Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1738 Untitled
After attending another class at medical school, Bae Ji-soo boarded the carriage to return to the palace.

Pei Zhixiu returned to the palace a short while later, and was about to cook dinner for her two children when her attendant, Lin Mama, rushed over in a panic and reported:

"Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Bae Ji-soo was somewhat surprised. Although she didn't know what An Mio-yi wanted to do by suddenly coming, Bae Ji-soo immediately straightened her clothes and went to greet her.

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty the Empress!"

"Everyone, get up!"

"Thank you, Queen!"

After welcoming An Miaoyi into the room, Pei Zhixiu invited An Miaoyi to take a seat, while An Miaoyi sat in the guest seat.

After they sat down, the two women started chatting. An Miaoyi first asked Pei Zhixiu how her two children, Jingxuan and Yiren, were doing lately. Pei Zhixiu replied that thanks to the Empress, she and her two children were living as usual.

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi praised Jingxuan for being obedient, sensible, and good at studying, while also saying that her own Jingren was naughty and didn't like to study, which gave her a lot of headaches.

Upon hearing An Miaoyi mention this, Pei Zhixiu became wary and humbly said that Jingxuan was only somewhat clever and could not compare to His Highness the Crown Prince's benevolence. It was a gift from heaven to the Great Qian Dynasty to have such a kind crown prince as His Highness the Crown Prince, and a blessing for all the people under heaven.

His Majesty's decision to take His Highness the Crown Prince on this inspection tour demonstrates the high regard His Highness holds for the Crown Prince, who will surely become a benevolent ruler.

Although she felt that Pei Zhixiu's words weren't sincere, they pleased An Miaoyi greatly...
After talking about the children, An Miaoyi also asked about Pei Zhixiu's work at the medical school.

Bae Ji-soo also briefly recounted some of her discoveries at the medical school to Ahn Myo-yi.

Listening to Bae Ji-soo's story, An Miao-yi asked with great interest:

"Jisoo, are these female doctors you've trained capable of doing their job?"

Faced with An Miaoyi's question, Pei Zhixiu sensed a hint of distrust towards the female doctor in her tone, and immediately explained:
"Your Majesty, although women are not as physically strong as men, they are no less capable in their studies. Many women are simply lacking in the opportunity to learn. I believe that if women are given a fair opportunity to learn, their academic performance will not be inferior to that of men!"

"Moreover, compared to men, these women are more meticulous and adept at noticing details, making it easier to treat female patients. I've found that many female patients, especially when treating gynecological diseases, often avoid seeking medical help due to embarrassment, which only worsens their condition. Therefore, having a female doctor can alleviate their shyness, which is an advantage in treatment and allows for better patient care."

"Most of the female doctors I train are very hardworking, and I am confident that I can train them to become qualified doctors!"

Looking at Bae Ji-soo's serious expression, An Miaoyi nodded slightly and said:
"Jisoo, if you can really train those female students to become successful, that would be a great achievement!"

"Your Majesty, I have such confidence..."

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi changed the subject and said:

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is unwell; she hasn't been feeling well these past few days. Zhixiu, you're capable, so please go and take a look at her!"

Upon hearing An Miaoyi mention Empress Dowager Ye Cui, Pei Zhixiu frowned slightly and said:

What symptoms did the Empress Dowager have?

An Miaoyi sighed and said:
"Still the same old problem: physical exhaustion and tinnitus!"

Upon hearing this, Bae Jisoo said:

"Your Majesty, I still stand by my original opinion. The Empress Dowager's condition is mainly due to her long-term vegetarian diet. She is now somewhat malnourished. This kind of illness cannot be treated with medicine alone; medicine cannot replace food!"

"The best way to cure illness and improve physical condition is to eat meat. I used to not eat meat, but after a period of self-observation, I found that not eating any meat at all is not good, especially for us women who are very prone to illness!"

"So Your Majesty, if you want to cure the Empress Dowager's illness, I think it would be better to secretly add some chicken soup or minced meat to her diet!"

Hearing Bae Ji-soo's advice, An Miao-yi nodded and said:

"Jisoo, I will do that, but I still need to trouble you to take a look at it for her now!"

