Chapter 88 [Please Leave the Cold Palace]
"The Yun family and the other two families bought out scattered small pharmacies in Lingnan and joined forces to target our He family's pharmacy."
He Jing said worriedly, "They've lowered the price of medicinal herbs to an incredibly low level. Now that the seasons are changing, everyone is going to their pharmacy to buy medicine."
"The He family's medicine shop is doing very poorly, and many medicinal herbs are unsaleable. They won't last long in the warehouse. By the time the south wind returns in February next year, they'll be subject to widespread mold."
After listening to this, Jiang Lili realized that this was just a modern price war.
"My two cousins' medicinal material prices also dropped, but the other party's prices dropped even more sharply."
"If we continue to surrender, we will lose money. Although this is a crisis for the entire He family, my brothers and sisters are doing better than me. They can hold on, but I, a loser at the bottom of the society, can't."
Jiang Lili knew that the most taboo thing in a price war was being led by the other party.
This season change is indeed when there is a high demand for medicinal materials, and pharmacies also want to take advantage of this time to clear their inventory.
There are currently two solutions. One is to solve the problem of unsold products, or to store these medicinal materials for a longer period of time under appropriate conditions.
"Then, your pharmacy will remain idle and proceed as usual." Jiang Lili spoke after deep thought.
He Jing's eyes lit up: "Could it be that Miss Jiang has a way to solve it?"
Jiang Lili nodded: "Yes, it may cost some money, but it will definitely not make you lose too much. Not to mention the He family, at least it will help you, He Jing, to stand firm in this storm."
Jiang Lili thought that even if she rented a warehouse in modern times to store these unsaleable medicinal materials, she would not lose money at all by using the silver given by He Jing to offset the warehouse rental fee.
As a porter, she can even make a profit from the difference.
Besides, the specialty herbs produced in Lingnan are sold at low prices locally, but their value increases several times in the capital, so there is no need to worry about sales.
"I congratulate this person on his life. From now on, it will be yours!"
He Jing originally just wanted to complain to Jiang Lili, but he didn't expect to find a way out from Jiang Lili!
"Some of the other brothers and sisters in the He family are now in disarray. If I can remain stable during this turmoil, my aunt will at least look at me with a higher regard."
With Jiang Lili as his pillar of support, He Jing was no longer so anxious and continued to work hard in secret as time passed.
Capital city.
Another five days passed, and Emperor Qingning and the Empress Dowager did not receive the news of Concubine Ying's death in the cold palace.
But they don't have time to care about the cold palace now, because Marquis Chengyang fainted yesterday.
It was only because Emperor Qingning rewarded him with the Tianshan Snow Lotus, a treasure stored in the ice storage, that he was able to hang on to his last breath.
Empress Dowager Yu cried every day and looked much more haggard.
She had no appetite today, hadn't eaten anything in the morning, and fainted from hunger.
After Emperor Qingning finished his court session, he personally brought the palace maids from the imperial kitchen to serve the empress dowager her meal.
On the bed, the Queen Mother leaned against the headboard and sighed repeatedly. She stopped only when she saw Emperor Qingning coming: "My son, I made you worry."
Emperor Qingning earnestly advised: "Mother, please eat a few bites. You can't fall ill at this time."
"Take a bite, just for the sake of the child."
The empress dowager then nodded reluctantly. Seeing this, Qingzhu, the senior palace maid beside her, brought the golden pumpkin porridge to Emperor Qingning, who fed the porridge to the empress dowager.
Empress Dowager Yu then reluctantly drank a few mouthfuls of golden pumpkin porridge. Her eyelids drooped as she asked weakly, "It's been a while since the imperial edict was issued, and no one has taken action yet?"
"Yes, but the methods have all been tried on the infected patients first. They only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. They are not as good as the palace physicians." Emperor Qingning tried his best to control his irritation. He caught a glimpse of the head palace maid Qingzhu, who seemed to be hesitant to speak, and asked doubtfully, "Qingzhu, do you have something to say?"
