Chapter 900 Wind Evil

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes fell on the wet nurse.

The wet nurse was terrified and hurriedly said to Shang Ruyi, "Your Highness, Your Highness is wise. I did not do anything wrong—the little prince is really fine. I don't know why he started crying."

Tushe'er whispered, "I was watching from the side too. She didn't do anything, but for some reason, the little prince started crying."

Yuwen Yuan said impatiently, "If Yuanzi doesn't like it, then we'll replace her with her."

Feng, the wet nurse, looked at Shang Ruyi with a pitiful expression.

She had lost her husband and child and had no attachment to this world. However, she was fortunate enough to be chosen to enter the palace as the wet nurse of the young prince. She spent every day with the child and poured all her feelings into him. If she were to be driven out of the palace now, she would not only lose a job but also her means of survival.

At this moment, Yuwen Ye, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Father, I have a request."

Yuwen Yuan looked at him and said, "You speak."

Yuwen Ye said, "Your Majesty, I would like to request that you temporarily release Physician Su from prison so that she can take a look. After all, she has been taking care of Ruyi and the child's health since the child was born, and she knows more about many things than others."

Du Ruoming's face stiffened, and he lowered his head.

Yuwen Yuan frowned, looked at him, then looked down at the little Yuanzi in his arms who had stopped crying and was reaching out her little hand to grab his beard. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Very well, I also have some questions I want to ask her. Minister Yan."

Yan Shaoxuan immediately stepped forward: "Your humble servant is here."

"Send someone to bring Su Qinglan out immediately."

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."

The emperor gave the order, and the Minister of Justice dared not delay. He went there in person, and his figure immediately disappeared outside the Liangyi Hall.

Everyone in the hall waited quietly. There were more than a dozen people, yet not a single breath or cough could be heard. The only sound in the vast palace was Xiao Yuanzi's laughter. He had already grabbed his imperial grandfather's beard and was overjoyed, pulling it down incessantly. Yuwen Yuan was not angry at all, letting him pull off several strands of his beard, and even teased him with a smile: "This kid is really strong."

After waiting for about the time it takes to eat a meal, I finally heard footsteps outside.

Eunuch Yu hurriedly went out to greet them, and after a short delay, he saw him and Yan Shaoxuan on either side of each other, with a slender, thin figure between them—it was Su Qinglan—slowly walking in from outside. It was clear that Eunuch Yu had taken Su Qinglan out to quickly wash up and change her clothes before coming in to meet the Emperor. Her clothes didn't fit her well, her hair was somewhat disheveled, and although her face was barely clean, it was almost deathly pale.

Shang Ruyi felt a pang of pain in her heart upon seeing this and immediately frowned.

Su Qinglan walked in step by step, her steps heavy as if filled with lead. She had been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail. Although she had been interrogated, she had not been tortured. Even so, these days had been like a nightmare for her. Now, as she walked into the Liangyi Hall and looked at the majestic faces in front of her, it was as if she had suddenly entered the Heavenly Palace from the eighteenth level of hell.

She slowly walked to the center of the hall and bowed deeply to Yuwen Yuan, saying, "This sinful subject, Su Qinglan, pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Yuwen Yuan looked at her with a complicated expression. Although the words of the Crown Princess and the Princess of Qin had dispelled some of his suspicions about Su Qinglan, the matter involved the rebels of Wanggang Village and his near assassination attempt at Tangquan Palace. He was not about to change his mind so easily, so he asked, "Su Qinglan, do you know your crime?"

Su Qinglan said, "Your humble servant is guilty."

"you say."

"Your humble servant failed to distinguish right from wrong and associated with traitors; this is the fault of your humble servant's oversight."

Yuwen Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "So, you still don't admit that you were associating with the traitor and plotting to harm me?"

Su Qinglan immediately raised her head, her eyes red, and said, "This humble subject did not, and this humble subject would not dare. If this humble subject had known that Jiang Yan was a traitor from Wanggang Village, how could this humble subject have dared to associate with him?"

"..."

"Even if I had the greatest courage in the world, I would not dare to plot against Your Majesty!"

Yuwen Yuan fell silent, looked at her for a while, and then said, "Whether what you said is true or false, I will definitely find out."

"..."

"However, for now, I can give you a chance to redeem yourself through meritorious service."

Su Qinglan immediately asked, "What are Your Majesty's orders?"

Yuwen Yuan turned to look at Eunuch Yu, who immediately stepped forward and said, "Imperial Physician Su, the matter concerns His Highness the Young Prince—"

So he told Su Qinglan everything that had just happened. As Su Qinglan listened, her eyes kept flickering. She looked at the swaddled baby in Yuwen Yuan's arms, then turned to look at Shang Ruyi, and finally her gaze fell on the wet nurse whose face looked somewhat flustered.

