Chapter 214 Infiltrating the Palace
After saying that, Ye Wanning turned and ran towards the palace.
Using the jade bracelet bestowed upon her by the Empress Dowager, she successfully entered the inner palace. Following the directions given by Xiao Lian, she quickly found the suspicious men—they were hiding behind the artificial hill, discussing something. Ye Wanning quietly hid behind a large tree, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Brother! The Imperial Study is heavily guarded. How can we sneak in?" a man said.
"Wait," the leader said. "I've bribed a eunuch. In the dead of night, he'll open the side door for us! We'll sneak in to find the secret edict. If we don't find it, we'll kill the emperor and create chaos, so the brothers outside can seize the opportunity to start a rebellion!"
Ye Wanning's heart tightened—they actually wanted to assassinate the emperor and launch a rebellion from within!
They had to be stopped! But she was a woman with no martial arts skills and was no match for these men. She could only try to stall them until Pei Zhi arrived.
She suddenly remembered the "drowsiness powder" in the medicine box, which was used to protect against bad guys. Just a small amount would make her dizzy, lightheaded, and weak all over.
Ye Wanning quickly went around to the back of the artificial hill, and while they weren't paying attention, she unscrewed the bottle cap and scattered the sleeping powder.
The scent of the sleeping powder was very faint, and the group didn't notice it immediately. Before long, they all felt dizzy, weak, and collapsed to the ground.
"What's wrong? Why am I so dizzy?"
"Oh no, we've been poisoned!" The leader tried to struggle to his feet, but his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.
Ye Wanning rushed out, holding a silver needle in her hand, her eyes filled with coldness: "Remnants of the previous dynasty, you have infiltrated the palace with treacherous intentions. Today is your death day!"
At this moment, Pei Zhi rushed over with his guards. Seeing the man lying on the ground and Ye Wanning unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Wanning, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Ye Wanning smiled. "I used the sleeping powder to knock them out. Luckily you arrived in time."
Pei Zhi walked to her side, took her hand, and looked at her with concern in his eyes: "You must not take such risks again. What would I do if something happened?"
"I understand." Ye Wanning nodded, her heart filled with gratitude.
The guards bound the men and took them back to the palace for interrogation by the Dali Temple. The men quickly revealed the hiding place of the remnants of the previous dynasty and their uprising plan.
The magnolias inside the palace walls had just faded when news of the imperial concubine selection spread throughout the capital.
Ye Wanning was teaching her apprentices to identify medicinal herbs at the heritage hall when Chun Tao rushed in, her face full of gossip: "Miss, have you heard? In this selection of concubines, Prime Minister Wei's daughter was named a Virtuous Consort. She's incredibly beautiful and exceptionally gentle!"
"The daughter of the Wei family?" Ye Wanning raised her eyes, a hint of wariness in them. "When did she enter the palace?"
"Just yesterday, the Emperor personally bestowed the title and many rewards upon her. The Wei family is now enjoying unparalleled glory!" Chun Tao said. "I heard that after Consort Xian entered the palace, the first thing she did was to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. She also mentioned you, saying that she greatly admires your medical skills!"
Ye Wanning immediately understood—the Wei family wanted to establish themselves in the court and the harem, and sending their daughter into the palace was naturally an attempt to win her over. She, the "National Protector Physician," enjoyed the deep trust of the Emperor and Empress, making her the first person the Virtuous Consort wanted to win over.
Sure enough, not long after, someone from the palace came with an imperial decree, saying that Consort Xian requested her to come to the palace for an audience.
Ye Wanning lifted the hem of her robe and, with Xiao Lian in tow, followed the palace maids toward Chang Le Palace—originally the palace of Consort Li, which was later given to Consort Xian after Consort Li's downfall.
Chang Le Palace had been renovated and was even more magnificent than before, with a faint scent of sandalwood burning in the air. Consort Wei sat on a soft couch, dressed in a light pink palace dress, her eyes gentle and her lips curved into a natural smile, looking truly gentle and virtuous.
"Madam Ye has arrived, please have a seat." Consort Xian smiled and rose to greet her, as if she were a long-lost friend.
"Your Highness is too kind." Ye Wanning sat down, giving her a subtle glance. "May I ask what Your Highness has summoned me to the palace for?"
Consort Xian smiled sweetly, but her eyes held a calculating glint. When she looked at Ye Wanning, she was full of flattery: "I don't mean to give orders, but I truly admire Madam Ye's superb medical skills and compassion for the people!"
She then said to the palace maid behind her, "Show the prepared items to Madam Ye!"
Before long, a palace maid came over with a brocade box containing a thousand-year-old ginseng and several rare and precious medicinal herbs.
"These medicinal herbs were specially sought out by my father. I heard that the Heritage Hall can use them, so they should be able to help you!" Consort Xian said. "Madam Ye wants to turn the Heritage Hall into a medical alliance so that more women can learn medicine. I am willing to help you! As long as you are willing to cooperate with me, I can ask my father to support you in court and have the Emperor issue a decree to the whole country, ordering local governments to support the medical alliance!"
Ye Wanning looked at the medicinal herbs in the brocade box and sneered inwardly—the Consort Xian had her own plans, but she wouldn't get involved!
"I appreciate Your Highness's kindness!" She smiled sincerely, but did not accept the brocade box. "The Heritage Hall has reached its current scale thanks to the trust of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, as well as the recognition of the people. I only wish to practice medicine and teach students in peace, and do not want to get involved in the intrigues of the court and the harem. These medicinal herbs are too precious for me to accept. Please, Your Highness, take them back!"
The smile on Consort Xian's face froze for a moment. She hadn't expected her to refuse so decisively. She was stunned for a moment before regaining her gentle expression: "Madam Ye is joking. I only admire you and have no other intentions. Why be so formal?"
"Your Majesty's kindness is truly appreciated!" Ye Wanning said firmly. "The Heritage Center has government funding and pharmaceutical merchants' sponsorship, so there's no worry about medicinal materials! If Your Majesty really wants to help, please visit the Heritage Center more often to participate in free clinics so that more people can access medicine!"
Seeing that she still wouldn't budge, Consort Xian stopped pressuring her, though she was quite displeased inside. She said, "Then I won't force you. If you need anything in the future, just tell me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ye Wanning stood up and curtsied to her. "If Your Majesty has nothing else to attend to, I must return to the Inheritance Hall to teach my disciples, so I will not disturb you any longer."
"Go ahead, I won't see you off." Consort Xian's tone was icy, lacking the warmth from before.
As soon as she left the palace, Ye Wanning felt a cold gaze following her—it seemed that she had really angered Consort Xian, and this woman held a grudge against her.
"Madam, Consort Xian is beautiful, but she's so cunning," Xiaolian whispered. "Which woman in the harem is truly gentle and harmless? They're all driven by greed. The Wei family is ambitious, and Consort Xian is just a pawn in their game. We should stay far away from her in the future and try not to get entangled with her."
"I want to hide, but the Wei family won't let me." Ye Wanning sighed softly—in the end, she couldn't escape.
Within a few days, Prime Minister Wei, together with a group of conservative ministers, impeached the Medical Heritage Institute: "Your Majesty, Ye Wanning's recruitment of women from the common people to study medicine is a complete violation of the principle of 'men and women should not touch each other,' which corrupts the morals of the world! The Medical Heritage Institute consumes huge sums of government funds but only recruits female students, which is of no benefit! It would be better to place it under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Medical Academy, which would be both standardized and save expenses!"
A group of conservative ministers echoed this sentiment.
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