A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

After lunch, Qin Suiyou took Qin Yong's pulse.

As the Vice Minister of Rites, Qin Yong not only had to be on duty, but also had to go to the palace to attend court every three days except for his days off. The reason he was able to stay at home today to wait for Qin Suiyou to return to her parents' home was not only because he was the head of her family and had such a holiday, but also because he had taken sick leave.

A few days ago, during the palace banquet, Qin Yong was unusually busy. Afraid of disturbing Yun Shi's rest by returning late, he often stayed at the Ministry of Rites in the palace. He didn't pay attention to keeping warm and caught a cold. He took medicine intermittently without telling his family, but it didn't help. Half a month ago, he suddenly had a fever for several days and developed mild pneumonia. That's when he took sick leave. After that, Qin Suiyou examined his pulse and prescribed medicine for him.

"I'll modify the prescription, and Uncle can recover after taking it at the same frequency for another half month."

"That's good."

Yun glanced at her stubborn husband and said, "Suiyou, why don't you just change the prescription to one that tastes awful? Your uncle should learn his lesson."

"This……"

Qin Yong wanted to refute, but looking at his wife's slightly threatening eyes, and considering his status as an elder, if he said that he couldn't change the prescription, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that he couldn't drink bitter medicine?

Just as Qin Yong was about to swallow the bitter pill, Qin Suiyou said, "The herbs in the new prescription are basically not strong-tasting. If you want the medicine to taste worse, you'll have to add extra herbs, which will probably make it more expensive than the original."

Upon hearing that it would cost more money, Lady Yun gave up. Having grown up in a merchant family, she had developed a keen interest in being thrifty and would not spend money unnecessarily, to the point that outsiders thought that the Qin Minister's residence was the poorest official's mansion in Yejing.

Afterwards, the uncle and nephews chatted briefly about family matters, and Qin Suiyou returned to the Prince An's Mansion as dusk fell.

……

The next day, the weather was a bit cool, and a light drizzle started before dawn, which stopped after breakfast.

"The rain has stopped, and it won't rain during the day. Let's carry him over when the road is drier around noon."

Today, we are to carry Beitang Yan to Yuqing Courtyard. Several tall men dressed in black outfits arrived early at Wutong Courtyard. They were all members of Beitang Yan's famous personal guard, led by Captain Shuo Han.

As his name suggests, Shuo Han was so cold that he had no friends. He always had the same expressionless face, and when he heard Qin Suiyou's order, his tone was completely flat, like a robot without any emotion.

It was still early, so Shuo Han and the others left first.

As soon as the person stepped outside, Lu Xi asked, "Why does that expressionless face look so familiar?"

Qin Suiyou replied, "Didn't you just meet him the night before last, and you even stepped right over him?"

"The night before last..."

Lu Xi stroked his chin and recalled for a while.

"Ah! It's that big oaf from that night. He's so tall, yet he's always blocking my way."

"Don't be jealous of others just because you're short. You could have easily gone around them..."

Shuo Han, who hadn't gone far outside, paused slightly, but resumed his steps before the others noticed.

Around noon, when it was almost time, Shuo Han and the others carried Bei Tangyan to the prepared ward in Yuqing Courtyard using a stretcher that had been temporarily modified according to Qin Suiyou's instructions.

"The time I instructed for the incense burning was a bit late."

After Beitang Yan was settled, Shuo Han and the others had nothing to do, so they went out first. Qin Suiyou, however, only took a walk around the room before discovering many problems.

An unfamiliar maid suddenly knelt down.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I misremembered the time and missed the time for lighting incense. I did not do it on purpose."

After saying that, she kowtowed to the ground again and said, "Please, my lord, spare my life!"

The maid's voice suddenly turned into a sob, startling the other maids and servants who were still tidying up, causing them to kneel down in fear.

Qin Suiyou narrowed his eyes, staring at the maid who had admitted her mistake without saying a word.

Lu Xi was startled by the scene before her. "The Lord hasn't said anything yet, and you're already asking for mercy? It makes our Lord sound like a tyrant who treats human life like dirt."

The maid raised her head, seemingly surprised by Lu Xi's words. After a moment of surprise, she knelt down and crawled to Qin Suiyou's side.

Qin Suiyou was standing in a corner with nowhere to hide, and a maid grabbed the corner of his clothes.

Tears welled in the maid's eyes as she sobbed pitifully amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.

“I am just an ordinary servant in this household, and I should do more work, but they disregard my instructions and push all the things that should be theirs onto me…”

This means that someone made her do all the work, which caused her to miss the incense-lighting time that Qin Suiyou had instructed. On the surface, she was trying to explain herself to avoid being punished, but everyone found her behavior strange and completely nonsensical.

Qin Suiyou's instructions on the exact time to light the incense were just an occasional obsessive-compulsive tactic. He had calculated the time he would arrive, and the incense would be lit at the specified time so that the fragrance would be most effective when he arrived. However, if it was a little late, he wasn't that harsh; he just wanted to remind his servants to be punctual. He really didn't expect it to cause this situation.

Too lazy to argue with others, Qin Suiyou was impatient with dealing with such a pointless matter, so he tossed his clothes and walked out of the room to find Li Yuanyuan.

