However, no one present could have anticipated that, right before everyone's eyes, the Queen would suddenly raise her hand and deliver a resounding slap to the Eldest Prince, Mu Shengze.
"Mother." Min Feiyan's eyes instantly welled up with tears as she looked pleadingly at the Queen.
The Queen turned away coldly and returned to her seat.
"Take your seats," she commanded.
Mu Shengze kept his head low. From the moment he was slapped until now, he remained silent.
Beside him, the Eldest Princess Consort was already in tears.
The Queen cast a cold glance at the Minister of the Secretariat. Before the spies reported to the palace last night, she could never have imagined that it was the Eldest Princess Consort's maternal family who had hidden the person.
But at this welcome banquet, this slap was merely a lesson for the Eldest Prince. She was teaching him that he should have known that the rumors about his disappearance in the capital were spreading like wildfire, even suggesting that the Second Prince had hired assassins to kill his elder brother to pave the way for himself. In the face of such rumors, he should have come out earlier to clear the air.
Instead, he had calmly watched his younger brother being at the center of the storm for the past few days.
Due to that initial slap, no one dared to initiate a conversation during the welcome banquet. Everyone ate in silence, and soon the banquet came to an end.
After everyone had left, the Queen returned to the Central Palace.
As soon as she entered the palace, the Queen dismissed her attendants. With her back turned to the Eldest Prince, she coldly said, "Kneel down."
Min Feiyan knelt and crawled towards the Queen. Her voice was weak as she pleaded, "Mother, His Highness is still injured." She looked up at the Queen, who only then noticed that her face was as pale as paper and her lips were bloodless.
Looking at the Eldest Prince again, he also looked pained and endured silently.
"Mother, I know you're angry with me. But I didn't show up not only because I was injured but also because I wanted to secretly find out who had tried to assassinate me," Mu Shengze said, looking at Mu Yichen as he spoke.
Leng Nier frowned and tugged at Mu Yichen's sleeve. The Queen followed his gaze and looked at her second son. "What do you mean? Do you suspect that the assassin..."
Before she could finish, Mu Yichen gently patted her on the shoulder, and her words got stuck in her throat.
Mu Shengze sighed. "Mother, we're in the open while the assassin is in the dark. My father - in - law has been investigating this matter for several days without any leads. So, I didn't dare to act rashly."
Mu Yichen stepped forward and helped Mu Shengze up. Min Feiyan glanced at Mu Yichen and then lowered her head.
"Who do you think it is?" The Queen's eyes were fixed on her eldest son. She suddenly realized that she seemed to no longer understand her son.
She had sent them out to learn martial arts so that they could stay away from the treacherous court and live freely. But why did they now seem to have more and more complicated thoughts?
Just as she was thinking, Min Feiyan suddenly clutched her chest tightly. The Second Prince was the first to notice her movement. "Sister - in - law, what's wrong?"
She shook her head, but the intense pain contorted her face. Soon, she was about to collapse, but fortunately, Mu Shengze caught her in time, preventing her from falling to the ground.
"What's going on? I thought your health had improved. I didn't expect it to be this serious! Someone, quickly summon the imperial physician," the Queen exclaimed.
Min Feiyan waved at the Queen. "Mother, there's no need to summon the imperial physician. I know I'm at the end of my rope and don't have many days left."
Hearing her words, Mu Shengze's eyes instantly turned red. "I won't allow you to talk like that!"
His hands trembling, he took out a small medicine bottle from her sleeve, poured out a tiny pill, and stuffed it into her mouth. Leng Nier timely handed over a cup of tea.
When he took the tea, he accidentally touched Leng Nier's hand. Leng Nier was stunned for a moment before she withdrew her hand.
After taking the medicine, she felt a bit better and tried to sit up straight, but Mu Shengze still held her hand tightly and pulled her into his arms, reluctant to let go.
Leng Nier stood behind the Second Prince with her head down.
"Mother, I'm unfilial. I didn't tell the truth in my letter and concealed Yan'er's illness. She... she is really very ill," Mu Shengze said, resting his chin on her head. How he wished he could take her pain upon himself at this moment.
Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door. Everyone looked towards the door in unison. Leng Nier walked over and opened the door. The Queen's trusted nanny came in and whispered something in her ear.
The Queen shook her head and motioned for her to go outside to talk.
The two walked outside. As soon as the door closed, the Queen suddenly turned to the nanny and asked in disbelief, "You just said that the Regent has a heart disease?"
The nanny nodded. "Your Majesty, it's absolutely true."
Hearing this, Gu Qinglan rushed out from the corner. "Aunt, what did you just say?!"
The Queen was startled when she saw Gu Qinglan, but then quickly regained her composure. "Lan'er, why are you here?"
Gu Qinglan grabbed the Queen's arm. Her eyes were already wet. "Aunt, is what you just said true? Does the Regent really have a heart disease?"
The Queen glanced at her hand, and Gu Qinglan immediately let go of the Queen's arm and stood up straight.
"Do you still miss the Regent? Aunt has told you many times that there's no possibility for you two!"
Gu Qinglan was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't listen to the Queen's advice at all. "How could this happen? How could he get a heart disease? Isn't Mo Qinghuan a doctor? How could..."
"What did you just say?" The Queen looked at Gu Qinglan coldly, but Gu Qinglan was still muttering to herself.
"Qinglan, I'm asking you a question." The Queen's face darkened, and her voice became louder. "You just said that Mo Qinghuan is a doctor? When did she learn medicine?"
Gu Qinglan was pulled back to reality by the Queen's voice. She wiped away her tears and timidly looked at the Queen. "Aunt, I only found out a few days ago. A few days ago, my younger brother suddenly fell ill. Even the imperial physicians were helpless. Finally, in desperation, we went to the Jishi Hall to invite that famous female doctor to the mansion to treat my brother. That's when I found out that the well - known female doctor in the capital was Mo Qinghuan."
After hearing this, the Queen fell into silence for a while. She had originally not summoned an imperial physician for her eldest daughter - in - law because she had investigated and found out that heart disease required acupuncture. As the Eldest Princess Consort, Min Feiyan had to abide by the rule of gender segregation. Min Feiyan herself understood this, so even though she was in great pain during an attack, she never said she wanted to summon an imperial physician. She had just been relying on medicine to sustain herself.
Now, if... if that Mo Qinghuan really had some skills, perhaps they could invite her to take a look at Yan'er.
Thinking of this, she said to Gu Qinglan, "Qinglan, go back to the mansion first."
Gu Qinglan was intimidated by the Queen's imposing manner and nodded nervously.
"Your Majesty, what should we do?" the nanny asked, looking at Gu Qinglan's departing back.
The Queen walked into the room, took Min Feiyan's hand, and said lovingly, "Yan'er, Mother will send someone to invite a doctor to treat you."
Min Feiyan held the Queen's hand tightly. "Mother, don't!" she almost shouted out immediately.
The Queen withdrew her hand and patted Min Feiyan's on the back. "Don't be afraid, Mother knows what you're worried about, but the problem has been solved."