Tang Dynasty: After living together with Chang Le, Li and his companion were dumbfounded.

Li Lizhi returned home particularly late that day.

Lu Chen had already heated the milk a second time when it got cold, so he heated it a third time.

He sat at his computer desk scrolling through his phone, glancing at the dividing line every now and then.

The bedchamber was empty, the curtains were half-drawn, and there wasn't even a candle lit on the candlestick.

After winter sets in, it gets dark early; by six o'clock, it's already dark in the sleeping quarters.

We waited until it was completely dark outside.

Footsteps finally came from the direction of the main gate of the sleeping quarters.

It's very light.

It's much lighter than usual.

Li Lizhi dismissed Yu Shu and went into her bedchamber alone.

She didn't go to the dressing table first as usual.

Instead, he walked straight to the bed and sat down where the dividing line was visible.

Lu Chen immediately noticed that something was wrong.

Her eyes were red.

It wasn't the redness and swelling from crying, but rather a slight redness from holding back tears for a long time.

He looked as if all his strength had been drained from him.

His shoulders were slightly slumped, and his gaze was unfocused.

She was completely different from the princess who had been so stubborn and arrogant these past few days, constantly saying "it's nothing special."

"What's wrong?"

Lu Chen carried the cup of milk that had been heated three times and walked to the dividing line.

Li Lizhi did not answer.

She just sat there, head down, her hands clasped together.

His knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white.

Lu Chen did not urge him.

He handed her the milk and placed it beside her.

Then he sat down on the floor on his side of the dividing line.

The two of them stayed there quietly.

A long time passed.

Lu Chen thought she wasn't planning to speak tonight.

Li Lizhi's voice finally came from the dim light of the bedchamber.

Very low.

She was trembling slightly, a tremor she herself might not even be aware of.

"The Empress Dowager is coughing up blood again."

Lu Chen's brows furrowed instantly.

"When I went to pay my respects today, the Empress Dowager saw me from behind a curtain," Li Lizhi's voice trailed off. "She wouldn't let me get close... She said she just had a slight cold..."

"But I saw it."

"There was a handkerchief in the copper basin that the embroiderer brought out."

There was blood on the handkerchief.

"It's not just a little bit... it's a huge area."

At this point, Li Lizhi finally couldn't control her voice anymore.

It trembled slightly.

"The imperial physician said that the Empress Dowager's old illness has relapsed and she needs to rest. But every time he says to rest, she never gets better. She coughed up blood once last winter, and this year it's happening again..."

She took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed her emotions.

"I'm scared."

She didn't look at Lu Chen when she said those three words.

Lu Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

Could you describe your mother's specific symptoms to me in detail?

Li Lizhi raised her head and looked at him.

Lu Chen's expression was very serious.

It wasn't comforting, nor was it sympathizing; it was the expression of someone seriously analyzing the problem.

It was exactly the same as when he gave her salbutamol that night.

For some reason, seeing this expression made Li Lizhi feel more at ease than any comforting words.

She thought for a moment and began to recall.

"My mother's health wasn't good to begin with, and it got worse after she had a few children."

"I've been coughing frequently for the past two years, and it's worst in the fall and winter."

"I cough up blood, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little."

"I'm getting thinner and thinner, and my appetite is getting smaller and smaller."

"I have night sweats—I sweat profusely while I'm asleep, and when I wake up, my clothes are soaked."

"There's also a low-grade fever. It comes and goes, not high, but it doesn't go away completely."

With each point he made, Lu Chen's brows furrowed deeper.

Coughing up blood.

thin.

Night sweats.

Low-grade heat.

These four symptoms combined—

This is a classic combination in modern respiratory medicine textbooks.

tuberculosis.

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

The cause of Empress Zhangsun's death has been controversial throughout history.

Some say it's a qi disorder, others say it's tuberculosis, and still others say it's a combination of diseases caused by postpartum weakness.

However, judging from the symptoms described by Li Lizhi—

The likelihood of tuberculosis is extremely high.

Moreover, it was active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Coughing up blood indicates that there are cavities in the lungs or that blood vessels have been eroded.

This is no small problem.

In the days before anti-tuberculosis drugs, this was a slow death sentence.

Unlike asthma, which is a controllable chronic disease.