After Eunuch Yu finished speaking, Shang Ruyi continued, "Now, Physician Du can't find any cause, so His Majesty has sent you to take a look. Physician Su, you must make the most of this opportunity."

Su Qinglan looked at her, took a deep breath, and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After saying that, she slowly stood up, took a few steps toward the emperor, stopped two steps away from him, looked at the little Yuanzi who was playing happily in the swaddling clothes, and then said nothing more. Instead, she turned to walk toward Nurse Feng, looked at her for a moment, and immediately asked, "Nurse Feng, have you just recovered from a cold?"

Nanny Feng nodded immediately, and hurriedly said, "Yes, I caught a cold a few days ago, but I have recovered."

Su Qinglan asked, "What medicine was used?"

Upon hearing this, Du Ruoming frowned, recited the prescription he had given to Nurse Feng in one breath, and then said coldly, "Does Physician Su think there is a problem with the prescription I gave her?"

Su Qinglan shook her head and said, "There's nothing wrong with the prescription, but the efficacy—"

Du Ruoming sneered, "Physician Su is indeed insightful. The medicine is indeed not very effective. But if Physician Su can see that the medicine is not very effective, how can he not see that this wet nurse's health is related to the young prince? If I prescribe medicine according to the normal dosage, she will recover, but what will happen to the young prince?"

Su Qinglan said, "I didn't say that Physician Du's prescription was wrong."

"and you--"

“Mother Feng just said that she caught a cold a few days ago, but she has already recovered today. However, the potency of this prescription is definitely not enough to make her recover in such a short time. So, Dr. Du, do you have any other supplementary treatments?”

At this moment, Du Ruoming's expression changed slightly.

As if sensing something, he spoke softer when he spoke again, because he saw Su Qinglan turn around and walk towards the wet nurse Feng. He cautiously said, "I also prepared some incense for her."

Su Qinglan stood in front of Granny Feng and only took one sniff before saying, "There are cloves in the incense, right?"

By this time, Du Ruoming was drenched in sweat.

Before he could speak, Shang Ruyi immediately asked, "Dingxiang, what's wrong?"

Su Qinglan turned her head and glanced at her, seemingly hesitating for a moment, while Yuwen Yuan on the other side frowned and said, "Explain clearly, what happened to Dingxiang?"

Su Qinglan took a deep breath and immediately turned to Yuwen Yuan, saying, "Your Majesty, based on my many years of medical practice, I have observed that each person's body is different. Different people will not respond to different medicines, foods, or even the fragrance of flowers and herbs. This is what medical books refer to as being affected by wind-evil."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, for example, people from the Central Plains can eat nuts and dried fruits like peach pits without any problems, but most Hu people will develop rashes all over their bodies after eating these things, and in severe cases, they may even suffocate and die; while the Turks on the grasslands like to eat cow and sheep milk, cheese, etc., but people from the Central Plains will mostly experience bloating, diarrhea, or even nausea and vomiting after eating them. This is why people don't like dairy products."

Yuwen Yuan nodded and then asked, "What about the lilac you just mentioned?"

Su Qinglan said, "Actually, I am still investigating this matter. Perhaps His Highness is not responding to Dingxiang."

Yuwen Yuan immediately said, "Then why didn't you say so sooner!"

Su Qinglan hurriedly knelt down and said softly, "The young prince is still young and has been healthy since birth. He has not used any medicine, so I have not yet confirmed whether he is really incompatible with cloves. However, perhaps the young prince is naturally clever. He has always disliked the smell of cloves. Whenever I went to Qianqiu Palace to take the princess's pulse, if there happened to be cloves in my medicine box, he would become very anxious. It was from that time that I began to notice."

"..."

"However, before I could even diagnose the illness, —"

She didn't say anything more, but even without saying it, everyone understood.

Xiao Yuanzi is only three months old, so it's not easy to judge his physical condition and reaction to the medicine. Su Qinglan was able to detect that he might not respond to Dingxiang, which is already quite thoughtful. As for why the diagnosis wasn't made in time, what else could it be? Naturally, it's because she was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice.

The reason why Xiao Yuanzi cries as soon as the wet nurse Feng holds her is because the wet nurse Feng has been covered in the scent of cloves!

Yuwen Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Get up."

Su Qinglan said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After speaking, he carefully got up from the ground, but did not speak again. He even took a step back, hiding his already thin body in the gloom of the hall.

At the same time, everyone's attention shifted from her to Du Ruoming.

Yuwen Yuan said in a deep voice, "Imperial Physician Du, do you have anything else to say?"

Du Ruoming was drenched in sweat and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, this humble subject, this humble subject deserves to die, this humble subject—"

At the same time, Yu Mingyue frowned and subconsciously glanced at the Crown Prince, only to see that he was silent, his lips pressed into a line, seemingly displeased. He had originally wanted to say something, but at this moment he also shut his mouth.

Just then, Shang Ruyi suddenly said, "Father, I have something to say."