Chapter 556 Imperial Physician
After Lin Changning had prepared all of Li Mingshu's belongings at home, he and Qi Rong headed towards the capital.
It is now nearly December, and the weather is getting colder. The carriage used to carry the two of them is the latest invention of Gongshu Chunsheng. It is spacious, bright, and windproof, and the carriage moves steadily when pulled.
However, the carriage was very large, requiring six horses. Qi Rong searched for six Akhal-Teke horses in the army overnight to make Li Mingshu more comfortable on the journey.
Lin Changning is now quite successful. The imperial decree conferring her the title of Marquis had arrived at the Lin residence long ago, and now she is addressed as Marquis whenever she goes out.
He was granted the title of Marquis of Wu'an, with a stipend of one thousand shi of grain. He was also awarded a certificate of merit and the right to inherit the title for his descendants. He was also appointed as the Assistant Commander of the Right Army of the Capital Garrison and the Deputy Commander of the Capital Garrison, in charge of some of the garrison duties, as well as the patrol and defense of the capital and the maintenance of military equipment.
He is considered the number one person after Lao Qin.
Most of the families in Taiyuan also valued Lin Changning's future prospects, and recently they had been trying to visit him under various pretexts, but Lin Changning refused them all, citing Li Mingshu's illness as the reason.
Lin Changning was quite famous in Taiyuan. He was a marquis who was not yet twenty years old, but he held real power. He was also the emperor's son-in-law, on good terms with the current eldest prince and the future crown prince, and had a close relationship with the newly promoted Prince Sheng. He was also a good brother of the Duke of Qi, who was raised by the emperor. Many people wanted to take advantage of the fact that Lin Changning had not yet come to the capital to curry favor with him. Unfortunately, Lin Changning did not give them any chance. Ever since he sent the princess away, he had kept his doors closed to guests.
Qi Rong also closed the door, and the others, having been turned away at the Prince's Mansion, continued their meal at the Lin Mansion.
The families of Lao Ma and his group also went to the capital shortly after the princess left.
Qi Rong's health is still not very good, so he is temporarily given a nominal position in the capital garrison, but the title of Duke of Qi has indeed been awarded to him.
However, Qi Rong has not been doing well lately. Although he is recuperating in Taiyuan, the memorials of impeachment from civil officials in the capital are falling on the emperor's desk like snowflakes.
There was no other reason than that the Duke of Qi died on the day Mengjin fell. Logically, Qi Rong should have returned to the capital to observe mourning. However, there was a lot of discord between the Duke of Qi and Qi Rong. Although they were father and son, they were practically enemies.
In this era where filial piety is of paramount importance, countless people used this word to attack the Qi Rong.
Qi Rong had no intention of returning to the capital to observe mourning for his father, and he didn't even bother to pretend. The emperor naturally knew about the affair between Qi Rong and his father, and he also looked down on the Duke of Qi.
Even the posthumous title he was given was hastily drafted so that he could be buried quickly. The Duke of Qi was not very capable, but he was extremely disgusting.
The emperor suppressed batch after batch of memorials, but unfortunately there were still some ignorant civil officials who kept jumping around in front of the palace every day. Qi's stepmother was well-behaved, but unfortunately her child was not very smart.
He was jumping around and even wanted to compete with Qi Rong for the title, but before long, the emperor found a pretext to throw him into prison.
The imprisonment of the two young masters of the Qi family served as a wake-up call for some people, and the clamor for the emperor to punish Qi Rong subsided somewhat.
In the end, the emperor only punished Qi Rong by deducting half a year's salary and let the matter drop. Of course, many people were unhappy about this, but who could go against the current emperor? The current emperor is not the same as the previous one.
With military power in hand and absolute authority in his grasp, he immediately slaughtered a large number of people upon entering the battlefield, but he was not as easy to control as the previous emperors.
The clever people have already started to get things done, but unfortunately there are always some clueless fools who are trying to use the same tricks they used on the previous emperor on the current one.
Little did they know that the moment they opened their mouths, their lives had already begun their countdown.
Lin Changning finalized the list of items needed for the journey and sat down to carefully review it. Not long after, a maid from outside came to inform him.
"My lord, the imperial physicians sent by His Majesty and the Empress have arrived. Shall we invite them in first?"
Upon hearing what the maid said, Lin Changning put down the list in her hand, stood up, and said, "Alright, come with me to greet them!"
As he spoke, he strode towards the outer room. Upon entering the guest room, he saw five imperial physicians with graying hair.
The head of the Imperial Medical Academy was somewhat surprised to see Lin Changning stride in. After looking him up and down, he recalled the rumors in the capital and led the group of imperial physicians behind him to bow to Lin Changning.
"Zhou Heng, the Imperial Medical Academy Director, pays his respects, Your Excellency..."
Behind him, a group of imperial physicians followed the head physician and bowed to Lin Changning.
Lin Changning stepped forward and waved his hand slightly: "Please get up, Your Excellency. I won't waste any more words. My wife is in the backyard now. Please move aside."
The academy envoy felt somewhat helpless as he watched Lin Changning being dragged towards the backyard without even letting them drink tea. He thought of all the wonderful stories he had heard before coming to the capital about this young marquis who had become a powerful figure before reaching adulthood and the princess, and he thought they were indeed true.
Judging from his anxious appearance, he must truly be deeply in love with the princess and have a profound marital bond.
His Majesty and the Empress were extremely worried. The Princess, who was far away in Taiyuan, was so anxious that bubbles appeared at the corners of his mouth after His Majesty saw the medicine and listened to the opinions of most of them.
The Empress sighed every day and would ask them every few days if there was anything wrong with the medicine the Princess had been taking recently.
They spent several months researching an antidote in the capital, but unfortunately, they were unable to find a solution.
Now we can only hold onto a sliver of hope, come and check on the patient's condition, then take them to the capital to recuperate slowly.
If you have a decent constitution, you can take good care of yourself and even if you don't live long, it doesn't matter. Just use good medicine to prolong your life.
The academy director, who was being dragged along by Lin Changning, felt as if his old bones were about to be torn apart. He hesitated for a few moments before finally falling silent and following Lin Changning, panting, to the backyard.
Upon reaching the door, Lin Changning let go of her hand, pushed the door open, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He gently pulled the pale and thin woman on the bed into his arms and coaxed her softly, "A-Shu? A-Shu? Don't sleep, wake up. The imperial physician that Father and Mother found for you has arrived. Get up and have him examine you before you sleep."
The Imperial Physician watched as Lin Changning skillfully helped the princess, clearly having taken good care of her. He sighed inwardly, thinking how rare it was to find such deep affection in a young man.
Seeing the princess swaying a few times and looking somewhat dazed, the imperial physician bowed again and stepped forward: "It's good that you've woken up. My lord, let me take the princess's pulse first. As for what medicine to use later, we may need to discuss it with Physician Liu."
After all, the Princess's condition is currently being treated by the Liu family physician, and it always requires consultation with others. After all, the Princess in front of them is the beloved of His Majesty and the Empress, and if anything goes wrong, none of them can bear the responsibility.
Lin Changning nodded, reaching out to expose Li Mingshu's wrist. His eyes held a glimmer of hope as he quietly looked at the imperial physician, his tone expectant: "My wife, I entrust her to you..."
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