At Mingzhu’s request, Empress Dowager Wanyan sent people to the Medical Center that night to bring the injured woman into the Palace, ordering the Imperial physicians to diagnose and treat her.

The woman was severely injured. Without Mingzhu’s ’Soul Revival Pill,’ she would have died long ago. Even with the pill, she remained continuously unconscious. The Imperial physicians set her bones, performed acupuncture, massaged, and fed her medicine. Only after a day and night of effort did she slowly regain consciousness.

Mingzhu thought that a concubine who served with her beauty would, upon waking, first be concerned about her appearance. If she saw that her beauty was ruined and her body rendered helpless, she would surely be devastated and wish for death.

However, unexpectedly, the woman remained calm upon waking. Even upon learning that her face was disfigured and her legs crippled, she didn’t shed a single tear. She worked hard to cooperate with the doctors, diligently ate and drank, and often endured excruciating pain from the fractures in her leg and ribs, enduring the pain without a complaint, even biting her lip until it bled. Mingzhu admired her greatly for this.

Initially, Mingzhu only pitied her and helped her in passing. But after discovering her resilience and tenacity, she couldn’t help but hold her in high regard and began to pay special attention to her.

Every day, after returning from outings, she would visit her to check on her injuries and occasionally chat with her.

Through their conversations, she learned that the woman’s surname was Xiao, and she was originally a courtesan from a brothel. Later, Consort Li Nai redeemed her and kept her outside. When Princess Gao Yang found out, she brought her back to the Princess House. This time, it was Princess Gao Yang herself who ordered her harm.

Originally, the Eldest Princess only ordered her face to be cut and her leg broken. However, Consort Li’s plea on her behalf angered the Princess, who then ordered her to be dragged to the street for a public beating, letting ignorant citizens think of her as a promiscuous woman, despising and tormenting her until she lay dead on the street!

Xiao was very clever. She did not say that she was wronged by the princess out of jealousy, but merely mentioned that Consort Li pleaded for her, enough to make people believe that the allegations of her affairs with servants were false. Otherwise, which man would forgive a woman who betrayed him and plead for a concubine involved with servants?

Furthermore, her conduct was dignified and courteous, neither humble nor arrogant. She expressed her gratitude to the Palace, showing genuine sincerity without flattery, which further piqued Mingzhu’s interest, even sparking the thought of asking the Great Immortal Turtle to treat her.

Such a good woman, it would indeed be a pity if she were left scarred and disabled.

She contacted the Great Immortal Turtle through thought, and after obtaining his consent, it was decided. However, Great Yong is far from Great Jin, with Qing Luo Kingdom in between, and Xiao was too severely injured to be moved just yet, so they had to wait until she recovered somewhat before proceeding!

Wanyan Chao and Mingzhu stayed in Great Yong for more than ten days, having seen all the beautiful sceneries of Capital Great Yong. They then bid farewell to Empress Dowager Wanyan and Empress Wanyan, saying they were returning to Qing Luo Kingdom. Fearing the insidious Princess Gao Yang might harm Xiao again, Mingzhu specifically entrusted Xiao to Empress Dowager Wanyan, asking her to protect Xiao from further harm.

...

Meanwhile, when Princess Gao Yang heard that her daughter was humiliated by Empress Dowager Wanyan at a banquet, she was furious and seethed with rage, gritting her teeth and saying: "What a Wanyan Min, when my Imperial Brother was alive, she couldn’t be more eager to kneel and lace up my shoes, calling me younger sister at every turn. Now that my Imperial Brother is gone, she puts on the airs of an Empress Dowager to me, disregarding kinship between aunt and sister-in-law, and even humiliating my daughter in public. Isn’t this slapping me in the face?"