"You are also an old man beside the Queen Mother. If you have anything to say, just say it directly. I will not blame you."
Qing Zhu bowed his head upon hearing this. "Rumors are spreading throughout the palace. It's said that Imperial Concubine Ying's door opened this morning, and that Imperial Concubine Ying, who was bedridden, actually came out on her own to dry her clothes. She looked normal and showed no signs of fever."
"She looks more energetic than before she was sent to the cold palace!
Emperor Qingning and the Empress Dowager were both shocked: "What?!"
The solution to the epidemic that the entire Imperial Hospital and even half of the Great Sheng Dynasty was helpless to deal with actually appeared in the cold palace?
Emperor Qingning calmed his shock and confusion, "Please be more specific! Are you sure that Concubine Ying has completely recovered from the epidemic?"
Qing Zhu said respectfully, "Noble Concubine Ying's personal maid has also returned to serve Noble Concubine Ying. She said that Noble Concubine Ying's epidemic has almost healed."
The Queen Mother had a complicated expression: "How is this possible? Didn't the imperial physician treat her? How could she suddenly get better out of nowhere?"
"I also went to inquire. It is said that after Concubine Ying was isolated, no one took care of her. She dragged herself from the bed to the door, opened the dry food and herbal medicine bag thrown by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and picked some herbs to chew."
Qingzhu recalled what the palace maids had said and what she had seen, and trembled with fear: "I heard that after Concubine Ying took these herbs on the first day, she vomited and had diarrhea, and her bedding was covered in blood."
"I sent a young eunuch to check earlier. There were bloodstains on Concubine Ying's clothes and in the isolated room."
"After suffering from vomiting and diarrhea for half a month, Imperial Concubine Ying gradually regained her ability to walk."
Emperor Qingning was suspicious: "These are all herbs distributed by the Imperial Household Department. Why are they ineffective for others? Why did Concubine Ying eat them carelessly? Did she feel better?"
"Noble Concubine Ying was a sickly woman. Among the items she brought to the cold palace were some rare medicinal herbs. The palace servants didn't know their value and stole all her gold, silver and jewelry, leaving the herbs untouched. They were the ones that other patients didn't have."
Qingzhu was indeed an old man close to the Empress Dowager, and he had inquired about everything very thoroughly: "The maidservant beside Concubine Ying said that before she came of age, she had read all the books in the study of Marquis Zhaoping's mansion, and one of them was the notes on epidemic prevention and control left by the old Marquis Zhaoping."
Emperor Qingning froze after hearing Qingzhu's words, and fragments of memories suddenly flooded back. Xin Yingshu has loved reading since he was a child.
Xin Yingshu could recite word for word the atlas that he brought back from traveling with the Grand Tutor, and could even tell which page of the book it was on.
Xin Yingshu once couldn't reach the book at the back of Marquis Zhaoping's study, so he sneaked into the study with Emperor Qingning, then the Crown Prince, and stepped on Emperor Qingning's shoulders to get the book. Thinking back to that time...
"Your Majesty." Qingzhu's voice pulled Emperor Qingning's thoughts out of his memories.
"Do you remember that during the reign of the late emperor, there were two major epidemics. At that time, the Xin family was rewarded for organizing the treatment of the epidemic and searching for famous doctors."
The Queen Mother also knew about this. She frowned and said, "The Xin family is really hard to kill!"
"Just force Concubine Ying to hand over the recipe."
Emperor Qingning shook his head. "That's not right. Rumors have spread throughout the palace. Many people know that Concubine Ying has found a way to cure the epidemic."
"The imperial edict has been issued. Now it is the concubines in the cold palace who can cure the epidemic. If I force them to hand over the prescription without any reward and just lock them up in the cold palace, where will my credibility be put?"
The Queen Mother took a deep breath and said excitedly, "Could it be that we are asking her to come out of the cold palace to treat my brother now?!"
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