Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1154: Chapter 1156: Leading Trouble Eastward_1

Bai Ruozhu felt a lump in her throat, but what could she say? They were talking about the Emperor.

At least Achun hadn’t taken the poison, and Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat relieved. She took the jade bottle and poured the pill into her mouth.

A look of satisfaction flashed in the Emperor’s eyes, ”You will depart in two days. You must quell the rumors in the Capital yourself, and silence your family members. They must not reveal that you are undertaking this task for me.”

A twitch appeared at the corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth, and she desperately wanted to rush over and slap the Emperor twice. Why couldn’t he make her life absolutely miserable?

”Your servant accepts the order and thanks Your Majesty for your grace.” In the end, Bai Ruozhu bowed and agreed, because she had no other choice. Regardless of whether Achun was waiting for her rescue or not, she dared not gamble with his life.

But how to deal with the current rumors and explain things to her family? Bai Ruozhu left the Imperial Study Room with a frown on her face. The Emperor watched her retreating figure, revealing a triumphant look, and said to Wang Shun beside him, ”Arrange another team to depart tomorrow.”

Wang Shun was stunned, ”Won’t two teams increase the risk of information leaks?”

”I do not trust the Bai Family.” The Emperor said indifferently.

Wang Shun muttered to himself, If you don’t trust someone, and are worried about them, why insist on sending her to lead a rescue team?

The Emperor seemed to read Wang Shun’s mind, and with a cold snort, said, ”After all, she had guidance from an Immortal. Better to believe it is possible than not.”

Wang Shun quickly nodded, ”Your Majesty is wise. It’s good to let her try, and with capable people accompanying her, nothing should go wrong.”

...

After leaving the Imperial Study Room, Bai Ruozhu thought carefully for a while before making a detour to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Fortunately, Jiu Sheng was in the Imperial Medical Bureau today, and Bai Ruozhu found him as soon as she looked. The doctors there didn’t know the two were acquainted, let alone that Bai Ruozhu had come to find Jiu Sheng. Many greeted her with a bow, as she was currently favored by the Empress Dowager, and even if they didn’t try to ingratiate themselves, those Imperial Physicians surely did not want to offend her.

Politely exchanging a few words with the crowd, Bai Ruozhu then said to Jiu Sheng, ”Imperial Doctor Jiu, that Formula you mentioned when treating Consort Le was not bad, I have some questions and seek your guidance.”

Jiu Sheng responded quickly, eagerly saying, ”Sure, sure.”

Everyone was curious, but lately, Jiu Sheng had indeed become very skilled, so when Bai Ruozhu spoke like this, no one doubted her words much.

Jiu Sheng followed Bai Ruozhu out of the Imperial Medical Bureau, and she lowered her voice to say, ”You must have heard the rumors outside, right? I don’t want my family to be bothered, so I’m thinking of redirecting the disaster elsewhere.”

”You mean, make people think that I know the method to conceive a male child?” Jiu Sheng caught on quickly.

Bai Ruozhu showed a hint of guilt, ”I have no other choice, and during the day when Consort Le was being treated, only you and two other Imperial Doctors were present, and naturally, I cannot trust them. It’s just that you will have to suffer some grievances, and as compensation, I will teach you a set of Needlework.”

”What compensation? This is a good thing. Just push it onto me. If the Empress Dowager and Consort Le accidentally let a few words slip out, it would be the best. Who knows, I might make a good profit from this.” After saying this, Jiu Sheng felt a bit embarrassed, ”We’ll split the silver we receive.”

Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched, ”No need, no need. But aren’t you afraid this might cause trouble?”

”What’s there to fear? I’m surely better than those quacks who prescribe medicines randomly? I will prescribe tonics to strengthen the body and then add a condition, like the mother must fast and bathe every day. If her heart is pure, then it will be effective. Later, if she gives birth to a boy, they will naturally think it’s thanks to me. If it’s a girl and they come looking for me, I’ll say they surely weren’t sincere in their hearts—can’t blame me for that,” Jiu Sheng said with a sly smile. ”That’s what those doctors in the common folk say.”

The corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched again. This wasn’t a bad idea proposed by Jiu Sheng, certainly a lot better than taking medications recklessly.

”Then let’s do as you say. When I return, I will have the news spread. The people from the Imperial Medical Bureau are probably already suspicious since I called you out. You might as well say it’s a secret recipe handed down by your ancestors and keep the specifics to yourself on purpose, deliberately not telling them,” Bai Ruozhu said.

Jiu Sheng replied with a beaming smile, ”Good, good.”

”I’ll go and speak to the Empress Dowager and Consort Le now. I will teach you the Needlework later, as well as the set of massage techniques to protect the fetus for Consort Le,” Bai Ruozhu said as she turned to leave.

Jiu Sheng’s eyes widened. What physician wouldn’t want to learn these unique techniques? Although he felt a bit bashful, he didn’t object further.

When Bai Ruozhu went to the Empress Dowager to discuss her plans, she didn’t expect that the Empress Dowager had already heard from the Emperor about Bai Ruozhu’s trip to Wucang Mountain. Looking worried, she said, ”It’s dangerous for a woman to go out alone, and what if something happens to Wenwen?”

”Empress Dowager, we can’t just rely on treating issues after they arise. We need to prevent such incidents from happening in the first place. Besides, I have a disciple at the Imperial Medical Bureau who can take over the important task of checking Consort Le’s pulse,” Bai Ruozhu explained.

The Empress Dowager asked in surprise, ”You have a disciple? I’ve never heard you mention this before.”

”It’s the Jiu Sheng you’ve met before. Since he’s quite old, I felt it would be awkward to bring it up,” Bai Ruozhu replied with a smile.

The Empress Dowager couldn’t help but laugh. Jiu Sheng was old enough to be Bai Ruozhu’s father. Imagining him bowing respectfully and calling her ”Master” was a comical scene indeed.

Subsequently, Bai Ruozhu shared her plans with the Empress Dowager, who immediately summoned Jiu Sheng to Cining Palace. Bai Ruozhu personally passed on a set of Needlework techniques to him, including emergency massage techniques for pregnant women. The Empress Dowager was somewhat reassured.

When Jiu Sheng left, the Empress Dowager rewarded him with some items, as planned.

Jiu Sheng returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau beaming with joy. But no sooner had he sat down than a gold wire inlaid with carnelian hand warmer fell out of his sleeve, clanging loudly on the ground. Jiu Sheng’s face changed, and he hurriedly bent down to pick it up and tuck it back into his sleeve. However, his action had not gone unnoticed by several sharp-eyed onlookers.

”Eh, Jiu Sheng, you just went to Cining Palace and now you’re hiding things. Could it be that you’re up to no good?” A hot-tempered Imperial Doctor asked.

Jiu Sheng’s face flushed with anger as he retorted, ”Nonsense! This was a reward from the Empress Dowager!”

The crowd all looked doubtful as the man pressed, ”Why would the Empress Dowager reward you? What merit have you achieved? It can’t just be this one thing, right?”

Jiu Sheng’s sleeves were bulging, and he seemed to avoid eye contact, clearly looking like someone who had been caught out and didn’t want to admit it.

”Does a master need a reason to reward someone? Why ask so many questions? You’re not jealous, are you?” Jiu Sheng shot back.

”Hmph, if you don’t want to talk, don’t!”

Elsewhere, news quickly spread throughout Cining Palace that the Empress Dowager and Consort Le had praised Jiu Sheng. They also ordered Jiu Sheng to regularly check Consort Le’s ’safe and healthy pulse’. With this development, the crowd began to speculate widely.