Disease rights policy

After Yao Yuze came in, he stood to the side. Since he had already said so much, Xu Shangjian could not say anything more. She turned around and told Kong Hanyan to get up, and said in a deep voice, "Tell me and the General in detail what exactly happened."

Kong Hanyan staggered to her feet, tears still streaming down her face, seemingly genuinely shocked.

Yao Yuze's tone was icy, showing no mercy, "You still went out for walks after the palace was closed, and by sheer coincidence you avoided all the Imperial Guards' patrols. Don't tell me you went out for a stroll."

Kong Hanyan's body trembled. Although she had spoken privately with Yao Yuze that afternoon, Yao Yuze had not shown her any affection. He asked her a few questions about her father as a matter of routine, which she answered one by one without saying anything extra.

At that time, she felt that Yao Yuze was a bit too cold-blooded.

I'm even more afraid now.

Xu Shangjian comforted Kong Hanyan, saying, "Tell me slowly."

Kong Hanyan felt a little warmth, and after thinking for a moment, she slowly said, "Actually, it's all my fault. This afternoon, I talked to the abbot about my mother, and I felt sad. Xiao Ran noticed it and kindly comforted me. We also talked about how the abbot taught us etiquette, and Xiao Ran said that she was too stupid and was dragging everyone down."

As Yao Yuze listened, he raised an eyebrow and stared intently at Kong Hanyan.

Kong Hanyan felt a chill, but she still pretended to be calm and continued, "We both couldn't sleep tonight, so we decided to go to Fengxing Pavilion for some extra practice. That way, Xiao Ran will be able to catch up with everyone's progress tomorrow."

"But Miss Qiao is really too stupid. She fell off the bridge while practicing? Is that right?" Yao Yuze said, looking at Kong Hanyan with a cold expression.

Kong Hanyan swallowed hard, feeling as if she had been seen through, and sat on pins and needles. She nodded and said, "We can't light lamps inside the pavilion, so we had to practice on the bridge, but it was too dark..."

Yao Yuze didn't believe it at all. He questioned, "You went from Shufang Palace to Fengxing Pavilion and avoided the three-defense patrols all the way. What a coincidence."

Kong Hanyan's hands, which were tucked into her sleeves, were already sweating. She whispered, "We really didn't encounter any Imperial Guards along the way."

A cold laugh came from above.

Kong Hanyan felt that their little tricks had been seen through and could not be fooled by Yao Yuze.

She had no choice but to turn her pleading gaze to Supervisor Xu, who, as expected, became firm and said, "The General has also heard about this. This is a matter for our Shanggong Bureau, and we will handle it properly. Thank you for your help tonight, General."

Yao Yuze: "Disrupting the palace patrols is the business of my Golden Guard."

Xu Shangjian frowned. It was just a matter of a young lady falling into the water, something he would never have dared to trouble the Imperial Guards with in the past. Why was Yao Yuze so concerned about it today?

She had her doubts, but didn't ask any further questions.

Sun Shangyi brought in Doctor Huang. Doctor Huang and Xu Shangjian were from the same hometown and often helped each other. When he heard that it was Xu Shangjian calling, he knew it was an emergency and came with his medicine box.

Unexpectedly, Yao Yuze was also there when he entered. Doctor Huang slowly greeted him, "General."

Yao Yuze nodded slightly.

Dr. Huang went to the bedside to check on Qiao Ran's condition. He first took her pulse and frowned, saying, "This young lady's pulse is very irregular, and she is emotionally unstable. She must have been quite frightened after falling into the water."

Before Qiao Ran fell into the water, Kong Hanyan gave her a pill to disrupt her pulse. She had brought it from home. Fearing that Doctor Huang would discover that Qiao Ran's internal energy was sealed if he examined her for a while longer, she quickly said, "Doctor, please take a look. Xiao Ran fell into the water and hit her head. She is still bleeding."

