SGEIRS -Chapter 275 Malicious Intent

Whenever a patient goes to see a doctor, they fear nothing more than seeing the doctor’s expression suddenly turn grave. The moment that happens, the patient feels as though they are finished—that they must have contracted some incurable illness.

Meng Jinyao was no exception. When she saw Imperial Physician Wen’s heavy expression, her heart tightened, and she hurriedly asked, “Imperial Physician Wen, how is it?”

Gu Jingxi also looked tense. Earlier, when Physician Wen had taken his pulse, his expression had not been nearly so serious. Yet when examining A-Yao, he looked like this.

Instead of answering, Physician Wen asked, “Madam Gu, when did this condition of yours begin?”

Not hearing an answer made Meng Jinyao even more anxious. Still, she replied honestly, “It’s been like this since my first menses. Every time, the pain is unbearable.”

Physician Wen continued, “And how old were you when it first came?”

“Fifteen,” she replied. “That was at the beginning of last year. So far, I’ve had my period five times in total.”

Hearing this, Physician Wen’s expression grew even more solemn.

Even the usually calm Gu Jingxi could no longer remain composed. He asked nervously, “Imperial Physician Wen, how is my wife’s health?”

Physician Wen still did not answer and instead asked again, “Madam Gu, did you often eat cold-natured foods in the past? Frequently and in large amounts?”

Meng Jinyao shook her head. “No. I only ate them occasionally. My daily meals were all ordinary home-cooked food.”

“That’s strange,” Physician Wen muttered. “If you didn’t regularly eat cold foods, how could the cold energy in your body be so severe?”

Before marriage, she had been the legitimate daughter of an marquis’s household, a pampered young lady. After marriage, she was the marquis’s wife, served by maids. How could she have ended up like this?

Gu Jingxi was equally puzzled.

Meng Jinyao fell silent. Memories surfaced from her time at her natal home. In winter, she was given very little charcoal. When it was cold, she could only curl up under her quilt. She often fell ill from chills, invaded by cold energy.

The worst incident had happened one winter of heavy snow. Her grandmother had punished her to kneel outside the gate of Rongfu Hall. She was supposed to kneel for one hour, but Madam Sun provoked her grandmother’s anger, and the punishment was extended from one hour to an entire day.

In the end, she froze unconscious. Only after a maid informed her grandmother did they remember she was still kneeling. That very day, she developed a high fever, which lasted three days and nights before subsiding. She had barely escaped death.

The severe cold in her body must have accumulated over many years—especially from that near-death experience.

She parted her lips and said calmly, “I nearly froze to death in the past. It probably left behind lingering illness. Also, whenever it was cold, I often caught chills and was invaded by cold energy.”

As soon as she said this, Gu Jingxi’s heart clenched. He had never heard A-Yao mention that she had nearly frozen to death.

Physician Wen was also shocked. A noble young lady from an marquis’s household, with servants to attend her, had almost frozen to death? This clearly involved hidden schemes in the inner household. Combined with what had happened with the Marquess of Yongchang recently, it was almost certain that her stepmother had been behind it.

He asked, “When did this happen?”

“When I was thirteen,” Meng Jinyao replied. Then she asked anxiously, “Imperial Physician Wen, is there something wrong with my body?”

Physician Wen answered truthfully, “Judging from your pulse, Madam Gu has long been overthinking, which has led to liver stagnation and blocked qi, insufficient qi and blood, and severe cold in the body. The uterus is cold, blood stasis has formed, and circulation is obstructed. The blood accumulates in the womb, causing severe pain during menstruation and irregular cycles.”

She asked, “Is it serious?”

“Serious,” Physician Wen replied without concealing it. “Apart from causing severe menstrual pain, this condition can also lead to infertility.”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her husband’s health was poor, and they likely wouldn’t have children anyway. Whether she could conceive no longer mattered much, and her psychological burden eased.

Still, suffering such pain every month was a problem. She asked again, “Imperial Physician Wen, can this be cured?”

“Yes,” Physician Wen answered firmly. “But your condition is relatively severe. You’ll need long-term regulation and treatment.”

Meng Jinyao relaxed again. As long as it could be cured, it was fine. Though she feared taking medicine, she didn’t want to suffer every month.

“How long will I need to take medicine?” she asked.

“It varies from person to person. Some need half a year, others a full year,” Physician Wen replied. Then he asked, “Madam Gu, since you previously had discomfort and irregular periods, why didn’t you see a doctor earlier? If illnesses are ignored at the beginning, they can develop into major problems.”

She replied, “Before I married, I consulted a doctor about my irregular periods. He said it was normal for women to be irregular for two or three years after their first menses, and that it would become regular later.”

Physician Wen frowned again. “That can happen. But did that doctor take your pulse?”

She nodded lightly. “He did.”

Physician Wen’s brows knit even tighter. Anger rose in his voice. “He took your pulse and still dared to spout nonsense?”

Meng Jinyao looked puzzled. “Imperial Physician Wen, what do you mean?”

He explained, “Some women do need two or three years for their cycles to stabilize, but not everyone in that situation is normal. In cases like yours, it is abnormal and must be treated. Only when the body is in excellent condition is it normal. Since he took your pulse, he should have known this was not normal.”

Meng Jinyao’s heart jolted. Hesitantly, she asked, “Could it be that he was just an ordinary doctor, not as skilled as you, and failed to detect the problem?”

Physician Wen shook his head. “Impossible. Severe cold in the body is something even an ordinary doctor can diagnose.”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao felt a chill spread through her entire body. Fear rose in her heart.

The Meng family’s resident physician had always been kind. When her maids were ill, he treated them attentively. When her knees were bruised from kneeling, Qingqiu secretly went to ask him for medicine, and he gave her good ointment that worked well. Back then, she, Qingqiu, and Ningdong had all believed he was a compassionate doctor.

Who would have thought he would deceive her in such a matter?

Yet it was not entirely his fault. He had merely followed orders. At the time, Madam Sun controlled the household affairs. If he dared to act this way, it must have been under her command.

Madam Sun knew about her condition but forbade the physician from telling her the truth. Her purpose was to let the illness worsen little by little. After Meng Jinyao married into the Changxing Marquis’s household, she would be unable to bear children and would never live well—only watching her husband father one illegitimate son and daughter after another.

What a vicious scheme!

No wonder Madam Sun deducted the charcoal from her courtyard in winter. It wasn’t just to mistreat her. It was to let cold invade her body and leave lasting damage. As long as her health deteriorated enough, Madam Sun’s plot would succeed.