Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Xiao Lan and Wu Yuyu traveled quickly and soon arrived at the city gate. It was midday, and the sunlight shone on the earth, illuminating their slightly tired faces.

After stopping, Wu Yuyu breathed softly, turned to look at Xiao Lan beside her, and asked, "Sister, did Doctor Cui say exactly when he would arrive here?" Her eyes revealed a hint of urgency and anticipation.

Xiao Lan frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before replying, "I received a letter from him a few days ago saying that he would have breakfast in Jizhou this morning before setting off. If all goes well, he should arrive here in the afternoon. However, the journey is long, and there will inevitably be some delays, so let's wait patiently. Anyway, we don't have anything urgent to do this afternoon." After saying that, she gently patted Wu Yuyu's shoulder to comfort her.

Then, Xiao Lan raised her head and looked towards the end of the road in the distance, as if trying to see the approaching figure through the winding path. A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling a few strands of hair on her forehead, but she was oblivious, focused intently on the distance.

Time ticked by, and the surrounding area bustled with people. Xiao Lan and Wu Yuyu stood quietly in place, waiting for the important figure—Doctor Cui—to appear.

After finishing her conversation with Wu Yuyu, Xiao Lan pondered to herself: Cui Sumu had brought his entire family with him, so their carriage would naturally be much heavier than a single-person carriage, and their travel speed probably wouldn't be much faster. Thinking this, she turned to Wu Yuyu beside her and said softly, "Little Yu'er, for some reason, I couldn't sleep well last night, and now I feel drowsy like a tide. I plan to take a nap in the carriage; you can play here for a while." With that, Xiao Lan turned and walked towards the carriage.

The carriage attendant deftly retrieved the cushions and thin blankets from under the seats and quickly spread them out. Once everything was ready, Xiao Lan climbed into the carriage without hesitation and comfortably lay down on the newly laid-out bedding, as if this small space was her most peaceful resting place. In the blink of an eye, she closed her eyes and began to enjoy this rare afternoon nap.

As it turned out, Xiao Lan's extraordinary keen insight and accurate judgment were truly astonishing! Just after Xiao Lan had comfortably enjoyed a full hour of afternoon nap, Dingding quietly came up to tidy up the mat and blankets. However, at that moment, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from afar, breaking the afternoon tranquility.

A magnificent horse galloped in like lightning, kicking up a cloud of dust. As the person drew closer, Li Yuan took a closer look and was overjoyed to discover that the man was actually a member of the escort agency. After some questioning, everyone learned the whole story.

It turned out that since entering Jinzhou, Cui's mother had been feeling unwell, probably due to the change in environment. Fortunately, she had the skilled physician Cui Sumu by her side, who carefully tended to her health. However, because of this, the carriage had to slow down considerably to avoid aggravating Cui's mother's condition.

At this moment, they were still forty or fifty miles away from the capital's gates, but Cui Sumu knew that Xiao Lan had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. To avoid making Xiao Lan wait too long and anxious, he specially sent this servant ahead to inform her of the situation, so that she would be aware of the situation and not worry too much.

So Xiao Lan and Wu Yuyu waited for another hour before finally meeting the entire Cui family. The Cui family consisted of six people. Cui Sumu and his wife, Cui Liushi, came over first to greet Xiao Lan, followed by Old Madam Cui with Cui Sumu's sister and Cui Sumu's two children.

Cui Sumu strode up to Xiao Lan and Wu Yuyu, a humble and gentle smile on his face. He bowed slightly to the two of them in a standard manner and said, "Greetings, ladies. I am so sorry to have kept you waiting!" After speaking, he gently raised his hand and pointed to the side, then introduced, "This is my wife, Liu Yunniang."

Following Cui Sumu's gaze, Xiao Lan saw Liu Yunniang dressed in an elegant light blue robe, its flowing fabric seemingly carried by a gentle breeze. Her hair cascaded like clouds over her shoulders, her meticulously styled hair adorned with several delicate pearl hairpins, further accentuating her beautiful and captivating face. Especially striking were her eyes, clear and bright like autumn water, radiating an elegant and refined charm that captivated all who beheld them.

At this moment, Liu Yunniang also smiled and took a small step forward, gracefully bowing to Xiao Lan and Wu Yuyu, and said softly, "Yunniang greets Miss Lan and Miss Yuyu. It is truly an honor for Yunniang to meet you both today." Her voice was clear and melodious, like a nightingale singing in a valley, extremely pleasant to hear.

Xiao Lan's gaze fell upon the woman before him. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water, and her every gesture exuded gentleness and virtue. She acted with grace and poise, without a trace of affectation. In that instant, Xiao Lan's fondness for her surged. A slight smile played on his lips as he said softly, "Madam Liu, there's no need for such formality. The journey is long and arduous; you must be very tired. Why don't you and Doctor Cui board my carriage? I happen to have some matters I'd like to discuss with you both." With that, he smiled at Cui Sumu and Liu Yun, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Cui Sumu and Liu Yun exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. Seeing their consent, Xiao Lan turned to Wu Yuyu beside her and softly instructed, "Yuyu, you and Dingding can get into Uncle Li's carriage. Also, please call Yue'er here." Wu Yuyu obediently nodded in agreement, then turned and walked towards Dingding, who was not far away, and quickly led Dingding to Uncle Li's carriage. At the same time, a pretty maidservant hurried over; it was Yue'er.