Dr. Huang asked for an extra lamp to be turned on, and gently parted the hair behind Qiao Ran's forehead to take a look. "She hit a rock, and it's quite serious."

"Does she need stitches?" Kong Hanyan glanced over and was secretly shocked. Qiao Ran was really ruthless to herself.

Dr. Huang nodded. "It needs to be stitched up. The stone is sharp and has cut a long gash. If it's not treated, it could get infected later, which would be troublesome."

"Then..." Upon hearing that stitches were needed, Supervisor Xu began to worry for Qiao Ran, "Isn't there any other way?"

Dr. Huang said, "This is the best and fastest way."

As the group hesitated, Yao Yuze spoke up quietly, "Dr. Huang, let's begin."

His words were neither warm nor cold, yet those who paid attention could detect a chill in them, as if he were deliberately targeting Qiao Ran.

Kong Hanyan pondered that once Qiao Ran woke up, she must tell her to stay away from Yao Yuze, as he had most likely already become suspicious of Xiao Ran.

Having received the instructions, Dr. Huang opened his medicine box and began preparations. He had someone move the lamp closer and turned to Kong Hanyan, saying, "Come over here and press down on this young lady a little."

Kong Hanyan quickly did as she was told. She went over and took Qiao Ran's hand. Under her sleeve, Qiao Ran gently hooked her finger. Kong Hanyan was startled, but she quickly regained her composure, afraid that Yao Yuze would notice something amiss.

It turned out that Qiao Ran had already woken up.

When you get stitches, won't you have to endure the pain?

Kong Hanyan gripped Qiao Ran's hand tightly, trying her best not to look away. Doctor Huang's acupuncture technique was extremely fast, and he stopped in a few breaths. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's alright. Fortunately, it didn't hit the temple. It was a little higher, and it was just covered by hair. Otherwise, such a long mark would have definitely disfigured you."

Xu Shangjian finally felt relieved and said, "Thank you, Doctor Huang."

"I've written the prescription. Have the young lady drink it and rest for a few days; she should be fine."

Yao Yuze had been staring at Qiao Ran's expression the whole time. She didn't even frown during the entire stitching process, so she was indeed unconscious. He couldn't find any evidence against Qiao Ran. He couldn't help but wonder if he was being paranoid. If the orphan girl from the Qiao family had already escaped from the capital, why would she come back to seek her own death?

He glanced at Qiao Ran one last time, then turned and left.

Kong Hanyan, who was lying by the bedside, finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had managed to get through this ordeal.

Little did she know that Qiao Ran had almost broken her finger with the force she had used to endure the pain. Kong Hanyan lowered her head, rubbed her aching fingertip, and whispered, "It's alright, Xiao Ran."

Qiao Ran on the bed seemed to relax completely.

With this commotion, Gong Qiaoran definitely can't escape now; she can only take it one step at a time.

Xu Shangjian sent two palace maids to take care of Qiao Ran and told Kong Hanyan to go back and rest. The next morning, everyone gathered in the courtyard, all curious about what had happened to Qiao Ran.

Liu Yun said angrily from the crowd, "It would be better if he were dead."

Everyone glanced at her, feeling that her words were far too malicious.

Liu Yun glared at her, "What are you looking at! Am I wrong?!"

She had just finished her outburst when Kong Hanyan's door opened, and Kong Hanyan slowly came out, giving Liu Yun a cold glare. Liu Yun, who was a bully who preyed on the weak, immediately wilted.

She looked up and saw Xu Shangjian enter, then went over and said, "Shangjian, I'm going to check on Xiao Ran."

Xu Shangjian nodded and said to the others, "Today, Consort Sun and Consort Wang will be in charge of instructing you. You will follow Consort Sun to Fengxing Pavilion."

Liu Yun hadn't gotten the upper hand yesterday, and today, with her face finally less swollen, she heard early this morning that Supervisor Xu wasn't personally teaching her anymore, so she pressed him for an answer: "What about Supervisor Xu? Aren't you going to teach us anymore?"

