Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Although Empress Cao had no children, she had become pregnant a few years ago, but the pregnancy was unsuccessful, and she never became pregnant again.

As for the government, since they didn't want to adopt the child, they must have worked hard to cultivate the relationship afterward.

But until the very end, none of the concubines in the harem became pregnant.

Therefore, the Emperor's health may be somewhat compromised, and Empress Cao may also have some health issues.

Qi Heng was not skilled in medicine, but he felt that the old lady of the He family in Baishitan should have a solution.

He remembered that after Hua Lan gave birth to a daughter, she couldn't get pregnant again. After the old lady of the Sheng family asked the old lady of the He family in Baishitan to treat Hua Lan, she got pregnant not long after.

Of course, Hualan is young, and there may have been some damage to her body, which is why she was able to recover so easily.

She might not be able to help Empress Cao.

However, it's still worth a try.

When Qi Heng was a child, he often went to the palace with Princess Pingning, so he was familiar with many of the palace rules.

Although the imperial physicians in the palace were highly skilled, they had to avoid speaking ill of the women in the harem when treating them.

When concubines fell ill, they could only describe their symptoms to the imperial physicians through their maids and eunuchs, who would then prescribe medicine based on the situation.

If you recover, it's a matter of fate; if you don't recover and die, it's just bad luck.

Those who could be diagnosed by the imperial physician were considered to be highly favored.

When imperial physicians took the pulse, they could only do so by suspending a thread over the wrist; the most daring method involved covering the wrist with a silk handkerchief.

Direct physical contact with the concubines was permitted.

Secondly, to avoid taboos, many methods cannot be used, such as acupuncture.

Old Mrs. He is a woman, so she doesn't have those taboos, which might be useful.

It's just an attempt anyway, so there's no loss even if it fails.

However, how to get Old Madam He to examine Empress Cao's pulse was a problem.

Qi Heng couldn't think of a good solution for a moment, after all, it was inconvenient for a man like him to speak up about such a matter.

"You mean the second son of the Marquis of Ningyuan has run away from home?" Empress Cao asked in surprise.

Princess Pingning said, "It's not exactly running away from home. She left a letter, but we don't know where she is right now, and we can't find her anywhere."

"I have some impression of the second son of the Gu family. At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet a few years ago, he showed off his spear skills in front of the emperor. Afterwards, the emperor praised him for having the style of his father. He even asked the emperor for a reward in public."

Empress Cao said, "Later, the Emperor mentioned this matter to me and said he liked him very much."

However, I've heard that his stepmother is no pushover.

Qi Heng listened attentively when he heard them talking about Gu Tingye.

He remembered that Lady Qin had hidden it very well, but judging from Empress Cao's words, it seemed that Lady Qin's flattery that led to Gu Tingye's downfall was not a secret.

"It's hard to say. On the surface, Madam Qin treats Gu Erlang very well, but she spoils him and is strict with her own son."

Princess Pingning pondered for a moment and said, "From this perspective, there are some problems. But she is, after all, a stepmother, and if she is too strict, it will also attract criticism."

"Too!"

Empress Cao thought of herself. She had no children and had no reason to harm the young prince. Yet, even after the prince died while she was raising him, rumors spread that she was the one who killed him.

Xiao Qinshi has her own biological son, so no matter what she does, people will criticize her.

Qi Heng seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that the noble families in Bianjing did not believe Xiao Qinshi's pretense.

It's just that this kind of thing doesn't affect their interests, so nobody wants to say anything.

The Gu family was, after all, a Marquis's mansion, and Gu Yankai was deeply trusted by the Emperor.

Who would offend the Gu family because of such idle gossip?

After having lunch at the palace, the mother and son bid farewell and left the palace.

After getting into the carriage, Qi Heng thought for a moment and said, "Mother, it seems that the Empress Dowager is not feeling well."

"The young prince was raised by the Empress Dowager, who treated him like her own son. Now that he's gone, it's a huge blow to her," Princess Pingning sighed.

"I know that when I accompanied my mother to the palace, it was very inconvenient for the imperial physicians to treat the concubines."

Qi Heng said, "I heard from my classmates that the old lady of the He family in Baishitan is a highly skilled doctor, especially good at treating women. Why don't we ask her to take a look at the eldest daughter-in-law? Whether it helps or not, it would be a token of a mother's goodwill!"

After much thought, he realized that only Princess Pingning could handle this matter, so he came up with this solution.

"I have heard of the name of Old Lady He from Baishitan."

Princess Pingning was somewhat tempted upon hearing this, as she had never considered this possibility before.

After all, there were imperial physicians in the palace, so there was no need for this.

But Qi Heng's words reminded her that whether it would work or not was another matter; she had asked someone to take a look at it, which was also a token of her goodwill.

Seeing that his mother was interested, Qi Heng didn't say anything more.

Everything in excess is as bad as deficiency. If he showed a particular desire to have someone examine Empress Cao's pulse, Princess Pingning would inevitably have some doubts.

Back home, Princess Pingning said, "Go back and take a nap, then get up and do your homework."

Although I won't be attending the Imperial Academy for the time being, my studies cannot be neglected.

"Yes!" Qi Heng bowed and replied.

…………

In the following days, Princess Pingning would take him to the palace every morning.

They had lunch in the palace before returning home. During that time, some other officials' wives also came to the palace to pay their respects, including many wives of members of the imperial family.

The emperor's only son died young, and although he had several princesses, it was impossible for him to pass the throne to one of them.

Although the adoption has not yet been confirmed, those members of the royal family who believe they have a chance are already making moves.

The Great Zhou Dynasty maintained relatively strict control over its imperial clan. Nobility could be inherited without change; instead, it had to be passed down through a lower rank.

Moreover, they could not hold any official positions, nor could they have private dealings with court officials.

Therefore, even if they were eager to make moves, they dared not win over the court officials, otherwise their competitors might seize the opportunity and they would lose it completely.

However, the emperor was ill and refused to see anyone, so they could only make a show of entering the palace every day.

Empress Cao did not refuse to pay her respects, so they naturally wanted their wife to show concern.

However, Qi Heng had been concerned about Princess Pingning's situation. Since he last mentioned inviting Old Madam He to come and take a look at Empress Cao, he had not brought it up again.

Princess Pingning did not mention it, nor did she send anyone to invite her, as if she had forgotten about it.

This made Qi Heng a little anxious. Empress Cao was not sick, but she was upset because of the death of the young prince and the rumors.

If we wait until she recovers, there will be no reason for it.

That day, Qi Heng returned home with his mother and stayed alone in the study, pondering whether to bring it up again and what to say to get his mother to make a decision.

"Young Master!"

Buwei's voice sounded outside the door, disrupting his thoughts.

"Enter!"

Buwei pushed open the door and came in, then closed it and stepped forward to bow. He lowered his voice and said, "There's been some progress on the matter the young master asked me to keep an eye on. Madam just summoned Steward Xu. After Steward Xu went back, he packed his things, it seems he's going on a long trip."

"real?"

Qi Heng asked, "Have you found out where Steward Xu went?"

"Steward Xu is very tight-lipped. The reason we guessed he was going on a long trip was because Granny Huang asked the kitchen to prepare some dry food," Buwei said.

"I understand. Go and find out where Steward Xu went and what he did there," Qi Heng instructed.

"Yes!" was not answered.