Chapter 455: I've never heard of using water for decoction like this...

Qian Duoduo glanced at Lan Xiyue's calm profile and spoke cautiously, "Yueyue...you...you shouldn't think too much. It's not worth ruining your mood for those irrelevant people."

Lan Xiyue heard this and turned her head slightly, raised her eyebrows and looked at her. Her eyes were clear without any trace of sadness. "Who said I was in a bad mood?"

"Huh?" Qian Duoduo was startled, then he patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so scared! Seeing how cold you looked just now, I thought you were mad at that old woman! I'm glad you're okay, I'm glad you're okay."

She quickly regained her lively demeanor and leaned closer to ask, "Yueyue, are we going to the city gate now to see those displaced refugees?"

Lan Xiyue nodded, her eyes fixed on the street scene passing by outside the car window: "Well. Now that we're out, let's go take a look."

The carriage soon arrived at the city gate. As soon as I stepped off, a complex odor of cold, dust, and an indescribable body odor and medicinal scent hit me in the face.

Qian Duoduo gasped at the scene before him, his brow furrowed. "Yueyue, this... there are more and more refugees."

Near the city gate, on the originally open space, there were many extremely simple huts and tents densely packed together.

The tattered mats, branches and rags barely blocked the wind and snow, and through the gaps could be seen the curled-up figures inside.

The cold wind howled through these "residences", making a mournful whine.

An Yi stepped forward and reported in a deep voice, "Princess, this is the result of a partial diversion. Most of the refugees have been settled in the open space designated in the west of the city. In comparison, the number of people here is still manageable."

Qian Duoduo looked at the figures shivering in the cold wind and sighed, "Alas... Yueyue, at least they can now avoid the wind and snow, and can get some porridge and rice every day to survive, which is... not bad. I heard from my father that when the caravan passed through other disaster-stricken areas in the north, the people there were really miserable... There were many people eating their own children and freezing to death in the wilderness..." Her voice sank, with reluctance.

Lan Xiyue watched all this in silence.

Ancient productivity, transportation, and information transmission were a drop in the bucket in the face of such a large-scale natural and man-made disaster. Her personal power was so limited that she could only temporarily shelter the refugees pouring into the imperial city.

The catastrophe in the north is at the mercy of the imperial court.

She withdrew her gaze, turned to An Yi, and asked, "Have the frostbite ointment and cold-relieving medicine prepared earlier been distributed to the people?"

An Yi immediately gestured towards the darkness.

A secret guard in inconspicuous gray clothes appeared beside him silently like a shadow.

An Yi repeated, "The princess asked if the frostbite and cold medicines had been distributed properly."

The secret guard bowed and spoke in a clear but helpless voice, "Reporting to the princess, the amount of medicine is too small, a drop in the bucket, there is simply not enough to go around. Your subordinates can only give priority to distributing the medicine to the seriously ill refugees with severe frostbite and persistent high fever. But..."

He paused, his tone heavy. "Not long after the medicine was distributed, it was snatched up by other equally desperate refugees! A violent conflict broke out, and some people were injured... My subordinates were forced to intervene and finally quelled the situation. Although things have calmed down for now, the hidden dangers still exist."

Lan Xiyue's eyebrows were instantly furrowed, and a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes.

She made a prompt decision and said to An Yi, "An Yi, go to the pharmacy immediately! Buy more necessary herbs and bring them back to the mansion. When you get back, ask the palace doctor and me to work hard to make frostbite medicine and cold medicine!" Before she finished speaking, she turned around and got back on the carriage.

Just as she was sitting firmly, she seemed to think of something and quickly opened the car window, leaned her head out, and said to Qian Duoduo, who was still standing outside the car with a worried look on her face: "Duoduo, you go shopping by yourself first, I have to go back and deal with this matter immediately."

Qian Duoduo immediately waved his hands in understanding: "Hey, Yueyue, go and do your business! Don't worry about me! Refugees are more important! I can just take a stroll by myself!"

Lan Xiyue nodded at her, quickly retracted her head, and her cold voice penetrated the car: "An Yi, let's go!"

"Gee!" An Yi shouted softly, and the long whip swung in the air, making a crisp sound.

The steed neighed, and the wheels rolled over the snow and mud. It rushed out of this gloomy place like an arrow, and galloped towards the pharmacy in the city, leaving only two deep ruts and flying snow dust.

The carriage stopped steadily under the magnificent gilded sign of Huichuntang, the largest medicine shop in the capital.

"Princess, we've arrived at the largest pharmacy in the capital."

Inside the car, Lan Xiyue's cold voice responded, "Yes. Go get enough herbs for cold and frostbite."

"Yes." An Yi jumped off the carriage nimbly, and his figure disappeared behind the spacious door lintel of the drugstore.

A moment later, he came out carrying several bulging medicine bags and placed them in a corner of the carriage.

The wheels rumbled as they drove to the next house, and then the next... until the carriage was almost filled with layers of bundles of medicinal herbs, with no space left. Only then did An Yi turn the horse around and drive the carriage back to the palace.

Lan Xiyue got off the carriage and walked straight through the many moon-shaped gates in the palace courtyard and stepped into the pharmacy filled with the fragrance of medicine.

Yao Lao, with white hair and beard, looked vigorous and energetic. He looked up at the voice, stepped forward quickly, and bowed: "The young princess is here."

Lan Xiyue waved her hand casually, "No need to be so polite, Yao Lao. Call all the doctors in the mansion immediately."

Yao Lao understood what he meant and his eyes moved slightly. The medicine boy standing beside him immediately ran out like an arrow to pass on the message.

In just a cup of tea, several palace doctors arrived and saluted in unison: "Greetings, Princess."

Lan Xiyue glanced at the crowd, "Refugees are gathering inside and outside the Imperial City. In this bitterly cold weather, cold and frostbite are the most rampant. We are working together to quickly produce a large amount of cold and frostbite medicine and distribute it to the refugees to alleviate their urgent needs."

"We will follow the princess's orders!" The court doctors responded in unison.

At this time, An Yi and several secret guards entered the pharmacy quietly like shadows and carefully piled the heavy bundles of medicinal materials in the corner.

Lan Xiyue did not stop, but turned and walked towards an ear room deep in the pharmacy where clean instruments were usually stored.

She ordered, "Quickly prepare a few large, clean water jars and bring them here."

The servants moved quickly, and soon, several brand new ceramic jars half a person's height were standing in the room.

Lan Xiyue waved her hand to dismiss the others. When there was no one around, she moved her fingertips slightly, and a stream of water emerged out of thin air, silently pouring into the vats until several large vats were completely filled. Even the air seemed to be a little fresher.

She walked out of the side room, pointed to that room and said to Yao Lao: "Yao Lao, when boiling all the herbs, be sure to use the water in the water tank in that room."

Upon hearing this, Yao Lao's brows, which were full of traces of time, instantly frowned, forming a deep "Chuan" character.

He subconsciously stretched his neck, and his cloudy but sharp eyes passed over Lan Xiyue's shoulder, trying to penetrate the half-open door and peek into the water in the tank.

Suspicions welled up in his heart, and he couldn't help but take a step forward and asked cautiously in a low voice, "Little Princess, please forgive me for saying so much..."

He carefully considered his words, his aged voice filled with the inquiry and puzzlement of a pure physician. "What's so special about the water in that vat? I've been practicing medicine for decades, and I've never heard of water for decoction requiring such specific... specifications."