng would be so seriously injured just by going into the lake to save people!
Just then, another shrill wail came from the next guest room.
Feng Linyuan sneered. "The eldest mistress is really crying sadly. Father, do you think she's really just crying because the eldest miss has been unconscious and she, as a mother, is really heartbroken?"
Bai Yinan suddenly raised his head. "Do you mean that Sheng'er...?"
"That's right." Feng Linyuan nodded and looked in the direction of the next guest room with a half-smile. "Zheng'er is seriously injured, and the eldest miss is probably not feeling well either. She was just ill recently, and this time, she may have damaged the foundation of her body. In the future... it will be very difficult for her to conceive."
"Who are you saying will have difficulty conceiving?"
The one who asked this question was not the tottering Mrs. Lin, but Mrs. He, who was originally lying in bed but now had propped herself up with her hands in excitement.