The emperor introduced the quinoa to the empress dowager.

"Mother, this is Prince Yun's sworn sister. I've heard she has some knowledge of leg ailments. I'd like her to examine your leg, is that alright?" The Emperor spoke cautiously.

Li Mai knelt behind him with his head down, his lips twitching. A child in his fifties!

The eldest princess smiled and sat down next to the Empress Dowager, taking her hand and whispering, "Mother, I know her too. Why don't you let her take a look at you? If she also says she can't do anything, then we won't look for a doctor anymore, okay?"

The Empress Dowager looked at Li Mai kneeling behind her, sighed, nodded, and gestured for Li Mai to rise.

In the past two years, the Empress Dowager has closed herself off and is basically unwilling to talk to them. She only occasionally speaks a word or two to the few old women who serve her.

The eldest princess was overjoyed and quickly went over to help Li Mai up, asking, "Where should I get checked?"

After bowing respectfully to the Empress Dowager once more, Li Mai said, "Let's do it on the bed where the Empress Dowager usually rests, and light a few more lamps around it."

It was brighter by the window, but there was also a breeze. The Empress Dowager's health was probably not good enough to withstand the gentle breeze by the window.

The eldest princess quickly arranged for people to make preparations.

After handing the medicine box that Yun Chang had given him at the palace gate to Li Mai, Zhong Hui followed the emperor to the outer hall to wait.

"Do I need to take off my clothes?" the princess asked Li Mai in a low voice.

Li Mai nodded. "Yes, take it off and cover yourself with a thin blanket. I'll check it. You stay in bed with the Empress Dowager."

The princess agreed, and quietly squeezed Li Mai's hand, telling her not to worry and to continue her medical treatment as usual.

Li Mai nodded slightly to her and hummed in response.

The eldest princess knew that Li Mai was a skilled physician, but she didn't dare to bring him into the palace, fearing it would cause him trouble.

She hadn't expected that her own brother could also find out that Li Mai knew medicine; it seemed he had learned it from Prince Yun.

It's also possible that the incident at Nanling's wedding exposed Li Mai's identity in the capital.

Fortunately, the King of Yun was quick-witted and found him in time. With him there, even if he couldn't cure Li Mai, he could at least save her life.

Born into royalty, she naturally knew that the dignity of the royal family was inviolable, but the lives of ordinary people also mattered.

Especially since she had originally thought that her mother's leg ailment would last her whole life, and Li Mai had saved her son and taught him kung fu, she couldn't repay kindness with enmity.

The eldest princess was filled with a jumble of thoughts, while Li Mai had already begun to carefully examine the Empress Dowager's body.

She first used silver needles to stimulate some of the Empress Dowager's peripheral nerves to determine if her nerves had been damaged.

He has no hands, but his feet are affected.

Some parts of the Empress Dowager's feet would hurt if pricked, while others felt nothing.

Li Mai felt that the situation was better than it was for Zhou Quan.

With the healing power of her spiritual energy, the Empress Dowager's illness should be cured without any problem.

To be on the safe side, she carefully examined the Empress Dowager's spine and lumbar vertebrae again.

After the inspection, she gestured for the eldest princess to secure the Empress Dowager's covering, and then explained the specific situation to the eldest princess, speaking in a more professional manner.

The eldest princess was overwhelmed by what she heard, and quickly led her to report to the emperor in the outer palace.

After listening to Li Mai's professional description, the emperor felt dizzy and ordered the head of the Imperial Medical Academy to listen to his ears.

Li Mai had no choice but to wait.

In fact, the reason why Li Mai spoke so professionally was naturally for this purpose.

After listening to Li Mai's description, Feng Yuzhang, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, nodded. "Your diagnosis is consistent with that of several of our imperial physicians. However, the medicine we gave the Empress Dowager did not help."

"What prescription did you give?" Li Mai asked.

Chief Physician Feng mentioned three prescriptions, saying that he had tried all three.

Li Mai nodded, "Improving blood circulation and relieving stagnation are fine. What about other treatment methods?"

"We also performed acupuncture on the Empress Dowager's legs," said Chief Physician Feng.

He didn't tell Li Mai which acupuncture points to use.

He had some doubts: could this young woman cure the Empress Dowager?

Li Mai understood what he meant and smiled, "Didn't you get any needles in your back and neck?"

Dean Feng shook his head, indicating no.

Li Mai looked at the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty, the commoner and Chief Physician Feng have the same diagnosis, but the treatment methods will be slightly different. In three days, the commoner will be able to help the Empress Dowager stand up.”

“However, there is one condition: every night, the Empress Dowager must take a medicinal bath according to the bath recipe given by the commoner. During the day, when she is not receiving treatment, someone must massage her legs for half an hour every hour to help with blood circulation,” Li Mai said to the Emperor.

The emperor was stunned when he heard this. Three days?

Li Mai thought to herself, "One day is fine, but that's too outrageous. Would she dare? Wouldn't she incur the wrath of all those imperial physicians?"

Generally speaking, the illness she cures in one day requires a three-day treatment period. It's not that she doesn't want to cure people quickly, but rather that anything unusual must be suspicious, and she's worried about being seen as a monster or being targeted.

Moreover, she rarely treats patients. Occasionally, she sees one or two people, but they are either family members or people she has a good relationship with, the kind of people she can't refuse.

For example, Nanling, the Chu family and the Zhong family, and even the Empress Dowager—these are all invitations based on personal connections, which she has to extend.

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess's eyes immediately welled up with tears. She looked at Li Mai with excitement, never expecting that Li Mai could actually cure the ailment.

For a moment, she felt a little regretful. If she had asked Li Mai to treat her mother earlier, perhaps her mother could have stood up sooner?

But then again, if the person had been introduced by himself, instead of being found by his elder brother, the outcome might have been different.

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