The Virtuous Concubine

Bai Xia smiled cheerfully: "It won't last long, will it? The Emperor is here, maybe they just can't save face."

It must be said that the two of them guessed almost exactly. They knew that the emperor's arrival itself was an attitude, a signal of willingness to reconcile.

But the emperor is still the emperor after all. Even ordinary men are too obsessed with face.

But this matter must be told to the Empress. The two of them looked at each other, and neither of them wanted to be the one to tell the Empress the news.

Life is going well, and only those who are upset would go and cause trouble for the Empress.

However, Bai Fu suggested that since Imperial Doctor Rong would come to check on Ping An's pulse today, she would definitely take over Bai Xia's reception duties, so Bai Xia agreed to the task.

Bai Xia told the story hesitantly. After listening to it, Malu just hummed, without stopping his needlework, and it seemed that he did not take the news to heart.

Bai Xia was a little surprised by Malu's attitude. She thought the queen would be moved, at least stop what she was doing and listen to her. But Malu's calmness made Bai Xia feel a little inexplicably scared.

Is it possible that the Queen has given up on the Emperor?

Bai Xia came to this conclusion, and his first reaction was that it was too late, otherwise there was still the Nalan Guard. Now the Nalan Guard was useless, was there no man in the world who could match his queen?

Seeing Bai Xia's tangled face, Malu smiled helplessly: "Why are you worrying about these things?"

The world requires women to be virtuous, well-spoken, and capable of doing good deeds, to have children, to be able to manage the household, and to be considerate to their husbands. These traditional constraints are like invisible shackles that tightly wrap around every woman, forcing them to struggle in these endless demands.

Bai Xia thought she couldn't do it. She didn't get a response from her crush, and although she felt a little disappointed, she could accept it with self-mockery. However, for a person like his own queen, why didn't the emperor give her at least the respect she deserved?

Seeing that she was full of grudges, Malu put down her needlework and stretched out her paw to tease Bai Xia: "Hey? Let me feel your heart to see if there is anything wrong--"

Bai Xia screamed and ran away, begging for mercy with a smile as she ran: "My Lady, please stop making trouble, I know I am wrong!"

Her laughter was clear and melodious, echoing in the quiet Yonghe Palace, breaking the dullness of the room. Malu refused to let her go, and got up and chased after her.

Bai Fu came in and saw this scene, and couldn't help but smile: "Your Majesty, Imperial Doctor Rong is here to check your pulse."

Malu then stopped and nodded to Bai Fu: "Okay, let him in. Bai Xia, I want to drink the basil drink."

Bai Xia naturally knew that this was because he was afraid that she would be embarrassed, so she agreed promptly and went downstairs to prepare the basil drink.

Doctor Rong soon came in and checked Malu's pulse. His fingers gently rested on Malu's wrist through the handkerchief, carefully feeling the pulse.

Doctor Rong examined her for a while, frowned, and thought to himself: Why is the pulse so fast? The queen is usually very healthy. Could it be that the queen has been restless recently and affected her health?

The emperor has not visited Yonghe Palace in the past few months, and has not even given any rewards. This is unprecedented.

People in the palace said that Concubine De had angered the emperor and had fallen out of favor. I also heard that I was concentrating on studying medicine in the Imperial Hospital. . .

He mustered up the courage to comfort himself. He thought that he should take a closer look at the Empress's condition. It would not be considered an overstep or an offense. How could it be considered peeking when it came to curing a disease and saving a life?

He raised his head and looked at Malu, but was stunned for a moment. Malu's face was still a little flushed, and her usually neat bun was a little loose because of the play, and even two strands of black and shiny hair fell down to the side of her temples.

Today, she is not wearing any makeup or fancy clothes, but she has a gentleness and composure. She is not as eye-catching and ostentatious as her previous fancy clothes, which makes people involuntarily attracted to her.

Seeing Doctor Rong's expression, Ma Lu coughed softly and broke the silence: "Doctor Rong, how is my pulse?"

Doctor Rong was caught peeking, and when he heard Malu say this to him, his face got hot: "Your Majesty's pulse is a little fast, but there's nothing serious... It's just that Your Majesty seems to be upset these days, so I hope Your Majesty can relax, as overthinking can hurt your mind and body."

Malu smiled and said, "Yes, I will do as you say. But I have not been bothered by trivial matters recently. I am still in a state of excessive sadness. How about asking the imperial physician to take another look?"

Malu was hinting at how Rong Taiyi should write the pulse case. If it were usual, Rong Ji would just nod and write according to Empress Defei's wishes.

You want to ask why Rong Ji was so obedient? Because it was the first time he met a concubine in the harem who supported him so much in his medical research. Although Rong Ji's family was not poor, it was not rich either.

But every improvement in medicinal materials, prescriptions, medical books, instruments, etc. requires repeated experiments, which means a huge amount of money. It is easy to treat the diseases of rich people, but many poor people can't afford it at all, so they can only try one life after another.

Not only did Empress Defei donate generously, she even asked the Uya family to fund him to open a charity to adopt homeless abandoned babies and teach them medical skills. She even urged him to take in a few older female apprentices first so that he could train more female doctors after he became a master.

Because he had an indelible pain in his heart - his deceased fiancée died because of illness, and due to the constraints of the etiquette of the time that men and women were not allowed to touch each other, she was unable to receive timely treatment and eventually died.

This is an eternal regret in his heart, and it is also the motivation for him to study medicine and be determined to save people all over the world.

To him, Defei's open-mindedness and support were not only financial help, but also spiritual comfort.

Moreover, people of different status will give others different impressions when doing the same thing.

If Rong Ji wanted to train female doctors, he would undoubtedly offend his conservative colleagues in the medical field, and might even be criticized and rejected. However, when Empress Defei, who held the power of the palace, proposed that the palace needed female doctors to be on duty, who dared to say anything, let alone oppose it?

Under the protection of Concubine De, he was able to explore medicine more freely and practice his ideals. Whenever it was late at night and Rong Ji was reading medical books under the lamp, he would always think of Concubine De's kindness. He knew that he could only repay Concubine De's trust by constantly improving his medical skills and saving more lives.

But today, Rong Ji suddenly realized that the gratitude and admiration he felt for Concubine De was not as simple as he thought, and had gradually deteriorated as he chewed and thought about it day after day.

With a hint of sweet entanglement, Rong Ji did not write down whatever Empress Defei said as usual. Instead, he raised his hand to feel Malu's pulse again, as if he really wanted to re-diagnose her.

Rong Ji, realizing his feelings, was completely unable to concentrate on taking the pulse. He only felt that the places where he and Concubine De were in contact were so hot that they were about to catch fire.

It seemed like a long time had passed, and it seemed like a moment had passed before Rong Ji withdrew his hand. But before he could say anything, Ma Lu, who was admiring her beauty from a close distance while he was taking her pulse, suddenly said, "I think you are the one who is worried."

Originally, Malu just wanted to trick him. She saw that Rong Ji had dark circles under his eyes, but the Uya family did not report any difficult issues in the Imperial Hospital or outside the palace recently. Unexpectedly, when Rong Ji heard her say this, his heart tightened - could it be that Empress Tong's affairs were discovered by Concubine De?