Upon hearing this, Bae Ji-soo said:
"Those doctors at the medical school are all highly skilled!"

Sensing the subtle refusal in Bae Ji-soo's words, An Miao-yi smiled wryly and said:

“If they can see her, then I won’t trouble you, Jisoo. I know you don’t want to treat the Empress Dowager, and she is indeed a bit… But we are, after all, her daughters-in-law, and we should be understanding!”

Upon hearing An Miaoyi's words, Pei Zhixiu remained silent and simply lowered her head.

Previously, when Empress Dowager Ye Cui was unwell, she was usually treated by other doctors from the medical school. However, because she was a devout Buddhist and had been a vegetarian for a long time, she had some endocrine disorders. This caused her to feel weak and tired from time to time, even though she had stopped having sex, and she also suffered from abdominal pain.

These are all types of gynecological diseases, and it's not very convenient for male doctors to treat them, which is why Bae Ji-soo is needed.

After examining Ye Cui Shi again, Pei Zhixiu offered her advice, hoping that Ye Cui Shi could change some of her lifestyle habits. The most important point was that she should eat some meat instead of being a complete vegetarian. Pei Zhixiu used herself as an example, saying that she used to be a long-term vegetarian who didn't eat any meat at all, but this caused her to age faster, lose hair, have dull skin, and suffer from menstrual cramps.

Bae Ji-soo said this in the name of advising Ye Cui-shi to eat some meat.

However, these words were misinterpreted by Ye Cui, who interpreted them as Pei Zhixiu wanting her to blaspheme Buddha and harboring malicious intent to ruin her years of arduous cultivation.

As a result, Madam Ye Cui scolded Bae Ji-soo. Although Bae Ji-soo felt wronged and thought she had only meant well, Madam Ye Cui was her mother-in-law, so Bae Ji-soo could only apologize under duress.

However, after that, Bae Ji-soo never went to treat Ye Cui-shi again.

Empress Dowager Ye Cui sought treatment from doctors at the medical school for her ailments. However, having learned from Pei Zhixiu's experience, the doctors dared not prescribe meat to her, only giving her nutritional supplements. These supplements, though seemingly varied, did not cure her illness, and the pain continued to plague the Empress Dowager. Therefore, Empress Dowager Ye Cui once again thought of her highly skilled daughter-in-law…

If it were anyone else, Madam Ye Cui would have summoned them with a single order. However, she knew that Pei Zhixiu was her son's favorite concubine, so out of respect for her son, Madam Ye Cui didn't want to make things too awkward and entrusted the matter to An Miaoyi.

Looking at Pei Zhixiu who remained silent, An Miaoyi felt helpless. She knew that although Pei Zhixiu appeared gentle and weak, she was very strong inside. So even if she was the empress, it would be difficult to force her to do something she was unwilling to do!
Thinking of this, An Miaoyi continued to persuade her:
"Zhixiu, I know you have resentment in your heart, but no matter what, the Empress Dowager is His Majesty's own mother. Even if you do it for His Majesty's sake, go and see her!"

Seeing that An Miaoyi had brought up Ye Mingsheng, Pei Zhixiu frowned slightly. Seeing her like this, An Miaoyi also felt that things were going well, and quickly said:
"Jisoo, I'll go with you. With me there, I guarantee there won't be any problems. You can rest assured. Your job there is to treat patients. As for the rest, leave it to me. I'll talk to the Empress Dowager. What do you think?"

Seeing that An Miaoyi had already put it this way, Pei Zhixiu knew that refusing again would be too unreasonable, so she sighed and said:
"As Her Majesty the Empress wishes..."

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi also made the decision:
"Great, then it's settled. We'll go together tomorrow at noon!"

After discussing this matter, the two chatted about other things. Just as An Miaoyi was about to leave, the Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty seemed to remember something and suddenly asked Pei Zhixiu:
"Jisoo, I heard that His Majesty left something for you before his inspection?"

These words immediately stunned Pei Zhixiu. She had never expected that An Miaoyi would know about this. Just as she hesitated about how to answer, An Miaoyi continued speaking to herself:
"I've heard that thing is exquisitely crafted. I wonder if you, Ji-soo, could show it to your older sister?"

