Chapter 278 Severe Torture
It must be Consort Li who deliberately framed her!
"I understand." Ye Wanning forced herself to calm down, took a few deep breaths, and said to the guards who came to arrest her, "I'll go with you."
She was taken to a side hall in the palace, which was cold and damp, with only a bed and a table.
The guards in black threw her inside, closed the door, and left.
Ye Wanning sat down by the bed, pondering: Why did Consort Li want to frame her? Just because she refused to be won over?
Just then, a slight noise came from outside, and the black-clad guard came in again, handing over a coat: "Doctor Ye, this is what the Prime Minister asked you to have."
"The Prime Minister said, 'Don't be afraid, he's here.'"
The guard also handed over a note with Pei Zhi's handwriting. It contained only four characters, but it instantly put Ye Wanning at ease.
She took the coat, carefully placed the warm jade inside against her skin, and a warm current spread from the bottom of her heart.
Pei Zhi will definitely save her.
Pei Zhi had already learned of the news. He put aside his affairs and immediately went to see the emperor to defend Ye Wanning: "Your Majesty, Ye Wanning has superb medical skills and a kind heart. She would never harm a concubine."
"This must be a frame-up. Your Majesty, please allow us to re-examine the medicine and clear her name."
The Emperor's face darkened: "Prime Minister Pei, you still want to defend her? It was the medicine she prescribed that caused Consort Li's illness; the evidence is irrefutable!"
“Your Majesty, whether the medicine has been tampered with can be easily determined with an investigation,” Pei Zhi said. “Your Majesty can send Imperial Physician Li from the Imperial Hospital to examine it.”
"Imperial Physician Li is impartial and incorruptible; he will surely investigate the matter thoroughly."
The emperor hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded: "Alright, as you say, summon Imperial Physician Li to Consort Li's palace to examine her."
Soon, Imperial Physician Li was summoned to Consort Li's palace. He examined the remaining medicine and inquired about the process by which the palace maids prepared it.
Not long after, he reported back: "Your Majesty, someone added a laxative to the medicine. It was not that Doctor Ye's prescription was wrong."
Consort Li's expression changed drastically: "Impossible! You must have made a mistake!"
Imperial Physician Li took out a silver needle and put it into the decoction. The silver needle turned black instantly: "This laxative turns black when it comes into contact with a silver needle. Your Majesty is wise."
The emperor, seeing the blackened silver needle, flew into a rage: "Guards! Bring all the palace maids from Consort Li's palace here and torture them severely!"
"I want to see who dares to poison me!"
The palace maid could not withstand the torture and soon confessed: "Your Majesty, spare my life! It was the Empress who ordered me to add laxatives to the medicine to frame Doctor Ye!"
Consort Li collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale.
The Emperor trembled with rage: "How dare you, Consort Li, frame others in the palace! Guards, confine Consort Li to her quarters for a month to reflect on her actions!"
"Your Majesty, spare me!" Consort Li cried out, but was dragged away by the guards.
Upon learning of this, the Prince of Jiangnan was furious and immediately sent someone to the palace to reprimand Consort Li, telling her to behave herself and stop causing trouble.
After Ye Wanning was released, she had just stepped out of the side hall when she saw Pei Zhi standing not far away waiting for her.
His face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he had been working tirelessly for her all night.
"Lord Pei," Ye Wanning stepped forward, her voice choked with emotion, "thank you."
Pei Zhi smiled when he saw that she was alright: "It's good that you're alright."
"I've dragged you into this again." Ye Wanning lowered her head.
“I’ve said it before, your business is my business,” Pei Zhi said softly. “I’ll take you back to the Heritage Hall.”
Once in the carriage, Ye Wanning looked at the exhausted Pei Zhi beside her, her heart filled with emotion. She didn't know what to say for a moment, so she simply stayed quietly by his side.
Back at the Heritage Hall, Su Ning was so excited to see her safe return that she cried, "Miss, you're finally back!"
"I'm fine now." Ye Wanning patted her shoulder.
That afternoon, Imperial Physician Li arrived at the Heritage Hall: "Doctor Ye, this old minister has come to see you."
Ye Wanning quickly went to greet him: "Physician Li, you're too kind. Please have a seat."
After sitting down, Imperial Physician Li got straight to the point: "This old minister has come today to tell you something."
"This old minister recognizes you; you are Lin Yuewei's daughter."
"You know my mother?" Ye Wanning asked in surprise.
"Of course I know her." Imperial Physician Li nodded, his eyes filled with nostalgia. "Your mother was the most talented female physician in the Imperial Medical Academy back then."
"She is a person of good character and medical skills. She is an old friend of mine, and she even saved my life back then."
Ye Wanning's eyes reddened as she spoke of her mother: "My mother, she..."
“I know some things about her,” Imperial Physician Li sighed. “It is my incompetence that I was unable to clear her name.”
"However, you inherited her talent, and your medical skills are also excellent."
He took out a wooden box from his pocket and handed it to Ye Wanning: "Inside are my treasured medical records and acupuncture insights. I'm giving them to you now."
"This old minister would like to take you as a disciple under a nominal name. I wonder if you would be willing?"
Ye Wanning was so excited that she couldn't speak, and tears streamed down her face: "Disciple Ye Wanning greets Master!"
"Good, good!" Physician Li happily helped her up. "If you have any questions about medical skills in the future, you can come to me anytime."
The Imperial Medical Academy quickly learned of this. After hearing Physician Li's words, Liu Yuan scoffed disdainfully, "A mere market town doctor dares to enter my ranks as an imperial physician? What a joke!"
Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Li immediately retorted, "Physician Liu, you're wrong! Wan Ning is far superior to you. I took her as my apprentice based on her skills and character. What right do you have to interrupt!"
Liu Yuan was speechless after being rebuked, his face turning pale and then red with anger, and he left in a huff.
Pei Zhi was naturally pleased to learn that Ye Wanning had become a disciple of Imperial Physician Li. He sent her a valuable set of writing materials along with a note: "To meet a good teacher is like adding wings to a tiger."
Ye Wanning received his congratulatory gift and carefully opened it. Inside were indeed genuine fine writing brushes and ink. The inkstone was a Duan inkstone, the brush was a wolf-hair brush, the paper was Xuan paper, and the ink was Huizhou ink.
She placed these writing implements in the most prominent place in her study, and every time she saw them, her heart felt warm.
As the days went by, Ye Wanning's medical skills became more and more exquisite, and the reputation of the Heritage Hall grew bigger and bigger.
With the Empress Dowager's gifts and her own savings, she decided to expand the Heritage Center and add a "Women Doctor's Clinic" to provide free medical consultations for women in need.
After word got out, everyone supported her. Liu Yuan saw this and was extremely jealous. He secretly hired a group of thugs to cause trouble at the expansion site of the Heritage Hall, damaging a lot of materials.
"Girl, those thugs are awful!" an apprentice working on the construction site ran back to report. "They not only smashed things, but also injured several workers!"
Ye Wanning frowned. She knew it must have been Liu Yuan who did it.
But she did not back down. She immediately sent someone to invite the government officials and asked Su Ning to tell the villagers about the local ruffians causing trouble.
Upon hearing this, the villagers were all furious and began cursing the local thugs: "Dr. Ye treated us kindly, and expanding the heritage center is for everyone's benefit. How can you bully her!"
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