If tuberculosis is left untreated, there is only one outcome.

Empress Zhangsun died in the tenth year of the Zhenguan era.

That is, two years later.

Lu Chen's hands clenched unconsciously.

"Anything else? Like the color of the phlegm, the frequency of coughing up blood?"

Li Lizhi thought for a moment, "I didn't pay attention to the color of the phlegm... but Mother has been coughing up blood more frequently lately. It used to happen every few months, but now it's almost once a month."

Once a month.

And it's accelerating.

The condition is progressing.

Lu Chen closed his eyes briefly.

My mind raced through the knowledge points from my university textbooks.

Standardized treatment regimen for active pulmonary tuberculosis —

But there's a problem.

The dosage and duration of treatment for these medications must be strictly controlled.

Using too little won't kill the tuberculosis bacteria, while using too much will damage the liver and kidneys.

The "patient" he was facing was an empress from 1,400 years ago.

It's impossible to perform liver and kidney function tests, blood tests, or chest X-rays to confirm the diagnosis.

He can only make judgments based on symptoms and prescribe medication based on experience.

This matter is at least ten times more difficult than treating Li Lizhi's asthma.

but--

It's not that there's absolutely no way out.

Lu Chen opened his eyes.

"Your mother's illness..."

He looked into Li Lizhi's eyes and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I might have a way."

Li Lizhi suddenly raised her head.

Those eyes, which had been dull and lifeless, suddenly lit up at that moment.

Like a fire suddenly ignited in the dark night.

"Your mother's symptoms are called tuberculosis in our area, also known as consumption."

Li Lizhi was startled.

She had heard the word tuberculosis before.

In the Tang Dynasty, these two words were almost synonymous with terminal illness.

Those who contract tuberculosis almost all meet the same end: they gradually become emaciated, cough up blood incessantly, and eventually die.

There is no cure.

"But," Lu Chen added immediately when he saw her pale face, "this disease is curable where we're from."

"There is a special medicine, the treatment course is about six months, and the vast majority of people can be cured."

Li Lizhi's breathing became rapid.

"Then you should do it now—"

"Wait a minute." Lu Chen raised his hand to stop her. "I have a few questions."

"First, I cannot be 100% certain that your mother has tuberculosis, because I cannot see her condition in person, nor can I conduct any tests. I can only make a judgment based on the symptoms you described."

"Secondly, the medications used to treat tuberculosis have certain side effects, requiring monitoring of liver and kidney function. You can't perform these tests there, so I have to adjust the dosage to the safest range."

"third--"

He paused for a moment.

"These medications need to be taken long-term, at least several months. They can't be stopped in between; if you stop, all the progress will be wasted. Can you guarantee your mother will stick to it?"

Li Lizhi nodded vigorously.

"As long as it's useful, Mother will definitely stick to it."

Lu Chen looked at her.

There was no hesitation, only determination.

"Okay." He stood up. "I'll prepare the medicine tonight."

For the next few hours, Lu Chen locked himself in the living room of his rented apartment.

The computer had seven or eight web pages open.

It's all academic material about the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

He dared not use the standard four-part solution.

Pyrazinamide and ethambutol have such strong hepatotoxicity and optic nerve toxicity that using them without monitoring is too risky.

After much deliberation, he decided to use a conservative but safe approach—

But powder alone won't do.

Giving Empress Zhangsun two packets of powder of unknown origin would be unacceptable, not only to the Empress but also to the Imperial Hospital staff.

We must disguise ourselves.

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then took out his phone and searched again.

He found several Chinese medicinal herbs that could be bought in the Tang Dynasty: Stemona japonica, Bletilla striata, Astragalus membranaceus, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis.

These herbs are traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat tuberculosis and hemoptysis.

If you mix Western medicine powder into these Chinese medicinal herbs to create a "prescription"—

To outsiders, it was presented as an ancient remedy for coughs.

Even the imperial physicians wouldn't find it too outrageous.

At least they won't reject it outright.

Lu Chen wrote down the compatibility plan in the memo.

Detailed instructions for taking the medication were also written.

Carefully considered each word and revised it repeatedly.

All modern medical terms have been replaced with the most colloquial terms.

I was busy until after 3 a.m.

……