As she spoke, An Miaoyi smiled, as if she were talking about a piece of jewelry.

But looking at An Miaoyi like this, Bae Ji-soo couldn't help but feel very wary.

Knowing that the matter could not be kept secret, Pei Zhixiu remained silent for a while before turning around and going into the bedroom. After a short while, Pei Zhixiu came out and handed An Miaoyi an ordinary small wooden box. The Empress of Daqian took the box but did not open it immediately. Instead, she stroked the box with her palm before slowly opening it.

Looking at the token inside, An Miaoyi's smile widened, and seeing An Miaoyi like this, Pei Zhixiu couldn't help but become wary.

An Miaoyi gently traced the ancient characters on the token with her fingers, then closed the wooden box and returned it to Pei Zhixiu, saying:
"This is a very good thing! Jisoo, you must keep it safe!"

Bae Jisoo silently put the box away, while An Miaoyi smiled and left without saying anything more...

After An Miaoyi left, Pei Zhixiu, who had originally planned to cook for the two children, lost all interest in cooking and handed the task over to the palace maid. She then stayed in her room alone to think.

That day was before Ye Mingsheng began his inspection. Perhaps because he was going to inspect for several months and wouldn't be able to return to Yijing, Pei Zhixiu clearly remembered that Ye Mingsheng was very motivated to study that night. He reviewed several knowledge points with her in a row. After the battle ended, Pei Zhixiu thought Ye Mingsheng would fall into a deep sleep as before, but unexpectedly, Ye Mingsheng gave her this box.

She was very surprised to see Ye Mingsheng hand her the token. As Ye Mingsheng's bedmate, she knew that although the token looked inconspicuous, it was actually Ye Mingsheng's imperial decree. Holding this token, one could mobilize the Command and Control Department, the Inner Guard, and even the Imperial Guard!

So Bae Ji-soo immediately refused the token and wanted Ye Ming-sheng to take it back, but Ye Ming-sheng told her to keep the token safe.

Ye Mingsheng told her that his inspection trip might last for several months, and if anything happened in Yijing during that time, she could use this token to protect herself.

Although she didn't think there would be any changes in the stable Yijing court under Bureau Z, Pei Zhixiu accepted the token at Ye Mingsheng's request.

Pei Zhixiu thought this was a secret known only to her and Ye Mingsheng, but she never expected that An Miaoyi would also know about it.

Where exactly did the news leak from?

Furthermore, An Miaoyi's reaction just now also greatly worried Bae Jisoo...
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Qilu Fuxing Grand Inn

Inside the private room, Ye Mingsheng was intently reading the memorial in his hands.

To be honest, he had two main purposes for coming to Shandong for inspection. The first was to see the living conditions of the people in Shandong after the disaster, and the second was to see the construction progress of Taogang.

However, after arriving in Qilu, Ma Runchuan, the provincial governor of Qilu, kept introducing Ye Mingsheng to his ideas on the future development of Qilu. The most important one was his dual-core idea, which was to concentrate the strength of Qilu and give priority to the development of the two cities of Licheng and Taogang. By gathering population, factories and capital, he could create economies of scale and agglomeration effects, thereby improving the efficiency of economic operation.

Therefore, Ma Runchuan has placed his bets on two pillar industries: shipbuilding in Taogang and steel in Licheng. In this way, the two can complement each other in the future era of ironclad swords and achieve the goal of one plus one being greater than two.

To achieve this goal, Ma Zhenchuan also earnestly requested Ye Mingsheng's technical and policy support.

Technical matters are easy to discuss; it simply involves having the Ministry of Works send more technical personnel to Qilu. Ye Mingsheng has no problem with this in principle, but some specific details still need to be discussed between Qilu and the Ministry of Works. Overall, however, there shouldn't be any major issues.

What really troubled Ye Mingsheng was the support from the government. Qilu had built a new steel plant with two blast furnaces and one steelmaking furnace, but now Ma Runchuan wanted to expand the production capacity, thinking of increasing the annual steel production capacity from 100,000 jin to 200,000 jin.

In an attempt to find a market for his 200,000 jin (100,000 kg) of steel production capacity, he actually set his sights on the arms factory…