Lu Xi didn't rush to follow, but instead glanced at the maid who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Tsk tsk tsk, she does have a pretty face."

Lu Xi shook her head, her face full of regret.

“Um…you, take her to your steward and tell him that this maid was disrespectful and offended the emperor. Just deal with her according to the rules. But remember to tell the steward not to let her leave the manor, lest she offend someone else.”

After speaking, Lu Xi walked out under the incredulous gaze of the maid, and added a sentence when he reached the door.

"Oh, and remember to remove that incense burner, and open all the windows to let in some fresh air for half an hour before closing them."

When Lu Xi arrived, Qin Suiyou was watching Li Yuanyuan copy the "Rare Treasures" volume of the "Ten Thousand Herbs Manual".

"Oh! How much have you copied, Mr. Li?"

Li Yuanyuan acted as if she hadn't heard anything and didn't even glance at Lu Xi.

Lu Xi didn't expect him to answer. After pouring herself a cup of tea, she went straight to Qin Suiyou and sat down next to him.

"Oh dear, your handwriting is terrible. You've written so much and you still haven't improved!"

At this moment, Li Yuanyuan did not pretend not to hear. He stopped writing, looked at Lu Xi, and snorted coldly.

"Humph."

"I don't know who it is, their handwriting is so messy you have to guess what it is, and when they draw an eagle, it doesn't even look like a chick."

Lu Xi was furious and wanted to retort, but Li Yuanyuan said again, "Move the teacup away a bit. If you get it wet, Young Master Qin will never forgive you."

Looking at Qin Suiyou and seeing that he had no intention of helping her, Lu Xi angrily gulped down her tea, turned her head away to show her dissatisfaction, and puffed up her face like a bun.

At this moment, Li Yuanyuan also stopped writing and turned to talk to Qin Suiyou.

What happened over there just now?

“A strange maid didn’t light incense at the time I instructed. I just wanted to remind her, but she knelt down and begged me to spare her life.”

At this point, Qin Suiyou smiled helplessly.

"Is the Prince An's mansion extremely harsh on its servants? Why is she reacting so strongly?"

Li Yuanyuan replied, "Of course not. Prince An and his wife are both kind-hearted people. I have been in Prince An's mansion for so long. Although I do not interfere in external affairs, I know that they would never easily beat or kill their servants."

At this moment, Lu Xi coughed lightly twice.

"Cough cough."

"What? You've caught a cold? I have plenty of medicine, let me prescribe you a dose."

Dissatisfied with Li Yuanyuan's words, Lu Xi turned around and glared at him.

"I'm not sick. Even if I were, I would only take the medicine prescribed by Youyou."

After saying that, he proudly puffed out his chest, showing his strong principles, and then exaggeratedly raised his arms to hug his chest.

"Stop being poor."

Qin Suiyou knew his personality well; he must have something he couldn't hold back, which was why he took the initiative to speak while pretending to be angry.

"Did you find anything?"

Lu Xi pouted, and after a moment of restraint, she finally spoke.

“That maidservant has added something to your spices.”

Qin Suiyou frowned. He didn't doubt Lu Xi's words; Lu Xi wouldn't joke about these things. However, Qin Suiyou himself was extremely sensitive to these matters, but he hadn't noticed it just now.

"What is it?"

Li Yuanyuan asked first, her intuition telling her that what he added was probably not something good, but the result was beyond her expectations.

Lu Xi said, "It's a snake flower."

Li Yuanyuan didn't understand what the spices contained and didn't react at first, but Qin Suiyou, the maker, understood the key point in an instant.

The spices originally contained snake flower, but the amount of snake flower used was very particular.

One reason for the name "Snake Sun Flower" is that snakes often gather in the areas where it grows. Another reason is that it has aphrodisiac effects that men love.

Qin Suiyou used snake flower to neutralize the medicinal properties of a cold-natured herb in the spice. If the dosage was increased, it would have an aphrodisiac effect.

Lu Xi was very pleased with himself for discovering this, and he didn't forget to comfort Qin Suiyou.

"The incense was lit too late, and the medicinal properties hadn't fully evaporated yet, which is why Youyou didn't notice. I only did it because I have a special method."

"Truly insidious."

Upon hearing that the spices originally contained snake flower, Li Yuanyuan immediately understood.

The incense burner was placed in the inner room, where only Beitang Yan and Qin Suiyou would stay for long. Qin Suiyou, being healthy, might embarrass himself if he inhaled it and the effects of the drug took hold, while Beitang Yan, a patient who was unable to move, would not only be aroused but also risk his life if he stayed there for too long.

"But the person behind this..."

Qin Suiyou pondered for a moment, then asked, "Lu Xi, how did you deal with that maid?"

"I handed her over to the manager, but I told him to keep a close eye on her."

"Okay, now is not the time to investigate these things. Just make sure no one gets away. Don't let Lu Yu investigate yet."

Thinking of something, Qin Suiyou asked Lu Xi, "Has the incense burner been removed?"

"Of course we removed them. I even had them open the windows for ventilation."

Hearing this, Qin Suiyou felt relieved and then looked at Li Yuanyuan.

"I'll find some herbs here, grind them up, and then I'll come over."

By then, the incense had mostly dissipated.

"it is good."