The old man was silent.

Seeing this, Emperor Jingming became more curious and asked, "What kind of miraculous medicine is this?"

The old man smiled, and seemed a little embarrassed: "It's not strange, many people have it. But it's not strange, but it can't be bought with money..."

As he said this, he couldn't help but glance at Princess Rongyang.

Princess Rongyang shook her head slightly.

Emperor Jingming noticed the exchange of glances between the two and said sternly, "Rongyang, what exactly is this medicine? Why are you asking the miracle doctor not to tell you?"

"This——" Princess Rongyang hesitated.

The Queen Mother was naturally curious: "Rongyang, is there anything you can't say?"

Princess Rongyang's expression changed unpredictably, and she finally nodded.

The old man then said, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this medicine requires two ounces of human flesh, and it must be taken from the arm of an unmarried girl..."

"What?" The Queen Mother was shocked. Her stomach churned and her face turned ugly.

Princess Rongyang immediately knelt down and apologized: "I hope your majesty will not blame me for keeping it a secret. I was afraid that you would know and I would not dare to take the medicine..."

Emperor Jingming was also shocked.

My mother ate human flesh, but she didn't taste it? Does that mean human flesh tastes similar to other meats?

Ahem, it seems I'm thinking too far ahead.

Retracting his thoughts, Emperor Jingming looked at the Empress Dowager with concern.

The Queen Mother has slowed down.

For a woman who stands at the highest position in the harem, if human flesh can cure diseases, then it is a medicine. Since it is a life-saving medicine, there is nothing she cannot eat.

"I'm fine. I just don't know if this medicine—"

Princess Rongyang was silent for a moment before she said, "Mingyue cut the flesh off her arm herself..."

"It's Mingyue?" The Queen Mother was shocked.

Emperor Jingming was even more surprised.

In his impression, this niece has always been quiet and graceful. He was shocked by the rumor she spread last year. He never thought she would sacrifice her own flesh to save the Queen Mother...

The Queen Mother calmed down after a long time and asked with concern, "How is Mingyue now?"

No matter how much dissatisfaction he had with Cui Mingyue, now that he heard this, all that dissatisfaction disappeared.

Princess Rongyang wiped her eyes gently and said, "Mingyue started to have a fever after the meat was cut, and she is still asleep now."

The Queen Mother's face changed slightly when she heard this, and she couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you choose someone else?"

With so many maids, why would they need to cut off the flesh of a delicate girl...

Princess Rongyang sighed: "The genius doctor said that the more noble the donor of this medicine is, the better the effect will be... Mingyue heard the news and directly cut the flesh on her arm with a dagger. I couldn't stop her..."

"This child, this child is really..." The Queen Mother was speechless for a moment.

Princess Rongyang said soothingly, "Mother, don't worry about Mingyue. Your health is the most important thing. Mingyue is still young, it's just a fever, it's nothing serious—"

The Queen Mother interrupted Princess Rongyang and said, "Who said that fever is not a big deal? Fever is the most difficult thing to deal with. By the way, has the miracle doctor examined Mingyue?"

The old man said, "I am only good at treating difficult and rare diseases. For common fevers, it is best to ask the imperial physician to take a look."

The Queen Mother looked at Emperor Jingming: "Your Majesty——"

Emperor Jingming nodded and said, "Don't worry, mother. I will ask the imperial physician to check on Mingyue."

Princess Rongyang stood up and said, "Brother, I will go back to the palace with the imperial physician. I am really worried about Mingyue."

"Go ahead, my sister. If anything happens, please send someone to tell me immediately."

Cining Palace fell silent for a moment.

The Queen Mother counted her beads, muttering to herself with her eyes closed.

About an hour later, the imperial physician came back with a reply.

The Queen Mother summoned the imperial physician and asked softly, "How is Miss Cui's wound?"

The doctor replied, "Ms. Cui's left arm was deeply wounded and has some ulcers, which is why she has a fever."

The Queen Mother was deeply moved.

Being in the harem, one always has a trace of distrust towards others. Even though the story of Cui Mingyue cutting her flesh came from the mouth of Princess Rongyang, the Queen Mother still had some doubts. Now, after hearing what the imperial physician said, all her doubts were gone.

Mingyue actually cut off her own flesh without hesitation to save her...

“Will it leave scars?”

The doctor lowered his head and said, "A wound like that will naturally leave a scar."

The Queen Mother was silent for a moment.

For a noblewoman to have such a scar on her arm would be a lifelong regret. She might not be liked by her husband in the future...

Thinking about getting married, the Queen Mother thought of what happened to Cui Mingyue years ago.

Rongyang said Mingyue was deceived by Zhu, thinking that he was a self-respecting and self-reliant poor student. Although the two had been together for a while, Mingyue was still a virgin.

At that time, she was angry at Cui Mingyue for being ignorant and didn't listen at all. Now think about it, Mingyue has always been a good child, Rongyang said this not to defend his daughter.

The Queen Mother's illness was almost miraculously cured, and the story of Cui Mingyue cutting off her own flesh to save the Queen Mother soon spread throughout the palace.

For a while, no one dared to laugh at the rumors about Cui Mingyue years ago.

Many people thought to themselves: Miss Cui is about to make a comeback. Compared to the merit of saving the Queen Mother, what does that little rumor matter?

Everyone guessed correctly. When the empress dowager was able to take a walk in the garden and even felt lighter than before she fell ill, she finally made a decision and ordered people to invite Emperor Jingming to the Cining Palace.

Emperor Jingming has been in a relaxed mood these past two days.

He was truly happy that the Queen Mother was doing well.

"My queen mother has been gone for a while. Let me help you into the house." Seeing the sweat on the empress dowager's forehead, Emperor Jingming suggested.

The empress dowager agreed and was supported by Emperor Jingming back to the bedroom.

As soon as the two of them sat down, a palace maid served them tea.

The Queen Mother took a sip from the teacup, signaled those who were not involved to leave, and only left her trusted nanny to serve.

Emperor Jingming noticed that the Queen Mother had something to say, and his face straightened.

"Isn't the Prince of Xiang already a child?" asked the Queen Mother.

Emperor Jingming was stunned and glanced at Pan Hai.

He has so many children, how can he remember how old the eighth one is?

To be honest, the one he remembered most clearly was the Seventh Brother. It was because the Taoist priest had predicted since the Seventh Brother that he could not meet his father and son until he was eighteen years old.

He only found out what the seventh child looked like last year, so the seventh child is nineteen years old this year, and he definitely wouldn't be wrong.

Pan Hai knew at once that the emperor was stumped, and secretly made the number "seven" with his hands.

Emperor Jingming said hurriedly: "Old Eight is seven years old——"

"Cough cough!" Pan Hai coughed loudly.

Your Majesty, I only have ten fingers and cannot count seventeen. Can't you give me some snacks?

"Seventeen years old!" Emperor Jingming changed his words in time.

"Seventeen years old, not young anymore. The marriages of the sixth and seventh sons have been arranged, so I thought it would be better to arrange the marriage of the eighth son as well."

Emperor Jingming understood the Queen Mother's intention and asked, "Does the Queen Mother have a favorite candidate?"

To be honest, Lao Ba's biological mother was just a dancer, and it was not her turn to decide on marriage.

The Queen Mother smiled and looked at Emperor Jingming: "Your Majesty, what do you think of Mingyue?"