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

Li Lizhi did not sleep.

She sat on the bed, watching the commotion on the other side of the dividing line through the half-lifted curtain.

She couldn't see very clearly—Lu Chen was busy in the living room, while she could only see a corner of the bedroom.

But she could see the light coming from the living room.

It's always on.

The lights have been on continuously since nightfall.

Occasionally, you can hear sounds of things being rummaged through, things being crushed, and fingers tapping on the table.

He's busy.

She's been busy with her mother's illness and hasn't slept yet.

Li Lizhi rested her chin on her knees, hugged her legs with both arms, and quietly looked at the lights.

I can't quite describe the feeling.

I just feel...

That light made me feel at ease.

3:30 a.m.

The lights were moved from the living room to the bedroom.

Lu Chen walked in carrying a small tray.

He looked somewhat tired, and the bloodshot eyes were much more pronounced than usual.

But he seems to be in good spirits.

As he walked to the dividing line, he saw Li Lizhi still sitting on the bed.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I can't sleep," Li Lizhi said truthfully.

Lu Chen placed the tray on the floor next to the dividing line.

Several small paper packets and two small bottles were neatly stacked on top.

There was also a piece of paper covered with writing.

"Everything is ready." He pointed to the paper package. "These medicines are divided into doses, one packet at a time. How to take them, when to take them, and what precautions to take are all written on this paper."

Li Lizhi reached out and took the things.

By the light from Lu Chen's bedroom, she looked at the piece of paper.

The handwriting is somewhat messy, but every stroke is written with great effort.

The logic is very clear.

Article 1, Article 2, Article 3...

It even mentions that "if nausea or vomiting occurs, stop taking the medication immediately."

After reading it, Li Lizhi folded the paper and carefully tucked it into her sleeve.

She looked up at Lu Chen.

The light shone from behind him, casting a shadow on his face.

You could see the weariness in his eyes.

And there's the earnestness beneath the weariness.

Li Lizhi suddenly realized that this person was indeed different from everyone she had ever met.

It wasn't the routine work of an imperial physician, carried out by imperial decree.

It wasn't the kind of obsequious flattery typical of court officials.

He was just doing one thing seriously.

I stayed up all night for someone I'd never met.

"Thanks--"

Li Lizhi opened her mouth, but then swallowed the word back.

She changed her words and said, "I have remembered."

Lu Chen smiled.

"Go to sleep, you have to go to the palace tomorrow."

"You too." Li Lizhi glanced at him. "Your eyes are all red."

"I'm tough, I'll be fine."

Li Lizhi snorted and lay down.

Facing away from the dividing line.

In the darkness, she took the piece of paper covered in writing out of her sleeve and stuck it next to her pillow.

---

The next morning, Li Lizhi took the medicine into the palace.

She hid the small paper packet and bottle in a compartment of a food container.

It looks like an ordinary snack box from the outside.

This was all prepared with the help of Yu Shu—although Yu Shu didn't know what was hidden in the food box, she was clever, and when Her Highness asked for a food box with a hidden compartment, she got it without hesitation.

Lizheng Hall.

Empress Zhangsun looked much worse today than yesterday.

His face was sallow, his lips were chapped, and he sat half-sitting on the bed, leaning against a few soft pillows.

Their voices softened.

"Lizhi has arrived." Empress Zhangsun forced a smile.

"Mother Empress."

Li Lizhi walked to the bedside and sat down, taking Empress Zhangsun's hand in hers.

My fingers are cold.

That kind of coolness that seeps into your bones.

Li Lizhi felt a sharp pain in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face.

"Has Mother had breakfast yet?"

"I ate a couple of mouthfuls of porridge, but I don't have much of an appetite." Empress Zhangsun shook her head, glancing at the food box in Li Lizhi's hand. "What did you bring?"

"It's some...medicine."

Li Lizhi opened the food box and took out the small paper packets and bottles from the hidden compartment.

Empress Zhangsun frowned slightly.

"What is this?"

"A few days ago, I happened to meet a traveling physician in the city."

Li Lizhi had already prepared her explanation.

"That doctor is highly skilled. He gave me a prescription, saying it was specifically for treating coughs and... tuberculosis."

She lowered her voice when she said the word "consumption".

Empress Zhangsun's expression changed for a moment.

She knew about her illness.

She consulted the Imperial Medical Academy countless times and took countless doses of medicine, but no one dared to utter those two words in front of her.

"A wandering physician?" Empress Zhangsun asked calmly. "Chang'an is a melting pot of all sorts of people; how can we easily take medicine of dubious origin?"

"Your subject has tried it first."

Li Lizhi said calmly.

