"This servant understands!"
Despite saying this, Qi Yong was determined to buy the formula no matter what.
"Get yourself ready before you go out," Ji Xuan said coldly, pointing to Qi Yong's bluish forehead. "Don't let people laugh at you."
Hearing this, Qi Yong felt a warmth in her heart. "Don't worry, Master. I will tidy myself up before going out. I will definitely not embarrass you."
"Um!"
After nodding slightly, Ji Xuan sat down in her chair and drank tea with an unperturbed expression, as calmly as if nothing had happened.
In the courtyard, when Liu Zhiyuan saw Doctor Gu come out, he immediately pulled him into the hall, looked him over warily, and then closed the doors and windows.
"Closing the door in broad daylight," Doctor Gu said, speechless. "Are you afraid people won't know you're guilty?"
"Master, what time is it? How can you still be joking?" Liu Zhiyuan asked anxiously. "How did it go? Did His Majesty give you a hard time?"
Upon hearing this, Doctor Gu shook his head, "It's not difficult at all."
Seeing this, Liu Zhiyuan's heart tightened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It's really difficult."
He knew this would happen.
Oh no! My master is in big trouble! What should I do?
"No," Doctor Gu denied. "Don't overthink it."
These words further confirmed Liu Zhiyuan's previous guess, and his face immediately turned pale. "Master, why don't you run away first, and I'll cover for you."
He couldn't let anything happen to his master, no matter what.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Doctor Gu said with a dark expression. "I already said I'm fine. What are you thinking?"
As he spoke, he grabbed his apprentice's wrist.
He felt that his apprentice had a brain disorder; otherwise, he wouldn't be unable to understand such simple words.
After a moment, he shook his head and released his apprentice's wrist. "So he didn't have a brain disease after all."
His tone was hesitant, and it was hard to tell whether it was regret or relief.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiyuan looked at Doctor Gu with suspicion, then gritted his teeth and asked, "Master, are you scolding your disciple?"
He had insulted others like that before.
The man was just stupid; he didn't realize what was happening and thought I was treating him.
No, you're overthinking it.
That tone was full of disdain.
He discovered that his eldest apprentice was becoming increasingly foolish, to the point that he could no longer stand him.
"His Majesty really didn't make things difficult for you?"
"No!"
"Then what are you talking about?" Liu Zhiyuan's eyes were full of suspicion. "Why did it take you so long to come out?"
Normally, a pulse diagnosis takes no more than fifteen minutes, but when my master went in, it took almost an hour.
Later still, he was already planning to prepare funeral clothes and a coffin for the old man!
"It's none of your business," Doctor Gu said, not intending to say more. "Don't ask so many questions; the more you know, the faster you'll die."
After that incident, he felt that he was not far from death.
If a ruler dies because of you, even if the emperor is willing to spare your life, the civil and military officials will not allow you to live.
The day the Great Zhou Emperor died was the day Gu Cangyu was buried alive with him.
It's not a pity for an old man to die, but it's pitiful for his young apprentice who has just started learning and hasn't had a chance to receive his instruction.
And then there's Yuzhu; I haven't even seen him come of age yet.
People who are carefree in daily life only realize how much they have to give up when they are about to die.
If he had a choice, he would want to live a good life, even if he were old and frail, even if he could only cling to life, even if there was no hope of recovery...
“Master, you’ve always used this excuse to fob me off,” Liu Zhiyuan said, both anxious and angry. “I’m already the Imperial Physician, and you still use this excuse to deceive me like a child?”
"Think what you want, but I won't say a word," Doctor Gu said, lowering his head to hide his emotions. "And don't try to find out, or don't blame me for disowning you as my disciple!"
"Master, something really happened, didn't it?"
His voice was very firm.
"No," Doctor Gu firmly denied. "Open the door quickly! We're guests at the Huang family's house. Look at you now, what kind of behavior are you? You have no manners at all!"
"I understand," Liu Zhiyuan said, knowing that his master did not intend to tell him. Although he was unwilling, he decisively chose to give up for the time being. "I will open the door now."
After Liu Zhiyuan turned around, Doctor Gu suddenly spoke up, "The medicinal herbs I asked you to collect a year ago, are they enough to make three doses of medicine?"
"At most two doses," Liu Zhiyuan explained. "We only received two qian of Dendrobium officinale from four-year-old plants. Last year was a bad year, and there wasn't much Dendrobium officinale produced. We only have this much of the best quality. The rest isn't enough to make it effective."
"Only two sets? That's a bit risky," Doctor Gu stroked his beard. "Let's leave it at that for now."
After saying that, he sat down in a chair and began to think.
Despite his confident demeanor in front of Ji Xuan, he wasn't entirely sure himself.
A disease that cannot be cured by medicine is already difficult to treat. The slightest mistake can lead to failure or even death.
He was originally 70% confident that three doses of medicine would stimulate his body, but with one less dose, he was only 50% confident at most.
If the emperor were to die before a child was born, he would truly be considered a treacherous regicide.
The more Dr. Gu thought about it, the heavier his heart became.
There was a sense of oppression, as if the entire Great Zhou Dynasty was weighing on his aged and frail shoulders.
"It seems we should first find a way to improve His Majesty's health."
He spoke in a very low voice, so low that Liu Zhiyuan, who was walking over, couldn't hear him clearly.
"Master, should we have Yuzhu and Xiao Wu come over?"
"Yes," Doctor Gu's eyes softened upon hearing the two names. "Call them over and teach them pulse diagnosis today."
"So early? My disciple is only sixteen years old and is only now starting to learn these things."
"Times have changed. Hurry up and don't waste any time."
“Okay,” Liu Zhiyuan forced a smile, “I’ll go get someone right away.”
After turning around, his expression immediately froze.
Anything unusual is suspicious; my master is definitely hiding something from me.
Moreover, it was a matter of life and death.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be so eager to teach these things.
Jiang Nuan was completely unaware of what was happening in the kitchen and the living room; she deftly chopped the meat into small pieces.
Beside her, Xie carefully took out a bowl of eggs and deftly cracked them into the bowl.
"Mother, is steamed egg custard served at the banquet?"
“It’s not steamed egg custard, it’s steamed egg with meatloaf. It’s fragrant, soft, and delicious, and it’s also very easy to digest,” Jiang Nuan said without stopping her work. “Since Young Master Wang is in poor health, let’s make some light and easy-to-digest dishes. Yesterday’s dishes weren’t quite right.”
“He’s trying to force us to buy his family’s recipe, so why is he being so considerate?” Madam Xie was very unhappy. “If it weren’t for the fact that he’s a guest, I would have chased him out with a broom.”
"You can't say that. The claim of forced purchase is just our own speculation. They didn't say that. So far, they haven't wronged us in any way."
Since that's the case, we should treat them as honored guests. Even if we disregard Han Yi's feelings, we must still consider Xiao Wu's master, Doctor Gu.
"I understand," Xie said, pouting. "I know what to do."
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