General, your wife has gone to deliver another calf for your horse.

Chapter 619 Heart-to-heart talk with the Emperor?
Jiang Nuanzhi was stunned for a moment, then stood up and knelt before the Emperor to perform a grand salute.

"Your Majesty, you have already bestowed more than enough upon me. I am humbled."

The Emperor frowned as he looked at Jiang Nuanzhi, who was bowing deeply before him, and said in a cold voice, "What is Physician Jiang doing? This is what you and Arong deserve."

Then, seemingly casually glancing behind Jiang Nuanzhi, he asked, "I heard from Zhao Yong that your two children were unwell. Are they alright now?"

Jiang Nuanzhi felt a thud in her heart, and the next second, she kowtowed heavily to the ground: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your concern. The children are fine. However, Your Majesty's health is very important right now. Even a slight cold should not be taken lightly. Once Your Majesty is better, I will definitely bring the children to the palace to kowtow to Your Majesty."

The Emperor stared at Jiang Nuanzhi for a long while, then lowered his eyes. When he first woke up, the emotions in Jiang Nuanzhi's eyes gradually faded. He merely glanced at the person beside him and said, "Stupid servant, why don't you help Physician Jiang up?"

Upon hearing this, the eunuchs guarding her stepped forward to try and help Jiang Nuanzhi up, but Jiang Nuanzhi pushed away the hand of Eunuch Zhao who was trying to help her.

With a serious expression, he kowtowed to the ground again.

Without making a sound, the hand in the wide-sleeved robe twisted around its thigh.

When I looked up again, tears welled up in my eyes instantly.

Even the Emperor was taken aback when he saw her like this, and his expression turned strange: "Physician Jiang, what is the meaning of this?"

Jiang Nuanzhi sniffed: "Your Majesty, this servant thanks you."

"As I have said, the reward is what you deserve. Now that Li Rong has been reinstated, your imperial title is naturally due as well."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for getting through this ordeal."

The Emperor never expected to hear such a sentence from Jiang Nuanzhi. He was stunned for a moment.

"Your Majesty, as long as you are here, I will be at peace. You probably don't know, but you are the greatest blessing in my life."

The Emperor was suddenly stunned, staring at Jiang Nuanzhi in disbelief.

What is she saying?
Jiang Nuanzhi knelt on the ground and began to speak slowly and deliberately: "Your Majesty probably doesn't know what it feels like to have your hands soaked in icy water in the dead of winter, nor does he know what it feels like to have a crying child, a seriously ill husband, and not being able to get enough to eat. Your Majesty probably doesn't know what it feels like to be a criminal, despised and struggling to survive in the wilderness."

However, before meeting Your Majesty, this was the kind of life I lived every day.”

Jiang Nuanzhi spoke with tears streaming down her face, and several eunuchs and even the divine physician Que looked over.

The Emperor frowned, and with some effort, pointed to his nose: "Me?"

He had been to the Great Wilderness, but it seems he was saved by the woman in front of him, right?
It's a pity I didn't know she was Li Rong's wife back then.
"Your Majesty was ill at that time, and I happened to examine you and cured you of the poison. I wonder if Your Majesty remembers?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor understood somewhat. So, they had come to repay a debt of gratitude? He was somewhat impatient to deal with them, but still nodded with a forced smile: "Yes, that is indeed true. In truth, I should thank Physician Jiang properly; he has saved my life several times."

Jiang Nuanzhi shook her head directly: "No, it's because Your Majesty has saved me and Arong time and time again. I originally thought that one day I could get rid of my status as a slave and earn enough money for my whole family to live on, and I would be content."

I never imagined that Arong would be reinstated. I, a servant by birth, have now become a first-rank noblewoman; it's all thanks to Your Majesty.”

She spoke with tears streaming down her face, kowtowing to the ground: "Your Majesty, you may not know, but this is not the time when I am most grateful to you. What I want to thank you for most is what happened in the Great Wilderness."

At that time, our family had run out of rice. The time I treated you, you generously gave me five hundred taels of silver as a consultation fee. With those five hundred taels, I bought thick cotton clothes, soft cotton quilts, charcoal for the winter, a large cartload of rice, and even donated rice to a dozen children in a school.

A sudden blizzard struck the desolate wilderness; natural disasters are merciless, and bandits roam freely. If it weren't for Your Majesty's five hundred taels of silver, the ailing Arong, the children, and the entire family would likely not have survived until today.”

The Emperor never expected to receive such heartfelt words. Perhaps due to his illness and overthinking, he felt a pang of sadness upon hearing her words. His eyes, which had been filled with melancholy, momentarily glazed over, and though his lips twitched slightly, he ultimately remained silent.

He had never heard such gratitude before, let alone for a mere five hundred taels of silver. He felt it was absurd and at a loss, not knowing how to respond.

Jiang Nuanzhi continued to explain: "Perhaps five hundred taels is nothing to Your Majesty, but you do not know that your family had run out of rice before."

I come from a poor background and know best how to make the most of a copper coin.

At that time, Ah Rong's legs had not yet healed, and the children in the family were thin and pale, going days without eating meat. I was the sole breadwinner for the whole family, working every day just for the five hundred coins a day.

Winter is cold, and a cotton-padded coat costs at least an ounce of silver. A cotton quilt costs even more, about two ounces. Coal is unaffordable, so how can a weak woman like me go up the mountain to chop firewood?
You wouldn't believe how anxious I am, calculating the money in my hands every day; I've even developed pimples on my lips from worry.

Of all times, I received these five hundred taels from you.

Jiang Nuanzhi laughed as she said this: "You don't know. The richest family in the village is Liu Ma's family. She's a human slave trader. But even she can't come up with that much money."

Your money has made me the richest person in the whole village.

Where in the palace had anyone ever heard such words? Not to mention the senior eunuchs, including Physician Que, they had been keeping a close eye on Jiang Nuanzhi.

Now, even the eunuchs and maids around her couldn't help but look at her, clearly stunned by what they were hearing.

Even the emperor was completely captivated by her words, and subconsciously stared at her in a daze.

Five hundred taels? The richest person in the whole village? What kind of place is that? How can five hundred taels be enough to help so many people?
Jiang Nuanzhi's gentle voice was exceptionally clear in the bedchamber: "Now, I must thank you. Thank you for your perseverance yesterday. Thank you for issuing the imperial edict to clear the Li family's name. Thank you for allowing A Rong to become the Grand General again in a legitimate and honorable manner."

Thank you for freeing our child from the enslavement of sinners.

Thank you for putting aside past grievances and still giving A-Rong a chance.

Now, I dare not even imagine what would have happened if Your Majesty had not awakened. Ah Rong and I would likely have already fallen victim to that Regent's cruelty.

As she spoke, she kowtowed again, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"

The emperor's pale face showed a hint of astonishment. It took him a while to come to his senses before he immediately beckoned, "Quickly, please rise."

"Someone, please bring a seat for Doctor Jiang!"

A quarter of an hour later.

Jiang Nuanzhi, carrying a thousand taels of gold and holding the imperial palace token, marched in a grand procession toward the Imperial Household Department.

Even Dongzang, who was standing beside him, was dumbfounded.

"Madam, are you tired? Shall I carry you for me?"

(End of this chapter)