Chapter 149: A Dangerous Choice

Yue Mingxuan glanced at the Imperial Consort Zhou who is kneeling on the ground and said calmly, “Advancing, she could gain Your Majesty’s favor by recommending a doctor and claiming merit. Retreating, she could establish the image of a kind and loving mother.”

He deliberately did not point out her true motive, if he failed to save Rong Qinglei, she would have eliminated a major threat for herself.

Hearing this, the Imperial Consort Zhou secretly let out a breath of relief.

Fortunately, this Prince Yue had not fully seen through her real intention.

Meanwhile, Concubine Hua shook her head slightly and sighing inwardly.

Yue Mingxuan was still too young.

Every move and expression from both women was clearly seen by the emperor, yet he said nothing, his gaze shifting quietly.

Yue Mingxuan naturally noticed all of their reactions.

His actions today were not by choice but by necessity.

Even if the Imperial Consort Zhou had not spoken, he would still have stepped forward to treat Rong Qinglei.

The gift of jade on the mountain, the Wu family’s protection, he owed Rong Qinglei too much.

Now that the Imperial Consort Zhou had tried to use this matter as a weapon, she had crossed his bottom line.

Moreover, conspiracies only worked in the shadows.

Once everything was laid out in the open, such schemes would collapse on their own.

For a moment, silence filled the hall. After a while, the emperor asked, “My Consort, do you have anything to say?”

Seeing that the emperor had not completely accepted Yue Mingxuan’s words, the Imperial Consort Zhou felt secretly delighted.

She hurriedly kowtowed and said, “Your Majesty, heaven knows my heart. This consort simply could not bear to see Your Majesty so worried over Prince Qing. If I had any private motive at all, it was only the concern of a wife for her husband. I heard that Prince Yue had a good reputation among the people, so I made this decision in desperation. I never expected… never expected…”

Her voice choked with emotion.

Seeing how convincing the Imperial Consort Zhou’s performance was, Yue Mingxuan could not help but praise her inwardly.

As expected, every woman in the inner palace was a master class actress.

With ease, she shifted the entire matter into concern for the emperor and flattery that the emperor would surely accept.

Sure enough, after hearing her words, the emperor’s expression softened slightly.

“You may rise. I understand your intentions.”

The Imperial Consort Zhou pretended to wipe the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, then stood obediently to the side.

The emperor then turned back to Yue Mingxuan and said, “Since the people say you are a miracle doctor, do you have a way to cure Prince Qing’s illness?”

Yue Mingxuan considered his words carefully before answering, “Prince Qing’s heart illness was present from birth. These past years, thanks to Your Majesty sparing no expense to find rare medicines, his life has been barely sustained. However, his condition cannot be cured by medicine alone. At best, medicine can delay the attacks, but each episode will be more severe than the last. Medicine treats the symptoms, not the root.”

This was the first time the Emperor had heard such a statement.

The Emperor’s authority was unpredictable and the imperial physicians in the palace, in order to protect their own lives, naturally did not dare to say such things out loud.

He looked around at the imperial doctors kneeling on the ground, then asked in a low and heavy voice, “Then according to you, what method can treat the root of the illness?”

Yue Mingxuan paused for a moment, then still answered honestly, “The method is to do heart opening surgery. Prince Qing’s heart illness, to put it simply, is a congenital defect of the heart brought from the womb. If the heart is opened and the damaged part is repaired and stitched, it may be possible.”

When everyone present heard Yue Mingxuan say this, shock appeared on all their faces.

The heart was the foundation of a human being.

No one had ever heard that a person could survive after their heart was cut open.

The leading imperial physician immediately kowtowed and said, “Your Majesty, this humble servant has practiced medicine for more than forty years and has never heard of such a terrifying treatment method. Prince Yue is still so young… I beg Your Majesty to think again.”

Seeing everyone react this way, Yue Mingxuan shook his head helplessly.

Between them was a gap of several thousand years of medical knowledge.

Saying such things to them was like telling them that in the future there would be airplanes, cannons, and nuclear weapons.

So, being treated as nonsense was completely normal.

The Emperor carefully observed Yue Mingxuan’s expression.

After his proposal was denied by the imperial physicians, he did not panic or shout angrily. Instead, there was only regret and helplessness on his face.

The Emperor’s instinct told him that Yue Mingxuan was not lying. “If Qing’er dies, what will you say then?” the Emperor asked.

When Yue Mingxuan heard this question, he rolled his eyes in his heart.

Being a doctor for the royal family was never an easy job.

If you cured the patient, it was only what you should do.

If you failed, you would pay with your life.

If this were modern times, doctors who performed heart surgery would have died out long ago.

Even in modern times, heart surgery did not have a low failure rate, let alone in ancient times with poor medical tools and medicine.

Although Yue Mingxuan was worried about Rong Qinglei, he was unwilling to stake his own life just to save him.

After thinking for a moment, Yue Mingxuan answered, “This heart opening surgery is extremely dangerous. If Mingxuan must pay with his life if he fails to cure him, then Mingxuan would rather protect his own life.”

It was better to say the ugly words first, just like signing a surgery consent form before an operation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep