Chapter 129 Medicine Preparation
She simply wants to save the first person in her life who has been so kind to her.
With just this one sentence, Lanxin's eyes welled up with tears.
She glanced at Xiao Yuxuan, who was kneeling on the ground with her back straight, and couldn't help but wipe her eyes.
His Highness just now seemed to realize that he didn't have much time left, and he even wanted to write down his so-called "last wishes" with paper and pen. Aunt Meng and she were both startled, and it took a lot of persuasion to get His Highness to give up the idea for the time being.
How could Lanxin not know that what the eldest princess wanted to instruct was simply to take care of Miss Yuxuan?
Outsiders only saw the Princess's mansion in full bloom, but no one knew how many long nights the Princess had spent weeping uncontrollably, clutching the personal belongings of her husband and several sons who had died young.
She finally had a child she could trust, and even though they weren't officially mother and daughter yet, they were closer than mother and daughter.
But now, this sudden epidemic has once again extinguished hope.
Inside the gauze curtain, the eldest princess looked up at the sunlight streaming through the glass window. Her eyes were dry and sore, but she pretended to be fine and said, "If even the imperial physicians can't help, then you should just leave it to fate."
Xiao Yuxuan looked at the eldest princess, who seemed to have resigned herself to her fate, gritted her teeth, and spat out each word one by one:
I don't believe it.
"Even if Your Highness forbids it, I will still do it."
"Your Highness, please eat well, sleep well, and take care of yourself during this time."
It was only then that the princess realized that this little girl could also be so stubborn. She was anxious to call out to Xiao Yuxuan, but she only caught a glimpse of the hem of her robe as she hurriedly left.
"Lanxin! Go quickly and look after Yuxuan, and also go and inform Physician Wei. Make sure nothing happens to her..."
Lan Xin quickly agreed, knowing that the princess had agreed but was still worried. Without further delay, she followed in the direction Xiao Yuxuan had left.
The eldest princess sat alone in her bedchamber for a long time.
She recalled the little girl's tearful eyes as she said she wanted to save the people, to save her—an expression she had never seen on anyone's face in her entire life.
She couldn't help but wonder if Yu Xuan had experienced something bad in the past. How could a fourteen-year-old child have such a sad and desperate look in her eyes?
After thinking for a long time, exhaustion overwhelmed her, so she laid out paper and pen and began to write a letter home.
She wrote a long and detailed account, from her own contracting the plague to Xiao Yuxuan's desire to save her, to today's weather, what she ate, and so on, as if she were rambling on about everything she had seen and heard.
Only after the letter was finished and the ink had dried did she carefully seal it, place it over a candle flame, and burn it completely.
She looked at the ashes in the copper basin and murmured with a smile:
"You absolutely must protect that child from illness and misfortune, otherwise, if I come down to find you one day, I'll never forgive you!"
As she smiled, tears streamed down her cheeks. Too lazy to use a handkerchief, she simply raised her hand and roughly wiped them away before putting away the paper and pen herself.
After leaving the bedroom, Xiao Yuxuan followed Lan Xin straight to the side hall.
Several white-bearded imperial physicians were gathered together, engaged in a heated debate over the princess's prescription, with one of them occasionally puffing out his beard and glaring at the other.
Only the physician Wei, with his full head of black hair and in the prime of his life, stood out from the crowd, stealing moments from his busy schedule to peruse medical books, appearing content in his secluded corner.
The moment she stepped inside, the argument abruptly stopped.
The Princess's household was well-organized, and no unrelated person would dare to disturb their medical consultation by coming to the side hall.
But the girl looked young and unfamiliar, and she wasn't dressed as a maid. They exchanged a glance and both saw uncertainty in each other's eyes.
The eldest princess was always in good health when she was young.
"My lords, my daughter is Xiao Yuxuan from the Xiao family. I am here to greet you."
Xiao Yuxuan performed a very thorough curtsy.
Several imperial physicians, old enough to be her grandfathers, still looked completely bewildered.
They lived deep within the palace, serving only the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Eldest Princess. They spent their days either tending to the health of their masters or studying medicine and collecting medical books. How could they possibly know which of these young ladies from the high-ranking families in the capital belonged to whom?
Only Physician Wei stood up from his chair.
He had been invited by the Xiao family and then summoned to Zhuangshan, both because the adopted sister of the Fifth Miss Xiao, who was rumored to have had her identity changed, needed medical treatment. He was exhausted from both trips.
Later, he heard about several things that happened in the Xiao family.
Living in the palace, he had developed a habit of paying extra attention to every little thing. After a little thought, Physician Wei knew that there must be quite a few lawsuits between the two girls of the Xiao family.
In retrospect, the ultimate winner is probably still this Miss Xiao Wu.
Being able to freely enter and leave the Princess's residence is an honor that many noble ladies would rather die for.
"Miss Xiao, what urgent matter do you have to discuss? Or does His Highness have any instructions?"
He stepped forward in a warm tone, asking the question before the old doctors could.
His medical skills were not bad, but people at the time always had prejudices against doctors, believing that only old men with white hair and wrinkled skin had real skills, while imperial physicians in their thirties and forties were inferior, so he did not excel.
If it weren't for the fortunate opportunity of receiving guidance from the Seventh Prince, I wouldn't have had the chance to treat the Eldest Princess.
"Lord Wei." Xiao Yuxuan nodded, as a gesture of greeting and to curry favor with him.
Physician Wei did not hide his ambition. Xiao Yuxuan was afraid that he had no ambition and did not want to stand out from the crowd.
"My lords, I have come to share a prescription for a remedy for the current epidemic with you. However, this prescription is old and damaged, and it is missing two ingredients."
She took out a copy of the prescription she had made, and Lanxin, understanding her intention, immediately presented it to the imperial physicians.
"Missing two ingredients? Then this recipe is practically useless."
The oldest imperial physician stroked his beard, looked at the prescription, and pondered:
"Where did you get this recipe?"
Xiao Yuxuan did not hide anything and openly mentioned Doctor Pei.
"It's actually that old man Pei Yan!"
Xiao Yuxuan asked curiously, "Do you know Doctor Pei?"
"Of course I know them! We even fought when we were kids!"
Seeing that the old imperial physician was actually reminiscing with Miss Xiao, Physician Wei became anxious and stepped forward, volunteering:
"Miss Xiao, do you intend to prepare additional medicine to complete the prescription?"
Xiao Yuxuan was not angry at being disturbed, and said seriously, "That's right."
"If Miss Xiao does not mind my limited medical skills, I am willing to take responsibility for this matter!"
Physician Wei agreed so readily that all the other physicians present were taken aback.
They could all see that the prescription was missing two ingredients. They didn't know what they were, how much they were needed, or how they were prepared. It would take forever to figure them out.
Now that the epidemic has spread among the people, it is only a matter of time before it spreads to the palace. How can he be so confident that he can find those two medicines before the entire army is wiped out?
"Xiao Wei, don't be impulsive!"
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