The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 253 Neither Merit Nor Fault
Physician Li was so angry that his face turned black.

He knelt on the ground, racking his brains but still unable to figure out when he had offended the empress.

Why is the Empress constantly targeting him and making things difficult for him?
Could it be because...

Physician Li's heart skipped a beat at this thought. Just as he was thinking about how to remedy the situation, Shen Qingwan spoke up again.

"If I remember correctly, when Consort Li was pregnant, it was Physician Li who took care of her."

The moment Shen Qingwan finished speaking, Emperor Yuanwu's eyes widened in shock, and he looked up at her.

"When Consort Li was sunbathing in the palace, she got up a little too abruptly. She just felt a little uncomfortable and didn't think much of it. She went back to her palace for a nap, but unexpectedly, her stomach started to hurt in the evening. Although Consort Li's pregnancy was affected by smallpox, she has always been healthy. Getting up a little too abruptly shouldn't have caused such a miscarriage."

After Shen Qingwan finished speaking, she curtsied and bowed to Emperor Yuanwu.

"Your Majesty, I believe it is very necessary to have someone thoroughly investigate Consort Li's medical records from back then and what medicines she used during her pregnancy. Also, given the strict palace rules, how did a disease like smallpox so easily enter the harem? Even if Consort An brought things used by people with smallpox into the palace, was there anyone behind her giving her advice? Otherwise, how could a woman who rarely leaves the palace know so easily to use such things to harm others? However, so much time has passed since this incident. Should we investigate or not? I urge Your Majesty to give your opinion."

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me." Emperor Yuanwu's eyes flashed coldly. "Pass down the message that the events of that year must be thoroughly investigated."

Wu Jixiang accepted the order and withdrew.

Shen Qingwan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, this matter had been weighing on his mind for a long time.

At that time, she had just transmigrated into the body of the original owner. Not only the emperor, but also the entire harem, still remembered her as the original owner, who was arrogant and domineering, and caused chaos in the harem every day.

Even if she has some ideas or doubts about certain things, no one will actually believe her. Even if they agree on the surface, they may not actually do what she wants.

Consort Li was also a pitiful person.

If it was truly just an accident back then, that's fine. But if she was framed, we must find out the truth and clear her name.

A bout of smallpox had ruined her appearance, making her fall out of favor inevitable.

Being neglected and being completely forgotten are two completely different outcomes in the imperial harem.

Even if she simply lacked favor, she would still be a concubine. As long as she behaved herself, she could live a comfortable life in the harem.

But if she is completely forgotten, even if she has the rank of a concubine, it will not be able to protect her. Her Chuxiu Palace will probably be even colder than the Cold Palace.

Shen Qingwan felt that she had done her best and that was all she could do for her. The rest was up to fate and she could only do her best to see what Emperor Yuanwu would say.

Emperor Yuanwu picked out the one with clear handwriting and well-organized structure from the several pulse diagnosis results that had just been handed over. Although they all looked similar, this one made it easier to see the patient's symptoms at a glance.

The moment his voice fell, the imperial physicians standing to the side all looked toward the paper that Emperor Yuanwu was waving in his hand.

Standing at the very back, Physician Zhao's eyes flickered, and he quickly walked to Emperor Yuanwu and knelt down. "Your Majesty, this paper was written by your humble servant."

"You..." Emperor Yuanwu pointed at him with one finger, but he looked somewhat familiar and couldn't remember his name for a moment: "Go and prepare the medicine for the Empress Dowager according to this prescription." "Yes." Physician Zhao's expression was extremely serious.

The imperial physicians standing to the side exchanged glances upon seeing this scene, each with their own thoughts.

After all, in the harem, if you don't do anything wrong, you won't make a mistake, but if you do something wrong or do it incorrectly, you will definitely be punished.

Despite years of treatment by Physician Zhang, a top physician in the Imperial Medical Academy, the Empress Dowager's cough ailment could not be completely cured.

If the medicine administered by Physician Zhao has no adverse effects, that's fine. But if the Empress Dowager's condition worsens, then...

After all, not everyone in the Imperial Medical Academy is like that Physician Li, a quack who loves to show off but has no real skills.

Most of them who were able to enter the Imperial Medical Academy had elderly mothers in their eighties and wives and children to take care of; making a living was more important than anything else.

Shen Qingwan had some impression of this imperial physician. He was Physician Zhao from the Imperial Hospital, and the Second Prince's health had always been taken care of by him.

The Second Prince's birth mother was of low rank when she gave birth to him, and the Second Prince was never favored by Emperor Yuanwu.

In the imperial harem, people are always treated differently depending on their status. Naturally, the Imperial Medical Academy would not send a high-ranking imperial physician to a mother and son like this. They would only be assigned one of the most inconspicuous imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy.

If you say he's a skilled doctor, it seems the Second Prince has been sickly since birth; but if you say he's a bad doctor, the Second Prince is just sickly, he doesn't look well, but he doesn't have any serious illness, he's just weak.

Shen Qingwan waited until Physician Zhao finished decocting the medicine and watched the Empress Dowager take it before returning to Kunning Palace with peace of mind.

After a whole afternoon of running around, Shen Qingwan felt a little tired.

She rested one hand on the handrail of the sedan chair, her body leaning back wearily.

The imperial carriage had just been carried out of Cining Palace. Zhen'er stretched out her hand and patted her chest, letting out a long sigh of relief: "Your Majesty really scared me to death today. Why did Your Majesty keep picking on that Imperial Physician Li? I was really afraid that Imperial Physician Li delayed the Empress Dowager's treatment and would blame the Empress in the end."

Shen Qingwan didn't speak, but a slight smile curved her lips, her beauty was stunning.

She wasn't in a hurry because she knew the Empress Dowager's illness was feigned.

The Empress Dowager's cough had not recurred for a long time, so why did she fall ill just when General Pang was poisoned and the most skilled physicians from the Imperial Hospital were not in the palace?

Since all the potted plants in the Empress Dowager's palace were moved out, the Empress Dowager has never summoned the imperial physician again for coughing. This means that the Empress Dowager's cough was related to the flowers in her palace, and not a problem with her lungs, but simply an allergy.

When she rushed over after learning that the Empress Dowager had fainted, she could clearly smell a faint floral fragrance the moment she stepped into the Cining Palace.

She carefully examined the palace and found no potted plants. If there were no flowers, where would the fragrance come from?

The only possibility is that the Empress Dowager had just brought the potted plant to her bedroom and then had it moved away.

The Empress Dowager knew that the potted plant would make her cough, yet she still did it anyway. The only possibility is that she deliberately caused her old illness to relapse at this time, creating a commotion in the palace.