"I took these medicines myself for three days and experienced no adverse effects."

This was something she and Lu Chen had agreed upon.

In order to persuade Empress Zhangsun, she secretly took the same medicine for the past three days. Of course, it wasn't the anti-tuberculosis drug, but rather the herbal ingredients.

But the effect is the same.

This proves that eating this stuff won't cause any problems.

Empress Zhangsun looked at her daughter.

The eighteen-year-old girl's eyes were filled with earnestness.

There was also something that Empress Zhangsun hadn't seen in a long time—

hope.

"Mother, let's give it a try."

Li Lizhi held Empress Zhangsun's hand tightly.

"We've been taking the medicine from the Imperial Hospital for so long, but it hasn't worked. Let's try something new; what if it works?"

Empress Zhangsun remained silent for a while.

Finally, she sighed.

"Fine."

She reached out and took the medicine packet from Li Lizhi's hand.

"I'll trust you this once."

Following the instructions written by Lu Chen, Li Lizhi poured the medicine powder into warm water and stirred it well.

The medicinal soup was cloudy and had a bitter taste characteristic of Chinese medicinal herbs.

But what actually works are the isoniazid and rifampin mixed in with it.

Empress Zhangsun took the bowl, blew on it gently, and drank it down in one gulp.

bitter.

But she didn't even frown.

What bitter medicine hasn't she taken?

"The taste is better than the prescription from the Imperial Hospital." Empress Zhangsun put down her bowl, smiled, and said, "That doctor is quite skilled."

Li Lizhi breathed a sigh of relief.

The first step is complete.

She then took out the dextromethorphan oral solution for cough relief.

This is a ready-made liquid, sweet, and much easier to swallow than traditional Chinese medicine.

"Mother, this is for stopping coughs. Just take it once before bed."

Empress Zhangsun nodded and instructed her personal maid, Xiu Niang, to put it away.

Li Lizhi spent the entire day at Lizheng Hall.

It wasn't until nightfall that Empress Zhangsun urged her to return, and she reluctantly left.

……

That night.

Lizheng Hall.

Empress Zhangsun drank the cough syrup with the help of the embroiderer.

It has a slightly sweet taste with a subtle fruity flavor.

It's many times better than the herbal medicine from the Imperial Pharmacy.

After Empress Zhangsun lay down, she began to cough as usual.

Coughing at night is always the hardest to bear.

As soon as I lay down, that lump in my chest started to churn.

It comes in waves, and I can't stop.

But today—

After coughing a few times, perhaps because of the sweet water, the itching in my throat gradually subsided.

The intervals between coughs are getting longer.

It went from once every few seconds to once every ten seconds, and then to once every few minutes.

finally--

Stopped.

Empress Zhangsun was stunned.

She couldn't remember the last time her cough stopped so quickly.

I've been taking cough medicine prescribed by the Imperial Hospital for so many years, and never before has it been so effective...so immediately.

The embroiderer also noticed something was wrong.

"Your Highness? You're not coughing anymore?"

"Hmm." Empress Zhangsun herself was somewhat surprised. "You've stopped coughing."

She tried to take a deep breath.

The heaviness in my chest is still there, but it has definitely lightened a lot.

That night, Empress Zhangsun slept soundly for the first time in a long time.

I wasn't awakened by the coughing.

No night sweats.

They didn't even use a handkerchief.

……

The next morning.

When the embroiderer came in to help Empress Zhangsun with her toilette, she was clearly taken aback.

Empress Zhangsun's expression—

All right.

It's not just a little bit better.

It's visibly much better now.

My lips, which were sallow and chapped yesterday, have regained some color today.

The grayness in his eyes had faded considerably.

He looked as if he had been given a breath of fresh air and was full of energy.

"Your Majesty, you look much better today!" The embroiderer exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.

Empress Zhangsun looked at herself in the bronze mirror and was slightly surprised.

Such a change overnight?

She looked down at the medicine packet on the bedside table.

His gaze lingered for a few seconds.

"Embroiderer".

"This servant is here."

"Did you put away the medicine that Lizhi brought yesterday?"

"It's safe to keep; it's in the cabinet."

"Yes. Continue taking it as she said." Empress Zhangsun paused, "Also—"

Her tone changed.

It's not a concern.

Rather, it is a keen insight unique to women who have experienced the world.

"Check who Lizhi has been seeing lately."

The embroiderer was slightly taken aback.

"Your Majesty means..."

"This medicine wasn't prescribed by some itinerant doctor."

Empress Zhangsun's gaze was calm and profound.

"The itinerant doctors in Chang'an can't prescribe this kind of medicine."