Chapter 120 Punish Her Properly
Li Yanran screamed in fright, her face turning deathly pale. Ye Wanning feigned surprise: "How could this be? Could there be something in the wine? Miss Li, did you accidentally add something you shouldn't have when you were brewing it?"
People gathered around, looking at the red rash on Li Yanran's legs, and said all at once, "This looks like symptoms of being poisoned by itching powder!" "Why would Miss Li put itching powder in the wine? Is she trying to harm Madam Pei?"
The princess's face immediately turned grim, and she quickly sent someone to summon the head physician of the Imperial Medical Academy. The physician arrived swiftly, dipped a silver needle into the remaining wine in Li Yanran's cup, smelled it, and then examined Li Yanran's rash. He said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, to answer your question, this wine contains a medicinal powder called 'Itch Vine Powder.' If it gets on the skin, it will cause redness, swelling, and itching; if ingested, the consequences will be even more unimaginable."
Li Yanran was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face: "I didn't add it! There was something wrong with the wine! I really didn't mean to harm Madam Pei!"
"You didn't add it?" Ye Wanning raised an eyebrow. "You brewed this wine yourself and delivered it to me personally. Who else but you would add the powder? Miss Li, if you're jealous of my marriage to Pei Zhi, just do it openly. Don't you think it's shameful to use such despicable methods?"
Li Yanran was rendered speechless by her words. The Princess, too ashamed to defend her any longer, could only apologize to Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi: "General Pei, Madam Pei, it's my fault for not disciplining her properly, causing you to suffer such humiliation. I'll take Yanran back immediately and punish her severely!"
Pei Zhi's expression did not soften at all, and he said coldly, "Your Highness had better keep a close eye on your niece. If she comes to bother Wan Ning again, I will not give Your Highness any face."
The eldest princess nodded and quickly had someone help Li Yanran away. The banquet could not continue, and soon, the guests left one after another.
Pei Zhi took Ye Wanning's hand and walked towards the carriage, his fingers stroking her palm as he chuckled, "You little rascal, you're getting smarter and smarter. Don't take such risks next time, it'll be troublesome if you actually drink that wine."
"I know you'll protect me." Ye Wanning leaned against him. "Besides, I'm not that stupid. Would I drink it just because she offered it to me?"
The carriage moved slowly. Pei Zhi took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed it over: "This is an antidote ointment that I had my guards prepare. You just touched a wine glass; if you got any poisonous itching powder on it, apply it quickly."
Ye Wanning took the porcelain bottle, feeling a warmth in her heart: "You knew she would cause me trouble?"
“Hmm.” Pei Zhi nodded. “Deputy General Zhang said that Li Yanran went to the pharmacy to buy itchy vine powder a few days ago. I knew that woman had ill intentions. From now on, I will stay by your side and not leave you for a moment when you attend any banquets.”
The children of Ci'an Hall had just finished breakfast when Chun Tao rushed in, clutching a small newspaper from the capital: "Miss! Take a look! Physician Liu from the Imperial Hospital says he has successfully developed a 'miracle cure' for gynecological diseases, and the Empress Dowager has even rewarded him with a hundred taels of gold!"
Ye Wanning took the tabloid, glanced at the prescription, and then dropped the handkerchief in her hand with a "plop"—the prescription was clearly left by her mother, Su Wan. She had used it at the women's clinic last year and even made twenty clinical records. Doctor Liu had only changed the dosage of two herbs and claimed it was his own invention!
"That's outrageous!" Chun Tao stomped her foot in anger. "How could Physician Liu steal your prescription? Should I go and settle the score with him right now?"
"Don't rush." Ye Wanning took a deep breath, picked up a handkerchief and wiped her hands. "The Empress Dowager is holding a medical seminar the day after tomorrow, and she has invited all the famous doctors in the capital. I'll go and have him explain the origin of that prescription in front of everyone."
When Pei Zhi got home from work that evening, he saw Ye Wanning sitting at the table, staring blankly at a prescription. He went over and looked at it: "Isn't this the prescription you used to treat Madam Zhang's menstrual cramps last year? How did it end up in Doctor Liu's hands?"
“He stole it.” Ye Wanning raised her head, her eyes full of grievance. “The Empress Dowager even rewarded him with gold. Now the whole capital knows that he developed this formula.”
Pei Zhi's expression changed, and he grasped her hand: "Don't be afraid, you'll come with me to the seminar the day after tomorrow. If he dares to deny it, I'll stand up for you."
“You don’t need to step in. This is a matter of medical theory, and I can explain it to him myself. However… I need to find my mother’s manuscript and those twenty case studies.”
Pei Zhi nodded, turned and went to the study to search, and soon returned carrying a wooden box: "It's all here. I've been keeping your mother's manuscripts for her, and the medical records are also stacked chronologically."
That day, the Empress Dowager's Chang Le Palace was packed with people. Imperial Physician Liu, dressed in his new official robes, stood in the middle of the hall, proudly explaining the prescription: "I've tested this prescription for five years. It uses angelica and rehmannia root to invigorate blood and remove blood stasis. I've cured countless gynecological patients with this prescription; even the wife of the wealthy Zhang family in the east of the city conceived her child thanks to it..."
Ye Wanning squeezed into the crowd and frowned when she heard "Madam Zhang"—she was the one who cured Madam Zhang's illness, and Physician Liu had never even seen Madam Zhang!
"Doctor Liu, tell me, did you develop this prescription?" Ye Wanning took a step forward, her clear voice ringing out, "Then tell me, why did you prescribe three qian of angelica instead of two qian? Why did you add white peony root? Also, Madam Zhang's body is cold, and you used cinnamon in the prescription, but Madam Zhang will get heaty, didn't you know that?"
Physician Liu's face turned pale instantly, and he stammered, unable to speak: "I...I was considering different people's constitutions, and I naturally had my reasons."
"What's your intention?" Ye Wanning took out her mother's manuscript from her bosom and unfolded it. "This is a manuscript my mother wrote twenty years ago. Why is there three qian of angelica in this prescription, why is white peony added, and why did I use ginger instead of cinnamon when Madam Zhang's body is cold? — Physician Liu, you don't even understand your patient's constitution, yet you have the nerve to say that this prescription was your research?"
The Empress Dowager took the manuscript, glanced at it, and then ordered the eunuchs to bring Madam Zhang into the hall. As soon as Madam Zhang entered, she knelt before Ye Wanning: "Madam Pei, if it weren't for your prescription, I truly wouldn't have had a child. Physician Liu has never even seen me; how could he possibly know my constitution?"
Cold sweat beaded on Physician Liu's forehead as he tried to argue, "I... I just remembered it wrong, this prescription is indeed mine..."
"You still dare to argue?" Ye Wanning pulled out another stack of medical records. "These are twenty patients treated with my prescriptions. The symptoms, dosages, and follow-up care methods are all clearly written down. Tell me, did you treat five of these cases?"
Physician Liu looked at the medical record, his hands trembling, unable to utter a single word. The head of the Imperial Hospital came up with a prescription, pointed to the prescription and the manuscript for comparison, and said, "Your Majesty, Physician Liu's prescription is indeed from Madam Pei's mother, but he changed two ingredients, and the changes were incorrect. Long-term use will cause irregular menstruation."
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