Chapter 52 Has Cressida Gone Mad, Wanting to Drag the Whole Family to Death?
The maids responded and lifted the curtain. Marshall's handsome face, adorned with a smile, came into everyone's view. He wore a silver-white brocade robe with a golden crown holding his hair. An innate royal dignity surrounded him as he walked in with unhurried steps.
"Patrick, I heard you injured your leg. I hope you don't mind my sudden visit," his voice was as smooth as jade striking jade, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room.
"Your Highness Marshall, you're too kind. I'm deeply honored!" Patrick quickly bowed to show respect, but Marshall reached out to support his arm.
"No need for such formality. How can you tire yourself when you're injured? Come, sit back on the bed." Marshall personally helped Patrick back to the bed, his every gesture showing genuine concern.
Patrick's face, slightly rounded from middle-aged weight gain, was now filled with awkwardness and unease. In contrast, Marshall sat calmly to the side, his silver robe making his bearing even more graceful and composed, his eyes always carrying a gentle smile.
After the pleasantries, Marshall got to the point: "I've specially brought Dr. Hayes from the Royal Medical Academy to examine you. Leg injuries are no small matter—if left untreated, they could become chronic problems."
Patrick's heart skipped a beat. Clifford Hayes was the royal physician who treated members of the royal family year-round. Even wealthy nobles could rarely see him, no matter how much they offered. Patrick immediately tried to struggle up to bow, his large frame looking particularly clumsy on the bed: "I'm deeply grateful for Your Highness's concern. I can never repay this kindness!"
"Don't move around, or you'll aggravate your injury." Marshall gently pressed his shoulder, his tone carrying a warmth that brooked no refusal.
Clifford, wearing a blue-green official robe, walked in carrying a medicine box. After bowing to Patrick, he immediately began checking his pulse and examining the leg injury. Taking advantage of this moment, Marshall looked up and scanned the Hamilton family members present, his gaze finally settling on Cressida in the corner.
Cressida lowered her eyes slightly, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of her sleeve. Marshall's visit was completely unexpected, and she needed to recalculate her next moves. Surprises were normal in any plan—as long as she handled it properly, the situation would still be under control.
Marshall's gaze lingered on her face for only two moments before moving away, not drawing much attention. But this brief look scared Rose so much that cold sweat broke out. She hurriedly looked at Clio, only to see Clio also wiping sweat from her chin with a handkerchief, looking anxious.
Clio's mind was already in chaos. If Clifford examined the prescription, he would surely discover something wrong. Originally, she had planned to blame the medicine's ineffectiveness on the bad luck Cressida brought, using this opportunity to get rid of Cressida while buying time for the fake prescription. But she never expected Marshall to show up.
Meanwhile, an inconspicuous carriage was parked not far from the manor. Verity tightly held back Louie, who was about to get out, staring warily at the two carriages with golden dragon emblems at the manor entrance.
"It's Prince Marshall's carriage." Verity's expression immediately became serious. Louie had come at Miguel's request, and hearing that Marshall was there, he couldn't help but hesitate: "Should we still go in?"
"Dr. Lawson, please wait in the carriage. I'll go in first to check the situation." Verity made a quick decision, pushed open the carriage door, and quietly left.
Inside the room, Clifford had finished his examination but was only stroking his beard thoughtfully, not rushing to check the prescription and medicine residue. Seeing this, Patrick grew more nervous and couldn't help asking: "Dr. Hayes, is my leg injury difficult to treat? Please speak frankly."
"Patrick, don't worry. Whatever medicine is needed, I will do everything to obtain it," Marshall stated from the side, his tone steady as a mountain.
Only then did Clifford bow and answer: "Your Highness, it's not a matter of difficult medication, but rather—I dare say—I haven't found any leg injury on Mr. Hamilton."
"What did you say?" Patrick was completely stunned. Marshall's expression remained calm as he simply instructed: "Explain it more plainly."
"The old injury Mr. Hamilton mentioned—I've repeatedly examined the bones, and they show no abnormalities. As for the recent pain, it seems more like a simple muscle strain from a minor bump, not a serious injury." As Clifford spoke, he personally went forward to massage Patrick's calf muscles.
After just a brief massage, Patrick felt most of the soreness in his leg disappear. He moved his leg, his face full of amazement: "It really doesn't hurt anymore. How is this possible? When I broke my leg before, I couldn't sleep for three days and nights from the pain. This time I couldn't even sit still!"
Marshall's smile remained warm, but his eyes held more scrutiny: "Since the injury isn't serious, why did Patrick feel such unbearable pain?"
Clio quickly stepped forward to explain: "Your Highness may not know, but there was a fire at the manor some days ago. Mr. Hamilton was probably overly frightened and accidentally bumped his leg without realizing it."
Clifford immediately nodded in agreement: "Indeed, these are symptoms of a minor muscle strain. With a little treatment, he'll recover."
"So it was all a misunderstanding." Marshall chuckled lightly, but his tone suddenly shifted: "However, I recall that when General Hamilton went to war in your father's place, it was because your leg injury prevented you from going to battle, wasn't it, Patrick?"
Marshall's words struck like thunder, making everyone's faces change dramatically. Patrick immediately thought of the secret that Cressida had disguised herself as a man to join the army in her brother's place—this was a capital offense of deceiving the emperor! He broke out in a sweat, tongue-tied, not knowing how to explain.
At this critical moment, Rose suddenly stepped forward, pointing at Brian, the doctor Clio had brought, and shrieked: "It must be him causing trouble! Father wasn't seriously injured at all, yet he lied and said the injury was severe!"
"What? What makes you say that?" Marshall's gaze fell on Brian.
"Father's leg injury was a minor problem, but he insisted it was severe. He clearly had ulterior motives!" Rose tried to shift the blame. Patrick also chimed in: "He was the one who treated my leg injury ten years ago too!"
Brian was so frightened he fell to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Highness, please investigate! This has nothing to do with me!"
"Mother specifically invited this doctor," Cressida spoke up at the right moment, her voice clear and calm. "He treated both leg injuries, so Mother must have great faith in his medical skills."
Marshall's gaze returned to Cressida, this time lingering longer, his deep eyes seeming to see through people's hearts. Cressida calmly met his gaze, her expression composed.
"Mother doesn't understand medicine. In her panic, she mistakenly trusted the wrong person," Rose quickly defended Clio, but Cressida pressed on: "Rose is well-versed in medicine. Didn't you notice anything suspicious about Father's injury?"
Cressida's question left Rose speechless, her face turning extremely ugly. Michael was already scared out of his wits, only keeping his head down and trembling, not daring to breathe loudly. He feared both that Marshall would discover the fake prescription and that the secret of Cressida joining the army would be exposed.
"Clifford, please examine these prescriptions and medicine residue," Cressida turned to Clifford, bringing the topic back on track.
Clifford picked up the prescription to examine it, his brow gradually furrowing: "This prescription can only tonify the kidneys and boost energy. It has nothing to do with treating leg injuries." He then checked the medicine residue, his expression growing more serious. He turned to Marshall and bowed: "Your Highness, the residue matches the prescription—all useless medicine."
"Father, now you should understand who's been deceiving you, shouldn't you?" Cressida looked at Patrick, her tone calm yet carrying tremendous weight.
Clio stared at Cressida in horror, as if accusing her of being crazy. If she kept questioning, the entire family would be implicated! Patrick's back was already soaked with cold sweat. He wished Cressida would shut up immediately, but under Marshall's gaze, he didn't even have the courage to lift his head.
Marshall picked up his teacup and took a light sip, his smooth voice breaking the deathly silence: "Patrick, what exactly is going on here?"