Chapter 44: Malicious Intent

As soon as Pan Miaoqian said this, there were immediately voices of disbelief. "When did the things from the Western Wei Dynasty become as common as Chinese cabbages on the ground? Everyone knows that after years of efforts, the Princess of Anbei has only managed to collect five or six pieces. Don't tell me it's some counterfeit! Sixth Young Master, haven't you been cheated out of a lot of money over the years?!"

"That's right! Miss Lai comes from a family that has been renowned for generations, so she naturally has extraordinary abilities! Although Prime Minister Pan is now in a high position, to put it bluntly, your family still isn't qualified to be called an aristocratic family!"

Amidst the sarcastic remarks one after another, Pan Miaoqian twisted her handkerchief, furrowed her brows, and wiped away her tears. She said"I just wanted to see the Princess happy. Why do you have to say such things about our Pan Mansion... How can the gift prepared by our family be compared with the one prepared by my second sister..." With her beautiful face and tearful expression, the man who had just made the sarcastic remarks immediately shut up. He also completely distanced the gift given by Pan Yueqing from the Pan Mansion.

Pan Yueqing slowly stood up and bowed slightly to the Princess of Anbei. She said with a slightly hesitant expression, "Yueqing obtained a jadeite splendor by chance... My teacher identified it as an ancient item from the Western Wei Dynasty, so Yueqing thought of giving it to the Princess. It's not for anything else, but I hope the Princess can appraise it."

After hearing this, everyone just felt disdainful. It was just a jadeite splendor. The most common jadeite ornaments on the market were those imitating the styles of various countries in the Western Regions. There was a high chance that it was also a counterfeit. A hint of disappointment also appeared in the eyes of the Princess of Anbei. She had been looking for a jadeite splendor, but over the years, there were always people coming to her with fake ones.

Those who were eager for excitement had already asked the servant boy to bring up Pan Yueqing's gift. Lai Changya looked at the equally exquisitely packaged gift box. Her plum-blossom-like lips parted slightly, and she advised Pan Yueqing, "Miss, it might be better not to open it?"

Qi Sian and Mr. Hong gave her the thing so that she could outshine Lai Changya. Moreover, she really hated people who jumped to conclusions without seeing the truth. Although she had long known that the Lai family was the Emperor's top choice for a marriage alliance and that Lai Changya was bound to be the future Crown Princess and Empress, now she really understood why Qi Sian, the future Crown Prince, disliked Lai Changya so much.

Being so arrogant, did she really think she was a divine phoenix?!

At the moment, she raised a hesitant smile. "But if we don't open it and take a look, how can we know if it's real or not?"

As soon as she said this, in the eyes of others, she really seemed to be ungrateful. The Princess of Anbei had no choice but to sigh inwardly and reach out to open the box. When she saw the familiar jadeite splendor, her eyes still trembled slightly. In the next moment, regardless of what others said, she immediately turned the jadeite splendor over and carefully searched among the silver patterns under the largest jadeite.

Time seemed to stand still.

The Princess of Anbei looked at Pan Yueqing's young face with a complicated expression. She slowly sat down. Suddenly, she covered her chest, her face turned pale, and she spat out a mouthful of black blood. Pointing at Pan Yueqing, she fell backward before she could say anything. The Prince of Anbei was also flustered. He took two or three steps forward to support the Princess of Anbei. Zou Yingru slapped the table and stood up, pointing at Pan Yueqing and shouting, "What on earth is your intention?!"

Pan Yueqing stood there and met Zou Yingru's gaze with a hint of surprise. "Miss Zou, what do you mean by that?"

"Everyone knows that the Princess has been ill for years and can't touch weapons like spears, guns, or clubs. She has already developed a psychological condition! Even the Prince tries not to practice martial arts in front of the Princess. But you! What you've done today has triggered the Princess's psychological condition again!" Zou Yingru glared at Pan Yueqing with eyes like a tiger ready to devour her. She looked as if she wanted to eat Pan Yueqing alive. "Moreover, you brought out this so-called jadeite splendor to pretend it's a relic of the Western Wei Dynasty! It's adding fuel to the fire!"

"Second Miss Pan! The Princess has no grudges against you. How could you treat her like this?!" A man among the male guests suddenly questioned, echoing Zou Yingru's words. "Over the years, the Princess has been looking for a jadeite splendor headpiece, but you're deceiving her at this moment!"

The discussions spread around. Lai Changya, as if she had expected this, picked up her wine cup and took a sip. The look in her eyes when she looked at Pan Yueqing was nothing but disdain.

"Miss Zou, what you said is not right," Princess Shang'an, Qi Wanxi, noticed the change in the way people around were looking at Pan Yueqing. She put down her wine cup and said with a smile, "The Princess didn't say that the thing was fake just now. And now, the most important thing should be to send for the imperial physician, not to argue about whose fault it is here."

The voices suddenly quieted down. Doctor Zhou, who was often used by the Princess Anbei's Mansion, quickly came with a medicine box on his back. When he was halfway through taking the Princess's pulse, the unconscious Princess of Anbei suddenly grabbed the doctor's hand. With a dazed look in her eyes, she looked at Doctor Zhou, but what came out of her mouth were a series of words that no one could understand.

Everyone present was confused by what the Princess of Anbei said. Only the Prince of Anbei didn't look very happy. The Princess of Anbei kept talking to Doctor Zhou. Then she even leaned forward and hugged Doctor Zhou's neck. Closing her eyes, tears suddenly fell from her eyes, and what she said next shocked everyone present.

They heard the Princess of Anbei say, "When can I see you..."

How could the Prince of Anbei allow such a thing to happen? He stepped forward and roughly pushed Doctor Zhou away. Holding the Princess of Anbei's hand, his gaze was solemn, and he warned in a low voice, "Wei Ji!" He couldn't let others go out and say that after being with the Princess for half a lifetime, there was someone else in the Princess's heart!

But the Princess of Anbei ignored him and stepped forward to hold Doctor Zhou's hand. Her words were full of deep affection, and from time to time, there were some official Chinese words mixed in. It could probably be guessed that the general meaning was that she hoped someone could take her back and that she didn't want to stay here.

The Prince of Anbei reached out and hugged the Princess of Anbei's body. He shouted at Doctor Zhou, "Get out!"

As Doctor Zhou left in a state of trepidation, the Princess of Anbei's reaction became even more intense. Although her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be delirious, she had a deep obsession. Pan Yueqing frowned slightly. She was already sure that the Princess had fallen into a deep nightmare.

An imperial physician came in through the door. It was Imperial Physician Xue, who was one of the most skilled doctors in the Imperial Medical Academy. He came forward and ordered everyone to step aside. Imperial Physician Xue bent down and was about to touch the Princess of Anbei's hand. Unexpectedly, the Princess of Anbei once again grabbed Imperial Physician Xue's wrist. With tears in her eyes, she said a series of words again, and the smile on her lips looked extremely happy.

Imperial Physician Xue frowned tightly. He grabbed the Princess of Anbei's hand and inserted a few needles on her head. In the eyes of everyone's surprise, the Princess of Anbei slowly calmed down, and her hand holding Imperial Physician Xue's wrist gradually loosened. Then she fell into a deep sleep.

"How is she?" The Prince of Anbei looked at Imperial Physician Xue. Imperial Physician Xue's face didn't improve at all. He raised his eyes and looked around at all the guests present. He snorted coldly. "I never expected that someone could be so malicious! They actually used Boruo Incense on the Princess!"