Chapter 277 triggered an old ailment.
After dark, there were no more patients in the heritage center. Ye Wanning sat in the room, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
She didn't know how Pei Zhi was doing or whether the matter could be resolved smoothly.
Light footsteps came from outside the building. Ye Wanning looked up and saw Pei Zhi walk in.
He was dressed in casual clothes, his face was pale, and his eyes were full of exhaustion.
“Lord Pei…” Ye Wanning quickly stood up.
Pei Zhi walked up to her, his tone indifferent: "This is none of your business, I will handle it myself."
"You stay in the Heritage Center and don't go out or pay attention to the rumors outside."
His tone was completely flat, which chilled Ye Wanning to the bone.
She thought Pei Zhi would blame her, that she had dragged him into this mess.
"Lord Pei, I'm sorry, it's all my fault." Ye Wanning lowered her head. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been impeached by Minister Wang and suspected by the Emperor."
Pei Zhi looked at her sobbing with her head down and felt a little sorry for her, but he still hardened his heart and said, "I told you, this has nothing to do with you."
"You don't need to apologize, and don't feel guilty."
The room was eerily quiet. Ye Wanning kept her head down and cried, while Pei Zhi stood silently to the side.
After a long pause, Pei Zhi finally spoke: "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now. Remember what I said, don't go out."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Ye Wanning watched his retreating figure, her heart aching even more. Pei Zhi must be angry with her.
She picked up the note on the table. The handwriting that read, "Too much sharpness invites trouble; leave room for maneuver in all things," now resembled a sharp steel thorn.
Pei Zhi exited the Heritage Hall, and Li Dequan greeted him: "Prime Minister, how are you? Doctor Ye, she..."
“She’s fine.” Pei Zhi waved his hand, his tone somewhat weary. “I deliberately spoke to her in a cold tone.”
"The goal is for her to stay peacefully in the Heritage Center, not to overthink things, and not to go out."
"Your Excellency, the people who checked the accounts have reported back," Li Dequan said. "The names of the people who handled the transactions on the accounts are fake!"
"Those so-called huge donations were never actually transferred; they were all fabricated by Wang Kun!"
“Hmm.” Pei Zhi nodded. “Wang Kun is too ambitious and always wants to bring me down.”
“This time he forged the account books to frame me and Dr. Ye, and I will not let it go.”
"What does Your Excellency intend to do? The Emperor is still blaming you," Li Dequan asked.
"We'll just have to wait for the results of the investigation," Pei Zhi said. "Once it's proven that the account books are fake, the Emperor will understand."
"The most important thing now is to protect Dr. Ye and not give Wang Kun any opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
"This servant understands. More people have been assigned to guard the Heritage Hall."
At this moment, Wang Kun was drinking with several of his subordinates in his residence.
"Now that Pei Zhi has been suspended, let's see how he dares to oppose me again!" Wang Kun said smugly.
One of his subordinates flattered, "Your Excellency is brilliant! If we add fuel to the fire and make the Emperor thoroughly dislike Pei Zhi, we can bring him down!"
Wang Kun smiled smugly: "Don't worry, I've arranged everything. In a few days, I'll submit a memorial to the Emperor, saying that Ye Wanning colluded with Pei Zhi to endanger the court."
"At that time, no matter how stubborn Pei Zhi is, he won't be able to explain himself!"
The group cheered again.
Inside the heritage center, Ye Wanning tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She sat by the window, letting the moonlight fall on her face, filled with shame.
If it weren't for her, Pei Zhi wouldn't have ended up in this state.
She even began to doubt whether she should have studied Western Region spice therapy or accepted the Empress Dowager's gifts.
Su Ning brought in a bowl of calming soup: "Miss, have some calming soup, it will help you sleep better."
Ye Wanning took the soup bowl, the warm soup flowing from her fingertips to her heart, but she had no appetite.
She took a small sip, her mind filled with Pei Zhi's cold departure and the gossip circulating on the street.
"Miss, don't overthink it," Su Ning said softly, sitting down beside her. "The Prime Minister isn't that kind of person; the accounts must be fake."
"He's barely able to protect himself, yet he still specially sent guards to protect you. How could it be to recruit you and build his own power base?"
Ye Wanning nodded. She understood these principles, but she couldn't suppress the guilt and unease in her heart.
Ye Wanning barely slept that night. She had just drifted off to sleep when she was woken up by noises outside.
She got up and walked to the window; the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
At the entrance of the heritage center stood Li Dequan, whom she knew well, anxiously talking to the gatekeeper apprentice.
Ye Wanning's heart tightened, and she quickly changed her clothes and came out: "Manager Li, what's wrong?"
Seeing her come out, Li Dequan quickly stepped forward, his tone urgent: "Doctor Ye, please go and see the Prime Minister!"
"The Prime Minister's old ailment has flared up, and he has a severe headache. He is currently in the carriage outside."
Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat. Without thinking too much, she followed Li Dequan outside.
The carriage was parked in the shadows at the street corner, its curtains drawn low.
She lifted the carriage curtain and saw Pei Zhi leaning against the carriage, his face deathly pale.
His brow was furrowed, his hands pressed against his temples, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"Lord Pei," Ye Wanning called softly, reaching out to touch his wrist, "Let me check your pulse first."
Pei Zhi opened his eyes, his gaze hazy. After recognizing her, he forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
As her fingertips touched his wrist, Ye Wanning's heart pounded.
His pulse was irregular, rapid and deep, clearly indicating that his old ailment had been triggered by days of overwork.
“It’s an old ailment triggered by overwork.” Ye Wanning withdrew her hand, her tone urgent. “We need to get acupuncture as soon as possible, and also get some calming herbal medicine.”
"It's not convenient here. Let's help Lord Pei to a room in the backyard of the Heritage Hall first."
Li Dequan quickly agreed and, together with Ye Wanning, carefully helped Pei Zhi out of the car.
Su Ning had heard the commotion earlier and had tidied up the backyard room in advance, and even brought hot water.
After settling Pei Zhi on the bed, Ye Wanning asked Li Dequan to wait in the outer room while she took out acupuncture needles from her bag.
"It might feel a little sore and swollen, please bear with it."
Pei Zhi nodded, closed his eyes, and let her do as she pleased.
Ye Wanning lit the mugwort, heated the silver needles, and deftly inserted them into the acupoints on his forehead.
She moved very gently, afraid of upsetting him.
After inserting most of the needles, she needed to adjust their angle. She leaned closer, and her fingertips accidentally touched his forehead, feeling a warm sensation.
Pei Zhi remained motionless, and Ye Wanning's face instantly flushed red. She quickly withdrew her hand, her heart pounding wildly.
She didn't dare look at him, lowered her head and continued adjusting the angle, her voice trembling slightly: "Almost, almost done."
Pei Zhi opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of her reddened ear tips; a strange look flashed in his eyes.
The coldness in the carriage was something he deliberately feigned, afraid that revealing his emotions would make her even more nervous.
But seeing her nervous appearance up close, he inexplicably softened.
After the acupuncture session ended, Ye Wanning put away the silver needles and was about to get up to write a prescription when Pei Zhi suddenly spoke up: "When I helped Qin Yue in the court before and supported your research on Western Region spice therapy, it wasn't for power."
Ye Wanning paused, then turned to look at him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com