Chapter 219 Clearing the Name of the Mother

After the tasting event ended, Ye Wanning was packing her things when Pei Zhi walked in.

He looked at Ye Wanning with a hint of urgency in his eyes: "You did very well today, but it was too risky. Lu Zhong has the support of the Wei family. If you confront them head-on, you'll easily become a target."

Ye Wanning looked up at him, a spark of anger igniting within her: "A risk? My mother's medical text has been tampered with, how can I just sit idly by?"

"Medical principles cannot be altered, and I must clear my mother's name! Do you think I should grovel before the Wei family and swallow my anger?"

“That’s not what I meant.” Pei Zhi frowned. “I’m just worried about you. The Wei family is powerful, and the Emperor is wary of us joining forces. If you’re too high-profile, they’ll easily find something to use against you.”

"So you want me to give in?" Ye Wanning was somewhat disappointed. "Pei Zhi, you only ever think about protecting yourself. Don't you know that some things can never be compromised!"

"I'm doing this for your own good!" Pei Zhi was also a little angry.

"I can't accept your kindness!" Ye Wanning said, then walked inside without looking back.

Pei Zhi stood there alone, his face grim. Their first ever direct confrontation ended badly.

Ye Wanning entered the room, her heart filled with mixed emotions. She understood Pei Zhi's concerns for her, but in her eyes, Pei Zhi's concerns were merely a form of compromise.

There always seemed to be an invisible wall separating her from Pei Zhi.

But to her surprise, an event occurred in the harem not long afterward, which led to a subtle change in her relationship with Pei Zhi.

Consort Hui is a distant relative of the Empress Dowager. She usually acts like a Buddhist woman and doesn't get involved in the palace's intrigues. However, after Ye Wanning gained favor, she frequently came to the Heritage Hall to "seek advice" on medical theories.

“Madam Ye, you can refer to this prescription to regulate your irregular menstrual cycle. Should we add some angelica root?” Consort Hui held the medical book, seeking guidance with a humble attitude, her eyes filled with reverence.

Ye Wanning stared at her, looking somewhat puzzled. Consort Hui had never been interested in medicine before, so why was she suddenly so excited?

She didn't think too much about it, but instead explained in detail: "Angelica is a very good herb for nourishing blood and regulating menstruation, but this needs to be determined according to the individual's constitution. If the menstrual irregularities are caused by blood heat, adding angelica may worsen the condition, so it is recommended to use peony bark and red peony root instead."

"I never expected it to be like this! Madam Ye is truly amazing!" Consort Hui's mood suddenly brightened. She quickly picked up a piece of paper to take notes and specifically inquired about the key medicinal materials for the "Menstrual Regulation Formula" in the "Secret Essentials of the Green Bag".

Ye Wanning was puzzled as to why she hadn't left after listening for so long, but she didn't think too much about it and simply gave a brief reply.

She didn't realize that Consort Hui didn't actually want to study medicine, but rather wanted to use a few tricks to win favor with the Empress Dowager and thus improve her own status.

Not long after, the Empress Dowager began to suffer from headaches due to excessive liver fire, and the medicine prescribed by the Imperial Hospital was ineffective.

Upon hearing this news, Consort Hui was secretly delighted: This is an excellent opportunity!

She quickly ran ahead of Ye Wanning, arrived at Cining Palace, holding a prescription in her hand, and said to the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, I heard that you have a headache, so I specially prepared a prescription for you. I learned it from Madam Ye, and it is specifically for treating headaches. Would you like to try it?"

When the Empress Dowager was in excruciating pain, she learned that the prescription was provided by Ye Wanning, and she immediately instructed the palace maids to start preparing the medicine as soon as possible.

Consort Hui stood to the side, full of anticipation for being praised, but she did not expect that after drinking the medicine that had just been brewed, the Empress Dowager's headache would become even more severe, the pain was so intense that she could hardly control herself, and her face turned pale.

"Empress Dowager, how are you doing?" The palace maid jumped up in fright and immediately stepped forward. Consort Hui also became nervous, not expecting things to develop this way.

Ye Wanning rushed to the scene on the emperor's orders. Seeing the Empress Dowager's pained face, she felt a surge of tension and immediately stepped forward to take her pulse.

The pulse was floating and rapid, indicating that the liver fire was even more intense. It was obvious that the condition had worsened due to the consumption of warming and tonifying herbs.

"Your Majesty, have you taken any nourishing herbs?" Ye Wanning asked.

"This is the prescription Consort Hui provided for me, and it is exactly your prescription," the Empress Dowager said with a powerless air.

"Consort Hui, can you tell me when I taught you this treatment method?" Ye Wanning stared coldly at Consort Hui.

Consort Hui, pale-faced, stammered, "I... I learned this menstrual regulating formula from you, and after some modifications, I'm not sure if it can treat headaches..."

"Is this a menstrual regulating formula?" Ye Wanning said sneer. "The menstrual regulating formula is mainly for warming and replenishing qi and blood. The reason for the Empress Dowager's headache is that her liver fire is too strong, so she needs to cleanse her liver and reduce the fire."

"You're using a gentle, nourishing therapy, isn't that worsening the condition? Isn't this what you call 'secret learning'?"

Ye Wanning turned to the Empress Dowager and said, "Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, will give you an injection immediately and prepare a liver-cleansing soup. You will recover soon."

As she spoke, she swiftly pulled out silver needles and rapidly inserted them into the Empress Dowager's temples and Fengchi acupoints, her movements incredibly precise and swift. Before long, the Empress Dowager felt her headache greatly lessen, and her complexion gradually regained its rosy hue.

"I feel much better..." The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Consort Hui with disappointment. "Consort Hui, you have truly disappointed me!"

"How could you possibly learn Madam Ye's medical skills? Diagnosis and treatment are the essence of medicine. You can't even distinguish the patient's constitution before you arbitrarily changed the prescription, almost harming me!"

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong! I only wanted to share your burdens, I had no other intentions!" Consort Hui knelt down with a thud, crying and begging for forgiveness.

"Share my burdens? You're just making things worse!" The Empress Dowager was furious. "From today onwards, you're confined to your quarters for a month to reflect on your actions. Without my permission, you are not to step out of your palace!"

"Your subject obeys the decree..." Consort Hui dared not argue and thanked the emperor while weeping.

Ye Wanning felt no pity for her when she saw her disheveled appearance: trying to harm others by being opportunistic and learning only the superficial aspects, she was asking for trouble.

After dealing with the Empress Dowager's matter, Ye Wanning prepared to leave Cining Palace, but encountered Pei Zhi at the entrance.

He had just finished reporting on court affairs when he saw her, his eyes filled with worry: "How is the Empress Dowager?"

"It's all over now," Ye Wanning replied, her tone still carrying the distance from their previous argument.

Pei Zhi was silent for a moment, then had someone hand over a food box: "This contains calming tea."

"You've been traveling around for days and treating the Empress Dowager, you must be exhausted. Have some calming tea and rest."