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Chapter 69: Yan Lie's Hard Training Makes Him Improve, the Prince Falls Ill, and the Queen Is Injured

Ever since that day when Lin Xiao and Yan Lie had a thrilling sword fight in front of everyone, Lin Xiao had become interested in Yan Lie's kung fu. He would often run to Li Mao's house whenever he had time, hoping to find Yan Lie to fight a few more rounds of boxing and kicking.

Every time he arrived at Li Mao's house, before he even entered the door, that hearty voice came in first: "Yan Lie, are you free to fight with me today?" Yan Lie was never afraid of a fight and always agreed happily.

During the fight, Lin Xiao became increasingly aware that Yan Lie's kung fu was indeed quite good. His every move carried a hint of the fierce momentum of an assassin fighting in the dark. His moves were ruthless and merciless, making people dare not underestimate him.

As for Yan Lie, he was also full of energy and wanted to defeat Lin Xiao.

To this end, he spent all his monthly salary on a large collection of martial arts manuals, a wide variety of which included fierce and fierce external boxing techniques as well as the subtle and mysterious internal martial arts techniques. He neatly stacked these manuals by his bed, and whenever he had some free time, he would carefully study the techniques and mental methods contained therein.

During the day, he would practice repeatedly in the yard on wooden stakes and sandbags, striving for perfect precision in every move. Under the scorching sun, his clothes were soaked with sweat, but he was completely unaware.

At night, when everything was quiet, Yan Lie lit an oil lamp and, under the dim light, recited the secret formulas in the martial arts manual over and over again.

Whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, he would frown and think about it. If he really couldn't figure it out, he would remember it in his mind and use it the next time Lin Xiao came to trick him into explaining it to him.

In this way, day after day, Yan Lie's kung fu improved rapidly.

At first, he found it a little difficult to fight with Lin Xiao, and was often suppressed by Lin Xiao and found it difficult to fight back.

But in the past few days, the situation has changed. The two of them were fighting back and forth in the yard, with fists whistling and the fight was so close that it was evenly matched.

Li Mao, who was watching the battle from the side, couldn't help but laugh at the fierce battle between the two and couldn't help but joked:

"At the rate Yan Lie is improving, I'm afraid you, General Lin, won't be his match in a year or two!"

After hearing this, Lin Xiao laughed, but a hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes, and his moves became more and more fierce. It was obvious that he took Li Mao's words to heart and wanted to decide the winner at this moment.

Ever since Yunshan was promoted to the seventh-rank chief of medicine, the responsibilities on her shoulders have been very different from before.

Now, she shuttled through every corner of the pharmacy daily, intently inspecting the production process for "Bairesan." From selecting and steeping the herbs to controlling the heat during boiling, she couldn't afford to make even the slightest mistake. So, for the past couple of months, she'd been leaving the palace early in the morning and returning only in the evening.

At the same time, she also had to pay attention to the imperial edicts of the six palace ladies, carefully considering their different needs for the preparation of nourishing medicines, and strive to achieve perfection.

On this day, the preparation of Bairesan was finally on track. Yunshan was just about to take a few days off when something unexpected happened in the palace and the second prince fell ill.

Suddenly, a violent coughing sound was heard from the bedroom. The pitiful voice of the baby was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart hard.

The Empress was extremely anxious and immediately summoned all the doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau. They gathered together, racked their brains, and worked together to come up with a prescription.

Although this prescription will not cause any harm to the Second Prince's body, it has the disadvantage of being slow in effect.

The prescription was finally handed to Yunshan. She took it and slowly scanned it, silently weighing the pros and cons. This was indeed the safest prescription for the baby, and Yunshan couldn't help but sigh at the doctors' discretion.

Afterwards, she meticulously prepared the herbs, following the prescribed ratios meticulously. Each time, she would stay by the cauldron, her eyes fixed on the bubbling broth, fearing even the slightest error. She would then deliver the broth to Fengyi Palace three times a day, on a regular schedule. Despite the Empress's meticulous care, the Second Prince's condition hadn't worsened, but he was, after all, born with a weak constitution, and his body was extremely frail.

At this time, the weather outside had warmed up, the sun was shining, and the breeze was blowing gently, but the second prince could only stay in the room with closed doors and windows all day, not daring to make any movement.

The Empress loved her son dearly and specially prepared two connected small bedrooms for him. Every morning, she would carefully carry the Second Prince from one bedroom to the other, and then order the servants to open the previous room for ventilation and carefully sweep it with mugwort water.

Yunshan watched the Empress toiling day and night. Although she was only in her twenties, a few glaring white strands had already grown among her jet-black hair.

In order to take care of the second prince, she often had no mood to eat. Even if she forced herself to swallow a few bites, she would quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and rush to take care of the prince.

Yunshan opened her mouth several times, wanting to advise the Queen that overwork and lack of food were not a long-term solution. However, because of the taboos in the palace, she did not dare to say it out loud. She could only sigh in her heart.

After careful care, the second prince's condition finally showed a gratifying improvement, and his cough was no longer as frequent and severe as before.

The joy and excitement in the Queen's heart were like a dam bursting, difficult to contain. Tears welled up in her eyes and she cried with joy.

From that day on, she meticulously set up a small Buddhist temple in a corner of Fengyi Palace. Inside, incense curled into the air, and the Buddha statues stood solemn and majestic.

Every day, the Queen Mother would wear plain clothes, be extremely pious, kneel on the cushion, put her hands together, close her eyes and pray, muttering to herself, praying to the Bodhisattva to bless the Second Prince to grow up safely and healthily, and have a smooth and worry-free life.

The emperor watched his wife's every move with his own eyes, and his heart was filled with pity and love. He specially arranged for the chief physician of the Imperial Hospital to go to Fengyi Palace every day to check the empress's pulse.

On this day, the director of the Imperial Hospital was carefully checking the Empress's pulse as usual, but his expression became increasingly solemn.

After taking the Empress's pulse, he gently advised her to take good care of her health and not to overwork herself. After leaving Fengyi Palace, he did not follow the usual practice of returning to the Imperial Hospital to fill out the receipt. Instead, he hurried towards the Imperial Study.

As soon as he entered the imperial study, the director of the Imperial Hospital knelt on the ground with a plop, his voice full of self-blame and helplessness:

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent!" His face was full of pain, and he continued,

"The Empress's body has been severely worn out by long-term toil and worry. Her pulse is now weak, and I'm afraid her time may not be long."

When the emperor heard this, his face turned pale instantly. He stood up suddenly and walked to the front of the Imperial Hospital. His voice was trembling:
"Is there nothing else we can do? The Queen has been by my side since she was appointed to the Eastern Palace, managing all the affairs of the inner palace for me. She has worked diligently for the past three or four years and has never made any mistakes. You and everyone in the Imperial Hospital must do everything you can to save the Queen's life!"

The head of the Imperial Hospital raised his head, his eyes filled with sorrow, his body twitching, and he cried out in tears:

"I can only heal illnesses, but I can't heal hearts... Your Majesty is completely devoted to the Second Prince, toiling away day and night. At the slightest sound of wind or rain, she disregards her own health and goes to personally check on the Second Prince. She hasn't slept a wink for several nights in a row. I've advised her many times, but Your Majesty won't listen... I'm truly incompetent!"

Hearing these words from the director of the Imperial Hospital, the emperor felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart and closed his eyes helplessly.

(End of this chapter)