Yun Qingluo cursed inwardly. It was just a snake wrapped around the waist; it wouldn't kill her. It was just that the Empress Dowager was old and couldn't withstand the pain, which was why she fainted.
In a modern hospital, it would be nothing more than a very common illness.
"Your Majesty is too kind. I only stumbled upon it by chance," Yun Qingluo said with a smile.
Seeing the tension between the two, the Empress Dowager said gently, "Alright, since this child cured me, Your Majesty, please don't make things difficult for her."
The emperor then adopted a respectful expression, saying, "What the Empress Dowager says is true. The Princess Consort's healing of the Empress Dowager is a great achievement. Please feel free to ask for any reward you desire."
A royal physician stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager’s illness has not been completely cured yet. It is too early to talk about rewards now.”
It was the imperial physician who had been staring at Yun Qingluo with a sinister look earlier.
Yun Qingluo was somewhat confused as to why he hated her so much. She didn't even know him.
The Emperor waved his hand and said coldly, "The Empress Dowager has been ill for so long, and you haven't been able to improve her condition. Now that the Princess Consort has alleviated the Empress Dowager's condition, you've come out to cause trouble."
The imperial physicians' expressions changed, and they hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Please forgive us, Your Majesty."
Yun Qingluo's heart sank as she looked at the imperial physician's disapproving gaze.
He cursed inwardly: That damned emperor really knows how to make him a target of hatred.
The emperor turned to look at Yun Qingluo with a kind expression, "Has the princess not yet decided what reward she desires?"
Yun Qingluo lowered her head slightly, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician is right..."
"What, even you dare to contradict me?" The emperor interrupted Yun Qingluo with a displeased expression.
Yun Qingluo appeared fearful on the surface, but secretly rejoiced. "You dog emperor, you begged me for this yourself, so don't be unable to give it to me."
"Your Majesty, I am but a common person who likes common things. If Your Majesty really wishes to bestow a reward, then please give me some common gold and silver items."
"But the Empress Dowager is of noble status and her life is priceless, so it is naturally incomparable to gold and silver. Your Majesty can give her some as a sign of your great imperial grace."
The implication is that you should give whatever amount of silver you think the Empress Dowager's life is worth.
The emperor and empress dowager's faces darkened simultaneously.
Yun Qingluo glanced at the Empress Dowager, whose face was gloomy, and felt increasingly suspicious.
Was it really the Empress Dowager who helped Mo Beichen back then?
"Draft an imperial edict: The Regent's Consort, with her superb medical skills, has cured the Empress Dowager and relieved my worries. She is hereby awarded one million taels of gold, one million taels of silver, ten thousand bolts of silk, ten thousand acres of fertile land, and a pair of jade ruyi scepters..." the Emperor said with a smile.
His heart was bleeding; this was half of his national treasury's wealth.
But since they saved the Empress Dowager's life, they couldn't just give it away casually.
Yun Qingluo was secretly overjoyed, but she didn't show it on her face. She humbly said, "I still ask Your Majesty to rescind your order."
The emperor looked displeased. What more did she want?
"Your Highness, is there anything else to say?" The implication was clear: shut up if you can.
Yun Qingluo suddenly knelt down, shocking the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the imperial physicians.
The mighty Yun Qingluo is actually willing to kneel down? Is it raining red blood from the sky?
"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty, but I fear I am too unfortunate to receive it," Yun Qingluo said humbly.
The emperor asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Yun Qingluo said aggrievedly, "Your Majesty knows that I grew up in the countryside and don't understand palace etiquette and taboos. I'm afraid that if I accidentally offend Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager, I wouldn't even know how I died. Besides, I'm naturally wild..."
The emperor grew impatient. "Get to the point."
Yun Qingluo replied decisively, "This concubine desires a pardon from death."
For a moment, the room was so quiet that you could hear everyone else breathing.
The emperor's face was icy. "Do you know who is worthy of possessing a pardon from death?"
Yun Qingluo thought to herself, of course she knew, but she also knew he would definitely give it to her.
"Your Majesty knows, but I love worldly things, but I cherish my life even more. If Your Majesty feels it is inappropriate, then let it be as Your Majesty originally intended."
The original meaning? It meant giving her half of the national treasury's assets.
The emperor was furious, but with so many imperial physicians around, he couldn't lash out. Comparing the two options, giving out a pardon was indeed more worthwhile than giving away half of the national treasury.
He's so infuriating! This nemesis of his is driving me crazy!
"You may step back. I have my own reasons," the emperor said to Yun Qingluo, suppressing his anger.
Yun Qingluo raised an eyebrow; the matter was settled.
She never intended to take the gold and silver. If she were to take half of the national treasury's wealth, the court would naturally increase taxes to replenish the treasury.
The people will then be in dire straits again, which is the last thing Ah Chen wants to see.
How could she bear to put him in a difficult position?
Fearing that she might ask for too little and the emperor might give it to her too easily, she deliberately brought up the Empress Dowager's life.
When the Empress Dowager's status and wealth are linked, she naturally can no longer act casually.
To demonstrate his filial piety, the emperor would certainly be generous, and Yun Qingluo would only ask for a pardon when he felt his heart was bleeding.
After comparing the two, it's clear that giving someone a pardon is much more worthwhile.
After all, it's only March now, the time for spring planting. How could the common people have the ability to pay taxes and corvée labor?
At that time, he will not only gain wealth to fill the national treasury, but he may also lose the support of the people.
This is certainly not the situation the emperor wants to see.
That night, in the Imperial Study.
The emperor sat in his chair, looking at the imperial physician kneeling on the ground. It was the same imperial physician who had treated Yun Qingluo during the day.
"Are you sure she really can't have children in this lifetime?" the emperor asked in a deep voice.
He knew she was skilled in medicine during the day, so how could someone skilled in medicine allow herself to have such an illness?
"Your Majesty, I am absolutely certain that the Princess Consort is truly infertile for the rest of her life," the imperial physician said firmly.
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