Xu Shangjian said, "Let's make this arrangement for today; there's no need to ask any further questions."

Liu Yun followed them away angrily.

After Kong Hanyan went in, Qiao Ran secretly opened her eyes, smiled slightly at Kong Hanyan, and the two exchanged a few words in hushed tones. By the time Xu Shangjian came in, Qiao Ran had already closed her eyes.

"Still not awake?" Xu Shangjian asked.

Kong Hanyan said, "Not yet."

Xu Shangjian sat down to the side. "This matter has already alarmed Her Majesty the Empress. She summoned me early this morning to question me. But don't worry, Her Majesty has not blamed me. It's just that someone almost died, so I will have to be punished eventually."

Kong Hanyan was slightly taken aback. "Then, Supervisor, how will Her Majesty punish me?"

“Although you have entered the palace, you have not yet become female officials. The Empress will not punish you too severely because she is mindful of your reputation,” said Supervisor Xu. “You and Qiao Xiaoran’s classes will be suspended for now. Once Qiao Xiaoran wakes up, you will go to the Empress’s palace to do cleaning and sweeping.”

"To the Empress's palace?"

"Hmm." Xu Shangjian sighed. "Her Majesty the Empress is kind and generous. After learning the whole story, she said that you two were too impetuous and didn't know your place. So she sent you to her palace to temper your tempers. I agreed on your behalf."

"Won't our studies for selecting female officials be delayed?" Kong Hanyan asked. "Shangjian, how long exactly will we stay in the Empress's palace?"

Xu Shangjian didn't know this either. She looked at Kong Hanyan, feeling both sorry for her and happy for her. "Going to sweep and clean in the Empress's palace is not necessarily a bad thing. If you two are diligent, you may gain the Empress's favor one day. With the Empress's promotion, there will be no need for the selection process."

Kong Hanyan lowered her eyes and said, "I understand, thank you, Supervisor."

After Xu Shangjian left, Qiao Ran opened her eyes and stared at the roof for a long time without saying a word.

Kong Hanyan said softly, "I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse."

"I've dragged you into this," Qiao Ran said, turning her head to the side, her wound still aching, her voice full of apology.

Kong Hanyan smiled and said, "Don't take it to heart. Didn't the Imperial Eunuch just say that Her Majesty the Empress is kind and generous? Maybe she likes us."

Qiao Ran grinned. Whether the Empress liked her or not didn't matter; she didn't want to attract anyone's attention anymore.

But once he went to the Empress's palace, the Imperial Guards would not be able to come and go as they pleased, and Yao Yuze might not see him for ten days or half a month, so he would be even safer!

When the three months were up, she failed the assessment and was naturally sent out of the palace. Once she left the capital, she would never come back.

Qiao Ran felt as if she had grasped a sliver of hope, and could only pray that the road ahead would be peaceful.

Once she gets out, she'll find out who framed her and then she'll skin that person alive!

Qiao Ran pretended to be unconscious for two more days before slowly waking up. After waking up, her memory was not very good. Sometimes she called Xu Shangjian "Sun Shangyi" and other times she called Sun Shangyi "Wang Shangyi". She also had headaches frequently.

Xu Shangjian thought she had hurt herself in the fall, so he invited Doctor Huang to take a look. Doctor Huang couldn't find anything wrong either, only saying that it was a normal phenomenon after hitting the head and that she would gradually get better after a month or two of recovery.

Xu Shangjian was finally relieved.

After class, Liu Yun went to Qiao Ran's room and made a scene. Qiao Ran didn't recognize her at all and chased after Liu Yun, causing a huge disturbance. Liu Yun's clothes were torn by Qiao Ran. She cried and cursed "crazy woman." Qiao Ran, however, was dumbfounded and asked her who she was and why she was in her room.

Liu Yun was furious. Everyone was even more frantic after Qiao Ran fell, and they kept their distance from her. Qiao Ran was happy to be free.