Disease rights policy

The next day, after court, Li Chen came to Kunning Palace again. He thought about it all night and still felt unsatisfied.

“Mother, you know very well…” Li Chen stood before the Empress, tears welling in his eyes, “I love A-Ning.”

“Chen’er, you can continue to like A Ning in the future, and you can even openly dote on her, but she can only be your sworn sister.”

The Empress couldn't bear to sever her ties with Li Chen herself, but she had no other choice.

Li Chen covered his face with his hands, revealing his heartache to his beloved mother.

The Empress shook her head and said, "Chen'er, don't blame your mother."

"Your subject dares not," Li Chen said dejectedly.

"Chen'er, your mother doesn't want things to turn out this way either, but for the sake of long-term considerations, you need to understand the principle that a tall tree catches the wind. A'ning is still unmarried, and so are you. If the court knows that you admire A'ning, some people will become fearful, and your path will become even more difficult."

Li Chen understood perfectly well that as the Crown Prince and the strongest contender for the position, countless people were eyeing his position. If he got too close to outside officials, someone would impeach him, let alone become family with the current prime minister.

Everyone knows that Prime Minister Chen Chang has no sons. As Chen Jinning is an only daughter, her future husband will surely become someone Chen Chang supports.

"Chen'er, the grand plan has not yet succeeded. Your mother just doesn't want your years of hard work to be in vain."

Li Chen composed himself and regained his usual virtuous demeanor, pressing his brow as he said, "Your subject understands, thank you for your trouble, Mother."

The Empress looked at her with satisfaction. Outsiders thought she was virtuous and gentle, but those were qualities that the Empress should and must have, not those of Gao Anrong.

For ten years, she played the role of a good wife and a good empress, treating everyone with kindness and generosity. But when she was out of the public eye, she would get tired and would carefully plan for her son.

Not only did Li Chen need to win the Emperor's favor, she also had to be extremely careful not to make the slightest mistake.

No one can live a life without hardship in this palace.

Gao Anrong was tired, but she couldn't show it at all.

"Mother, the daughter of the Prefect of Qianzhou, Qiao Xiaoran, who is kept in your palace?"

The Empress asked in confusion, "Chen'er, why are you asking her? Why did you suddenly notice her?"

Li Chen pursed his lips. "What does Mother think of this girl?"

The Empress assumed that Li Chen was also attracted to Qiao Ran's beauty, and reminded him, "Chen'er, no matter what Qiao Xiaoran is like, it has nothing to do with you. She is just the daughter of a governor."

Li Chen knew the Empress had misunderstood and wanted to say something, but he felt that there was no point in clarifying some things; it would only make him seem petty and give others cause for gossip.

Finally, he just smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mother. I know what's important. But Qiao Xiaoran is not as simple as she seems. I want to tell you to be careful."

The Empress's suspicions deepened, and she asked him, "What should I be wary of in her?"

Li Chen: "Just have someone keep a close eye on things. Perhaps I'm overthinking it."

If she were an ordinary woman, how could she so easily discern the political situation in the court and have the audacity to come before him and say that Li Chen was always a cautious and meticulous person, and that Qiao Xiaoran was slightly different from the daughters of other officials?

-

With Li Chen's reminder, the Empress did pay more attention to Qiao Ran a few more times and found that she was timid in front of others, but completely disregarded etiquette in private and had no ladylike demeanor at all. She was like a completely different person.

The Empress then understood why Supervisor Xu was troubled by her but didn't reprimand her. She was too willful and unrestrained. She didn't seem like someone who should live in the palace. She should be free and unrestrained.

Yingzi served tea to the Empress and whispered, "Your Majesty, should we teach her some manners? Otherwise, if we let her go back to Shufang Palace like this, people will think that the rules in Your Majesty's palace are also lax."

The Empress pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "No need. She's a smart woman; can't you tell?"

Yingzi shook her head.

"Then can you see whether she has ever behaved improperly in public since entering Kunning Palace?"

Yingzi thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“She is clever,” the Empress smiled. “If Chen’er hadn’t reminded us, how would we have discovered her true nature? As long as she doesn’t make a mistake in front of others, she won’t disgrace Kunning Palace.”

Yingzi listened attentively, admiring her mistress's kindness, but she also wondered, "Your Highness, how did His Highness know Qiao Xiaoran's temperament?"

The Empress remained silent upon hearing this question. Since Chen'er was unwilling to say more, she did not press further, as Chen'er was a person who knew how to conduct herself.

"Keep them here for three more days, then send them back to Shufang Palace," the Empress said. "They can't fall behind in Supervisor Xu's lessons. Ultimately, whether they stay or leave depends on their abilities and their own wishes."

"Yes."

Qiao Ran was completely unaware that the Empress was secretly watching her, because she was busy working for the other palace maids and finally got the chance to go to the Imperial Hospital to get rid of the dregs of the medicine.

Before leaving, Kong Hanyan repeatedly told her, "Don't do anything reckless. If you get caught, you'll be in big trouble."

Qiao Ran repeatedly assured Kong Hanyan that she wouldn't cause trouble, which put her at ease. But as soon as she left Kunning Palace, Qiao Ran's expression changed. The things were all laid out in front of her, so there was no reason for her not to take them.

With her exceptional skills, even if the Imperial Hospital installed surveillance cameras, they wouldn't be able to capture any evidence of her crimes. What is she afraid of?

