Madam Xu was obviously taken aback by Ji Zizhao's question.
Her daughter was not yet married, and the fewer people who knew about such matters, the better.
Madam Xue had long regarded Ji Zizhao as one of her own, so there was nothing to hide. "The person was brought back unconscious. My husband learned of this and took people to the town. I heard they were troubled by a group of drunkards. So, my husband and Mr. Xu both went to see the Emperor."
Hearing this, Ji Zizhao suddenly recalled the burly men with weapons she had seen in the town upon arriving at the temporary palace.
"Do you know the exact reason they were troubled?"
Madam Xue shook her head, she didn't know.
Ji Zizhao thought that Zhong Xinyi should also be with Xue Yinuo and Xu Meiqing this time. After checking their injuries and seeing that they were stable, she got up to leave.
Madam Xu and Madam Xue exchanged a look and could only sigh heavily.
What a terrible ordeal!
Ji Zizhao left. She had intended to find her way to the Zhong family's courtyard, but upon inquiring, she learned that Zhong Xinyi had gone directly to the Empress. This saved her some trouble.
As she entered the Empress's temporary palace, she noticed the absence of the usual patrolling palace maids. Ji Zizhao's heart sank, knowing that something had happened. Otherwise, the Empress would never have dismissed the palace maids for no reason.
It was Mama Dai, who was guarding the entrance, who saw Ji Zizhao arrive and hurried forward, "Eldest Daughter Ji."
Ji Zizhao was in no mood for pleasantries and directly asked, "I heard Xinyi has arrived. Is she inside?"
Mama Dai looked at Ji Zizhao, hesitated for a long time, and then lowered her voice, "She is here, it's just that..."
Ji Zizhao's hand, which was holding the medicine box, clenched tighter. "Did something happen to Xinyi?"
"Eldest Daughter Ji, please wait a moment. Allow this old servant to deliver a message to the Empress." Mama Dai sighed heavily again and turned to go inside.
Ji Zizhao had been to the Empress's palace before, and Mama Dai had always taken her directly inside. Today, however, there was a clear hesitation, which made Ji Zizhao increasingly uneasy.
Fortunately, Mama Dai returned quickly. "Eldest Daughter Ji, you may go in."
Ji Zizhao nodded her thanks and quickly stepped over the threshold.
In the sleeping chambers, Zhong Xinyi and the Empress Zhong were both present.
Ji Zizhao glanced over and saw no obvious wounds on Zhong Xinyi. Her clothes were just a bit dirty, and her hair was slightly dishevelled.
But even without external injuries, Zhong Xinyi's expression was clearly not right. Her shoulders were hunched, and she was trembling incessantly. Her eyes were unfocused and lacked any semblance of clarity, and she kept muttering something without any coherent words.
Empress Zhong beckoned to Ji Zizhao. "She was like this when she was brought back. I was afraid my mother would worry if she saw her, so I kept her here."
Ji Zizhao approached the Empress, first paid her respects, and then walked over to Zhong Xinyi, reaching out to feel her wrist.
Zhong Xinyi, who had been trembling uncontrollably, almost jumped up in shock when she felt someone touch her. "Don't touch me, don't touch me..."
Ji Zizhao quickly held Zhong Xinyi's shoulder and, with her other hand, opened the medicine box, took out silver needles, and inserted them into the Shenmen and Neiguan acupoints on Zhong Xinyi's wrist.
Soon, Zhong Xinyi's gaze became unfocused again. Ji Zizhao did not dare to delay. She gently laid Zhong Xinyi down on the soft couch, rolled up her trouser legs, and then inserted silver needles into the Zusanli acupoint.
After everything was done, Zhong Xinyi's breathing finally stabilized considerably.
Empress Zhong watched from the side, feeling a chill run down her spine. "What exactly happened to Xinyi?"
Ji Zizhao explained the incident of Xue Yinuo and Xu Meiqing being beaten. "Xinyi was frightened. If her spirit is not calmed quickly, she might suffer from it in the future."
Empress Zhong was so surprised that she was speechless.
She had only thought that Zhong Xinyi had had an argument with someone, never imagining that the situation would be so serious.
As Empress Zhong was pondering, she saw Ji Zizhao kneeling beside Zhong Xinyi's couch and taking Zhong Xinyi's hand again.
"What are you doing?"
"Your subject needs to stimulate Xinyi's Shixuan acupoints to unblock the meridians and awaken her senses." After speaking, Ji Zizhao inserted silver needles into Zhong Xinyi's fingers, one needle for each finger, and then gradually adjusted them from shallow to deep.
Only when all the silver needles were almost a third of the way past her fingertips did Zhong Xinyi suddenly open her eyes and gasp for breath, "Hoo hoo hoo... Hoo hoo hoo..."
Ji Zizhao carefully observed Zhong Xinyi's eyes. Seeing that they had regained their focus, she gently patted her shoulder. "It's alright, don't be afraid. You are safe here with the Empress now."
Zhong Xinyi turned her head towards the voice. Upon seeing Ji Zizhao, she burst into tears like a child who had been wronged. "Zizhao, Zizhao! You scared me to death, truly scared me to death. I thought I would never come back. Those people were too terrifying..."
Ji Zizhao gently rubbed Zhong Xinyi's back, patiently and softly comforting her. Only when Zhong Xinyi's emotions had relatively stabilized did she ask, "What exactly happened?"
Zhong Xinyi's body, which had just relaxed, immediately tensed into a straight line.
Ji Zizhao did not rush, but waited quietly.
After an unknown period, Zhong Xinyi spoke with a trembling voice, "Several of us were looking for a restaurant to eat. Unexpectedly, halfway through our meal, a group of drunk men burst in. They grabbed our hands and tried to drag us out. Xu Meiqing's sleeve was even torn off. Xue Yinuo, with her eyes red with anger, started to argue with those people..."
With every word she spoke, tears streamed down Zhong Xinyi's face, yet she paused and continued, "Unexpectedly, those men grabbed Xue Yinuo by her hair and slapped her across the face, one after another. When my friend Xu Meiqing and I went to stop them, they kicked us to the ground, and then they tried to tear off our clothes. Later, another person came in and said something to those men. Then, they started dragging Xu Meiqing and Xue Yinuo out..."
Empress Zhong almost fainted upon hearing this, her face turning ashen with anger.
In broad daylight, right under the Emperor's nose, those ruffians were utterly lawless!
"Mama Dai!"
Mama Dai entered quickly. "Your Majesty."
Empress Zhong said with a cold face, "Send someone to the Emperor's side to inquire about how this matter will be handled. I want to know the news immediately!"
Mama Dai had not seen the Empress so enraged in many years and hurried out.