Chapter 155
The next morning, Qingmei and the palace servants knocked on the door of the palace, only to find that the princess had already dressed up and was sitting at the table.
Hearing the noise, Qin Su didn't even look up, and continued writing rapidly.
"Send someone to find moldy steamed buns and vegetables. Remember, the mold must be green."
"Grind the rice into juice and take it to the Imperial Study."
"Get some more soybean oil, a funnel, and some cotton."
While she was speaking, she finished writing on a piece of paper and began handing them out one by one.
"Give this paper to the people in the Ministry of Works, and have them collect the materials according to these instructions, arrange for people to carry them out, and submit the results in seven days."
"Give this paper to Hou Dongrui and tell him to build me a laboratory outside the city immediately."
...
Qingmei paused for a moment.
She had followed the princess for so many years, and usually mainly managed household affairs. She rarely received so many serious instructions like she did today.
At first, she was caught off guard, but she quickly recovered and remembered every word the princess said.
While washing her hands, Qin Su said calmly, "Repeat it once more."
Qingmei immediately repeated exactly what Qin Su had said.
She must have had extraordinary abilities to stand out among countless palace maids and take such good care of the emperor's most beloved daughter.
Qin Su nodded in satisfaction and casually said, "I have a lot to do next, and I hope to have some capable people available. Do you have any ideas?"
Qingmei's eyes widened in disbelief: "Your Highness, you mean..."
"I want to reinstate the female official system." Qin Su casually dropped a bombshell. "Of course, it won't be that quick. Before that, we need to lay some groundwork, such as starting by promoting the people around me."
She gazed at Qingmei: "Well, I'll give you a choice. Do you want to work hard to become a lady-in-waiting, or would you rather stay in this deep palace as a head maid?"
Qingmei clutched her clothes at her chest, feeling her heart pounding wildly inside her.
The surprise came so suddenly and intensely that she even felt a little dizzy.
"This servant, this servant..." Qingmei swallowed hard, trying her best to suppress her trembling voice, and said firmly, "This servant will choose a female official."
Qin Su smiled slightly and said, "Then go ahead, don't disappoint me."
Qingmei was so excited that she gave her a deep bow and then left.
After leaving Zhaoning Palace, she thought of the princess's last smile and suddenly looked back in the direction of the palace, feeling a somewhat inappropriate sentiment.
The princess seemed to have really grown up overnight; even a casual smile possessed an indescribable allure.
Qin Su went to visit Emperor Jingxi alone.
Emperor Jingxi, still half-asleep, sensed something and moved his fingers: "Su Su..."
"Yes," Qin Su replied softly, "It's me."
Emperor Jingxi didn't hear him clearly; his recurring illness had clouded his mind. He frowned and said, "...Don't cry..."
Qin Su remained silent.
Emperor Jingxi seemed to be in some kind of chaotic dream, talking nonsense. One moment he would say, "Come down quickly," the next he would ask, "Are you cold?" and then he would mutter, "What heavy snow."
It took Qin Su a while to recall that Emperor Jingxi must have dreamed of the time when she climbed the plum tree when she was a child.
She was extremely naughty when she was a child. Once, in the dead of winter, she climbed a tree to play despite the palace servants' advice. When Emperor Jingxi came over, she shook the tree and covered him in snow.
Emperor Jingxi told her to come down, but she shook her little head and said, "Why isn't Father Emperor coming up?"
Emperor Jingxi was so angry that he actually tried to climb the tree to catch her, but she was so scared that she tried to slide down, but she slipped and fell. Fortunately, the height was low, and Emperor Jingxi caught her.
But her fall terrified Emperor Jingxi; it was the first time Qin Su had ever seen Emperor Jingxi's expression change so drastically.
When he put her on the ground, his hands were trembling uncontrollably.
Children are carefree, and Qin Su forgot about the matter in just a couple of days, but Emperor Jingxi was filled with lingering fear.
Some time later, she got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and happened to run into Emperor Jingxi who came to see her.
Qin Su, feeling both sleepy and puzzled, asked, "Father, why are you here?"
Emperor Jingxi replied dismissively, "It's nothing, I just couldn't sleep so I came to see you."
At the time, Qin Su was unaware of the truth. It was only much later, when Liang Danxin mentioned it, that Emperor Jingxi often had nightmares during those days. When he woke up from a nightmare, he would ask someone to check on her, and when he was worried, he would go to check on her himself.