Holding the plaque for Kunning Palace, even the junior staff of the Imperial Medical Academy greeted her warmly and asked solicitously, "Sister, are you here to collect medicine?"

“No,” Qiao Ran said with a smile, “I’m bringing over the dregs of medicine from Kunning Palace.”

"Just give it to me, thank you for making the trip, sister." The young doctor took the medicine from Qiao Ran, bowed, and went to put away the dregs.

Seeing that no one was around, Qiao Ran quietly entered the main pharmacy based on the information provided by Kong Hanyan. She specifically chose noon because there was no one at the Imperial Hospital.

The pharmacy was indeed quiet. Qiao Ran was dazzled by the hundreds of names of medicinal herbs. She spent a lot of time finally finding the two herbs she needed to restore her internal energy. One was displayed in the pile of herbs, and she quickly tucked it into her sleeve as she passed by, but the other...

Qiao Ran looked up and saw that the herbs were on the fourth floor. She would have to climb a ladder to get them, and what if someone happened to come in and see her...

After hesitating for two seconds, Qiao Ran turned around, closed the door, moved the ladder, and climbed up in a few quick movements. In the blink of an eye, she had already gotten her hands on it. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Qiao Ran was overjoyed; her inner strength was finally about to be restored.

Just as she was about to move the ladder back to its original position and leave the Imperial Hospital quietly, a question came from the doorway: "Why is this door closed? I remember it being open. General, please come with me."

Qiao Ran was shocked. Yao Yuze!

Yao Yuze pushed open the door and handed the prescription to the young servant the moment he entered, saying, "Prepare the medicine according to this prescription."

"Yes, I will catch it and send it to the General's Jinwu Guard."

Yao Yuze glanced at him and said, "No need, I'll wait here."

After saying that, he sat down to the side. The young steward said, "General, please wait a moment, I will get it ready soon."

Yao Yuze said calmly, "No rush."

“Angelica, Astragalus, Cassia Seed…” The young maid searched through the cabinets one by one according to the prescription, muttering to herself, “Black nightshade… oh, it’s in the back.”

He went over to move the ladder, then muttered, "What's wrong with your brain? I don't remember the ladder being here."

Yao Yuze didn't take his words to heart at all. He wasn't in a hurry. The Jinwu Guard also rested at noon. He didn't have the habit of taking a nap. It didn't matter where he was.

Despite his grumbling, Xiao Yuan was still quite nimble. He put down the ladder at the back and was about to climb up when he was startled by the person hiding behind him. He cried out "Ah!" and almost fell off the ladder.

"Sister, why are you here?"

After receiving the dregs of the medicine, shouldn't you return to Kunning Palace?

Qiao Ran knew Yao Yuze was outside, and she was both surprised and scared. So she deliberately lowered her voice and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I accidentally got lost. I'll leave now, you go ahead with your business."

The young man looked at her suspiciously.

Qiao Ran moved her seat aside for him and said, "Go get your medicine quickly, I'll be going now."

She said she was going to leave, but Qiao Ran's heels seemed to be stuck to the ground, and she didn't move her legs for a long time. The courtyard servant looked at her with increasing curiosity.

Qiao Ran then steeled herself and walked out, but how could someone who was down on their luck suddenly have a change of fortune?

A sharp voice came from behind, "Stop."

Yao Yuze heard the noise and recognized Qiao Ran's voice. Although she could pretend, it was nothing but a child's play in front of Yao Yuze.

Qiao Ran patted her chest, slowly turned around, and revealed a bright smile, "General, what a coincidence."

Yao Yuze looked at her with a mocking smile.

The maidservant said, "General, this is the elder sister from the Empress's courtyard."

"I know." Yao Yuze walked through the palace, still dressed in his light armor, one hand on the sword at his waist, the other behind his back. He took two steps slowly toward Qiao Ran and said coldly, "This general is curious, what are you doing here?"

The young attendant said, "General, my sister has come to remove the dregs of the medicine from Kunning Palace."

"Get out." Yao Yuze glared at the young servant, his eyes filled with murderous intent. The servant's legs went weak. He really didn't know what he had done wrong, but he still ran away as fast as he could.

Only Qiao Ran and Yao Yuze remained in the pharmacy; the air felt incredibly heavy.

Yao Yuze asked coldly again, "Answer me, what are you doing here?"

Qiao Ran forced herself to say, "Didn't you hear, General? I came to get rid of the dregs of medicine from Kunning Palace, but I accidentally got lost."

Yao Yuze dismissed her words as nonsense, "Lost and sneaking around in the pharmacy? Eavesdropping on other people's conversations?"

"No," Qiao Ran explained, "I accidentally went into the pharmacy. I was about to leave when I heard the General's voice. I had no choice but to hide inside."

Yao Yuze laughed out loud, "You're so helpless just from hearing my voice, avoiding me? Are you afraid of me?"

Qiao Ran nodded and said pitifully, "The general is deliberately targeting me, but I really don't know what I did wrong, so I naturally have to avoid him."

Yao Yuze still didn't believe it. He approached Qiao Ran step by step, his eyes turning sharp and cold. "You got lost and entered the pharmacy, and even closed the door and moved the ladder. This general is just curious, what exactly did you steal from the pharmacy!"

Qiao Ran stared at him with wide eyes, with nowhere left to retreat.

"Take it out yourself."

"Don't frame me, I didn't take anything," Qiao Ran denied, but the fear in his eyes betrayed him.

Yao Yuze lowered his head. "Whether you take it out yourself or I find it out myself, you should think it over carefully."