"Your Highness, are you awake?"
Jiang Wumei was still reeling from the shock when Qingzhi’s anxious voice came from outside the chamber.
"I’m fine. Come in."
As she spoke, Jiang Wumei realized her voice was raspy from the nightmare. Qingzhi entered, draped in an outer robe, and lit the candles in the bronze tree lamp. Turning back, she saw beads of sweat on Jiang Wumei’s forehead and hurried forward.
"Your Highness, was it the thunder that frightened you?"
Jiang Wumei, still lingering in the aftermath of her dream, looked toward the window. Beyond it was nothing but a thick, ink-like darkness.
"Did it thunder?"
Her voice was soft, yet Qingzhi heard her clearly. She poured a cup of warm tea and served it to Jiang Wumei before exclaiming, "I don't know what happened, but there were three claps of thunder so loud it felt as if the courtyard might collapse. I was worried something had happened to you, so I rushed right over."
Thunder in the dead of winter? That was an ill omen.
Jiang Wumei frowned, about to speak, when a commotion broke out outside. A guard then pounded heavily on the chamber door and shouted, "Noble Consort, the study has been struck by lightning, and His Highness has fainted! Please, come and see!"
The panic in the guard's voice was palpable. Qingzhi was startled and immediately stood up. "His Highness is in trouble? Your Highness, we must go quickly!"
Jiang Wumei gripped her quilt tightly, her eyes widening with shock. Xiao Tong had been struck by lightning?! This was absolutely wonderful!
With Qingzhi’s assistance, Jiang Wumei quickly dressed and threw on a cloak, hurrying toward the study. When she arrived and saw the study more than half-leveled by the strike, she briefly wondered if she had come to the wrong place.
"Where is His Highness?"
Gripping Qingzhi’s arm, Jiang Wumei’s eyes shone with intensity. She struggled to suppress the upward curve of her lips, doing her best to appear sorrowful. If Xiao Tong had died from the lightning strike today, she wouldn’t even need to fake her death to escape. She could keep her title as the deceased Crown Prince’s Noble Consort and, with Xu Junjun by her side, enjoy a life of luxury and splendor in the Capital!
Truly, when you reach a dead end and think all is lost, you find a new path forward!
Thinking this, Jiang Wumei nearly laughed out loud. She couldn’t help it; after acting humble for half a year since transmigrating here, having such a golden opportunity suddenly emerge from a hopeless situation made it hard not to be excited.
"Your Highness, His Highness is in a room nearby."
The area outside the study was swarming with guards. Even the leader of the Secret Guards, who had delivered intelligence to Xiao Tong that day, was there, and it was he who answered her.
Jiang Wumei looked at the unfamiliar man, her excitement fading. She knit her brows. "Who are you?"
She had never seen this man before, but his demeanor clearly marked him as one of Xiao Tong’s confidants. Could he be one of the Secret Guards mentioned in the book—the ones hidden in the shadows?
Almost as soon as the words left her lips, the man bowed respectfully. "My lady, I am one of His Highness’s Secret Guards, responsible for his safety."
Jiang Wumei’s eyelids twitched. She stared at him with guarded caution. "Take me to him."
"Please, follow me, Your Highness."
Jiang Wumei followed the guard to a nearby side hall. As soon as she entered, she saw several imperial physicians surrounding a motionless Xiao Tong, engaged in a heated discussion.
Jiang Wumei steadied herself and stepped forward, shouting with a dark expression, "What are you all doing? His Highness is unconscious! Instead of writing a prescription and getting medicine, you are standing here arguing—what is the meaning of this?"
The physicians, noticing her arrival, stepped back and bowed to explain. "Noble Consort, we have checked His Highness’s pulse several times. His pulse is strong, his breathing is steady, and he is completely unharmed. We... we simply cannot write a prescription for someone who is perfectly healthy."
"Nonsense! His Highness is clearly in a coma; how can he be unharmed? Check him again, carefully."