Seeing this, Xiao Lan smiled slightly, then personally led Cui Sumu and his wife to the carriage she had come in. Once they were seated, Xiao Lan followed them into the carriage. Meanwhile, Wu Yuyu and Dingding led the rest of the Cui family entourage into another carriage. With a light crack of the whip from the driver, both carriages slowly started moving, their wheels rolling forward, gradually disappearing into the distance along the winding road…

At this moment, inside the spacious carriage, Xiao Lan sat up slightly, looked sincerely at the person opposite her, and then spoke directly without hesitation: "In all fairness, you have all traveled a long way and should be allowed to rest for a few days. But to be honest, my shop here has basically completed the renovation and is currently in dire need of female healers to be on duty! Not only that, but the other newly recruited personnel also urgently need to receive relevant training, so this matter really cannot be delayed. I hope that Madam Cui can understand that this period may be a bit tiring."

After a brief pause, Xiao Lan continued, "There's another important matter I need to discuss with Doctor Cui. How's the progress on the medicine formula? Oh, by the way, I've purchased a house in the back street of Wutong Residence, and it's all renovated. All that's left is for all the staff to be in place before it's ready for immediate use! However, with only Doctor Cui here, I'm afraid our resources are somewhat limited. And since I'm not entirely familiar with the capital, I'd like to ask Doctor Cui if you know of any highly skilled doctors you could recommend? Or perhaps someone you know who would be willing to come and help?"

Although Xiao Lan had arrived in the capital, she and Cui Sumu maintained frequent correspondence during this period. Furthermore, Xiao Lan specifically instructed Li Yuan and Da Baozi to try every means to find out about Cui Sumu's experiences in the capital. After some effort, they finally learned that Cui Sumu's master was Doctor Liu, a highly renowned and respected physician in the capital. Cui Sumu himself had also gained some fame during his time working at Dechuntang.

However, unexpectedly, three years ago, due to a sudden family tragedy requiring him to attend the funeral and observe mourning, Cui Sumu had to hastily leave Dechuntang. This caused resentment from the manager of Dechuntang, creating some friction between them. In fact, this was the key reason why Cui Sumu was unable to return to Dechuntang.

But for the clever and resourceful Xiao Lan, these problems were no challenge at all. Through their correspondence, Xiao Lan had thoroughly investigated all the relationships within the Cui family. Not only that, she even requested that Cui Sumu bring his unmarried younger sister to the capital. Xiao Lan's arrangement was, of course, the result of careful consideration. She knew that if she could bring Cui's sister to the capital, then regardless of whether Cui's sister was getting married or whatever happened to Old Madam Cui in the next fifteen years, Cui Sumu wouldn't need to worry about it and could focus entirely on handling various affairs in the capital.

Furthermore, through their correspondence, the two discussed and agreed that once Liu Yun arrived in the capital, she would serve as a medical instructor at Xiao Lan's shop. From then on, Liu Yun would personally teach and instruct all newly recruited female healers and purchased maids.

In addition, having learned in advance of Cui Sumu's important position in the medical community in the capital, the letter specifically mentioned the hope that Cui Sumu could recommend some doctors to participate in the research and development of the prescription.

Seeing that Xiao Lan had inquired about this matter, Cui Sumu frankly said, "Miss Lan may not be familiar enough with the situation in our medical circle. In fact, although everyone seems to be a doctor on the surface, this profession also emphasizes lineage and factionalism. Take my master, for example. He was from Anhui Province and honed his superb medical skills by traveling around. Because of this, when we disciples inherited his mantle, we were trained in the same way. Although I dare not claim that my medical skills are unparalleled or divine, I have seen many strange and difficult cases. However, because of this special upbringing, the only doctors I can trust besides Yunniang are my master and another senior brother. It's a pity that my senior brother is still traveling around and it's difficult to contact him for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lan immediately smiled and asked with great interest, "The master that Doctor Cui mentioned, could it be the famous Doctor Liu Hesheng of Dechun Hall?"

Without hesitation, Cui Sumu nodded and replied, "That's right, Liu Hesheng is my mentor and also my father-in-law!" He gave the answer without much thought.

In fact, Xiao Lan had already thoroughly investigated the relationship between Liu Hesheng and Cui Sumu through various channels within just a few days of arriving in the capital. However, to avoid upsetting or offending Cui Sumu, Xiao Lan remained silent about the matter, acting as if nothing was amiss. Naturally, Cui Sumu also failed to notice anything unusual.

At this moment, Xiao Lan continued, "To be honest, since I arrived in the capital, I have spent a lot of effort learning about the renowned doctors here. If I had to name the most outstanding one, it would undoubtedly be your teacher, Doctor Liu! If he could grace my humble abode with his presence and help me study the prescriptions, that would be wonderful. As long as Doctor Liu is willing to come and assist me, I will certainly provide him with extremely generous treatment and conditions, and I will absolutely not let him down."

Upon hearing this, Cui Sumu frowned slightly and lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he slowly said, "Let me consider this matter. After I have properly dealt with things here, I will first visit my master and ask for his opinion on this matter."

Xiao Lan was well aware that the relationship between Cui Sumu and Doctor Liu had become somewhat strained due to the previous mourning incident. Fortunately, Yunniang had now returned, and she figured that with Yunniang mediating, Cui Sumu would likely put in a good word for her. Thinking of this, Xiao Lan couldn't help but smile and nod slightly in agreement.