He was afraid he wouldn't have been able to catch his daughter.
It seems that Emperor Jingxi was seriously ill this time, and he dreamed about this matter again.
Qin Su sighed almost imperceptibly and reached out to touch his brow.
Emperor Jingxi's brows relaxed, his expression softened, and he gradually drifted into a deep sleep.
If modern medical instruments were available here, they would reveal Emperor Jingxi's miraculously improving physical condition.
The system wagged its tail anxiously on the ground: "Susu, this is an ordinary ancient world, you can't use magic here."
Last night, following Qin Su's advice, it transferred the dragon energy to Emperor Jingxi. Emperor Jingxi's fate has changed, and he will be full of energy again once he recovers from this illness.
The moldy things Qin Su had someone look for this morning, like rice juice, were essential ingredients for making penicillin using traditional methods.
Penicillin was more than enough to help Emperor Jingxi get through this crisis.
They could have resolved the matter methodically and discreetly, but Qin Su suddenly intervened and cured Emperor Jingxi's illness ahead of schedule.
Qin Su said casually, "It's alright, it just means I'll get hit by another lightning bolt in the future."
"This isn't about a single lightning bolt." The system leaped to the opposite side of Qin Su and said seriously, "We are just passersby in these small worlds. We already carry a lot of karma by trading with people in each world, but we'll let it go for the sake of fair exchange of luck points."
It never imagined that one day it would need to remind Su Su of these things.
"If we don't want luck points, and we have to use magic at a higher cost, then what are we doing this for?"
"God is heartless." The fluffy tail gently rested on Qin Su's wrist, and the cat said earnestly, "Su Su, your heart should not waver."
"Heart?" Qin Su smiled enigmatically. "What heart would I have?"
The cat was taken aback, and then remembered the old story.
Just as it was about to say something, Qin Su pressed its head down: "Alright, I have my own ideas, don't nag like a human."
The cat pouted and nudged her palm with its nose.
In the afternoon, Ye Yan, having finished his work, hurriedly went to the palace to see Qin Su.
He was still worried about Qin Su's terrible mood last night, fearing that she might not be able to eat or sleep well today either.
He pushed open the door of the side hall and saw Qin Su sitting there reviewing memorials on behalf of Emperor Jingxi. She seemed to be in good spirits, which relieved him.
"I'm late today. There was a small problem with Lord Hou, so I went over to take a look."
Ye Yan walked over and sat down naturally opposite Qin Su: "Did Your Highness take a nap today? Are you tired? How about I accompany you for a walk?"
"I'd like to take a nap," Qin Su said, raising her eyes with a half-smile. "But it's hard to sleep alone. General Ye, are you just here to keep me company?"
Ye Yan was stunned.
That expression, that look, that tone of voice...
His mind went blank.
Qin Su stood up, leaned on the table, and moved closer to him, her expression inscrutable. "What should I do, General Ye? You know far too much. Haven't you heard the saying, 'When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked'? You know so many of my secrets. How am I, a man destined to be emperor, supposed to deal with you?"
Ye Yan met her gaze.
Qin Su's eyelashes were long and black, so long that they curled slightly, and the outer corners of her eyes were even finer than the rest. With her eyes drooping and the outer corners curving upwards, it looked as if she had drawn eyeliner, making her even more breathtakingly beautiful.
She blinked her eyelashes, as if waiting to see his reaction.
But Ye Yan didn't actually hear anything, and he couldn't think about anything. After his mind went blank, his heart started burning.
The scalding blood flowed from his heart throughout his body, forcing him to become rough in his movements.
Ye Yan pulled Qin Su from the other side, tightly trapping her between himself and the table with his legs, and kissed her without saying a word.
Qin Su hissed in pain from his impact, and Ye Yan subconsciously softened his movements, licking her lips before awkwardly continuing, like a big dog wanting to get close to its owner but not knowing how.
Qin Su couldn't help but laugh, grabbed his waist, and scolded, "Idiot, stick out your tongue."
Having been out of practice for too long, Ye Yan quickly realized his mistake and corrected it, while also reviewing and learning from his past experiences.
The two of them didn't have time to talk, and soon there was no more noise in the side hall.
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