Jiang Wumei looked at the unconscious Xiao Tong on the bed, refusing to believe the physicians’ explanation.
"My lady, every word we say is true. If you are worried, you may summon more physicians to consult with us and deliberate on a treatment plan."
"Someone, go to the Imperial Hospital and bring five more physicians!"
Jiang Wumei wouldn't give in to superstition. Even if they said he was fine, she didn't believe it. She had to bring others to see what was truly wrong with him. Otherwise, if he woke up tomorrow perfectly fine, he would only blame her for being negligent.
Upon hearing the Crown Prince was in distress, the Imperial Hospital did not dare delay. Five more highly skilled physicians arrived. They took turns feeling the Prince's pulse, but none could find anything wrong. After a brief discussion, they came to report to Jiang Wumei.
Hearing that Xiao Tong was perfectly fine and would wake up by morning at the latest, Jiang Wumei felt deeply disappointed.
After all that commotion, with the study leveled by lightning, this Xiao Tong hadn't lost a single hair! She didn't know whether to mock him for being a "child of destiny" or praise his incredible luck.
The Crown Prince’s Mansion was busy all night because of those three bolts of thunder. Jiang Wumei stayed by Xiao Tong’s side until daybreak. When Chun Yurong arrived, weeping and distraught, Jiang Wumei handed the responsibility over to her and returned to her own chambers to bathe, change, and enjoy a proper breakfast.
"Your Highness, is it really all right to leave Noble Consort Chun alone to serve the Prince?" Qingzhi’s worried voice sounded as Jiang Wumei took a bite of a juicy crystal dumpling.
Jiang Wumei waved her hand. After finishing the dumpling, she spoke languidly, "Chun Yurong and I are both Noble Consorts. It is only right that we take turns attending to the Prince while he is unwell. If I were to stop her, that would be improper."
Qingzhi looked at her mistress’s relaxed and content demeanor and felt something was off. Was that really the case?
"I’ve been up half the night; I’m exhausted and need to make up for my sleep. Keep watch outside. Unless it is an urgent matter, do not let anyone disturb me."
After eating her fill, Jiang Wumei happily prepared for a nap. Just as she was about to lie down, a maid holding a ball of snowy white fur rushed into the room.
"Your Highness, it seems Xuetuan is sick."
The weariness on Jiang Wumei’s face vanished. She hurried to take the white tiger cub from the maid and examined it closely. The cub, usually full of energy, now had its eyes tightly shut and lay limp in her arms, its limbs soft and still, as if it had lost all vitality. The beautiful "king" marking on its forehead had dimmed, and the cub looked so wilted it was heartbreaking.
Jiang Wumei’s heart ached. She asked urgently, "What happened? Wasn’t the little one perfectly fine last night?"
The maid responsible for the cub was terrified, dropping to her knees to beg for mercy. "I don't know, Your Highness! Everything was fine when I gave Xuetuan a bath last night. When I woke up this morning, Xuetuan wouldn't respond to me or make a sound. I was afraid something terrible had happened, so I rushed here immediately."
Jiang Wumei held the cub, her chest heaving with anger. "Then why are you still standing there? Go tell the steward to find a veterinarian! Are you waiting for me to go find one myself?!"
"Forgive me, Your Highness! I’m going right now!" The maid scrambled to her feet and sprinted out of the hall.
"Little one, be strong. The doctor is coming. You’re the King of the Forest; you’ll grow up to be the most fearsome beast. You can’t just die like this."
Jiang Wumei was truly heartbroken. Watching the little cub gasping for air, tears welled in her eyes, and her heart tightened.
"Wait, I still have the Heart-Nourishing Pill that Junjun gave me. Qingzhi, go get one quickly and feed it to Xuetuan!"
Qingzhi hesitated. "Your Highness, that is the medicine specially concocted for you by the young mistress of the General’s Estate. Are you sure you want to give it to Xuetuan?"